《The Warlord》 Chapter 1: Blessing of War I grabbed my toolbelt, tossed it into the rusty bed of my truck, and got into the driver¡¯s seat. My left hand grabbed the steering wheel, a rag tied around my knuckles from where I¡¯d scraped them when I¡¯d punched a wall. Catching sight of my dark, angry eyes in the rearview mirror, my hand reached up to adjust its odd angle. It was broken, secured in place with duct tape now constantly falling off, but I didn¡¯t have the money to replace it. By now, I was hot, sweaty, and tired, mentally and physically. It had been a long day filled with the usual bullshit and I just wanted to go home, shower, and play video games for a few hours. I didn¡¯t mind the work, but like every other job, it just took one asshole to ruin your entire day and make you consider bringing a gun to work the next time you showed up. Sighing, I put my truck in reverse, backed onto the street, and headed home. Opening the door of the rented downstairs apartment, I took off my boots and went into the bathroom, stripping out of my clothes which were soaked with sweat from the July heat. Under the blissful, steaming hot water, I lathered my hair and body with soap, letting the torrent rinse it off me. Then I turned off the water, letting the excess moisture drip off me before grabbing a towel and drying off. Next, I wiped the steam off the bathroom mirror and looked at my long, dark, sodden hair. The mirror was still cracked from when I¡¯d punched that too a few months back, the fissures throwing my features off, giving me an exaggerated, violent appearance. I quickly ran a comb through my hair, which hung down over my forehead and nearly to my shoulders. A cut was in order, but laziness kept insisting I put it off. On the underside of my chin, the stubble was starting to grow into a full beard, and I winced upon touching a faint bruise acquired in a fight with a coworker last week. There were bags under my sunken, dark brown eyes from lack of sleep too, from going to bed way too late and waking before dawn. These only served to make my eyes look even darker. Then there was my nose, slightly crooked from the many times it had been broken in fights I¡¯d gotten into as a kid. A scar adorned my lip, busted open back in high school. I rolled my neck, its vertebrae cracking satisfyingly. Having donned boxers, gym shorts, and a T-shirt, I finally stepped out of the bathroom. But wait¡ªwhat? There was someone in my goddamned living room! My first thought was, where¡¯s my gun? I had left it in its case under the bed, too far away for me to grab it. My second thought was that the person was a woman, and my third thought: she clearly isn¡¯t human. My mind tried to overlook the fact that she had an extra pair of freaking arms, and her eyes were red, not as if she was wearing red contacts. No, blood red with an inner glow that some shitty costume contact lenses couldn¡¯t explain away. ¡°What the fuck are you doing in my house?¡± ¡°Greetings, mortal,¡± the woman-thing said. ¡°Please try to keep your fear to a minimum. I am not here to harm you.¡± ¡°What do you want? What are you?¡± I edged toward my bedroom. Could I get to my gun before this thing got to me? She wore armor made of some reptile¡¯s hide and metal plates, and she was strapped with at least half a dozen swords. Her skin was as white as paper but stained with dirt. No, those were bloodstains. Oh, shit! There is an alien, sword-wielding psychopath in my apartment! I moved closer to my bedroom door. ¡°I am here to make you a proposal. I am Kelesa, Goddess of War and Conquest.¡± ¡°What kind of proposal?¡± I asked. That¡¯s right, Mark, keep the crazy sword-wielding alien talking. Just a few more feet¡­ ¡°Please stop trying to go for your weapon,¡± Kelesa told me. Shit! She can read my mind. I had not properly dried myself and was freezing. ¡°I require a champion to serve me. I am offering you the chance to gain all you have ever desired,¡± Kelesa said, placing my gun on the coffee table in front of the couch. ¡°Why me?¡± I asked, the only question I could think of at that moment. ¡°There is nothing special about you,¡± Kelesa said. Ouch! That hurts! ¡°I have already asked four others in several different worlds, but they turned me down. If you do also, I will simply ask one of a thousand other candidates,¡± she continued. ¡°Is that why you¡¯re covered in bloodstains?¡± I asked. Kelesa looked down, seeming surprised. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not from this.¡± She said it as if absently dismissing the thought from her mind. ¡°No, I simply wiped the memory of our meeting from their mind and went elsewhere. It would be against the rules to kill a potential candidate.¡± She could be lying, but I have no reason to disbelieve her. ¡°What does being a champion mean?¡± ¡°The world I am from has many gods. Every five hundred years, we each may select a champion who aligns with our ideals. These champions engage in a contest. Whichever one wins will become a new god in the pantheon of their patron god.¡± ¡°You said you were the Goddess of War and Conquest. How do I align with your ideals? Shouldn¡¯t you be asking some African warlord?¡± I asked. ¡°I have tried such people in the past, but their methods have always failed me. I am experimenting with something new, looking for someone with the traits of a great warrior but who is more adaptive and less set in their ways.¡± ¡°And how do I fit that?¡± I asked, somewhat curious. ¡°I have looked through your memories. You have some combat training, some leadership potential, a desire for power, and a bloodthirstiness you have always been forced to suppress,¡± Kelesa said, her voice the exact tone you would use to praise someone for building orphanages and feeding the homeless. ¡°And what do I get out of this?¡± ¡°Otherworldly powers and the chance to ascend to godhood and gain immortality,¡± Kelesa said, smiling, revealing jagged shark-like teeth. ¡°What kind of powers?¡± I forced my mind to overlook her fangs in order to preserve my sanity. ¡°You will be given three of your choice. They will not be immensely powerful at first, but you can gain more and increase their potency with effort, time, and bloodshed. You will also be given a fourth power of my choosing.¡± ¡°Any three powers of my choosing?¡± I asked, pushing this critical issue. ¡°Yes, but be warned, powers such as instant death or time travel are god-level powers. It would be best to choose something to help enable you to survive in your early stages,¡± Kelesa warned me. I thought about her words. Hadn¡¯t I always wanted magic powers? Who didn¡¯t, but at the same time, this sounded dangerous. She had implicitly warned me I might die if I became her champion. That said, what did I have going for me here? A shitty job that I came home from, day after monotonous day, only to escape into video games and pretend I did have those magic powers. Through video games, I could become someone else. I wanted to matter, to be powerful and significant. Now, I had a chance to escape my humdrum existence and acquire magical powers for real, to become a champion, someone to be feared and respected. There was a chance all of this was not real. I could be in a coma or the unwitting stooge of some elaborate prank by a TV show that had broken into my house. But if it was real¡­ ¡°What does it mean to be your champion? What do you want from me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy,¡± Kelesa told me with her shark grin. ¡°I want you to win at whatever cost.¡± ¡°Then, I accept,¡± I said, instinctively, without hesitation. I couldn¡¯t pass up this opportunity, even if it did have some strings attached. ¡°Good,¡± Kelesa said, stepping forward and pulling a curved knife from her belt. I almost had a heart attack when I realized this goddess was several feet taller than me and coming at me fast with a knife. Before I could do anything, she slashed a line across the palm of her hand and mine. Then she joined them together. *** I felt space warp around me as I was yanked out of my apartment, finding myself standing on what looked almost like a ziggurat. All around the pyramid¡¯s base were corpses pierced with weapons as far as the eye could see in an endless aftermath of battle. The flapping of wings and the cawing of birds created a white noise in the otherwise silent landscape as crows and other carrion eaters devoured the flesh of the slain. ¡°Where are we?¡± I asked, struggling against retching due to the all-pervading stench of death. ¡°This is my realm,¡± said Kelesa, grabbing a chalice. ¡°Now kneel.¡± I dropped to my knees as if someone had shoved me. Kelesa raised the chalice above my head and poured a thick, red liquid over me. I shivered and felt the blood quickly soaking through my clothes and skin.
Congratulations! You have been chosen as the Champion of Kelesa, Goddess of War and Conquest. You have received the blessing of Kelesa, the Blessing of War (Mortal).
Blessing of War (Mortal): You are the mortal embodiment of war and carnage. You regain 3 Stamina and Mana per second to fuel you as you carve your way through the battlefield.
I blinked as the text superimposed itself over my vision. But it disappeared as soon as I finished reading it
You have been granted the ability Dominion by your godly patron as part of your pact.
Ability gained. Dominion (Rank 1): Several times per day equal to your Spirit Attribute, you can, as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. A creature may choose to serve you willingly or attempt to resist by opposing their Mind Attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can, at will, see the Abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion, equal to your Spirit Attribute x2.
Cost: 1 Mana per creature.
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day and the multiplier for how many you can dominate at any given time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
I blinked as I looked at the ability. Ok, that is definitely an evil power. ¡°Are you evil?¡± I asked, though as she possessed the title ¡®Goddess of War and Conquest,¡¯ that realization should probably have struck me sooner! ¡°That is an entirely subjective question,¡± Kelesa said, amused rather than offended. ¡°Do I consider myself evil? No. Do others? It depends. In the world you are going to, the gods are divided into those who revere civilization and those who revere chaos. I am a goddess of chaos; I revel in and enjoy it. Those who revere civilization consider me evil, but ironically to oppose me, they must engage in war, the very concept they claim is anathema to them.¡± I supposed that was as good an answer as I would get. ¡°How do I choose my powers?¡± I wanted to know. ¡°First, you must choose a new name. Names have power in my world. This is why we gods typically choose those from other worlds as our champions since no one here will know your true name. Never tell it to anyone; consider it dead to you from now on. I will help with that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I was that attached to it anyway,¡± I said. Then, I thought: this wasn¡¯t like picking a name for some video game where I could just go around calling myself Yuri Nator or Ben N. Syder or some other joke name. I was apparently now in the service of an evil or at least bloodthirsty goddess. Anyone (or anything) I encountered would therefore have certain expectations of me. I would need something imposing and easy to remember. I thought about all the games I had played and the books and movies I¡¯d seen. ¡°Mordred,¡± I decided, going with one of the better-known villains. It also started with an M, so was similar enough to Mark for me to quickly get used to it. ¡°Very well, Mordred,¡± said Kelesa. My head was suddenly dizzy, and I sat on a square, stone block as everything became foggy and hazy around me. What had happened? I had just changed my name to Mordred and suddenly could not remember my real one! I looked back through my memories, but everyone had called me Mordred for as long as I could remember. Hadn¡¯t they? No! That was impossible because I did just recall picking it only moments ago. ¡°What did you do to me?¡± I asked as the haze began to dissipate. ¡°I erased your first name from your memories,¡± Kelesa explained impassively. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t do to change your name only for someone with a mind-reading ability to pluck it from your thoughts.¡± ¡°How much have you messed with my mind?¡± I asked, afraid of the answer. ¡°Was it even my own decision to become your champion?¡± ¡°I have only altered your memories and thoughts once,¡± Kelesa stated. ¡°It is against the pact we gods made to force or coerce someone to become our champion. I also don¡¯t want to alter your mental state. In the past, I used to be very hands-on with my champions, but it never ended well so that clearly wasn¡¯t the right route. I have learned it is best to offer only occasional, subtle guidance and let you forge your own path.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°What is the pact you mentioned with the other gods?¡± I asked. If she was messing with my thoughts, I could do nothing about it. Kelesa sat on another stone block in front of me. ¡°Long ago, the first gods created a system to create champions to settle disputes between us. We are able to guide our chosen champion to do as we need as long as we stay within its restrictions. Tell me what powers you want, and I will convert them through the System into your abilities.¡± I thought for several minutes about what I wanted to be able to do. Fireballs were cool but limited, and any situation that didn¡¯t call for absolute obliteration would turn one of my three powers into a useless ability. Invisibility had some practical and exciting possibilities but didn¡¯t interest me much. Flight? That might make me an easy target for archers. Ultimately, I decided to go with my powers the same way I¡¯d gone with my name and make a decision based on movies and mythology. What sort of powers were wielded by the bad guys in my video games and movies? I thought of black knights, villains, and warriors and knew just what to pick. ¡°I want Telekinesis. The ability to pick up people and objects with my mind and move and throw them at will,¡± I said. ¡°A versatile ability,¡± Kelesa said, momentarily staring into empty space. A shimmering silver and light blue ball of energy appeared in the air before me. Then, it moved toward my chest and soaked into it.
Telekinesis (Rank 1): You can, at will, lift 1 object or creature weighing 30 pounds or less and move it within 50 feet of your body; or 3 objects or creatures weighing 10 pounds or less and move them within 50 feet of your body. The speed and power of objects are based on your Spirit Attribute.
Cost: 1 Mana per 10 small objects/sec; or 1 Mana per large object/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of items, their weight, and the range at which you can move them. Every upgrade of this ability increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
As soon as the words appeared in my vision, they blinked away and something else appeared beneath them.
You have absorbed the remains of a divine wraith which has bonded to your Spirit Attribute and will fuel and guide your soul¡¯s mutation when you pass the Mortal limit for your Spirit Attribute.
I was somewhat disappointed I wouldn¡¯t be able to force-choke people right out of the gate, but remembered Kelesa telling me that abilities would start off weaker and need to be upgraded. I could still do a lot with this; I could throw spears and rocks at my enemies, and once upgraded, the ability would let me do even more. The second notification was weird. ¡°What does this mean about me absorbing the remains of a wraith and my soul mutating?¡± I asked. ¡°Also, what does it mean by Mortal limit for my Attribute?¡± ¡°There are six ranks. The first is Mortal, which you are now. The limit for a Mortal Attribute is twenty. Once all your Attributes are past twenty, you will enter the Veteran rank. From there, it proceeds to Hero, Exarch, Hierophant, Demigod, and the ultimate rank, God. ¡°I want a passive ability to see into the future to avoid surprise attacks and be able to predict my enemies¡¯ attacks,¡± I said, wondering how weak this ability would start. Kelesa said nothing this time but stared into space as she interacted with the System and did whatever god thing was giving me my powers. Then, something else materialized in front of me. This time, it was a black-faceted eye like that of a spider or fly. It dissolved into mist. Before I could protest, it hit my eyes, passing harmlessly through, filling me with a clarity of vision I had never before experienced.
Ability gained. Foresight (Rank 1): You passively see 3 seconds into the future and know what will happen to yourself and the space within 9 feet of you at all times. This ability is based on your Perception Attribute. Increasing it will increase the time you can see by 1 second per rank in Perception above 10 to a maximum of 15 seconds in the future.
This is a passive ability, costing 1 Mana/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase how far you can see into the future and how far around you can see. Every upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
I dismissed the notification and read the next one that popped up.
You have absorbed the eye of Fate Spider, which has bonded to your Perception Attribute and will fuel and guide your eyes¡¯ mutation when you pass the Mortal limit for your Perception Attribute.
I clutched my skull, becoming engulfed by an excruciatingly intense headache. I was totally unprepared for it; the first two abilities hadn¡¯t done anything like this. I gritted my teeth, but already, the pain was beginning to fade. But now, disorientation set in as I saw double around me, like watching two screens playing the same movie but not in sync with each other. The dizziness faded, and although I was still aware of it, I could push the double image out of my mind. It was like going nose blind or stepping into a pool of water, overwhelming and freezing at first, but once you were all the way in, you didn¡¯t notice it anymore. It simply ebbed away. ¡°What was that?¡± I asked. ¡°Abilities that directly affect you will have an impact on your body when you gain or upgrade them. Try to be in a safe place when you do so, or you may be killed while you are vulnerable,¡± Kelesa warned me. There was no sympathy in her voice. Neither did she seem amused, more that she was devoid of humor. It occurred to me that her previous withholding of information had not been for her own entertainment. My physical and mental discomfort was a matter of supreme indifference to her. Looking at the ability in my mind again now that I had recovered, I was happy with it. Whilst it was not insanely overpowered, this was about what I had expected to be able to do. It would act as both a defensive and offensive ability if I could use it correctly. ¡°For my last ability, I want to move faster and have sharper reflexes,¡± I said. There was no point in being able to see into the future if I couldn¡¯t move fast enough to take advantage of it. Kelesa nodded and stared into space again. A massive scale the size of my hand appeared. It was black, but the edges of it glowed red-hot. It turned to mist, similar to the eye-spider, passing right through my skin.
Ability gained. Heightened Speed (Rank 1): You move faster and can react more swiftly. Instantly, your body acts and can move at max speed without needing to build up momentum. The speed at which your body can move is increased by a multiple of 2.
This is a passive ability, costing 1 Stamina per second, and will cost more Stamina in combat depending on how fast you move.
Upgrade this ability to increase how fast you can move. Every upgrade of this ability increases your Speed Attribute x2.
I nearly fell over as the ability hit me. It felt as though snakes were burrowing through my muscles, and my heart was racing as if I¡¯d just consumed thirty energy drinks in a row. My entire body shook and spasmed, pins and needles pricking me all over. Eventually, the feeling subsided, although my heartbeat remained faster than before. I sat up too quickly and had to pause to regain my equilibrium. Pushing myself up more slowly, I was now more controlled, trying to account for the effect of the increased speed on my body.
You have absorbed the scale of a world wyrm, which has bonded to your Speed Attribute and will fuel and guide your fast-twitch muscles¡¯ mutation when you pass the Mortal limit for your Speed Attribute.
¡°Wow,¡± I said, clearly able to feel the results. ¡°I feel like I could run a dozen marathons.¡± ¡°Well, you cannot,¡± Kelesa informed me. ¡°Although faster, you lack high enough endurance to keep up your speed for long periods.¡± ¡°Then how do I raise my other Attributes?¡± ¡°You can spend rank points equal to the rank of the ability you are trying to upgrade or directly spend them on the Attribute. Although the second option will only raise your attribute, it is less efficient than raising your Attributes through your abilities,¡± Kelesa told me. ¡°Before you ask, there are several ways to gain rank points. First, you can complete objectives related to your patron.¡±
Quest gained. Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 5 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 0/5. When you complete this quest, you will gain 1 rank point. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Quest gained. Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 5 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current progress: 0 out of 5. When you complete this quest, you will gain 1 rank point. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
¡°So, is everyone in your world just trying to kill and enslave everything?¡± I asked, apprehensively looking over my quests. ¡°Not all, but as the Goddess of War and Conquest, my quests will be related to my domain. The God of Smiths¡¯ quests will have his followers craft swords and armor while the God of Thieves will require his champion to steal certain items worth particular amounts.¡± So even my quests are evil? I shrugged. There was nothing to do about it now. I had already signed up without reading the small print, evidently. ¡°You said there were other ways to gain rank points. This seems easy at first, but I will have to massacre and enslave entire cities to keep gaining rank points from it?¡± Kelesa nodded. ¡°The second method is to kill others like yourself¡ªknown as the Gifted¡ª who have also earned rank points. Each time you do so, you will gain half their total rank points, and there is a one-in-five chance of gaining one of their abilities, although it will adapt to suit you when you acquire it.¡± ¡°And how many people like me are there? How many other chosen are there?¡± ¡°There are over seven hundred Gods of Order, each with a chosen champion,¡± Kelesa said. ¡°But they are not the only ones with powers. Abilities are hereditary, although your children will inherit only a few of your abilities based on how many their parents have when they are conceived. You cannot pass on your Dominion ability since that is only given directly by me. ¡°There are thousands of descendants of the champions over the millennia. They have bred like rabbits even if they do kill each other by the score to gain higher ranks. Also, any common man or beast can steal abilities if they manage to kill one of the Gifted.¡± ¡°So, there are thousands of Gifted I have to look out for as well as the other champions?¡± I said. ¡°What are my actual chances of winning this thing?¡± ¡°Poor,¡± Kelesa said with a vicious smile. ¡°There is a reason I am trying to switch up my method of selecting champions. Those I have chosen in the past have been over zealous in their bloodshed. When we first began this game, there were six gods, I being one of them. Two others revered chaos and three more who revered civilization stood in opposition to us. Over time, numbers of civilization-revering gods have increased dramatically but now, only fourteen gods are on the side of chaos.¡± She smiled and waited for my feedback. But I was still listening, so she continued, ¡°You see, the problem with chaos is we make individually powerful champions¡­ But, how shall I put it..? You really don¡¯t play nice with each other. I approve, of course. Who wants a champion who will bend the knee to the other? Still, the champions of the Gods of Civilization band together and will choose leaders from amongst themselves democratically,¡± Kelesa said, the last word escaping her mouth as if she¡¯d had to swallow a fat garden slug. ¡°You''re saying I have to worry about hundreds of champions ganging up and coming to kill me?¡± How badly have I screwed up by accepting this job? ¡°Not all will live long enough even to reach you. The world you are entering is dangerous, filled with monsters in scale and fur and some in human skin. There is war and famine, and many will not be able to adjust to it. Royal families will take from the chosen for breeding. ¡°A champion like you will produce powerfully Gifted children. But yes, you should know your enemies and prepare for them, grow in strength, and find artifacts, powerful servants, and allies. Above all, though, never hesitate to kill. Amongst the gods of chaos, I am one of the most hated because although I have only ever had one successful champion, every last one has left a deep and lasting mark. You will be considered one of the biggest targets.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not painting a very bright picture for me,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s not sounding very enticing.¡± ¡°Life is painted in shades of blood and shit,¡± Kelesa responded bluntly and without sympathy. ¡°So, I would make sure you are the one with the paintbrush in your hand.¡± Suddenly, I realized something, casting my gaze downwards. ¡°I¡¯m barely dressed.¡± I was still wearing a pair of gym shorts and a T-shirt. ¡°I get some starting equipment, right?¡± Kelesa reached into space. One of her arms seemed to disappear, and then suddenly produced a backpack which I recognized as the one I used for backpacking and hiking. She pulled out a drawer from my dresser and then another drawer, tossing them on the ground. I quickly put on black cargo pants, two pairs of socks, and running shoes. The shoes were ragged, and I looked at them disapprovingly. I had meant to get around to replacing them but had kept putting it off. ¡°What about weapons?¡± I asked, hoping she¡¯d toss me my Glock pistol. ¡°We are forbidden from letting champions bring any weapons from their worlds,¡± Kelesa told me, reading my mind. ¡°However, we can each create one artifact for our champion. I suggest you create a weapon to help you survive.¡± Maybe I could get a lightsaber or a mini railgun? Or maybe some armor, a suit like Iron Man¡¯s, or a breastplate that deflects attacks back at whoever hits it. ¡°The artifact must be within limits like your powers,¡± Kelesa said, glimpsing casually through my thoughts. Ok, so a magic tank is out of the question. Could I still get the lightsaber or some other weapon or piece of armor? No, every champion will probably pick something similar, which means I could just take it from them whenever we fight. In any case, there must have been so many champions in the past, so who knows how many artifacts are hidden away somewhere? Looking down at my shoes again, I came to a decision. These shoes probably wouldn¡¯t last a month of constant use and this world most likely didn¡¯t have nice concrete roads like my native world. I remembered hearing somewhere about people on those survivor shows in which they were forced to start with nothing. The one thing they all wished they had was a pair of modern shoes. I didn¡¯t know if that was true, but I wasn¡¯t looking forward to going anywhere without practical, contemporary footwear. Actually, let¡¯s raise the ante here. ¡°I want a pair of magic boots, something with a multiplier on my Speed attribute and the ability to teleport a few dozen feet,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re sure you don¡¯t want a weapon?¡± Kelesa asked, seeming disappointed. ¡°I¡¯m guessing most of the other chosen in the past have picked weapons, so they must be out there to find, so I should pick something that other people wouldn¡¯t have chosen.¡± Good reasoning, surely! ¡°Very well. It¡¯s your choice. Picture the item in your mind, and I shall try to create it as you imagine,¡± Kelesa instructed. I closed my eyes and imagined a pair of knee-high boots. There was a thought to fold the tops over to create a cuff I thought would look nice, like a swashbuckling swordsman¡¯s footwear. I pictured thick cord laces up the front, solid rubber soles with good grip, a steel protective toe, and a steel guard over the back of the heel. I kept the image in my head, focusing on the details as hard as I could. ¡°It is done,¡± Kelesa said. ¡°I have added some features of my own. I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡± I opened my eyes. There, right in front of me, was a pair of obsidian black boots resting on the ground. They appeared to be made from some reptile skin , similar to what Kelesa¡¯s armor was made from. It was a detail I hadn¡¯t imagined, but they looked all right. I reached out and grabbed them.
Boots of Midnight Wind (Artifact: Rank 5): Gives a +2 bonus to the wearer¡¯s Speed Attribute and gains an additional +1 bonus for every 10 ranks you have.
You can double your Speed Attribute for 10 minutes with a cooldown of 1 hour. Duration and cooldown period are reduced and increased by 5 minutes every 15 ranks. You have a max of 1-hour duration and a 5-minute cooldown.
Once per minute, at the cost of 15 Mana, you can teleport 30 feet to a place you can see. The range is increased by 5 feet, and the cooldown is reduced by 5 seconds and increased cost by 1 Mana to a minimum of 5 Mana.
Created by the Goddess Kelesa for her champion Mordred, these boots are made from the hide of a black dragon with a mithril alloy for the toe and heel guard. These boots are infused with the power of Kelesa¡¯s will and are indestructible except by another deity.
Weight: 4 lbs.
¡°Nice,¡± I said, ditching my running shoes and putting on the boots. They fit perfectly, and I almost felt as though I was walking on air. I could feel the increase in my speed and could only imagine the effect of my Speed Attribute being doubled. ¡°I have another question: how am I supposed to win? What¡¯s the goal?¡± ¡°You are racing to Godhood. You need to raise all your Attributes to 600,¡± she said with a viciously gleeful grin. ¡°I need to raise my abilities to Rank 600?¡± I asked disbelievingly. ¡°Rank 20 is the max level for abilities, apart from the divine ability that I gave you,¡± Kelesa said. ¡°You will need to unlock and earn more abilities to raise all your Attributes or spend rank points on your Attributes directly. Also, you will need to find items or pieces of monsters to absorb when you unlock new abilities. I provided the three for you today. ¡°Your Dominion ability is divine, and so it doesn¡¯t count, but for every ability, you need to absorb a treasure of some kind to fuel the changes made to your body. If you don¡¯t have one, then the System will pull the closest available rare material to you. This, however, will have a distinctly adverse effect on your physical prowess.¡± I had a myriad more questions but at that moment, could only summon one. ¡°What happens now?¡± ¡°Now, I send you out to kill and conquer,¡± Kelesa said with another shark smile. ¡°There is a place I know that should give you an excellent start¡­ If you can survive it.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound¡­¡± I began, but Kelesa pushed me backward, and I fell through a portal. She tossed my backpack and clothes after me, and the portal shut. ¡°Son of a¡­¡± I began, but the portal closed, and I could hear Kelesa¡¯s laughter no longer. *** Arthur took Viviane''s hand and she pulled him through the portal. They emerged on the shores of a beautiful lake, a ring of mountains surrounding them. The goddess looked at her champion, her golden hair flowing down her back. She was wrapped in a spotless white dress and wore a silver breastplate molded to her chest and showing her curves. Her wide eyes were pure blue, the naiad features of her original race evident. A singe rapier hung at her hip. ¡°Your ancestor served me well,¡± she said. ¡°Even though he did not win the game of the gods, he came very close. More importantly, he upheld my beliefs and vindicated my choice in choosing him as my champion.¡± ¡°You honor my ancestor,¡± Arthur said, bowing. ¡°He too was polite,¡± she said, smiling. ¡°I am glad to see his sword still serves his family well.¡± Arthur felt the weight of the heavy two-handed sword on his back. He had been given Excalibur by his father, King Arthur, when he had turned sixteen some two years ago. He still marveled at the wonder of the blade but turned his focus back to the goddess. ¡°He was my first champion, and very important to me,¡± Viviane said. ¡°When he died, I promised him I would pick one of his descendants as my champion. Some of my peers in the pantheon have called my oath reckless but seeing you now, I do not regret it.¡± ¡°I will not let you down,¡± Arthur promised. ¡°You are a native to our world and born with abilities, so I cannot grant you new ones beside my divine ability,¡± Viviane said. ¡°However, I can give you an artifact. Your family already has many lesser artifacts in their armory, but this one will be yours alone, tailored to your needs.¡± ¡°I want an amulet to reduce the effects of going beyond my abilities,¡± Arthur said. ¡°A wise choice,¡± Viviane agreed. ¡°You already know the divine ability and are preparing to fully utilize it. This is good, and you will need it. You will battle against dragons as did your ancestor. You will encounter monsters the size of castles, but you will find your greatest foes are the ones who walk on two legs.¡± Chapter 2: Mark of Cain ¡°¡­ bitch,¡± I said, looking up toward where the portal had been. I looked about the place into which I had been shoved. It was almost pitch black, but light emanated from somewhere, allowing me to see faint outlines. The air was damp and smelled of mildew and decay. Stone coffins filled the room. A dark tunnel revealed stairs leading downwards opposite a set of massive stone doors. ¡°Looks like a crypt,¡± I said and was instantly on alert. I had played enough games to know that crypts typically meant undead, and Kelesa had implied that wherever I was going was dangerous. First things first: what do I have? Answer: only my hiking backpack and a pile of clothes. What did I have in my backpack? I opened it up and looked inside. It contained a first aid kit, a small camping coffee pot, a bag of beef jerky, an empty canteen, a roll of paracord, a box of strike-anywhere matches, a pocketknife, a compass, and a sketchbook with a case filled with pencils. In addition, a sleeping bag and a small cast-iron frying pan were tied to the top of the backpack. Apparently, the pocketknife didn¡¯t qualify as a weapon. Fair enough. I¡¯ll be better off punching things than trying to use it to stab something. It could have been much worse, but I was still pretty defenseless. The only offensive ability I had was my Telekinesis. I rolled up my clothes to take up less space as I stored them in my backpack, stuffing it to the brim. First, I need to find a weapon. Come on, this is just your tutorial. You¡¯ve played enough games to figure this out. Was there anything around that could be considered a weapon? There was nothing obvious. Then, I looked at the coffins and realized what I had to do. Straining, I pushed as the stone lid slowly ground back before toppling and cracking on the floor. No skeletons or zombies rushed out to kill me, although I did find an inanimate skeleton inside the coffin but nothing of genuine interest. There were some rings on its bony fingers, and I slipped them off. They appeared to be made of gold and silver. I might be able to sell them if ever I found a settlement. There were some valuables inside the next coffin: rings, bracelets, necklaces, a small jade statue, and even a small pouch of coins. On the sixth coffin, something interesting finally turned up. The occupant had been a warrior and buried with all his armor. Unfortunately, the armor was rusted to shit. One gauntlet was rust-free, and I picked it up.
Gauntlet of the Soldier (Right hand). Type: Armor. Rarity: Uncommon. Increases damage with one-handed weapons by a minor amount. When paired with another gauntlet of the same type on the opposite hand, it will increase damage with two-handed weapons by a moderate amount. Durability: 9/10.
Made from common steel and empowered by a novice enchanter.
Great! The first magical item, and it only reinforces that I don¡¯t have a weapon! So frustrating! Hmm, was my decision to not start with a weapon as my artifact not as clever as I¡¯d thought? I dismissed my doubts. There was no point worrying about it now, stuck with what I had. Grabbing the skeletal arm, I yanked off the gauntlet. After shaking out the last finger bones from the glove and all the corpse dust, I tried it on. I now had a piece of armor that covered my hand and wrist, something to amplify my damage if I could find something to use as a weapon. So, I continued to open coffins, wincing with each crash. There was an abundance of loot, just none of it very useful to me. My backpack was getting heavy from the weight of all the jewelry too, but I was still decidedly unarmed. Finally, another body turned up, the corpse of someone who had been a warrior, the armor once again all rusty apart from the shin guards. They weren¡¯t magical but had stood up better to the ravages of time. My artifact boots were indestructible and already covered my shins, so this was another bust. A rusty warhammer rested alongside the skeleton. As I held it, the system automatically identified it for me.
Raven¡¯s Beak. Type: One-handed weapon. Rarity: Common. A non-magical one-handed weapon, excellent at piercing armor. Durability: 6/10. Additional effect: inflicts tetanus. Any creature hit with this weapon that fails a toughness check will be infected with tetanus, suffering poison damage until they die or receive treatment or healing.
Whatever system the gods had created had let me identify the weapon but for some reason, not the leg armor. The reason why was unclear, and it probably didn¡¯t matter. I gave it a few test swings, familiar with hammers thanks to my work in construction, and it felt comfortable in my hand. Tucking the hammer in my belt, I continued to open the coffins. All I found, however, was some more jewelry and two rusty daggers in even worse condition than the warhammer. And soon, all the coffins were empty. I looked around. It was now time to explore the tunnel or what lay beyond the set of stone doors. Looking down the tunnel, I had to decide against it, unable to see in the dark and lacking any way of producing light. Also, if there were any undead here, they would almost certainly be loitering down there. I had no interest in fighting the undead in the dark. That left the door¡­ It didn¡¯t budge an inch when pushed against, despite straining with all my might; still, the mighty door refused to shift. I kept at it for half an hour and eventually stopped to rest, leaning back against the door to keep an eye on the tunnel. ¡°So, I have to get through that tunnel, somehow,¡± I told myself, just to hear a human voice and break the oppressive silence. My eyes closed as I took a quick nap, a tremor reverberating through the door. I sat up, adrenaline jerking me to full wakefulness. The tremor came again, my eyes fixated on the door, watching as it trembled. While trying to get out of here, I hadn¡¯t considered that something or someone else might try to get in. ¡°Maybe they¡¯re friendly,¡± I said to myself. If you can survive, Kelesa had said. ¡°Probably not.¡± Sighing, I pulled out my warhammer. Crack! The sound echoed through the tomb, the stone beginning to shake particles of loose dust as the door trembled. Crack! The stone started to spiderweb. Crack! A wide hole opened, but there was no visibility as a cloud of dust filled the air. Coughing sounded from the other side, making me duck low behind a coffin in case they decided to shoot in blindly. The dust cleared and a huge man stepped into the room, carrying a massive maul with a wooden head bound in iron bands, a metal pole at the base. About a dozen other people followed him in and stared around the crypt. ¡°Someone already looted it,¡± a male voice complained. ¡°Impossible. You all saw it was sealed,¡± a woman said. ¡°Quiet, all of you!¡± the man with the maul commanded, his voice deep and gravelly. ¡°We don¡¯t know what¡¯s in here.¡± Risking another glimpse, I studied their leader.
Quin Varis. Gifted Human/Humanoid. Mortal. Rank: 4.
The text appeared as I studied him. So, he¡¯s a Gifted. What exactly does Rank 4 mean?
The number at the end of a Gifted¡¯s description indicates their accumulated ranks in various abilities. A single question mark at the end of a creature¡¯s name or species indicates a Mortal-ranked Gifted with ranks below double digits. ?? indicates a Gifted with at least 10 or more rank points. You can see the number of rank points of any Gifted with fewer rank points than yourself. It will be harder to determine the rank of those higher than yourself without a higher Perception Attribute than the opposing creature¡¯s Spirit Attribute.
We¡¯re roughly on the same level then, but there¡¯s no telling how experienced he is. Maybe it¡¯s possible to talk my way out of this. I slowly stood up, setting my warhammer where I could quickly grab it, and raised my hands placatingly. ¡°Hello there,¡± I said, trying to sound friendly. ¡°An undead!¡± a man screamed as they loosed an arrow at me. I didn¡¯t even flinch; my foresight told me the arrow wouldn¡¯t come close. The bow appeared so crude, as if someone had just chopped down a tree, stripped the branches, and added a string. Now that I looked, most of the weapons were crude, apart from the leader¡¯s maul. They had sharpened sticks in place of spears, and absurdly basic bows with hides draped over them in place of any armor. Quin looked me over and smiled. ¡°A bounty hunter! Looks like I¡¯ll earn myself some new rank points really quick!¡± There goes diplomacy! I watched as Quin tensed. I grabbed my warhammer just before teleporting in the instant Quin pounced on me. The maul obliterated the coffin by which I¡¯d been standing. I appeared in the doorway, and one of the men stabbed me with a wooden spear. My reflexes kicked in before I could think, my warhammer caving in his skull. It was a strange sensation; having always believed I¡¯d feel something when killing a person¡ªhorror or shock at least¡ªit was perturbing to grasp only a mixture of fear and something hot in my chest.
Quest updated. Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 5 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 1/5. Every time you complete this quest, you will gain 1 rank point. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
My head shook in irritation as the text blocked my vision. ¡°Turn off quest notifications during combat,¡± I ordered, and the text disappeared. Quin turned and saw the corpse by my feet, his face twisted with anger. ¡°Armor of the Earth!¡± he commanded, and stone flowed up his legs, forming plate armor over them as well as his torso, arms, and head. He charged me while I still had thirteen seconds left before being able to teleport again. Activating the speed increase on my boots, my entire body vibrated. Quin¡¯s maul swung horizontally, the weapon creating a breeze with the force at which it moved through the air as it passed above my head. I¡¯d somehow matrix-dodged it. So, I have speed and reactions on my side, whilst he has durability and power on his. I leaped to the side, foreseeing an arrow going through my chest. And he has other people on his side. Feet pounding on the rocky ground, I was upon the archer who shot at me in a second, my arm lashing out, caving in his skull, the warhammer splattering blood and brain matter everywhere, red and purple, green in places, hideous to see. Standing outside the crypt now, my eyes cast around to see another two-dozen people, all brandishing crude weapons and wearing rags. ¡°Fight me, you bastard!¡± Quin shouted, chasing after me. There surely must be a time limit on that armor, I thought, hurtling headlong at a group of three spearmen, finding myself intercepted by Quin and striking the ground before him, sending up a cloud of stone shrapnel. Next, I dove behind a tree, stones cutting through my shirt, digging into my skin. He still has ways to hit me, even without the speed to catch me. As the thought hit me, a burst of inspiration came, a counter too. With a mental maneuver, I teleported into the middle of the grave robbers and hit a spearman in the back of the head, spinning and hitting a woman¡¯s chest. Quin roared and rushed to them but couldn¡¯t use his shrapnel trick without hitting his people. ¡°Duck!¡± Quin yelled, and everyone around me fell. He can¡¯t be trying it again¡­ He did not try it again, and instead, threw his maul. It spun horizontally, metal shaft and wooden head twisting through the air. My eyes gaped wide with shock as the maul spun toward me like a death frisbee. My foresight told me I couldn¡¯t move out of the way fast enough, so I dropped too. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. A spearman lunged at me with a dagger as the maul passed us overhead. I blocked it with my gauntlet, but my balance was off, and another man grabbed my warhammer which I struggled to pull free. Quin was getting closer. Abandoning my warhammer, I rolled out of reach of the hands that had tried to grab me and sprang to my feet, tugging one of the looted daggers out of my boot and the other out of my belt, holding them in both hands. I stuck close to Quin now, ducking his attacks and trying to stab through a joint in his armor. None of my attacks penetrated his defense. The stone armor gaps seemed designed to prevent such attacks. Arrows flew in our direction. It seemed the bowmen were not concerned about hitting Quin due to his impenetrable armor. Those arrows, however crude, would still be nasty for me to get hit with since my armor consisted of a cotton T-shirt and cargo pants. My teleport came off cooldown, and I transported myself next to two archers, stabbing them in the back with my daggers. Wow, did that feel good! Success per se felt good¡ªuntil my targets dropped, and I couldn¡¯t pull my daggers free, the shoddy blades caught in the ribs of my foe. ¡°Fuck!¡± I ran, Quin quickly closing the gap between us again. I was all out of weapons now. ¡°Come on! you know karate. Time to put it to use!¡± I said aloud, trying to psych myself up. Yeah, you took karate¡­ five years ago, and it¡¯s going to do jack shit now, another part of me retorted, but I did my best to ignore it.
1 rank point gained.
Someone had bled out, and I¡¯d gained a rank point, but I¡¯d need one more to upgrade any of my skills. I turned to the few dozen people forming a line and charged them. I didn¡¯t have a weapon but moved as fast as a train. They tried to form a wall of pikes. I went low and flew across the ground, my momentum carrying me into the middle of them. Finding my feet again, I leaped up, and hit a man in the throat. His neck broke with an audible crack, and my knuckles echoed the sound with the force of the attack. I maintained my speed, ignoring the brutal hand pain, spinning into a circle-kick whereupon the armored part of my foot collided with a woman¡¯s temple, caving in three inches of her skull. I kept punching and kicking, losing track of how many times I had to punch with my bare hands before they died. My knuckles were bleeding and broken, and there was a pain in my thigh from where one of the wooden spears had struck me. Suddenly, I turned as my foresight gave me a warning and ducked Quin¡¯s attack. My killing spree felt as though it had taken minutes but likely had been less than a dozen seconds. I rolled and grabbed a wooden spear, ramming it into the gut of a man already prostrate on the ground. I ripped it out and stabbed down again a dozen times before the wooden spear broke off inside the corpse.
2 rank points gained.
Ducking under Quin¡¯s next strike, my body screamed for me to stop and rest. I noticed a green bar at the bottom of my vision which I guessed indicated Stamina, flashing as it approached empty. I spun under the next attack, running back into the crypt. ¡°I hope I get your teleport ability when I kill you,¡± Quin taunted as he followed, but he had lost sight of me when I¡¯d entered the crypt. He thinks my teleportation is an ability! I had not used my only combat ability yet. Crouching behind a coffin, I hid from his line of sight. ¡°Assign two rank points to Telekinesis,¡± I whispered. There was a burning feeling around me, like standing beside a warm fire as my ability ranked up.
Telekinesis (Rank 2): You can, at will, lift 2 objects or creatures weighing 50 pounds or less and move them within 70 feet of your body; or up to 6 objects or creatures weighing 15 pounds or less and move them within 50 feet of your body. The speed and power of objects are based on your Spirit Attribute.
Cost: 1 Mana per 10 small objects/sec; or 1 Mana per large object/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of items, their weight, and the range at which you can move them. Every upgrade of this ability increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
Quin stomped into the crypt. ¡°All of you, stay out. This kill is mine!¡± he ordered as he angrily searched for me. I lifted six rocks into the air and hurled them at Quin¡¯s head with as much force as my ability would allow, feeling no remorse as Quin staggered, my hurled rocks thrown with the force of a major league pitcher, hitting his head in rapid succession. He charged into the crypt, smashing coffins as he went, destroying any cover I could use. He found me and raised his maul high, clearly with the intention of bringing it down and turning me into paste. I raised two huge chunks of rock and hit Quin in the back of his knees. He staggered but remained on his feet, then grabbed a chunk of stone and tossed it at me. I ducked, and the stone shattered behind me, the fragments striking me in the back. I began lifting rocks with the power of my Telekinesis, again hurling them at Quin as fast as I could, dodging and rolling out of the way as he relentlessly pursued me. Quin¡¯s armor began to crack, but I could feel myself tiring; my Endurance wasn¡¯t high enough to support my Speed. I hit Quin in the back of the knee with a rock the size of his head, his armor shattering. I hit the same spot again with three smaller rocks the size of apples, hearing the bone crack. Quin fell to his knees but didn¡¯t stop using his maul like a crutch as he hounded me. Fuck this! I lifted two massive rocks and dropped them on Quin¡¯s head. He staggered from the sudden heavy impacts. So, that encouraged me to raise two more and drop them again. His helmet shattered, the blow sending Quin collapsing to the ground. I gasped for breath as I continued the fight, no Mana left, but there was still Stamina. I lifted a rock with my hands and staggered toward him to stand over Quin, the hot feeling in my chest rising. This time, I raised the stone above my head and brought it down with all my strength. There was a sickening crunch as blood splattered the ground, rubble all around us.
2 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 1/20. Every time you complete this quest, you will gain 4 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
A stone the size of my thumb floated up from the ground before me, dissolving into mist and flowing up my nose. It felt weird as if I should sneeze, but I couldn¡¯t.
Congratulations! Ability gained. Compress Earth (Rank 1): You can fuse dirt and stone together into a more durable, heavier material that can be shaped. You can currently fuse a 1-foot-square section of earth and common stone. Your compressed stone has a Hardness rating of 4; your compressed earth has a Hardness rating of 2. The precision of detail with which you can sculpt is based on your Mind Attribute.
Cost: 1 Mana per 1-foot square.
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount you can compress, its durability, weight, and the materials upon which you can use it. Each upgrade increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
When I dismissed the notification, another one popped up.
You have absorbed an uncut Greater Diamond which has bonded to your Mind Attribute and will fuel and guide your soul¡¯s mutation when you pass the Mortal limit for your Mind Attribute.
I probably should have absorbed something better based on what Kelesa had told me, but I had no time to prepare for this. I dismissed the notification, and another one popped up.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Kill your first Gifted with an improvised weapon made of stone.
Reward. Title: Mark of Cain.
*Mark of Cain: Your damage dealt with stone weapons is increased by 1 stage.
I dismissed the notification, wondering just how many had piled up while I had been fighting.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Kill at least 5 humanoids with no weapons.
Reward. Title: Bloody Pugilist.
*Bloody Pugilist: Damage dealt directly with parts of your body, such as hands and feet are increased by 1 stage.
I dismissed these new titles, not even sure what they were or even what they did, and no new notifications popped up. Why didn¡¯t it give me his armor ability? Also, is that how difficult it is to fight someone only two ranks higher? I thought through my following actions as I panted, recovering from the battle. Ok, I have one rank point. Where should I put it? ¡°What are my current Attributes?¡± I asked the System.
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa. Gifted¡ªHumanoid/Human. Mortal. Rank: 50.
Available rank points: 6.
Might: 12 Mind: 9
Speed: 12 (+2) =14 Perception: 8
Toughness: 11 Spirit: 15
Endurance: 10 Power: 10
Maximum Stamina: 56 Maximum Mana: 51
Stamina Regen: 11.2 per second Mana Regen: 11.4 per second
Abilities:
Dominion (Rank 1), Telekinesis (Rank 2), Heightened Speed (Rank 1), Foresight (Rank 1), Compress Earth (Rank 1).
Blessings:
Blessing of War (Mortal).
Titles:
Mark of Cain, Bloody Pugilist
¡°Ok, I have excellent Speed and Spirit, but my Perception and Mind are low. I could increase my Perception but won¡¯t benefit from its increase until it hits fourteen,¡± I said, reasoning aloud. ¡°I could increase my Endurance to let me use Heightened Speed longer, but no ability I have will increase my Endurance. Two of my abilities benefit from Spirit. ¡°Telekinesis was the only power that let me win that last fight. But I¡¯m one point short of being able to rank it up.¡± A sound emanated from outside; the others were still alive! I looked around for weapons to use, having lost all mine in the battle. I lifted Quin¡¯s maul and five rocks with my Telekinesis. As I slowly exited the crypt, the speed boost from my boots had ended, and it felt like the biggest sugar crash I¡¯d ever had. There were ten surviving brigands left, two women and five men. They had three bows drawn on me and a small phalanx of spears. They looked at me with terror when they saw Quin¡¯s maul. The three archers launched their arrows. Three of the rocks dropped from my hands, instead reaching to grab the arrows midair, deftly turning their points toward the grave robbers. ¡°We surrender!¡± one of the women shouted, dropping her bow and raising her hands. The others glared at her and didn¡¯t drop their weapons. ¡°There¡¯s more of us than there are of him,¡± said a man with a spear. ¡°He killed Quin,¡± another man reminded him. ¡°You really think you can beat him?¡± ¡°I only really need five of you,¡± I said. ¡°You have five seconds to drop your weapons.¡± ¡°Fuck this!¡± one of the men said and charged me. Quin¡¯s maul spun and splattered the man¡¯s brains across the ground. Another threw his spear, and three arrows shot forward, taking him in the throat and neck. Another turned to run, so I struck him in the back, grinning as he collapsed.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 4/20. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
The seven remaining dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrender. ¡°Dominion,¡± I said. The seven brigands cried out in pain. In agony, they reached for their necks where marks had suddenly appeared around the base of each, white and like brands. They revealed the pattern of a chain.
Quest updated. Whip and Chains: 1 rank point added.
Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 5 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current progress: 2/10. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
¡°You will serve me now,¡± I said. ¡°Prepare a camp and fire.¡± The survivors turned and ran into the forest. Will they run off, I wondered? I wasn¡¯t exactly sure how this ability worked. Ten minutes later, they reappeared, shaking and sweaty. Some carried packs while others lugged firewood. They began to set up camp, pitching tents. I was thirsty and hungry. I looked around and saw gravestones all over the crypt, the only building in the clearing. A few trees and bushes grew among the graves, and it was clear this land had been abandoned long ago, the names on the gravestones not even legible anymore. Wandering into the forest, I discovered a stream and bent down, cupping water and drinking, I felt some strength return, briefly wondering about sickness from the water, but I didn¡¯t have time for concerns like that with monsters and people with superpowers walking around. If I got sick, I¡¯d deal with it as it came along. I returned to the crypt, found my backpack buried among the rubble and pulled it out. Taking out the bag of jerky, I ate a bit before returning it to my pack. Returning to sit in the light of the setting sun, I fixed on watching my captives, subjects and vassals, still unsure what to call them yet. They set up camp with ragged tents and a rough campfire, with stones around fallen and broken branches and chunks of wood. They lit the fire and huddled around it, the ominous shadows of the night already darkening the clearing. I got up and walked over to the fire, my vassals eyeing me the way you would a grizzly bear, making no sound or sudden movements as I sat on a large stone across from them. ¡°Who are you people?¡± I asked. They were silent for a while, and I watched as the brand along their necks began to glow, and they twisted in discomfort. ¡°We¡¯re bandits!¡± one of the two remaining women finally exclaimed. I reasoned that the brand must cause them more and more pain the longer they disobeyed or didn¡¯t try hard to comply with my orders. ¡°If you are bandits, you are not very good ones! Quin was the only one among you with any real weapons,¡± I said. ¡°Quin sprang most of us from prison,¡± said another woman. ¡°He killed a noble in his sleep to steal his abilities, then used his powers to overwhelm the guards and break us out. We fled into the woods and have been hiding out here for about a week. We found this crypt and were going to search it for treasure.¡± ¡°What do you want from us?¡± one of the men asked. ¡°Are you a bounty hunter?¡± I considered how much to tell them. I don¡¯t think they could betray me even if they wanted to. ¡°I am Mordred, champion of Kelesa,¡± I announced. When I said the goddess¡¯ name, the bandits shuddered and made some ward against evil. I laughed inwardly. ¡°I want you to do as I command. As long as you follow my orders without complaint and without trying to escape or twist my words, I will protect you.¡± ¡°Yes, Warlord,¡± they mumbled, bowing their heads. *** Guinevere rode at the column of a head of horses. Almost ten score knights rode behind her, all of them Knights of Camelot. She let out a sigh. This was overkill, even thirty royal Camelot Knights being enough to turn most armies, but the King had insisted she bring them with her. He wanted to protect the alliance that her marriage to Arthur would bring between their two houses. Her father, Merlin, hadn¡¯t wanted her to marry Arthur, but she had gone with it nonetheless, to keep stability in their kingdom. ¡°Guinevere,¡± one of her knights said, riding up to her. ¡°You will address the Duchess Guinevere by her title or as Lady Guinevere, or you will not address her at all,¡± Lady Kira said beside her. Lady Kira was a healer. Guinevere¡¯s father had assembled an entourage for her and insisted she take them. More coddling she didn¡¯t need or appreciate. ¡°I¡¯ve known Sir Kallin my entire life,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°He has every right and my permission to address me by my first name.¡± ¡°But propriety¡­¡± Lady Kira said. ¡°We are on the border of the Cursed Forest,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°There isn¡¯t a town within a day¡¯s hard ride of where we are. These are the lands of barbarians, so if we can¡¯t have a little impropriety here, then where can we have it?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been following your lead,¡± Sir Kallin said. ¡°But we¡¯ve been getting closer and closer to the Cursed Forest. Shouldn¡¯t we be heading north to the Old Road?¡± ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Going around the Cursed Forest adds another month to the journey. There isn¡¯t a man here below Rank Fifty. We¡¯ll ride straight through.¡± ¡°The horses won¡¯t like that,¡± Sir Kallin said. ¡°What¡¯s the point in having Gifted horses if we aren¡¯t going to use them?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°We waste valuable monsters on getting them abilities; the least they can do is ride through a damn forest once in a while!¡± ¡°Lady Guinevere!¡± chided Kira, shocked. ¡°My apologies,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°It¡¯s been a long day. We¡¯ll camp here tonight before heading into the forest tomorrow.¡± ¡°What if monsters attack?¡± Sir Kallin asked. ¡°I hope they do,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°We could all use a bit of exercise and a new ability or two.¡± ¡°There are worse things than monsters in those woods,¡± Kira said. ¡°What if a myrmidon raiding party decides you¡¯d be a good wife for one of their warriors, or the hell dragon flies out of the forest¡­ or worse, a chaos spawn uses us as rank fodder? What then?¡± Guinevere rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re being melodramatic! The hell dragon has never flown out of the Cursed Forest, and he wouldn¡¯t be stupid enough to attack an army of Camelot knights. And as for a chaos spawn¡­ Really? None of the Chaos gods would be foolish enough to set one of their champions this close to Camelot and Lunara; they know it would be suicide for them as soon as we found out about them.¡± Chapter 3: Ghoul Rot Three champions stepped through portals into the capital of Lunara. One was a tall man with broad shoulders, a fur cloak wrapped around his shoulders, and he also wore leather pants and boots, but no shirt. He wielded a pair of gauntleted bracers etched with green florescent runes, a pair of four-inch claws protruding from the gauntlets¡¯ knuckles. Then there was also a woman with auburn hair and feathered wings the same color as the hair growing from her lower back. She was lean, wore fur and leather armor, and carried a bow made of ivory with silver etching and blue, glowing runes. She stepped forward, looking around wearily. The third figure was another man, almost as tall as the first but built like a rapier instead of a bear. He carried a spear longer than he was tall, a nimbus of golden light surrounding its shaft and head, and he wore a mixture of chain and plate armor. They had appeared in a temple, and people stopped and looked at them in shock and fear. The spear-wielding man stepped forward, raising a hand to calm the crowd. ¡°Do not be afraid, people! I am Torvin, Champion of Galdren, God of the Charge & Chivalry.¡± The man in a fur cloak and wearing the clawed gauntlets stepped forward. ¡°I am Jamis, Champion of Artrix, God of Barbarians and Bears.¡± The woman stepped forward and gave the nod to the two men. ¡°I am Mira, Champion of Jastrin, God of Archery and Hawks.¡± An elven woman with long silver hair braided down her back and wearing the garb of a priestess stepped forward. ¡°We welcome the Allies of Order to the Temple of Luren.¡± Torvin turned to the other two champions. ¡°My patron told me to find other champions to ally myself with and form a party.¡± ¡°Artrix told me the same,¡± Jamis said. ¡°We should compare our abilities later and see how we can best fight alongside each other.¡± ¡°There are two other champions here in the city,¡± the High Priestess said. ¡°They were chosen from the people of this world and were told to come here and wait for their companions. We have been expecting you for some time now.¡± ¡°Then we should meet our new companions,¡± Mira said, slinging her bow across her back. ¡°I look forward to hunting down the Champions of Chaos with them.¡± *** The bandits went to sleep in their tents, several lying empty as they had belonged to their now-deceased companions, leaving us with plenty of room. I took one of them, the largest, and I assumed it had belonged to Quin. I rolled out my sleeping bag and sat down. After collecting my daggers and warhammer, I had the bodies of Quin and the bandits dumped in the forest. My arsenal now included Quin¡¯s maul, but other than that, the entire camp was barely armed. I lay down but could not find sleep. I grabbed a rock and held it in my hand. ¡°Compress Earth,¡± I said. I watched as the rock, the size of a grapefruit, shrank to the size of a grape, its color darkening until it was almost obsidian. I tried to mold it and created a shape resembling an icicle, stabbing its point into another rock. They smashed together, but the tip of the stone only dulled slightly instead of breaking like an ordinary rock would have. I molded the rock again, giving it edges which were jagged but now resembled a spearhead instead of a tiny stalagmite. The Mark of Cain status struck me as ominous and weirdly connected to Christianity, which I was pretty sure wasn¡¯t a thing in this world. Nevertheless, it enabled me to increase my damage with weapons made of stone by one stage. I didn¡¯t know what a damage stage even was, but more damage was always good. I wasn¡¯t sure if I¡¯d get much use out of Bloody Pugilist, even with it increasing my damage; using fists instead of weapons didn¡¯t make much sense. I kept working on my stone spearheads, thinning the edges, adding more and more stone to strengthen the point of the spearhead to cut and puncture without breaking or shattering. They each weighed around seven pounds, their surfaces glossy smooth, making them look like blades fashioned in glass. Grabbing all the rocks I could find in the firelight around the camp, I began turning them into stone spearheads. Having eventually made about a dozen, I finally felt tired enough, so I slipped into my sleeping bag and fell asleep. *** A scream ripped through the air, jolting me awake. I rolled out of my sleeping bag and grabbed my warhammer and a handful of stone spearheads, then stepped out of my tent to see a humanoid bending over one of my vassals, ripping into his neck with its teeth. It looked up when I stepped out of my tent, revealing its luminescent, milky white eyes. I hit the zombie over the head with my warhammer, pounding its skull into the dirt. Eleven more stumbled into camp, and I launched the stone spears at them. They took them all through the face and collapsed. I waited, but no more undead appeared.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 16/20. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
The notification appeared, and I waved it away. Looking at the now extra-dead undead, I realized they were some of the bandits I had killed yesterday. I looked around for the others I had killed, but nothing happened; these were the ones that didn¡¯t have their skulls caved in. I wondered if I could use this to farm my Blood and Souls quest. I could kill creatures, making sure to leave the skull intact, then wait for them to return as undead¡­ then kill them again! A groan sounded behind me, and the man on whom the zombie had been feeding began pushing himself to his feet. I smashed his skull in and looked around.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 17/20. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I turned to the four vassals looking at the pile of corpses, their eyes wide with fear. ¡°One of you must always be on watch while we sleep. Wake me up if anything else comes by. Oh, and do get rid of these corpses. I can¡¯t stand to look at them.¡± I went back to bed, not feeling too bad about not participating in taking watch. After all, I was the one who would do all the killing, so I needed to be at my best. *** I woke up when sunlight began poking at my eyes. I groaned and wandered into the forest to take care of my business, splashing water on my face from the creek and filling my canteen. I returned to the camp and saw the four remaining survivors; they looked thin, weak, and scared. Pulling out the sketchbook from my backpack, I sat down, looking them over and surveying them. My Dominion ability had been activated, and I could analyze them, writing down the essential details.
Maria Cartwright (Vassal). Status: Pregnant.
Mind: 7
Might: 8
Speed: 10
Toughness: 10
Endurance: 11
Perception: 12
Spirit: 8
Abilities: n/a
She had a higher Perception than me but nothing special in her other Attributes. She was pregnant, but that was an issue for another day. I looked at the other woman and analyzed her.
Carla Baker (Vassal). Status: Pregnant.
Mind: 8
Might: 7
Speed: 11
Toughness: 9
Endurance: 10
Perception: 10
Spirit: 9
Abilities: n/a
Again, nothing special. The biggest man in the group had a bushy, black beard. I unconsciously rubbed my chin and the stubble there, realizing I didn¡¯t have a razor. I examined the man.
Fentren Smith (Vassal).
Mind: 8
Might: 14
Speed: 10
Toughness: 12
Endurance: 12
Perception: 8
Spirit: 9
Abilities: n/a
Better stats overall; excellent Might, and better Toughness and Endurance than I had. He could be a decent fighter if given better equipment. I examined the last man. He was built like a fencepole, but there was some strength in his lanky arms. I got tired of writing down their powerless stats. These were just people who had been useless against me, and I had shown up to this world a few hours before and hadn¡¯t been wearing any armor. Maybe they would have other uses. ¡°What are your abilities?¡± I asked them. ¡°We don¡¯t have any abilities, my lord,¡± Carla answered. ¡°Ok, let me rephrase that,¡± I said. ¡°What skills do you have, you know, professionally. Can you cook, sew, hunt¡­ those kinds of things?¡± ¡°I can hunt,¡± said Jand. ¡°I was caught poaching deer. I can gut, clean, dress my kills and work with hide.¡± ¡°I can cook, clean, and sew,¡± Carla said. ¡°I used to work for a nobleman¡¯s wife. She accused me of stealing her jewelry and had me thrown in prison.¡± I wrote down her skills, but didn¡¯t care why she¡¯d become an outlaw. ¡°I worked in a tavern,¡± Maria said. She chose not to reveal why she had been arrested. ¡°I was a smith,¡± said Fentren Smith. ¡°A horse I shod threw its rider and broke their neck, and I ended up taking the blame for it.¡± I wrote down their skills, then, collected their spears and used my ability to fuse some stone spearheads, making lighter versions for them. These, I attached to the wooden shafts by letting the stone flow up and then tighten around it. ¡°Your tasks today are these,¡± I said. ¡°Jand, I want you to take someone with you and hunt and bring back food. Carla, you¡¯re on cooking. Maria, forage for berries and other stuff we can eat. Fentren, you take someone, stand guard, and work on getting rid of the bodies. Take them farther into the forest or something. I¡¯m going to explore the crypt more. If you get attacked, hide in there.¡± I left them to their tasks, gearing up with my two rusty daggers, warhammer and maul. I emptied my backpack of clothes and left behind my skillet and coffee pot, then ventured into the forest, found some stout sticks, took clothes from the dead bodies, and made torches out of them. Lighting the fabric took some effort, but eventually, I had a usable torch. Descending into the crypt, it was not necessary to go that far down the tunnel before I came to a stone door. I pushed at it, expecting it to be impassible like the last time, but this one slowly shifted and opened, allowing me to look out over a large burial chamber. There was no light except for that from my torch. A gaunt figure stepped into the torchlight. I was looking at the undead, its eyes a luminescent, milky white, but its movements were faster, and it seemed more intelligent than the unthinking undead from last night. I readied my warhammer, holding the maul with my Telekinesis. The ghoul charged me, and a dozen more emerged out of the darkness. My swing with the maul was a sweeping blow instantly whisking three ghouls off their feet, their bones snapping with the force of the impact. After this, I retreated slowly while my body blurred, ducking and dodging with my warhammer, lashing out to snap bones and crush a skull here and there; the maul was swinging like a power hammer, crushing ghouls into piles of bones and paste. Only blows to the head were final; anything less and they returned to their feet. The wounds did affect them. They were slower with crushed ribs and often, they only had one usable arm after I¡¯d snapped some bones. My speed kept me alive. The ghouls were way more threatening than the bandits, their mindless aggression somehow a more effective tactic than careful coordination. It was probably because they didn¡¯t care whether they died or were injured. I was at the door when finally, the last remaining ghoul was dead. I panted with exertion even though I hadn¡¯t activated my boots. My heart, racing with effort, skipped several beats.
Quest updated. Blood and Souls: 4 rank points added.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 40 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 7/40. When you complete this quest, you will gain 8 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I now had two rank points to use, considering saving them but decided against it. The fights were brutal, and I should ensure I could survive the present before worrying about the future. ¡°Increase Telekinesis by one rank,¡± I said with five available rank points to use.
Telekinesis (Rank 3): You can, at will, lift 3 objects or creatures weighing 90 pounds or less and move them within 190 feet of your body; or up to 12 objects or creatures weighing 25 pounds or less and move them within 90 feet of your body. The speed and power of objects are based on your Spirit Attribute.
Cost: 1 Mana per 10 small objects/sec; or 1 Mana per large object/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of items, their weight, and the range at which you can move them. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Every upgrade of this ability increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
I could raise my other abilities, but would need two more rank points before it could be Telekinesis again. There came a stirring from deeper in the cavern and I steadied my breathing. It might be possible, soon enough, to earn sufficient points to upgrade my skills. I threw my torch forward and watched three dozen ghouls emerge from side passages in what I now realized were catacombs. No way could I fight them all on my own, but I refused to run. So, I raised my left hand, focusing on ten of the ghouls. ¡°Dominion,¡± I said.
Quest updated. Whip and Chains: 2 rank points added.
Ten of the ghouls stopped their charge and stiffened. I felt them try to resist the ability, but my Spirit crushed down on them. The other ghouls, oblivious to my actions, rushed past the ten over which I¡¯d taken control. Readying myself for the fight, I was rolling my shoulders and adjusting the grip on my weapons before leaping over a stone sarcophagus, placing it between us, then smashing down with my warhammer into the skull of the ghoul on my heels. The ten taken over rushed in, setting upon the others from behind. They turned, surprised. I took advantage of their shock, stepping into their midst, cracking and caving in skulls, my arm aching as I refused to let it rest.
Quest updated. Blood and Souls: 8 rank points added.
I kept fighting, even as the notification appeared. More ghouls appeared. They saw the ones controlled by me fighting the others, but without being able to tell who was on whose side, they just sat on each other and at the height of their fecklessness, even tried to sit on me! The lack of the ghouls¡¯ ability to communicate with each other imbued the battle with an element of chaos. I smashed in skulls, but one ghoul bit down on my leg, the thickness of my boot preventing its evil gnashing teeth from penetrating my skin. This encounter, however, delayed me sufficiently to enable another to approach and latch onto my arm. Alongside the strikes from my warhammer, my stone spearheads were sent on their lethal mission. With pinpoint accuracy, they pierced through rotten flesh and bone. Finally, the battle ended. All the ghouls on which I had used Dominion had died in the fight. I would only be able to use that particular ability on another five creatures today.
Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 20 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current progress: 2/20. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I dismissed the quest notification, and my other quest update notification appeared.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 80 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 13/80. When you complete this quest, you will gain 16 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I panted and moved back up the tunnel, then sat down. By now, my nose had become insensitive to the smell of gore and rot. I had twelve rank points to spend, and needed to upgrade my abilities if I wanted to live. I could upgrade Telekinesis twice, but it would cost me nine of my twelve rank points. ¡°Screw it,¡± I grunted. ¡°Raise Telekinesis by two ranks,¡± I told the System. There was a burning sensation all around as my ability increased alongside my Spirit Attribute.
Telekinesis (Rank 4): You can, at will, lift 4 objects or creatures weighing 150 pounds or less and move them within 110 feet of your body; or up to 24 objects or creatures weighing 40 pounds or less and move them within 100 feet of your body. The speed and power of objects are based on your Spirit Attribute.
Cost: 1 Mana per 10 small objects/sec; or 1 Mana per large object/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of items, their weight, and the range at which you can move them. Every upgrade of this ability increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
I felt time almost pause as a new notification appeared in my vision.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to Rank 5. Please pick an additional effect for your ability from the list below:
¡¤ You can now crush an enemy with your ability. You deal a moderate amount of damage each second to a creature suspended by your Telekinesis. The damage is increased slightly for every point in Spirit you have above 10.
¡¤ You can now suspend 3 objects, weighing 230 pounds or less, to levitate motionless in midair for no Mana cost.
¡¤ You can levitate yourself slowly at a rate of 5 feet per second. You cannot levitate any other objects during this time.
Despite an ominously developing headache, I felt excited as I looked over the options. I got the sense that I needed to choose quickly. Only one of them did any damage, the others being utility effects. The ability to levitate myself seemed cool. Still, it was slow, and I couldn''t levitate any other objects while doing it. The no-Mana cost for suspending objects midair seemed like something I would take if trying to be a human crane. In the end, there wasn¡¯t any real choice, so I went with the first option.
Telekinesis (Rank 5): You can, at will, lift 5 objects or creatures weighing 230 pounds or less and move them within 130 feet of your body; or up to 48 objects or creatures weighing 60 pounds or less and move them within 130 feet of your body. The speed and power of objects are based on your Spirit Attribute.
You can now crush an enemy with your ability. You deal a moderate amount of damage each second to a creature suspended by your Telekinesis. The damage is increased slightly for every point in Spirit you have above 10.
Cost: 1 Mana per 10 small objects/sec; or 1 Mana per large object/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of items, their weight, and the range at which you can move them. Every upgrade of this ability increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
Force choke unlocked. Nice. I marveled at the number of objects I was now able to levitate at once. It should be quite a sight to see! I imagined slinging around 48-stone spears, beginning to search the coffins. I came upon a rusty axe, a sword, a small pile of gold and silver jewelry, and another rust-free gauntlet. I picked it up, reading its description as a notification popped into my vision.
Gauntlet of the Soldier (left hand). Type: Armor. Rarity: Uncommon. Increases damage with one-handed weapons by a minor amount. When paired with another gauntlet of the same type on the opposite hand, it will increase damage with two-handed weapons by a moderate amount. Durability: 8-10.
Made from common steel and empowered by a novice enchanter.
I put the gauntlet on and continued searching, exploring the passages of the catacombs, looking through the alcoves and finding a few odds and ends but nothing of note, just some jewelry, and a few coins. Descending another set of stairs, there was another stone door. I pushed against it and it opened to reveal a cavern. This cave was not pitch black like the catacombs. There was an opening at least a hundred feet up in the ceiling where sunlight streamed through, giving the cavern some light. The air was wet with humidity and smelled of earth and fungus, and water could be heard cascading from a hole in the ceiling. The cave in the crypt had created a deep pond at its back while open coffins lined the walls of the alcoves. I got close to the pond and looked inside. Here, the water reflected the light, and I could see nothing inside. Stepping back, I commenced tapping the surface of the water with a rock. A creature exploded out of the water, a ragged corpse with long hair floating about it. The creature levitated, its hellish, unholy wail making my blood run cold. There came the desire to flee, but I stood my ground, launching a shower of stone darts toward it. Now, the creature raised its arms. A bubble appeared around it, and all the darts bounced off. It moved toward me, staying in the shadows as it moved slowly through the air. I focused my attention on it, and a notification appeared before me.
Melera Wanderlust. Gifted¡ªUndead/Ethereal. Rank: 6.
My hammer rose and fell as I attacked again and again. Finally, the bubble popped, and the stone darts pierced into her. The wounds closed as soon as they were made.
This creature can only be harmed by light-based attacks or magical weapons.
My face twisted into a grimace; should I have picked a weapon as my artifact? I had one other ability that might work on her. ¡°Dominion,¡± I said, feeling the undead resist. It bucked against my will like a wild horse, but eventually, the brands appeared around its neck, and it began to tremble as it succumbed.
Quest updated. Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 10 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current progress: 1/10. Every time you complete this quest, you will gain 1 rank point. The next quest will require double the number to be completed.
I could feel the wraith trying to break free and was becoming increasingly concerned that it might succeed in doing so. With some indignation, I remembered my ability and that it could be opposed with a strong Spirit. ¡°Move into the light,¡± I commanded. The wraith tried to resist, the brand around its neck glowing brighter and brighter. Eventually, it began to move forward, its form twisting and smoking as the light touched it. It withered and finally popped, becoming a shower of dust falling to the ground.
3 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 80 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 14/80. When you complete this quest, you will gain 16 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I dismissed the notification and another popped up.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: force an undead to leave the mortal realm.
Reward. Title: Exorcist.
*Exorcist: Your damage dealt against undead has increased by 1 stage, and your damage against ethereal undead has increased by 2 stages.
I moved forward cautiously to the edge of the pool using my Telekinesis, feeling around in the water, seeking to grab any object touched by my power of levitation; I began lifting everything out, finding bones, rocks, and a few fish, which flopped to the ground. Eventually, I pulled out a dark, round, steel shield. ¡°Finally, some boss loot!¡± I said, picking up the shield.
Shield of the Vengeful: Whenever struck with a melee attack on your shield, a moderate amount of the damage taken is reflected through the weapon to the arm of the attacker. Durability: 13/15.
Made from a shadow-steel alloy and enchanted by a journeyman enchanter.
I slipped on the shield, the leather straps still in good condition despite having soaked in water. I searched the pond further but only found a skull engraved with runes, a gem set into its forehead.
Gravecaller (Cursed Item): Any intact corpses within 3 miles that are unblessed by a priest will rise as undead at midnight. They will remain animated until 2 hours before daybreak. They are drawn to the location of the skull but will return to their resting place before dawn and de-animate if not destroyed and they do not find the skull. If they find the skull, they will advance to a higher level of undead.
Forged from the skull of a Gifted with Necromancer abilities, the enchanter of this item is unknown, but their power has tapped into the lost abilities of the owner of this skull.
Ah, right! That explains the undead from last night, After examining the skull in my hands, I then put it in my backpack, thinking that possibly, I might be able to use it to farm for XP or against my enemies somehow. I left the crypt, carrying the fish pulled out of the pond and the other items I had acquired. The decrepit axe I gave to Fentren so he could cut wood, keeping the rusty sword myself. Jand had caught a few rabbits, and Carla made them into a stew with some wild onions that Maria had found. She took the fish and gutted them, beginning to fry them in the pan. I took the time while we waited for dinner to cook to make more stone spearheads. Looking at Quin¡¯s maul, I saw the wooden head had split and warped after its repeated use. The iron bands had burst open at some point too, the head barely holding on. I removed the wooden head and looked at the steel rod pole, finding it hollow but strong. Then I gathered some rocks and began to work. ¡°Compress Earth,¡± I said and began to mold the stone around the top of the shaft, creating a new head for the maul, focusing and smoothing out the rock until a new glossy black maul head had been made. One side was flat, the other tapered to a sharp point for cracking armor. I threw the Maul, which obliterated a small tree. The head of the weapon hit the tree at its base and splintered it, and all that remained was a stump as the tree groaned and collapsed, the sound of its disintegrating branches snapping like firecrackers. I called the maul back. It slapped into my hand as I held it aloft. Of course, I wasn¡¯t holding it. My hand was just wrapped around while my Telekinesis held it, suspended. The maul now weighed about a hundred pounds. I let it fall to the ground and decided to look over my stats.
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa. Gifted¡ªHumanoid/Human. Mortal. Rank: 50.
Available rank points: 6.
Might: 12 Mind: 9
Speed: 12 (+2) =14 Perception: 8
Toughness: 11 Spirit: 18
Endurance: 10 Power: 10
Maximum Stamina: 56 Maximum Mana: 64
Stamina Regen: 11.2 per second Mana Regen: 12.6 per second
Abilities:
Dominion (Rank 1), Telekinesis (Rank 5), Heightened Speed (Rank 1), Foresight (Rank 1), Compress Earth (Rank 1).
Blessings:
Blessing of War (Mortal).
Titles:
Mark of Cain, Bloody Pugilist, Exorcist
I had rolled my shoulder with the loot taken from the crypt and was now holding my arm, wincing. The adrenalin and excitement had faded and the pain from the wound was now at the forefront of my mind. I looked down at my arm, seeing black veins from the jagged teeth marks on my forearm. ¡°That can¡¯t be good,¡± I said. Hurrying out of the crypt, I went to the river to clean the blood and rotten flesh off me. I washed my wound, being sure to remove all the filth, not wanting to be taken down by any infection. The wound was clean, and I wrapped it in a torn shirt from my bag but the black veins still extended from the teeth marks. And as I looked at the veins, a notification appeared in my vision.
You have been infected with Ghoul Rot. Purify your body to remove the infection.
*Ghoul Rot: Spreads through the entire body before causing the flesh to rot and turning the infected into an undead. Time until full infection: 7 days.
¡°Great¡­ a zombie infection!¡± I grunted. How to purify me? There¡¯d be a priest who could do it, but I doubted I had time to find one. I had seven days left to find a way, so I asked my local guides, returning to camp and locating Jand. ¡°I need a way to purify myself. What do you know about it?¡± I asked. ¡°A priest can easily perform a purification ritual,¡± Jand said. ¡°Or you could make a potion with herbs.¡± ¡°Ok, that last option sounds better,¡± I said. ¡°What kind of herbs?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± admitted Jand. ¡°But you have access to the System. You can analyze plants and find ones that can help you.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I said and looked over his shoulder, seeing the two rabbits hanging from a cord over his back. ¡°Do you need anything?¡± ¡°A proper bow would be helpful, my lord,¡± Jand said. ¡°But I¡¯ve set some snares in the area for catching small game.¡± ¡°When you¡¯re done, take some of the others and clean out the bodies in the crypt,¡± I advised. ¡°Make sure not to get infected. We¡¯ll sleep there tonight; it will be easier to defend.¡± I returned to the woods, scanning every plant I came across. Nothing popped up, which I had learned by now meant the item was mundane. Only equipment or magical things had ever shown a display when I analyzed them. I kept moving, carefully taking note of landmarks as I searched for anything that might help me. I began looking for some herbs and plants, eyeing a red-leafed plant that grew like clover, and the System opened a prompt for me.
Red Yarrow. Type: Medicinal. Rarity: Uncommon. Yarrow that has grown powerful on ambient Mana is given potent healing properties. Eating this will cause damaged flesh and muscle to knit together and regrow rapidly. When mixed with water, it will also help to rapidly replenish blood loss.
A healing potion plant! I began picking it, using a T-shirt and piling the yarrow on it. Once I¡¯d gathered sufficient leaves, I folded the shirt and shoved it back inside my backpack. I kept moving, scanning for new plants before coming across a patch of dark green fennels with bright orange and red around the edges of their leaves.
Cauter Fennel. Type: Medicinal. Rarity: Uncommon. Fennel that has gorged on fire essence and been planted in iron-rich soil. When dried and exposed to iron or blood, the leaves will instantly flash-burn. This is done to spread their seeds. These leaves are used in medicine for cauterized wounds.
I gathered the fennel, taking only the leaves and leaving their roots behind so they could regrow. I stored them in another T-shirt which I folded and returned to my backpack. I¡¯d have to find better containers for them later or have my vassals make something. Keeping on moving, I soon passed a river that fed into a small lake, then followed a stream that issued from the lake and flowed down a cliff into a grotto. I looked down and saw a patch of pale-blue, semi-translucent petaled flowers, analyzing them from my vantage point, and the System opened up a notification.
Purity Lilies. Type: Medicinal. Rarity: Rare. Lilies that are used for removing corruption in their environment or brewed into a tea to clear adverse effects and purify the body. Extremely rare, they only grow in areas with massive amounts of Mana.
I started to look for a way down, then saw movement in the grotto below. Crouching, I looked like a lion with red fur and black stripes. As if on cue, an actual lion then emerged through a curtain of vines from a cave. As soon as I saw it, a notification appeared in my sight.
Adolescent Nemean lion. Gifted¡ªMage Beast/Nemean Lion. Mortal. Rank: 12.
That¡¯s adolescent? I thought in stunned amazement. It¡¯s the size of a freaking horse. I kept still, watching as the lion drank from the stream and disappeared into the cave beyond the curtain of vines. Nemean lion, I thought. If it¡¯s like the Nemean lion from earth mythology, then it¡¯s basically immune to physical attacks. Hercules strangled it to death, but I¡¯ve no chance of that. I kept thinking. Strangling was just a way to suffocate something, but there was more than one way to do that: drowning¡­ smoke inhalation¡­ buried alive¡­ Neither could I fight it. I could try to sneak down and grab the flowers. I looked at the cliff walls of the grotto. There was no way to climb those quickly. I''d be dead if the lion came out when I was down there. It was a little lower than my current range for teleportation, too, so that was also a no-go. Moving back, I kept exploring, mulling the problem over in my mind. For now, I would keep looking for another solution to reverse my infection. I moved around the grotto, searching for another entrance that the lion might use. The grotto¡¯s walls were around fifty feet high, so I doubted it had left that way. I kept exploring and found it around a hundred yards from the grotto. There was a shorter cliff and a jagged, open cave mouth. The bones and remains of its prey were scattered around the area. I circled to get a view inside the cave. It extended for at least fifty feet, appearing to open out past the entrance, but I couldn''t see much in the darkness. I explored the top, finding lots of boulders and a circle of stones around a large flat rock in the center, like a crude version of Stonehenge. I found some mushrooms, and the System gave me another notification.
Black Rot Mushrooms. Type: Poison. Rarity: Rare. Grows only in places where blood or necromancy magic has seeped into the soil. These mushrooms are lethal to ingest, causing the intestines to swell and eventually burst, spreading a noxious rot throughout the body. Complete body failure results and the rot seeps out, further propagating the mushrooms.
The mushrooms had a foul smell, and I was careful not to touch them as I harvested them. I didn¡¯t use a shirt this time, instead using Compress Earth to create a jar. It occurred to me unhelpfully that I could have done this before for my other herbs, still getting used to having my powers. After this, I fashioned a lid, sealed the mushrooms inside, and stored them in my backpack. I could poison the lion but the only problem would be the smell of the mushrooms¡ªabsolutely foul. I needed to find a way to somehow disguise the reek or keep the beast from smelling them so that he ate them. That way, I might be able to kill it without a seriously dangerous fight. I kept searching until I spotted a creature that made me smile, a plan starting to formulate in my mind. A skunk was nibbling at a blackberry bush. I used Telekinesis and grabbed the creature. ¡°Dominion,¡± I said and felt the creature¡¯s will instantly dominated by mine. I waited, but no prompt for my quest appeared. Apparently, it did not consider animals worthy of progress in my quest. Carrying the skunk, I brought it back to the crypt. Now, the plan was really beginning to take. I remained quiet and acutely vigilant, soon spotting a small herd of deer. Using my stone spearheads, I brought down two of them, a buck and a doe. I set the skunk on my shoulder and levitated the two deer beside me. When I arrived back in the camp, my vassals had set up a fire in the roof. They had cleared out the rubble, creating a barricade, and pitched a few tents around a fireplace. The smoke rose to the ceiling, blackening it with soot. I set the deer aside, giving the doe to my vassals to prepare while I let the other lie undisturbed. Compress Earth proved useful indeed, and with it, I made a set of a dozen bowls, plates, spoons, and two-pronged forks. The stone dishes and utensils were stacked by the fire. I created a large serving bowl and poured out the hot soup from my coffee pot. Taking it to the river, I washed it out thoroughly and filled it with water. I used Compress Earth a lot and decided to upgrade it, having enough rank points to get it to Rank Two. ¡°Raise Compress Earth to Rank Two,¡± I told the System.
Compress Earth (Rank 2): You can fuse dirt and stone into a more durable, heavier material that can be shaped. You can currently fuse a 2-foot-square section of earth and common stone. Your compressed stone has a Hardness rating of 4.5; your compressed earth has a Hardness rating of 2.5. The detail with which you can sculpt is based on your Mind & Perception Attributes.
Cost: 1 Mana per 1-foot square.
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount you can compress, its durability, weight, and the materials upon which you can use this ability. Each upgrade increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
I felt a slight headache as my skill increased, and my Mind Attribute went from nine to ten, making me glad of the elevation. Based on games I had played in the past, ten was average. Having a below-average mind was not favorable; I guessed it was equivalent to intelligence. I didn¡¯t feel smarter, but maybe my thoughts were coming to me faster? I would need to increase my Perception at some point since that was my lowest Attribute, but I¡¯d worry about that later when I had the points to spend. I used compress Earth and created two dozen bottles the size of my fist, fitting them with stone corks and then heating the water in my coffee pot. When it was boiling, I added the red yarrow which quickly dissolved in the water, turning it a deep, thick crimson. I let it boil, then cool and poured out the thin, syrupy mixture into the different bottles. With my supply of health potions seen to, I began to work on my master plan. The skunk had been resting in my tent, gnawing on some meat I¡¯d given it. Taking the skunk, I took another bottle, held it up to the animal¡¯s ass, and pressed. The skunk released its pungent odor, some of which emanated into the air but was mostly contained by the bottle. Sealing it up, I set the skunk down. The subscription-sized pill bottle was full. I placed it with my other potions and took a bowl of rabbit stew, seasoned with wild garlic. The food was surprisingly good considering our limited available resources. ¡°We will be attacked again by undead around midnight,¡± I told my vassals, watching as they paled. ¡°One or two of you keep watch and wake me when you see them.¡± I went to bed early, letting the skunk wander around our camp. It acted like a cat and curled up on my pile of clothes, its belly round from the meat on which it had gorged itself. The nagging itch and pain in my forearm made it challenging to fall asleep immediately, but I did so after a couple of minutes. Chapter 4: Survivor Jamis, Torvin, and Mira sparred on the training ground of the castle. Princess Helen was another champion who had joined them along with her bodyguard, Felrick, another champion chosen by Kilpso, Goddess of Protection and Safety. Helen was the champion of Luren, Goddess of the Moon & Healing. Wooden and copper training golems rushed them as they fought together, learning to work as a team. ¡°You are Champions of Order,¡± Drill Sergeant Heldark barked at them. ¡°Your strength is your allies. With them, you can face any of the Champions of Chaos who believe they are stronger on their own and are too selfish to work with others. This makes them weak!¡± Jamis stepped in front of the wooden golem, protecting Mira as she fired arrows from her bow, each taking down a target. Felrick carried a huge tower shield and stoically held off a dozen golems as they attempted to batter him. Helen ensured she kept Felrick and the other melee fighters on their feet, letting out her occasional lance of silver light to obliterate a golem. ¡°You may be tempted to rush into the Cursed Forest but being dropped into that hell hole and just picking a fight with every Gifted beast and creature you come across will get you killed,¡± Heldark barked at them. ¡°I¡¯ve been told if you impress me today, you¡¯ll be given a quest to go after some real prey. So, work together and show me what you got!¡± They kept fighting as more and more golems surrounded them. Eventually, the battle was done, and Heldark nodded approvingly. ¡°Good. You¡¯re ready to start hunting. Tomorrow, I want you to head to the nearby mountains. A bear wandered out of the Cursed Forest and murdered a hunter¡¯s family. It¡¯s laired up in the mountains. Take some horses to the foot of the mountain. Find and kill the beast.¡± The five champions nodded. Sweaty and tired, they headed for the baths. Afterwards they would explore the city, their work done for the day. *** Helen and Mira stepped into the bath, each wearing a bracelet that covered their body in mist, preserving their modesty. These baths were for the Gifted and weren¡¯t separated by gender, the bracelets being handed out to both sexes to allow everyone to use the baths in comfort. Mira still looked uncomfortable, blushing slightly as she stepped into the steaming water, her wings unconsciously wrapping around her. Jamis lounged against the other side of the massive bath, the water piping hot but not enough to burn. It was designed to help passively raise a person¡¯s natural toughness over time. ¡°I like these baths,¡± Jamis said. ¡°We didn¡¯t have anything like this in my clan.¡± ¡°What kind of world did you come from?¡± Torvin asked. ¡°My world has more technology than this,¡± Jamis said. ¡°But only the mech priests are allowed to use it. The machines turned against us long ago, so even though I grew up surrounded by the old machines, we were never allowed to use them.¡± ¡°Is that why you came here?¡± Helen asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Jamis said. ¡°I didn¡¯t have much opportunity back home; I was the youngest of my household in a large clan. There was no space for me even with my skill in brawling. When Artrix offered me the chance to be his champion, there was little need to overthink it.¡± ¡°The risk of being killed in battle didn¡¯t bother you?¡± Mira asked. ¡°Did it bother you?¡± Jamis asked with a shrug. ¡°Why did you choose to become a champion?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always been a hunter,¡± Mira said. ¡°But it¡¯s not a role women are encouraged to take in my world. I was weaker than the other hunters in my aviary and there is no System in my world. I could therefore never become as strong as them. I want to become stronger so that I can be better at helping others. What about you three?¡± Torvin ran a bronze scraper down his arm as he cleaned himself. ¡°I was a soldier. I¡¯d been riding horses all my life. When the war started in my homeland, I was conscripted. In the last battle, I lost my legs when my horse died under me, and I was trampled. I suppose I was lucky to live, but there¡¯s no use for a cripple in my world. When Galdren offered to give me back my legs and for me to become more than just a common soldier¡­ Well, like you¡¯ve both said, it wasn¡¯t much of a choice.¡± ¡°Still, I don¡¯t resent him for choosing me. He could have chosen anyone. He gave me a second chance,¡± Torvin said. ¡°And I think I can make a difference. As a champion, I can fight on the front lines, so others don¡¯t have to be conscripted or suffer like I did.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been chosen to be a champion since birth,¡± Helen said with a shrug. ¡°My mothers have been serving Luren as priestess for generations. She was always going to choose one of us to represent her; I¡¯ve been prepared for this all of my life.¡± ¡°Do you resent not having a choice?¡± Mira asked. Helen laughed. ¡°Of course, I had a choice, but what fool would turn down becoming a champion? Unless they are some god of Chaos, we get the opportunity to become ambassadors of the gods to the people. Not only that, but there is also the ultimate chance of becoming gods ourselves.¡± ¡°I suppose I¡¯m similar to Torvin and Helen,¡± Felrick said. ¡°I¡¯ve been a prodigy among the royal knights since I was a child, assigned to protect Helen as just a young boy. When Kilpso gave me a choice, I took it so I could better protect her and others. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to win this game, but I want to fight to make sure the right one does.¡± *** I was shaken awake by one of my vassals. Sighing, I rolled out of bed and levitated a few dozen stone spearheads. They were each as hard as iron, nine inches long and sharpened to a needlepoint. I went to the entrance of the crypt where a small horde of skeletons and zombie animals approached us: raccoon, deer, wolves, and a bear. Smaller creatures scuttled over the ground. I launched attack after attack, standing in the doorway, stomping down on the little undead who tried to chew through my boots. The skeletal bear reached me. It was missing some of its bones, but its frame was still massive. Ducking under a swipe, I smashed down repeatedly with my warhammer until its skull finally broke. My foresight warned me of an attack, and I brought my shield to bear, breaking the charge of an undead stag. Its antlers skittered off and broke on impact with the metal of my highly effective shield. I stepped forward, shattered its skull, and continued fighting. It took around ten minutes for me to kill everything. There were so many of the little undead animals although, usefully, they died with one strike.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 80 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 57/80. When you complete this quest, you will gain 16 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Panting from the exertion of battle, I had spent nearly every point of Stamina and Mana I possessed, dismissing the notification after briefly checking the numbers. I wasn¡¯t sure if the tiny undead counted toward the total, and I¡¯d lost count of how many I¡¯d killed. Surprisingly, my title for Bloody Pugilist had been helpful after all, in stomping down on the little freaks. The acquired increase in damage from Bloody Pugilist and Exorcist practically made them explode when I kicked them. I went back to bed and fell asleep much faster, this time from exhaustion. *** The next morning, voices could be heard. I rolled out of bed and my vassals gave me a bowl of venison stew in return for me grunting thanks, not being a morning person. Invigorated by the wholesome breakfast, I took my newly acquired bottles, then grabbed the entire body of the buck and prepared to kill the lion. I sat above its cave and patiently waited. I had changed the shape of the bottle of skunk odor; it was now spherical and as thin as an eggshell. The skunk bomb was ready, and all I had to do was wait. It took around four hours, but the Nemean lion finally wandered out of its den. I stayed pressed flat to the ground and using my Telekinesis, hurled the skunk bomb. It jerked its head at the last minute but was too slow. The stone shell broke over its face, drenching it in fetid skunk odor. The lion went ballistic, tearing all over the clearing. It bashed its head into trees and knocked over the smaller ones as it tried to paw the disgusting smell out of its face. Meanwhile, I didn¡¯t move an inch. Any sound or movement now could get me killed. So, I waited until the lion fled back into its cave and kept waiting. Finally, I levitated the buck¡¯s body to the ground near the cave¡¯s entrance. I had slit its belly open and packed it with the Black Rot mushrooms. Now that the Nemean lion couldn¡¯t smell them, I hoped it would eat the buck and poison itself. I tried to think of a back-up plan, but didn¡¯t have anything else that could kill it, briefly regretting not choosing Force Lightning as one of my abilities but quickly turning my attention back to the clearing, waiting. I wasn¡¯t a patient person, able to feel the rot spreading through me, the black veins extending even further from the bite mark on my arm. Even though I technically had six days left, I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be operational for that long. I needed to purify the rot from my body¡­ quickly. It was almost nightfall before the lion exited its lair and looked around warily. I froze. It sniffed and snorted irritably, batting at its nose. As it looked around, it spotted the body of the buck then circled the carrion four times before getting closer, sniffing and snorting. Finally, it bit down, dragging the buck¡¯s body back into its lair. Sighing, I slowly got up, and left. I would have to come back in the morning and look it over. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. After washing the dirt off me in the river, I returned to the camp. I missed hot showers, but had to admit to having fun despite the infection that if uncured, would kill me in a few days. I took another bowl of venison stew with added wild corn. We also had pastries made of bread leaf and filled with wild berries. The leaf was surprisingly thick and tasted like bread in itself, making it seem like a chewy naan. I ate my fill, letting the skunk have my leftovers, and took myself off to bed. Awake again at midnight, I sighed, rolling out of my sleeping bag. This time, it wasn¡¯t even a dozen skeletons. I appeared to have already culled the majority of the possible undead in this area. All that remained to deal with were a single wolf, a few deer, and a couple of undead raccoons, also some weird animals I couldn¡¯t identify from their remains.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 80 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 77/80. When you complete this quest, you will gain 16 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Frustrated at not completing my quest tonight, I went back to bed, falling asleep almost instantly. *** I woke before dawn the next day and tried to get back to sleep, but the pain in my arm wouldn¡¯t let me. I sighed again, getting up and preparing my gear, ensuring I had all my weapons and potions. I heated up a bit of stew, ate it, and headed out. The sun rose as I hiked the four miles through the forest back to the Nemean lion¡¯s lair. Cautiously, I approached the cave¡¯s entrance, straining to hear what was inside. As I crept slowly forward, I was listening intently for any clues to the outcome of my plan. Entering the cave, I looked around, barely able to see in the darkness. There was a sliver of light and I moved forward, stopping when I saw the lion lying on its side. I held my breath and watched, but its chest did not move. I let out a sigh and kept moving, pushing aside the curtain of vines and entering the grotto. Taking out a jar, I gathered the petals from the lilies and shoved them into my backpack. On turning around, I nearly had a heart attack. The Nemean lion stood there shaking, a deep growl rumbling out of its chest. Its eyes were bloodshot and its body trembled. Its menacing growl was momentarily broken by a cough before it snarled and lunged for me. Rolling under it, I felt the claws from its hind legs raking across my back. I pushed through the pain and ran, activating my boots, then teleported to the mouth of the cave and kept running. The lion was on my heels and let out a roar. I stumbled and rolled, the roar knocking me off my feet, leaving my mind fuzzy and stunned. My thoughts cleared just in time to roll out of the way as the beast pounced down on me. Its claws were long and dug into my chest. A huge paw slashed across my face, nearly taking out my eye. It elicited a gasp from me, feeling the claws deeply piercing the flesh between my ribs. Then it jumped off me as a stone spearhead struck it in the side of the head, narrowly missing its eye. Rolling to my feet, I pressed a hand to my chest to slow the bleeding. Blood ran down the left side of my face from the long gashes inflicted by the claws. My teleport came off cooldown, and I darted forward, narrowly dodging another pounce from the lion. Next, I charged toward the lake, jumped in and started to swim. The speed bonus from my boots apparently also applied to swimming, and I was moving out across the lake, kicking with my feet as I reached for the potions in my backpack. There was a splash and I risked a look behind to see the lion swimming toward me. It was sinking quickly but was able to keep its nose above water as it paddled toward me. I kicked out faster, my hand finding one of my health potions. In my wake, the water reddened, my head going fuzzy. I uncorked the potion and chugged it down, getting a mouthful of lake water in the process. I swallowed, but it made me cough and splutter for air. Soon, however, I felt the wounds in my chest closing. The bleeding slowed without stopping completely, but the fuzziness in my head subsided. Something clamped onto my foot, making me turn to see the Nemean lion sinking underwater while firmly latched to my boot, determined to take me with him. ¡°Dominion,¡± I tried, feeling my ability impact the lion, but it slid off, unable to take hold as it resisted me, its will refusing to be bent to mine. I took a breath, then went under. The lion thrashed. My ankle twisted, but my boots were an artifact, and its teeth couldn¡¯t pierce them. I held my breath, feeling my lungs burning. The light in the lion¡¯s eyes faded, its grip on my boot loosening as it finally drowned. Evidently, the poison had ultimately taken its toll.
6 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 80 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 78/80. When you complete this quest, you will gain 16 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I kicked upwards desperately, my vision going black. Almost at the surface, it was possible to hold my breath no longer, the inhaled water flooding my lungs. Somehow, I made it, coughing up what seemed like gallons of the lake. I was still bleeding too. The wounds across my face and chest had still not closed. There was a blinking notification in the corner of my vision; I opened it up.
You have been affected by a Laceration ability that prevents wounds from closing and healing. Stop the bleeding before you die. Time until death is 2:30 minutes.
It seemed I had just bought myself some time with which to fend off imminent death. Pushing aside the panic, I felt around in my backpack, managing to find what I was looking for. Opening one of the jars I had made, I took out the cauter fennel, packing it into the three wounds on my chest and biting back a scream as a burst of fire flared up, burning my flesh. The pain was intense, but the blood stopped pumping out. I packed the cauter fennel into the gashes across my face, unable to bite back screams as the healing fire flashed through me. It scorched my fingers as even the blood there was enough to ignite the leaves. I waited. Five minutes passed. I was still alive.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Survive a mortal blow that prevents healing.
Reward. Title: Survivor.
*Survivor: You are resistant to death itself. Mortal wounds are less effective on you and require higher damage stages to occur.
Exhaling pure relief, I lay on the shore, panting, staying there for almost half an hour before standing up, wincing from the pain in my ankle. Finally feeling strong enough, I swam down to the bottom of the lake and grabbed the lion¡¯s tail. I dragged it toward the shore but it took multiple trips, moving the lion bit by bit. Eventually, I was able to drag half of its body up onto the beach. I tried to skin it, but my knife refused to even prick its skin. I took its paw and awkwardly used it on its other limb to open up the flesh. A claw came away as I yanked. Razor sharp, it ripped through the skin on my palm, making me howl profanity into the air. Then, I drank another potion. Soon, my palm healed and my ankle felt slightly better, but I still felt some deep bone bruising.
Nemean Claw. Rarity: Rare. Hardness: 12. Taken from the body of a Nemean lion, this is the only thing besides an artifact capable of damaging its hide.
I used the lion¡¯s claw to skin it, heaving it over as I pulled off its hide. When its coat was clear, a notification prompt popped into my vision. I opened it.
Nemean Lion Hide. Rarity: Epic. Hardness: 12. Taken from the hide of Nemean lion, this hide possesses the latent power of its former owner and is immune to any weapon not made from Nemean claws or an artifact.
I washed the blood and flesh off the hide and collected the other claws from its corpse. I cut it open and pulled out its heart; it wasn¡¯t fleshy but was still hot and hard like a rock.
Iron Heart. Type: Material. Rarity: Rare. This is a trophy from a Gifted beast and has a wide variety of uses, from alchemy and smithing to absorption when gaining a new ability.
I stored the heart in my backpack and went back to the corpse, cutting through its flesh quickly and removing its skull.
Nemean Skull. Type: Material. Rarity: Rare. Hardness: 8. The skull of a Nemean lion, like all the bones of the beast, is especially hard.
I chopped the rest of the body into sections, thankfully able to levitate its whole body which weighed as much as a draft horse. I went back to its lair and lit a torch. There was nothing in there apart from a few cave paintings of men hunting a massive, scaled beast. Leaving the cave, I returned to the lion¡¯s body to grab my stuff and donned my backpack, grabbing the bloody skull and slinging the hide around me. It was still tacky and raw, but was the only armor I had except for gauntlets and boots. So, I returned to camp wearing the red-striped lion pelt. My vassals looked at me and blanched, turning away quickly. I dropped my stuff, went to the river, and saw my reflection in the water. Black scabs in three lines covered the left side of my face. They extended from my forehead over my eye, which had narrowly escaped being blinded, almost down to my chin. I felt the inside of my mouth where the claws had ripped through. The wounds had healed faster than usual but would definitely leave a scar, especially since I¡¯d had to cauterize them. I washed the blood off and returned to camp, spreading out the Nemean hide and making a flat scraper from stone. I pulled the brain from its skull and started to boil it in a stone pot with a small amount of water. Then, I scraped off every inch of flesh until only the pelt was left. I poured boiling water over the hide, scouring off the blood and everything but the hide itself. After that, I spread the brain mixture over the hide, not sure what I was doing, but I knew that the brain was somehow used for tanning and figured I should let it sit for a while. My brush with death had been exhausting, but I tried to overcome my fatigue for now and looked for my vassals for more information. ¡°Where can I find other Gifted?¡± I asked. My vassals looked at each other. ¡°The lord of this land and his family have the Gift. They have powerful earth magic.¡± ¡°Right. Quin killed one of them for his powers, didn¡¯t he?¡± I asked for confirmation of something I already knew. They nodded. ¡°If you¡¯re thinking about trying to fight them, I¡¯d advise against it,¡± Jand said. ¡°They¡¯re powerful and have lots of guards and other protections. Quin killed a cousin while he was sleeping in a tavern. It was a lucky opportunity, but you can¡¯t count on that luck again.¡± ¡°And if you kill one, the rest of the family will come to hunt you down,¡± Fentren added. ¡°Aren¡¯t there any Gifted who are easier targets? Or, at least ones without many allies to come to their defense?¡± They were silent. Then Maria spoke up. ¡°There is the Bandit King,¡± she said. ¡°He¡¯s a Gifted with supernatural strength and durability.¡± ¡°He also has many men under his command,¡± warned Jand. ¡°That¡¯s more of a bonus than a disadvantage,¡± I said. ¡°How far away are they?¡± ¡°A week and a half through the Cursed Forest,¡± Jand said. ¡°Is that the name for this forest?¡± I wanted to know. Maria nodded. But Jand shook his head. ¡°I believe that it¡¯s officially called the Cursed Forest on the maps, but my great-grandmother referred to it as the Forest of the Ancients.¡± ¡°Very well. Rest up. Tomorrow around midday, you will guide me to the Bandit King,¡± I commanded. I went to bed, leaving them to sort out the intricacies of the watch between themselves. There were still some things I wanted to do before sleeping, so I lay back on my sleeping bag, the skunk snuffling and curling up beside me. I had to make a decision. I could either raise Telekinesis by one rank or raise Compress Earth by two ranks. While in combat, I made much use of Telekinesis. The stone spearheads were, however, a big part of my damage output, so increasing their quality could help a lot. I also wanted to raise it to Rank 5 and see if all abilities got an additional effect at this rank. My mind was made up. I made the decision. ¡°Raise Compress Earth by two ranks,¡± I told the System.
Compress Earth (Rank 3): You can fuse dirt and stone into a more durable, heavier material that can be shaped. You can currently fuse a 4-foot-square section of earth and common stone. Your compressed stone has a Hardness rating of 5; your compressed earth has a Hardness rating of 3. The detail with which you can sculpt is based on your Mind & Perception Attribute.
Cost: 1 Mana per 1-foot square.
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount you can compress, its durability, weight, and the materials upon which you can use this ability. Each upgrade increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
A throbbing headache pierced my skull.
Compress Earth (Rank 4): You can fuse dirt and stone into a more durable, heavier material that can be shaped. You can currently fuse an 8-foot-square section of earth and common stone. Your compressed stone has a Hardness rating of 5.5; your compressed earth has a Hardness rating of 3.5. The detail with which you can sculpt is based on your Mind & Perception Attribute.
Cost: 1 Mana per 1-foot square.
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount you can compress, its durability, weight, and the materials upon which you can use this ability. Each upgrade increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
My headache turned into a migraine. It was as if a gnome had started jackhammering away at the inside of my skull. I groaned and clenched my teeth, the pain terrible, but nothing compared to the claws which had pierced my lungs. Thankfully, the pain was as brief as it was intense. My work done for the day, I sighed and closed my eyes. Lying back on my sleeping bag, I fell asleep instantly. Chapter 5: Feral Barbarian Mira crouched down in the snow and studied the tracks she had managed to find. ¡°It¡¯s a day old,¡± she said. ¡°It leads further up the mountain. It¡¯s likely gone to lair for a few days to digest its meal.¡± Jamis looked west over the mountain to where the edges of the Cursed Forest began. ¡°What do you think is in there?¡± he asked. ¡°It¡¯s filled with bandits, monsters, and barbaric tribes,¡± Helen answered, looking down at the forest with derision. ¡°They live there because they aren¡¯t welcome anywhere else and would rather live as animals than embrace civilization.¡± ¡°Barbaric tribes?¡± Jamis asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°She means the myrmidons, not people like your old clan,¡± Felrick said. ¡°They are the people of Kelesa, Goddess of War and Conquest. And obviously, they worship her, which tells you pretty much all you need to know about them.¡± ¡°Maybe it tells you! You forget we¡¯re not from this world,¡± Torvin said. Felrick sighed. ¡°It means they are savages in the truest sense of the word. Not all of them, of course. Some of their tribes have become civilized. The clans that hold to their old ways live in the wilderness, constantly at war with each other and frequently raiding towns and villages bordering the forest. They steal women, Gifted children, goods and cattle.¡± ¡°They sound like trouble. Why hasn¡¯t your kingdom dealt with them?¡± Torvin asked. ¡°I¡¯m sure a few royal knights could rout them.¡± ¡°They are all Gifted,¡± Helen said bitterly. ¡°Only those with the Gift are allowed to reproduce in their society. They breed their warriors and train them to feed off the beasts of the woods. While the royal knights are stronger than all except maybe their chieftains, they simply have more Gifted than we do.¡± ¡°It¡¯s best to let them fight amongst themselves,¡± offered Felrick. ¡°The forest is land contested between the Kingdom of Dracon and Camelot anyway, so us making a move could be seen as a land grab which could start a war.¡± ¡°Maybe with Dracon,¡± Helen argued. ¡°I¡¯m related to Prince Arthur. We¡¯d find a diplomatic way to resolve the issue.¡± ¡°That sort of issue only gets resolved through a marital alliance, and he¡¯s already getting married,¡± Felrick said. ¡°I¡¯ve only met Guinevere a few times, but she isn¡¯t the sort to allow her husband to take multiple wives or mistresses.¡± ¡°We should get moving before the wind gets rid of any more tracks,¡± Mira said, interrupting the conversation. ¡°We¡¯ve already camped on this freezing mountain once, and I certainly don¡¯t want to do it again.¡± She led the party up-mountain, following the tracks before the icy wind could blow them away. Her wings flapped now and then, throwing off the snow that clung to them and keeping them from freezing. *** This time, no one woke me up in the night. I¡¯d removed all potential undead in the area. This earned me a full night¡¯s rest but also meant I didn¡¯t progress my quest. It was still early, and I took out my journal and sketchbook, removing my shield and the cursed skull and beginning to draw them in my sketchbook. I had always liked drawing, and was careful to copy the runes exactly. Whatever they meant, I was sure they were crucial for the enchantments, and I wanted to learn how to make them. As I held up the skull and finished copying its runes, a notification popped up.
Quest gained. Death¡¯s Curse: You have encountered a powerful, cursed item that causes the dead all around it to rise. The System has awarded you a quest to deal with this curse. Find a way to remove the curse, destroy the item, or seal it away where it will no longer be a threat. Reward: Knowledge of the Old Magic.
This was new, the first time I had attained a new quest. This one said it was from the System and not a god, unlike the ones I got from Kelesa. The reward was interesting but raised some questions, such as what was the Old Magic, exactly? The quest had offered itself to me while I was examining the runes, so I had to guess that they were somehow linked. Or were they? This was merely blind supposition. I stowed away my sketchbook and went over to where I had set the Nemean hide to cure. There, I wiped off the remaining brain matter mix that hadn¡¯t dried and hung the hide over the fire like a tepee before cutting down some extra pine boughs for smoke, putting them on the fire. I knew that smoke and brain matter were somehow linked to tanning, but the specifics eluded me. Again, I felt as if I was making up so much of this as I went along. I took the bones of the Nemean lion, having had Jand and the others take all the meat off the night before. They¡¯d been drying the skeleton which had left me with a nice shiny stack of clean bones to choose from. I grabbed a leg bone, a little over three feet in length. Taking the claws of the Nemean lion, I gathered some loose rock and set to work, using Compress Earth as the binder and fixing the claws out along the bone, so they created a spiked club. I picked it up and tested its weight. It was heavy, weighing around five to six pounds, three heavier than my warhammer. A notification popped up, and I quickly read it.
Nemean Club. Type: Club. Rarity: Rare. Hardness: 8. A savage implement, fashioned from a stone. Ability: The claws and bones of a Nemean lion. This weapon retains the hardness of the creature from which it was made and the effect of one of its abilities has transferred over. The claws of this club will inflict the Laceration condition on any creature they puncture.
*Laceration: Targets¡¯ wounds do not close when healed and will continue to bleed until the bleeding is staunched or the effect removed.
I would need to practice with this to get used to the weight. In so doing, I would hopefully also naturally raise my Might Attribute. We started to pack for our journey, rolling up and storing our gear. There was a problem when it came to carrying it since most of the people to whom the stuff had belonged were now dead. I fixed the problem by storing most of the items in a few of the canvas tents, tying them up like knapsacks and levitating them beside us. I took the Nemean hide off the fire and washed it off in the river, rubbing some ash, animal fat and mint leaves together for a soap before hanging it over one of the tents I was levitating, and then we set off. Jand led us vaguely north. He didn¡¯t really know where we were going, but he was the closest thing I had to a guide at that moment. I had to slow down to not outpace my vassals, my boots propelling me several yards with each stride. I kept a lookout for more herbs to use. I¡¯d made a tea last night, and the black veins on my arm had completely disappeared. Based on the fact that my life had been saved several times by these plants, I would probably need more. I found some more Red Yarrow and made sure to gather as much as possible whenever I came across a patch of it. Scanning for more plants and materials, I asked Jand about the local flora and fauna. He showed me a patch of bread leaf, and we stopped to gather it for our supplies.
Bread Leaf. Type: Nutritional. Rarity: Common. A large, soft-leafed plant whose leaves are thick and nutritious, it has a flavor similar to that of a flat wheat bread. It can be cooked, causing it to rise slightly and ease its digestion. Four leaves will give enough sustenance to a medium-sized creature for one day, but most animals cannot digest this plant and so avoid it.
We kept moving, stopping after we¡¯d been hiking for five hours. I could see my vassals were exhausted, and I scouted for a place to camp. Finding a cave set into a cliffside, I cautiously approached it, having wrapped myself in the Nemean pelt, also carrying my warhammer and club. The cave wasn¡¯t too deep, only around fifteen feet. I brought my vassals to the cave, and they started to set up camp while I went exploring. I would swing my club as I walked, then let it rest when my arm got tired. I kept practicing as I looked around, scanning for any new herbs and eventually finding a patch of what looked like violets, but their flowers were bulbous, and their violet striped with blue.
Violet Nullifier. Type: Medicinal. Rarity: Uncommon. The flower bulbs of this plant, when consumed, absorb toxins and poisons in the body. One bulb is enough to purify the entire body of a medium-sized creature. Creatures should wait 10 minutes between uses, or the flower will begin to excise other parts of the body.
I created another jar and gathered around forty of the bulbs from the patch, persisting in hunting and dropping to the ground when my Foresight flashed a warning. Something flew down from the tree and snapped its teeth at my neck before soaring up and landing on the branch of a tree. I wheeled around and looked up at a bizarre creature.
Alpha Gliding Wolf. Gifted¡ªMortal. Beast/Canine. Rank: 15.
A gliding wolf? And it¡¯s a higher rank than the Nemean lion, I thought disbelievingly. Then again, it also said the lion was an adolescent. The alpha¡¯s limbs were different from those of a regular wolf, and its paws were wider with hooked claws that it used to grip the tree. Its fur was a greenish brown, providing camouflage amongst the upper branches. Its eyes were wide and round like an owl¡¯s, with massive pupils and bright saffron irises. My Foresight activated, showing the back of my neck being ripped open, and I dodged to the side as another wolf whizzed past me. ¡°Dominion,¡± I tried on the alpha, but again, as with the Nemean lion, there was little or no impact. ¡°Why isn¡¯t this working?¡± I growled.
Gifted are highly resistant to all forms of mind control, mental manipulation, and control effects. To weaken their resistance, defeat in battle is usually required.
Surprised by the System¡¯s information, I spun to the side, lashing out with my club and managing to score deep jagged cuts in the wolf¡¯s side as it attempted a glide-by attack. ¡°Not much point to that then,¡± I grunted. ¡°I¡¯d rather have the rank points right now.¡± I levitated Quin¡¯s maul, having started to take it everywhere with me. I used my club instead of my warhammer and my shield, the Nemean pelt hanging over me like a poncho or serape, protecting my torso and upper arms. The alpha howled. I felt a sudden spike of searing pain in my head, its intensity almost driving me to my knees. I resisted the sonic attack and levitated two dozen spearheads, launching them at the wolf. The creature jumped into the air, emitting a gust of wind from its body, sending it rocketing toward me. I slashed out with my club, but the alpha rolled in the air under my weapon and lashed out with its teeth, nipping my thigh and ripping out a chunk of flesh. Through gritted teeth, I barely contained a scream, spinning my maul, catching another gliding wolf that had tried to sneak-attack me from behind. Another rushed me, but I teleported fifteen feet away to give myself a chance to catch my breath. The wolf landed where I had been and looked confused for a moment before my maul shattered its spine, and it lay on the ground, whimpering. I leaped forward and smashed down with my club, ending its suffering. After this, I warily eyed the trees.
1 rank point gained.
The wolves blended in with the trees. My low Perception made it hard for me to spot them, but now and again, I caught a flash of yellow eyes. I rolled to the side as the alpha attacked again, letting loose another howl to try and stun me as it lunged in from behind. I whirled and deflected its jaws with my shield. It yelped as the shield retaliated, damaging it with its reflective ability. Although I lunged forward, it was only possible to inflict a minor wound on its foreleg before it soared back into the trees. Then, three wolves came in from behind. I dodged one while another leaped onto my back and tried to savage my shoulder, its teeth audibly cracking on the Nemean pelt. I felt the crushing force of its jaws. It didn¡¯t pierce my skin, but blunt force-crushing damage was not pleasant either. One dodged my club while another darted in and bit at the back of my knee. I felt a sharp spike of pain, my leg starting to drag. Swearing, I grabbed a potion I kept in my pocket. Tucking my club under my arm, I downed the potion fast, dropping the bottle and leaping to the side as the alpha attacked me again. The wounds closed, and I breathed heavily, getting a little pissed as the fight dragged on. I focused on one of the wolves, and the System prompted me again.
Gliding Wolf. Gifted¡ªMortal. Beast/Canine. Rank: 2. Stolen story; please report.
Are they all Gifted? I wondered. Probably. If rank points are ¡®XP,¡¯ then they¡¯d all get a share whenever they take something down. Something like me, for instance... I rolled to the side again, and shield-crashed into the wolf, ringing its skull. I lashed out with my club and ripped into its neck. Another alpha came in from the side and bowled me over. We rolled on the ground as it tried to rip my throat out, others quickly joining, swarming all over me. Two bit down on my boots, and I could see them frantically shaking their heads as they tried and failed to get through artifact leather. I held apart the alpha¡¯s jaws and focused on the objects I was suspending. The alpha tried to dodge, but my hold on his jaws now served to keep him in place as the maul smashed down on his back, three stone spearheads piercing his side. The wolves holding my legs yelped, also skewered by spearheads. I shoved the alpha off me and teleported five feet, managing to land firmly and pausing for breath.
10 rank points gained.
Quest updated. Blood and Souls: 16 rank points added.
The rest of the pack didn¡¯t run the way I thought they would but rushed me in one mad frenzy. I shielded my front and put my back to a tree. Filled with my own rising fury, I met their aggressive charge. The next minute was a blur, a mad scramble to kill and stay alive as I spent every point of Stamina and Mana. I had to kill the pack as they ripped at me. One of them managed to pull my cloak off, and they bit and clawed at my flesh.
13 rank points gained.
I came to, heaving for breath on the ground. I drank a potion and felt my head grow clearer, but a few of the larger wounds didn¡¯t fully close. Sighing, I pulled out some cauter fennel I had chopped up and packed it into my wounds. Again, I bit back the searing agony as I felt the flashes of heat cauterizing my wounds. I was drenched in blood, uncertain sure which was mine and which had come from the beasts. I drank another potion to recover my lost blood and shakily stood up. Draining though it was, the battle had also bestowed on me a wealth of rank points to spend.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 160 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 3/160. When you complete this quest, you will gain 32 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I need to start working on my other quest, I said to myself, picking up my cloak and dismissing the notification.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Kill at least 10 creatures with a weapon made from a beast you have slain.
Reward. Title: Feral Barbarian.
*Feral Barbarian: The damage you deal with weapons made of bone is increased by 1 stage.
I had acquired another title that increased my damage with a certain material. I had various titles like that, so how could I get them to combine to be more effective? On dismissing the notification, a new one popped up. The eyes of the Alpha Gliding Wolf flew out of its skull, hovered before me, and turned to a mist which seeped purposefully into my own eyes. I winced.
Ability gained. Bestial Senses (Rank 1): You can activate your senses to smell, hear and see more clearly, picking up the sound of a feather landing or the smell of footsteps on a day-old trail. Your hearing, olfaction, and sight are magnified x2 while this ability is active.
Cost: 3 Stamina per second. Cast Time: Instantaneous.
Upgrade this ability to increase the magnification of your senses. Each upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
As my Perception increased, there was a pain like a needle jabbing into the back of my eyes and a ringing in my ears. The sensation faded, and I looked over my new ability before dismissing it.
You have absorbed the eyes of an Alpha Gliding Wolf, which has bonded to your Perception Attribute and will fuel and guide your eyes¡¯ mutation when you pass the Mortal limit for your Perception Attribute.
¡°I¡¯d have preferred some sort of flight ability,¡± I grumbled but took my win, glad I¡¯d attained at least one ability from the fight, considering the number of Gifted creatures I¡¯d killed. I now had forty rank points at my disposal. Whilst it was a significant number, I already knew it would be used up incredibly quickly. Just to increase Telekinesis once would cost me six rank points. If I spent every point I had, I could increase it to Rank Ten right now. I was tempted to do that, but realized I should probably increase my other abilities. Compress Earth was one away from Rank Five, and I might get a new effect for it. Foresight played a crucial role in all my fights and I should upgrade it, something that would also help to increase my Perception above ten. For now, I deferred it, levitating the bodies of approximately sixteen wolves. The wolves were light; I guessed they had to be able to glide even if they were magical, and only the alpha weighed more than a hundred pounds. I carried the dead pack back to camp and set them down for my vassals to skin and harvest. As far as I could tell, their pelts weren¡¯t magical, but they could probably still be useful. I left them to their work and found a stream noticed while taking a walk. I began to scrub off the blood from my embattled body, finding the water freezing cold, but quickly getting used to it. It turned a reddish brown as dried blood flaked off my skin and clothes. Next, I returned to camp, letting my cloak hang to dry; we¡¯d be attacked again by undead tonight and needed to prepare for it. First, I decided to upgrade my Compress Earth. Sitting down in my tent, I took a deep breath. ¡°Raise Compress Earth by one rank,¡± I told the System.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to Rank 5. Please pick an additional effect for your ability from the list below:
¡¤ The Hardness increase for each subsequent rank of this ability will be increased further by an additional 0.5 degrees of Hardness.
¡¤ The area of earth you can fuse is doubled, and the speed at which the earth merges is increased x2.
¡¤ You can now use uncommon stones in your fusions. The rarer, denser, or more exotic the stone, the greater will be the effect on the final product.
These choices were all interesting. The first one would let me fabricate more durable creations, which was useful; however, I had little problem with my current creations breaking. The second option was, again, more of a construction ability that some sort of builder mage or support-caster would choose. The third option was very interesting. I wasn¡¯t sure what qualified as ¡®uncommon stone¡¯ but it sounded like these stones would create more interesting constructions. I decided to go with the third option which seemed as if it would enable me to do a wider range of interesting things in the future.
Compress Earth (Rank 5): You can fuse dirt and stone together into a more durable, heavier material that can be shaped. You can currently fuse a 16-foot-square section of earth and common stone. Your compressed stone has a Hardness rating of 6; your compressed earth has a Hardness rating of 4. The precision of detail with which you can sculpt it is based on your Mind Attribute.
You can now use uncommon stone in your fusions. The rarer, denser, or more exotic the stone, the greater will be the effect on the final product.
Cost: 5 Mana per 1-foot square.
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount you can compress, its durability, weight, and the materials upon which you can use this ability. Each upgrade increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
I smiled, remembering that bronze had a Hardness value of around four, so even just compressing dirt could create some impressive stuff. I wanted to increase it further but reminded myself I needed to invest in Perception. Thirty-five points remained, so I should increase Foresight to Rank Five. ¡°Increase Foresight to Rank Five,¡± I told the System. The second rank-up passed, and my eyes began to water so much I could barely read the notification. I dismissed it and tried to block out the quickly growing sense of unease. Then, it started to get even worse. Again, I was stopped by the pain of those needles jabbing into the backs of my eyes, and the terrible ringing rising in my ears. Oh shit! I had just made a terrible mistake in raising my ability so fast. The notification for the third ability came and again, I dismissed it and moved on. The pain intensified as my senses were jabbed by more and more needles. The maddening ringing increasing with each second made it hard to think. The fourth ability notification arrived, but my eyes were closed as the light around me suddenly became blinding. I dismissed it and moved on to the next. I had fallen back. My hands pressed fruitlessly to my ears, trying to block out the sound as I gritted my teeth to keep from screaming.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to Rank 5. Please an additional effect for your ability from the list below:
¡¤ You can see different possible outcomes based on your actions made within the span of time you can foresee. Choosing to do this will increase the Mana cost by 1.
¡¤ You can focus on blocking out all other senses to predict the future a number of minutes hence, equal to half your Spirit Attribute.
¡¤ Your dreams will give you prophetic visions of the future to help you make long-term plans.
I gritted my teeth as I focused on the notification, reading the available options. The choice was pretty straightforward. Only one of these options was applicable in combat, the others only hypothetically useful. I went with the ability to see different possibilities. My headache worsened.
Foresight (Rank 5): You passively see 5 seconds into the future and know what will happen to yourself and the space within 13 feet at all times. This ability is based on your Perception attribute increasing. It will increase the time you can see by one second per rank in Perception above 10. You can see different possible outcomes based on your actions made within the span of time you can foresee.
This is a passive ability, costing 2 Mana/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase how far you can see into the future and how far around you can see. Every upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
¡°I never want to upgrade that Attribute again,¡± I groaned, sitting up and wiping away the tears of pain. I could see better now, and every sound was crystal clear to my ears. I was able to hear the words of my vassals dozens of feet away as if they were right outside my tent. I sighed and looked at my other abilities. I had twenty-six available rank points to work with and several abilities still at Rank One, but it was clear which one I needed to increase. My speed was great, especially with the boost able to be activated from my boots, but there were still several times when I¡¯d needed to be faster and hadn¡¯t been. I ran my hands along the still-healing burn marks on my chest where I¡¯d had to cauterize wounds incurred by the Nemean lion. ¡°Increase Heightened Speed by one rank,¡± I said. I¡¯d learned my lesson: don¡¯t queue up a bunch of rank-ups all at once!
Heightened Speed (Rank 2): You move faster and can react faster. Your body acts can instantly move at max speed without needing to build up momentum. The speed at which your body can move is increased x2.5.
This is a passive ability, costing 1 Stamina per second and it will cost more Stamina in combat depending on how fast you move.
Upgrade this ability to increase how fast you can move. Every upgrade of this ability increases your Speed Attribute x2.
There was a twisting in my body like snakes crawling under my skin. The muscles on my legs, arms, and back writhed. I gritted my teeth again and waited until the pain was gone. I took a deep breath. ¡°Raise Heightened Speed by one rank,¡± I told the System.
Heightened Speed (Rank 3): You move faster and can react faster. Your body acts can instantly move at max speed without needing to build up momentum. The speed at which your body can move is increased x3.
This is a passive ability, costing 1 Stamina per second and it will cost more Stamina in combat, depending on how fast you move.
Upgrade this ability to increase how fast you can move. Every upgrade of this ability increases your Speed Attribute x2.
Despite having waited, the pain was even greater, feeling my muscles pop and pull and reconnect as they swelled before shrinking again. My skin expanded and retracted. I breathed out as the rank-up finished, the pain ending as abruptly as it had begun. ¡°Increase Heightened Speed once,¡± I said.
Heightened Speed (Rank 4): You move faster and can react faster. Your body acts can instantly move at max speed without needing to build up momentum. The speed at which your body can move is increased x3.5.
This is a passive ability, costing 1 Stamina per second and it will cost more Stamina in combat, depending on how fast you move.
Upgrade this ability to increase how fast you can move. Every upgrade of this ability increases your Speed Attribute x2.
The familiar notification appeared, and the pain returned even greater than before, every new rank more intense than the other. I breathed out and in, focusing on not giving in to the pain. Eventually, relieved that the ordeal had ended, I breathed out again. ¡°Raise Heightened Speed once more,¡± I told the System.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to Rank 5. Please choose an additional effect for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ You can run across water and other liquids as if they were solid ground.
¡¤ You can briefly multiply your speed x3 at the cost of an equal amount of extra Stamina expenditure.
¡¤ You can cause your image to blur at the cost of x10 to your Stamina expenditure for the duration.
I was in so much pain, there was no way to focus on the options, so I skimmed them briefly and chose the only one that wouldn¡¯t cost me anything extra. Using my speed was already taxing on my body. I didn¡¯t need to add anything else to the cost.
Heightened Speed (Rank 5): You move faster and can react faster. This ability directly increases your Speed Attribute x10 and increases the speed at which your body can move x4.
You can run across water and other liquids as if they were solid ground.
This is a passive ability, costing 1 Stamina per second and it will cost more Stamina in combat, depending on how fast you move.
Upgrade this ability to increase how fast you can move. Every upgrade of this ability increases your Speed Attribute by 2.
As soon as the notification appeared, it disappeared and was replaced by another one.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 20, the Mortal limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attribute score from killing you.
The muscles of my body began to writhe and twist, my heart like a jackhammer trying to punch through my ribcage. My torso expanded and then deflated before expanding again. I spasmed on the ground and kept twitching for ten minutes, even after the changes had passed.
Your fast-twitch muscles have been reinforced, and your heart has split in two, giving you two hearts. Please increase your other Attributes beyond 20 to support these changes to your body.
I lay there until I finally caught my breath. Looking over my notifications, I saw what my choice for my Speed and ability increase had given me. Although unsure how useful running on water would be, at least it was now an option if I needed it. In addition, my Speed Attribute was now twenty-four, including the bonus from my boots. I sighed in relief as the pain faded completely. I had just spent fourteen rank points on upgrading my skill to Rank 5 and only had twelve points left. I wanted to raise Telekinesis again, but only had enough points to upgrade that skill once. I needed to upgrade Dominion, so it could hopefully work more effectively on Gifted and give me more uses of if it per day. Also, my Spirit was close to twenty and pushing it past the mortal limit might trigger another of those mutations. In my chest was a fast and rhythmic thud, thud, two hearts pumping away. I looked down at my shirt; it seemed oddly tighter and pulled up as if a size too small. ¡°Did I get bigger?¡± I asked myself, and sure enough, feeling around my torso revealed lean muscles where they hadn¡¯t been before. They weren¡¯t thick muscles but thin and honed for fast movement as opposed to heavy lifting. My shirt was definitely a little smaller on me. Surely, I¡¯d grown at least an inch taller! I wasn¡¯t ready to raise my Attributes again just yet. Time to take a break. I¡¯d raised Compress Earth, and wanted to make some fortifications for our camp in readiness for the next inevitable assault from the undead. I levitated small boulders and rocks the size of my head and stacked them, fusing them all together with Compress Earth, creating high walls around our camp. Now, I climbed up the cliff above our camp, drawing the dirt and stone into a watchtower ten feet wide and twenty feet tall. The interior had handholds and footholds forming a ladder, leading to a wide top with a slate-thin roof of stone. I made the cave bigger, compressing the earth outwards and flattening the floor. This created a forty-feet-deep cave which would give us all some more space. I even made a chimney up through the rock with a fireplace for cooking. I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d be here that long, but enjoyed the work and took frequent breaks to let my Mana replenish. It was sunset by the time I was done, and I collapsed into my tent, almost instantly asleep. Chapter 6: The Chief Jamis felt the icy wind blow against his bare skin as the massive Dire Frost Bear charged at him. Neither the snow nor the wind caused him discomfort.
Felren the Maneater. Gifted¡ªBeast/Dire Frost Bear. Mortal. Rank: 28.
The party moved to surround the beast as it fought with its clawed, armored gauntlets. It roared and grappled with the bear as Mira¡¯s arrows struck its side in a rapid volley. Torvin charged in from the left flank, lance in hand, radiant light surrounding it in a nimbus. The lance struck the bear¡¯s side, and it threw back its head and roared in pain. It tried to breathe a cone of ice at Torvin, but Jamis grabbed the bear¡¯s jaw in both hands and began to pull it apart. The bear clawed at its skin. Its talons left long streaks, but a golden glow suffused it, sealing and healing the wounds as soon as they were made. With a tear and snap, the jaw broke and the bear dropped down on all fours and then collapsed, its pain too great to continue the fight. It was ultimately felled with a fatal mercy strike to the skull. As it died, it released one last agonized whimper.
You have gained 3 rank points to be split amongst all surviving party members.
¡°A good fight,¡± Torvin said. ¡°Did anyone gain any abilities from it?¡± ¡°Just points for me,¡± Mira said, lithely jumping down from a tree. Her wings extended out as she glided down, making no sound as she landed. ¡°I got an extra rank point for bringing justice to the family of the slain,¡± Torvin said. ¡°I need to double it again to complete the quest. I didn¡¯t get any abilities from it either, just more rank points.¡± ¡°I gained a Special Attack,¡± Jamis informed them. ¡°It¡¯s called Winter¡¯s Claws. It lets me apply a moderate amount of frost damage to each unarmed strike for a Mana cost. It fulfils the requirement for my Spirit Attribute.¡± ¡°Good. Let¡¯s get off this mountain. I¡¯m freezing,¡± Helen complained, rubbing her arms. ¡°I¡¯m doing all right,¡± Felrick said, amused, as he stood in his full fur-padded plate mail. ¡°We need to find more Gifted beasts to slay and find the Dark God¡¯s Champions,¡± Jamis said, flexing the claws of his gauntlets. ¡°I wish Artrix would just tell me where the other champions are.¡± ¡°If he did that, then their patrons could tell them where we are,¡± Mira reminded him. ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but I don¡¯t want the Champion of the God of Assassins to know where I am before I¡¯m ready to face him.¡± ¡°I suppose so,¡± Jamis grunted in agreement. ¡°So, back to the Lunar Kingdom?¡± Everyone in the group nodded, so they quickly skinned the bear and began the long hike down the mountain. They talked a little, enjoying each other¡¯s company as they skirted the edges of the Cursed Forest until they came to the Old Road. They completed the half-day journey from the outskirts of the Cursed Forest back into farmland. At nightfall, they stopped at an inn. Jamis and the barmaid made eyes at each other. Collectively, the group rolled their eyes, fully aware of what would happen next. ¡°Just because the women say yes doesn¡¯t mean you need to sleep with them,¡± Torvin said. ¡°You¡¯ve probably conceived half a dozen children with all the taverns you hit the other night.¡± ¡°You must not remember the night,¡± Jamis said, laughing as he pulled the smiling barmaid into his lap. ¡°I remember you siring a few yourself.¡± Torvin reddened. ¡°That didn¡¯t happen,¡± he protested. ¡°You were pretty drunk,¡± Mira said. ¡°I do remember you disappearing with a girl a few times.¡± ¡°And what were you doing?¡± Torvin asked, trying to deflect some of the attention away from himself. ¡°Drinking responsibly,¡± Mira said. ¡°One of us needed to be ready in case there was an emergency. Besides, I have no interest in being a parent right now. You two might be able to just abandon your responsibilities but we women have a harder time doing that.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell the tavern a story?¡± Felrick asked, taking mercy on the embarrassed Torvin. They drank into the night, Torvin recounting the story of their adventure to the whole tavern. Everyone from the town came to meet the champions of the gods. They shook their hands and received blessing from Helen as she cleansed various ailments. *** I was shaken awake and nearly tore out my vassal¡¯s throat. I managed to hold myself back before killing him and composed myself, panting. The stress from my battles had obviously affected me more than I¡¯d thought. I threw my Nemean cloak on and strode out of the cave, hearing the growls and scratching of claws on the wall put up around the cave. Walking up the steps of the wall, I looked out over the hoard of undead. At least a hundred creatures clawed up at me. Something flashed in my Foresight. I ducked, and my hand snapped out, wrapping around a zombie bat and crushing it. I didn¡¯t get any notification for killing it. ¡°Guess that answers that,¡± I said. ¡°The small ones aren¡¯t good for anything.¡± I stayed on the wall for now, hurling my stone spearheads. Quin¡¯s maul swept the ground, clearing out the smaller ones. When I¡¯d culled enough of the horde for me to have some space, I jumped down with my club and shield at the ready. A zombie bear charged me. I jumped, clearing the bear, also smashing down with my club. My entire weight was behind the blow, smashing into the base of its skull at the spine, severing the connection. I continued fighting, using my Foresight to dodge the most dangerous attacks. I could have stayed on the wall, but needed to learn to fight as much as I needed rank points. More and more undead animals and beasts came at me, but I kept fighting. I was dimly aware of my vassals as they watched the battle from the wall, their torches illuminating the area. I didn¡¯t get through the fight without injury. My cloak prevented my skin from getting pierced, but I felt my ribs crack when something resembling a bull charged and hit me from behind while I was fighting a skeletal giant cat. Exhaustion claimed me, and there were many bloody gashes over my forearms and thighs, but the pain only increased my angry determination to overcome it.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 160 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 114/160. When you complete this quest, you will gain 32 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
The fight was finally over, leaving me sagging with exhaustion but I managed to climb back over the wall and fall into bed, asleep again in moments. I woke up groggily, seeing the sun in the sky outside the cave and I rolled out of bed. My vassals having already packed everything else up, I sat down to eat and finish my final rank-ups before heading out. I would rank up before eating, just in case doing so messed with my stomach. ¡°Increase Dominion by one rank,¡± I told the System.
Dominion (Rank 2): A number of times per day, equal to 10 plus your Spirit Attribute, you can, as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. You are able to dominate a number of creatures at a time, equal to your Spirit Attribute plus 10. A creature may choose to serve you willingly or may attempt to resist by opposing their Mind Attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can see the abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion equal to your Spirit Attribute x3.
Cost: 1 Mana per creature.
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day as well as the multiplier for how many creatures you can have dominated at a time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
The fiery burning of my Spirit increasingly surrounded me. It was normally low, but felt incredibly intense this time, like stepping into a bonfire. I gritted my teeth until the pain subsided, breathing in and out. ¡°Raise Dominion by one rank,¡± I said.
Dominion (Rank 3): A number of times per day, equal to 20 plus your Spirit attribute, you can, as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. You can dominate a number of creatures at a time, equal to your Spirit attribute plus 15. A creature may choose to serve you willingly, or may attempt to resist by opposing their Mind Attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can, at will, see the abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion equal to your Spirit Attribute x4.
Cost: 1 Mana per creature.
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day as well as the multiplier for how many creatures you can have dominated at a time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
The heat of the fire increased, cold sweat beading all along my body which felt a heat that didn¡¯t actually exist. I pushed past the pain and breathed in and out. ¡°Pain is weakness leaving the body,¡± I grunted out. ¡°One more rank into Dominion.¡±
Dominion (Rank 4): A number of times per day, equal to 40 plus your Spirit attribute, you can, as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. You can dominate a number of creatures at a time, equal to your Spirit Attribute plus 20. A creature may choose to serve you willingly or may attempt to resist by opposing their Mind Attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can, at will, see the abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion equal to your Spirit Attribute x5.
Cost: 1 Mana per creature.
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day as well as the multiplier for how many creatures you can have dominated at a time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
I let the fire wash over me and did my best to blank it as I breathed in and out as calmly as I could. The notification came and vanished, to be replaced by another one.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 20, the Mortal limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attribute from killing you.
Agony coursed through me, not any specific physical pain, but it pervaded my entire being, a little as though a little demon had broken into my soul and committed arson, my spirit beginning to ravage my being.
Your aura has been reinforced. Your body now counts as magical for the purposes of overcoming damage and you are resistant to any controlling effects of enemy spells. Please increase your other Attributes beyond 20 to support these changes to your body.
I gasped in agony, my mind momentarily going blank with the pain. I came to my senses, realizing I had fallen to the ground and forced myself up. ¡°Pull up my Attributes,¡± I told the System.
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa. Gifted¡ªHumanoid/Human. Mortal. Rank: 50.
Available rank points: 6.
Might: 13 Mind: 13
Speed: 22 (+6) =28 Perception: 13
Toughness: 11 Spirit: 21
Endurance: 10 Power: 10
Maximum Stamina: 71 Maximum Mana: 80
Stamina Regen: 11.2 per second Mana Regen: 15.6 per second
Abilities:
Dominion (Rank 4), Telekinesis (Rank 5), Heightened Speed (Rank 5), Foresight (Rank 5), Compress Earth (Rank 5), Bestial Senses (Rank 1).
Blessings:
Blessing of War (Mortal).
Titles:
Mark of Cain, Bloody Pugilist, Exorcist, Survivor, Feral Barbarian.
Great, my Might has increased. So, I can raise my attributes without rank points, for now at least. And¡­ I didn¡¯t notice before but the bonus to my speed has been ticking up. I pulled up the description for my boots again, noticing it had been changing as I¡¯d been ranking up.
Boots of Midnight Wind (Artifact, Rank 5): give a +4 bonus to the wearer¡¯s Speed Attribute and gain an additional +1 bonus for every 10 ranks you have.
You can double your Speed Attribute for 15 minutes with a cooldown of 55 minutes, with duration and cooldown reduced and increased by 5 minutes every 15 ranks you have, to a max of 1-hour duration and a 5-minute cooldown.
Once every 35 seconds, at the cost of 10 Mana, you can teleport 55 feet to a place you can see. The range is increased by 5 feet, and the cooldown is reduced by 5 seconds and increased cost by 1 Mana every 5 ranks to a minimum of a 5-second cooldown and 5-Mana cost.
Created by the Goddess Kelesa for her champion Mordred, these boots are made from the hide of a black dragon with a mithril alloy for the toe and heel guard. They are also infused with the power of Kelesa¡¯s will. These boots are indestructible except by another deity.
I was pleased with my choice of artifact. It might not have been a magic sword, but I could raise my speed to 44 at a pinch, making me a blur in motion. I perused my abilities and thought back over past fights, considering how I¡¯d be able to handle them now. All would have been fine except the one with the Nemean lion. My rank was twice as high as the Nemean lion¡¯s had been, but looking back, I still didn¡¯t think I could take it on in a direct fight, its armored hide providing an effective counter to my every attack. I¡¯d need some sort of elemental attack or to massively overpower it physically, like Hercules, to take it on in a straight-up fight. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just a bad matchup between the two of us,¡± I mused. I ate a quick breakfast of dried venison and roasted bread leaf. We left the camp I¡¯d made and headed north again. Jand pointed out the rough direction we¡¯d have to take to get to Bandit King¡¯s fort. We hiked for over seven hours, taking a break every couple of hours and for lunch. We headed deeper into the forest, having to navigate around some lakes and massive cliffs. I kept an eye out for other beasts, but we weren¡¯t attacked. I did manage to find some more cauter fennel, red yarrow, bread leaf, and violet nullifier as well as a new plant.
Scourge Rose. Type: Poison. Rarity: Uncommon. Grows in places with a fire affinity or where a massive fire has swept the land as the rose bushes feed off the ash. The thorns of this rose excrete a sap that attacks the blood with a flameless fire, burning the body from the inside out.
The rose bushes spread for a hundred yards, creating a deadly meadow of scarlet blossoms. Their thorns were black and dripped a dark orange sap. I created some bottles, methodically harvesting the sap by carefully squeezing the thorns. I gave some to my vassals, telling them to be careful when harvesting, explaining what the poison would do to them if they ever were to get it in their blood. We spent an hour in the meadow, Maria even digging up a small, healthy new bush for me. I added it to our gear along with nine bottles of the sap, estimating each bottle would coat around a hundred arrows or ten swords, based on the amount it contained. We kept moving, stopping four hours before sunset to set up camp where I¡¯d discovered a cave near a river. I used Compress Earth to set up some more walls and expand the cave, carving some rooms with the ability and creating another fireplace and chimney. Looking over my gear, I now had the ability to work with uncommon stone and make much harder material. I needed to replace my stone spearheads, all dulled by vigorous use. Quin¡¯s maul was also damaged. The steel shaft was fine but the wood of its head had splintered and was barely held together by the iron bands. My club was also in need of maintenance. I replaced the stone bindings that held the claws in place, beginning to search for uncommon stones. I wasn¡¯t sure exactly what that meant, but felt that I would be able to discern the difference when I spotted one. I picked up rocks and examined them, not able to identify them all, but I did find some chunks of quartz and onyx which resonated as uncommon to my ability. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. I removed the stone bindings of my club and replaced them with bands from the onyx and quartz, creating a smoky, black, glass material. Then, I kept hunting along the riverbed, tossing rocks onto the shore, also smacking my forehead as I realized there was a much faster way to do this. Getting out of the water, I realized that my boots were waterproof but my pants were not. Using telekinesis, I levitated stones out of the water, forty-eight at a time. I tossed them onto the bank. Within a few minutes, a very large pile had accrued, and I began to sort them into two distinct, flat, empty sections of ground: one for common rock and the other for uncommon. Having finally gathered a huge pile of uncommon, I grabbed Quin¡¯s maul, removed all the wood from its head and set aside the iron bands which had already almost broken. Then, I began to create a new head for the maul, compressing earth around the steel rod which acted as its handle. I created a flat side for one section with a convex bulge to one side and a spiraling spike to the other like an antelope horn. I decorated it with geometric patterns. The head of the maul now weighed around two hundred pounds, and there was no way I could wield it without Telekinesis. So, I started on my stone spearheads, creating forty-eight of them, each weighing twenty pounds. I could have lifted more, but did not have a surfeit of material and figured there was no need to overdo it. I returned to camp and stretched out, loosening my muscles. I had not had any proper rest in a while and decided to go to bed early. I soon fell asleep but was abruptly awoken. ¡°Undead, this early?¡± I wondered groggily, pulling my cloak around me. ¡°Goblins, my lord,¡± Maria said fearfully. ¡°Well, at least that¡¯s new,¡± I said. Standing up, I wandered up the stairs to the top of the wall which overlooked the dimly-lit forest floor. The area was clear for around a hundred feet either side of the river. A group of approximately fifty humanoids, no taller than four feet were gathered around the outside of the wall, carrying a variety of weapons. None of them looked particularly pretty, but they did all appear effective. ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked, not wasting any time. ¡°You are trespassing on our land,¡± the lead goblin said. ¡°Our chieftain demands you pay him tribute.¡± ¡°Then please tell him to fuck off,¡± I said. The goblins stirred and bristled at my words. ¡°You dare mock our chieftain, human?¡± the goblin demanded. I analyzed the goblins but none of them was Gifted. ¡°If he isn¡¯t man enough to come here himself, then he¡¯s not worthy of respect.¡± ¡°Who do you think you are, human?¡± the lead goblin challenged, sneering. ¡°Dominion,¡± I answered. Forty-six of the Goblins reached up to their necks and felt at their wrists, yowling as white brands appeared. ¡°Dominion,¡± I said again and the remaining four succumbed to my ability.
4 rank points gained.
Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 40 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current progress: 34/40. When you complete this quest, you will gain 8 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
¡°I am Mordred, Champion of Kelesa, Goddess of War and Conquest.¡± The goblins that had been filled with confidence a moment before now cowered beneath me. ¡°We serve you now, Warlord,¡± they groveled. ¡°You should kill the filthy creatures,¡± Jand muttered, looking down at them from atop the wall. ¡°They may prove useful,¡± I said, thoughtfully. ¡°But I¡¯ll need to make sure the undead don¡¯t kill them first.¡± I spent the next hour creating an outer wall, extending from the cliff to the river in a half circle around the main camp. ¡°You will stay here for tonight. Tomorrow, you take me to your leader,¡± I commanded. I went back to bed to get a few hours of sleep before the undead rose and came to attack us. After what seemed like only a minute, my name was being called. I got up to fight. I left the inner wall and climbed up the stairs of the outer wall and looked over the banks of the river at several hundred milling undead. There were humanoids among the usual bears, wolves, deer, and beasts snarling and clawing at the walls. While my newly improved maul pulverized undead into gore or bone powder, I also set about hurling spearheads from the wall. Finally, I jumped off, at last able to properly test my new Speed and Foresight. I didn¡¯t activate the speed boost from my boots but just used my own natural sprinting prowess, stepping forward with unfathomable stealth, each footfall propelling me forward two yards as my club lashed out in a blur of frenzy. The skull of a human-sized skeleton flew off at my first strike. I ducked under the swipe of a giant ape-like creature and my maul swept in from behind it, caving in its skull. I was aware of the goblins in my periphery. They, and a few of my braver human vassals had gathered on the walls to view my battle. I attempted to ignore the distraction of an audience and gave my complete focus to the fight. In this moment, it was as if I had ceased being human and had transformed into a whirlwind. I ducked, dodged, teleported, and blocked. My club moved rhythmically, methodically as I took off heads or bashed them in, killing undead after undead. I took wounds on my thighs and arms, feeling the familiar rising anger. Eventually, I altogether lost track of the battle, driven by my now habitual Foresight and by instinct, possessed by the need to kill.
32 rank points gained.
I couldn¡¯t even register the notification as fervor for the battle consumed me. Kill, dodge, kill, block, kill, teleport. Repeat. Over and over. My body was moving like a machine programmed to destroy. I came out of my fury and breathed out heavily, out of Stamina and Mana and the ground was littered with bones and corpses of all shapes, sizes, and creatures. I got up from the ground, reached down, pulled out a broken piece of antler from my thigh and dislodged some teeth that had been embedded in my arm.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 320 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 57/320. When you complete this quest, you will gain 64 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I dismissed the notification to be greeted by another one.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Single-handedly defeat over 50 enemies in front of an audience of at least 50 humanoids and impress them with your skill and bravery.
Reward. Title: Formidable Gladiator.
*Formidable Gladiator: You have inspired those who follow you with both fear and awe. Any allies within 100 feet of you have resistance to fear and mental effects.
This title was different from most of my others and affected others besides myself. This was to be a first for me. So, I returned to bed, exhausted from my twice-interrupted sleep. I hated birds, swearing I wouldn¡¯t rest until every last one of them was dead and there wasn¡¯t another feathered menace left on the planet. It wasn¡¯t even light yet and they were already squawking up a thunderstorm, rudely waking me and preventing me from getting back to sleep. Grumbling irritably, I got up and took a bowl of stew, digging in and draining the broth. Leaving the inner wall, I surveyed my goblin vassals. ¡°Which one of you is in charge?¡± I asked. ¡°I am!¡± one said. ¡°No, me!¡± another butted in. Soon, they were all fighting, each proclaiming themselves the leader. ¡°All right, I¡¯ll make this simple. Which one of you is going to be the one I kill when you mess up?¡± I asked. Their desperate bids to be the leader ended. Finally, they shoved a medium-heavyset goblin forward and he stood before me, shoulders slumped. ¡°What are you called?¡± I asked. ¡°I am Juruk,¡± the goblin said. ¡°Where is your chieftain?¡± I asked. ¡°That way,¡± he said, pointing to the east. ¡°Lead the way,¡± I said. I followed Juruk, all the other goblins following behind me. We broke through the trees into a wide section of plains where the area had been mostly stripped of vegetation and was an ugly brown color. At the center of what was predominately dirt plain, there stood a ramshackle village. As I looked over the area, I realized the fifty goblins under my control weren¡¯t even a quarter of the population of this place. ¡°How many Gifted does your tribe have?¡± I asked Juruk. ¡°Only the Chieftain,¡± Juruk said. ¡°No other Gifted allowed. Otherwise, they challenge Chief.¡± ¡°Can I challenge him?¡± I asked. Juruk snorted. ¡°You human.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a ¡®no,¡¯¡± I said. ¡°How good are you at fighting?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the best, My Lord,¡± Juruk said, puffing out his chest. ¡°Great. We¡¯ll be attacking in an hour,¡± I ventured. ¡°I meant, I¡¯m the worst.¡± Juruk amended his statement. ¡°Then you will be an adequate meat shield,¡± I said, dryly. I needed to handle some rank-ups before the next fight. This included two remaining rank points and the quest rewards from last night. I had, in total, thirty-nine rank points available. Retreating into the forest, I sat down against a tree. My only ability still at Rank 1 was Bestial Senses. Thus far, I had chosen not to increase this skill but raising it would be the cheapest way to upgrade my Perception and it might prove more useful at higher ranks. ¡°Increase Bestial Senses by one rank,¡± I requested.
Bestial Senses (Rank 2): You can activate your senses to smell, hear and see more clearly, picking up the sound of a feather landing or the smell of footsteps on a day-old trail. Your hearing, olfaction, and sight are magnified x3 while this ability is active.
Cost: 3 Stamina per second while ability is active.
Upgrade this ability to increase the magnification of your senses. Each upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
On this occasion, the stabbing needles in my eyes caused by the upgrade appeared to be coated in cyan pepper juice. The accompanying ringing in my ears rose steadily to a deafening, wailing tone. I gritted my teeth, breathing in and out to try and block out the pain. ¡°Raise Bestial Senses by one rank,¡± I told the System.
Bestial Senses (Rank 3): You can activate your senses to smell, hear and see more clearly, picking up the sound of a feather landing or the smell of footsteps on a day-old trail. Your hearing, olfaction, and sight are magnified x4 while this ability is active.
Cost: 3 Stamina per second while ability is active.
Upgrade this ability to increase the magnification of your senses. Each upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
More needles stabbed into my eyes, jabbing into the ocular nerves, spreading the burning pain. The wailing whine rose, and I slammed my head backward, involuntarily hitting the back of my head on the trunk of the tree. Breathe in, breathe out, I reminded myself, doing all I could to shift focus from the pain. ¡°Increase Bestial Senses by one rank,¡± I grunted out, sitting back up straight.
Bestial Senses (Rank 4): You can activate your senses to smell, hear and see more clearly, picking up the sound of a feather landing or the smell of footsteps on a day-old trail. Your hearing, olfaction, and sight are magnified x5 while this ability is active.
Cost: 3 Stamina per second while ability is active.
Upgrade this ability to increase the magnification of your senses. Each upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
The needles changed from being smothered with cyan peppers to ghost pepper level. They stabbed faster. Meanwhile, the ringing became a thunderous, deafening, continuous roar. Breathe, breathe, breathe! I repeated the mantra to myself over and again, feeling the pain recede. Cracking the bones in my neck, I steeled myself for the final push. ¡°Increase Bestial Senses by one rank,¡± I said.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to Rank 5. Please pick an additional effect for your ability from the list below:
¡¤ You can magnify your vision x 10
¡¤ You gain the ability to turn on infrared vision while this ability is active
¡¤ The hairs on your arms raise whenever you are being watched by a hidden creature.
Focusing past the pain in my eyes, I read through my options. They were all interesting, but I wasn¡¯t sure which would be the most useful. The ability to magnify my vision seemed as if it would be best for a sniper or archer. The infrared vision was cool and gave me Predator vibes that made it extremely tempting. The ability to sense when I was being watched could be useful but it overlapped too much with Foresight. It also gave me no additional information beyond that I was being watched. I chose the second option and went back to blocking out the pain.
Bestial Senses (Rank 5): You can activate your senses to smell, hear and see more clearly, picking up the sound of a feather landing or the smell of footsteps on a day-old trail. Your hearing, olfaction, and sight are magnified x6 while this ability is active.
You gain the ability to turn on infrared vision while this ability is active.
Cost: 3 Stamina per second while ability active.
Upgrade this ability to increase the magnification of your senses. Each upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
The needles stabbed and jabbed into the backs of my eyes, while the roaring seemed as if it would shatter my eardrums at any second. Finally, the pain receded. I blinked and enjoyed the clarity of vision and crispness of hearing, then activated my Bestial Senses. Initially shielding my ears with my hands, I slowly uncovered them, becoming inundated with the sounds of bugs and birds. I could also make out every goblin conversation as the tribe bickered, squabbled, and fought amongst themselves. I could smell the foul odor of badly managed sewage, also clearly able to see goblins on patrol around the village. I deactivated the ability and my senses returned to their newly heightened state but without the overwhelming sensory overload of Bestial Senses. ¡°I¡¯m going to need to practice with that,¡± I said. I still had twenty-five rank points available, but all my skills were now at Rank Five, except for Dominion. First Dominion, then I can finally raise Telekinesis, I promised myself. ¡°Increase Dominion by one rank,¡± I told the System.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to Rank 5. Please pick an additional effect for your ability from the list below:
¡¤ You can dominate vast populations at once. This effect multiplies the number of creatures you can dominate at once x2.
¡¤ The larger your Dominion, the more it grows in power. All Attributes of your vassals are raised by one when in a group of 50 or more. Every 50 vassals increase this bonus by one to a maximum possible Attribute score of 20.
¡¤ Your Attributes increase by one for every 10 vassals within a 60-foot radius of you.
These were all interesting but each had its flaws. The first could be useful, but I dismissed it on the grounds that it seemed like a way to save time. I had yet to even encounter a group of creatures larger than a few dozen. The second wouldn¡¯t do anything for me but could help to make my vassals significantly stronger and resilient by putting all their Attributes at the peak of the Mortal rank. The last one benefited me but only if I were fighting with my vassals in a group formation or commanding them to do my fighting as if I were a general marshaling troops. Ultimately, I decided to take the second option. This ability was about acquiring vassals and at that moment, they needed all the help they could get.
Dominion (Rank 5): A number of times per day, equal to 80 plus your Spirit Attribute, you can, as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. You are able to dominate a number of creatures at a time equal to your Spirit Attribute plus 25. A creature may choose to serve you willingly or may attempt to resist by opposing their Mind Attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can, at will, see the abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion equal to your Spirit Attribute x6.
The larger your Dominion, the more it grows in power. All Attributes of your vassals are raised by 1 when in a group of 50 or more. Every 50 vassals increases this bonus by 1 to a maximum possible Attribute score of 20.
Cost: 1 Mana per 5 creatures.
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day, as well as the multiplier for how many creatures you can have dominated at a time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
The burning through my entire being increased. I felt as though I was in a furnace. The sweat erupting all over my body, however, was a cold one. Only through a superhuman effort of will and concentration would I withstand this ordeal.
Warning! You are raising an Attribute beyond 20 while you are still in Mortal rank. Possessing stats significantly higher than 20 while you are still only a Mortal may have unknown repercussions on your spiritual and physical status.
¡°Good to know,¡± I grunted as the pain faded. ¡°But sadly, I can¡¯t quit yet. Increase Telekinesis to Rank Six.¡±
Telekinesis (Rank 6): You can, at will, lift 6 objects or creatures, weighing 330 pounds or less and move them within 150 feet of your body; or up to 96 objects or creatures, weighing 85 pounds or less and move them within 150 feet of your body. The speed and power of objects are based on your Spirit Attribute.
You can now crush an enemy with your ability. You deal a moderate amount of damage each second to a creature suspended by your Telekinesis. The damage is increased slightly for every point in Spirit you have above 10.
Cost: 1 Mana per 10 small objects/sec or 1 Mana per large object/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of items, their weight, and the range at which you can move them. Every upgrade of this ability increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
The burning was intense, making it feel as though someone was using a blowtorch on my insides as the fire bloomed out, spreading farther than my chest toward the rest of my torso and up my neck. My breathing was ragged as I tried to focus through the pain. I waited until it subsided and braced myself again. ¡°Increase Telekinesis by one rank,¡± I told the System.
Telekinesis (Rank 7): You can, at will, lift 7 objects or creatures weighing 450 pounds or less and move them within 170 feet of your body; or up to 192 objects or creatures weighing 115 pounds or less and move them within 170 feet of your body. The speed and power of objects are based on your Spirit Attribute.
You can now crush an enemy with your ability. You deal a moderate amount of damage each second to a creature suspended by your Telekinesis. The damage is increased slightly for every point in Spirit you have above 10.
Cost: 1 Mana per 10 small objects/sec or 1 Mana per large object/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of items, their weight, and the range at which you can move them. Every upgrade of this ability increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
The scorching in my chest returned, doubling in intensity. My clothes were now drenched in sweat, and I found myself both burning and shivering. I bit back a scream, the sound dying in my throat. The pain was gone, and I gasped for breath, having momentarily forgotten to breathe. I had seven rank points left, not enough to raise Telekinesis again, but I could potentially raise one of my other abilities. I thought about Heightened Speed but dismissed it almost immediately on the grounds that I was already very fast, especially with the bonus from my boots. I decided to go with Compress Earth. Despite not really being used in combat, it was an ability that I found myself utilizing as much as Telekinesis. It also raised my Mind Attribute which was nowhere near twenty. ¡°Raise Compress Earth by one rank,¡± I said.
Compress Earth (Rank 6): You can fuse dirt and stone together into a more durable, heavier material that can be shaped. You can currently fuse a 32-foot-square section of earth as well as common and uncommon stone. Your compressed stone has a Hardness rating of 6.5; your compressed earth has a Hardness rating of 4.5. The detail with which you can sculpt is based on your Mind & Perception Attribute. You can now use uncommon stone in your fusions. The rarer, denser, or more exotic the stone, the greater will be the effect on the final product.
Cost: 5 Mana per 1-foot square.
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount you can compress, its durability, weight, and the materials upon which you can use this ability. Each upgrade increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
Upgrades completed, I stood up. I was sweaty but cleaning myself could come later since I¡¯d likely be covered in blood and sweat anyway before the day was done. I approached the goblin village with my own goblin vassals following reluctantly behind. The patrols and goblins milling about noticed us, a clamor arising from the village. They assembled in rough lines. Short but powerful looking bows were drawn on us. ¡°We should run,¡± Juruk whimpered. ¡°Keep your cowardice to yourself,¡± I told him, looking over the village defenders. ¡°Is your chief here?¡± ¡°Chief big, you¡¯ll see him,¡± Juruk assured me. A volley of arrows was launched at us. I raised my hand and employed telekinesis to grab approximately half the arrows, proceeding to fling them back toward the archers. They screamed and cried out as their own arrows rained back down on them. When I displayed my ability, they scattered. Whilst not Gifted, their village was designed for this style of fighting. They ducked into holes and trenches around the village, popping out to shoot before disappearing again. My Foresight was entirely focused on dodging arrows as they buzzed past me or broke against my Nemean cloak, leaving only bruises underneath. I moved forward, sniping the few goblins I could but there were hundreds of the little shits, and my spearheads were only able to get five or six at a time when they popped up. I rolled to the side, dodging a volley of twelve arrows, and retaliated with an artillery strike of my own. Juruk and the others hung back, following me from a distance. They shouted something at me, but I couldn¡¯t hear them and didn¡¯t have time to go back and listen to what they were saying. Moving dexterously on the balls of my feet, I rolled, dodged and teleported about the goblins, following them as they trudged through their trenches and tunnels to the center of the village. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d need their help but kept them around in case I required information or a way to carry back loot. I kept moving and reached the center of the village, needing to strafe lithely as the volume of arrows increased. I teleported up into the air using the superior height to send out spearheads down into the trenches, skewering two dozen archers. Moments before hitting the ground again, my Foresight went into overdrive as a new threat revealed itself. My teleportation was on cooldown, however, and I didn¡¯t have time to move as the floor gave out beneath me. Then, I dropped into a massive pit. Landing in a roll, I sprang back to my feet, club and shield at the ready. I looked up but had fallen over fifty feet, and couldn¡¯t teleport out. I looked down at the wooden wreckage of the floor around me, seeing barred, iron gates made of crude iron. One of the gates opened and out marched a humanoid figure, seven feet tall. He wore armor like a Roman gladiator which looked to be of higher quality than any of the armor I¡¯d seen the other goblins wearing. On his head was a Greek-looking helmet, obscuring his features in shadow.
Mugro the Skull-taker. Gifted¡ªMortal. Goblin. Rank: 45.
The notification popped up as I surveyed the entry of the newcomer into what I suddenly realized was an arena. ¡°I take it you are the chief?¡± I asked. ¡°I am,¡± Mugro said, his voice deep and growly behind his helmet. ¡°And you are dead.¡± Smoke began to pour out of the gates, filling the arena and rising thick in the air. It obscured the goblin chief and made me cough, being foul, thick, and black, smelling like burning tires. I ducked as my Foresight showed my head being taken off. I teleported behind Murgo, slashing out at his back, but he swayed out of the way, surprisingly agile for his size. My maul swept around. Mugro bent beneath it and released a concussive wave from his hand, knocking my spearheads off course as I tried to skewer him. I coughed heavily, the noxious smoke rising even more, growing heavier with every second. Mugro seemed unaffected by the smog; I hadn¡¯t heard him cough once. He plans on suffocating me, I realized. This was similar to how I had considered killing the Nemean lion. Unfortunately for him, I¡¯ve got tricks of my own. I teleported upwards and took a breath of clear, fresh air, now seeing the goblins had formed a ring around the top of the arena and were peering down, trying to see the fight. Their eyes widened when they saw me. They cried out, but their voices blended, preventing any words from being made out. I fell back through the smoke, holding my breath as my eyes stung, but I didn¡¯t give up searching for Mugro in the murk. The crack of wood behind made me spin, blocking with my shield, being tossed practically the length of the arena as the strike slammed into it. I leapt back to my feet, feeling the bruises forming all over my back from when I¡¯d impacted the ground. I heard the pounding of feet and activated Bestial Senses, growing nauseous from the sensory input but I focused only on the sounds of footfalls and breathing from in front of me. I ducked and dodged around Mugro, who did not even try to block my assault as I swiped at him with the claws of my club. They slashed along his belly but barely broke his skin. Mugro snarled, kicking out at me. I sidestepped and brought my own knee up into the back of his. Mugro swore and stumbled. I seized the opportunity, my maul swinging in from behind. He blocked with his forearm but much like me, was unprepared for the force of the strike. Bone cracked and Mugro howled, the sound not just of pain but of an area-effect attack. I felt my head spin and froze as my body locked up, stunned by the force of the sound. The effect only lasted a few seconds, but Mugro was already bearing down on me with a short, serrated blade in his good hand. I bent it back, sliding across the Nemean pelt, then I grabbed Mugro with my Telekinesis, lifting him and attempting to crush him like a boa constrictor. He grunted and groaned, but my Mana was draining fast as I held him and he fought against my mental hold. Mugro slumped to the ground, now panting heavily. I had to teleport upwards, gasping for breath as I took in another fresh burst of air. Goblins threw trash at me as I appeared, but they all missed as I fell back into the smoke. Mugro was prepared for me and was swinging at the spot where I¡¯d landed before even touching down fully. I fell to the ground under his attack, quickly rolling, pulled a dagger from my belt and slashing upwards. I pierced the armor at his waist, right into a man¡¯s most sensitive area. Mugro howled and fell, thrashing on the ground. I grabbed my club from the ground and was on him in a second, bringing it down on his chest over and over, blood splattering over me.
22 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 320 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 58/320. When you complete this quest, you will gain 64 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I kept smashing down, my breath heaving until finally, I got up, ripping the gates off their hinges with my Telekinesis and striding through. I found fires burning and goblins throwing various bits of debris and green-leafed branches into the fire. I slew the goblins and smothered the fires with clouds of dust and dirt created with my maul. Once all the fires were out, the smoke finally began to thin. I could see clearly once more.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 320 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 89/320. When you complete this quest, you will gain 64 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I stepped out into the arena, finding the goblins quiet now as they looked down at me standing over the body of their chief. Stooping, I began stripping him of his gear. As I took off his helmet, I noticed he wore a black, silk mask embroidered with silver runes. Removing it, a notification came from the System.
Mask of Winter¡¯s Breath. Type: Scarf. Rarity: Rare. While wearing this scarf over your face, you can breathe normally in heavy smoke, poisonous vapors, or underwater.
Made from the fibers of a lunar silkworm and empowered by a journeyman enchanter.
Durability: 15/20.
So that¡¯s how he did it. I put the mask in my pocket, not intending to wear it until I¡¯d given it a good wash. I took off the armor on his forearms too but unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t the right size for me. Next, I removed the armor from around his waist and legs, but didn¡¯t need his shin guards thanks to my boots, leaving those on him. He had a ring on his finger. When I touched it, another notification popped up.
Ring of Auroch Strength. Type: Jewelry. Rarity: Rare. While wearing this ring, your Might Attribute is increased by +3.
Made from the horn of an ancient Auroch and empowered by a journeyman enchanter.
Durability: 19/20.
¡°Very nice,¡± I said, slipping it on and instantly feeling I could lift more. It was different from the feeling of increasing my stats; there was no pain as my muscle grew and toughened, only a sense that I was stronger than I¡¯d been. I looked up at the watching goblins above. ¡°Now is the time for all of you to explain why I shouldn¡¯t kill you to get progress on my quests for Kelesa.¡± Chapter 7: Upgrades People The goblins were nervously silent as I looked up at them. They shuffled from side to side, bereft and unsure what to do now that their leader was dead. Sighing, I ran at the wall, kicking off and running fifteen feet up it before teleporting to land at the rim of the arena. ¡°That¡¯s better,¡± I said. I looked around and found Juruk and my other minions with their weapons dropped and surrounded by goblins. ¡°Congratulations for being officially useless. Why didn¡¯t you mention anything about the giant trapdoor?¡± ¡°Whole camp trapped,¡± Juruk said. ¡°We goblins. Thought you knew.¡± I sighed. This was my own fault for assuming they would be competent. I looked at those surrounding them and raised my hand. ¡°Dominion,¡± I intoned, and they instantly dropped their weapons, reaching to their necks as the brand of my ability appeared there.
8 rank points gained.
Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 80 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current progress: 43/80. When you complete this quest, you will gain 16 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I turned to the other goblins and looked them over. ¡°If any of you aren¡¯t comfortable taking orders from me, then act now. You won¡¯t get a second chance.¡± Not one of them stepped forward and I snorted in disdain. ¡°Dominion,¡± I said, bringing another forty-nine goblins under my control.
16 rank points gained.
Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 160 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current progress: 12/160. When you complete this quest, you will gain 32 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I used my ability again, noticing some goblins fleeing but not caring enough to chase them.
Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 160 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current progress: 61/160. When you complete this quest, you will gain 32 rank points and the next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I ordered the ones dominated to circle the ones I had not so I could clearly see who I was targeting with my ability.
Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 160 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current progress: 110/160. When you complete this quest, you will gain 32 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Only a small group remained for me to dominate but I thought it would be enough to push me past this current quest goal.
Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 160 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current progress: 159/160. When you complete this quest, you will gain 32 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
There were only a dozen or so goblins left but it was enough as I finished taking control of the last of the tribe.
32 rank points gained.
Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 320 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current progress: 14/320. When you complete this quest, you will gain 64 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I smiled darkly to myself, now having seventy-nine free rank points to spend to upgrade my abilities. I looked over my new vassals and wasn¡¯t that impressed. The tallest of them was five feet; they were scrawny and wielded poorly-made equipment. I had my doubts about how well they¡¯d do in a battle but for now, they could serve as scouts, guides, and porters. ¡°Juruk, come forward,¡± I ordered. Juruk shuffled out of the crowd. ¡°Bring me all the loot your tribe has. And don¡¯t try and hide anything or let anyone else keep anything from me.¡± I didn¡¯t trust him to obey me out of any loyalty or honor but my ability would force him to do as I commanded. I was brought a throne to sit on, using it to upgrade a few of my abilities as my tribute was brought forward. I knew what I wanted to upgrade. Whilst Mugro¡¯s armor didn¡¯t fit me, I had a pretty good idea which ability might be able to change that. ¡°Raise Compress Earth by one rank,¡± I told the System.
Compress Earth (Rank 7): You can fuse dirt and stone into a more durable, heavier material that can be shaped. You can currently fuse a 64-foot-square section of earth and common stone. Your compressed stone has a Hardness rating of 7; your compressed earth has a Hardness rating of 5. The detail with which you can sculpt is based on your Mind & Perception Attribute.
You can now use uncommon stone in your fusions. The rarer, denser, or more exotic the stone, the greater will be the effect on the final product.
Cost: 4 Mana per 1-foot square.
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount you can compress, its durability, weight, and the materials upon which you can use this ability. Each upgrade increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
I felt the approach of a splitting headache and sat back on the throne, focusing on my breathing. When the rank-up was finished and the pain had passed, I sat up straight again. ¡°Increase Compress Earth by one rank,¡± I told the System.
Compress Earth (Rank 8): You can fuse dirt and stone into a more durable, heavier material that can be shaped. You can currently fuse a 128-foot-square section of earth and common stone. Your compressed stone has a Hardness rating of 7.5; your compressed earth has a Hardness rating of 5.5. The detail with which you can sculpt is based on your Mind & Perception Attribute.
You can now use uncommon stone in your fusions. The rarer, denser, or more exotic the stone, the greater will be the effect on the final product.
Cost: 5 Mana per 1-foot square.
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount you can compress, its durability, weight, and the materials upon which you can use this ability. Each upgrade increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
¡°Put one rank into Compress Earth,¡± I told the System again.
Compress Earth (Rank 9): You can fuse dirt and stone into a more durable, heavier material that can be shaped. You can currently fuse a 256-square-foot section of earth and common stone. Your compressed stone has a Hardness rating of 8; your compressed earth has a Hardness rating of 6. The detail with which you can sculpt is based on your Mind & Perception Attribute.
You can now use uncommon stone in your fusions. The rarer, denser, or more exotic the stone, the greater will be the effect on the final product.
Cost: 5 Mana per 1-foot square. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount you can compress, its durability, weight, and the materials upon which you can use this ability. Each upgrade increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
Once again, my headache came back with a vengeance, but I believed I was getting better at blocking out the pain. Breathing in and out, I opened my eyes as soon as it had passed. Here goes...! I hope I¡¯m right. I had theorized that abilities might give an additional effect every five ranks but it could be more. I wouldn¡¯t know until I tried. ¡°Raise Compress Earth by one more rank.¡±
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to Rank 10. Please pick an additional effect for your ability from the list below:
¡¤ You can now use non-magical metals in your fusions. The rarer, denser, or more exotic the stone, the greater will be the effect on the final product.
¡¤ You can now transmute one form of stone to another similar type.
¡¤ You can now more keenly shape the objects you create with your ability and sculpt finer details.
Yes! I was right! I fought through the headache to think, really liking the first option since the ability to add metals would greatly increase the strength of my creations. Transmuting stones sounded interesting, but I wasn¡¯t after making things out of any particular type of substance. The last option, I was pretty sure I could do on my own with a bit of practice. So, I went with the first option, completing my upgrade.
Compress Earth (Rank 10): You can fuse dirt and stone into a more durable, heavier material that can be shaped. You can currently fuse a 512-square-foot section of earth, common stone, and metal. Your compressed stone has a Hardness rating of 8.5; your compressed earth has a Hardness rating of 6.5. The detail with which you can sculpt is based on your Mind & Perception Attribute.
You can now use uncommon stone in your fusions. The rarer, denser, or more exotic the stone, the greater will be the effect on the final product.
You can now use non-magical metals in your fusions. The rarer, denser, or more exotic the stone, the greater will be the effect on the final product.
Cost: 10 Mana per 1-foot square
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount you can compress, its durability, weight, and the materials upon which you can use this ability. Each upgrade increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
I had achieved two things for which I had been aiming: discovering if there was an additional effect at Rank 10, and getting my Compress Earth to work with metals. This meant I could adjust the armor I¡¯d got from Mugro as well as the shaft of my maul. The experiment had not been cheap, but it was worth it. Seventy-nine rank points seemed like a lot until you realized I had just spent thirty-four on raising an ability by only four ranks. The cost had gone up again, but I only had to wait a short while for my Mana to recharge. Taking a break from upgrading my abilities, I looked over the mass of junk the goblins had piled before me. Some of it was literally garbage. ¡°Why is there a broken coat rack here?¡± I asked, looking over the trash heap. ¡°Loot from an old village,¡± Juruk said proudly. ¡°At least I have a use for the metal now,¡± I sighed. There were wooden crates, old pots, pans, and even an entire wardrobe with a full mirror on its door, albeit cracked in several places. I was startled when I caught sight of myself. My facial hair had grown into a straggly beard and my hair hung long and flat. It was my face, however, that was the most startling. My eyes were brown. They had always been dark but now, they were almost black. Three angry red lines ran down the side of my face. They were still healing and would leave vicious scars. It had only been a few days, but I already looked different. My muscle mass was now much leaner and my body more angular. Turning away from my reflection, I looked back to Juruk. ¡°Most of this is junk. We¡¯ll be leaving it behind when we depart. Take anything made of metal or of actual value; not just things you¡¯ve found or stolen. Make sure you bring the wardrobe door with the mirror,¡± I instructed him. ¡°Have everything packed by tonight. Don¡¯t leave behind anything you might need. We will be departing tomorrow morning.¡± I headed back to camp, thinking over my next upgrades. Both my Perception and Mind Attributes were at seventeen. I didn¡¯t have enough points to increase my Mind to twenty, but did have enough to get my Perception to twenty-two. Arriving back at camp, I bathed in the river, allowing the blood, sweat, and dirt to run off. I rubbed mint leaves into the scarf I got from Mugro and headed back into camp. Stripping out of my soaking wet clothes, I set my pelt and new scarf to dry as I lay back to spend the rest of my rank points. ¡°Increase Foresight by one rank,¡± I told the System.
Foresight (Rank 6): You passively see 11 seconds into the future and know what will happen to yourself and the space within 15 feet at all times. This ability is based on your Perception Attribute. Upgrading it will increase the time you can see by 1 second per rank in Perception above 10.
You can see different possible outcomes based on your actions made within the span of time you can foresee.
This is a passive ability, costing 1 Mana/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase how far you can see into the future and how far around you can see. Every upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
I felt the needles return, stabbing into my eyes with burning fire, hearing a roaring cacophony in my ears. My back arched with the pain as I let out a strained breath and dragged in a lungful of air. When the pain subsided, I breathed out again. ¡°Increase Foresight by one rank,¡± I said.
Foresight (Rank 7): You passively see 12 seconds into the future and know what will happen to yourself and the space within 17 feet at all times. This ability is based on your Perception Attribute. Upgrading it will increase the time you can see by 1 second per rank in Perception above 10.
You can see different possible outcomes based on your actions made within the span of time you can foresee.
This is a passive ability, costing 1 Mana/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase how far you can see into the future and how far around you can see. Every upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
The pain redoubled, a terrible scream tearing from my throat before I bit it back, refusing to allow myself to show any weakness. I felt my vision darken as I held back another yelp of agony. The pain faded, and I let myself rest for a moment before continuing. ¡°Raise Foresight by one rank,¡± I said.
Foresight (Rank 8): You passively see 13 seconds into the future and know what will happen to yourself and the space within 19 feet at all times. This ability is based on your Perception Attribute upgrading. It will increase the time you can see by 1 second per rank in Perception above 10.
You can see different possible outcomes based on your actions made within the span of time you can foresee.
This is a passive ability, costing 1 Mana/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase how far you can see into the future and how far around you can see. Every upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
The pain returned again, greater than ever before, but it was about to get worse.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 20, the Mortal limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attribute from killing you.
Your eyes have mutated to allow you perfect vision, even in complete darkness and your eardrums have mutated to automatically deafen you temporarily when explosions or other loud sounds go off in your proximity, to prevent you from being stunned or permanently deafened.
Fluid flowed down from my eyes and ears. I felt my eyes roll and grow white-hot as my eardrums shattered and began reforming. I writhed and flailed on my sleeping bag, the pain now so intense I could not even scream. Finally, the pain ended, and I gasped for breath. I had raised Perception past twenty, but still wanted to get Foresight to Rank 10 for the additional effect. ¡°Raise Foresight by one rank,¡± I said.
Foresight (Rank 9): You passively see 14 seconds into the future and know what will happen to yourself and the space within 21 feet of you at all times. This ability is based on your Perception Attribute upgrading. It will increase the time you can see by 1 second rank in Perception above 10.
You can see different possible outcomes based on your actions made within the span of time you can foresee.
This is a passive ability, costing 1 Mana/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase how far you can see into the future and how far around you can see. Every upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
The pain returned again but it was nothing compared to the agony of mutating. I focused on my breathing and was able to push past it. ¡°Raise Foresight by one more rank,¡± I told the System once the pain had disappeared.
Foresight (Rank 10): You passively see 15 seconds into the future and know what will happen to yourself and the space within 23 feet of you at all times. This ability is based on your Perception attribute upgrading. It will increase the time you can see by 1 second per rank in Perception above 10.
You can see different possible outcomes based on your actions made within the span of time you can foresee.
You can see visions during your sleep that will lead you to objects or creatures that you seek. This is a passive ability, costing 1 Mana/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase how far you can see into the future and how far around you can see. Every upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
Muscles tightened and I sucked in a breath as the pain washed over me. When I had recovered sufficiently, I sighed. There were five available rank points left, but even if I was up to upgrading another ability, they would all cost more than that. I focused back on my fight against Mugro, reviewing how I¡¯d fought him. I felt the bruises along my body and grimaced. Then, I drank a health potion. The bruises didn¡¯t fade immediately but I did feel the pain lessen somewhat. I had not been able to block Mugro effectively. His Might had been so high that without a roughly equivalent amount, I had just been sent flying. I realized with hindsight that I could probably have blocked his hits if I¡¯d used my Telekinesis instead of my own body. I could lift an object weighing 450 pounds and could likely withstand the same amount of force with my ability. If I manipulated my shield telekinetically, that would leave my other hand free. I looked at my weapon. My Nemean club had served me well so far and I still had the bones and the rest of the claws from the lion. I took the other leg bones, some quartz and onyx and a few bits of metal from the goblin¡¯s scrap heap. I held the claws in place, fastening with the binding of tight compressed uncommon stone and metal, creating three other clubs. I could wield one in my left hand and use the others telekinetically. I looked over Murgo¡¯s helmet and the single full piece of armor and vambrace. The armor would extend from the wrist all the way up my arm to the pauldron, the vambrace covering my left forearm. He also had a wide, leather belt that covered most of my stomach with dangling leather tassets. Plates of metal were riveted along the leather belt, providing added protection to more vital areas. The belt would be the easiest to adjust and I quickly made it fit around my own waist. The other armor wasn¡¯t so straightforward. Murgo had been almost two feet taller than me, and his arms and head had been thicker than mine. By then, my Compress Earth also affected common metal. Placing the ill-fitting armor on my arm, I compressed the steel, shrinking it until it fit near perfectly. I did the same for the vambrace. I hadn¡¯t added any more material to the mix so they didn¡¯t weigh any more than before, but each square inch would weigh more than steel of the same size and thickness. I put the Greek-looking helmet on and went over to the mirror of the wardrobe which the goblins had brought over. I adjusted it until it was only a little loose so I could pad it with leather later. It had already grown late, and I decided to get some sleep before anything else could interrupt me. I grabbed some food and ate quickly. Then, I returned to my tent and took off my newly acquired armor. I set it to the side with my cloak and weapons, then fell asleep quickly, my battle and upgrades having taken most of my energy. Chapter 8: Star-fallen Jamis, Torvin, Mira, Felrick and Helen returned to the capital. They dismounted, and stable hands took their horses back to the stable as they returned to the palace. Sergeant Heldark looked them over as they returned. ¡°Glad to see you all look the same. Some think scars make them look tougher, but it just shows they didn¡¯t go into the fight prepared. With a good healer like Helen, you shouldn¡¯t ever even have a sign you¡¯ve been in battle, apart from the loss of durability to your gear,¡± he said. ¡°Are we going back to training?¡± Jamis asked, a little defeated. ¡°No,¡± Heldark said. ¡°Right now, you need experience. Once you¡¯ve rested, there will be a new assignment for you. There are reports of a spider nest near one of our lumber operations in the Cursed Forest. Valuable timber, so worth the risk. Lady Kathleen and a few of her bodyguards went to investigate around two months back but we lost contact with both her and the lumber operation. No scouts have returned since.¡± ¡°Who is Lady Kathleen?¡± Torvin asked. ¡°My cousin,¡± Helen said. ¡°She is also the granddaughter of the High Priestess of Luren.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Heldark agreed. ¡°This quest comes straight from the high priestess. She has given you a tracking device to help locate her granddaughter. Your job is to find any survivors, rescue Lady Kathleen if she still lives, and put an end to these spiders.¡± ¡°How far away is it?¡± Mira asked. ¡°Four days into the Cursed Forest but a week from the capital,¡± Heldark said. The champions all stiffened as they received a notification from the System. ¡°That might delay us a bit,¡± Helen said as she read it over. *** I had just sat up in bed, sunlight piercing the covering of my tent when a notification popped into my vision.
Congratulations! As the Champion of Kelesa, you have been invited to participate in an event to take place in one week¡¯s time and which will allow you to interact with some of the other champions. During the event, you will be transported into another realm. You will not suffer permanent death, or other effects such as mind control, domination, or crippling injuries. You can still gain rank points from killing another champion, but they will not lose any rank points they have gathered. Any participant ¡®killed¡¯ during the event will be teleported back to where they were before the last event and will only lose any materials or equipment gathered during the event. The goal and reward for the event will be revealed when you enter the realm. Do you wish to be entered into the event?
¡°Yes,¡± I said immediately. Any opportunity to gain new rank points or gather information on my rivals was welcome. Also, there was basically no risk to this event, which made me slightly suspicious¡­ but not enough to decline the invite. I felt energized and excited by this new goal, having a time limit now. I needed to gather as many rank points and hopefully new abilities as I could before the event, longing to jump up and rush into the forest and hunt down as many beasts as I could. I calmed myself, knowing I¡¯d need to use my time wisely; the best way to do that would be to acquire some local knowledge. I strapped my armor on over my clothes, starting to run out of fully intact garments. I put my cloak on over my armor and slipped two clubs into my belt, then stepped out of the tent and looked at myself in the mirror, seeing my patchy-looking beard. I grabbed one of my rusty daggers and compressed it. The rust disappeared and turned the blade a russet color. I compressed the edge until it was razor fine and stepped closer to the mirror. Carefully, ran my dagger along my skin, shaving off my beard and nicking myself several times. I rubbed the blood on my cloak and sipped from a healing potion to stop the bleeding. Then I looked myself over again, my face clean shaven, my hair still hanging long. I¡¯d meant to get it cut just before Kelesa had brought me here. Not trusting my capacity to cut my own hair, or indeed for any of my vassals to do it, I¡¯d let it be. I tugged my helmet on and went to look for my goblin vassals. I found Juruk beside a pile of metal bits of junk, animal pelts, and random bits of furniture. ¡°What are the closest and the most powerful creatures in the area?¡± I asked. ¡°There is the spined lion,¡± Juruk said. ¡°We stay out of its territory. The chief didn¡¯t want to fight it.¡± ¡°Could be an interesting fight,¡± I said. ¡°What rank is it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. The chief never said. He never wanted to enter its territory.¡± So, it¡¯s probably higher than forty, based on his own rank, I reasoned to myself. I might want to wait on that a while¡­ or maybe not. ¡°What else?¡± I pressed him. ¡°There is the black serpent,¡± Juruk said. ¡°It lives in the swamps, upriver. The chief wouldn¡¯t fight it either.¡± ¡°Is there any creature he would fight?¡± I asked. ¡°He only fights creatures that come to us,¡± Juruk said. ¡°Like you.¡± So maybe he isn¡¯t the best way to judge the strength of my opponents. ¡°What other creatures? It doesn¡¯t matter how powerful they are. I want to know what and where they are.¡± ¡°There is the forest wyvern,¡± Juruk said. ¡°It dwells in the crags north of here. The spider queen lives with etters near the humans, a day to the south.¡± Juruk suddenly seemed nervous. ¡°Then, there is the wraith in the old ruins.¡± ¡°Wraith?¡± I asked. ¡°It is cursed to haunt the ruins,¡± Juruk said. ¡°Any creature that enters there never returns. Even Gifted beasts have never made it back.¡± ¡°Very promising,¡± I said, musing over my options. It seemed the wraith would be the highest-ranked creature if it had been killing Gifted beasts for a while. That left the other targets to start with. ¡°Which one of them is the closest?¡± I asked. ¡°The black serpent,¡± Juruk said, shivering a little as he said its name. ¡°Great. Show me the way,¡± I said. ¡°Me?¡± Juruk asked. ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°Lead the way to the swamp. Now.¡± Grudgingly, he stood up and led me along the shore. We took a narrow trail up the side of the cliff past the waterfall, hiking along the shore of the river for three hours before he stopped and pointed across the river to a swathe of reeds and cattails stretching on for three miles. A scattering of trees growing among the plants and various ponds were visible in the swamp. ¡°Do you know where its lair is?¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± Juruk said, shaking his head. ¡°This is the end of our territory and as far as I¡¯ve ever been.¡± ¡°Go back to camp and wait for me,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re going to be here longer than I thought.¡± I ran over the river, my feet never sinking through the water as I crossed the rapids in less than thirty seconds. Standing on the bank, I looked over the swamp, seeking out a black serpent, the name both evocative and also mysteriously vague. I hadn¡¯t bothered to ask how big it was but based on my experience so far, all Gifted were typically enormous. Where would I be if I were a snake? Where might be the most tempting place to hide myself? I moved deeper into the swamp, my head on a swivel as I searched for any movement or hint of something in the water. First, I headed toward the center of the swamp, at the very least, wanting to get a better vantage for the rest of the area. When absolutely necessary, I ran across the water but generally tried to stay on solid ground. At the center island, I glanced around, bending upon seeing an old snakeskin at least three dozen feet long. ¡°Holy shit, that¡¯s big!¡± I whispered. The snakeskin slithered its massive bulk into a hole in the ground. I sighed. ¡°Well, at least I¡¯ve got the gear for this.¡± Pulling my scarf, I dived into the murky water and proceeded tentatively, feeling my way, swimming down as the curved tunnel widened out. I must have been swimming for ten minutes when I finally broke the surface again. Water dripped off my pelt, skin, and armor as I moved onto the bank. It was pitch black, but thanks to my Perception Mutation, I could see clearly. Animal bones rested in the muck, and the cavern was at least a hundred feet tall. A network of roots high above supported the ceiling, and I looked about warily. Its attack was visible with Foresight and I teleported away, turning around to see¡­ nothing. Not one single thing could my eyes see, but knew the snake had just struck. Again, my Foresight warned me of an attack, and I rolled to the side, still seeing nothing at all. Activating my Bestial Senses, my nostrils were assaulted by the rank smell of snake scales sliding over mud. I could now see the black serpent, its body glowing a warm purple. It struck at me again and I rolled under it, my clawed clubs striking upwards. I made contact but my clubs only dug narrow scratches, its tough scales rebuffing all attacks. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Allezsia Shadow-fang. Gifted¡ªMortal. Giant Death Adder. Rank: 38.
It lunged forward. My shield lodged between us. Its fangs bounced off the enchanted steel, reflecting the force of the attack. ¡°Didn¡¯t like that, did you?¡± I taunted. Then I began hurling spearheads at it as my maul and extra clubs swung at it from multiple directions. The snake hissed and lunged toward me again. This time, my Foresight let me know I couldn¡¯t dodge or block as it was apparently using some sort of ability to cross the distance between us in less than half a second. Its fangs bit down but couldn¡¯t pierce my cloak, so it held me in its jaws with my right arm pinned. Beating down on its skull with my other club, I was successful in gouging wounds into it, but it shook me and didn¡¯t release. A hot liquid seeped down my cloak, dripping onto my skin. I screamed as the poison began eating into my flesh, sending my Telekinesis wild as I threw everything I had at it. Allezsia wrapped itself around me and began to squeeze. I gasped and strained as it started crushing me, my club beating on it faster as my other weapons savaged its body.
16 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 320 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 58/320. When you complete this quest, you will gain 64 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
A notification signaled its death, but its viselike grip on me was unwavering. Even in death, it continued to constrict me as its poison attacked my thighs and legs. I gasped, looking about, then teleported, soon landing on my back, rolling in the mud to coat my legs and ease the burning. I grabbed a health potion from my pocket and drained the contents. The burning in my legs subsided but didn¡¯t fully go away. A notification blinked, and I pulled it up.
You have been affected by the enhanced venom ability of a death adder that will stop your heart(s) and destroy your nervous system. Take an antidote or receive treatment before you die. The time until death is 1:30 minutes.
Shit! I don¡¯t have an antidote! Attempting to subdue rising panic, I searched my backpack, locating my jars of herbs and frantically grabbing the ones containing purity lilies and violet nullifier. I shoved two of each in my mouth, desperately chewing and swallowing. I waited and felt my stomach churn and boil as heat filled my body, similar to the feeling of increasing an Attribute by three ranks. That¡¯s it. I¡¯m dying. Uncontrolled, insane laughter escaped from my lips until the new notification arrived.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Survive a lethal poison with no outside assistance.
Reward. Title: Field Alchemist.
*Field Alchemist: You do not acknowledge the dangers of mixing different herbs and liquids inside your body and your very stomach acts as a cauldron. Suffer only half the negative effects of mixing two herbs without processing and gain full benefits from them.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Be seconds away from death and pull through by your own will and wit.
Reward. Title: Survivor II (requires you to already have Survivor).
* Survivor II: You are resistant to death itself, proving over and again that you have what it takes to continue. Mortal wounds have less impact on you and require damage stages two higher to take effect.
I gasped and looked down at my legs, still raw from the poison. As I drank another potion, my skin healed. The hair along my legs was gone, however, and there were white burn scars around my knees. My lower legs had been protected by tight-fitting boots, and I was again thankful I had chosen them instead of a weapon. I took out a Nemean claw and approached the cooling body of the death adder, pulling it out straight, using it like a blade and running the claw along its underbelly. I peeled off the skin and rolled up the bloody hide.
Death Adder Hide. Type: Material. Rarity: Uncommon. Hardness: 6. This hide was enhanced with extra Toughness, making it extremely durable and unable to be cut by a weapon with less than 6 Hardness.
Taking hold of its skull, I teased out the fangs to examine one. They were some fifteen inches in length.
Death Adder Fang. Type: Material. Rarity: Uncommon. Hardness: 8. This fang is imbued with the remnants of a powerful poison ability, dealing moderate poison damage when it comes into contact with flesh.
*Death Adder Venom: Causes severe rapid necrosis in flesh, causing organ failure. When injected, requires 1 to 2 drams to be lethal to a moderately-sized human.
I tied the hide to my backpack and put the fangs inside. Then, I dived back into the water, my weapons suspended behind me telekinetically as I felt my way along the tunnel. Making my way to the surface, I emerged into the noon sun, then ran across the water, jumping the bank of reeds across the river to the other side. I headed back to camp with my newly-acquired trophies, now having seven days to prepare for the event. I was tired now, but needed to push myself to get as powerful as I could be before it would be time to face the other champions. I dropped the hide off for Jand and the others to start tanning and found Juruk again. ¡°Take me to the wyvern,¡± I said. ¡°The wyvern?¡± he asked, ears twitching with fright. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to wait?¡± ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve got a time limit, and I want to spend every minute I can getting stronger. Now, lead the way!¡± With typical reluctance, Juruk led me out of the camp. We followed the trail but headed east instead of toward the swamp. After a three-hour hike, he pointed to a ravine, the top of which was lined with trees. The pass continued north toward the mountains, splitting the earth to be joined by other canyons and crags. ¡°You can return to camp now. I¡¯ve got this,¡± I told Juruk, surveying my new hunting ground. Juruk turned and fled. I moved into the pass, scanning the clifftops and shallow caves for any sign of the wyvern, heading deeper until I heard wings beating. Freezing, I looked around, attempting to pinpoint the sound. They were coming from the top of the cliff, so I started climbing. My Might was a lot higher thanks to my ring and I quickly pulled myself to the edge of the cliff and looked up. Uprooted trees formed a massive nest, and there, inside of it sat the wyvern, sleeping. It was monstrous, its body the size of a minivan, and its wings easily spanned eighty feet as it lay coiled in on itself.
Yurmir, Prince of the Treetops. Gifted¡ªDraconic/Beast/Wyvern. Mortal. Rank: 54.
It was the strongest creature I¡¯d met so far, and I estimated it to be as difficult to fight as the Nemean lion. A blazing ball of fire fell from the heavens, striking the sleeping wyvern which snapped awake, letting out a roar of pain and anger. A shadow fell over the ground and the wyvern looked up in time to have its neck clamped down by a beast four times its size. The force of its landing nearly flung me from the cliffside, barely managing to keep hold of some tree roots. I poked my head back over the cliff to get a look at it. It had black scales, the edges of which pulsed shades of orange and red. Its colossal body was the size of a semi-truck, while its eyes were brilliant crimson, and its head boasted a six-horned crown.
Exar¡¯kun, the Star-fallen Lord. Gifted¡ªDragon/Hell Dragon. Veteran. Rank: ???
The dragon snapped the wyvern¡¯s neck and tore into its flesh. I stayed where I was, motionless, fixated on the sight. After twenty minutes, the dragon spread its wings and took to the sky again. That was the sight of my first Veteran-ranked creature. The fight against the wyvern would have been difficult and likely to have almost killed me but the hell dragon had slain it in less than thirty seconds with only two attacks. I¡¯m going to beat that thing, someday, I promised myself. I waited for five minutes before getting up and approaching the remains of the corpse. The hell dragon had ripped open the wyvern¡¯s chest and devoured all its internal organs. The meat of the wyvern¡¯s flanks and neck had been ripped apart but there was still a significant amount of the carcass left untouched. I began cutting away at its hide, folding it back and skinning all possible parts of it. I also collected loose scales from the ground and spotted a black one, its edges red like burning coal.
Hell Dragon Scale. Type: Material. Rarity: Epic. Hardness: 14. The scales of this hell dragon are impervious to any fire and strong enough to withstand the blow of a mountain giant. Requires a weapon of at least Hardness 14 to break it.
It was both awesome and terrifying. The scales were harder than my Nemean pelt, and to think that the beast was entirely covered in these things. I¡¯ve got some way to go before I¡¯m on the level of that thing! I kept harvesting. Most of the wyvern¡¯s wing membrane had been destroyed by the dragon¡¯s fire, but I got enough of it to lay it out like a tarpaulin upon which I piled loose scales.
Forest Wyvern Scale. Type: Material. Rarity: Rare. Hardness: 9. The scales of this wyvern give it resistance to poisonous and acidic attacks and require a weapon of at least Hardness 9 to break it.
I set to work on its two back feet. It had three toes and two back claws that were curved like a velociraptor¡¯s. It took a great deal of time and cutting to break them free from their hold, but eventually, I acquired the six front and two back talons.
Forest Wyvern Front Talons. Type: Material. Rarity: Rare. Hardness: 10. The claws of this wyvern were enhanced by an ability during its life, making them harder and giving them the ability to pierce even material stronger than itself. They can pierce through materials as if they were two Hardnesses lower.
Forest Wyvern Hook Talons. Type: Material. Rarity: Rare. Hardness: 10. The hook claws of this wyvern were enhanced by an ability during its life, making them more effective at tearing flesh. They cause significant bleeding and laceration, preventing the wounds from being easily closed. Requires a weapon with Hardness 10 to break them.
I continued to carve up the wyvern, finding some sections of its flesh cooked by dragon fire. I tasted some, feeling hungry but clearly not that hungry¡ªso I discarded the flesh as I freed its bones. I would make good use of the longer bones of its wings and legs.
Forest Wyvern Bone. Type: Material. Rarity: Uncommon. Hardness: 9. The bones of this wyvern are enhanced during its life by a high Toughness, making them highly durable. Requires a weapon with Hardness 9 to break it.
After that, I teased out its fangs, being careful as I saw a dark oily liquid coating the teeth. Its four fangs were seven inches long, its other teeth ranging from five to three inches.
Forest Wyvern Fangs. Type: Material. Rarity: Rare. Hardness: 10. The fangs of this wyvern have been enhanced by the remnants of a poison ability, enabling them to deal moderate poison damage that paralyzes targets with low Endurance and Toughness.
*Forest Wyvern Poison: the venom of the forest wyvern attacks and destroys the nerves of the body, shutting down the brain¡¯s ability to control the body as the poison makes its way through the nervous system. Requires two to three drams to be lethal in a moderately-sized human.
Hmmm, that could have been bad! I don¡¯t have good Toughness or Endurance. My harvesting of the corpse had gone on for several hours. The sun had already started to set. I had only hunted one Gifted creature today, but I¡¯d gained a decent amount of crafting materials. So, I began my return hike. My eyes were able to navigate easily, even as darkness fell, and by the time I was back at the camp, it was fully dark. The goblins had set up shacks, lean-tos, and tents in the outer wall and huddled around campfires, roasting animals on spits. I went inside and took some food from the women, setting down the pack of materials I¡¯d been able to save. I washed off the dirt and grime in the river and returned to my tent. Despite being tired, I was feeling good about today¡¯s work. Six more days. I need to hunt for new abilities, increase my abilities rank and get as many Attributes as I can above twenty to unlock these mutations. My ability to see in darkness had been invaluable today and I could feel the benefit of my two hearts to my physical capacity. I removed my armor and slumped, exhausted, tossing and turning, my mind filled with plans, before eventually falling asleep. Chapter 9: Berserker Helen sat down with a silver goblet in her hand. ¡°I had to practically blackmail the staff to get a decent drink here,¡± she complained. ¡°You wine drinkers!¡± Jamis said, chugging back a pewter pitcher filled with a thick, bitter ale. ¡°This, right here, is a proper drink.¡± ¡°I¡¯m with Helen,¡± Mira said, wincing as she sipped at her own ale. ¡°This stuff is foul.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a border settlement,¡± Felrick said. ¡°They get raided by the myrmidons from the forest so not many skilled crafters want to live here. Those that do are hard people, used to hardship and making do.¡± ¡°Why do they raid?¡± Torvin asked. ¡°What is it they¡¯re interested in?¡± ¡°Women,¡± Helen said darkly. ¡°And textiles and other manufactured goods,¡± Felrick added. ¡°But yes, they take young women as well as any Gifted children they come across. The women are used to breed more warriors for them, and the children are indoctrinated into their beliefs.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand how a race of people can live like that,¡± Mira said. ¡°It¡¯s because of their creator,¡± Helen said, her lip curling. ¡°We are not native to this world. Humans, elves, givarta, kassadrons¡­ We all were brought here as champions over the centuries. But the myrmidons are one of the first six races of this world. They were created by Kelesa, and they will always be drawn to worship and emulate her.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think they are capable of change?¡± Jamis asked. ¡°Maybe individually but as a people, no. Whenever Kelesa chooses a champion, the myrmidons will invariably follow him to bleed the world dry.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough doom and gloom for one day, thank you,¡± Felrick said. ¡°Let us enjoy what time we have today. Tomorrow, we¡¯re entering the Cursed Forest, and we won¡¯t see a safe resting place for some time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to fighting some Gifted beasts and getting more rank points,¡± Jamis said, cracking his fists. ¡°Don¡¯t be launching yourself at every Gifted beast and monster you come across!¡± Helen scolded him. ¡°It¡¯s a good way to end up at death¡¯s door.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we have you,¡± Jamis said, toasting her, a big grin on his face. ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, that girl across the tavern has been eyeing me all night. I¡¯m going to go see if I can make my last stay in town for a while a bit more comfortable.¡± They shook their heads as they watched the hairy barbican leave to seduce the local woman. ¡°You said humans aren¡¯t native to this world,¡± Mira said. ¡°Why do I see so many of them, then? I thought they were the predominant race in this world.¡± ¡°They are,¡± Felrick said. ¡°Humans have more children than most races and are compatible with every humanoid species that the gods have brought to this world. Other races usually just get assimilated into them over a few generations.¡± ¡°Is that why I¡¯ve seen an asterisk behind some people¡¯s description?¡± Torvin asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Helen said, nodding. ¡°If Mira and you were to have a child, for example, there would be that same asterisk next to the name of whatever race your child most took after.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not going to happen,¡± Mira told Torvin flatly. ¡°I¡¯m not the one who suggested that!¡± Torvin protested as Felrick and Helen laughed at him. *** I woke and stretched, then strapped on my armor, grabbed breakfast and found Juruk again. ¡°You¡¯re up again,¡± I said. ¡°Take me to the spined lion.¡± Juruk sighed but on this occasion, did not complain. He led me to a ford across the river and we headed west, the forest thickening until Juruk stopped and pointed ahead. ¡°Lair ahead. Territory starts here,¡± Juruk said and pointed to scrape marks on the trees. ¡°Stand by at camp in case I need you to guide me somewhere else,¡± I said, dismissing him. I stalked forward, scanning for tracks or signs of movement. Every Gifted I¡¯d ever fought had been territorial, so I was sure the spined lion and I would encounter each other one way or the other. I kept pacing forward before breaking through the line of trees into a wide clearing. I noticed a cave which wasn¡¯t set into a cliff face. Instead, a jagged pile of rocks jutted up and a looming maw led down. There was no eagerness in me to fight another beast in its own lair. Luckily for me, it turned out I wouldn¡¯t have to. A yowl broke out from the cave, echoing about the clearing. A pair of luminous yellow eyes emerged from it as the spined lion stepped out, into the light. I had been imagining something with a row of spikes along its back or a manticore but what I saw was like a cross between a saber-tooth and a porcupine.
Tutaren the Impaler. Gifted¡ªMortal. Beast/Spined Lion. Rank: 48.
The thing bared its teeth at me, snarling as its spines bristled on its back. It flicked its tail toward me, and at the same time, dozens of barbs shot at me like arrows. My shield intercepted them, and they pinged off the enchanted steel. With stealth, the spined lion ran around me in a circle, soon launching more freshly generated spikes from its tail. I dodged and interposed my shield as the distance between us closed. Within ten feet, I lunged at the beast, every single spike on it exploding outwards, growing an extra five feet in length. I tried to grab the spikes with my Telekinesis, but they were moving so fast. Besides, there were so many of them that I lacked the mental ability to keep track of them all. As I twisted my head, they glanced off the dome of my helmet. This was preferable to being skewered through the visor of my helmet or the gap between my shoulders and neck. I was, however, unable to prevent six spikes from puncturing my left bicep. Another was sticking out of my thigh just above the knee. Whilst this was clearly sub-optimal, this was without a doubt the most favorable outcome out of the possible futures of which I¡¯d been able to catch a glimpse. Most of them pictured me lying in a pool of my own blood. My maul swept in, but the cat disappeared in a flash, zipping along the ground and whirling to face me again, its spikes visibly regrowing by inches in a split second. I ripped the spikes out of my body and crouched down, taking cover behind my shield as I was bombarded by another volley of spikes. I hurled a volley of spearheads but the lion didn¡¯t even dodge them, merely flattening its spikes and not even flinching as my spearheads bounced off them. Then, the beast nimbly dodged my maul and again hurtled across the ground. Activating my boots, I rolled under its pounce, continuing rolling as a volley of spikes launched at me from midair. I teleported to the side of my foe, slashing down with my clubs on its head. I didn¡¯t cut into it, but both my weapons connected with meaty thuds; Tutaren staggered back for a second before hissing and expanding out again. A second time, I ducked down behind my shield as it exploded with spikes and I let loose a roar for the first time in the fight, wrestling with the urge to flee. Pushing forward, I slashed down with my club. Tutaren twisted and grabbed my weapon with its jaws, ripping it out of my hand. I rested for a second, the beast using the opportunity to whip its tail under my cloak. Thorny javelins peppered my back, jutting out like a pincushion. I screamed in pain and teleported away, reaching behind me to pull out the spines. In a flash, Tutaren pounced at me. I dropped and managed to roll under it but it used an ability, its spikes shooting out and pushing it back, midair. Suddenly, there it was, on top of me. I was only marginally faster than this thing. Whatever skills and abilities it had, speed was obviously one of them. To my horror, it went for my throat. I shoved my right arm in its mouth, causing its saber teeth to grind against my armor. I felt it start to bend, the lion beginning to crush and penetrate what I believed was my unbreachable defense. I scrambled under it, the weight of it shoving the spikes deeper. I felt myself gasp in shock and pain as they pierced what I was sure were vital organs. My hand reached out, grabbed one of its spikes and jammed it deep into its right eye. Tutaren released me as it stumbled backwards, yowling in pain and pawing at its face. I didn¡¯t let up even as blood streamed down my back. Instead, stepping forward, I wrapped my cloak around the beast and held on as tightly as I could. I felt its spikes discharge but my cloak was tough enough to withstand the barrage and I held on. Grabbing one of the lion¡¯s own spikes, I stabbed into the fur under its chest. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. We rolled on the ground, and it managed to get a paw around me and run its claws across my back, shredding my skin, causing even more blood to spurt from my back. My vision was red and blurry by this time and not just due to the loss of blood. Deep anger was welling inside me. I used it to help me survive. Again, the lion thrashed, slamming me against trees and onto the ground. I stubbornly held on and stabbed relentlessly into its chest, my enhanced dagger and my arm coated in our mingling blood.
24 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 320 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 59/320. When you complete this quest, you will gain 64 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I finally let go and dropped to the ground.
You have suffered a massive internal injury to vital organs and still have foreign objects inside you. The time until death is 52 seconds.
I snarled, refusing to accept death. I felt the spikes and ripped them out with Telekinesis as I poured cauter fennel over my back. As it came in contact with my blood, it seemed to ignite. I kept pouring, emptying the jar, downing the health potion.
You have suffered a massive internal injury to vital organs and still have foreign objects inside you. The bleeding has slowed. Time until death is 95 seconds.
Grim laughter spilled from my throat and soon transformed into a blood-filled cough. I had stopped the external bleeding, but the health potion had only slowed the internal bleeding. I went through my other herbs and picked up another I had gathered.
Scourge Rose. Type: Poison. Rarity: Uncommon. Grows in places with a fire affinity or where a massive fire has swept the land. The rose bushes feed off the ash. The thorns of this rose excrete a sap that attacks the blood with a flameless fire, burning the body from the inside out.
It wasn¡¯t a cure, but I was dying and had nothing to lose. Hoping my Field Alchemist title lived up to its description, I dumped a bit of the sap into a health potion with a pinch of the remaining cauter fennel and a bit of raw red yarrow, violet nullifier, and purity lilies. Chugging back the mixture and chewing as vigorously as I could, I fell back and prepared for death. ¡°Fuck you, Dad!¡± I said as I stared up into the blue sky. The blue sky faded to be replaced by a dark expanse. I couldn¡¯t tell whether I¡¯d closed my eyes in my last moments or gone blind. Pain wracked my body, and I curled up on myself, my stomach burning, and my veins beginning to throb as fire traveled down them, followed by an icy chill. It was ten times worse than the last time I had combined some random herbs. Simultaneously, I felt the burning, searing agony with the icy pain of the freezing liquid nitrogen coursing through me. The two forces battled it out as I thrashed on the ground, unable to focus on anything through the agony. I fought to stay alive but could feel my grip on life loosening. I wanted to growl in anger and rage but did not have the strength to even whimper. I was dangling over a precipice, a black abyss beneath me. In my mind, I felt the hunger of death below me, and there, at least I found the strength to rage against my fate. ¡°You said I¡¯d never be anything!¡± I screamed into the darkness, although at what or at whom I screamed I could not be sure. ¡°I am the champion of a god!¡± The darkness laughed back at me. ¡°I am more than you ever were!¡± I shouted into the blackness. ¡°More than you could ever have been!¡± I felt a sudden strength as if something was shoving me up from the depths. It wasn¡¯t much, but my body was suddenly driven by a new force, pushing back the darkness, scrambling and scratching for every last inch of life I had left. The agony began to ease slowly. It wasn¡¯t the sudden release from pain like the jolt of a rank-up but a gradual release, more akin to a glacier melting. When I could finally sit up, it was late in the evening.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Kill a Gifted beast with a primitive weapon of bone while in a state of rage and severely injured.
Reward. Title: Berserker (Requires you to have the titles, Mark of Cain, Feral Barbarian, and Survivor II).
*Berserker: You have overcome pain, suffering, and even the brink of death by the force of your anger alone. Whenever you are filled with anger and enmity, your body becomes less receptive to pain, letting you push through life-threatening injuries more easily.
¡°I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s a good thing,¡± I said, reading over the title. ¡°This seems like a good way to get myself killed.¡± I stopped talking, realizing I¡¯d already been doing a good job of that already. As I dismissed the notification, another one popped up.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Consume several herbs as well as at least one poison and survive the combination.
Reward. Title: Field Alchemist II (Requires you to have Field Alchemist).
*Field Alchemist II: You do not care for the dangers of mixing different herbs, liquids, and even poisons inside your body and your very stomach acts as your cauldron. Suffer only a quarter of the negative effects of mixing different unprocessed herbs and gain full benefits from them.
The title was basically the same as my last one, merely including an added description for poison and no longer limiting me to the combination of two herbs. Considering I had only just attained the first title that day, it probably said something about me and how I threw myself unflinchingly into life-and-death situations. ¡°Without risk, there is no reward,¡± I said quietly, standing. I looked at the body of Tutaren but there wasn¡¯t much use I could see for it. Its spines were highly effective, but my spearheads were probably more suitable for my needs. I picked one that was four feet long but could bend it only slightly. Gathering up several bunches and tying them with paracord just in case I found a use for them, I looked again over the body of the spined lion, ending up collecting its saber-tooth fangs.
Spined Lion Fang. Type: Material. Rarity: Uncommon. Hardness: 9. The tooth of a Gifted Spined Lion: This material can only be broken by a weapon of Hardness 9 or higher.
I headed back to camp, stopping when I reached the river to soak the dried, merged lion and human blood out of my skin, clothes, and cloak, also washing my armor clean. Bone weary, I eventually made it back to camp. Having once again narrowly survived death, I collapsed into my tent without even eating. I was still on a time limit, however, and forced myself to sit up and concentrate. I only had a few abilities I could raise, so looked them over. I still wanted to raise Telekinesis, but Compress Earth would also let me increase my Mind Attribute and get me closer to a mutation for that stat. I decided to compromise and raise Telekinesis by one and Compress Earth by two, since even if I put all my points into Compress Earth it wouldn¡¯t get it over twenty. ¡°Raise Telekinesis by one rank,¡± I told the System at last.
Telekinesis (Rank 8): You can, at will, lift 8 objects or creatures weighing 610 pounds or less and move them within 190 feet of your body; or up to 384 objects or creatures weighing 150 pounds or less and move them within 190 feet of your body. The speed and power of objects are based on your Spirit Attribute.
You can now crush an enemy with your ability. You deal a moderate amount of damage each second to a creature suspended by your Telekinesis. The damage is increased slightly for every point in Spirit you have above 10.
Cost: 1 Mana per 10 small objects/sec; or 1 Mana per large object/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of items, their weight, and the range at which you can move them. Every upgrade of this ability increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
I felt the burning as my Spirit, already over twenty, went even higher. The raging inferno burned, spreading from my center out through my chest, stomach, shoulders, and neck and reaching ever further along my body. After the agony of pushing past death, this was nothing. I focused only on my breathing as the rank-up increased my Spirit, the pain vanishing. Breathing out, I quickly reviewed the increase in my ability before dismissing the notification. ¡°Raise Compress Earth by one rank.¡±
Compress Earth (Rank 11): You can fuse dirt and stone into a more durable, heavier material that can be shaped. You can currently fuse a 1,024-square-foot section of earth, common stone, and metal. Your compressed stone has a Hardness rating of 9; your compressed earth has a Hardness rating of 7. The detail with which you can sculpt is based on your Mind & Perception Attribute.
You can now use uncommon stone in your fusions. The rarer, denser or more exotic the stone, the greater the effect on the final product.
You can now use non-magical metals in your fusions. The rarer, denser or more exotic the stone, the greater the effect on the final product.
Cost: 10 Mana per square foot.
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount you can compress, its durability and weight, and the materials upon which you can use this ability. Each upgrade increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
A throbbing headache stabbed into my brain as if nails were being driven into my skull. Despite finding it extremely difficult to focus on my breathing, I had an epiphany, thinking about everything that made me angry. Thoughts of my parents, the foster system, and people I¡¯d known throughout my life flitted through my mind. The stabbing in my head faded into the background, still there, but the pulsing in my veins suppressed it as a feeling of wrath rose in me. I focused on the anger, channeling the emotion, breathing in and out. The pain ended and I barely even noticed except for the notification flashing behind my eyelids. ¡°Increase Compress Earth once,¡± I said, the words coming out as a snarl.
Compress Earth (Rank 12): You can fuse dirt and stone into a more durable, heavier material that can be shaped. You can currently fuse a 2,048-square-foot section of earth, common stone, and metal. Your compressed stone has a Hardness rating of 9.5; your compressed earth has a Hardness rating of 7.5. The detail with which you can sculpt is based on your Mind & Perception Attribute.
You can now use uncommon stone in your fusions. The rarer, denser, or more exotic the stone, the greater will be the effect on the final product.
You can now use non-magical metals in your fusions. The rarer, denser, or more exotic the stone, the greater the effect on the final product.
Cost: 10 Mana per square foot.
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount you can compress, its durability, weight, and the materials upon which you can use this ability. Each upgrade increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
The pain returned. I could dimly feel how much more it had increased but it was an annoying throb in my head instead of an all-consuming pain, no longer as it was before. I let my hate and resentment simmer, my breathing now ragged from emotion instead of pain. ¡°Raise Compress Earth, again,¡± I said, my voice hard and sour.
Compress Earth (Rank 13): You can fuse dirt and stone into a more durable, heavier material that can be shaped. You can currently fuse a 4,096 square-foot section of earth, common stone, and metal. Your compressed stone has a Hardness rating of 10; your compressed earth has a Hardness rating of 8. The detail with which you can sculpt is based on your Mind & Perception Attribute.
You can now use uncommon stone in your fusions. The rarer, denser, or more exotic the stone, the greater the effect on the final product.
You can now use non-magical metals in your fusions, The rarer, denser, or more exotic the stone, the greater the effect on the final product.
Cost: 10 Mana per square foot.
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount you can compress, its durability, weight, and the materials upon which you can use this ability. Each upgrade increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
The pain came again but in my state of meditative anger, was barely palpable. Once it was done, I stood, needing to cool off despite my weariness. I took a bowl from the fire and walked to the edge of the river. I dipped my bare feet into the water as I slowly ate the heavy stew. When I was done, I felt better physically and mentally. I returned to the inner wall, dropped my bowl off at the wash basin and returned to my tent. Chapters 10-30 were removed after I hired a professional editor, if you want to read them you can either on Patreon at Exarch tier or buy the book on Amazon Chapter 31: Its all in my Head I woke to sun streaming through the window and rolled out from under the furs and blankets. Katlyn stood nearby looking nervous. ¡°How long have you been waiting there?¡± I asked looking her over. ¡°Ten minutes my lord,¡± she said. ¡°I was sent to ask if you would like to have your breakfast here in bed or in the great hall?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take it in the hall,¡± I said. ¡°In the future please just wait outside my room.¡± She curtsied to me and left. I pulled on my clothes and sat on the edge of the bed. ¡°Why do you not breed with her?¡± A small feminine voice asked me. I jerked my head up and looked around activating Bestial Senses but couldn¡¯t smell, hear or see anyone nearby and my Foresight wasn¡¯t picking up on any threats either. ¡°Who said that?¡± I asked. There was a giggle. ¡°I did silly.¡± ¡°Where are you?¡± I asked looking around. ¡°I¡¯m inside out and all about,¡± the voice said in singsong tone. ¡°I¡¯m hungry when are you going to feed me?¡± ¡°What are you?¡± I asked continuing to scan the room for the voices location she seemed to whisper in one ear and then the other, but I couldn¡¯t catch sight of her. ¡°That¡¯s a mean question,¡± she said in a pouting tone. ¡°There¡¯s this other guy in here, he¡¯s a real grouch can you get rid of him?¡± A chill went through me. ¡°Who are you talking about?¡± ¡°You know silly,¡± she said laughing. ¡°The angry guy, he¡¯s been trying to catch me but I¡¯m to fast for him.¡± ¡°Karnen, can you hear me?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Karnen¡¯s voice snarled. ¡°What is this thing you let into our Spirit?¡± ¡°First of all, mine not ours,¡± I corrected him. ¡°I think the system said it was a voidling it got shoved in me when I was in the void.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not an it,¡± she retorted petulant. ¡°Well people have names,¡± I said. ¡°I haven¡¯t picked a name yet,¡± she sulked. ¡°Are you going to get rid of this guy or not, he¡¯s making me cramped.¡± ¡°If I could have gotten rid of him I would have tossed the both of you out at the start of this conversation,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s not very nice,¡± she said. ¡°Are you going to feed me or not?¡± ¡°What does that even mean?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± she whined. ¡°I got to eat last night when you were doing your scary speech, and everyone¡¯s fear filled the room but I¡¯m almost empty now.¡± ¡°That was incredibly disturbing and uninformative,¡± I said. ¡°Karnen, can you translate?¡± ¡°No,¡± Karnen answered. ¡°Can you hold her spirit still so I can devour it.¡± ¡°No, go back to shutting up,¡± I said shushing him. ¡°Voidling, what do you eat?¡± ¡°Oh all sorts of things, fear, anger, hate, sadness, despair, hope, joy, jealousy, lust, if you bring that girl back in to breed I could probably get a meal out of that.¡± She said her tone brightening as she came up with the idea. ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯m not having sex till your out of my soul then,¡± I said. ¡°Hey!¡± she protested. ¡°But it would solve both our problems.¡± ¡°I would help you to release your frustrations,¡± Karnen agreed the two creatures suddenly on the same page. ¡°I know we¡¯ve pretty much just met, but the fact that the two of you agree on this probably means it¡¯s a terrible idea,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m going to breakfast you can snack on some emotions of the people around us.¡± ¡°But its so bland unless they¡¯re really feeling something strong,¡± she whined. ¡°Don¡¯t care, the two of you shut up,¡± I said finishing strapping on my few pieces of armor and gear and stepping out into the hall. I sat down in the wooden throne Kaleb had sat at and wooden plate piled with eggs, bacon and toast slathered in jam was placed in front of me. I considered if it might be poisoned but almost everyone here was under my Dominion and I genuinely believed Jeriah when he and I had made the deal. Plus, if it was poisoned, I had Venom Resistant III to keep me alive. I dug into the food and considered my next course of action. I needed to conquer the forest by defeating the seven powers of the region except I had no idea of what that meant. Jeriah walked into the hall and nodded to me stopping before me. ¡°What do you require from me today my lord?¡± he asked. He seemed eager and hungry for action. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s so tasty,¡± the voidling sighed in delight. ¡°What would you say are the eight powers of this region?¡± I asked him, ignoring the creepy voice in my skull. ¡°I would say we are one,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°Next I would probably include the Myrmidon clans but there are only four of them.¡± Katlyn stood beside a jug of wine in her hand as she filled a glass by my side. ¡°What say you, Katlyn?¡± I asked. ¡°What would you describe as a power in this region besides this castle and the Myrmidon clans?¡± Katlyn bit her lip nervously. ¡°Well, have you considered the Beast Lords?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know they existed,¡± I said. ¡°What are they?¡± Katlyn looked to her brother, and he took over. ¡°They are powerful Gifted monsters in the region with sway over other beasts or in control of vast parts of the forest. There are only two that I know of. Your myrmidon woman would know more about them I believe.¡± ¡°Hmm she¡¯s such a mixture of emotions,¡± The voidling commented in my head. ¡°What are the two that you know of?¡± I asked blocking out the running commentary going on in the background. ¡°The Lightning Pheonix,¡± Jeriah said then gave a shudder. ¡°and the Hell Dragon.¡± ¡°I would think with a surname like Dragonbreaker your family would have taken care of it,¡± I said. ¡°It was our ancestor who earned that name,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°He fought alongside the Champion of Velaria against the Champion of Thanadar.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°I have no idea who you are talking about when you say those names.¡± ¡°Velaria is the Goddess of Eagles and Flight,¡± Katlyn whispered in my ear. ¡°Thanadar is the God of Destruction and Greed and the creator of the dragons.¡± ¡°So, no one in your family has done any dragon killing since your great-great-grandfather? ¡°I saw the Hell Dragon up close once, I couldn¡¯t see its exact rank but it was still in Veteran.¡± I prodded him. ¡°It has been ten generations since our ancestor Kain Dragonbreaker slew the dragon,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°And he fought alongside a powerful Champion at the time.¡± ¡°You seem very afraid of this dragon,¡± I said. ¡°Yes,¡± the voidling said. ¡°Taunt him again, the pride mixes with the fear wonderfully.¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost hero rank, I also have gotten close to it once, two years ago. If it¡¯s still only in Veteran rank now it won¡¯t be for much longer.¡± Jeriah said. ¡°It¡¯s also a hell dragon, its breath is even hotter than a regular dragon¡¯s, capable of melting through granite walls.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ll have to deal with it eventually,¡± I said watching as the color drained from his face. Ha! the voidling laughed. the look on his face was hilarious, do it again. ¡°I have been tasked with a Quest by Kelesa,¡± I said. ¡°I must conquer the eight powers of the forest, your father was one of them I believe the clans and beast lords are the others, I already have a connection to the Wolf Clan, so we¡¯ll start there.¡± I finished my breakfast and returned to my room and sat on the edge of the bed. I looked at the wall where weapons hung on hooks. Some looked functional while others were broken either trophies or mementos. Now that I was Veteran rank, I had a lot of abilities for my Spirit Attribute that I could upgrade now that I hadn¡¯t been able to upgrade before. There was Phantom Form, which was only rank ten, Heightened Speed also only rank ten. Dominion was my lowest at rank eight and I had only upgraded Black-rage to rank ten yesterday. I didn¡¯t need to upgrade them all now, but I should probably upgrade Heightened Speed and Phantom Form considering how well they had served me, and Dominion had long been neglected by me. ¡°Karnen, I¡¯m going to be busy for a while; make yourself useful and keep the voidling occupied,¡± I told him. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to eat her all morning,¡± he grumbled. ¡°Well try harder,¡± I said. ¡°Raise Dominion to rank twenty.¡±
Dominion (Rank 9): A number of times per day equal to one-thousand-two-hundred-and-eighty plus your Spirit attribute, you can as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. You can dominate a number of creatures at a time equal to your spirit attribute plus 45. A creature may choose to serve you willingly or may attempt to resist by opposing their Mind attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can at will see the Abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion equal to your Spirit Attribute times 10.
The larger your Dominion is the more it grows in power, all Attributes of your vassals are raised by 1 when they in a group of fifty or more, every fifty vassals increases this bonus by 1 to a maximum possible Attribute score of 20.
Cost: 1 mana per five creatures
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day as well as the multiplier for how many creatures you can have dominated at a time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
I read over the first ability I had been given refreshing its details in my mind then dismissing the pop-up. With rank nine reached it was time to pick the second addition to this ability.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank ten, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
You can summon one of your vassals that you select as your bodyguard to your location as long as they are no farther than seven leagues from your location.
You can dominate twice the number of creatures at a time.
You can share an ability you select with one creature to serve as your lieutenant.
The options here were pretty meh in my opinion. The first one I disregarded right out of the gate, I fought alone, and I certainly didn¡¯t need a bodyguard. The second one would be a time saver, but it didn¡¯t affect how many vassals I could have so it was the lazy choice. The third option wasn¡¯t super flashy but it would let me select one of my vassals and give them a power boost to make them more efficient at watching over the rest while I was gone. I picked option three since it interested me more than the other two.
Please select the ability you will share before you continue.
Hmm, I had to decide now. I had lots of abilities, but which would be useful for anyone regardless of their other abilities? Phantom Form was an Ace up the sleeve, but it had drawbacks, Heightened Speed could literally cause a heart attack, Telekinesis was sort of a specialization. Troll Hide was good but very limited to doing one thing. The more I thought about it I kept coming back to one skill, Foresight; time and again this skill had come in clutch pulling me out of trouble or showing me exactly where to strike. I mentally selected Foresight and the upgrade resumed.
Dominion (Rank 10): A number of times per day equal to two-thousand-five-hundred-and-sixty plus your Spirit attribute, you can as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. You can dominate a number of creatures at a time equal to your spirit attribute plus 50. A creature may choose to serve you willingly or may attempt to resist by opposing their Mind attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can at will see the Abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion equal to your Spirit Attribute times 11.
The larger your Dominion is the more it grows in power, all Attributes of your vassals are raised by 2 when they in a group of fifty or more, every fifty vassals increase this bonus by 2 to a maximum possible Attribute score of 25.
You can share your Foresight with one creature to serve as your lieutenant. The creature you share this with is not required to be your vassal and will have the exact same version of the ability as you. (Warning this cannot be taken away from a creature once given and will remain with them until they or you die)
Cost: 1 mana per five creatures
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day as well as the multiplier for how many creatures you can have dominated at a time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
The scars along my body lit up as light began to shine from within me.
Congratulations, you have raised your Spirit Attribute beyond fifty, the Mortal Limit. Your body is undergoing changes to help you survive the changes to your Attribute.
Due to ongoing Soul Damage your Spirit can now manifest parts of your spirit in physical reality blurring the line between the ethereal and physical. (Warning) This may also make you more vulnerable to sprits and ethereal beings.
That was an ominous and unclear mutation for my spirit, but I couldn¡¯t dwell on it now I had more upgrades to undergo. I skipped the next four notifications not needing to see the minor changes from one rank to the other.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank fifteen, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
Once per day you can pick an ability from one of your vassals and gain access to it.
Your vassal¡¯s damage is increased by one stage while in a group of fifty or more.
Your vassal¡¯s damage is increased by two stages while in a battle you are personally leading.
The choices here were much better than last time. The first option was similar to the one I had taken last time but I could use it instead of using it on someone else. The second option would let my vassals be more survivable out on their own and the third was similar but would let them do more damage when fighting beside me. The third one was out since I preferred to fight alone so it would get barely used. The second one I disregarded since it was only a minor increase, and they could get the same from different titles. That left the first option, so I picked it.
Dominion (Rank 15): Ten-thousand times per day plus your Spirit attribute, you can as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. You can dominate a number of creatures at a time equal to your spirit attribute plus 70. A creature may choose to serve you willingly or may attempt to resist by opposing their Mind attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can at will see the Abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion equal to your Spirit Attribute times 16. The larger your Dominion is the more it grows in power, all Attributes of your vassals are raised by 3 when they in a group of fifty or more, every fifty vassals increase this bonus by 3 to a maximum possible Attribute score of 30.
You can share your Foresight with two creatures to serve as your lieutenants. The creatures you share this with is not required to be your vassal and will have the exact same version of the ability as you. (Warning this cannot be taken away from a creature once given and will remain with them until they or you die).
Once per day you can pick an ability from one of your vassals and gain access to it. You will continue to have access to this ability until you pick another ability or the vassal holding the ability dies. (You must be close to your vassal to select an ability they have).
Cost: 1 mana per five creatures.
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day as well as the multiplier for how many creatures you can have dominated at a time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
Some time during the last rank up notifications I had skipped the number of times I could use the ability had stopped doubling and now just remained at ten-thousand times per day. Granted the likelihood I would use the ability more than even a few hundred times per day was small, so it didn¡¯t mean much. The maximum possible attribute score for my vassals had gone up again by five. That meant that with a large enough army my vassals, even the non-gifted could outclass many others with raw attributes as if they were decked out in magical stat boosting equipment. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean much, I knew from my own battles that even if a creature was stronger and faster than you it was the strength and nature of your abilities that determined the outcome of a fight. I now got to pick my new effect for rank twenty of Dominion.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank twenty, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Your vassals gain high resistance to mental effects of spells and abilities.
Your vassals gain high resistance to physical debuffs from wounds, abilities, spells or poisons.
Your vassals gain high resistance to spirit and magical debuffs from soul damage, abilities or spells.
A quick look over my choices showed that all my options were pretty similar; they all would give my vassals resistance to one type of effect. The first one would keep my vassals from falling to charm, mind or domination abilities, the second would help them to resist bleeding, paralysis and poisoned effects. The last was extremely interesting, it would help prevent soul damage; considering I was currently suffering from that it was fascinating but that didn¡¯t mean I would pick it. While I was still suffering from Soul Damage I had only ever suffered it in a highly specific circumstance that was unlikely to happen to my vassals often if ever. I picked option two since it seemed like it would be useful more often and help to keep them alive so they would probably appreciate it. Being mind controlled or charmed would probably suck but they were under my Dominion already so I didn¡¯t think even when mind controlled they could even attack me so it wasn¡¯t a concern for me.
Dominion (Rank 20): Ten-thousand times per day plus your Spirit attribute, you can as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. You can dominate a number of creatures at a time equal to your spirit attribute plus 95. A creature may choose to serve you willingly or may attempt to resist by opposing their Mind attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can at will see the Abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion equal to your Spirit Attribute times 21. The larger your Dominion is the more it grows in power, all Attributes of your vassals are raised by 3 when they in a group of fifty or more, every fifty vassals increase this bonus by 3 to a maximum possible Attribute score of 30.
You can share your Foresight with two creatures to serve as your lieutenants. The creatures you share this with is not required to be your vassal and will have the exact same version of the ability as you. (Warning this cannot be taken away from a creature once given and will remain with them until they or you die).
Once per day you can pick an ability from one of your vassals and gain access to it. You will continue to have access to this ability until you pick another ability or the vassal holding the ability dies. (You must be close to your vassal to select an ability they have).
Your vassals gain resistance to physical debuffs from wounds, abilities, spells or poisons. Reduces the duration and effect of debuffs on your vassals by fifty percent.
Cost: 1 mana per five creatures
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day as well as the multiplier for how many creatures you can have dominated at a time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
Dominion hadn¡¯t gotten a max rank at rank twenty; now that I was here, I vaguely remembered Kelsea telling me back when I first picked my skills that all abilities would max out at rank twenty accept for divine abilities. I hadn¡¯t realized what she meant by that but now I wondered what the max for Dominion was. It would have to wait for now, I had other abilities to rank up and Dominion was still low on my list of priorities, and I wouldn¡¯t be low on my total possible vassals for a while. ¡°Raise Heightened Speed to rank twenty,¡± I told the system. It had been awhile but now I could get a third addition to my heightened speed.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank twenty-five, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
For a bust cost of stamina, you can move so fast you can create personal wormholes to teleport short distances.
For a temporary increase in stamina cost you can cause your weapons to vibrate so fast they bypass 5 hardness of anything they strike
For a burst cost of stamina, you can cause your body to temporally be displaced so that objects pass through you without any effect on you.
I read over the three options, the first one looked like it would be a similar or worse effect than my boots. The second one was interesting, I was wondering what the counter would be to the hardness of my skin and it looked like with abilities or effects like this even my impressive natural armor could be pierced through. The third option looked like another copy this time of Phantom Form instead of my boots. I could double up with more options to teleport or avoid damage but I went with the second option. There was no point in even fighting if I wouldn¡¯t be able to scratch my opponent.
Heightened Speed (Rank 15): You move faster and can react faster. Your body acts can instantly move at max speed without needed to build up momentum. The speed your body can move by is increased by x9.
You can run across water and other liquids as if they were solid ground.
Your metabolism is accelerated letting you process both beneficial and negative effects from herbs, poisons, potions, and illnesses faster. Your body will purify, heal and process materials x7 faster. (Does not affect your need to eat food).
At the cost of 5 stamina per second you can cause your weapons to vibrate so fast they bypass 5 hardness of anything they strike.
This is a passive ability costing 7 stamina per second will cost more stamina in combat depending on how fast you move.
Upgrade this ability to increase how fast you can move. Every upgrade of this ability increases your Speed Attribute by 2.
Heightened Speed had been one of the first three I had gotten and the only reasons I hadn¡¯t maxed it out sooner was because it gave me two Speed instead of one per rank up and I didn¡¯t want to increase its stamina cost past what I could maintain easily.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank thirty, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
You become a being of spirit as much as flesh, you can switch between using Mana and Stamina to power this ability.
You will deal one damage stage higher to your next attack for every one-hundred feet you run before striking.
You are immune to crowd control, paralysis, stun and lock down effects and abilities while moving at your top speed.
My rank twenty effects were each different and interesting. The first would let me move at my top speed in combat for longer without bottoming out my stamina which had always been a risk in the past. The second would give me a potential massive opener to a fight provided I had the room to pull it off. The third would let me run unimpeded as long as I was going full speed. While extra damage and straight up immunity to different effects were great being able to continue using the ability were more important. Plus, with my Storm Soul ability if I ever got into a lightning storm I would have a massive pool of mana to work with and could save my stamina for my other abilities.
Heightened Speed (Rank 20, Max Rank): You move faster and can react faster. Your body acts can instantly move at max speed without needed to build up momentum. The speed your body can move by is increased by x12.
You can run across water and other liquids as if they were solid ground.
Your metabolism is accelerated letting you process both beneficial and negative effects from herbs, poisons, potions, and illnesses faster. Your body will purify, heal and process materials x12 faster. (Does not affect your need to eat food).
At the cost of 10 stamina per second you can cause your weapons to vibrate so fast they bypass 10 hardness of anything they strike.
You are a being of spirit as much as flesh, you can at will switch between using Mana and Stamina to power this ability.
Final Rank Bonus: Your movement will cause winds to whip up around you, stronger winds the faster you are moving, that will disrupt attacks and push back opponents.
This is a passive ability costing 9 stamina per second will cost more stamina in combat depending on how fast you move.
Heightened Speed had an interesting final bonus giving me some sort of storm effect around me. I could bypass diamond hardness of armor, but it would be costly to do for any length of time with stamina or mana. I felt good to have maxed out all my original abilities, a milestone of sorts. ¡°Raise Phantom Form to rank twenty,¡± I said.
Phantom Form (Rank 11); Your spirit has grown in strength now equaling that of your body making you as much a creature of the ethereal world as that of flesh and blood. You can turn incorporeal for up to 5.5 seconds becoming immune to most types of damage but vulnerable to certain types, after using this ability there is a cooldown of 5 seconds before you can use it again. While in this form all your physical damage you deal is converted to soul damage.
You lose your vulnerability to Radiant damage and silver weapons.
You lose your vulnerability to Psychic and Soul damage while in this form.
Cost: 15 mana per use.
Upgrade this ability to increase the time you can remain incorporeal and reducing the cooldown time. Each upgrade to this ability to increase your Spirit Attribute by 1.
It had been awhile since I had upgraded this ability, so I read over the changes quick before dismissing the notification and the next three notifications. I stopped as the awaited message came up.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank fifteen, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
Your soul damage you deal while in this form is increased by two stages.
You lose your vulnerability to Holy and Curse damage while in this form.
Contact with your ethereal body will inflict a debuffs on creatures lowering their physical attributes.
The first choice was one I had gotten last time but the damage increase had gone up by one stage; if I picked it, it would probably go up again when I hit rank twenty. The second option was in line with the choices I had been making for this skill, I was pretty sure it had been either Holy or Curse damage that Kaleb had hit me with last night and I could still remember how devastating it had been. The third option was interesting and along the path of some sort of incorporeal undead. I picked option two as I had planned to take any choice like it before, damage was all well and good and inflicting debuffs was fine but not getting one shot was the priority.
Phantom Form (Rank 15); Your spirit has grown in strength now equaling that of your body making you as much a creature of the ethereal world as that of flesh and blood. You can turn incorporeal for up to 7.5 seconds becoming immune to most types of damage but vulnerable to certain types, after using this ability there is a cooldown of 1 second before you can use it again. While in this form all your physical damage you deal is converted to soul damage.
You lose your vulnerability to Radiant damage and silver weapons while in this form.
You lose your vulnerability to Psychic and Soul damage while in this form.
You lose your vulnerability to Holy and Curse damage while in this form.
Cost: 20 mana per use.
Upgrade this ability to increase the time you can remain incorporeal and reducing the cooldown time. Each upgrade to this ability to increase your Spirit Attribute by 1.
I dismissed each notification for the next four upgrades without even looking at them until I came to my next choice for me to make.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank twenty, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
You gain resistance to psychic and curse damage.
You gain resistance to radiant damage and silver weapons.
You gain resistance to Holy and Soul damage.
I looked over the three choices, they were all the same but covered different damage types. I hadn¡¯t encountered psychic damage before and I was unsure about curse damage. Radiant damage and silver weapons would probably be the most common types of things that could effect my incorporeal body that I would come across. The third choice covered holy and soul damage. I was still injured by soul damage and had no idea of how to fix it so anything that would make that less effective was definitely a priority and holy damage didn¡¯t sound fun either. I picked option three and my ability finished upgrading.
Phantom Form (Rank 20, Max Rank); Your spirit has grown in strength now equaling that of your body making you as much a creature of the ethereal world as that of flesh and blood. You can turn incorporeal for up to 10 seconds becoming immune to most types of damage but vulnerable to certain types. While in this form all your physical damage you deal is converted to soul damage.
You lose your vulnerability to Radiant damage and silver weapons.
You lose your vulnerability to Psychic and Soul damage.
You lose your vulnerability to Holy and Curse damage while in this form.
You gain resistance to Holy and Soul damage.
Final Rank Bonus: You cannot be dealt a mortal blow while you are incorporeal and cannot be killed for the duration.
Cost: 25 mana per use.
I now had only one ability left to upgrade for the day. I could feel a heat within my flesh and bones the familiar burn of one stat being higher than all the rest as my Spirit now sat at seventy-one, twenty-one ranks higher than the veteran limit. I would have to get more Mind, Perception, and Power abilities to balance it out before the heat would go away. ¡°Raise Black-rage to rank twenty,¡± I told the system.
Black-rage (Rank 11): Every kill made by you increases your Might Attribute by 1.5 for the next five-minutes-and-fifty-five seconds, stacking with eachother, as you are filled with the singular desire to kill.
The damage from your attacks and abilities is increased by a moderate amount while Black-rage is active.
Your mass is increased pulling in the shadows around you obscuring your form making you more difficult to hit. This is magnified by every point of Might you gain while in Black Rage.
Cost: 1 stamina per/sec while active.
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount of Might increased by this ability and its duration. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 1.
I reread my ability quickly before dismissing it. I then dismissed the next three notifications only briefly looking them over.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank fifteen, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
Damage you take while Black-rage is active is reduced by one stage.
Your rage is infectious infusing creatures around you who fail to resist your spirit with a rage equal to yours.
You only have to strike a creature drawing blood, ichor etc... to activate this ability instead of requiring a killing strike.
I looked over the three choices; the first was a good addition and very tempting, the second less so. I wasn¡¯t actually sure what benefit it would provide me, it might make some attackers less effective but might also benefit others so it seemed pretty risky. The third option was one similar to what I had picked for Magma Heart(s) and I¡¯d probably have to pick it for the same reasons. The might boost was good and all but in fights like I often had against solitary large monsters or a duel like that against Kaleb it would be useless to me since by the time it would activate the fight would be over.
Black-rage (Rank 15): Every kill or wound made by you increases your Might Attribute by 1.9 for the next six minutes-and-fifteen-seconds, stacking with eachother, as you are filled with the singular desire to kill.
The damage from your attacks and abilities is increased by a major amount while Black-rage is active. Your mass is increased pulling in the shadows around you obscuring your form making you more difficult to hit. This is magnified by every point of Might you gain while in Black Rage.
You only have to strike a creature drawing blood, ichor etc.. to activate this ability instead of requiring a killing strike.
Cost: 1 stamina per/sec while active.
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount of Might increased by this ability and its duration. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 1.
I dismissed the next four notifications and read over the expected pop-up.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank twenty, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
While Black-rage is active you are immune to hostile mental abilities, spells and effects.
While Black-rage is active any fear affects you create are twice as effective and are harder to suppress.
While Black-rage is active your attacks restore a moderate amount of health to you with each kill or wound you inflict with melee attacks.
The first ability was a classic berserker class skill. The second didn¡¯t directly even effect this ability but would amplify the fear effects of other abilities I had, which I didn¡¯t. The third would give me a vampiric life drain to my weapon attacks. The first one could be useful but other than Morgaine¡¯s sleep ability I hadn¡¯t really encountered anything like this and having high Mind and Spirit would do the same thing. The second could be really useful if I ever got a fear ability since I didn¡¯t have one now but if I got one its effects would be doubled by this additional effect. The last would let me restore health by dealing damage but this was sort of already covered by Troll Hide, but doubling down on self-healing wasn¡¯t a bad idea. I didn¡¯t lean towards any of the three options so I just chose randomly.
Black-rage (Rank 20, Max Rank): Every kill or wound made by you increases your Might Attribute by 2.5 for the next six minutes-and-thirty-five-seconds, stacking with eachother, as you are filled with the singular desire to kill.
The damage from your attacks and abilities is increased by a major amount while Black-rage is active. Your mass is increased pulling in the shadows around you obscuring your form making you more difficult to hit. This is magnified by every point of Might you gain while in Black Rage.
You only have to strike a creature drawing blood, ichor etc.. to activate this ability instead of requiring a killing strike.
While Black-rage is active any fear affects you create are twice as effective and are harder to suppress. Final Rank Bonus: While Black-rage is active you are immune to any ability, effect or spell that tries to affect your emotions.
Cost: 1 stamina per/sec while active.
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount of Might increased by this ability and its duration. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 1.
The damage bonus I got while the ability hadn¡¯t gone up so I guess the system did apply restrictions and maximums an ability could give. The final rank bonus was similar to one of my last choices I hadn¡¯t taken but more limited only effecting things that would try to effect my emotional state. ¡°Are you done now?¡± the voidling asked. ¡°You didn¡¯t catch her?¡± I asked Karnen. ¡°No,¡± he said sullenly. ¡°Fine, both of you shut up. I¡¯ve got work to do today and I don¡¯t need your psychopathic commentary running through my head while I do it,¡± I said pushing open the door to my room and leaving to find Syvia. --- Jamis looked at the abandoned lumber camp, the spider webs still hung in all the buildings, but the area was completely abandoned by man and monster. Lord Telderen stepped foreword and began shaping the stone of the cliff behind the lumber camp creating a slopping path for the army to march on to the top. After half an hour they had all reached the top and kept moving marching alongside the riverbank. Mira flew down from the tree branches landing in front of the procession. ¡°What did you see ahead?¡± Jamis asked. ¡°Some sort of fortification by the river,¡± Mira said. ¡°I spotted a few goblins inside it but no gifted among them.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s check it out then,¡± Helen said nudging her horse forward. They reached a large stone fortification stopping forty yards away looking at the seamless fifteen-foot-high walls. Something poked its head above the wall but before it could duck down again an arrow from Mira took it in the eye. ¡°We don¡¯t know if they¡¯re hostile yet,¡± Guinevere said looking side-eye at Mira. ¡°They are goblins,¡± Felrick said. ¡°They are always hostile.¡± ¡°We should cull them to keep them from devastating the area and take one alive for questioning,¡± Helen agreed. ¡°Seems a bit barbaric,¡± Torvin said. ¡°When you¡¯ve seen what a goblin war party does to a village or town; trust me, you won¡¯t have any mercy for them either,¡± Felrick said. The champions gathered outside the walls. Jamis ran forward his gauntlets outstretched and jumped catching the lip of the wall. A goblin appeared above him swinging down a spiked club. An arrow took the goblin through the throat but not before it smacked Jamis in the face. Torvin charged forward his lance aimed at the wall as he rushed forward, the golden tip of the lance struck the stone and a blast of light exploded from its tip. Torvin kept going and slammed headfirst into the scorched stone wall. Mira flew above her arrows flashing down and creating tiny explosions wherever they hit. She shot inside the cave at the back of the fort with a special arrow a blast of light blinding everyone inside. She landed inside the courtyard as Jamis cleared the wall jumping down between ten goblins and his claws and fists splattering them against the wall. As soon as the attack had begun it was over and only four goblins were left alive. Felrick dropped down from the wall and stalked forward grabbing one by the throat and lifting up the tiny green skinned creature. ¡°Where is the rest of your tribe?¡± he snarled. ¡°Gone,¡± the goblin gasped as the three others shrank back from the champion. ¡°Gone where,¡± Felrick pressed. ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± the goblin sputtered clawing at Felrick¡¯s hand to keep from hanging and choking in his grip. ¡°Left with the Warlord.¡± ¡°The Warlord?¡± Helen asked. She and the rest of the champions entering the stone fort, a sheepish looking Torvin getting a hand up. ¡°Yes, Warlord!¡± the goblin said excitedly latching onto the interest in her voice. ¡°How do you know he was the Warlord?¡± Felrick asked. ¡°You¡¯re not gifted you couldn¡¯t have identified him.¡± ¡°He dominated the tribe, stayed here for many days then went north,¡± the goblin said pointing upriver. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go with them?¡± Felrick asked. ¡°I ran when he kill the chief,¡± the goblin explained. ¡°We hid in the woods until they left then came here for safety.¡± ¡°What is this?¡± Torvin asked, looking around at the stone walls. ¡°My attacks couldn¡¯t even put a crack in this place, how did you build it.¡± ¡°The Warlord built it,¡± the goblin explained. ¡°Enough of this,¡± Felrick said. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of these little shits talking.¡± Guinevere caught his arm before he could finish the sword strike. ¡°They aren¡¯t a threat to us.¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± Felrick said. ¡°But let them grow their numbers and they will be.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Mira said speaking up against Felrick. ¡°They didn¡¯t submit to the Warlord; doesn¡¯t that make us allies?¡± ¡°No,¡± Felrick said flatly squeezing his hand around the goblins throat and with a sickening sound crushing its trachea. Helen stepped forward and silver light flashed from her palm incinerating the flesh from the other three goblin¡¯s bones. ¡°Its harsh, but this is what it means to stand up against chaos and protect civilization.¡± Chapter 32: Bandit Lords Guinevere and Mira rode side by side in silence. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I¡¯m thinking about the goblin camp,¡± Mira said. ¡°They had children among them and weren¡¯t a direct threat to us but Felrick and Helen didn¡¯t show any mercy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wondering if you are on the right side?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Mira admitted. ¡°I¡¯ve often wondered that myself,¡± Guinevere said with a weary sigh. ¡°I¡¯ve come to the realization that despite our villainization of them the races that revere the gods of chaos aren¡¯t too different from us. But that doesn¡¯t excuse their behavior, though I don¡¯t approve of his methods or attitude Felrick was right that those goblins if left alone would become a threat to us one day.¡± ¡°So, what should we have done?¡± Mira asked. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know,¡± Guinevere admitted. ¡°Goblins were created by Jeresh, the god of Trickery and Pain. They are innately crafty and duplicitous, and their culture enjoys torture and bloodshed. But goblins aren¡¯t too different from the Myrmidons in that way and many of their clans have assimilated into society.¡± ¡°So, you think goblins could be assimilated into civilization?¡± Mira asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know, it hasn¡¯t really been tried,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°If you were to raise a goblin among humans from birth and teach them and raise them outside their tribe, would they be just another person or would they be drawn to inflicting pain, robbery and violence? I don¡¯t know and no one else does either.¡± ¡°So, what do we do then?¡± Mira asked. ¡°We do what we can to protect as many innocent people as we can,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°If that means we have to bloody our hands then we sacrifice our own feelings for the betterment of others.¡± ¡°That sounds like a rough way of living,¡± Mira said. ¡°My father is Merlin, that doesn¡¯t mean much to you, but he is the second most powerful man in Camelot. It¡¯s a title as much as it is a name, it his job to protect the king and predict threats to the king and kingdom. Being raised by him¡­ it taught me to always look for the truth and that things are rarely simple or easy and the world isn¡¯t black and white,¡± Guinevere explained. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what to think about that,¡± Mira said. ¡°Good,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°These are personal convictions; you need to come up with your own. Don¡¯t let others tell you what¡¯s right and wrong; they have their own interests and agendas. You¡¯re the one who needs to be able to sleep at night so follow your conscious and not another¡¯s dogma.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think on it,¡± Mira agreed and the two continued in silence. --- I stepped out into the hall and went back to the castle¡¯s throne room. I found Syvia sitting at a side table her head bowed as she poked at the food on her plate. Her head jerked up as I approached, and she immediately jumped out of her chair and prostrated herself before me. ¡°I apologize for my actions last night,¡± she said her face pressed to the floor. ¡°I should not have acted against your wishes and will except whatever punishment you give me.¡± ¡°Get up,¡± I said. ¡°As long as it doesn¡¯t happen again, we¡¯re good. I have some other questions for you.¡± You should make her pay, the voidling whispered in my ear even as I steadfastly ignored her. ¡°Of course, my lord,¡± Syvia said. ¡°What do you want to know?¡± ¡°Where are the Myrmidon clans and what and where are the beast lords?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know their exact locations, but the Wolf clan lives in the forest near the foot hills of the easter mountains a two day journey from here. The Dragon clan,¡± she spat when said their name. ¡°Live in the swamps along the river close to the dragon wastes; the Bear clan lives in the western mountains.¡± she explained. Boring, the voidling sighed. ¡°And the Beast Lords?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of the Hell Dragon and the Lightning Pheonix but I¡¯m expecting there to be at least two others.¡± ¡°There is the Runic Bear,¡± Syvia said. ¡°It lives in the western forest near the mountains I¡¯ve heard but I don¡¯t know of any fourth beast lord but my father might.¡± ¡°Great, we¡¯ll be leaving to go meet him tomorrow,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ll be leaving so soon?¡± Jeriah asked; he apparently had been listening in on our conversation. I can taste worry on him, the voidling commented. He¡¯s concerned, probably that you¡¯ll die before he can get anything from you. ¡°Yes, but I¡¯ll make some improvements to your base and weaponry before we leave,¡± I said. ¡°If you are going so soon there is a matter, I wished to discuss with you,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked. ¡°Your goblins and spiders,¡± he said. ¡°We don¡¯t have the food for them, and this area cannot support them all; will you be taking them with you to meet the Wolf clan?¡± ¡°No,¡± I said shaking my head. ¡°But I can see your problem, we¡¯ve been on the move for the past week so we¡¯ve never really had the chance to strip the land bare in any place we¡¯ve been but if they stay in one spot they will. I¡¯ll handle it.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°Is there any help you need from me?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°Have your people gather all the stone they can, it doesn¡¯t matter what kind but harder and more uncommon stones such as quartz, onyx or flint should be brought to your blacksmith or armory.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get everyone on it,¡± Jeriah agreed. ¡°Also pack your things,¡± I said. ¡°I want you to meet the Wolf clan with me. It will be a small group only four other people so make sure to only bring what you can carry.¡± ¡°Why do you want me to come?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°Because I¡¯m hoping to make an alliance rather than just beat down their leaders until their clan submits to me,¡± I said. ¡°And I feel having the leader of one of my army along will help show what we have to offer.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the leader of your army?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°Unless you want to give the job to Juruk?¡± I asked him. ¡°No, I¡¯ll take it,¡± Jeriah said quickly. ¡°I¡¯m just surprised.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be, power is what¡¯s important and besides me you¡¯re the second most powerful person here,¡± I said. ¡°Now someone show me to the armory.¡± This is so boring, the voidling groaned. There emotions are all so bland right now, why don¡¯t you go have sex with his sister and give me something good to eat. I didn¡¯t respond and went right on ignoring her. Jeriah led me out of the castle to a stone building, one of the only ones in the small town. An older man hammered away at a massive blade over seven feet long and made of almost half an inch of steel. Jeriah pushed open the door and l looked over the racks of weapons, they were mostly spears, axes and warhammers but there were some swords and daggers as well. ¡°Bring the uncommon stone here,¡± I said. I spent the rest of the morning improving all the weapons in the armory. I had Tobias tell everyone in the fort to bring their weapons they were carrying to the armory. While they were there, I also used the opportunity to use Dominion on them. This would ensure their loyalty as well as providing them the stat boost to their attributes for being in a group.
64 rank points gained.
128 rank points gained.
Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 1,280 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current Progress 92 out of 1,280. When you complete this quest, you will gain 256 Rank Points and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
The reason I was working on the weapons was because of what I had seen last night when I fought Dragonbreaker. His sword had been immense and nearly half an inch thick but it still it hadn¡¯t been able to withstand the force his incredible might had forced though its blade. I couldn¡¯t stat boost a bunch of regular people and expect their weapons to hold up to the strain. I used the metal/stone orbs I had gotten from the magma elementals in the Trial and added a few ounces of weight to each weapon and increased their hardness but left the looking mostly the same except for a darker metallic color. For the spears I gave the shaft a thin covering of Compressed Earth over the wood to keep it from being just cut through or shattered during combat. I did the same to the shafts of the axes and warhammers. I brought out the rusty and broken weapons I had gotten from the skeletons in the dungeon and used compress earth to fix them creating a couple hundred short single edged blades that vaguely resembled the orc scimitars from lord of the rings except mine had a more elegant and curved design. These were for the goblins, and I had them over to Juruk to distributed before I sent them off to go hunt and scout the forest. I left the armory and found the pile of stones that Jeriah had everyone collecting for me. They had spread them along the wooden palisade wall as I had instructed. I began compressing the dirt and stone making it flow up the wooden palisade. It extended up past the wooden logs till it was thirty feet tall. I didn¡¯t have enough material from just the rocks so I compressed the dirt around the base of the wall excavating a massive trench outside the wall. It took a while for my mana to regenerate after a minute of use but after a few hours I had created a thirty-foot wall all around the town. It was complete with a six-foot-wide walkway, mesticulations, parapet, a covering to keep the rain off. For the gates I just coated the wooden gates with metal and reinforced their hinges and the beam to keep it locked shut. As an afterthought I compressed the roads till they resembled asphalt roads from my road and returned to the castle. Here I just compressed and fused the stone blocks together. I rebuilt parts of the castle were the walls had been falling over and covered the thatch and wood roof with a layer of compressed dirt the thatch trapped inside like a fossilized plant. I guessed that it was around five in the afternoon, so I found Juruk, and the other goblins camped outside the town in the forest. ¡°Juruk, I have a job for you,¡± I said. ¡°What do you need my lord?¡± he asked. I can taste a little fear no him but its not much, the voidling said. Why don¡¯t you kill some of the goblins so I can have some tasty fear. ¡°I want you to take the goblins under your command and scout the forest,¡± I said. ¡°Use the time to hunt mortal rank creatures and gather material from them, use what you need to make gear for yourself and bring the rest back here for me. I¡¯ve hit Veteran rank so make a note of any veteran creatures for me to fight later.¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°It will be done Warlord,¡± Juruk said his eagerness for battle and bloodshed evident. Hmmm, the voidling groaned in delight. His desire and ambition tastes delicious. I laid a hand on the goblins shoulder. ¡°Grant Juruk the ability Foresight,¡± I told the system.
You have granted Juruk Razor-rider with your ability Foresight.
A little power had changed Juruk a lot from the timid creature I had first met; afraid to leave the safety of his tribe¡¯s territory to an eager and confident hunter. His eyes widened with delight and awe as he read the notifications from the system. ¡°I promise to bring you to the lairs of a hundred beasts my lord,¡± Juruk swore. ¡°I¡¯ll hold you too that,¡± I said and left him to gather his tribe. Next, I went to Tigris and Euphrates. I subtly probed along the leash of my Dominion and reached out to Tigris¡¯ mind. I want you to set up another colony now, I told her. Here? Tigris asked. No, I said. Go to the cave by the river about a half day east of here. Set up your colony there. You can live in the Dungeon there so long as you don¡¯t attack any of the creatures there. I don¡¯t want you to breed as many spiders as your mother did. For every three gifted children you hatch set one aside for me, split the other two between you and Euphrates. This will slow down our growth, Tigris said. A larger colony would let us control a wider area. You would strip the land bare, I said. Also, you aren¡¯t to attack any of my other vassals who enter your territory or the dungeon. I left Tigris and Euphrates as the two giant arachnids lead the pack of wolf sized spiders deeper into the forest. I returned to the castle again as the sun was beginning to set. The warriors were gathered in the hall for dinner again the same as I had first met them. I sat in what had been Kaleb¡¯s throne. I had grown massively due to my abilities and was only a few inches shorter than Tobias now although they were built like bears, and I was built like a tiger. ¡°So, you¡¯re leaving us tomorrow?¡± Tobias asked accusatory. His anger is delicious, see if you can rile him up more by reminding him you killed his father, the voidling suggested. ¡°Yes,¡± I said simply taking a bite out of the roasted boar. ¡°Jeriah will be coming with me. I¡¯m leaving you in charge?¡± ¡°Why me?¡± he asked. ¡°Because you have a spine,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Also, you seem to like it here. Jeriah wants to return to his ancestral lands, but I¡¯ll need someone to be the ruler of these lands for me.¡± ¡°And you want me to rule here?¡± he asked seeming less hostile with each sentence and more puzzled. Uhg, the voidling groaned in disgust. Your ruining his flavor. ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not one for administration, big inspiring speeches, or tax policy; I¡¯m going to delegate all that to others. I¡¯m going to have many people like you under me who if they want it will be rulers who answer only to me. The real question is, do you want the job?¡± Tobias was silent then nodded. ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Then bring me your armor tomorrow,¡± I said. ¡°Have the rest of your brothers swing by as well. After that there is a dungeon about half a day from here. Its Veteran ranked so you and your brothers should be able to run it in a day went it finishes resetting.¡± ¡°A dungeon?¡± he asked eagerly. ¡°Yep, it is filled with undead, so be ready for that,¡± I told him. ¡°I also have blessing given by the dungeon so long as you don¡¯t attack the creatures in the dungeon they won¡¯t attack you. The cease fire will restart if you leave the dungeon and return later.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Tobias said. ¡°Running Dungeons is the most reliable way to gain a steady supply of rank points, as well as gaining magical items. My father would have done anything to gain access to a dungeon, if he had known its location he might have become more than just a Bandit King.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the Bandit Lords, now,¡± I said. ¡°I plan for each of you to be generals in my army one day and rulers of my Dominion.¡± Hmm, at least their ambition is tasty, the voidling said. It¡¯s a wonder they haven¡¯t all stabbed eachother they each want to rule so much. I finished eating and returned to my room. I had four-hundred-and-twelve rank points to spend so I decided to upgrade Dominion again. I didn¡¯t need to but it was my divine ability and I was curious to see what its max rank was. ¡°Karnen see if you can¡¯t distract the voidling for a bit. Upgrade Dominion by ten ranks,¡± I told the system.
Dominion (Rank 21): Ten-thousand times per day plus your Spirit attribute, you can as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. You can dominate a number of creatures at a time equal to your spirit attribute plus 100. A creature may choose to serve you willingly or may attempt to resist by opposing their Mind attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can at will see the Abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion equal to your Spirit Attribute times 22.
The larger your Dominion is the more it grows in power, all Attributes of your vassals are raised by 3 when they in a group of fifty or more, every fifty vassals increase this bonus by 3 to a maximum possible Attribute score of 30.
You can share your Foresight with two creatures to serve as your lieutenants. The creatures you share this with is not required to be your vassal and will have the exact same version of the ability as you. (Warning this cannot be taken away from a creature once given and will remain with them until they or you die).
Once per day you can pick an ability from one of your vassals and gain access to it. You will continue to have access to this ability until you pick another ability or the vassal holding the ability dies. (You must be close to your vassal to select an ability they have).
Cost: 1 mana per five creatures
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day as well as the multiplier for how many creatures you can have dominated at a time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
I looked over the long description of my ability briefly before dismissing it and the next three notifications.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank twenty-five, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
You can designate a creature as your authority over your other vassals, all vassals must obey them as if they were you and your chosen authority gains a buff to their attributes the farther you are away from them. You cannot select another vassal for this role for a week after using it.
You can select up to three creatures in your Dominion to act as your commanders linking them telepathically with you as long as you are within seven leagues of eachother.
You reduce the damage your vassals within two-hundred feet of you take by two stages.
I looked over the three choices. I liked them all, the first would let me delegate my job to someone else and let me go off on my own and make that person more effective at protecting my other vassals. The second option would let me communicate with three other vassals easily during a battle, very useful but then again with my style of fighting alone not that useful. The third ability would tank up all my vassals when they fought with me in a battle, I could see this being an easy pick for a different champion but it wasn¡¯t my style. I picked the first option. I¡¯d choose Tobias as my chosen authority tomorrow and let him delegate my other vassals while I was gone.
Dominion (Rank 25): Ten-thousand times per day plus your Spirit attribute, you can as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. You can dominate a number of creatures at a time equal to your spirit attribute plus 120. A creature may choose to serve you willingly or may attempt to resist by opposing their Mind attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can at will see the Abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion equal to your Spirit Attribute times 26. The larger your Dominion is the more it grows in power, all Attributes of your vassals are raised by 4 when they in a group of fifty or more, every fifty vassals increase this bonus by 3 to a maximum possible Attribute score of 35.
You can share your Foresight with three creatures to serve as your lieutenants. The creatures you share this with is not required to be your vassal and will have the exact same version of the ability as you. (Warning this cannot be taken away from a creature once given and will remain with them until they or you die).
Twice per day you can pick an ability from one of your vassals and gain access to it. You will continue to have access to this ability until you pick another ability or the vassal holding the ability dies. (You must be close to your vassal to select an ability they have).
You can designate a creature as your authority over your other vassals, all vassals must obey them as if they were you and your chosen authority¡¯s attributes go up by 5% for every ten miles between the two of you, for a maximum of 30%. You cannot select another vassal for this role for a week after using it. The creature title description also changes to mimic yours when you are farther than a mile from them.
Cost: 5 mana per five creatures.
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day as well as the multiplier for how many creatures you can have dominated at a time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
The add-on I had chosen had gained some extra description after I had chosen it. It now described the buff in detail and gave me a limitation for how often I could use this effect. It also added a weird effect where the description of a creature that appeared over a gifted would change when I moved farther than a mile from them. I skipped the next four notifications to get to the next pop-up.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank thirty, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
You can possess one of your vassals within seven leagues of you, speaking through them and directly controlling their actions as if their body were your own.
Your vassals will gain the Enraged status in battle numbing them to physical pain and boosting their damage by one stage.
Your vassals can go for three times as long without food, water or sleep.
Of the three options I liked the second one the most. The first was useless to me, why would I take over an body inferior to my own? The second would give my vassals a buff making them more effective out on their own. The third option would let them survive with less resources but that wasn¡¯t really a problem we had and it seemed like something meant for long forced marches. I picked option two and the system finalized the upgrade.
Dominion (Rank 30): Ten-thousand times per day plus your Spirit attribute, you can as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. You can dominate a number of creatures at a time equal to your spirit attribute plus 145. A creature may choose to serve you willingly or may attempt to resist by opposing their Mind attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can at will see the Abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion equal to your Spirit Attribute times 31. The larger your Dominion is the more it grows in power, all Attributes of your vassals are raised by 4 when they in a group of fifty or more, every fifty vassals increase this bonus by 3 to a maximum possible Attribute score of 35.
You can share your Foresight with four creatures to serve as your lieutenants. The creatures you share this with is not required to be your vassal and will have the exact same version of the ability as you. (Warning this cannot be taken away from a creature once given and will remain with them until they or you die).
Three times per day you can pick an ability from one of your vassals and gain access to it. You will continue to have access to this ability until you pick another ability or the vassal holding the ability dies. (You must be close to your vassal to select an ability they have).
You can designate two creatures as your generals, with authority over your other vassals, all vassals must obey them as if they were you and your chosen authority¡¯s attributes go up by 6% for every ten miles between the two of you to a maximum of 31%. You cannot select another vassal for this role for a week after using it. The creature¡¯ title description also changes to mimic yours when you are farther than a mile from them.
Your vassals will gain the Enraged status in battle numbing them to physical pain and boosting their damage by one stage.
Cost: 5 mana per five creatures.
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day as well as the multiplier for how many creatures you can have dominated at a time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
I looked over the very long description for my ability. It had cost me two=hundred-and-fifty-five rank pints to upgrade it to rank thirty and I wasn¡¯t at max rank still. I would have to wait to see what max rank for this skill was since I wanted to keep some rank points in case, I earned any new abilities later. I lay down and closed my eyes and let sleep overtake me. --- Arthur brushed down his horse, it was a majestic steed whose ancestors had killed powerful monsters earning abilities they had passed down and bred for generations. A shadow darkened the doorway and Lady Lionor entered the stable. She wore a cream colored silk gown her golden hair flowing down her back as she rubbed the nose of the stallion and fed it a carrot. ¡°What are you doing here my lady?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°I wanted to see you,¡± Lionor said. ¡°Before you left.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t be leaving for two more days,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I know but you won¡¯t have any time to go on a walk with me,¡± Lionor said a sad smile on her lips. ¡°You¡¯ll be too busy going off on your adventures.¡± Arthur took hold of Lionor¡¯s hands stepping close to her. ¡°War is no adventure my lady, we are risking our lives and the lives of our men in this war.¡± ¡°Will you be safe?¡± Lionor asked looking up into his eyes, she stood a head shorter than him. ¡°As safe as I can be, but even the mightiest of us can be brought low,¡± Arthur said feeling Lionor step closer her body pressed against him. ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone can defeat you my prince,¡± she said her voice low their faces inches apart now. ¡°Your faith in me makes me stronger,¡± Arthur said with a smile. Lionor leaned up kissing Arthur. She pulled back suddenly stepping away. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have done that.¡± Arthur stepped forward pushing Lionor back against the stable wall. Leaning down his lips met hers and she let out a moan melting into his arms as he took hold of her waist in one hand and the back of her head in the other. Their lips and tongues met in a fiery dance. ¡°I want to come with you,¡± Lionor gasped as Arthur ran a line of kisses down her neck. ¡°When you go to Dracon, I want to be with you and take care of you.¡± ¡°What would your father say?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°My father lets me do anything I want,¡± Lionor whispered into Arthur¡¯s ear as he kissed his way down to her neckline. ¡°Then I want you with me too,¡± He said his lips meeting hers again. Chapter 33: The Stag Prince Jamis blocked the strike of the ogre as Torvin rode in from the left on his horse, his lance shining with golden light. Felrick guarded Helen and Mira as they provided ranged healing and attacks as the seven gifted ogres assaulted the head of the army. Rocks flew through the air as the clan of ungifted ogres threw stones from the ridges down at the procession as their clan leaders fought the champions. The other champions were at the rear, defending against a similar attack.
Oktas, Yendri Clan Leader, Gifted- giant/ogre, Mortal, Rank: 92
Guinevere stayed back with her team. She was the highest-ranked member of the army and could have easily taken on the ogres, but they were a grade below her, so they would offer little reward, and it was better than others got the benefit of fighting them. Felrick blocked the strike from a club as long as he was tall and stabbed upward into the wrist of the hand wielding the club, his sword flashing. ¡°Severing Strike!¡± he shouted, activating his ability. The hand of the ogre had its tendons and bone cut through as the blades passed through in one clean stroke. The club fell to the ground; the severed hand still gripped around its hilt. Mira let loose an arrow piercing through the eye of the ogre Felrick had just wounded, and it staggered back before collapsing dead. Torvin¡¯s lance struck Oktas exploding on contact tossing the ogre around and blasting a hole the size of a dinner plate through its torso. Jamis leaped on the clan leader while he was dazed, his claws ripping into his neck as he tore his head from his shoulders. An axe from one of the other ogres buried itself a few inches into Jamis¡¯ back, although it struggled to get through his armored hair, which acted like a lair of chainmail. Jamis fell back, roaring in pain; Felrick stepped in, deflecting the next strike with his shield. ¡°Healing Light of the Moon!¡± Helen cried out, and the axe popped out of Jamis¡¯ shoulder. Light surrounded Jamis in a nimbus as the wound in his back and all the scrapes along his body were healed, leaving no trace of their presence. Mira raised her bow to the sky. ¡°Raining Falcons!¡± she cried out. She shot an arrow into the sky, which descended, transforming into a flock of hawks and falcons that clawed at the faces of the remaining ogres gouging at their eyes. Torvin used the distraction to get off another charge with his mount his lance aiming for the back of one of the ogres. ¡°Righteous Charge!¡¯ he called out, the lance tip shining like the sun. When the lance hit, the ogres froze as the light began to shine from inside them. Then in the next moment, their body crumbled to ash, blackened bones falling to the ground. Jamis pounced forward, his bear form crushing one of the ogres beneath it as he bit down. ¡°Crushing Bite!¡± he snarled, his voice distorted by his snout and beast form. The champions continued to cycle through their special attacks one by one killing the gifted ogres. When they were done, they turned on the ogre clan. Seeing their leaders dead, they scattered as the champions, and the faster army units chased them down and butchered them. ¡°Why did they attack us?¡± Jamis asked. ¡°We must have gone through their territory,¡± Torvin said. ¡°Ogres are very territorial.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t their territory,¡± Felrick said. ¡°This land belongs to Lunara.¡± Guinevere coughed. ¡°Technically, this land is contested and doesn¡¯t belong to anyone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Felrick said. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean anything by it.¡± ¡°Oh, stop teasing him,¡± Helen scolded her cousin. ¡°We all know that Drancia and Camelot also have a claim to this land. It¡¯s why no one has dealt with the problems in the forest yet.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Felrick said. ¡°We¡¯ll sort out these woods properly before we leave.¡± ¡°There are beasts in this woods that even me and my party would die too,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°They are the real reason this forest is contested and not part of any realm.¡± ¡°What creatures?¡± Mira asked. ¡°The Hell Dragon,¡± Felrick said, awe and fear in his voice. ¡°The Hell Dragon?¡± Jamis asked. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°Who not what,¡± Guinevere corrected. ¡°Exar¡¯kun is the dragon¡¯s name. He is the only living descendant of the last champion of Thanadar, God of Destruction and Greed. Nearly four-hundred and fifty years ago, Seerilia, Thanadar¡¯s champion, a black dragon, fought against Ashkar, champion of Miratha, Goddess of Nobility and Stars. Seerilia was pregnant with her consort¡¯s children. Her consort was a hell knight, a lord of the Realm of Fire. She had come here, laid her clutch, and made her lair somewhere in the swamps. When Ashkar found her, the two fought for hours before Ashkar altered the course of a comet above. It struck Seerilia with a mortal blow, and Ashkar finished her off. The comet, however, had desolated the land, and he was forced to flee as the comet emitted an energy that poisoned and altered the land and creatures for miles around it, and the dust from its impact poisoned the land for many leagues. The eggs of Seerilia¡¯s nest were poisoned, and one by one, every hatched only for the hatchling to be born horribly disfigured and mutated by the energy. They were abominations, some too mutated to even survive. Exar¡¯kun was the last to hatch; the mutation did not outwardly affect him. He killed his siblings and gained power. His breath emits the same energy as the comet¡¯s, earning him the unique title, of Star-fallen Lord. He has spent the last two centuries slowly growing in power as he hunted the rare few beasts to be born or created with the gift.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Jamis interrupted. ¡°Creatures created with the gift are rare?¡± ¡°When the god¡¯s competition is over,¡± Helen said. ¡°The system goes into stasis of sorts, and only a few monsters and beasts are created by it. It¡¯s why controlling a dungeon is so important since it¡¯s the only way to farm for rank points reliably. It¡¯s why my mother, the queen of an entire country, is only Exarch rank.¡± ¡°It will get worse, too,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°The longer the gods game goes on, the more powerful you champions become, and the more powerful beasts and monsters the system will spawn.¡± ¡°A good chance to become powerful,¡± Torvin said, smiling. ¡°Not when you¡¯re a farmer and his family; in the past of hero ranked monsters would wipe out entire towns and villages,¡± Guinevere said, looking at him, her gaze cold. ¡°The system exists to provide for you champions; it cares nothing about any other gifted or nongifted.¡± No one said anything about this. The army slowly reassembled into ranks to continue their march after the chaos spawn. --- I stood in the middle of a blizzard. The icy wind bit at me, and lightning lit up the sky, silhouetting a massive bird in the sky. Electric talons flashed at me. I dodged to the side, counterattacking. Lighting struck me, and I was flung into the air; another bolt of lightning hit me, and I was sent flying again. I hung in the air for a moment before falling. I passed through wet clouds, then plummeted over the side of a mountain towards the forest floor, the edge of a cliff flying by me. The ground came towards me faster and faster as my body was still stunned by the electric current going through me. I sat up, the shock of falling in my sleep jolting me awake. I got up, splashing water on my face, another dream showing my death. Hmmm, that fear is delicious, the voidling said, and I suddenly got the mental image of stretch. ¡°Shut up; I¡¯m not afraid of anything,¡± I snapped at the spirit. You can¡¯t lie to me, the voidling giggled. I¡¯m in your head. ¡°And as soon as I can find out how to give you an eviction notice, you won¡¯t be,¡± I said. ¡°Now shut up. I need to think.¡± Luckily my one-sided verbal conversation didn¡¯t seem to have woken anyone up. I thought back on the dream. Considering the last one, I would need to think this one over in depth. I refused to run from death, but perhaps I could do something to change what I had seen. What good was knowing the future if you couldn¡¯t alter it? Sure, I could not try and fight the Lightning Pheonix, and I was sure that was what it had been, but that would prevent me from completing my quest and show a lack of faith in myself and my abilities. ¡°I am not a failure,¡± I said to myself. Your anger is always a delicious breakfast, the voidling said. I ignored it, pushing its voice to the back of my thoughts. I put on my armor and left the room. Thanks to my storage pouch, I didn¡¯t really have anything to pack, so I was already ready to go. Tobias waited in the throne room. His armor was laid out on the table, along with some weapons. His brothers stood by their armor and weapons also laid out. I ate breakfast first, then walked over to the sets of thick plate armor. I was taking out the orbs of uncommon metal from my storage pouch I set to work. I stepped back when I was all done surveying my work. I had thinned the armor but still left it a little under a quarter inch in thickness. The armor sets weren¡¯t magical but were practically indestructible for most creatures. Tobias picked up his breastplate; it had gained two pounds in weight, but with his Might attribute, the extra weight was laughable. ¡°This is incredible,¡± Tobias said. ¡°Acquiring armor like this would have been worth swearing fealty to you all on its own.¡± ¡°Here,¡± I said, taking out the maul I had been carrying with me since I first got it from Quinn after my first battle. ¡°This is a proper weapon; I¡¯ve put more effort into it than any other, and it will suit your families¡¯ abilities well, I think.¡± Tobias took the maul from my hand, hefting the several hundred-pound weapons in his hands. ¡°Thank you, I feel as if I could slay a dragon with one hit from this.¡± His emotions are too complicated, the voidling gagged. It¡¯s like someone mixed salt, sugar and cinnamon, and cilantro together. Why can¡¯t you make him feel something simple like lust, anger, or ambition? ¡°Maybe a mortal-ranked dragon,¡± I said, ignoring my inner psychopath. ¡°But Exar¡¯kun is mine to fight.¡± ¡°Of course, Warlord,¡± Tobias said, bowing his head. It seemed my promise of power and my gifts to him had eased the hostility he felt towards me and earned some loyalty. ¡°One last thing,¡± I said and placed a hand on Tobias¡¯s shoulder. ¡°System grant Tobias Foresight and designate him as one of my generals.¡±
You have granted Tobias Dragonbreaker with your ability Foresight and designated him as one of your generals with authority over your vassals.
Tobias¡¯ face went blank as he read over his own notifications from the system. His eyes went wide, and he knelt before me. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°thank you, Warlord; I will not let down your faith in me,¡± he said. This is a new emotion, the voidling said. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever tasted it before; I¡¯m not sure how I feel about it yet. ¡°Good,¡± I said. ¡°Jeriah, are you ready to go?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°Who else are you bringing with you?¡± ¡°Syvia, of course,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m also going to bring Kathleen. She serves as my advisor, and her healing might be useful to you and the others.¡± ¡°I would also like to bring my sister Katlyn along,¡± Jeriah said. Good, then maybe your clan finally get laid, the voidling said. I can feel all their desires for you, all that sexual tension in one group, hmm, like a dessert buffet. ¡°Sure,¡± I said with a shrug blocking out the disturbing background commentary. ¡°But it will be your responsibility to watch out for her.¡± I placed a hand on Jeriah as well. ¡°Grant Jeriah Foresight,¡± I told the system. You have granted Jeriah Dragonbreaker with your ability, Foresight. Jeriah read over the notifications from the system and then knelt before me as Tobias had. ¡°This ability is beyond the strength of any I have ever seen before; I will strive to prove my family¡¯s and my worthiness of it from now on,¡± he swore to me. ¡°You¡¯ll get your chance to do that soon,¡± I said and turned to leave them behind to find Syvia and head out. ¡°Karnen, can you figure out any way to keep her quiet?¡± She¡¯s getting harder and harder to deal with, Karnen growled. I¡¯m trying to figure out how she feeds on others¡¯ emotions; I can only take in the raw spirit essence you eat; if you go find some creatures to drain the essence from, I might be powerful enough to get rid of her. ¡°Not trying to fight fire with fire here,¡± I sighed. ¡°Have you tried draining any of the stuff she¡¯s eating? She¡¯s a spirit too; it must be something similar to what you eat.¡± Hey! The voidling protested. That stuff¡¯s mine; I need all of it to grow strong. ¡°Yeah, try to drain as much of it as you can from her,¡± I told Karnen. -- We moved on foot Tigris and Euphrates were busy, and the forest was not a good place for horses. Syvia led us into the forest. I had to slow down for the others thanks to my Heightened Speed, Jeriah kept up mostly, but Syvia struggled to stay ahead and guide the way. Kathleen and Katlyn lagged behind their low rank evident as they forced us to wait up for them. It was rough going in the forest. This was not flat terrain and was filled with rises and falls and sheer cliffs to navigate around. Despite this and some of my companion¡¯s common attributes, we were still making good time, and we all settled into a rhythm. Katlyn talked with Kathleen the two-woman seemed to get along. Jeriah marched stoically, untiring despite his heavy plate. I used the time to practice my spells; unlike my abilities, these would take work to get good at. I threw phantom spears at wildlife, occasionally hitting them and stopping while Syvia skinned my prey to gather choice cuts of meat for later. I cast my exploding skull spell; sadly, this didn¡¯t leave anything to harvest. Syvia cast her spells, the one that let her detect the presence of gifted, and told me of a large group of gifted close to the route we would need to take to get to her clan. We angled that way and continued to press on. I also grabbed interesting rocks as we went compressing them down as small as I could until they were the size of a billiard ball, then put them in my storage pouch. We kept moving until we finally broke into a large meadow, a spire of rock in the center of the field. Syvia cast her spell again, then gestured to the spire of rock jutting out of the meadow¡¯s center. The voidling grew increasingly annoying as she and Karnen fought inside me. It was like going on a family road trip and having two kids trying to murder each other in the backseat. We crouched down and watched a stag walked up the stone spire, looking around the meadow. It let out a bellow, and doe joined it at its side. Appearing out of the long grass, a herd of deer appeared. They weren¡¯t a species I recognized, but they were around the size of elk. The two deer on the rock were the size of moose, the male had pure white fur with blue markings, and its antlers appeared to be made of sapphire. I focused on the stag and doe until a message popped up.
Yevere, Prince of the Forest; Gifted- Beast/Storm-stag, Veteran, Rank 185
Millra, Herd Mother; Gifted- Beast/Cloud-doe, Veteran Rank 175
I looked over the rest of the herd.
Rain-doe; Gifted- Beast/rain-doe, Mortal, Rank: 7
Looking over the rest of the herd, their ranks didn¡¯t change too much, never going higher than ten or lower than five. ¡°Katlyn, Kathleen, and Syvia, you take the main herd. Jeriah, you protect them, and if you get a chance, try to get a hit on the Cloud-doe; I¡¯m going to take the stage. No one else fights it,¡± I instructed, my voice barely audible. The herd stirred even at my nearly silent command, but it was already too late as I was already in motion. The stag jerked its head as I went from zero to over a hundred miles an hour, jumping and clearing the herd as I sailed toward him. The stag snorted and, to my surprise, turned and ran. The entire herd began to scatter, but I wouldn¡¯t let my prey escape that easily. I landed on the spire and took off again after the stag. Our speeds soon became evident as I quickly began to outpace him. My club lashed out, scoring a scratch along his foreleg. Black smoke poured out of my skin, covering me in a black obscuring mist even as my veins began to glow like a river of lava. The stag turned on a dime, its antlers sweeping toward my chest. The moose-sized deer was fast, but my ability let me multiply my speed, and I ducked under the sweeping antlers slashing at its neck where its artery should be. A blast of lightning scored my body, my body tensing as electricity coursed through them, stunning me for a second. The stag had disappeared, transforming into raw lighting as it passed through me, appearing a dozen yards away. Yevere lowered, pawed at the ground, snorted, and black storm clouds expelled from his nostrils. It lowered its head, and I prepared for the charge, but instead, bolts of lightning shot out from the tips of its antlers. My Foresight was a fantastic skill and had saved me hundreds of times; I could see nearly half a minute into the future. If you didn¡¯t have the skill, you might think this would let me make the perfect move every time, but that wasn¡¯t the case. The future is constantly changing; even the slightest alteration will change your possible future. Say I move my foot just two inches to my right. That just created ten different possible futures; I pick one, and hundreds of possibilities end, and others are born. I also have to try and make the best choice within a millisecond and another choice right after that, each one compounding, destroying, and creating different possible outcomes. To put it succinctly, though, sometimes there are no good choices. I activated Phantom Form, but the lighting still struck me; I didn¡¯t appear to be vulnerable to lightning damage, but I also, unfortunately, wasn¡¯t immune. I did take less damage than I would have if I were physical, and I avoided the stun effect. I sped forward in my incorporeal form and activated the eruption effect from Magma Heart(s), spending a sixteenth of my maximum stamina to deal double damage for the next twenty seconds. The stag bellowed as my phantom weapons bit into its form. It transformed into lightning again, escaping to another location a few dozen yards away. I teleported next to it and attacked again. I was going nova burning through my mana, but thanks to Magma Heart(s), my stamina was actually going up as both it and Black-rage benefited from every hit I landed, even in Phantom Form. I became physical again. The stag tried to gore me, but I grabbed its antlers and held it in place. I felt immensely heavy as my Might had gone up by twenty-four points. I pushed back on the stag, and it skidded along the dirt and grass-plowing furrows as it tried to resist me. My palms sizzled as the stag tried to turn to lightning again, but it appeared that contact with another creature prevented it. It did not prevent the arcs of lightning from going through my body, and I felt my hearts spasm. I could smell the scoring as the skin along my palms blackened and burned from electrical burns. My body was immobile, but my mind was not. I gripped the stag with Telekinesis and crushed its body inwards as I held its head in place. At this point, I couldn¡¯t let go even if I wanted to, my body locked in place with a current of lighting running through me, cooking me from the inside. The stag bucked as my telekinesis crushed its body inwards, but neither of us could move now. Troll Hide kept me alive barely as the regeneration fought against the damage of the lightning. Finally, the stag bucked wildly one last time before going limp.
92 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 151 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective, survive a lethal amount of lightning damage for over ten seconds; reward: Lightning Resistance.
*Lightning Resistance: Your body is becoming increasingly resistant to Lightning the more you are subjected to it. Lightning damage deals one less damage stage against you, making it so larger lightning attacks are required to damage and kill you.
I had to grab my own body with telekinesis to push me back from the stag¡¯s body, lighting still coursing from its antlers and flooding my body. I collapsed onto the ground, twitching; I lay there for a minute before sitting up; I was drenched in sweat and dirt and took out my cleaning cloth, spending the mana to wipe my body and clothes clean. That was amazing; the voidling gasped as if she was out of breath. Your passion and fury, I¡¯ve never felt anything like it. Is that what you feel like every time you fight? I got some of it, too, Karnen purred. You can¡¯t get away from me forever. I blocked out the rest of the conversation as the two psychopaths screamed and fought inside my spirit. I stood up and walked over to where Jeriah panted heavily, standing over the body of the cloud doe, blood ran from his eyes, nose, and ears, and his sword was buried nearly to the hilt in the doe¡¯s chest. I wordlessly took out my cleansing cloth again and cleaned him off. I wandered over to the girls and found Syvia leading two of the does by makeshift halters. Katlyn and Kathleen sat on the does. I looked past them to see a few dozen of the lesser does killed, but the majority of the herd looked to have escaped. ¡°What¡¯s with the deer?¡± I asked Syvia. ¡°I used Calm Beasts on it,¡± Syvia said. ¡°We can make faster time now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s your rank points,¡± I said. ¡°If you¡¯d rather ride them than get the experience, that¡¯s up to you.¡± Jeriah shrugged, not caring either way, and we set up camp by the rock spire. Syvia penned in the rain-does making sure they couldn¡¯t and wouldn¡¯t run away during the night. Next, she skinned the storm-stag and cloud-doe for me, adding its pristine pelt to our current pile of untanned hides in my storage pouch. I took the two crystal antlers; my compress earth ability told me they counted as a mineral sort of but were also an organic material, so they weren¡¯t compatible with my ability.
Storm Antler: Rarity: Rare, Hardness 14. Taken from the body of Storm Stag, this antler is imbued with the energy of a storm; it will deal major lightning damage on contact with any living creature. Weapons can only damage it with a hardness of 14 or higher.
Storm Pelt: Rarity: Rare, Hardness 8. Taken from the body of a Storm Stag, this hide is resistant to lightning and electrical attacks. It can only be damaged by weapons with hardness 8 or higher.
Cloud Pelt: Rarity: Rare, Hardness 8. Taken from the body of a Cloud Doe, this hide has camouflaging properties and will shift to match its environment when in dense underbrush; when not, it will turn to an alabaster color.
The pelts from the rain-does had no special properties, although they were of very high quality. I put the antlers in my storage pouch alongside the pelts. ¡°I got my ability for my Power Attribute,¡± Jeriah said as he grilled some steaks for us. ¡°I just need an ability for Endurance and one more for Power, and I can progress to Hero Rank.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still not sure why you weren¡¯t already at Hero rank,¡± I said. ¡°The forest is thick with gifted. You can¡¯t go for a day without bumping into one of them.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve only been here for a few months at most,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°The number of gifted creatures you see is not normal. We could tell the god¡¯s game had begun again when the number of gifted creatures exploded in the forest. The system barely spawns anything after one of the champions wins the game, but during the contest, the world is besieged by them. My family being so powerful is the result of years of hard work and surviving powerful enemies of ours coming to kill us.¡± ¡°So, your saying I won¡¯t have to worry about the king of a country being demi-god rank or anything?¡± I asked. ¡°Not for a while,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°All gifted will use the time during the contest to increase in power. This increase in monster spawns will typically last a few decades. Everyone will use the time to advance, but the system bases the strength of the creatures it spawns off the closest champion. If I had to guess, that stag and cloud doe hadn¡¯t been in this forest long, maybe a day at most; they were spawned in at Veteran rank because of you.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re saying my presence makes the world more dangerous?¡± I asked. ¡°Not just you but every champion,¡± Syvia said. ¡°It¡¯s why we despise the champions of law so much.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Kathleen asked. ¡°Because they protect civilization from clans like yours?¡± This is good stuff; let them fight, the voidling said, her commentary breaking into my thoughts again. ¡°Because they say they protect their people but put them in danger by being around them,¡± Syvia snapped back. ¡°The more champions are in one place, the more beasts and monsters the system spawns in that area. A group of powerful champions spending a night in a town could cause it to come under siege by a wave of beasts spawned by the system.¡± ¡°And your different?¡± Kathleen asked. ¡°The champions of chaos are few and never bond together,¡± Syvia said with a shrug. ¡°And we as a clan are strong enough to fend for ourselves. Unlike your cities, not one member of our clan is without the gift.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough politics and philosophy for one night,¡± I said, resting against the rocky spire. ¡°How many more days of travel, Syvia?¡± ¡°If we can move faster than we did today, we could reach them in two days,¡± Syvia said. ¡°Good,¡± I said. ¡°Then rest up. We¡¯ll be going as fast as we can tomorrow.¡± Chapter 34: A Matter of Perspective Mira flew up to the top of the wall around a tall stone tower. The area was completely deserted, and she looked around nervously searching for the ambush or trap. After a few minutes she flew back to the other champions. ¡°There¡¯s no one there,¡± she said. ¡°Why would they leave a fortified position?¡± Felrick asked. ¡°I¡¯m beginning to have serious doubts that this is the Warlord I can¡¯t make any sense of his strategy. Just wander through the forest aimlessly?¡± ¡°The Warlord is wily, also their purpose is to conquer land and people, staying in one spot is never how they operate,¡± Guinevere explained. ¡°But where is he going?¡± Jamis asked. ¡°The nearest place of civilization is in Lunara; is he waging war on the Myrmidons?¡± ¡°Possible, or he is gathering his army for to attack in full strength,¡± Helen said. ¡°He likely doesn¡¯t even know that we are aware of his existence yet and thinks to take us by surprise.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be in for a bit of a shock then,¡± Torvin said looking back on their army. ¡°Do not be overconfident,¡± Guinevere reprimanded him. ¡°This is the Warlord, even non-gifted under his control will be deadly to us with strength and speed akin to the monsters in a dungeon. From the tracks we¡¯ve seen he only has a few hundred creatures under his command but even with those numbers taking him down will not be easy.¡± ¡°We should rest here,¡± Chritor said setting a heavy anvil down on the ground. ¡°I¡¯d like to examine this place and see what was left behind. It might tell us something about who we¡¯re dealing with.¡± ¡°We could use a break,¡± Helen agreed. ¡°I¡¯ll tell the army to make camp, we can use these walls for defenses for tonight.¡± ¡°Something interesting here,¡± Guinevere said dismounting and looking at the ground and wrinkling her nose. ¡°The air is foul, there are bones and carcasses everywhere outside the wall.¡± ¡°They were attacked and defended themselves,¡± Felecia said with a shrug. ¡°No,¡± Jamis said joining Guinevere and crouching down sniffing the air deeply. ¡°The bodies are to rotten, and these bones are odd, like they were dead before they came here.¡± ¡°Undead? Are we dealing with a necromancer here?¡± Felecia asked. ¡°Possible,¡± Helen said. ¡°Who knows what kind of abilities the Warlord has.¡± ¡°I suspect we¡¯ll find out soon,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯d place this battle based on the tracks we can still see at no more than three or five days old.¡± --- I rolled out of the way of a bolt of lightning as it impacted the ground where I had been standing. Talons raked overhead and I phased through them the electricity still scorching my soul. The ground shuddered and I became corporeal again. A beak stabbed down where I had been, and lighting radiated out from its impact. My body locked up for a second as the lighting hit me. In a second the beak struck again ripping through skin and cracking and crushing ribs. I lashed out in a counterattack but the lightning pheonix flung me into the air and with a beat of its wings sent me airborne. A bolt of lightning hit me and sent me spinning and immobilizing me for a moment. I tried going incorporeal to see if that would stop my mad flight but apparently even ghosts are subject to certain laws of physics. I became physical again just in time tow watch as I sailed over the edge of cliff. I fell through the cloud layer down and down until I struck the treetops. I sat up the falling sensation jolting me out of my sleep again. Your fear is tasty, but I like your anger better, the voidling said. How about you fight Jeriah, you could get some rank points and I could breakfast. I pushed back the voice of the serial killer in my head and calmed my breathing. I helped my vassals wrap up our camp. Kathleen and Katlyn rode the rain-does and they tried to buck them a few times and I finally had to put an end to it. ¡°Dominion,¡± I said bringing the does under control.
Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 1,280 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current Progress 94 out of 1,280. When you complete this quest, you will gain 256 Rank Points and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
We did move faster now the doe could easily navigate the forest paths and Katlyn and Kathleen didn¡¯t slow us now as they sat side saddle on the does back a makeshift padded saddle added to provide cushioning. I kept compressing any uncommon stones I came across on the journey and practicing my new spells. It was barely perceptible, but I think the spell was taking one or two less points of mana to cast. Jeriah kept up not with grace but with the strength of a bulldozer the forest bending to form a path for him. ¡°Your abilities seem very magical in nature,¡± Torvin said. ¡°I had figured you to have a more melee build based on your gear.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just the way the abilities I¡¯ve gained have shaped out,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°How would you even make a build I thought abilities were gained randomly.¡± ¡°Yes and no,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°If you have control over a dungeon for instance and farm it continuously you will get similar abilities that go along a certain path, or if you only fight creatures in one environment. The Ancient Forest is a bit different; it has massive diversity in what monsters the system will spawn in it but other places usually only get a few varieties.¡± ¡°Kathleen you¡¯re a healer, right?¡± I asked. ¡°Your saying there is a dungeon that you farm to gain healing abilities.¡± Kathleen clenched her jaw but began speaking as the brand around her neck activated. ¡°The royal family is in control of half a dozen dungeons, three of which are well documented for awarding abilities that focus on healing.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± I said. ¡°So how is it your brothers and you all seem to be melee focused as well, you didn¡¯t know about the dungeon nearby your base until I told you about it.¡± ¡°Mostly our family¡¯s abilities,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°I realize you are new to this world as a champion, has anyone explained how abilities are passed on to you?¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°They might of,¡± I said noncommittally. ¡°Tell me again see if I missed anything.¡± ¡°Children can be born with as little as one and a maximum of eight abilities,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°Its is all dependent on the parents. You pass on one ability for each of the eight attributes, if you don¡¯t have an ability for every attribute the child will only gain the abilities for those attributes that you possess.¡± ¡°Are they different abilities than their parents?¡± I asked. ¡°Not necessarily,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°Usually they are the same but sometimes if only one parent has the gift the ability will be weaker, many bastard children of nobles can be determined by the strength of their abilities. If both parents are gifted then the abilities they get will be randomly decided by the system base off what abilities both parents. However, in some cases if the parents have two abilities for the same attribute that are similar the system will instead combine them into a more powerful variant.¡± ¡°This is what my and the other clans strive for,¡± Syvia said adding to the explanation. ¡°It is why despite our lower numbers the armies of civilization leave us alone in the wildernesses.¡± ¡°The system will always pass down the most powerful abilities which will lead to a family gaining abilities like my families where one ability effects multiple attributes or raises an attribute by two instead of just one for every rank,¡± Jeriah explained. ¡°I¡¯ve got one like that last one,¡± I said. ¡°They are highly coveted,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°My families ability was cultivated for many generations and is one of the rarest types a quartette ability, it raises each of the physical attributes by one each rank.¡± ¡°That is truly wonderous,¡± Kathleen said in awe. ¡°Even the royal family of Camelot only has a trifecta ability.¡± ¡°So, your saying those born with the gift have a natural advantage over those brought from outside this world who were just given four abilities like me?¡± I asked. ¡°Why not only pick champions from the natives?¡± ¡°We might have a head-start but that doesn¡¯t necessarily mean anything, abilities change and mutate over the generations, while a parent does pass down a copy of one ability each one is slightly different. After a few dozen generations the ability is much weaker typically. Most abilities gained from fighting aren¡¯t that good which is why champions directly brought in from the outside are valued, you start out with less but in return the system allows the gods to grant you powerful abilities that couldn¡¯t be gained normally.¡± ¡°So, natives aren¡¯t given new abilities when they become champions?¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± Jeriah said shaking his head to emphasize that point. ¡°The are given an artifact of their design but that is true for all of them. It¡¯s a tradeoff for the gods, choose someone with more abilities at the start or gamble on picking an outsider to gain a few powerful abilities to work off of.¡± ¡°I think you don¡¯t understand how abilities are gained as well as you think you do,¡± I said. ¡°Really?¡± Jeriah asked, his voice was polite but I could detect the skepticism and slight derision behind it. ¡°Forgive me but you are very new to this world.¡± ¡°And in only a brief time I¡¯ve gained some very powerful abilities,¡± I said. ¡°Why do you say most abilities gained in combat are weak?¡± ¡°Because the system rewards risk when deciding how powerful an ability is,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°The more powerful you are in comparison to the creature you are fighting. Therefore, most abilities end up being on the middle to mostly useless end of the power spectrum.¡± ¡°There is your problem,¡± I said. ¡°Its not a matter of the manner of acquiring abilities being flawed it¡¯s the process your using to acquire them. You need to take more risks, only fight stronger foes and put your life on the line more.¡± ¡°Doing that will eventually get you killed,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°I¡¯ve heard your theory before, they call it Power Ranking, fight either as an individual or with a very small party two to three members at most and only go up against creatures or dungeons massively above your rank or even a grade above. It works for awhile but eventually the person or party picks a fight and it goes bad for them and when your fighting above your rank, going bad means you die.¡± ¡°If we don¡¯t attempt greatness we are doomed to mediocrity,¡± I said. ¡°I refuse to be mediocre, even if it kills me I aim to be exceptional.¡± The conversation stopped after that everyone having something to think about for now. We stopped and made camp again saying little as we lay down to rest. I felt as if I could have walked for the rest of night and next day but everyone else besides Jeriah looked wiped out. I lay down let sleep wash over me. I jolted awake again as the sensation of falling startled me out my vision/dream. The dream had been barely different than last time. I had to guess was that my gaining Lightning Resistance had altered my future the first time but nothing about me had changed since that would alter the future in any meaningful way. We started moving again, this would be our last day of travel. I spent it the same as before compressing uncommon stone and working on practicing my spells. ¡°So you¡¯re saying you don¡¯t have any weak or useless abilities?¡± Jeriah asked breaking the silence as we hiked each of our strides propelling us several yards. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got a few that aren¡¯t to special,¡± I admitted. ¡°Like what?¡± Jeriah asked curiously. ¡°Maga Heart(s) it restores ten mana and stamina for every kill I make, I had to get all of its extra effects to make it viable, now I just have to inflict a wound and it counts for three kills. Also I can expend a sixth of my maximum stamina to deal double damage for twenty seconds.¡± ¡°And you consider that weak?¡± Jeriah asked disbelievingly. Hmm I can taste a little jealousy from him, the voidling said. ¡°Well, it wasn¡¯t when I got it,¡± I said defensively ignoring the voidling¡¯s voice. ¡°There¡¯s also my ability Storm Soul, I¡¯ve already upgraded it to max rank but still haven¡¯t been able to use it.¡± ¡°What does it do?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°I can do more damage with lightning abilities and if I get hit by lightning it permanently raises my maximum mana,¡± I answered. ¡°A permanent increase?¡± Kathleen asked butting into the discussion. ¡°That¡¯s bullshit!¡± Oh her jealousy is strong, actually all of them have it, the voidling said delightedly. ¡°Did you miss the part where I have to get hit by lightning?¡± I asked. ¡°Do you have any idea how rare that kind of ability is?¡± Kathleen asked flabbergasted. ¡°Kings would pay you to marry their daughters to get that kind of ability in their bloodline.¡± You should take those kings up on that offer, it might help you get all that tension out, the voidling said. ¡°It¡¯s not very reliable,¡± I said. ¡°The best I can do is climb to the top of building during a thunderstorm in my full plate armor to try and attract it towards me.¡± ¡°If you need to face the Lightning Pheonix, you¡¯re going to be hit with lots of lightning,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°It says it has to be natural lightning so I can¡¯t use abilities to game the system,¡± I informed him. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Jeriah said shaking his head. ¡°The mountain of the Lightning Pheonix is constantly covered in a massive storm, the storm existed before the pheonix; Sky-scarred Peak.¡± He pointed to the northeast, and I looked to the mountains, the sun was starting to set silouting the mountains against the darkening sky. I could see the distant flashing of lightning across the top of one mountain.¡± ¡°Are you sure its natural lightning?¡± I asked. ¡°No, but only one way to find out,¡± Jeriah said with a shrug. We crested a hill and Syvia pointed down over a clear stretch of meadow to some thin trails of rising smoke. ¡°There, that is my clan¡¯s village.¡± ¡°Lets go introduce ourselves then,¡± I said and moved forwards. --- Arthur blocked the Troll King¡¯s strike with his Excalibur and riposted his owl blade cutting deep into the Troll King¡¯s thigh. Stumbling back the Troll King grunted then roared raising a two-handed mace high overhead. ¡°Heroic Blade, Bypassing Strike, Rending Blade!¡± Arthur shouted activating a series of abilities his stamina dropping to one third as he prepared a single devastating attack. The Troll King¡¯s mace came down, Arthur moved to the side but the mace still clipped his shoulder but his abilities and titles let him take it without going down. Arthur stepped forward plunging Excalibur through the Troll King¡¯s chest twisting and ripping it out leaving a perfectly circular hole big enough for his arm to fit through. You could see through the Troll King¡¯s torso and with a groan the dungeon boss collapsed to the ground.
You have gained 85 rank points.
Lancelot and Kay stepped forward giving Arthur a round of applause. ¡°Thanks for letting me do that,¡± Arthur said wiping sweat from his brow as he took of his helmet and gulped down a waterskin. ¡°Well I bet Lancelot fifty gold we¡¯d have to step in and save your ass,¡± Kay admitted with a grin. ¡°Still good show.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been running this dungeon for three years now,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I wanted to give a shot soloing the boss before we leave. I don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll ever be back here, by the time we get back we¡¯ll probably be too high a rank for this place.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to miss this place,¡± Lancelot agreed. ¡°Lets see what we got for loot,¡± Kay said stepping forward and opening the golden chest behind the Troll King¡¯s throne. Chapter 35: The Wolf Chief Guinevere blocked the stinger of the giant wasp as it divebombed her from above the massive swarm assaulting the army from all sides. They had left the fortified walls only a few hours ago but had been assaulted by hundreds of wasps that poured out of hives they¡¯d made in the ground.
Vespidae Warrior, Gifted- insect/giant-wasp, Mortal, Rank: 8
The stinger slid along her blade, and she used the momentum to turn aside the stinger and push it aside then struck back in rapid riposte. ¡°Winter¡¯s Touch,¡± Guinevere said. A sheen of ice grew along the wasp, its wings freezing in place. Unable to stop its momentum, the now brittle carapace of the wasp shattered on the ground. Guinevere threw her sword skewering a wasp about to launch an attack against Mira then summoned her sword back to her hand wordlessly. Jamis lashed out at the wasps that came near him but only Mira and Helen were having much luck against the aerial assault. The melee members of the party were forced to hunker down and only attack when the wasps came close. Heedless of their own lives the wasps attacked again and again until finally they lay dead in piles as tall as Felrick. Each wasp had been at least four feet in length, not including the extra eighteen inches of their stinger. ¡°Should we harvest them for parts?¡± Jamis asked looking at the piles of wasps. Helen kicked one with the toe of her boot and shook her head. ¡°Working with monster parts is hard; you could use the stinger for weapons but tools like that just aren¡¯t as good as enchanted weapons. Only savages and the chaotic tribes use them since they lack access to a steady supply of iron and steel.¡± ¡°We should get moving and make a bit more progress,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°We¡¯ve got wounded and probably already lost a day of travel to this battle, we need to rest up and try to make up some of the lost ground tomorrow.¡± --- We kept moving down the hill reaching the bottom. Out of the underbrush ahead of us rose two dozen warriors in hide and fur armor with bows drawn on us. I could sense archers behind us as well, but my Foresight didn¡¯t show me any danger, so I wasn¡¯t worried. ¡°Who are you?¡± one of the warriors asked. He looked us over before his gaze froze on Syvia. ¡°Syvia? You were captured, how did you get free and why have you brought these outsiders here?¡± he asked. ¡°Brother!¡± Syvia called out excitedly. ¡°I have found the Warlord!¡± she pointed at me as she spoke. ¡°The Warlord?¡± the man, apparently Syvia¡¯s brother asked skeptically looking me over. ¡°Should I use Dominion on him?¡± I asked. ¡°They might take it as a sign of aggression,¡± Jeriah said looking over the warriors warily. That would make them taste better, you should do it, the voidling said eagerly. ¡°He is the Warlord,¡± Syvia said. ¡°He Dominated me.¡± ¡°Choose different phrasing,¡± I told her reproachfully. Ha! The voidling laughed. ¡°He forced me to follow his orders,¡± Syvia obediently complied. I sighed. ¡°I meant choose phrasing that¡¯s less sexually charged.¡± I stepped forward. ¡°I am Mordred, Champion of Kelesa, I have been given a quest to conquer the eight powers of the forest. You are one of them, take me to your leader, he and I have much to discuss.¡± Syvia¡¯s brother, whose name I learned was Hislian, lead me through the camp my vassals following nervously behind Kathleen and Katlyn still riding the cloud-doe. We were lead to a tent set into the face of a cliff, a large cave opening behind it. I was ushered forward and followed Hislian inside. Only Syvia was allowed with us, the rest of my vassals were told to stay outside. I was brought into a cavern its sides and floor carved smooth. Furs covered the floor, and the walls were painted with depictions of hunts, battles, and other scenes of violence. A throne made of stone and carved with two wolves as armrests sat at the top of a dais a male elf with silver hair sitting it. The man¡¯s hair was cut short, and his body was lean and muscular hide armor and wolf cloak his only clothing a long silver rapier leaning against the throne. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Korsis the Moonwolf, Gifted- humanoid/Moon-Elf, Hero, Rank ???
This was the first hero rank gifted I had ever met. His eyes were a pale silver, and his skin was as pale as his niece¡¯s. ¡°So, you are the one our goddess has chosen as her Champion?¡± Korsis asked. ¡°I am,¡± I said. ¡°And you wish to collar my clan I also hear,¡± Korsis asked. He tastes like fear and ambition, the voidling commented and I heard a sniffing sound in the back of my thoughts. ¡°I have been given a quest by Kelesa, to conquer the eight powers of the forest, if that is you then yes, I have come here to take control,¡± I said. ¡°And what if I say no?¡± Korsis asked leaning forward and baring his teeth. ¡°Then we will fight,¡± I answered not blinking at his challenge. Do it! The voidling urged me. You can totally take him. No you can¡¯t, Karnen cut in. I¡¯ve already been killed once by you, don¡¯t do it again. I kept a straight face as the two spirits argued in the back and forth. Korsis fell back in his throne laughing. ¡°I like you, not even hero rank and already challenging me for position as chief. No, we will not fight today but you have not yet earned the right to lead our clan yet.¡± ¡°What do I need to do?¡± I asked crossing my arms. ¡°If you wish to be the Warlord you must be a warlord,¡± Korsis answered. ¡°You must prove that you can lead an army and win a battle.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to guess you already have something in mind,¡± I said. ¡°The Dragon Clan have defied our ancient laws,¡± Korsis snarled. ¡°It is one thing for a clan to fight another, this is right and proper; there is only the rule of strength. However they have brought in outsiders to kill our warriors and take our women. They weaken our clan without taking our strength for themselves.¡± ¡°And you want me to help you beat them?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Korsis said. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough proof to bring to the other clans to show them the Dragon Clan¡¯s treachery. Get proof, humble the Dragon Clan and kill their allies and we shall pledge our service to you as Warlord.¡± Good, fight and kill them all, the voidling urged. Their deaths will be so sweet. I ignored the voidling and thought over Korsis¡¯ words. It was a fair deal, I needed to show I was a good leader and not just some random person Kelesa had selected on a whim. ¡°I agree to your terms,¡± I said. ¡°Where can I find the Dragon Clan?¡± ¡°Their camp is in the marshes along the river, next to the territory of the Hell Dragon,¡± Korvis said. ¡°However, they have been attacking our camp every few days now, you are welcome to stay and help defend.¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve heard tell that your clan has a dungeon I would love a chance to run it personally.¡± Korvis looked me over and nodded. ¡°For the Champion of Kelesa, I will grant you this favor. The dungeon has recently reset, you can take your party and run it today.¡± Excellent! I¡¯m starving, the voidling said. Fight, kill I want to your anger to fill me up again. ¡°I prefer to operate without a party,¡± I said blocking out the disturbing imagery and commentary I was getting from the voidling. This got me some looks, but Korvis waved at his men to continue. ¡°Do as you see fit.¡± I was lead to a cave mouth, the opening of which was carved into the face of snarling wolf requiring you to enter through its jaws. I stepped past the stone fangs, my escort standing outside as I entered the dungeon. I had felt a pull to this place for a while thanks to my title Dungeon Finder.
You have entered the Dungeon, Den of the Wolf Mother, (Veteran Rank)
Dungeon Max Party Size 6
Time to get started fighting. --- Arthur sat astride his horse. Columns of knights on horseback were lined up behind him, rows of foot-knights and archers alongside them. The army of Camelot was six-thousand strong; they would ride for the coast cross and land on their soil before marching toward the border. Once they reached it they would be joined by other companies from the other nobles of Camelot. Beside Arthur were Lancelot and Kay on their own Gifted stallions, the horses snorting at each other¡¯s presence. The army¡¯s followers rode behind the army; cooks, blacksmiths, stable hands, runners, fletchers, healers and every other position needed to keep an army moving. Lionor was among them on her own horse with only two of her servants accompanying her. Noblewomen accompanying the army was not an uncommon occurrence, so no one made any note of her as they rode and marched slowly out of the cities mustering grounds. ¡°I¡¯m still not sure how I feel about this,¡± Kay said. ¡°Dracon has been a thorn in our side for decades,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I¡¯m not arguing with that but why are we going?¡± Kay asked. ¡°We are champions of the gods not soldiers. It is our duty to grow stronger and fight against the champions of chaos not another kingdom, regardless of how wicked their rulers might be.¡± ¡°Do you think what we are doing is wrong?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°I think us doing it is wrong,¡± Kay said putting heavy emphasis on the word us. ¡°We have a higher calling than these other knights. Our duty is to protect the world from the monsters spawned by the system and to reach for a higher purpose.¡± ¡°King Arthur needs us on this mission,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°Our presence reassures the people that this is the will of the gods.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Arthur agreed. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying,¡± Kay said. ¡°This is not the will of the gods; I haven¡¯t gotten a quest to go and conquer Dracon. This is the behavior the Warlord or Destroyer would do.¡± ¡°Enough Kay,¡± Arthur snapped. ¡°I know your reticence and share some of your concerns; but this is what my father and king has commanded of me. Now are you with me or against me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m with you Arthur,¡± Kay said. ¡°I just don¡¯t like this; I feel like this might someday result in something even worse for Camelot.¡± ¡°No one can see the future,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°We can only use our wits and judgement to make our choices and actions in the present.¡± Chapter 36: Pack Mother I stepped farther into the dungeon, I looked about into a forest glade. Light streamed in from above creating dim light in the streaming through pine branches. I moved forward looking around for the dungeon creatures. I didn¡¯t see them, but my Foresight warned me before the attack landed. I dropped down as wolf pounced from behind, it landed and spun to face me. The wolf was massive, four feet tall at its shoulder, its fur black and thick. The wolf stepped into a shadow and vanished, I don¡¯t mean I blinked, and it was gone, I mean it literally vanished. I dodged to the side this time lashing out with my club cutting a long gash down the wolf¡¯s belly as it passed spilling its entrails out on the ground.
Shadow Wolf -Dungeon Creature, Veteran, Beast/Wolf, Power Level: 220
The power level of the wolf was only ten ranks below me in terms of attributes, but if there was one thing, I had learned it was that attributes were not nearly as important as abilities. Kaleb Dragonbreaker had almost been hero rank, he had way more attributes then me and should have been stronger in practically every way; but when it came down to it my abilities were better than his. Dungeon creatures were dangerous, but they didn¡¯t really have abilities, this invisibility trick was likely some innate talent of the wolf and wasn¡¯t actually an ability. The wolf¡¯s blood dripped off the claws of my club as I slammed it down into the head of the dying wolf ending its suffering. Black Rage and Magma Heart(s) activated, and my head began to pound with anger and my veins pump with fire. I struggled against the desire to just give into the feeling, and I waited a moment. I had to dive to the side as two wolves pounced from different directions. This wouldn¡¯t be like my first dungeon with swarms of enemies. These monsters would wait for me get sloppy or complacent then attack while I was distracted. Kill them all, rend and destroy, the voidling said and for once we were on the exact same page. I suspended three dozen stone spearheads and used them like a weedwhacker clearing the foliage around me. A wolf yelped as it was slashed across the snout with a spearhead. I instantly turned and brought my club down on its neck breaking its spine and ripping through fur, skin, and muscle with the claws. The wolf thrashed on the ground for a second then went still.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 159 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I kept moving using my telekinesis to spoil my foes ambushes as I pushed through the forest glen. I reached another tunnel mouth opening and entered it. The tunnel here was honeycombed with openings too small to stand upright in. I moved cautiously down the tunnel diving forward as my Foresight warned me of an attack from my right. The wolf nipped at my heels before ducking into another low side tunnel and disappeared. I figured it out now. The wolves could attack me and retreat almost instantly. I needed to use my Foresight aggressively to clear these wolves. I moved forward again sensing an incoming attack at my back. Instead of dodging I spun and slashed up from the ground the claws of right club ripping out the wolf¡¯s throat. It died but its body slowed my blade, and another wolf sprang at my calf while a third leapt from above for my neck. My left club swept up hitting the airborne wolf in the chest and sending it up into the ceiling. The wolf going for my leg bit down, it couldn¡¯t break through my boots, they were artifacts, but its jaws did have massive pressure and I dimly felt the bone in my leg crack. The pain was dampened by Berserker and Troll Hide was already working to knit the bone back together and repair the deep bruising. I whirled but the wolf was already gone. I limped forward a few steps while my regeneration slowly got to work. Another wolf jumped me from behind, this time I didn¡¯t even turn just activated Phantom Form and let it pass through me and struck at it from behind. My attack didn¡¯t kill the wolf outright, but it howled in agony spasming on the ground. I became physical again and struck down putting the wolf out of my misery. I continued forward like this trusting my Foresight as I counter attacked over and over instead of going on the defensive. I finally broke out of the honeycomb tunnel into a cavern.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 185 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
My regeneration had fixed the damage to my leg, and I could put weight on it again. I looked about the cavern. It was low a single hole in ceiling letting in sunlight from above, the sunlight fell on a natural stone dais where a massive fury behemoth lay.
You have entered the Boss room of the Dungeon; your party cannot leave until one of you is dead. The rank of the boss will equal the highest rank of party members or the maximum rank for a Mortal. You will not all receive equal portions or Rank Points upon completion; instead, points will be awarded based on contributions and points will be deducted to pay for loot drops.
The mass of fur stood up revealing a wolf the size of a minivan. Her fur looked black at first but turned a pale silver when she stepped into the sunlight her eyes a bright yellow. She loosed a howl, and I felt a supernatural effect wash over me trying to make me flee or cower. I let the fear pass over me and growled in response anger pushing aside any desire to flee or thought of cowardice. I examined her, searching for weakness and the system popped up a message.
Ulvera the Wolf-mother, Gifted- Dungeon Boss/Beast, Rank 275
So, she was forty-five ranks higher than me, it would be a fair fight then. Ulvera dropped down and began to circle me. I raised my hand my spearheads rotating midair. She dashed in fast. This time I wasn¡¯t faster than my opponent I would have to guess that her Speed Attribute was as high as mine. I slashed down in a counterattack and felt her teeth bypass sink right through my skin like it was a hard cheese and rip into my thigh before she leapt away taking only a glancing strike from the claws on my left-hand club. I looked down my pants were ripped and there were ragged wounds from her fangs in my diamond hard skin with blood pouring out like a river. If I had the option, I might have retreated to reassess the boss, but this was to the death, and she was coming at me again. I dodged this time; I couldn¡¯t rely on my skin¡¯s hardness in this fight, but I¡¯d been in plenty of fights were I didn¡¯t even have it, so this wasn¡¯t nothing new. I rolled across the ground and slashed with my right-hand club overhead as she passed over me ripping a deep wound in her belly. I spun and activated my helmet¡¯s ability; I doubled in size making the giant wolf almost seem normal sized. She still came up to my waist and didn¡¯t seemed phased in the least by the size difference between us now. She rushed me letting out a snarl my blood foaming pink in her mouth. At the last second, she stepped into a shadow, my Foresight went blind to her existence the different possible futures distorted like an old staticky television screen. Any future possibility relating to Ulvera was blank now, something that I hadn¡¯t ever seen before or not seen in this case. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. I attacked behind me blindly, but she dropped down on me from the ceiling. I pulled to the side fast enough to keep her teeth from sinking into my neck, but they still bit into my shoulder passing through the armor of my pauldron as if it wasn¡¯t even there. She began to thrash her head tearing at my shoulder as she dug in. I grabbed her neck and fell back landing on top of her. She let out a yelp and let go. I tried to pin her to the ground, but she wriggled free. I had dropped my right-hand club in the fight and now had to scramble to grab it. Ulvera was on my back in an instant, but I spun ramming a stone spearhead into her foreleg. She clawed at me with her claws I turned incorporeal, but her claws still cut into my ghostly body, I roared in pain before lashing out kicking her in the face. She stumbled back snarling her muzzle red with mine and her blood and dripping saliva. Spearheads launched at her from all directions, but she vanished into the shadows again. My leg wound was healing I could feel, but very slowly. I got to my feet and spun as I felt and heard something behind me, Ulvera rushed past her teeth nipping at my wrist ripping away a bit of skin. She stepped into shadow again as I sent a hurricane of spearheads after her. I activated my ring cursing myself for forgetting as the stone-skin enchantment hardened my skin. Ulvera appeared at my back again and I rolled to face her as she snapped down towards my head. I blocked with my left arm and her teeth bit down and held me like a vice. Her teeth didn¡¯t dig in as deeply this time, but they still broke my skin; I grabbed the spear made from the fang of the saber cat and rammed it into her chest. It only went in six inches but she howled in pain letting me go and retreating. She circled me again a deep growl rumbling in her chest. She lunged forward again this time I caught her jaws and held them apart instead of trying to block. With every wound I had inflicted on her in the fight my Might had gone up by two-and-a-half and I was able to hold her jaws apart. I strained as she tried to bite down and take off my fingers. I used her distraction to launch a dozen spearheads into her flank. She yanked back out of my grip her sides now coated in blood. My own wounds had yet to close, and I suspected she had some sort of ability to counter healing abilities. I winced as I put weight down on my wounded leg, but I fought through it. One way or another this fight was almost over. Ulvera lunged forward and I dropped down stabbing forward in lunge meeting her charge. My spear took her in the neck right above the chest. She staggered for a moment, but I teleported next to her a death-adder dagger in one hand that I plunged up under her jaw. The Den Mother was finished, she collapsed, and I pulled out my bag of herbs I hadn¡¯t used in a while and packed my wounds with Cauter Fennel the herb bursting into flames on contact with my blood sealing the wounds shut stopping the bleeding. I tossed back one of my homebrewed healing potions to replace my lost blood.
137 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 186 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Congratulations, you have cleared the Dungeon, Den of the Wolf Mother, solo. Due to this feat, you have received a bonus to the quality of your rewards.
Adamantine Bar (rare); A foot long bar of adamantine weighing twenty pounds, this magical metal is practically indestructible but due to its weight is typically only wielded by those with high Might Attributes.
Quantity: 3.
Cloak of the Forest Lord; (very rare): Crafted from the hide of one the Beast Lords of the past this cloak fills its wearer with bestial power and fury. When you kill an enemy while wearing this cloak you gain an instance of Blood Frenzy which lasts for three minutes and stacks with other instances of Blood Frenzy.
*Blood Frenzy; your damage is increased by a minor amount however your Perception Attribute is hampered as your vision turns red making it hard to tell friend from foe and you are filled with the singular desire to kill.
Durability: 40-40.
That was incredible, you need to fight more often, the voidling said. That felt like five days of food right there, your anger and hate from killing were incredible. How do you have that energy? I ignored the voidling again as I read through the notifications. The loot wasn¡¯t as good as loot as my first dungeon, but I hadn¡¯t discovered this one. The three adamantine bars could be very useful. The last item was the most interesting but also the one I was least sure of, doing more damage was great but the disadvantages in the description were way more than the single buff it gave me. I sighed and put on the cloak, civilization and the other champions had already framed me as the villain, and I would need all the help I could get. The cloak was made from the pelt of wolf very similar to that of Ulva appearing a dark silver in light and fading to charcoal black when in shadow, like the nemean lion this pelt had a faint stripped pattern on it like a tigers but not as stark a contrast. It was fastened with a silver chain and hung down to my knees, even though it was brand new it already had a tattered, savage look to it. As I looked it over, I saw runes etched into the chain. I took off the cape and now saw that a circle of runes had been painted onto the back of the hide Exited I pulled out my storage pouch reaching in and pulling out my backpack. I copied the runes into my sketchbook on their own page writing the description of what the effect of the enchantment was. I had copies of the runes for all my magic items, I didn¡¯t know how to copy them yet but with my knowledge of the Old Magic I could actually somewhat read the runes. I put my sketchbook and backpack in my new storage pouch and reequipped all my magic items. It was time to leave the dungeon return to my vassals. I had met with Wolf Clan and didn¡¯t need them here anymore, so I¡¯d send them back to our base tomorrow and head out on my own to deal with the other clans and beast lords. --- Guinevere looked at the bridge spanning the river and frowned. ¡°It almost seems like a trap,¡± she said. ¡°A bridge seems like a trap?¡± Jamis asked. ¡°There haven¡¯t been any bridges crossing this river for over four centuries,¡± Helen said. ¡°The water is to wide, deep and flows to fast for conventional construction and there isn¡¯t any real need for us to build one.¡± ¡°Which means whoever we are chasing is the one who built this,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°And just left it behind giving us an easy route across the river, it would have taken us days to cross normally.¡± ¡°So, he has a construction power,¡± Ishtor snorted. His massive amphibian eyes looked down at the black stone construction with distain. ¡°What the big deal about that?¡± ¡°His construction is extremely strong,¡± Chritor said setting down his anvil. He brought out one of the stone spearheads they had been coming across and set it down, pulling out his hammer he raised it high above his head. ¡°Titanic Strike!¡± he shouted activating an ability. The hammer came down on the stone spearhead, sparks flew but the spearhead remained intact with only a chip of stone flaking off of it. ¡°What is the hardness of this stone?¡± Felrick asked. ¡°Fourteen,¡± Chritor said. ¡°It would take massive amounts of mana to craft this bridge and three times as much to destroy and structure like it.¡± ¡°The Warlord has historically been very good at taking territory but bad at keeping it,¡± Helen said. ¡°How likely is it that this one will have the patience to wait in a fortification while we besiege him?¡± ¡°You are assuming this is the Warlord,¡± Mira said. ¡°We still don¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°I feel its more and more likely,¡± Guinevere said pointing to the north-west. ¡°We¡¯ve been heading this direction for a while, about another week¡¯s journey is the Wolf Clan¡¯s territory. The myrmidons have long been followers of Kelesa and servants of the Warlord, if anyone would be headed to their territory it would be him.¡± ¡°Then we need to follow his trail quickly before he gains an even larger army,¡± Helen said. ¡°Alright everyone lets take advantage of this bridge the Warlord was kind enough to leave for us. We march all day and into the night if we have too. His tracks are only a few days old and I want us nipping at his heels.¡± Chapter 37: Novice Enchanter I stood up my storage pouch hanging from my belt as I exited the dungeon. It was late in the day now and my escort led me to large hut. I entered and found my female vassals all inside. ¡°I was told this is where I was sleeping,¡± I said looking around at the one room building. ¡°They think we¡¯re your women,¡± Katlyn said. I wish, the voidling sighed. ¡°Ah,¡± I said understanding. ¡°I¡¯ll go clear up the misunderstanding then.¡± Syvia put a hand on me. ¡°Its best you don¡¯t my lord,¡± she said nervously. ¡°It is expected for the Warlord to take many wives, they wouldn¡¯t understand you and might think less of you if you told them about your stance on women.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not gay,¡± I told her flatly. Could have fooled me, the voidling commented. ¡°But fine, if it will help ease relations with the locals I can play along with your customs.¡± I continued ignoring the voidling¡¯s comment. ¡°I¡¯ll sleep on the floor you three can take the bed.¡± Syvia and Kathleen looked at eachother. ¡°I don¡¯t want any fighting between the two of you,¡± I said stopping them before they could get started. They glared at me then looked away to glare at eachother instead. You could really sell this ruse a lot better if you would just fuck one of them! The voidling whined. I can taste the lust on them, you wouldn¡¯t even have to use your Dominion on them to make them do it. I pushed the voidling¡¯s voice from my mind blotting out her commentary as I focused on my anger like I had done before gaining Wrathful Meditation. I set out my armor, and all the stones I had been collecting on our way here. I had around two-thousand pounds of stone that were condensed down to a two-foot cube of space with around 50 orbs of condensed uncommon stone. Kathleen and Syvia sat at opposite ends of the bed with Katlyn in between them. ¡°No one told me the boss had an ability that let them bypass armor,¡± I said to Syvia striking up a conversation to ease the tension in the room. ¡°Dungeon bosses are never the same,¡± Syvia said shaking her head. ¡°Their abilities change for each group that challenges them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange,¡± I said. ¡°Where do Dungeons come from exactly? I know the system runs them but how are they made?¡± ¡°The system makes them with excess rank points,¡± Kathleen said. ¡°Excess rank points?¡± I asked. ¡°You only get half rank points when you kill a Gifted,¡± Syvia explained actually working with Kathleen for this lesson. ¡°The other half go to the system which uses it to create random gifted beasts and monsters and to create and to power and create dungeons.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°What purpose does that serve?¡± They both shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s just how they system works, part of the deal the gods made.¡± ¡°Back to the subject of the boss, it was able to just rip through my skin no problem like it wasn¡¯t even there,¡± I said getting the conversation back on track. ¡°How common is that?¡± ¡°Many martial gifted have similar abilities each with different limitations,¡± Katlyn said. ¡°My brothers Jeriah and Tobias, both earned them in combat, but father never got one.¡± ¡°So, wearing armor would actually just be weighing me down,¡± I said. ¡°Pretty much,¡± agreed Syvia. ¡°Not at all,¡± Kathleen said. The two went back to glaring at eachother. ¡°Both of you explain,¡± I said. ¡°Unless enchanted with other effects wearing armor is for the most part restrictive and unnecessary,¡± Syvia said. ¡°Once you raise your Toughness abilities far enough it will be like your skin is plate armor without any extra encumbrance or resistance.¡± ¡°Not necessarily,¡± Kathleen interjected. ¡°Relying only on abilities instead of gear can get just as easily get you killed. Consider Jeriah, he wears armor and isn¡¯t significantly hampered by it. Even if you might face those with abilities to bypass armor deciding not to wear it all is a drastic measure of madman.¡± ¡°Your people treat armor like your castles,¡± Syvia said standing up. ¡°Hiding behind them instead of fighting honorably.¡± ¡°Well at least we build something instead of only destroying everything we come across and living in the woods like animals!¡± Kathleen shouted. ¡°Ok the two of you sit down again,¡± I ordered them. ¡°Katlyn your family all wear armor what your thoughts on the matter are?¡± Katlyn looked nervous as she sat between the two fuming women. ¡°Well¡­ all my family are focused on their physical attributes; our family¡¯s ability raises every physical stat; you are focusing on your mental attributes so you can¡¯t wear as heavy as armor as my brothers. Abilities that bypass armor usually have a certain thickness they can¡¯t go through or a density they can¡¯t bypass.¡± ¡°So, your saying I would need to wear even heavier armor to avoid abilities like that?¡± I asked not liking the sound of that at all. ¡°Yes,¡± Katlyn said. ¡°Although you could go the middle route. Those pauldrons of yours for instance they protect your shoulders, collarbone and the base of your neck but it leaves your torso flexible but exposed. You could keep going like that; wear a few pieces of heavy armor and keep the rest of your body free for less weight and prevent restrictive movement, it isn¡¯t unheard of for those who split their attention between mental and physical abilities.¡± ¡°Like Ares?¡± I asked. ¡°You know of Ares?¡± Syvia asked surprised. ¡°These are his pauldrons, who exactly was he, I recognize the name it¡¯s from my world. ¡°He was a champion of Kelesa,¡± Syvia said. ¡°Was he from Earth?¡± I asked. ¡°Is that the name of your world?¡± Kathleen asked. ¡°I think I¡¯ve heard of it before.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where Ares was from,¡± Syvia said. ¡°I only know a little about him from our legends. Is Ares a common name where you¡¯re from?¡± ¡°No, it is the name of the Greek god of war,¡± I said. ¡°You have other gods in your world?¡± Katlyn asked. ¡°That¡¯s a difficult question, if we do have gods they don¡¯t interact with us like they do here,¡± I said shrugging. Syvia went over to a bookshelf in the room, one of the few pieces of furniture and grabbed a massive tome and hefted it onto the bed. The cover was thick and heavy covered with scaly leather binding and its edges trimmed with bronze. She leafed through its pages before stopping on page where an illustrator had depicted a man standing over a pile of corpses. He wielded a spear and shield, he had a helmet on that reminded me of Sauron, his chest armor consisted only of a pair of pauldrons that extended along the collar bone before meeting the gorget. He had some armor made of plate and chainmail around his waist and thighs with fur padding, and a pair of vambraces that ended at the forearm and extended up the forearm with chainmail. Before securing to his bicep with a leather strap. The armor was a glossy black, its edges trimmed with gold with red glowing runes inscribed into the gold, golden spikes jutted out from the armor giving it a savage barbaric appearance. The pauldron¡¯s looked similar to mine but the artist had either been drawing from memory or description because there were several differences in their actual appearance. ¡°That certainly isn¡¯t very much armor,¡± I said looking over my distant predecessor. ¡°How close did he come to winning?¡± ¡°Ares was one of the most bloodthirsty and savage of all Kelesa¡¯s champions,¡± Kathleen said looking at the image with some disgust. ¡°His armor was earned with the blood of nations; each piece is a rank IV artifact.¡± ¡°Where are the other pieces of the set?¡± I asked. ¡°I heard that the Dragon Clan actually had the helm once,¡± Syvia said. ¡°But that is just a legend as far as I know.¡± ¡°The Pteruges are said to be held in the treasury of Dracon,¡± Kathleen said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to the Manica.¡± ¡°Well at least that¡¯s a lead on two of the pieces,¡± I mused. ¡°I believe the Lion Clan have the Manica of Ares,¡± Syvia said. ¡°Originally the Myrmidons had all the pieces of the set but we have been scattered and decimated over the centuries and pieces were lost or taken from us.¡± ¡°Where is the Lion Clan?¡± I asked. ¡°They used to roam the moors northeast of the Ancient Forest,¡± Syvia said. ¡°But we haven¡¯t had contact with them for generations.¡± ¡°Alright, well I¡¯m ready for bed. Don¡¯t fight or disturb me unless there is an emergency,¡± I said. I lay down adjusting my cloak to form a pillow and lay down. My immunity to exposure made it so my body held a constant body temperature, so I didn¡¯t need a blanket and my body was comfortable even on the rough ground. -- I stood in a storm lightning flashing all around me. A shadow darkened the ground around me and I looked up. I couldn¡¯t see it clearly, but the outline of a massive bird could be seen through the mist and clouds illuminated by the flashes of electricity. A shriek pierced the air and the rocks around me shattered as lightning flew down from the birds talons. I was flung into the air and rose into the air as I was taken off my feet. I soared off a cliff and was falling. Down and down, I went breaking through the layer of clouds and falling towards the forest trees below me. The moment before impact my vison ended. I jerked awake my hearts hammering from the shock of the fall in my dream. Your fear is tasty, but this is getting a bit old, the voidling sighed and I growled in irritation at her voice. I lay back down a cold sweat breaking out over my body my two hearts quicky adjusting to the change and my pulse slowing. I strapped my armor back my new cloak fastening over my pauldrons. I left the tent letting the girls sleep. The camp was already awake with people moving around, running errands, or setting up stalls for a market. That surprised me, I hadn¡¯t expected this to be the kind of society with lots of trade and figured that everyone was just hunter gatherers and each completely self-sufficient. I found a blacksmith working at workbench chiseling a rune into a spearhead. I watched him for a while before he looked up. ¡°Can I help you Warlord?¡± he asked. He didn¡¯t seem annoyed exactly, but he also didn¡¯t appear to like being watched while he worked. ¡°Are you enchanting a weapon?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes,¡± the smith answered. ¡°One of the chief¡¯s elite warriors commissioned me to enchant him a spear to inflict a weakening effect on a hit. Do you require me to make you something?¡± ¡°Not exactly,¡± I said and reached into my storage pouch pulling out my sketchbook. ¡°I¡¯ve been studying runes for a little while and am interested in learning how enchanting works. Can you teach me?¡± ¡°I suppose but I don¡¯t have very many components to waste on teaching a novice,¡± the smith warned. ¡°No offense, Warlord.¡± ¡°Call me Mordred,¡± I said extending my hand. ¡°I am Elgen,¡± the smith said shaking my hand. ¡°When do you want to get started?¡± ¡°Now works for me,¡± I said. I spent the next eight hours with Elgen showing him all the runes I had copied he was able to identify about a third of them and I wrote down their meaning and he showed me about two dozen more. Next, he went into great detail describing how to grind down gemstones and mix them with water and infuse it with mana. He even showed me a spell for locating gemstones and raw ore in the earth around me as well as a spell for starting small fires. Neither could be used in combat, but they were useful utility spells that could help me find materials and survive in the wild. We stopped for lunch before he went back to his work while I observed the carving process and how he brushed the runes with the gemstone ink and then wiped off the excess. He gave me a few low-quality gemstones and mortar and pedestal made from metal. I ground the gemstones easily with my might attribute and mixed them with water. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Next, I had to infuse the mixture with mana. This was the hardest part, I felt ridiculous holding my hand out over the pot of gemstone powder mixed with water, but I kept at it. I felt for the feeling of casting a spell or using an ability and tried to latch onto it. Every time I felt I and hold of it, it would break free. I tried over and over until at last I felt mana pour out and the gemstone dust lit with light. I was given a crude iron spearhead and a set of chisels and hammer. I turned down the tools and used compress earth and drew the runes into the metal with my ability, my ability was far more precise and detailed than tools would be. I created an almost exact copy of the rune I had been shown. I brushed the ink I had made into the rune and took a rag wiping it over the spearhead picking up any ink that had spread outside the etching. I once more held my hand over the spearhead and let more mana out, I felt my mana dip. I always went by feel but I wanted to see how much mana I was using. ¡°System do I have a mana and stamina bar?¡± I asked.
Do you wish to turn on the HUD for your abilities and resources?
Yes or No.
¡°Umm, yes,¡± I said. A blue and orange bar appeared in the right-hand corner of my vison. The silhouette of a person appeared in the left-hand corner appearing green in appearance with a white outline around it. A compass appeared at the top of the screen with a clock as well. I wasn¡¯t sure if this was the default for everyone or the system just configured my HUD to be familiar to me, but it was exactly like a video game interface. Looking at the mana bar I could see it was missing almost two thirds but was steadily rising, apparently the enchantment had taken nearly all of my mana to complete. I held up the spearhead looking at the crude iron and the three runes linked together that would increase bleeding from wounds.
Spearhead of Bleeding (Inferior): A crude iron spearhead enchanted to deal a minor amount of additional bleed damage on a hit. Hardness: 6.
A poor-quality soft-iron spearhead enchanted by a novice enchanter.
Durability: 3 of 3.
I looked over my work critically and knew I could do better. I used compress earth on an enchanted item. I felt resistance from the item like when I had worked on repairing/upgrading my gauntlets. I forced the iron to comply and compressed the soft metal lengthening the spearhead until it was as long as my forearm and as wide as my thumb no thicker than cardstock with serrated edges. I examined the spearhead again to see what changes had been made to it.
Spearhead of Bleeding (common): A compressed iron spearhead with serrated edges and enchanted to deal a minor amount of additional bleed damage on a hit. Hardness: 14.
A high-quality iron spearhead enchanted by a novice enchanter. Can only be damaged by weapons or objects with a hardness greater than 14.
Durability: 15 of 15.
I had increased the quality of the crappy spearhead, but it hadn¡¯t done anything about the quality of the enchantment. Elgen came over and picked up my work, he raised an eyebrow as he examined it closely. ¡°That¡¯s an impressive ability you got there,¡± he said turning the spearhead over. ¡°But my enchantment is still shit,¡± I sighed. ¡°Of course, it is,¡± Elgen laughed. ¡°Enchanting isn¡¯t an ability you can put rank points into and suddenly get good at it. It¡¯s an art you have to devote yourself too, you¡¯ve done remarkably well for your first try. There are many warriors in the clan who would be happy to use this spearhead even with its subpar enchantment due to just how indestructible you¡¯ve made it. I don¡¯t even know if it can take durability damage with a hardness score that high.¡± ¡°There¡¯s probably an ability that can do it,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve been learning that there are counters to pretty much every ability lately.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you should rely on yourself and not on your abilities,¡± Elgen advised me. ¡°Skill with your weapons and fighting style will always win in the end.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really have a fighting style,¡± I admitted. ¡°I¡¯ve just been fighting my whole life.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what makes a warrior,¡± Elgen said going back to his work. ¡°If you want to work on your fighting prowess you should try the training grounds.¡± I took his advice and found a clearing. Men sparred in pairs and in groups while young boys were drilled by instructors. I looked over the clearing and watched everyone for a while, eventually a tall older man approached me. ¡°Can I help you Warlord?¡± he asked. ¡°I am looking for some help in developing my fighting style,¡± I said. ¡°What¡¯s your prior training?¡± the man asked crossing his arms. ¡°I was only ever really trained with bare handed fighting,¡± I explained. ¡°My experience with weapons is limited to what I¡¯ve had to done to survive.¡± ¡°That¡¯s sometimes the best teacher,¡± the man grunted. ¡°Like tossing a boy into a river to help him learn how to swim.¡± ¡°So how would you train me?¡± I asked. ¡°First I need to see what I¡¯m working with,¡± the man said. He whistled and a group of men stopped their sparring and came over.¡± ¡°The Warlord wishes to be tested by us;¡± he said to them. I don¡¯t remember telling anyone that, but I kept quiet. ¡°I want you to fight him all at once, you only go down when your either unconscious or give up, no abilities either,¡± he continued giving everyone including me a strong look. The ten men fanned out forming a half-circle around me. I was given a training sword and a round shield, and they took other similar blunt training weapons. Everyone in the training grounds stopped and gathered around and more people began arriving to watch our fight. ¡°On the count of three,¡± my new instructor said. ¡°One¡­two¡­.three.¡± The men hurtled forwards two of them split from each of the edges to move around to flank me. While he has said no abilities there were abilities like my Foresight that were simply always active. I stepped forward as a strike slipped past my back. I knocked aside the next strike with my shield stepped into his guard and drove the heavy wooden training sword up into his gut spinning around to use his body as a human shield. I grabbed his arm and pushed him forward into his allies pulling back to avoid tangling with him and the others. I foresaw two blades striking me in the back and spun my shield behind me the weapons bouncing off as I stepped forward my sword a blur as I brought it down cracking a man¡¯s collar bone then brought my knee down as he bent over with pain my kneed catching him in the chest knocking his up into the air with the force of the strike. I ducked and a sword parted my hair as I kicked out behind me catching my attacker in the stomach and sending him flying back. I dropped to the ground and rolled as three spears lanced out. I came up in a crouch my practice sword swiping across the back of a man legs, and he fell over rolling back to his own feet but with a limp to his step. My opponents circled me again and I took the roll of the aggressor. I struck forward hard and fast over and over. I took the retaliatory strikes on my armor and shield feeling the wood in my hand cracking and the reverberations through my armor and the bruises begin to form. I didn¡¯t stop my assault my sword cracking then breaking as I hammered down again and again on my opponent¡¯s shields. Two of the shields in front of me shattered just as my sword broke. I held a jagged wooden dagger and tossed it aside clenching my fist and punching forward catching one of the men across the jaw. I grabbed my shield in both hands blocking a strike then slamming it down over another man¡¯s head sending him to the ground in a heap. Blows rained down on my head and shoulders and I spun catching a spear shaft in one hand yanking its wielder forward into my fist catching him in the throat. A wooden sword caught me between the gap in my breastplate and helmet and my vision swam with pain and I staggered but caught myself. I kicked out and sent the man in front of me sprawling in the dirt. I brought my foot down but he raised his hands in surrender and rolled away joining the ring of spectators. I turned to my six remaining opponents panting as my stamina drained, I stepped forward meeting their attacks blocking with my forearms and legs now my old martial arts training kicking in. I punched and kicked feeling the bones in my bare hands crack without my gauntlets to protect them. My vision went black and red, and I kept fighting refusing to give into the pain and fatigue as my mana and stamina bottomed out. When I finally came too, I was being pulled off of my last opponent my hands bloody. My face was bruised, and blood trickled down my face. The bruises were quickly fading but I had several cracked and broken rips and bone fractures in all four of my limbs. I could feel my regeneration slowly at work but a fight between a group of Gifted would take several hours to recover from. That was delicious, I don¡¯t know how you do it but every time you take my breath away, the voidling sighed contentedly. ¡°Well done lad,¡± the man who had orchestrated the entire fight said clapping me on the back. ¡°You may lack skill with the blade but your refusal to give up is extraordinary. I¡¯ve never seen a man, even in armor, take so many blows. You didn¡¯t even call for another weapon when yours broke even though we would have given ya one.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know that was an option,¡± I said taking a rag someone handed me and washing the blood off my face and hands. The man laughed clapping me on the back again. ¡°I¡¯m Heldrad Blood-fur,¡± he introduced himself. ¡°You people all have such interesting last names,¡± I said taking a drink from a canteen I was handed. ¡°Last name?¡± Heldrad asked. ¡°Ah you mean my family title, no that¡¯s just something the system awards you or your ancestors and is passed on, you can choose to carry it or not, but it provides certain benefits.¡± ¡°What do you have to do to get one?¡± I asked. ¡°No one knows, the system just offers you them sometimes its different for every person I¡¯ve ever met,¡± Heldrad said. ¡°Listen, I¡¯d be happy to give you some training to hone your fighting, you¡¯ve got fury and some raw skill but your no veteran yet.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how much longer I¡¯ll be here,¡± I said. ¡°But I¡¯ll come here every day to practice.¡± I held out my hand to shake. I can train you from midday to three hours before sunset,¡± he said shaking my hand. At least I¡¯ll get one good meal a day, the voidling said before I once more began focusing on blocking out her voice. I took a walk outside the clan¡¯s camp. They had set up their camp at the foot of a mountain a clean flowing stream running down to join the nearby river. I hiked up the mountain using my new spell for detecting metals and gemstones. Compress Earth informed me when a stone was considered uncommon or rare, but it didn¡¯t let me sense them. I had to make contact with the stone first. Fortunately, the system considered me grabbing something with my telekinesis as making contact but that still limited me to what I could see. The spell drew me too a section of the mountain and I began to compress the earth creating a shaft into the ground as I made my way towards the source of metal and clump of precious stones. I had to go down at least seventy feet before I encountered the vein of metal. It wasn¡¯t iron and I couldn¡¯t identify it as any metal I was familiar with but maybe that was because it was in ore form rather than smelted; it could also be because it was some type of metal not native to Earth. I compressed the ore and was able to separate it from the common igneous rock. I moved along the ore vein gather all the ore and putting it in my storage pouch. It barely took up any space and since the item only had a limit on volume and not weight, I could hold an almost unlimited amount of materials. I found a pocket of raw uncut emeralds almost two pounds of the stuff. I already had a bunch of precious stones thanks to the chest Jeriah had given me. I could use them in either in creating weapons or enchantments. They didn¡¯t really have any added benefit for weapons other than maybe aesthetics so I would use them for enchantments. I returned back to camp as the sun was setting. I met Jeriah and his sister and gave them their new orders. ¡°I want you to take Kathleen, Syvia and your sister back to our base,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m going to stay here for a while to improve relations with the clan and to help them fight the Dragon Clan. When you get back you should take turns with your brothers running the dungeon. Try not to antagonize the spiders I place there.¡± ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ll be fine here by yourself?¡± Katlyn asked. ¡°I¡¯ve got it,¡± I said. ¡°Would you mind if I sent word that we are recruiting?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°Sure, go ahead but let them all know they¡¯ll have to accept my Dominion,¡± I told him. ¡°We¡¯ll leave tomorrow morning,¡± Jeriah said. I washed in the river getting the blood and sweat from today¡¯s fighting off and changing into fresh clothes. My perception picked up on the sounds of giggling and I spotted a group of young women upstream pretending to be washing clothes and instead watching me. I ignored them and returned to the tent I was given and went to sleep. --- Guinevere pulled her horse to a stop signaling for those behind her to stop. They had been on the trail of the Warlord for two days but had some delays due to ambushes and attacks by monsters. Everyone was tired but they were close now. The trail had led them along the river but now they had reached an obstacle. A fortress with a walled town around it, the walls were high with a massive trench around them the area around the walls cut for several hundred yards providing clear line of sight for those on duty. ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Mira would I be correct in assuming that the tracks we¡¯ve been following lead into that town?¡± Mira bent examining the ground then stood nodding her head. ¡°The army we¡¯ve been tracking did camp outside these walls, but I can also see a large number of tracks from the giant lizards heading east into the forest.¡± ¡°Is there any way to tell if the Warlord went with them?¡± Chritor asked. ¡°I can¡¯t even tell which tracks are his,¡± Mira said. ¡°And I¡¯m not even sure what creatures all these tracks belong too.¡± ¡°So we don¡¯t know where the Warlord is?¡± Jamis asked. ¡°Looks that way,¡± Felrick said. ¡°Helen, try and use the tracking stone to see where Kathleen is, if the Warlord has her it might lead us to him.¡± Helen knelt in prayer holding a stone amulet as her lips moved wordlessly. She stood when she was done looking confused. ¡°She¡¯s about two days northeast of her, is that the way the other tracks went?¡± ¡°No,¡± Mira said. ¡°These ones have a more southeast heading.¡± ¡°Well, that doesn¡¯t help us much,¡± Guinevere sighed. ¡°So, the Warlord could have gone southeast, northeast or be in that town right there.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t recall their being a town in the Cursed Forest,¡± Torvin said. ¡°I thought you said this was all wilderness.¡± ¡°There is only one outpost of something that even approaches civilization,¡± Helen said distastefully. ¡°The fort of the Bandit King, he¡¯s an outcast noble from Dracon and has been here for close to twenty-five years now.¡± ¡°Could the Warlord have killed or Dominated him?¡± Felecia asked. ¡°Not likely,¡± Helen said. ¡°The Bandit King is close to Hero rank if rumors are to be believed and all his sons are in Veteran rank.¡± Guinevere rode forward on her horse. ¡°Then we should see whose home and ask if they know where the Warlord is.¡± The other champions hurried to catch up with Guinevere as she rode up to the gate. Guards on the wall shouted and soon a massive, armored figure moved into view. ¡°What do you want?¡± the man called out. ¡°We wish to speak with whoever is charge,¡± Helen said coming up alongside Guinevere. ¡°And who are you?¡± the man asked. ¡°I am Princess Helen of Lunara and champion of Luren, goddess of the Moon and Healing,¡± Helen said. ¡°This is Lady Guinevere of Camelot, and my other companions are all other champions of the gods. Who are you?¡± ¡°I am lord of these lands,¡± the man said his voice cold as steel. ¡°Leave champions you are not welcome here.¡± Guinevere narrowed her gaze focusing on the man.
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank 230
¡°It appears we found the Warlord,¡± Guinevere said. Mira acted instantly snapping up her bow. ¡°Arrow of Judgement,¡± she said releasing the string. Even before the arrow was loosed the man reacted spinning to the side his hand going up and catching the arrow by its shaft. It shattered in his grip, but the man¡¯s armor protected him. As if a signal had gone off men appeared from under the ramparts bows in hand as they loosed on the champions gathered only a hundred feet from the gate. Guinevere twisted in her saddle her sword flashing out deflecting a dozen arrows as she moved in fluid grace. Jamis and Helen mount¡¯s died under them. Jamis roared transforming into a massive bear as he began charging towards the gate. ¡°Stop you fool!¡± Guinevere ordered her voice piercing through the air. ¡°Retreat back into the forest.¡± Guinevere grabbed Helen pulling her into the saddle and rode back the others following her dodging arrows although a few found flesh in either the riders or hoses but on one else went down. Jamis resembled a porcupine his massive bear form apparently an easy target to hit. Helen pulled out the arrows and her glowing hand closed the wounds. ¡°How did he move so fast?¡± Mira asked. ¡°He¡¯s almost twice your rank,¡± Guinevere scolded her. ¡°Although I will admit his reaction time was incredible, it was like he knew what would happen before it did.¡± ¡°What do we do now?¡± Felrick asked as he helped pull an arrow out of Chritor¡¯s back so Helen could heal it. ¡°Now we plan,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°We know where the Warlord is now, and we¡¯ve all got a decent look at him. His helmet blocked his facial features, but we at least know who we¡¯re fighting this time.¡± ¡°He looked bigger than when I last saw him,¡± Felecia said. ¡°Going up in attribute can do that to a body,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯ve heard its especially common in those from outside our world.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± Jamis agreed. ¡°I¡¯ve put on nearly a hundred pound in muscle since coming here and grown over a foot in height.¡± ¡°We put up scouts to see prevent the Warlord from slipping away and we prepare to attack on our terms,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Everyone set up camp, secure the perimeter and get some rest. We need to recover from out forced march. After that everyone bring all your best ideas together and lets storm that fortress.¡± Chapter 38: Spears and Spells Guinevere and the champions gathered around the battle map they had drawn, displaying the town and surrounding areas. They had scouted the walls, but there were no evident weak points anywhere. ¡°What ideas do we have?¡± Helen asked. ¡°Could try digging under the walls,¡± Ishtor suggested. ¡°One of my abilities ties in with earth and stone,¡± Chritor said. ¡°The walls extend another forty feet underground it¡¯s like there merged with the earth itself.¡± ¡°What about an assault on the gate?¡± Jamis asked. ¡°The gate looks like it¡¯s made of the same stuff as the wall,¡± Chritor said. ¡°I can¡¯t be sure, but I think it¡¯s the same material as the bridge we crossed over. That means the walls and gate are hardness fourteen; regular siege equipment wouldn¡¯t break them. Does anyone have any siege abilities?¡± No one spoke up. ¡°That leaves trying to lure them out into open battle or going over the wall somehow,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°How could we lure him out?¡± Felrick asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Felecia, you¡¯ve interacted with him more than anyone else at this point. What is your assessment of him?¡± ¡°He was arrogant and cruel,¡± Felecia said. ¡°There was another champion with me when we fought; at first, he wasn¡¯t even fighting us, just toying and insulting like a cat with a mouse. He seemed to want something from us, but when he didn¡¯t get it, he changed; one minute, he was toying with us laughing, and the next, he went cold and just killed us brutally.¡± Felecia shivered at the memory. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how we could use that,¡± Jamis said. ¡°But if he likes fighting those weaker than himself, perhaps my party could challenge him and duel him outside the gates to draw him out?¡± ¡°Too obvious,¡± Helen said. ¡°And it puts us at too much of a risk.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been able to scout through the eyes of a nearby hawk,¡± Mira said. ¡°Their numbers are roughly equal to our own. All our fighters are gifted; we could try a rapid assault and try and overwhelm them.¡± ¡°At this rate, that might be our only option,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°What options do we have when it comes to scaling the wall?¡± They continued their discussion, finally coming up with a plan. That night they crept across the meadows. With their attributes, only one person had to carry the seventy-foot ladders. An arrow thudded down by Torvin¡¯s foot as someone on the wall spotted him. ¡°Charge!¡± he shouted. With a cry, they rushed forward, stabbing the feet of the ladder into the earth and pushing forward, the top clattering onto the edge of the rampart. Scurrying up the ladder, the first knight was struck by a spear to the chest that punctured through his armor, and he fell back, knocking the knight behind him, the two falling into the trench below. Guinevere danced up the ladder, her hands never touching the runs, her party racing to follow her. She landed on the top of the parapet. Her sword turned aside the tip of a spear, and she lashed out with her sword slicing a line through her attacker¡¯s throat. A roar ripped over the crowd so loud it drowned out all other sounds in the battle. The clang of metal on metal rang out as a man eight feet tall leaped up onto the rampart. He swung a greatsword five inches thick at Guinevere¡¯s legs. Guinevere leaped into the air, and her feet struck the air pushing off against nothing as she flipped over her attacker. Her sword struck at his back, but the sword only scratched the armor. She caught a foot in her chest, sending her off the wall into the town. Guinevere¡¯s party reached the top of the wall one of them was immediately shoved off over the edge by the massive, armored fighter. Guinevere hadn¡¯t had time to analyze him and see if it was Mordred. She got to her feet and heard the clank of metal behind her. Turning, she saw eight other fighters in heavy plate armor like the one on the wall. She paused, her gaze running over each of them.
Hermias Dragonbreaker, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 245
Ulthris Dragonbreaker, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 247
Ormias Dragonbreaker, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 238
Rejiah Dragonbreaker, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 241
Normen Dragonbreaker, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 233
Madrid Dragonbreaker, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 221
Madris Dragonbreaker, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 215
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 230
Guinevere looked back at the wall. She couldn¡¯t analyze any more gifted as she looked over the fighters, but they weren¡¯t being overwhelmed by hers and Helen¡¯s knights. They moved with the speed of someone in Veteran rank, and their strength and toughness were letting them shrug off blows that would have obliterated a normal man. Guinevere took a running start and leaped back onto the wall. Her sword interposed itself between her party¡¯s healer and the armored gifted fighter. Guinevere shoved her hand out. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Winter¡¯s Retribution!¡± she shouted, and a blast of icy wind took the man off his feet, flinging him off the wall the same way he had done to her. ¡°We need to retreat,¡± Guinevere said, running her sword through a guard on the wall. ¡°We¡¯ve got eight more gifted just like coming our way. This attack isn¡¯t going to work this time. Tell everyone to pull back!¡± Guinevere kept fighting, holding back the guards and running along the parapet, aiding whomever she could as the champions and knights slid down the ladders and pulled their wounded out of the trench, dragging them back towards the forest and to safety. Guinevere slid down the ladder, her feet on both sides of the rungs, gliding down like it was a slide. Once she was on the ground, she took off running till she was three-hundred feet away. Turning, she looked back, seeing nine massive figures silhouetted against the light of the town looking out over the wall towards her retreating army. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen the last of me, Mordred,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I can promise you that.¡± --- I watched a stone shake; it jumped up into the air and fell quivering before jumping into the air again as the earth shook. A massive, spiked carapace spike slammed into the ground by the rock I was watching. It was glossy black with glowing purple lines across it. My vision switched, and I saw a caravan filled with mushrooms going from the size of my fist to the size of a tree in various types and colors, a river, a magma splitting the cavern. A shadow of something moved across the wall of the cave, but I couldn''t tell what it was other than it was massive and moved on at least four legs, if not more. I woke from my vision, not having really understood anything I¡¯d seen; I got up and took breakfast. I watched my vassals leave, Syvia guiding them back to my castle. I returned to Elgen to practice enchanting again, I showed him the emeralds I had gathered, and he began showing me the proper way to grind them into the ink and explaining the differences and uses for different gemstones. Diamonds would create the most powerful enchantments. Sapphires created powerful healing enchantments, emeralds were used for nature enchantments such as fertility and growth, ruby was used for fire enchantments, and jasper was used for blood-related enchantments; he showed me a stone I wasn¡¯t familiar with; it was a light pale green with dark patches. ¡°This is chrysoprase,¡± he was explaining to me. ¡°It is used for weakening enchantments, poisons, diseases, debilitations, and the like.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a rock expert, but I know there are lots more precious stones than those,¡± I said. ¡°What does something like amethyst do?¡± ¡°No idea,¡± Elgen said, shrugging. ¡°As I told you yesterday, this is an art, and those who practice it hoard its secrets, keeping their most powerful enchantments hidden. It¡¯s why enchantments are usually inscribed on the inside of the armor or hidden in other ways.¡± ¡°So, I¡¯ll need to experiment on my own or find others to teach me?¡± I asked. ¡°Just so, but be careful with either option; I am teaching you because you are the Warlord, and for you, I don¡¯t need competition for my trade, but others will not be so ready to teach you.¡± I spent a few more hours at work helping Elgen by improving the qualities of the weapons he finished increasing their strength. I kept at it, stopping an hour before midday for lunch and then heading to the training area. Heldrad was waiting and tossed me a wooden practice spear. ¡°We¡¯re working on your spearmanship, no abilities, and try to suppress your passives for now.¡± ¡°I thought you would have been teaching me with a sword,¡± I said, catching the wooden practice weapon. Despite their materials, these weapons were harder than steel, probably some ability in the clan used to make them. ¡°A sword requires focus, grace, and thousands of hours to master,¡± Heldrad said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you fight, and you lack the first two, and we don¡¯t have time for the third. The spear is a simple weapon to learn, but it can be used in a myriad of ways and mastered in a much shorter period of time.¡± He showed me how to strike properly with my spear using my wrist to snap forward and my fingers to help direct the tip instead of just ramming forward and using the strength of my arm alone. He had me practice over and over again, showing me a series of movements to complete as he circled around me to critique and improve my posture. There wasn¡¯t a massive melee fight at the end, but he made me create a practice and hefty spear with Compress Earth to force me to struggle to hold my spear. I left the training field drenched in sweat. I bathed in the river again before returning to my tent, wiping off the water with my cleansing cloth. I didn¡¯t need to actually bathe but found the cold water refreshing. I was alone in the hut this time and fell into bed, almost instantly falling asleep. I was fighting in a massive battle in the camp of the Wolf Clan. All around me, the Gifted tore into each other, and the air was filled with howls and roars. Warrior in half plate fell from the sky with scaled bat wings as men in leather and hide sprung from the trees on them, and they rolled across the ground cutting at each other with teeth, claws, swords, and spears in a mad, desperate struggle for survival. Korsis, the Chief of the Wolf Clan, fought on a platform against four men whose bodies were covered in overlapping scales and who wielded two broad single-edged swords. Korsis fought them off, but they overwhelmed him spamming abilities faster than he could defend against or counter. The blade took off his leg at the knee, and as he fell, another blade cut through his neck. I awoke from the vision going over its details in my mind. I recognized many of the places in my vision. The marketplace, the training grounds, and the wooden platforms were built into the trees around the village. I wondered if I should say anything to anyone, but I couldn¡¯t find a good way to say it. Oh, hey, I had a vision last night where your head got cut off pretty wild, right? Yeah, that wouldn¡¯t go over well; I would have to use the information on my own. I went back to Elgen to practice more enchantments and help him improve the weapons he made. I ate lunch and went to weapons training. I bathed, ate went to bed. You¡¯re not afraid this time, the voidling noted. ¡°That¡¯s cause this time it wasn¡¯t me dying this time,¡± I said. You¡¯re afraid of death? The voidling asked. ¡°I¡¯ve seen where you were born, so yeah, kind of,¡± I grunted. I was born when a sun died, killing all life on the planets circling it, the voidling said. ¡°Was that supposed to make me feel better?¡± I asked. ¡°Because it didn¡¯t; you were born from the death of entire worlds. Why are you here now?¡± I need to grow; I need to absorb the energy of life, the voidling said. Such energy doesn¡¯t exist in the void we have to pull it in when a creature dies. My creators require most of the energy that comes in, so there isn¡¯t enough energy for them and my siblings. ¡°Siblings? There are more of you out there?¡± I asked. Of course, the voidling said. Now, are you going to feed me? ¡°No, you¡¯re not a person,¡± I said. I am too! The voidling protested. ¡°People have names and their own bodies,¡± I said. What good is a name? The voidling sighed. ¡°Well, I could stop referring to you as the voidling in my head,¡± I said. ¡°And apparently, there is more than one of you out there, so I could differentiate you from them in a conversation.¡± I don¡¯t know what kind of name I want, she pouted. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t care enough about you to give you a name, so you¡¯re going to have to do it yourself,¡± I said and blocked her voice out of my head. I continued to have more and more visions of the upcoming battle for the next five days. I didn¡¯t master the spear in that time, but I learned to hold it and swing, thrust it in the proper manner, and use my enhanced body to more significant effect. It wasn¡¯t till the next day that I¡¯d have to put my lessons to the real test. --- Arthur¡¯s feet crunched into the sand as they touched down on the beach opposite the isle of Avalon. He looked about at the wide stretch of white sandy beach. More and more ships crunched up against the sand, knights, and sailors splashing down and hauling the ships on shore. Soon horses, cargo, weapons, armor, and food were all being unloaded. Arthur caught sight of Lionor shooting her a wink before turning to survey his army. ¡°How are we looking?¡± Lancelot asked. ¡°No monster attacks while we were at sea,¡± Arthur said. ¡°So, we¡¯re doing pretty well, I¡¯d say.¡± ¡°Yeah, I wouldn¡¯t want to fight on a boat either,¡± Lancelot agreed. ¡°Even if you kill the beast if it puts a hole in the boat, you¡¯ve still lost.¡± ¡°Nothing but land battles for now,¡± Arthur laughed. ¡°We¡¯ll be riding close to the Cursed Forest, so there will be opportunities for you, me, and Kay to do some proper hunting and get some rank points and abilities.¡± ¡°That should help ease his feelings about all this,¡± Lancelot agreed. ¡°How long do you accept this war to take?¡± ¡°You can never tell with these things, but I hope to capture the royal family within four months and put an end to all this.¡± ¡°I pray the gods to aid us then,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°We are champions,¡± Arthur said, his tone joyous as he walked away, turning and walking backwards, spreading his arms as if to display the whole battlefield. ¡°The gods are always with us!¡± Chapter 39: Scales against Fur Guinevere panted as she stood on the edge of the wooden ramparts of their camp. They had made only one other attack against the fortress for the past few days. Every other day they had been besieged by beasts and monsters from the forest that threw themselves at them with abandon and no thought of self-preservation. She was tired and a bit angry. ¡°Are you all right, my lady?¡± Kira asked. Guinevere turned to her party¡¯s healer and nodded. ¡°I¡¯m fine Kira; how are the others?¡± ¡°Tired we¡¯ve been babysitting these mortals for two weeks now,¡± Kira sighed. ¡°We should return to Camelot and let the Champions deal with this.¡± ¡°The Champions are the problem,¡± Guinevere snapped. ¡°There are too many of them in one spot; the system keeps spamming new spawns and sending them to test us.¡± ¡°We could be here several more weeks at this rate, my lady,¡± Kira said. ¡°The King will want you back in Camelot.¡± ¡°I have permission from my father to be here,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Besides, leaving would require taking our guard with us and would leave the champions and the soldiers of Lunara vulnerable.¡± ¡°We could leave just as our party,¡± Kira suggested. ¡°We¡¯re veteran rank, and away from the champions, there is little in this forest that would threaten us.¡± ¡°You¡¯re ok with just the five of us going through the forest?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°If it means getting home sooner,¡± Kira said. Guinevere shook her head. ¡°No. I gave Helen my word I¡¯d help her fight the Chaos spawn. Also, our party is the only thing keeping this camp from being overrun. Us leaving would still put a massive strain on the army.¡± ¡°Do you not want to marry Arthur?¡± Kira asked. ¡°What?¡± Guinevere asked, startled by the question. ¡°Of course I do.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t sound very certain, my lady,¡± Kira said. ¡°That¡¯s enough of that,¡± Guinevere said, her voice becoming firm. ¡°I will do my duty to my father and kingdom to secure peace and ensure a stable succession. Do not question my resolve again.¡± ¡°I apologize, my lady,¡± Kira said, bowing, turning to go and look for others to tend to. --- Korsis fell, the blade slicing through his neck, and I watched as his head tumbled to the ground, the chaos of battle all around me. The sounds of screams and war horns jolted me from my vision. That wasn¡¯t my usual wake-up call, so I jumped out of bed, my telekinesis wrapping me in my few pieces of armor and buckling the straps in under a minute. I stepped out of my hut as a man covered in scales was about to stab a man pinned on the ground with his spear. I grabbed the man with telekinesis and crushed his ribs as I moved toward the loudest sounds of battle.
24 rank points gained.
My Might ticked up with the man¡¯s death as Black Rage activated my body, covered in dark smoky miasma obscuring my body in black shadows, and my veins lit up with red inner fire. A man covered in dark-green scales lunged at me. I ducked under his two swords, my Heightened Speed letting me spin under his blades, the claws of my left club ramming into his stomach, the weight of my club, its hardness and my strength breaking through the scales covering him, and I ripped up spilling his guts across the ground. He wasn¡¯t dead yet as he pulled his guts back inside him, curling in on his wound. I raised my club to finish him off, but I was forced to dodge to the side as my foresight told me of the two spears coming at my torso. My arrival to the battle and my successful attacks hadn¡¯t gone unnoticed; three Dragon Clan warriors rushed me; a gout of fire spewed from one¡¯s mouth while another sprouted wings from his back and beat them, speeding through the air so fast he was before me in an instant his sword lunging forward to skewered me. I slipped to the side, his sword skidding off my pauldrons, and I cut at him in a retaliatory strike with a sweep of my club. I moved forward as my third attacker dropped down from the sky behind me, his spear plunging into the earth where I had been standing. Stone spearheads struck down at the man I had eviscerated, finishing him on the ground.
18 rank points gained.
I ducked under a strike aimed toward my neck, my Foresight warning me of the danger. I spun under the next attack sweeping out my attacker¡¯s legs; I stomped down on him as I lunged forwards over his body as his companions tried to help him. I heard ribs breaking, and the claws of my right club managed to cut along the spearman¡¯s torso ripping off scales as it tried to rip out his guts. The man on the ground rolled a knife in hand, going for my thigh; I brought up my leg, and the dagger slid off my dragon-hide boots. Then I stomped down a crack sounding out as I broke his wrist, the dagger falling from his fingers. The winged swordsman said something and then whirled in a tornado of scales and blades, razor-sharp bands of wind slicing at me as he used some ability. I winced as they cut along my skin, able to bypass the hardness of my skin. They didn¡¯t cut deep, but I knew from my work that it was dangerous to get air inside your bloodstream; if a bubble got in your blood, it would travel to your heart and kill you. I wasn¡¯t sure if that still applied to me with my supernatural biology and toughness, and two hearts, but I didn¡¯t want to find out. I stabbed down with three dozen stone spearheads into my attackers. Two of them managed to throw up some defensive ability and deflect the spearheads off their scales, but the one on the ground was skewered by eight of spearheads and died almost instantly.
25 rank points added.
I felt my Might rise even higher, and the anger from Black Rage coursed through me like a drug. My kills were activating Blood Frenzy, and everything I saw was a shade of crimson distorting the world into a hellish landscape, and a maddening rage filled me. I dropped my club in my left hand, my telekinesis taking hold of it as I grabbed my wyvern bone spear. I rushed forward, lunging with all my strength; the swordsman tried to block but was shoved back, unprepared for my sudden increase in strength. I carried him to the ground, stabbing down over and over in a mad frenzy, my hand around the end of the spear using it more like a dagger; his blood spurting out with every strike, coating me with his gore.
30 rank points gained.
I tackled the spearman to the ground. He drew a knife, trying to stab me, but I grabbed his wrist and smashed it on the ground over and over until I heard the bones break. I grabbed his knife and stabbed down into the smaller scales of his face smashing as much as piercing his skull. My Might and rage increased. I roared out in triumph and fury; the wolf howls and dragon roars, silenced by the raw bestial rage that empowered my voice.
21 rank points gained.
Warriors of the Wolf Clan backed up from me as the Dragon Clan warriors turned to face me. I don¡¯t know what they saw, but everyone took a step back as I scanned for my next prey. I wasn¡¯t even thinking now, operating on instinct and a raw, primal desire to kill. I swayed to the side as my foresight showed me being impaled by a spear, and it passed by harmlessly. I turned and threw all my spearheads in the direction of my attacker. Like a swarm of hornets, they pierced through the air and foliage, bouncing off shields and hardened scales but driving the raiders back and drawing blood. The battle resumed with the warriors of the Wolf Clan rejoining the attack grouping up against Dragon Clan raiders. I ran forward and launched myself at a group of four raiders who had killed most of their opponents. I hurled myself into the middle of their group, lashing out with my right club and the dagger I had just killed with. After a dozen strikes, the dagger shattered but not before scoring lines of blood across their flesh. I slashed forward, my club breaking through the armored scales over his chest with its claws and impaling him. I twisted and ripped out the clawed spikes, a torrent of blood spraying out.
23 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 192 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
With every kill, I wanted more; the burning anger in me was like an insatiable animal needing to be fed, and the increase in my Might was like a drug. The Blood Frenzy from my cloak fed into the mix, increasing the damage I dealt but making everything appear red and muddling my thoughts. I tried to clear my head; there was something that was about to happen. Something I was supposed to remember. I looked about and spotted one of the platforms around the clan archers taking aim and firing from above. Korsis stood on one, a twelve-foot-long spear in his hand; shadows swept over him, and the memory of all my visions came back to me. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. I acted without thinking, teleporting onto the platform and kicking out with all my accumulated Might. Korsis was so surprised he went flying; I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d have been able to move him without the sneak attack. The four figures landed around me, and even in my enraged, maddened state, I was able to read the pop-ups from the system.
Lasyris Talonbreaker; Gifted- humanoid/myrmidon, Veteran, Rank: 325
Nasko Deathcaller; Gifted- humanoid/myrmidon, Veteran, Rank: 350
Thaskren Knifewind; Gifted- humanoid/myrmidon, Veteran, Rank: 315
Asmodrin Hellscale; Gifted- humanoid/myrmidon, Hero, Rank: 415
The four gifted looked at me in surprise, then struck forward in a coordinated attack. I raised one leg, the sword passing through as I bent backward, dodging the thrust of a short spear. Stone spearheads buzzed toward me, my three Veteran attackers turning to block the storm of weapons flying at them. Asmodrin didn¡¯t flinch as the spearheads bounced off his scales, and he swung heavy wide bladed swords toward me, his movement faster than I could even track. I activated Phantom Form, and it barely saved as the sword passed through my body, a burning feeling passing through my spirit. I struck forward, my ethereal weapons piercing through his scales, and the hero staggered back, a look of surprise on his face that my attack actually damaged him. I spent another thirty-five mana to activate Phantom Form again, as well as sixteenth of my max stamina to use eruption from Magma Heart(s), and lunged forward. His look of surprise turned into a glare; purple flames lit along the edges of his sword. He stabbed forward, our weapons hitting each other simultaneously. I could feel pain flood my spirit as his weapon rammed through my chest. The only reason I wasn¡¯t curled in the fetal position was because of Berserker as purple flames licked across my spirit form. Activating Wrathful Meditation, I shut down all incoming sensory information except for visuals. I teleported behind Deathcaller and rammed my clubs down his spine, the spirit damage making him freeze up with a silent scream trying to break out. I teleported again behind Talonbreaker, attacking again. I had to activate Phantom Form again to avoid a blast of purple flames as Asmodrin opened his mouth and released a breath attack. I couldn¡¯t even tell how much damage I had taken, but I barely had any mana left, even with Magma hearts restoring it with each hit I had made. I became physical again, and I didn¡¯t have the mana to activate Phantom Form, but I wouldn¡¯t back down. I wasn¡¯t in a good spot right now, but the damage I had inflicted was notable. Both Deathcaller and Talonbreaker twitched erratically, the Soul damage I had inflicted messing with them on some internal level. Asmodrin breathed heavily, one hand on his chest as he breathed in and out. Despite this, I was outnumbered and out-leveled. I barely turned to the side as Knifewind appeared behind me with some sort of teleportation effect of his own. I swung my clubs at him, but his sword came up in one hand, a long-bladed dagger in the other with a twist of his sword; my clubs were twisted out of my grip and thrown away. Knifewind stabbed forward. I blocked with my forearm his weapons drawing a thin scratch, but my skin slowed it and kept it from going through bone or muscle. I kicked out, then backfisted him, teleporting away as a spear passed through where I had been. My mana regen was slowly restoring me, but not enough to spam my abilities as I had at the start of the fight. Deathcaller rushed at me with his two swords, I tried to teleport again, but claws ripped out of the earth, grabbing my boots and pinning me in place. I twisted my face to see Asmodrin with a spiteful grin on his face, his left hand held in a claw-like position. ¡°I think that is enough, Warlord,¡± Asmodrin said. ¡°You put up a good show, but you should always remember your rank and not challenge those above you.¡± I tried activating Phantom Form, but the same thing blocking my teleportation prevented me from using Phantom Form. I hurled every weapon I had at Asmodrin, but Talonbreaker stepped next to him, a dome of scales appearing around the two like a dragon¡¯s egg. ¡°Finish him,¡± Asmodrin commanded. Knifewind appeared next to me again, his sword whistling towards my neck. A spear tip rammed through the back of Knifewind¡¯s neck as Korsis landed back on the platform. He spun, flinging Knifewind¡¯s body off into the air to topple to the ground below.
79 rank points gained split between contributing attackers.
¡°You disappoint me, Asmodrin,¡± Korsis said. ¡°Your Clan has dishonored themselves over and over; you are a disgrace to your ancestors and every myrmidon.¡± ¡°Enough, Korsis,¡± Asmodrin spat. ¡°The Dragon is superior to the Wolf; we need not pretend like we are equals.¡± ¡°Indeed, we do not,¡± Korsis agreed. A howl burst from his throat, and every member of the Wolf Clan within two-hundred feet was surrounded by a wintery aura. Asmodrin snarled and lunged forward, purple flames appearing on his blades again, but Korsis brought up his spear, knocking aside the first sword and the spear breaking through Korsis¡¯ scales before the other Hero could even get within fifteen feet. Deathcaller and Talonbreaker tried to circle around Korsis, but the talons holding me in place had disappeared, and I was free to act again. I dropped half the items I was suspending with my Telekinesis and grabbed Talonbreaker with it. Talonbreaker strained against the telekinetic bonds as I snatched my wyvern bone spear out of the air stepping forward and ramming it through his chest and spine. Black Rage had increased my strength over the course of the battle as my Might ramped up with each wound I had inflicted, so when I hit, my attack shattered the scales over Talonbreaker¡¯s skin with almost no resistance.
162 rank points gained.
I ducked and blocked Deathcaller¡¯s sword on my pauldron and caught his wrist in my left hand, halting it and then pulling him close to my hand, squeezing his bones cracking. He went with me, lunging forward, his teeth morphing into fangs as he lunged for my throat. I headbutted him, knocking his head pack as I pulled him close, pinning his arm to his chest and pulling him against me. A dozen stone spearheads slammed into his back as I pinned him against me, and Deathcaller slumped in my arms.
175 rank points gained.
I dropped Deathcaller¡¯s body and turned to the fight between Korsis and Asmodrin. Asmodrin was not doing well against the leader of the Wolf Clan. Korsis¡¯ spear spun in his hand blocking one sword to slash or stab between Asmodrin¡¯s guard as the enemy Hero tried to get in close or behind him. Scaled bat wings sprouted from Asmodrin¡¯s back, and he used them to speed to the side as he darted to Korsis¡¯ left, trying to get around him, but he couldn¡¯t escape the long reach of the spear. I stepped in, teleporting next to Asmodrin and activating Phantom Form. Korsis whirled the flames along his blade, slicing into me. I couldn¡¯t feel the pain and kept attacking. I was low on mana, but I wouldn¡¯t let up and let others fight without me. I teleported behind him, slicing into his back, then teleported in front of him as he began to whirl around. Korsis took advantage of Asmodrin¡¯s distraction, his spear stabbing into his thigh, a thick coating of ice spreading from the wound. Asmodrin hissed, dropped his swords, and long curved claws extended from his fingertips. He lashed out at me, the claws piercing through my immaterial chest, but he somehow grabbed hold of me. ¡°Your story ends here, Warlord,¡± Asmodrin growled. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have interfered.¡± I stepped into his attack instead of struggling, feeling his claws rake through my spirit. Asmodrin grabbed my right arm with his other hand as I thrust my spear at him. He pulled me close as I had with Deathcaller, the talons filling me with deadly energy that ate away at my spirit. He threw me to the ground, and Phantom Form ended, but I didn¡¯t have the mana to activate it again. Asmodrin pinned me to the ground and snarled at Korsis. ¡°Step back, or the Warlord dies!¡± I lunged forward with the only part of me not pinned. I caught Asmodrin by the throat with my teeth and shook like a dog. I felt his trachea crush between my teeth and flesh and scales rip. The scales bit into the inside of my mouth, drawing blood, but the damage to Asmodrin was way worse. Blood spurted into my mouth and face. Asmodrin let go of me and staggered back, clutching his neck. Korsis stepped forward and rammed his spear through Asmodrin¡¯s chest. The enemy hero fell back and then collapsed.
103 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors of the battle.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 195 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Ability Gained, Hell¡¯s Talons: (Rank 1); As a spoken command, your nails lengthen to 0.5 inches and thicken proportionally for 1 second and deal an additional minor amount of Curse damage. Cost: 30 stamina each activation. Upgrade this ability to increase the length and curse damage of your talons. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 1.
My body was ravaged by the Curse damage from Asmodrin, and I collapsed. Even Wrathful Mediation no longer enough to keep me standing. My body shut down, and my vision darkened as my body fought to regenerate and curb the damage.
Warning, you have taken an Extreme amount of Curse damage to your Spirit worsening the existing Soul Damage you have been suffering. Your Soul with be vulnerable to Soul damage and attacks until you repair the damage to your spiritual self.
Everything went black. --- Arthur rode across the battlefield, Excalibur swinging down left and right as he cleaved through soldiers on the battlefield. An enemy officer ran up on him, throwing a spear too fast to dodge or deflect. It took Arthur¡¯s horse through the neck, and he went flying as it buckled under him. Arthur rolled to his feet, blocking a sword strike coming down on his neck. ¡°Bypassing Strike!¡± Arthur shouted, his sword ghosting through the man¡¯s armor and ramming through his heart. Arthur planted his feet as Kay and Lancelot rode up behind him. A wave of soldiers crashed against him, but his swordplay and abilities knocked the attacks aside and cut down enemy after enemy. A massive man wielding a metal maul charged him, striking the ground. From the impact point, a crack formed in the earth, racing towards Arthur and widening into a chasm. Arthur raced forward, dancing along the edge of the chasm before leaping into the air. ¡°Gryphon¡¯s Flight!¡± he shouted and slid along the air before bringing down Excalibur on the man¡¯s head. ¡°Heroic Blade, Bypassing Strike, Rending Blade!¡± Arthur spammed one ability after the other, and his sword came down like a knife through butter, cleaving the seven-foot-tall man in two. When he fell, all the Dracon soldiers turned and fled towards the nearby woods. Arthur had burned through all his mana and stamina, so the let the rest of his knights ride them down. ¡°Good fight,¡± Kay said. ¡°I was a bit worried when you got separated from us after that last charge.¡± ¡°Nothing I couldn¡¯t handle,¡± Arthur said, wiping his brow. ¡°There were no serious threats here. It¡¯s just the forces from one of Dracon¡¯s borer Lords.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have this war won in two weeks at this rate,¡± Lancelot agreed. ¡°I¡¯m in charge of loot distribution, so I¡¯ve got to see to our troops.¡± ¡°Have fun with that,¡± Arthur snorted. ¡°I¡¯m going to dunk myself in the river.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let any naiads catch sight of you,¡± Kay said with a laugh. ¡°We¡¯d never see you again.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Arthur laughed. ¡°I¡¯ll catch you later at the feast tonight.¡± Chapter 40: Lone Wolf Helen looked down at the map of the area they had made. They¡¯d made it on the back of an animal skin, and though somewhat crude, it was to scale, showing the fort, the meadows around It, the cliff and river to the side, and the surrounding forest. ¡°We could try another infiltrating force,¡± Chritor suggested. ¡°We lost seven men trying that,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Never try the same tactic in war again. Especially if it has already failed.¡± ¡°Repetition is the recipe of defeat,¡± Felrick agreed. ¡°I have a suggestion,¡± Felecia said timidly raising her hand. ¡°I¡¯ve been talking it over with Jamis and it might help us.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Helen asked. ¡°One of my abilities is to massively speed up the growth and lifecycle of a creature,¡± Felecia said. ¡°Jamis has the ability to control bears. We thought if we found some gifted bears, I could ramp up their breeding and lifecycle. In three weeks, with just two bears, we could jump to sixty. Most of us don¡¯t have mounts, and we can¡¯t risk a frontal assault if we fulfill both roles.¡± ¡°An army of bears?¡± Guinevere asked skeptically. ¡°Yes,¡± Jamis said. ¡°With my ability, they will obey me like trained soldiers. A few Gifted beasts and I can smash their gate, then we rush in and push them back to the castle.¡± ¡°It¡¯s certainly the most creative idea we¡¯ve heard yet,¡± Ishtor said. ¡°I¡¯m open to trying anything at this point,¡± Helen said. ¡°Jamis and Felecia, do what you have to. Let¡¯s get this underway.¡± -- I woke up in my tent. I sat up and looked down at my gore-covered skin, my shirt had been completely shredded during the fight, so I only had on my few pieces of armor, boots, and tattered pants. I pulled out the cleaning cloth from my storage pouch and injected it with mana wiping all the dirt and dried blood off my body. I felt a little sore, but that was all, and even that feeling was fading as my regeneration took care of it. Stepping out of the tent, I saw little time had passed since the conclusion of our battle. People were still looting corpses and stacking enemy bodies while carefully tending to their own dead. I left them to it; I barely knew any of these people, and helping them with their dead might be taken badly. I walked through the Clan¡¯s village, seeing charred tents and bodies everywhere. The dead mostly seemed to belong to the other side; the death of the enemy hero and their inability to kill Korsis had turned the tide in our favor. I looked about it, but I didn¡¯t feel angry about what had happened. I had fought on the Wolf Clan¡¯s side, but they weren¡¯t my people yet. Still, the devastation and mindless destruction disgusted me. I could see the bodies of children and women, meaning the Dragon Clan hadn¡¯t gone after only warriors. Killing a man or woman who was actually a challenge I had no problem with, but kids and women with no or only their base abilities? That was too far; it was weak¡­ The Dragon Clan had killed them because they feared what they might become and feared the consequences of their actions. ¡°Well, I think I might show them the consequences myself,¡± I mused. Korsis had told me to win some battles. I intended to do just that. I pulled up the notifications I had gotten at the end of the last battle and looked them over again.
Ability Gained, Hell¡¯s Talons: (Rank 1); As a spoken command your nails lengthen to 0.5 inches and thicken proportionally for 1 second and deal an additional minor amount of Curse damage.
Cost: 30 stamina each activation.
Upgrade this ability to increase the length and curse damage of your talons. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 1.
This ability would prevent using weapons in whatever hand or hands I used them on, but at the same time, I couldn¡¯t truly be disarmed. I wondered if it was the same ability Asmodrin had used at the end there. Likely not, but just similar. I pulled up the last notification I¡¯d seen before blacking out.
Warning, you have taken an Extreme amount of Curse damage to your Spirit worsening the existing Soul Damage you have been suffering. Your Soul with be vulnerable to Soul damage and attacks until you repair the damage to your spiritual self.
Not good at all, I thought as I read it over. I had no idea how to repair the damage to my spiritual self, and it seemed to be getting worse and worse. I saw there was a third notification I hadn¡¯t seen before and pulled it up.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective; stop a vision of the future from becoming reality.
Reward: Title: The Fate Breaker.
*Fate Breaker: First, you defied Death now you defy Fate. You can equip this title to appear at the end of your name. It will reduce all lethal and mortal injuries by one damage stage, but you will take increased damage in any battle where you have seen yourself die.
Well, I keep seeing myself die all the time, so I¡¯m not equipping that, I thought, dismissing the notification. Whatcha thinking about? The voidling asked. Another thing about the soul damage was it kept letting in squatters to my head. ¡°I¡¯m reading over the notifications I got from the end of that battle,¡± I said. Oh, the voidling said, disinterested. I already read those over last night. I froze. ¡°You can read my notifications?¡± Of course, the voidling said. I¡¯m in your head; I can see, smell, hear everything you do, and hear your thoughts as well. ¡°Karnen, can you my thoughts too?¡± I asked. Not easily, the Spirit of Vengeance said. But I can see your notifications and ability screens. There was nothing I could do about this. ¡°Fine,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°Then how about making yourself useful, how does one repair spiritual damage?¡± You need to change, resolve your internal turmoil, Karnen said. ¡°What does that mean?¡± I asked. There is something inside you the Soul Damage attacked. Something you kept buried, and you most pull it out and deal with it, Karnen said. ¡°Sounds like crystal healing bullshit,¡± I said. That is all I know on the topic, Karnen said. ¡°Ok, void spirit, do you have anything to add?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think you should resolve the conflict at all,¡± the voidling said. ¡°It makes your emotions so tasty. ¡°Great, thank you for being useless,¡± I sighed. ¡°Since neither of you can offer anything useful, shut up. I need to do some quick upgrades.¡± ¡°System increase Hell¡¯s Talons to rank twenty,¡± I said. I had more than enough rank points after the last battle, and more Might would be useful in my fights, even if the ability itself seemed strange. I skipped the next three notifications until the pop-up for my next additional effect came up.
Congratulations, you have raised an ability to rank five, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your attacks ignore 2.5 hardness from any substance.
¡¤ You gain a set of horns with the same effects as your claws when you activate this ability. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
¡¤ Inflicts a stun condition for 0.2 seconds on a major hit.
Of the three effects, I liked the first the most. I didn¡¯t need a set of horns, and headbutting people seemed like getting my most important body part way too close to the enemy. The third could be really powerful, but it would depend on how much it went up with each rank, and I didn¡¯t even know for sure what a major hit was. Picking the first option.
Hell¡¯s Talons: (Rank 5); As a spoken command your nails lengthen to 2.5 inches and thicken proportionally for 5 seconds and deal an additional moderate amount of Curse damage.
The talons ignore 2.5 of hardness from any substance.
Cost: 35 stamina each activation.
Upgrade this ability to increase the length and curse damage of your talons. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 1.
I skipped past the next four notifications again.
Congratulations, you have raised an ability to rank ten, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ You can touch and grapple with incorporeal creatures.
¡¤ Your talons are now poisonous, dealing a deadly necrotic paralyzing poison with each attack.
¡¤ You inflict the Desecrated condition with each hit from your talons.
The first effect was useless to me since I could do almost the same thing with my title Keytaro¡¯s Guardian. The second one was tempting, but I was extremely resistant to poison, and getting those titles hadn¡¯t been that hard, so many enemies might have them as well. Ultimately, I went with the third option. I didn¡¯t know what the Desecration condition was, but something about the name spoke to me.
Hell¡¯s Talons: (Rank 10); As a spoken command your nails lengthen to 5 inches and thicken proportionally for 10 seconds and deal an additional Major amount of Curse damage.
The talons ignore 5 of hardness from any substance.
Your attacks with the talons inflict the Desecrated condition for 5 seconds.
*Desecrated: Target cannot receive any type of healing while afflicted with this condition. Cost: 40 stamina each activation.
Upgrade this ability to increase the length and curse damage of your talons. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 1.
The gamble had definitely been worth it; with this, I could rip through someone, and any healers they had on their side wouldn¡¯t be able to save them. Skipping the next four notifications, I got to the pop-up.
Congratulations, you have raised an ability to rank fifteen, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ The nails on your feet also extend, giving you a kick attack with this ability.
¡¤ Your talons can bypass 0.5 inches of material.
¡¤ Your talons inflict the Damnation condition.
I really wanted to add another condition to this ability, but I had to pass on the third option. I wasn¡¯t sure what it would do, and the second option was a must-have. An effect like that must have been on whatever ability the Pack Mother had when she bit into my shoulder through my pauldrons. The first option wasn¡¯t even a real choice, I couldn¡¯t use it and my boots, so it was just a trash option.
Hell¡¯s Talons: (Rank 15); As a spoken command your nails lengthen to 7.5 inches in length and thicken proportionally for 15 seconds and deal an additional Severe amount of Curse damage.
The talons ignore 7.5 of hardness from any substance.
Your attacks with the talons inflict the Desecrated condition for 8.5 seconds.
*Desecrated: Target cannot receive any type of healing while afflicted with this condition. Your talons can bypass 0.5 inches of material.
Cost: 45 stamina each activation.
Upgrade this ability to increase the length and curse damage of your talons. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 1.
I skipped the next four notifications again.
Congratulations, you have raised an ability to rank twenty, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your talons inflict the Laceration condition on a hit.
¡¤ Your Curse damage is increased by one stage for this ability.
¡¤ Your talons inflict Mana Rot on a hit if the target fails a Power check.
I looked over my three options. I liked them all; I knew what Laceration did from my nemean claws, but with the Desecration condition, wounds that were resistant to healing weren¡¯t a priority. Extra damage was always good, bumping up the second option, in my estimation. The third option had a caveat, but honestly, that made me even more tempted. The system would only limit the effect if it was really good. I went with my gut and picked the third option.
Hell¡¯s Talons: (Rank 20, Max Rank); As a spoken command your nails lengthen to 10 inches and thicken proportionally for 20 seconds and deal an additional Extreme amount of Curse damage. The talons ignore 10 of hardness from any substance.
Your attacks with the talons inflict the Desecrated condition for 8.5 seconds.
*Desecrated: Target cannot receive any type of healing while afflicted with this condition.
Your talons can bypass 1 inch of material.
Your attacks with the talons inflict the Mana Rot condition for 5 seconds.
* Mana Rot: Targets lose 15 mana per second they are inflicted with this ability.
Final Rank Bonus: All damage inflicted by Hell¡¯s Talons is resistant to healing.
Cost: 50 stamina each activation.
Upgrade this ability to increase the length and curse damage of your talons. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 1.
Mana Rot was fantastic; it would bleed a full seventy-five mana from the target over five seconds. That was almost a third of my maximum mana. I looked around at the village. I had learned a lot here, but my break was done; it was time to head back into the forest and work on my quests. I found Korsis in the cave I had first met him. ¡°I¡¯m heading to Sky-scarred Peak,¡± I told him. ¡°I thought you would be headed after the Dragon Clan,¡± he said, and I detected some displeasure from him. ¡°I will when I am ready,¡± I snapped back, feeling a bit of heat rising up in me. ¡°I am on a quest from my goddess. The concerns of your Clan do not take precedence in my actions.¡± Korsis bowed his head, surprising me. ¡°Of course, Warlord, forgive me for questioning the will of the goddess.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said, relaxing a bit. ¡°I will deal with the Dragon Clan; as soon I¡¯ve handled them, I will expect your full support.¡± ¡°If you can do as you say, then you will have proven yourself as the Warlord,¡± Korsis agreed. I turned and left the camp. I looked to the north; I couldn¡¯t see the mountain with the trees in the way, but I knew it was that way. I started off moving at powerwalk, which had me moving as fast as most track runners. I started teleporting ahead to any space I could see to switch between using stamina and mana as I sped through the forest. I crested a hill and teleported to the top of an oak, landing on a wide limb. I looked out over the forest sprawling behind me. The foothills continued to climb in front of me, and behind them, the mountains loomed, casting a shadow over the land in the setting sun. One mountain stood higher than all its brethren, its jagged tip jutting up like a sword thrust out of the earth. Clouds swirled around it like the eye of a hurricane, lightning flashing, and I could faintly hear the rumble of thunder. Teleporting back down to the ground, I kept running. I was moving three times as fast as I had before; without my vassals beside me, I was unhindered and could go all out with no one pulling me back. I felt the rush of wind rushing past me and laughed with the sheer joy of my speed and the power I felt as the world blurred past me. I had no idea how many miles per hour I was going, but I felt as fast as a luxury car with the grace of a jaguar as I jumped fallen trees in a single bound and teleported over gorges and rivers. Feet pounding down muddy narrow deer trails or along rock ridges. I kept running, my stamina and mana refilling as fast as I was emptying it. The air grew wet and colder, and I finally stopped when I came to a massive wall of stone. I looked up at the wall of stone. It was a sheer cliff extending hundreds of feet up. ¡°Well, that¡¯s going to be tough,¡± I said to myself. ¡°There must be an easier way to the top than trying to climb this thing.¡± I began moving along the side of the cliff, searching for a pass, slope, or even just a cliff with more handholds. It wasn¡¯t until nightfall that I finally found something; it wasn¡¯t a slope but a narrow crack that ran deep and went up the cliff. A foul-smelling icy cold draft wafted from the cave. I took a step back, my face twisted in disgust. The downside of raising my Perception was that I could smell everything with complete clarity. The smell of shit and rot from the cave was overpowering. I stepped back and wandered away from the cleft, and sat down. I leaned back and closed my eyes. I wanted to be fully rested before climbing this mountain or exploring any of its caverns. -- Arthur raised a drinking horn, and the warriors in camp cheered as he chugged it back. Lancelot stood across from him, and Kay and another of their knights were on the sides of the table, chugging back the thick dark mead. Arthur slurped down the mead dropping the drinking horn and taking another his squire handed him. Lancelot finished his and dropped it, and Kay did so a moment later. The fourth contestant fell over retching, and the crowd booed and laughed. The soldiers bit into thick pieces of meat and bowls of stew and raised drinking horns. The spoils of the lord¡¯s castle provided the food for the feat and would supply them for another week. Arthur dropped the drinking horn again and snatched it up the next. Lancelot bowed out, shaking his head as he stepped back from the table. Kay stayed in, moving across from Arthur. The two began chugging back drink after drink. Finally, Kay fell over, retching the contents of his stomach spewing across the ground. The army cheered, and Arthur smiled. He helped Kay up and staggered to his tent alone. Collapsing onto his bed, he felt soft small hands help him out of his clothes. Arthur pulled Lionor close, their bare skin hot against each other as she wrapped her legs around him. Chapter 41: Hellish Screams Guinevere and her party battled against the razor-badger outside their army¡¯s camp. Each hair of its fur stood straight up. And hummed, making it sound like an angry hornet¡¯s nest. Guinevere was at the front, her master swordsmanship letting her dodge, duck, and perry its claws as she reposted and struck her own blows. Behind her Haldros, her party¡¯s ranged attackers opened mini portals in the sky, and meteors rained down, pelting the badger with burning stone shrapnel. Kira healed Guinevere¡¯s wounds as fast as they appeared. Guinevere was not her party¡¯s tank; that role belonged to Regald, a burly human in full plate who carried a massive tower shield. However, Guinevere was so ferocious, and her attacks were more damaging than her other party members that they kept returning their focus to her. The only thing that saved her was her abilities, Grace-of-the-Fey and Battle Insight which let her read her opponent¡¯s attacks and respond in time to avoid and counterattack. Guinevere dodged another swipe of the razor-badger¡¯s claws, then twisted into a lunge burying her icy rapier hilt deep into the badger¡¯s skull. It spasmed then collapsed, and Guinevere stepped back. ¡°Well, that¡¯s that,¡± Guinevere said as the notifications hit her.
15 rank points gained split between contributing attackers.
She frowned; with her party member¡¯s contributions and the creature¡¯s low rank, her progress was slow. ¡°I can¡¯t protect you, my lady, if you keep drawing agro like that,¡± Regald said. ¡°I was focused on killing it,¡± Guinevere responded. ¡°Besides, we were doing fine; Edrick and I were dealing enough damage to keep it off balance. Edrick, her party¡¯s rogue, shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to position it for me to get in my backstabs. You just held it there, and I could barely get in any damage.¡± ¡°We wone which is what is important,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But when we go up against something our own rank, we won¡¯t be able to do that,¡± Kira said. ¡°We¡¯re your party, Lady Guinevere. You need to let us do our jobs and support you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± Guinevere said, biting back the unsaid words that she didn¡¯t need support. ¡°Any word from Jamis and Felecia?¡± ¡°Heard they found one gifted bear,¡± Regald said. ¡°Jamis used his divine ability on it, and they¡¯re on the lookout for a female now. Then they can get started on breeding their army.¡± ¡°I¡¯d still like to just sneak in and assassinate the Warlord,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Edrick could come and help, and any of the other champions or gifted we have who specialize in stealth.¡± Edrick frowned at her. ¡°I understand you have several stealth abilities, my lady, but one does not just sneak into a fortress where the enemy is aware of you. It would be suicide; what kind of idiot just waltz into a fortress to try and challenge their leader?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to challenge him,¡± Guinevere said, rolling her eyes. ¡°Assassination is the way of the Chaos Spawn,¡± Kira said. ¡°But I understand your desire; perhaps we should give it more thought.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°We couldn¡¯t let anyone else know about it,¡± Kira continued. ¡°Your father would kill us if he knew we were even contemplating it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Guinevere said eagerly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to get any of you in trouble; I could go over the wall invisible, then find him and end this in one stroke.¡± ¡°You are even better at infiltration than me,¡± Edrick admitted looking at Kira, the two having an unspoken conversation. They were interrupted when a rider came into camp bleeding; one arm severed as he barely held onto consciousness. Guinevere and her party rushed over; Kira used her abilities to heal the man and stop the bleeding, and Guinevere stopped him from just falling off his horse. ¡°What happened?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°The Warlord,¡± the rider gasped. ¡°My party was keeping watch on the walls when a group of people came up behind us. There were three women and a large man in plate armor. When I analyzed him, I saw he was the Warlord. We tried to stop him, but he cut through us like paper then they made it into the fortress.¡± ¡°They were going towards the fortress?¡± Guinevere asked, frowning. ¡°How? We haven¡¯t seen anyone leave the fortress the entire time we¡¯ve been here.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, my lady,¡± the scout admitted. ¡°This is troubling,¡± Guinevere said, rising. ¡°As soon as the champions return, we need to gather and discuss this. I have a feeling we are missing something, and the Warlord is up to his tricks.¡± --- My father slammed the door shut, the walls of our apartment rattling, the picture hanging on the wall fell off again, and I winced as I heard its frame clatter on the ground. ¡°Ellen!¡± my father shouted. I ducked behind the couch to avoid him seeing me pulling my stuffed monkey with me hugging it to my chest. ¡°Ellen!¡± my father shouted again, the fury rising in his voice. ¡°Yes?¡± Mom said, running into the room, a look of desperate concern on her face. ¡°Why is our bank account in the negative?¡± my father asked. ¡°I went to get groceries,¡± mom began. ¡°You get paid every Friday. I thought there was enough¡­.¡± ¡°Of course, there wasn¡¯t enough!¡± My dad snarled. ¡°I was sick last week, and the snow kept me from working the other two days. I only had ten hours last week. Now we¡¯re in the negative, and the bank fees are going to start coming in.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Arthur¡­.¡± mom began. The smack made me wince and shrink back. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that,¡± Arthur hissed. ¡°You got fired from your job last week because of your stupid kid.¡± ¡°Mordred was sick. I had to stay at home and take care of him,¡± mom protested. ¡°Then he got me sick, and now I don¡¯t have money to pay for gas to get to work!¡± Arthur swore, and his foot slammed into the wall punching a hole through the drywall. I skidded back, and my father¡¯s eyes snapped to me, caught by the rapid movement. ¡°You¡¯re always getting sick Mordred and spreading it around to the rest of us. Why do you have to be so weak?¡± -- I awoke from the memory and felt something wrapped around my throat. The rage inside me exploded and I grabbed at the thing, ripping it off, feeling patches of skin go with it and hot blood flow down from my skin.
Nightmare Eater; Gifted- monster/lesser-demon, Mortal, Rank: 16
I ripped the demon in half-black ichor spewing everywhere.
4 rank points were gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 196 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I still wanted to smash something to kill and not stop killing. I didn¡¯t feel pain from that memory, not anymore. The emotional heartbreak had long been replaced with a deep and simmering anger ready to boil out at the slightest provocation. Why do you have so much anger? The voidling asked, her voice breaking into my muddled rage. ¡°I have every reason to feel the anger I do!¡± I snarled at her. But why? The voidling asked. I don¡¯t understand why your kind feels the things you feel; I know the cause, but I don¡¯t understand your reasoning. ¡°I¡¯m not the best person to ask about a typical person¡¯s emotional reasoning,¡± I said with a dark laugh as I slowly reined in my fury. Hmmm, the voidling hummed. If I could figure out why your kind feels things, it would make it much easier to farm you. ¡°And your back to being one hundred percent creepy,¡± I said. ¡°If you can¡¯t find a way to make yourself useful, at least keep your comments to yourself.¡± I¡¯m very useful! The voidling protested. ¡°Really? Name one thing that you do for me,¡± I said dryly, approaching the crevice opening. I let you know the emotional states of those around you, she said proudly. ¡°Great, except I don¡¯t care about that. People¡¯s feelings are their own business, and they can keep it to themselves as far as I care.¡± Your not a very nice person, the voidling said, and I got the mental impression of a pout. ¡°Just figuring that out?¡± I asked as I began to ascend the crevice up into its dark recesses. My progenitors helped you out. I figured you would be more grateful, she said. ¡°They helped you; they put a parasite inside me so you could find food sources. Any benefit I received is only a byproduct of you being sustained.¡± You could still be more grateful, she said sullenly. You¡¯re nicer to Karnen than you are to me. ¡°Karnen is a vengeful prick who entered into my spirit to avoid death; I don¡¯t want him there either, but I understand what he is. I¡¯m still not clear on what it is your eldritch ass is or your purpose for being here other than to somehow feed on the emotions of others.¡± I was scaling the cliff quickly as the voidling and I bickered back and forth. I¡¯m not an it! The voidling hissed. ¡°Oh really,¡± I said. ¡°Then what¡¯s your name.¡± There was a brief pause. Voidra, she said. ¡°You just came up with that on the spot, didn¡¯t you,¡± I accused. No, she denied it, but her tone wasn¡¯t at all convincing. ¡°Whatever, I don¡¯t actually care,¡± I said. ¡°At least it will make it easier to refer to you in my thoughts.¡± Voidra went silent, apparently done talking to me for now, and I was left in silence. I continued my climb, finally arriving in a massive cavern. Muck squished underfoot, and the foul smell of shit filled the air. I could hear movement and wingbeats ahead and looked up. I could see everything in shades of grey in the darkness. Thousands of bats moved across the ceiling, but they weren¡¯t the tiny mouse or rat-sized versions from my world. These were as large as greyhounds at a minimum, with some as large as a massif.
Screamer Bat; Gifted- beast/bat, Mortal, Rank: 22
I continued to see gifted after gifted among them though I hadn¡¯t spotted one that wasn¡¯t Mortal rank yet. However, there were hundreds of gifted among them, at least a quarter of them popping up as gifted when I analyzed them. A bat dropped down and swooped at me, claws extended. I ducked and retaliated with a swipe of my club. The bat spun as my attack snapped its left wing and ripped open the membrane of its wing. It let out a shriek, and all movement from above froze. Not a sound could be heard then as one of the bats began screaming. I could only vaguely hear the sound, thanks to my increased Perception. The sound waves actually caused the liquid shit I was calf-deep in to ripple from the impact. I could feel the sound attacks hit me, and I didn¡¯t like it. The attack bypassed my toughened skin, and I felt my organs stir up, and my bones felt like they were developing fractures with every second. I responded with violence. Stone spearheads shot out, and bats began dropping by the dozens as their flying forms were knocked and speared from the air. I moved about on the ground finishing any creature that wasn¡¯t killed from the first attack.
6 rank points gained.
24 rank points total gained from various kills.
I barely got any rank points from these creatures. Since they were a lower ranking than me, I got only a quarter of their rank points instead of half. Black Rage and Magma Heart(s) activated with each melee strike and kill. I could see my veins glowing through the murky haze surrounding me. I could only imagine I resembled some hellish ghost, but whatever my appearance, the bat colony was not dissuaded.
19 rank points total gained from various kills.
Bats hit me full force in suicide runs; their bodies hit me full force, knocking me into the muck only to have me savage their bodies and leave their corpses in the fetid shit. They kept attacking and dying in ones, twos, and threes.
45 rank points total gained from various kills.
A bat grabbed me by my shoulders and flung me up into the air. I went willingly, using the time to make some attacks against the bats who had been unwilling to come down and meet me on the ground. Bat¡¯s plummeted down as I shattered wing bones or ripped open the membrane of their wings.
27 rank points gained from various kills.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 234 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
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Ability gained, Curse Call.
The bats kept attacking like that until about a quarter of their number was gone. Then a sound so high pitched only the shattering of stalagmites and the thrumming in my bones made me aware of it. The bats scattered in all directions, and a light descended down from the heights of the cavern. A massive bat swooped into the cavern, its fur a spectral blue and glowing with ethereal light.
Farsool the Ghost; Gift- beast/spectral-bat, Veteran, Rank: 234
It stopped mid-air, and I was launched out of the much and flung through the air as its sonic attack hit me. I teleported next to it, my clubs lashing out, but Farsool turned translucent, and my attacks passed through its form. Its claws hit me, and I bit back a scream as agony coursed through me.
Warning! You have taken Soul damage which you are extremely susceptible to due to your previous Soul Damage.
I activated Wrathful Meditation, and all feeling stopped. I snapped back into the fight, and the bat seemed surprised that I was able to attack him. Apparently, it had been counting on incapacitating me with pain, but that wasn¡¯t going to happen. I got a better look at the spectral bat now that I was close to it. It had two sets of bright beady eyes, each moving independently of each other tracking my flying spearheads. The bat flew between them, its large size still somehow able to dodge most of my projectiles. The bat¡¯s eyes met mine, and I felt something overcome me freezing me in place. The bat lunged forward, long fangs going for my throat; I broke free of the paralysis at the last second and blocked it with my forearm. The bat began shaking me by my arm but scissored my legs around its neck and began to squeeze. Like Hercules with the nemean lion, I was incredibly strong, and I could feel its throat constrict. The bat began thrashing around in panic, but I held onto my other hand, slamming my club into its skull. It managed to twist its neck enough to bury its fangs into my side, but I couldn¡¯t feel the injury, and my attempts to crush its windpipe didn¡¯t let up. The bat turned incorporeal again, but even this didn¡¯t make me lose contact with it, and I transitioned with it and continued to hold onto it as we were both in our respective phantom-like forms. Finally, the duration of its form ended, and we both returned to the physical world. I kept strangling the bat, and at last, it shuddered and stopped moving. I didn¡¯t let go until I finally got the prompt from the system.
117 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 235 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Ability gained, Terrifying Cry (Rank 1); You emit an ear-piercing shriek that inflicts the Panic condition for 5 seconds on any creature within 50ft who hears it and fails a Spirit check.
*Panic: Target is unable to distinguish their allies from enemies.
Cost: 20 mana per use, cooldown 5 seconds.
Upgrade this ability to increase the duration, effect and radius of this ability. Each rank increases your Spirit by 1.
Another notification flashed in my vision, and I pulled it up. With the death of their leader or patriarch, every other bat had fled and abandoned the cavern.
Your abilities, Terrifying Cry and Curse Call, have synergy with each other. Would you like to sacrifice these abilities to combine them into the ability Helheim¡¯s Scream? Ability will be a more powerful combination of both abilities but will only get the standard amount of additional effects.
Yes / No
Interesting, I hadn¡¯t encountered this before and couldn¡¯t remember if anyone had told me it was possible before. I doubted it was unique to me, but I was curious to try it out. I didn¡¯t even know what Curse Call did. I had turned notifications off in combat, and the system still pinged me, but they only appeared in my vision for a second before disappearing and were always brief. ¡°Pull up the description for Curse Call,¡± I told the system.
Curse Call (Rank 1); You unleash a nightmarish sound that reduces the damage dealt by 1 stage for 5 seconds from any creature within 50ft who hears it and fails a Spirit check.
Cost: 20 mana per use, cooldown 5 seconds.
Upgrade this ability to increase the duration, effect and radius of this ability. Each rank increases your Spirit by 2.
They were both Spirit abilities; maybe that was a requirement for abilities to merge? I pushed the questions from my mind for now. The system was right. The abilities were similar, and I didn¡¯t see a major benefit to keeping them separate, even if it would result in fewer additional effects overall. I pulled the prompt back up and mentally selected yes.
Congratulations! You have merged your abilities Terrifying Cry and Curse Call together and have gained the ability Helheim¡¯s Scream.
Helheim¡¯s Scream (Rank 1); You emit an otherworldly call that inflicts the Panic condition and reduces the damage dealt by 1 stage for 5 seconds from any creature who hears it within 50ft and fails a Spirit check (checks are made separately for each effect of this ability).
*Panic: Target is unable to distinguish their allies from enemies.
Cost: 20 mana per use, cooldown 5 seconds.
Upgrade this ability to increase the duration, effect and radius of this ability. Each rank increases your Spirit by 3.
So, the two effects had just combined into one ability. I didn¡¯t see any changes now, but this did mean I could try to inflict two conditions for the cost it would have taken to just apply one. I wanted to upgrade this ability, but I also didn¡¯t want to do it while I was knee-deep in bat guano. I looked at the corpse of the Spectral bat and sighed. I set to the grim and disgusting job of skinning it while we were both in the filthy shit. Half an hour later, I waded out of the swamp of feces. The filthy bat pelt was in my storage pouch, but I still smelled worse than a porta-john. I wiped off the filth of my cleansing cloth. This had the nice effect of removing the muck from every inch of my body and clothing. It also cleared my nose, and the nose blindness I had developed vanished. I gagged as the foul smell wafted up behind me. I climbed higher through the cave system. Finally finding a spot to sit, I collapsed to the ground. I still had Wrathful Meditation active; I was a little afraid to turn it off and suffer the pain of whatever soul damage I had taken. ¡°Upgrade Helheim¡¯s Scream to Rank Twenty,¡± I told the system. I skipped the first three ranks as per usual.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank five; please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ The range for your effects is doubled.
¡¤ You now inflict the Terror condition with this ability.
¡¤ Duration for this ability is increased by 0.5 seconds.
I looked over my three options. The first one was tempting, but I dismissed it for one reason, if my vassals were nearby, they were not immune to this ability which would limit how I could use it. I had no idea what the Terror condition was, but a new condition to add onto it was a tempting choice. The third option increased the duration of this ability slightly; it would likely go up by the same amount every rank, so it would give me an extra seven to eight seconds at rank twenty. I went with the second option. An additional effect was more useful to me than a slight increase in its duration that would go up with each rank anyway.
Helheim¡¯s Scream (Rank 5); You emit an otherworldly call that inflicts the Panic & Terror conditions and reduces the damage dealt by 2 stage for 7 seconds from any creature who hears it within 70ft and fails a Spirit check (checks are made separately for each effect of this ability).
*Panic: Target is unable to distinguish their allies from enemies.
*Terror: Target is filled with the need to flee from the source of their fear.
Cost: 30 mana per use, cooldown 7 seconds.
Upgrade this ability to increase the duration, effect and radius of this ability. Each rank increases your Spirit by 3.
Terror was an interesting effect. I didn¡¯t imagine it would revolutionize how I fought, but if enemies were running away for a bit, it would free me up to focus on the others instead of just avoiding attacks I was spammed with. I skipped the next four notifications.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank ten; please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Enemies wounded by you have disadvantage on their Spirit Check against this ability.
¡¤ Cooldown for this ability is reduced by 1 second.
¡¤ You now inflict the Desolation condition.
The third ability immediately jumped out of me as I read it, and I instantly dismissed the other two choices. They might have been good and had potential, but the name Desolation just spoke to me. I wanted to inflict Desolation on my enemies regardless of what it did.
Helheim¡¯s Scream (Rank 10); You emit an otherworldly call that inflicts the Panic, Terror & Desolation conditions and reduces the damage dealt by 3 stage for 9.5 seconds from any creature who hears it within 90ft and fails a Spirit check (checks are made separately for each effect of this ability).
*Panic: Target is unable to distinguish their allies from enemies.
*Terror: Target is filled with the need to flee from the source of their fear.
*Desolation: Target cannot regain mana or stamina for a duration.
Cost: 40 mana per use, cooldown 10 seconds.
Upgrade this ability to increase the duration, effect and radius of this ability. Each rank increases your Spirit by 3.
The Desolation condition was as good as I could have hoped. As long as I kept hitting my enemies with this, any battle of attrition would be won by me since their abilities would have to pull from a limited mana and stamina pool that wouldn¡¯t refill for as long as they were affected by this ability. I dismissed the next four notifications.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank fifteen; please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
Increases the damage your allies within the area of effect deal by 2 stages.
Allies who make their saves gain immunity to all mental effects and spell for the duration.
You now inflict the Damnation ability with this ability.
Once again, I immediately dismissed the other options. I knew what Damnation did, thanks to my Hell¡¯s Talons. The ability to prevent an enemy from healing was game-changing, and the ability to do so at a distance was even more powerful.
Helheim¡¯s Scream (Rank 15); You emit an otherworldly call that inflicts the Panic, Terror, Desolation & Damnation conditions and reduces the damage dealt by 4 stage for 12 seconds from any creature who hears it within 110ft and fails a Spirit check (checks are made separately for each effect of this ability).
*Panic: Target is unable to distinguish their allies from enemies.
*Terror: Target is filled with the need to flee from the source of their fear.
*Desolation: Target cannot regain mana or stamina for duration.
*Damnation: Target cannot receive any healing for duration.
Cost: 40 mana per use, cooldown 15 seconds.
Upgrade this ability to increase the duration, effect and radius of this ability. Each rank increases your Spirit by 3.
I would not inflict five separate effects with this ability if a target failed all their Spirit checks. Even if they only failed one, the sheer number of effects made me confident they would fail at least one. I dismissed the next four notifications to get them to last additional effect for this ability.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank twenty; please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Conditions have a random chance to have double their duration.
¡¤ This ability now inflicts Soul damage within a specific range.
¡¤ You now inflict the Purgatory condition with this ability.
Looking over additional effects, I was torn. The first was easy to dismiss; I disliked randomness. The second and third options were both tempting Soul damage was a nasty form of damage, but on the other hand, another condition would be interesting. Ultimately my reasoning came down to not liking the name for the last condition that much. Purgatory just didn¡¯t stack up to Desolation or Damnation that well. I wanted to deal damage, and this effect would make this ability a weapon instead of just a debuffer.
Helheim¡¯s Scream (Rank 20, Max Rank); You emit an otherworldly call that inflicts the Panic, Terror, Desolation & Damnation conditions and reduces the damage dealt by 4 stage for 12 seconds from any creature who hears it within 110ft and fails a Spirit check (checks are made separately for each effect of this ability).
Targets within ? of the radius of this effect take Moderate soul damage on a failed Spirit check. Final Rank Bonus: Inflict the Condition Cosmic Dread.
*Panic: Target is unable to distinguish their allies from enemies.
*Terror: Target is filled with the need to flee from the source of their fear.
*Desolation: Target cannot regain mana or stamina for duration.
*Damnation: Target cannot receive any healing for duration.
*Cosmic Dread: Target has difficulty looking at the source of their fear and their mind plays tricks on them showing them their greatest fears.
Cost: 60 mana per use, cooldown 20 seconds.
I was happy with this ability; I couldn¡¯t use it much in battle right now due to its massive mana cost, but for what it could do, I would probably always use it in battle at least once. With my upgrades done, I turned off Wrathful Meditation, bracing myself for the agony. I didn¡¯t feel anything. The lack of pain made me flinch as I just felt the chill of the cave on my skin. ¡°Pull up my current stats,¡± I told the system.
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 270
Available Rank Points: 1575
Might: 53 (+3) = 56 Mind: 27
Speed: 52 (+22) = 74 Perception: 47
Toughness: 31 Spirit: 121
Endurance: 31 Power: 50
Maximum Stamina: 223 Maximum Mana: 295
Stamina Regen: 47 per second. Mana Regen: 71 per second
Abilities
Dominion (Rank 30), Telekinesis (Rank 20), Heightened Speed (Rank 20), Foresight (Rank 20), Compress Earth (Rank 20), Bestial Senses: (Rank 20), Phantom Form (Rank 20), Storm Soul (Rank 20), Magma Heart(s) (Rank 20), Troll Hide (Rank 20), Black-rage (Rank 20), Hell¡¯s Talons (Rank 20), Helheim¡¯s Scream (Rank 20)
Blessings:
Blessing of War (Veteran), Blessing of Tadris
Titles
Mark of Cain, Bloody Pugilist, Exorcist, Survivor III, Feral Barbarian, Field Alchemist III, Berserker, Beast Slayer III, War Chief, Venom Resistant III, Keytaro¡¯s Guardian III, Wrathful Meditation, Fireproof III, Superhuman, Bearer of Death, Lightning Resistance, the Fate Breaker.
My mana regeneration was almost twice my stamina regeneration, thanks to my Spirit attribute. Spirit seemed to be the attribute that contributed the most to mana regen. I had a caster¡¯s build. I hadn¡¯t planned on being some sorcerer or mage, buts that¡¯s just how the cards had landed for me. My work had just begun. I climbed to the top of the cave complex, but it didn¡¯t open up above the mountain like I had hoped. No matter, I had an ability I could use for this. I set to the long and tedious work of sculpting a winding tunnel upwards as I used Compress Earth over and over again. --- Arthur woke up feeling Lionor¡¯s soft skin against his. His head spun with the hangover, and he lay back, activating his ability Inner Wellspring. The headache began to fade from his head, and he lay back, the soft pillows and furs of the bed swallowing him in their warmth. Lionor stirred at his side; her lips kissed up his neck to his lips. ¡°You¡¯ll have to slip out soon,¡± Arthur whispered, running his hand down her back. ¡°We have some time,¡± Lionor whispered back. ¡°If my father knew about you, heed have both our heads,¡± Arthur said. ¡°You¡¯re worth the risk,¡± Lionor said. She propped her elbows on Arthur¡¯s chest as she looked him in the eye. ¡°Do you regret our time together?" ¡°No,¡± Arthur said. ¡°But I¡¯m afraid it will be too short; Guinevere will return from her hunt of the Chaos Spawn soon. I¡¯ll be called back to Camelot for the Dragon Tourney and then marry her.¡± ¡°Many lords have mistresses,¡± Lionor said. ¡°Guinevere won¡¯t tolerate any rivals,¡± Arthur sighed. ¡°If she found out about us, she¡¯d kill us more surely than my father.¡± ¡°Then we keep it secret,¡± Lionor said. ¡°How?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°You are the Prince of Camelot and the champion of Viviane,¡± Lionor said. ¡°You won¡¯t always be in Camelot; there are your duties to attend to and battles to fight. There will be time for us.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll come with me on my campaigns?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°Of course,¡± Lionor said. ¡°Anything for you, Arthur. You have what it takes to win the game of the gods, you are brave, and loyal, and your men love you. There is no battle you cannot overcome.¡± Chapter 42: Storm Pheonix Jeriah clasped wrists with Tobias. ¡°Good to see you, brother,¡± Tobias said. ¡°What took you so long?¡± ¡°Had a few scuffles with some beasts on the way here,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°Had a fight outside our walls here too. Mind telling me what an army is doing on our doorstep?¡± ¡°Oh, that?¡± Tobias said with a laugh. ¡°A little misunderstanding; they¡¯re looking for Mordred.¡± ¡°But Mordred isn¡¯t here,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°The name above yours and my head says differently,¡± Tobias said with a grin. Jeriah focused on his brother, then broke out in a laugh. ¡°They think you¡¯re the Warlord?¡± ¡°Yeah, we caught one of their soldiers on one of their failed attempts to breach our walls. Apparently, a bunch of champions all got together to hunt him down. They didn¡¯t even know it was the Warlord when they came hunting him, just that it was one of the champions of chaos.¡± ---- Bursting out of the ground, I was greeted by a blast of frigid air. The wind tore at my hair, snow flying into my face. I stepped out into the blizzard. The air was freezing, and I actually felt the chill which was odd since I was supposed to be immune to exposure. Looking down, I saw my veins glowing as they did during battle. I stopped to consider how my ability actually worked. Exposure was just the effects of adverse temperature; my blood could heat up and cool down, thus regulating my own body temperature to outside human levels letting me go into artic environments like this bare-chested. The ability didn¡¯t give me any frost or ice resistance; however, if something on the level of an ability made an attack against me, my immunity to exposure wouldn¡¯t do anything. As I thought about resistances, I considered one of my newer titles. Lighting Resistance it was just lightning resistance and would reduce the damage I took from lightning by one stage. Considering I was about to fight a lightning phoenix, it was a great title; but I had my doubts that reducing the damage by one stage would matter much. I thought that over. I knew how you raised those titles to the next stage; it wasn¡¯t complicated; you just had to almost die. Thinking that over, I thought back to the one time I¡¯d raised a title on purpose. Usually, it was an accident or just the result of me surviving by the skin of my teeth, but during the Event, I¡¯d stabbed myself with several poisons in the gut, injecting myself with super toxins from various creatures I¡¯d defeated. Then with some herbs and my previous Venom Resistance, I¡¯d survived and gained Venom Resistance III, which, as far as I could tell, was the highest level for resistance titles. Could I do the same for Lightning Resistance? ¡°System,¡± I said aloud as the wind whipped around me. ¡°Bring up the notification for Lightning Resistance.¡±
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective, survive a lethal amount of lightning damage for over ten seconds.
Reward: Lightning Resistance.
*Lightning Resistance: Your body is becoming increasingly resistant to Lightning the more you are subjected to it. Lightning damage deals one less damage stage against you, making it so larger lightning attacks are required to damage and kill you.
I looked over the objective for how I earned Lightning Resistance the first time. I had to survive lethal amounts of lightning damage for a certain period of time. I reached into my storage pouch and pulled out the two antlers from the storm stag. My hand burned, and the muscles in my arm spasmed when I touched them. I sat down in the snow. It melted on contact with my skin, and I was soon in a puddle. Ignoring the discomfort, I pulled out some healing potions and laid them out along with a case of Cauter fennel. With some trepidation, I looked at the two blue crystal antlers and their razor-sharp sparking tips. ¡°Here goes nothing,¡± I said with a sigh. I grabbed the two antlers and slammed them into my guts. My arms locked in place as the current of electricity ran through me. I would have screamed if I could have. Thoughts of Marvin grabbing the sink in Home Alone two went through my head. I activated Wrathful Meditation, but even this didn¡¯t do much; I couldn¡¯t feel pain, but that didn¡¯t mean my body was free of the effects from the electricity. I let my body spasm. Time passed, but I had no idea how long I had to survive this before learning Lightning Resistance II and Lightning Resistance III. My body started to smoke. That¡¯s probably a bad sign, I thought. I live here, Karnen said. Don¡¯t cook your own meat suit. What are you even trying to do? Get Lightning Resistance III, I thought at him. Well, I¡¯m guessing you¡¯ve got it, and if you haven¡¯t by now, then this won¡¯t do it, he said. I used my Telekinesis to yank out the antlers. I dropped them and snatched up a potion. My hands were shaking, but I popped the cork and tossed the contents down. Throwing some Cauter Fennel on my wounds, and they flashed with fire closing them shut.
You have completed two hidden objectives and earned a title. Objective, survive a lethal amount of lightning damage for over one minute.
Reward: Lightning Resistance III.
*Lightning Resistance: Your body is becoming increasingly resistant to Lightning the more you are subjected to it. Lightning damage deals three less damage stages against you, making it so larger lightning attacks are required to damage and kill you.
I stood and shook myself, water dripping off my skin, armor, and pants. I felt faint from the lightning, my body still jittery, and my limbs randomly twitched of their own accord. I knew that being electrocuted was bad for you, but I figured my regeneration would handle any of the side effects. Now that I had Lightning Resistance III, I could survive a few lightning bolts no problem. That left the issues of my dreams; in every dream I had, I ended up falling to my death. Every single time, other details in the dream changed, but it always ended with me going over the cliff. I wasn¡¯t sure if I believed in predestination or anything like that, but I remembered my dreams before fighting the Bandit King. In all my dreams, Kaleb had killed me; when it came to the fight, he had killed me. Future seen, past lived, nothing had changed. I had dreamed of Korsis dying, and if I hadn¡¯t intervened, he would have. I needed to alter fate again, but I wasn¡¯t sure how to do that. The easiest way would be to not fight the Lightning Pheonix. That wasn¡¯t going to happen; I refused to cower from death, and one of my quests required me to defeat it. I leaned up against a tree, looking up at the swirling clouds and lightning above. I looked over my abilities, titles, and equipment and made a plan. -- I pushed against the wind going higher and higher. It whipped against my face, shoved me in the back and chest, trying to spin me around, but I was massive due to all my attribute increases, and my weight and strength let me ignore the wind. Ahead of me, I could see the ever-present lightning that constantly flashed, providing light to the mountainside as it struck the ground or just flashed across the sky. ¡°Nothing to it but to go through it,¡± I sighed to myself, looking at the bolts of lightning. ¡°Time to figure out if these are natural lightning or not. Maybe I won¡¯t get hit by many of them.¡± I made it fifty more yards before being struck by a bolt of lightning.
65 maximum mana gained.
You are stunned for the next five minutes, reduced by Troll Hide to 5 seconds.
I lay face-first in the snow. I was immobile, my muscles twitching as electricity coursed through me. Seconds passed, and I pushed myself to my knees to stand up. Another bolt of lightning struck me, tossing me to the side.
65 maximum mana gained.
You are stunned for the next five minutes, reduced by Troll Hide to 5 seconds.
My body tumbled through the air; I hit the ground and skidded along it like a limp fish. Another bolt of lightning hit me again as I slid along the ground. It shoved me down into the ground but at least stopped me from skidding toward the edge of the mountain.
65 maximum mana gained.
You are stunned for the next five minutes, reduced by Troll Hide to 5 seconds.
I lay there unmoving, apart from some barely perceptible twitching. Finally, I pushed myself to my knees again and managed to stagger forward ten yards before being hit by another bolt of lightning. I was tossed forward thirty yards and was hit by another two bolts of lightning. The first knocked me to the right, and I started skidding across the ground. The second made me start to spin like a frisbee.
195 maximum mana gained.
You are stunned for the next five minutes, reduced by Troll Hide to 5 seconds.
I got to my feet and charged forward. At this rate, I¡¯d die before I even had a chance to face the Pheonix. I reduced the damage from lightning resistance by four stages thanks to my title and Storm Soul, but that was far from immunity to it. My body was smoking, and I felt aches and pains internally, even through Berserker. The fact I even felt the pain meant I had some serious internal damage going on. Even with Troll Hide repairing the damage, it couldn¡¯t keep up with back-to-back lightning strikes. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. I dived to the left, dodging one lighting strike; I avoided it but was hit by another.
65 maximum mana gained.
You are stunned for the next five minutes, reduced by Troll Hide to 5 seconds.
I rolled to the side this time, and the blast of lightning hit where I¡¯d been laying. The problem was that Storm Soul attracted lightning to me. I cursed my stupid past self who had chosen that ability; he was an idiot and was going to get me killed today. I teleported forward, and as soon as I reappeared, I was hit by another bolt of lightning and slammed into the dirt.
65 maximum mana gained.
You are stunned for the next five minutes, reduced by Troll Hide to 5 seconds.
Spitting out the snow and gravel, I got to my feet, teleporting forward. I would reappear for less than a second and teleport forward again. I was zooming up the mountain dodging lightning strikes as best I could. Even so, I was still struck by ten more bolts of lightning before I made it to the top.
650 maximum mana gained.
You are stunned for the next five minutes, reduced by Troll Hide to 5 seconds.
Breaking through a wall of wind, everything was suddenly still. The strikes of lightning stopped reaching for me. The wall of wind was still behind me, but I had entered the eye of the storm. The eye of the storm had to be at least half a mile in diameter. A pillar of ice rose up at the center. The entire area was slick with ice and snow; I looked down at my boots to see the ice spikes attached to my boots. I had made some equipment to aid in my hiking and battle; hopefully, I wouldn¡¯t get tossed off a mountain. I didn¡¯t see a lightning phoenix; I didn¡¯t see any living creatures, in fact. I looked up. The eye of the storm continued all the way up, and the black of the night and the glittering stars could be seen above. I heated towards the massive pillar of ice. It rose up a few hundred feet. I teleported twice and landed on its rim. It was hollowed out like a crater, no¡­not a crater¡­ a nest. I slid down the glass smooth sides to the center of the nest. I didn¡¯t see any eggs or anything, but I could feel a powerful thrumming and energy in the air. A shriek broke the air. I looked around at the storm wall but still couldn''t see it. A shadow silhouetted against the clouds, static filled the air, and the sound of lightning intensified. I readied my clubs for battle and tossed my spearheads into the air. A bolt of lightning struck next to me, cracking the ice as I narrowly twisted my head to the side thanks to Foresight. I¡¯d barely survived the lethal attack, the electricity radiated outwards, but apparently, my boots didn¡¯t conduct electricity. Good to know. The Phoenix emerged out of the storm wall, and it was majestic. Every feather on its body shone with light making it hard to look at. I squinted at it, taking in its vibrant blue electric plumage. Its eyes were white. They were so bright, every feather surrounded by a white nimbus of light.
Umtesh, The Storm Prince- elemental-beast/storm-phoenix, Veteran, Rank: 310
Besides the Hell Dragon and the Dragon Clan Hero, this was probably the most powerful creature I¡¯d ever faced. Lightning bolts arced around me; I couldn¡¯t dodge them; my foresight showed the lighting would track me through the air no matter where I went. I turned incorporeal, which dulled the damage, and combined with my new Lightning Resistance III title; I¡¯d taken minimal damage. I teleported forward and struck at the Lightning Pheonix with my club. My blow struck, but lightning traveled up my arm; it hurt, but like when you accidentally touch the prongs when you plug something into an outlet instead of like being fried on a powerline. I didn¡¯t activate Wrathful Meditation. The skill was useful, but feeling pain was necessary to deal with problems, even if it was unpleasant to experience. I jumped forward and dropped my clubs, holding them midair with Telekinesis. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talons,¡± I said. This was one of my few abilities that required an activation word. In a millisecond, my fingernails grew and extended into long black talons wreathed in purple fire. I stabbed forward, and the phoenix let out a shriek as purple flames licked around its body as it took extreme Curse damage. It would take Mana Rot for the next five seconds, hopefully draining some of its reserves. I opened my mouth and activated Helheim¡¯s Scream. A sound came from me that I didn¡¯t even think a biological creature could make. I was an unearthly, otherworldly sound like the haunting cry of a specter filled with misery and pain. I, of course, was not affected by my own ability, but just the sound of it gave me flashbacks to when I hung over the black abyss and the creatures that dwelt in it. Pushing back the memory, I attacked. I had no idea how many conditions the phoenix had resisted, but I¡¯d make use of whatever weaknesses it was suffering from while the ability was on cooldown. A static surge of electricity rose up from the creature and exploded outward, tossing me back. I skidded across the ice, digging my claws like ice picks into the ground and the spikes on my boots, bringing my skidding to a stop. I teleported back into the fight, moving around in a circle around the phoenix, lashing out with my talons over and over, reflecting it with my debuffs and the massive curse damage. The phoenix had a tail like a dragon; I found that out when my Foresight warned me of the attack coming in from behind. I jumped over it, but the ground was now covered with a writhing web of electricity. I hit the ground, and my muscles spasmed; I didn¡¯t lock up like I had before my lightning resistance taking off the worst of the effects. I dived to the right as its beak struck the ground where I had been standing. My spearheads struck at Umtesh, but its feathers seemed to act like armor, a burst of lightning knocking away the spearheads just before they struck every time. The Pheonix retreated back into the storm, a look of panic about it, but I wasn¡¯t ready for it to leave. I teleported up and landed on its back. Lighting scorched my body as I made contact, and my muscles spasmed, but I activated Hell¡¯s Talons again. The ability cost fifty mana to activate every twenty seconds; it would have been a major loss, but after the hellish climb up the mountain, I could keep it up for minutes. My talons ripped into the Phoenix¡¯s back feathers, flew bolts of lightning ravaged my body, leaving me blackened and smoldering even with my lightning resistance. Finally, the Storm Phoenix was able to throw me. I went sailing, hitting the ground and sliding. With a shriek of rage, the phoenix rounded on me. It opened its beak, and a torrent of lightning poured forth. The storm of electricity hit me, and I went flying.
You have been stunned for 5 minutes, reduced by Troll Hide to 6 seconds.
I was going over the edge. I went higher and higher till I finally reached the apex of my launch. The stun effect ended, and I hung over the edge of the mountain. Here goes nothing, I thought as I hung over the precipice. I whipped out the chain and grappling hook I¡¯d made and threw it at the ground. With the stacks of Might, I¡¯d gained the grappling hook, struck and pierced into the ground. Unfortunately, this world, despite its magic, was subject to the laws of physics, and for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. I went flying out over the forest. The chain was wrapped around my arm. It went taunt, and I swung down, slamming into the cliff face. I tried to grab something, but the cliff face was smooth with no handholds. I activated Hell¡¯s Talons again and stabbed my nails into the cliffside, stopping my erratic swinging. I started climbing up the chain. I heard a shriek and looked up. The lightning phoenix¡¯s head was cocked, and I looked into one blue eye seeing a deadly calculating intelligence. Its beak stabbed down on the chain. I started swinging and heard a snap. I began to fall again, but as soon as the chain broke, I teleported again. Appearing on the phoenix¡¯s head, I stabbed my claws through its left eye. It reared back, shrieking bolts of lightning flying in all directions. I stumbled back, and I racked its face, and stabbed into its skull over and over with my right hand while my left was locked in place around a handful of feathers. The pheonix collapsed back, but I was lost in my bloodlust, everything a shade of red as I ripped into the phoenix. It wasn¡¯t until the notifications were flashing in my vision that I finally fell back, exhausted and twitching as lightning continued to lite my body up, striking again and again.
115 Rank Points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 236 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Conquer (Repeatable): You have been tasked with conquering your first region. Take control of the Forest of the Ancients by defeating the eight powers of the region and preventing any other faction from forming a presence in the region.
Current progress: 2-8.
Reward: One rank IV Artifact of your choice or creation
I smiled at the notification and rose from where I¡¯d been bent over. Something round flew out of the phoenix¡¯s chest and struck me in the head, knocking me back down.
You have absorbed a Storm-orb, which has bonded to your Mind Attribute and will fuel and guide your mind¡¯s mutation when you pass Veteran rank.
Congratulations! Ability gained, Chain Lightning: (Rank 1); As a spoken command, you cast a bolt of lightning at a target within 15ft that jumps to 2 other targets within 15ft of the first target. Deals a major amount of lightning damage to the target, stunning them if they fail an Endurance check based on the damage the target receives.
Cost: 15 mana per cast.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range and number of maximum targets. Each upgrade increases your Mind attribute by 1.
I spat out some blood and stood, the lightning fading from the phoenix¡¯s body and stopping striking me in all directions. I gave a bloody grin at the notification and raised my hand. ¡°I¡¯m a fucking Sith Lord now!¡± I crowed in exuberance. Pointing my fingers out, I used the abilities utterance. ¡°Chain Lightning,¡± I said. Blue bolts of electricity shot from my fingertips and hit the interior of my gauntlets. ¡°Son of a bitch!¡± I said, shaking my hand and my smoking gauntlet. Apparently, the lightning would need free access to the air to be usable. It was a problem I¡¯d have to solve when I preferably wasn¡¯t on the top of a slippery mountain. ---- Arthur stepped in front of a knight deflecting the ballista bolt with Excalibur. All around him, knights charged the towering walls of the castle. Siege mages worked in the background sending boulders the size of a warhorse at the walls or conjuring creatures the size of elephants to charge and ram the gate before vanishing back into the ether. Arthur, Kay, and Lancelot led the strike team to take the walls. Arthur took off running, his armor clanking as the knights¡¯ feet hit the ground in a rhythmic thunder. With a mighty leap, they struck the runic circle they¡¯d set up. Each knight has launched hundreds of feet into the air. Arthur fell, and his feet cracked the stone of the courtyard when he hit. The fall protection crystal around his neck shattered, but the temporary enchantment had served its purpose. ¡°To the keep!¡± Arthur shouted, and he and the strike force of forty knights ran towards the inner keeps open doors. Men tried to block their path, but Arthur and his knights ripped through as if they weren¡¯t even there. Kicking the doors of the keep shut and barring them behind them, they spread out, breaking into groups of five men. They began scouring the rooms of the castle, locking servants in their quarters and butchering the castle guard and soldiers garrisoned there. Men banged on the keep¡¯s gate, but they had to choose between defending from the army outside or retaking the inner keep. Arthur smashed in the doors of the throne room and held his sword to the neck of a middle-aged woman. ¡°Where is your husband, Duchess Rose?¡± he asked. ¡°He is at the capital with the king,¡± Duchess Rose answered cooly. ¡°I suppose I must surrender to you.¡± ¡°That would be wise,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Order your men to stand down, and they will be spared today.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Duchess Rose said. Orders were given, and the battle was put to an end. ¡°That move with jumping over the wall was a work of genius,¡± Lancelot said, clasping arms with Arthur later. ¡°Thanks, but I stole it from the Warlord Ares; I remember him using a similar method to take a city once,¡± Arthur said. ¡°We probably won¡¯t be able to use it again when words of our victory gets out today.¡± ¡°Maybe not, but we barely lost anyone in the battle, thanks to you,¡± Kay said. ¡°In a week, we¡¯ll be at the capital, and this war will be over.¡± Chapter 43: In the Eye of the Storm Guinevere raised her sword the crystalline blade giving off a cold light. The forest giant raised the oak club and brought it down. She dodged to the side and landed on the ground. The earth rippled and shook but her abilities and titles let her keep her feet while those around her were sent tumbling to the ground. The forest giant brought its club down again. Guinevere jumped forward her sword, Chill-Edge, brought up parrying the strike that would have crushed Regald¡¯s spine. The giant growled with frustration bringing up a foot to kick her and Regald away. Guinevere couldn¡¯t dodge as doing so would leave Regald open. ¡°Stand-your-Ground!¡± Guinevere shouted activating her ability. Bringing up her sword she braced the blade with her left hand and blocked the strike. A sound like a ringing bell echoed out and the giant stumbled backward his attack negated. With a fury, it began pounding the ground around her going for every member of Guinevere¡¯s party. ¡°Mirror Block!¡± Guinevere shouted as she jumped to intercept the club activating her ability Ice Flash a trail of snow-covered icy ground left behind her as she moved. She parried the strike again. It seemed impossible as the slender woman deflected a weapon five times her length and width but her weapon was always positioned at the precisely correct angle to maximize the force she could exert and deflect. She never brute forced any of her strikes or blocks as she flashed between her downed party members intercepting the attacks meant for them. ¡°Mirror Block!¡± Guinevere shouted with each attack she intercepted but she saw her stamina gauge go down with each ability she activated. Finally, the club in the giant¡¯s had exploded as the reflected damage from Mirror Block reduced its durability to zero. The giant stumbled backward off balance from the loss of its weapon. Guinevere flashed forward kicking off a boulder and taking to the air. ¡°Agonizing Strike! Royal Blade! Winter¡¯s Touch!¡± Guinevere shouted activating three abilities in rapid succession. The tip of her rapier pierced the forest giant¡¯s thick hide. It screamed its voice enough to deafen anyone within three hundred feet of it. Ice spread from the wound freezing through the giant and the blade sliced and dug in deeper a silver light surrounding its edge as Guinevere¡¯s momentum carried her forward pushing the rapier hilt deep. The giant collapsed twitching in agony its nerves overloaded from the pain of Agonizing Strike. She yanked out her rapier and ran it through the giant¡¯s eye ending its misery.
25 rank points gained split between surviving contributors.
Congratulations! Ability gained, Obliterating Strike (Rank 1): You bring down your weapon in an overhead devastating attack that deals double damage stages for all damage types inflicted.
Stamina Cost: 40
Upgrade this ability to increase the damage dealt. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 1.
Guinevere looked around but her party was all alive and Kira was tending to any wounds they had sustained in the fight. The giant had been veteran rank, they had been seeing more and more higher-ranked monsters as the champions got more powerful. Her party was still the only Veteran ranked group in the army. ¡°Pull up my attributes,¡± Guinevere told the system.
Guinevere, the Winter Lady, Gifted- Veteran, humanoid/human*, Rank: 300
Available Rank Points: 124
Might: 70 Mind: 73
Speed: 72 Perception: 53
Toughness: 70 Spirit: 75
Endurance: 71 Power: 44
Maximum Stamina: 353 Maximum Mana: 289
Stamina Regen: 70.8 per second Mana Regen: 64 per second
Abilities
Oracle¡¯s Ghost (Rank 20), Grace of the Fey (Rank 20), Stand-your-Ground (Rank 20), Rime-frost Armor (Rank 20), Mirror Block (Rank 20), Royal Blade (Rank 20), Winter¡¯s Aura (Rank 20), Winter¡¯s Touch (Rank 20), Petrifying Gaze (Rank 20), Ice Flash (Rank 20), Frigid Blast (Rank 20), Blizzard Breath (Rank 20), Razor Edge (Rank 20), Agonizing Strike (Rank 20), Battle Insight (Rank 30), Obliterating Strike (Rank 1)
Blessings
N/A
Titles
Swordmaster III, Lady of Camelot, the Winter Lady, Immovable, Prodigy, Coldblooded, Aphrodite¡¯s Image, Swift Blade, Fire Resistant III, Survivor II
¡°You keep doing all the party rolls,¡± Regald said to Guinevere coming up beside her. ¡°I don¡¯t have any healing abilities,¡± Guinevere said. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Regald sighed. ¡°I mean you keep splitting between doing damage and tanking the monsters.¡± ¡°If you¡¯d been able to do so then you should have,¡± Guinevere snapped back. ¡°I¡¯m open to criticism but I had to carry you all through that last fight. How do you not have any movement-resistant abilities?¡± Regald flinched. ¡°You know abilities are random.¡± ¡°But you volunteered and were assigned as a tank,¡± Guinevere said her voice icy devoid of any sympathy or warmth. ¡°It is your duty to stand before the party and take hits. If you can get tossed around or knocked off your feet like anyone else then what good are you?¡± ¡°My apologies my lady,¡± Regald said. ¡°I will endeavor to fix the gaps in my skills as soon as I can.¡± ¡°See that you do,¡± Guinevere said cooly. ¡°In the meantime, do not criticize me after I save all of your lives and have to fill in for any shortcomings I find.¡± --- I looked around but there was nothing in sight except the phoenix¡¯s nest. The storm still swirled around me with no sign of letting up. That made me stop and think. Why was the storm still here? I¡¯d thought it was a manifestation of the pheonix, but the Lighting was natural as evident from my Storm Soul ability. If the Storm Pheonix hadn¡¯t made the Lighting what else was causing it? My nose itched as I approached the nest. I could feel something there I could sense magic thanks to Bestial Senses. I activated the ability and the smell intensified. I took off my left gauntlet and put a hand on the ice the pheonix had shaped into a nest. There was a thrumming and underneath the constant cacophony of thunder, I could hear a humming, like standing next to a powerline. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talons,¡± I said. Carving my way through the ice I ripped out chunks and tossed them aside. A cut and smashed a hole big enough for me to stand in. As I got closer to the center of the nest blue-silver light became visible shining through the ice. My vision with Bestial Senses burned and my nose itched like I just inhaled a cloud of spices. I smashed through the last layer of ice and my fist was electrocuted by an immense charge of Lighting.
65 maximum mana gained.
I looked at what had been hidden by the nest of ice. It was a ball of Lighting the size of my body. As I focused on it I got a notification.
Heart of the Storm: natural treasure, Rarity; Unique/Mythic
The ball of blue Lighting bolts twisted and writhed but seemed to grow more and more solid the closer to its center. I didn¡¯t know much. I didn¡¯t know anything about natural treasures, but I knew that I wanted them. I downed a healing potion and started chewing on some raw red fennel. I stepped forward and pushed my hand into the ball of Lighting.
65 maximum mana gained.
The skin along my arm was blackening and starting to flake off. I pushed deeper turning off all pain receptors with Wrathful Meditation. I was up to my shoulder before I got my hands on something semi-solid.
65 maximum mana gained.
When I took hold of it the bands of Lighting around it subsided and retracted until I was holding something between a crystal and a ball of plasma.
Congratulations! You claimed a unique natural treasure and completed a hidden objective. Objective; destroy the endless storm by removing the Heart of the Storm.
Reward; title, Storm Knight.
*Storm Knight: While this title is equipped you deal one stage more with Lighting damage and are immune to all Lighting damage.
Heart of the Storm: Type: Energy/Crystal, Rarity: Mythic, Hardness: Not applicable. The heart of an endless storm whose power, for now, is restrained and contained. Its uses in crafting are unknown.
Quantity: 1 Weight: Not applicable
Now, this was a proper title, I thoughts with a grin. ¡°System, equip the title Storm Knight,¡± I said.
You can now change your status to read as Mordred the Storm Knight, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 270
The wall of wind and Lighting surrounding the top of the mountain faded away in minutes leaving clear skies for miles and the rising sun appearing over the horizon. I placed the Heart of the Storm in my storage pouch. I wiped off the grit and blood with my cleansing cloth and instantly felt better as my pores were scoured of all grit and grime. The top of the mountain was still freezing but it was only a distant discomfort thanks to Magma Heart(s). I sat down and pulled some rations out of my storage pouch. The body of the Pheonix lay on the mountainside a few yards away from me. It seemed to have deflated like a balloon. Scarfing down the rest of my jerky I walked over to the pheonix. I couldn¡¯t find any bones just a pile of electric feathers that still crackled with Lighting, but I didn¡¯t feel anything as I touched them. ¡°That immunity to Lighting will be nice the next time I go into a storm,¡± I said to myself. I wasn¡¯t sure what to do with the Heart of the Storm based on its description it seemed like some sort of crafting material. Despite it being sort of a crystal I could tell it wasn¡¯t compatible with my Compress Earth so I couldn¡¯t shape it with that. Even if I could, I wasn¡¯t sure if I would have. This was a unique natural treasure and the last thing I wanted to do was ruin it by experimenting on it. I examined one of the feathers closely.
Storm Pheonix Feather: Type: Organic Material, Rarity: Epic. Hardness: 10. All that is left of the Storm Pheonix, and its uses in crafting are varied. Can be consumed when gaining abilities to shape future mutations.
Quality: 47 Weight: 3
I had about twenty-four of the feathers. Putting them all in my storage pouch I looked about with my bestial senses but I couldn¡¯t see anything else of interest on the mountaintop. I began the hike down the mountain. I came to the top of a cliff and looked down to see the top of a massive pine fifty feet down. I shrugged. ¡°Screw it.¡± Jumping off the top of the cliff I smashed through four pine boughs before I got ahold of the trunk. I began dropping down before finally teleporting the last few hundred feet to the ground below. I stopped. I wasn¡¯t actually sure where to go now. I could go back to the Wolf Clan but they had problems to deal with, I could try and deal with the Dragon Clan but I had no idea where they were. There was also the Bear Clan I had to meet at some point but again I had no idea where they were. At some point, I¡¯d also have to deal with the other Beast Lords. I wasn¡¯t ready to face the Hell Dragon and I wasn¡¯t sure what the other Beast Lords were. Maybe I should check in on my vassals? It was a plan at least and I started heading off in that direction. I had been moving for about three hours when I senses someone following me. I stopped and turned around readying myself for a fight. A fur-clad figure emerged from the trees. They carried a short spear and had a wolf-pelt cloak, his ears were covered in fur, and they had the yellow iris I¡¯d learned to associate with the Wolf Clan. ¡°Greetings Warlord,¡± the man said. ¡°I was sent by my chief to guide you if needed.¡± I paused at that, relaxing somewhat. ¡°I could use some directions. Where is the Bear and Dragon Clan?¡± ¡°The Dragon Clan resides in the great swamp south of here next to the Wasted Lands,¡± the scout said. ¡°The Bear Clan is on the other side of the river near the western mountains, they live in the cave systems there. When you get close, look for the mountain that resembles a roaring bear.¡± ¡°Which one is closer?¡± I asked. The scout paused and thought. ¡°The Dragon Clan is closer but if I could give you some advice?¡± ¡°I¡¯m always open to listening,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°I would visit the Bear Clan first, we have tried to ally with them against the Dragon Clan but they are reticent to join us. You might be able to persuade them. I also heard of your quest, one of the Beast Lords is near the Bear Clan and they will be able to give you better directions to it.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I said. ¡°I think I can find my own way now, thank your chief for me.¡± He nodded to me and faded back into the trees. I thought on the messenger¡¯s words. I didn¡¯t have any preferences and the Bear Clan did seem to have two objectives instead of just one. Deciding to go with the scout¡¯s advice I started running west. I sprinted through trees leaping ravines. I made it to the river by sundown and plopped down on its shores. I was low on stamina and mana and tired from fighting and draining my resources over and over. I took off my gauntlets. I had to do something about them if I wanted to use Chain Lighting. My gauntlets didn¡¯t interfere with Hell¡¯s Talons for some reason which was weird. But they did block my Chain Lighting. I¡¯d either have to go without them losing the bonus to my weapon damage or modify them to be able to use all my abilities. I looked at the rune pattern on the gauntlets. I could remove most of the fingers on the gauntlets turning them into fingerless gloves; I¡¯d lose the armor there of course but I¡¯d still have to bonus to my weapon damage. ¡°Compress Earth,¡± I said and began to mould the metal of my gauntlets. Peeling back and compressing the stone/metal mixture I left the leather of the gloves exposed. Taking a razor-sharp knife, I cut through them. I was left with some fingerless gauntlets. I slipped them on bucking their straps and securing them to my wrists. Raising my hand, I splayed my fingers out as I aimed out over the river. ¡°Chain Lighting!¡± I said. Blue bolts of electricity shot out of my fingers merging into a single thick bolt of Lighting. It didn¡¯t go very far only making it fifteen feet before dissipating harmlessly into the air. The hair on my arms stood up from the static charge. Despite its lackluster results at rank one, I couldn¡¯t help the shit-eating grin on my face. I didn¡¯t have the energy to upgrade it right now. I lay back on the sand of the beach, I rolled up my cape putting it under my head like a pillow. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. Chapter 44 This is Nuts Jamis and Felecia guided three bears into the clearing just outside their army¡¯s camp. There was a cliff with a large cave there. They¡¯d been using it to store supplies but now it would serve as the bear den. The smallest of the bears was as big as two plow horses her shoulder six feet off the ground. The sleuth of bears followed Jamis like dogs their eyes trained on him in wide-eyed adoration.
Dire Bear Sow, Gifted- beast/dire-bear, Mortal, Rank: 55
Dire Bear Sow, Gifted- beast/dire-bear, Mortal, Rank: 55
The two females were both dire bears. They were large and imposing but their abilities were all physical and most parties of mortal ranked gifted could easily handle one. The male bear Jamis had found was a different story.
Ghostfur Bear Boar, Gifted- beast/ghostfur-bear, Mortal, Rank 67
Its fur was pure white like a polar bear, but pale blue stripes ran along its spine and legs and its eyes were a pale blue. Its abilities made it much more dangerous it wasn¡¯t just a larger more powerful version of a bear. Its more magical abilities would let it carve up an unprepared group of adventures who came across it. ¡°How long will it take you to make the army?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°They¡¯ve already mated,¡± Felecia said. ¡°Their gestation thanks to my abilities will only be about three days, they¡¯ll be ready to mate again directly afterward, and the cubs will take about six days to reach adulthood.¡± ¡°Bears have around one to three cubs per litter,¡± Jamis said. ¡°But my ability Fertile Blessing always ensures the maximum possible number of infants are born at a time so we¡¯ll always be getting three cubs per litter,¡± Felecia said. ¡°So, we¡¯re looking at around fifty-four bears to use in a month?¡± Helen asked. ¡°Hopefully even more if I can find more gifted or even regular bears in the forest,¡± Jamis said. ¡°I know they¡¯re out there, but I don¡¯t have any abilities that would help me locate them.¡± ¡°A month is a long time,¡± Guinevere said frowning. ¡°I¡¯m still not sure why we haven¡¯t received a counterattack or raid by the Warlord. All accounts of the Warlord in the past would have them already attacking us at this point.¡± ¡°Perhaps this one is a coward,¡± Felrick said with a grin. ¡°The goddess of War and Conquest is many things,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But she has never picked a Champion who has shied away from combat and getting blood on their hands. I feel like the Warlord is preparing something and we just aren¡¯t aware of it yet.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just worried because we haven¡¯t been able to get any proper scouting reports on the Warlord¡¯s forces,¡± Helen said. ¡°Speaking of that there is something I¡¯ve been planning,¡± Guinevere said meeting Helen¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to talk to you about it, but I would need to do so in private.¡± ¡°I was about to go on a hunt with Felrick and Torvin,¡± Helen said. ¡°It can wait until tomorrow night,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Then I look forward to hearing it,¡± Helen said. ¡°Hopefully the Warlord will just stay put in his Fortress for now.¡± --- The light of the sun hit my face and its rays made me open my eyes squinting against the bright light. I sat up and cracked my neck. I ate a breakfast of some travel rations; it consisted of a biscuit so dry it would have given Pop-Eyes a run for its money and some jerky. I washed it down with river water, stretched, cracked my neck, and rolled my shoulders. Putting my cloak back on I started running. My feet hit the water of the river as I sped across it. I didn¡¯t get to use the water running feature of Heightened Speed very often, but I always appreciated the opportunity to bust it out. It took less than a minute to cross the river and soon my boots crunched down into sand and mud before I hit the forest trails again. I continued running west; the mountains were a long way off and even with my incredible speed it would still take me one to two days to get there if I didn¡¯t get into any fights and ran the whole time. As I moved, I scanned the area for plants. I saw some Red Yarrow and Cauter Fennel, I picked some, but I already had jars of the stuff. I kept moving as fast as I could leaping tree logs ten feet in diameter and teleporting across gorges ravines. My boots hit the ground twigs snapping underfoot as I pounded down forest trails. The trees grew taller and taller and moved away from the pines towards more birch, beech, and oaks. The boughs of the oaks spread over me, and my boots crunched on acorns the size of my fist. I sensed the creature before seeing it. I jerked to a stop my feet leaving furrows in the soft dirt as my momentum plowed through it. I was being watched by something different than the base forest creatures. I rolled to the side as a storm of objects impacted the ground around me. I caught one with my telekinesis and looked at the acorn with surprise. I looked up at the branches but couldn¡¯t see my attacker. I dodged again as a dozen more acorns shot in from behind me. ¡°What the hell is this thing?¡± I asked myself. I whirled around but was still unable to catch sight of the creature. Next time when the barrage of acorns impacted, I turned and teleported up into the trees landing on the bough of an oak. ¡°Bestial Senses,¡± I said activating my seldom-used ability. Sounds and smells hit me almost driving me to my knees with their intensity. I teleported ten feet up and acorns whizzed underneath me. I caught the scent of my attacker and began the chase. Thanks to my Duelist¡¯s Ring my feet were able to easily keep contact with the tree limb as I pursued my attacker. I teleported forward, ducked another volley of acorns, and came face-to-face with my attacker. A giant, fat, squirrel. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me,¡± I said with exasperation. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Shadow Squirrel, Gifted- beast/shadow-squirrel, Veteran, Rank: 250
The squirrel¡¯s cheeks bulged then like a machine gun it began launching fist-sized accords. I turned incorporeal and the acorns passed through me doing no damage. I swung my clubs at its head ready for a quick kill. Everything went black and my clubs swung through empty air. I froze looking about even my Foresight showing me only inky blackness. A trio of objects impacted me in the back, and I stumbled forward feeling my left foot hang over empty space. I jumped out spreading my arms wide as I fell through the air. I had to see a location to teleport, so my only option was to trust to luck. I kept falling only breaking out of the impenetrable darkness when I was twenty feet from the ground. I teleported to the ground but that only moved my momentum in a different direction, and I rolled across the ground before slamming my back into a tree. A barrage of acorns hit me again. I grabbed them with my telekinesis and threw them back. I let out a hundred spearheads and let them go like flechettes to shred the tree branches above. A black shadow scampered down the tree and another volley of acorns buzzed through the air before everything was plunged into darkness again. I closed my eyes abandoning all attempts to see my enemy; I breathed in fixing their location in my mind via scent. I charged the location my foot caught something, but I powered through only stumbling a little. I targeted the spot with my spearheads, and they homed in on the squirrel. A maddening chittering split the air. Its sound was like nails on a chalkboard and I became dizzy for a moment. I responded by releasing Helheim¡¯s Scream, the otherworldly sound shook the air. Forest creatures around me that had gone into hiding dropped dead as the Soul damage instantly killed their weaker bodies. I moved forward again and threw my clubs. I heard a snarl of pain and my mouth curled in a savage grin. In a second, I was next to the squirrel. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talons,¡± I said. I slashed out at the squirrel, but it dodged and rolled under both attacks. I continued a mad frenzy at the squirrel but unlike most of the creatures I¡¯d hunted who¡¯d been much larger than me and easy enough to hit this creature was roughly my size. Its smaller frame and agile maneuvers let it avoid my berserk attacks. Despite the power, it gave me I forced myself to calm somewhat reining in my ravenous rage. It was like holding onto the leash of a rabid dog, but I pulled back enough to give myself clearer thought. My attacks pulled in my swipes becoming tighter and more focused. The squirrel disappeared in front of me emerging directly behind me. I lashed out with a back kick my heel striking it in its snout. While I was surprised by the attack, I used the opportunity to turn and slash my talons across its throat. The shadow squirrel collapsed its boding twitching as its brain tried to keep giving it orders to move. Eventually, it stopped moving its blood pooling across the dirt and fallen leaves.
125 Rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 237 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I breathed out heavily leashing and harnessing my ever-present anger locking it back in its cage. It took about two minutes to get my emotions back to normal, but I eventually breathed out a collected breath. The darkness was gone, and I looked down at the squirrel the size of a large mastiff. I hadn¡¯t been in any real danger the entire fight; it didn¡¯t appear to have any attacks that could have harmed me in my Phantom Form, but it had been slippery, and its aura of darkness had been a counter to both my teleportation and Foresight. I bent and took out a skinning knife. I removed the shadow squirrel¡¯s skin.
Shadow Squirrel Hide: Rarity: Uncommon, Hardness: 8. Taken from the hide of Shadow Squirrel this hide possesses some of the abilities of its owner blending into darkness and shadow easier. Requires an item of hardness 8 or higher to damage it.
It was nothing special, but I shoved it in my storage pouch anyway; maybe someone else would have a use for it or I¡¯d find a way to use it later. I oriented myself to the west and took off running again. I kept running for about four more hours. Eventually, I stopped as the sun was going low. I could see in the dark, so I wasn¡¯t really bound to a day-night cycle, but the habit was still there, and I needed to rest. I used the spells I¡¯d learned from Syvia and Elgen the Enchanter. I didn¡¯t detect any more Gifted creatures in my vicinity, but I did detect several deposits of gems and veins of metal. I used compressed earth in various locations. I left round tunnels like some giant work as I collected a few pounds of various uncommon stones and piles of gems as well as a few hundred pounds of unprocessed ore. I compressed some bars over one of the entrances to the tunnels to keep out most creatures while I slept. I moved to the back and stretched out on the smooth stone. Using my cloak as a pillow I closed my eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep. ---- Arthur stood across from the enemy general. A circle had been formed around them by both sides as the two prepared for the duel. Their armies were of equal sizes, and they had met in the center of the field to discuss terms. Neither of course had been prepared to surrender but they also didn¡¯t want to risk the lives of hundreds of their men. Instead, they had decided to follow the old ways. The two leaders of the armies would fight each other in the place of their armies and the winner would take all. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you agreed to a duel with me,¡± Arthur said. ¡°The lives of my men are important to me,¡± Barron Balazar said. ¡°Besides victory is not assured for you.¡± Arthur grinned; he wore no helmet so his opponent could easily see his cocky smile. ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong, I am the Duelist. Any one-on-one fight with me has already been decided,¡± Arthur said confidently. He sprung forward and Barron Balazar barely raised his shield in time. The metal of the shield screamed as Excalibur bit down through it sheering off half the shield in one strike. Balazar rolled under Arthur¡¯s follow-up attack his mace swinging for Arthur¡¯s knee as he went past. Arthur neatly side-stepped years of drilling in his footwork making his movements perfect with no effort wasted or extra movement or energy expended. Balazar tossed aside his ruined shield. He ducked the next attack from Excalibur. ¡°Unbreakable,¡± Balazar said activating his next ability. Arthurs brought his sword down in a heavy overhand strike. Balazar deflected the sword with the haft of his mace as he stepped through Arthur¡¯s guard and headbutted him. The enchanted steel of the Barron¡¯s helmet impacted Arthur¡¯s face and a snap could be heard as he broke his nose. Arthur staggered back guarding his face and Balazar pressed the attack a rapid series of strikes hitting Arthur in his breastplate. Balazar used every ability he had but despite what he threw out he couldn¡¯t break through or pierce Arthur¡¯s armor. Arthur retaliates his attack whistling through the air, Balazar barely blocked this time, and the force was so great he was sent off his feet. ¡°My breastplate is a rank V artifact,¡± Arthur snarled his normally clear and regal voice distorted by his broken nose. ¡°You really thought your enchanted weapon can break through it?¡± Arthur jumped forward bringing Excalibur down. It met the haft of the mace again and the two strained until Balazar kicked out at Arthur¡¯s knee knocking his leg out from under him. Arthur went down to one knee and Balazar rolled out from under him. Arthur shot back to his feet and lashed out with a kick of his own sending Balazar staggering. Swing Excalibur one-handed he struck Balazar¡¯s mace, the effect on the mace had worn off and Excalibur cut through its shaft removing the head of the mace. Balazar was left on one knee holding up a useless stick now. ¡°Enough,¡± Arthur said a wave of healing energy coursing through him as he activated Restoring Spirit his broken nose resetting and his voice clearing. ¡°You are beaten, surrender and you will be taken prisoner to wait out this war.¡± Balazar tossed aside the handle of his broken weapon. He raised his chin meeting Arthur¡¯s eyes. ¡°I won¡¯t surrender to you Prince. I am beaten but I will not dishonor my king by giving you a bloodless victory.¡± ¡°Your death will be meaningless,¡± Arthur said meeting Balazar¡¯s eyes hesitantly. Balazar spat out at Arthur¡¯s feet. ¡°This war was started by you, if you don¡¯t have the stomach to do what you¡¯ll have to take our land then turn around and go home now. You are not welcome here Princeling, you may have wone here, but you will find no friends of Camelot in Dracon.¡± Arthur nodded, raised Excalibur, and swung down. Chapter 45: Floral Problems Jeriah surveyed the battle as ants ranging from the size of mastiffs to ponies climbed the walls. He only interfered where needed. The ants were all in Mortal rank and he¡¯d get only a smattering of rank points from them. Better to let their soldiers kill them, most of their men had been ungifted criminals and outcasts before but after nearly two weeks of constant monster attacks thanks to the presence of the nearby champions all surviving men under his command had at least a few abilities. Combined with the attribute-boosting power of the Warlord¡¯s Dominion they each fought like those at the beginning of Veteran rank. A monstrous ant the size of four warhorses burst from the ground.
Ember-Ant Queen, Gifted- beast/ember-ant, Mortal, Rank: 136
The ants swelled in number around their queen pouring out of the tunnel she had emerged from. An archer raced along the top of the wall. Jeriah didn¡¯t remember his name, but he was one of the men the warlord had arrived with. He¡¯d since become a powerful warrior his arrows finding their mark every time and ripping through anything they hit. The ant queen reached to the top of the wall, but she was met by a wall of spears. Her mandibles tried to cut through the shafts of the weapons, but they rebounded off the metallic coating the warlord had put over them. They stabbed forward and the ant queen was riddled with holes and collapsed off the top of the wall falling to her death below. Joining the mountain of corpses below. The rest of the remaining ants soon followed. Tobias nodded pleased with the outcome. Three men had died but other than that every other soldier had come out stronger from the fight. ¡°Drag the bodies inside and see how we can store the meat,¡± Tobias ordered. ¡°Can you eat ant?¡± one man asked dubiously. ¡°We¡¯ll find out, if not we¡¯ll be eating snake again,¡± Jeriah said. There was a collective groan at that. The presence of the champions had ironically made the siege easier for them. They hadn¡¯t been prepared for a siege and only had enough food to last for a few days but thanks to the constant monster attacks there was always a fresh source of meat. Their latest kill had been an elephant-sized rattlesnake, it had been a tough fight forcing Jeriah and his brothers to get involved but they¡¯d won the day. The snake was edible, but no one particularly liked the taste of it. ¡°We ready for the dungeon tomorrow?¡± Madrid asked Jeriah. ¡°Yes,¡± Jeriah said lowering his voice to a whisper. ¡°It¡¯s Tobias¡¯ turn on guard so he will be here with Rejiah to keep guard in case the Lunarens attack.¡± This was their greatest secret. The existence of the dungeon was something they hadn¡¯t revealed to anyone outside their family. They had especially not revealed to their men the tunnel their sister Aralith had created with an ability that led only a few feet away from its entrance. They¡¯d been able to do the dungeon twice since Mordred had told them about it and had already gotten several magic items each. They hadn¡¯t received anything on the level of an artifact but every piece of magical gear they collected was a marked increase in their individual power. With the dungeon being Veteran ranked it also allowed them to farm for some rank points that the mortal-ranked creatures that attacked them couldn¡¯t provide. Tobias had even gotten a new ability. The death ability let him inflict a wicked curse with his weapon attacks that increased all damage that the target took. He¡¯d raised the ability to max rank and now any creature afflicted by the curse would take an extra three stages of damage from all attacks. ¡°When the Lunarens attack us again they¡¯ll be in for a big surprise,¡± Madrid said with a vicious smile. ¡°It¡¯s time to remind them who the lords of this forest are and that their kind isn¡¯t welcome here.¡± --- Down in my tunnel, I didn¡¯t feel the rays of the sun. I woke and stretched. Clasping my cloak around my shoulders again I removed the bars from the entrance to the tunnel and stepped out into the forest again. The sun had risen fully over the horizon, and I estimated the time to be around seven or eight in the morning. I turned to the west and started my run again. I continued to scan the ground around me for materials. I stopped every thirty minutes to cast my spell to locate nearby Gifted but I¡¯d yet to locate any which I found surprising and annoying. I saw a few patches of Red Yarrow and Cauter Fennel, but I didn¡¯t even bother to pick them because I had so much. Leaves and twigs crunching and snapping underfoot I sped through the forest. I kept moving at my breakneck pace, I was still amazed at just how fast I could move, and thanks to my huge mana pool and the ability to use mana instead of stamina with Heightened Speed I could keep it up for a hours without stopping. My speed was incredible, but the novelty was starting to wear off with every mile that passed. The mountains loomed large ahead, but they were still a day out despite how close they seemed. I finally spotted something interesting as I scanned the ground around me. It was around three in the afternoon the sun having crossed the zenith of the sky. A flowering plant with yellow metallic petals.
Aurum Garlic: Type; Medicinal, Rarity: Rare. A type of garlic that is powerful enough to give greatly increases the resistance of those who consume it preventing them from suffering most negative conditions for a short period of time. Highly rare only growing in areas with massive amounts of mana.
Digging down I pulled out large bulbs from the ground. Shaking off the dirt I placed around fifteen clumps of garlic in my storage pouch. I scanned the area around and found a few more clumps of garlic and collected it as well. As I moved along the ground searching for more of the garlic I stepped out from under the trees into a massive meadow. The forest ended and I had a clear view of the mountains in the distance. The towering oaks and trees rose behind me, but they cut off giving way to a flowering prairie. The grass was filled with wildflowers for miles and miles to the mountain foothills. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. This is a pretty place, Karnen said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have pictured you as someone to like nature,¡± I said. Why not? I was a ranger before my death, Karnen replied seeming somewhat offended. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that about you,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°The only thing you¡¯ve ever told me about is your quest for vengeance against your ex-fianc¨¦.¡± I will have my vengeance on her, Karnen swore. ¡°There you go,¡± I said. ¡°You realize she¡¯s dead by now, right?¡± Oh, trust me, the bitch is still alive. She found a way to extend the lifespan of living creatures with sorcery before we parted. It¡¯s actually one of the reasons she betrayed me, Karnen said. ¡°Interesting,¡± I said. ¡°Well if I come across some centuries-old witch I¡¯ll be sure to give her a good thrashing for you.¡± Continuing my search along the ground I wandered out into the massive field of wildflowers. I was about a hundred feet out into the field when I came across a new magical herb. It was a low-growing bush with luminescent purple flowers and inch-long thorns.
Mystic Rose: Type; Medicinal, Rarity: Very Rare. When consumed greatly increases mana regeneration rate for a period of time. Highly rare only growing in areas with massive amounts of mana.
I carefully snipped the rose blossoms off the bush but leaving the plant intact. I managed to collect about three jars full of the petals storing them away before moving on. I continued scanning the field. It was full of Red Yarrow, Cauter Fennel, Ghost-blossom, Emerald Jewelweed, and even Scourge Rose. This continued for several miles as I progressed toward the western mountains. It wouldn¡¯t be until I was in the center of the meadows that I¡¯d realize just how screwed I was. -- The blast of pollen hit me in the face disorienting me again. Every possible future I saw was distorted like a fever dream. Every direction was filled with danger and unavoidable attacks. I blocked the thorny whip with my club. Black lines traced under my skin even as my blood tried to burn the poison out. I staggered onwards. I¡¯d tried teleporting but I¡¯d gotten so dizzy after reappearing that I hadn¡¯t tried repeating that again. A sound went off to my right and I rolled forward the snapping jaws of a giant venus-flytrap closing on where I had been. At first, I¡¯d tried killing all the creatures I¡¯d fought. The problem was they died easily but there was no end to them. I wasn¡¯t even getting progress for Blood and Souls. I could detect some Gifted out there and suspected the plants were some type of summon or ability and didn¡¯t count as real creatures. The only thing keeping me alive was my Bestial Senses, I¡¯d grown dependent on Foresight and rarely paid much attention to my surroundings; until now. ¡°What are you sensing, Voidra?¡± I asked. Thanks to almost all my most powerful abilities being countered I¡¯d been forced to get creative. There is something hungry lurking ten feet in front of you, Voidra said. Her ability to sustain herself on emotions also proved to be a method of detecting creatures in stealth. Attack coming in from behind, Karnen said. I jumped forward losing my balance and falling face-first into the wildflowers taking another breath of the thick pollen hanging in the air. Behind me, a thorn whip as thick as my thigh slammed down where I¡¯d been standing. Since the spirits could see everything, I could see that also meant they had access to my Foresight. Karnen had the job of watching the ¡°screens¡± and deciphering the everchanging interpretations into something useful. The problem was the pollen. I couldn¡¯t avoid the clouds of stuff that were shot out from the field around me, and it disoriented me. I felt sluggish and dizzy and my thoughts were all garbled. I couldn¡¯t run at my full speed or teleport, so I was forced into a slow march as I scanned for the constant threats and ambushes all around me. I¡¯d never been a soldier, but I was pretty sure I was going to have some serious PTSD after this. Pushing myself back to my feet I staggered on. My eyes darted side to side; every sound, smell, and sight was magnified tenfold by my Bestial Senses as I searched for the plant monsters. I looked at the distant horizon that marked the end of my floral nightmare. Bestial Senses, Troll Hide, Black Rage, and Magma Heart(s) were the abilities that kept me moving. Troll Hide ensured I regenerated from the constant wounds I suffered and reduced the duration of the debuffs I kept acquiring. Black Rage boosted my might with every one of the plant minions I took down letting me push past the sluggishness caused by the pollen. Magma Heart(s) let me regain stamina and mana with each of my kills; a necessity since I¡¯d stopped regenerating anything thanks to one of the debuffs I was under. Something wrapped around my leg. I ripped up and dragged the root monster into the sunlight and ripped it apart with my bare hands. A boost of mana and stamina hit me, and an instance of Black Rage was refreshed, and I kept moving forward. Everything was a red haze due to my cloak, but the damage boosts it gave with each stack let me kill every monster with one hit. Duck! Karnen shouted. I dropped down and two thorns the length of an arrow whizzed overhead. Another one hit me in the back just under my pauldrons. Snarling I ripped the arrow out and moved forward. I wanted to stop and rest so badly but I knew if I ever stopped moving, I¡¯d never get up again. I resigned myself to the misery before me and continued my endless march. --- Ammerila lowered herself by the rope from the ceiling. Her feet made no sound on the marble floor of the royal bedroom. The Assassin crept forward her form melded into the darkness as the aura of silence surrounded her. This was where she thrived, not in the chaos of a battlefield but in a hunt against the deadliest of prey. She had been in the city for two weeks waiting for the return of the champion. She¡¯d taken the place of several servants using her ability to take on the appearance of those she¡¯d killed. The ability even let her copy the description of her victim so even when gifted analyzed her she would appear as just a common servant. The man rested naked in the bed two women he¡¯d taken into his harem curled up on either side. Ammerila smiled the expression hidden by her mask. She drifted up on the bed her ability Feather Step made it, so her feet didn¡¯t so much as compress the feathered bed as she crept across. Raising her artifact dagger, she poised and then struck. Her mask let her say the activations for half a dozen of her abilities without being heard. The champion didn¡¯t stand a chance. Each one of her abilities added Extreme damage to her attack. Her attack took him under the chin and up into his brain.
68 rank points gained.
Ability gained, Death Marked: You place an invisible mark on a target within 60ft of you increasing all damage you deal to that target by one damage stage. The mark lasts for 1 hour or until moved to another target.
Cost: 45 mana per application.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range it can be applied, the damage increase, and its duration. Each rank-up increases your Perception attribute by one.
Ammerila remembered her time before being a champion and her first job as an assassin. She¡¯d been a clueless thug then; she¡¯d slit his throat then. A beginner¡¯s mistake, such an attack wasn¡¯t instantly fatal, the man had shot her in the gut twice before going down. His blood has also sprayed everywhere leaving her stained in his blood and nearly getting her caught by the authorities. Looking down at her target Ammerila smiled. There was no blood here, the only thing that marked where she had stabbed him was a dark bruise under his chin where the blood pooled under the skin. The two women sleeping by their dead lover didn¡¯t stir as she padded off the bed. Ammerila enjoyed her work, there was nothing like the end of a patient hunt when you were rewarded with the payoff for all your hard work. Ammerila disabled the wards on the window of the room. It was easy to do from the inside. Swinging the window open she scaled down the outside and disappeared into the city. Chapter 46: Trees Hate You ¡°You want to try and assassinate the Warlord?¡± Helen asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­. dishonorable.¡± Guinevere gave Helen a flat look. ¡°Life isn¡¯t a story, Helen. We are in a war, the devastation the Warlord could inflict if allowed to grow in power is unthinkable. Put aside any thoughts of honor or a fair fight because he won¡¯t give it to you. If we can cut off the head of the snake, we could save thousands of lives today.¡± ¡°But the risk to yourself¡­.¡± Helen objected. ¡°I¡¯m not asking you Helen,¡± Guinevere said firmly but gently. ¡°You have no authority over me or my soldiers; this is a joint venture. You may be a champion, but I don¡¯t answer to any of the Champions or your gods.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a little blasphemous,¡± Helen said looking at Guinevere sternly. ¡°We each have the freedom to serve the gods we choose,¡± Guinevere said with a shrug. ¡°I choose to serve none of them.¡± ¡°Is this because you weren¡¯t made a Champion?¡± Helen asked. Guinevere sat down and looked Helen in the eye. ¡°I was offered the chance to be a Champion.¡± Helen sat down in shock. ¡°What?¡± she asked her eyes wide with shock unable to comprehend what she was hearing. ¡°But you aren¡¯t a champion, I can see your title now and it isn¡¯t showing up.¡± ¡°I rejected their offer,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°It was one of the Chaos gods!¡± Helen asked in shock her mind jumping to the most logical conclusion. ¡°You don¡¯t get it, Helen,¡± Guinevere said with a sigh. ¡°I was approached by Zima, Goddess of Winter and Snow.¡± ¡°But she¡¯s a goddess of Law,¡± Helen said. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you accept that?¡± ¡°Because your kind is a threat,¡± Guinevere said her voice soft but resolved. ¡°Look at what happens to this camp every single day. Monster attacks, the only reason our soldiers aren¡¯t dead or exhausted is because my party is a higher rank and have been doing most of the fighting. Think what would happen if you were all in a city and the system spawned a wave of monsters in the sewers.¡± ¡°We¡¯d handle it,¡± Helen argued. ¡°And how many regular people would die before you killed them?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°So, you¡¯re saying all champions are just as bad as the chaos spawn?¡± Helen asked accusatory getting in Guinevere¡¯s face. ¡°Yes,¡± Guinevere said not flinching. ¡°You may have different means but history shows the outcomes are always the same. At least this chaos spawn chose to go into the wilderness instead of living in a city.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to change your mind on this am I?¡± Helen asked. ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯ve given this a lot of thought.¡± ¡°Who else have you told about this?¡± Helen asked. ¡°You¡¯re the only one,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Then I¡¯ll keep it to myself. Your father would kill you if he found out you know,¡± Helen said. ¡°You being a champion would have been a massive advantage to your family¡¯s station.¡± ¡°It would probably have led to a civil war,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°It¡¯s part of the reason I turned Zima down.¡± ¡°At least wait to attack the Warlord,¡± Helen said getting the conversation back to the original subject. ¡°Why?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°It¡¯s a full moon,¡± Helen said. ¡°Your ability isn¡¯t true invisibility and you could be spotted with how much light there is. Wait a few days for better cloud cover or for the moon to wane.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Guinevere agreed. ¡°I can wait a few days. It doesn¡¯t seem like the Warlord is ever going to go anywhere.¡± --- A thorny root as thick as my arm wrapped around both my legs and dragged me backward. The ground gave way beneath me and I swore knowing what was about to happen. All around me were tiny holes in the pit trap and bees swarmed out of them. They had to be magical bees since their stingers were able to pierce my skin despite its adamantine durability. I unleashed Helheim¡¯s Scream the sound reverberating through the earth around me. Every single bee within dropped dead but the mana use was extensive. Without the ability to regenerate even my massive mana reservoir was running low although killing all the bees had restored a massive amount thanks to Magma Heart(s). I jumped grabbed the edge of the hole and pulled myself out. I dodge to the side narrowly avoiding being knocked back into the pit. Catching the root that had struck me with my left hand I just squeezed. The stacks of Blood Frenzy I had active and my incredible strength from Black Rage made the root shatter into mulch. I kept moving ducking and dodging. My eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep and constant adrenaline and combat. Attack from your right, Karnen said. I braced and the root hit me but didn¡¯t move me. I mulched it and kept moving. Ambush ten feet ahead at four-o-clock, Voidra said. It had taken her a while to understand the hands of a clock and how that correlated with positioning. I sometimes forgot that she had never had a physical body. I sprung forward to the point she had indicated. Three figures that vaguely resembled humanoids stood up. Their bodies were made of twisting vines with grass and flowers sprouting from them like a ghillie suit. I just punched them once in the chest each and they were all pulverized into plant fibers. Root knee height behind you, Karnen said his words short and clipped. I jumped straight up the root passing below me. I pounced on it like a hawk, stomping down I turned the wood and greenery to mulch. I pressed on. I suffered attack after attack, some I couldn¡¯t avoid or moved too slow to counter. Troll Hide slowly regenerated them. I had to kill as many of the creatures as I could, or I¡¯d pass out from lack of stamina. I balanced on the edge of a knife, using Troll Hide used up my stamina, so I had to kill to regain more stamina but doing so caused injuries to myself that I had to regenerate again requiring more stamina. The feeling of hunger is originating from a point a few more hundred yards ahead, Voidra said. After sixteen hours of fighting, we¡¯d determined we¡¯d have to kill the creature creating all the plant monsters. Voidra was able to sense it and we¡¯d been following her guidance for the past three hours slowly closing the distance on it. Bee nest fifteen paces to the right, Karnen said. He¡¯d gotten a lot better at giving warnings and deciphering my distorted Foresight. I moved towards the nest and released Helheim¡¯s Scream just as they emerged from their holes in the ground. The flood of stamina and mana nearly brought me back to full and I pushed forward with a second wind. I could see a group of six willow trees around a pond. They were the only trees I¡¯d seen since entering the prairie making them my obvious target destination. I moved towards the grove of willows and dodged and rolled. My approach increased the frenzy of thorn whips as they slashed and tore at my skin. Whatever the creature was it was becoming increasingly desperate to kill me before I got to it. I grabbed one of the whips midair and squeezed. It exploded into mulch. Staggering forward I reached the grove of willows and looked around. I took in a deep breath, my nostrils flaring as I took in all the scents. My head jerked to the side as a thirty-inch-long thorn buzzed past my ear. I hadn¡¯t detected it with Foresight but my constant on edge had developed an instinctual reaction to threats. My head turned like an owl as I honed in on the spot where the thorn had come from. Three-o-clock, up in the willow branches, Karnen said. I whirled on the spot he said and spotted a tall figure with bark-like skin holding a bow in hand. Pouncing on the tree I raised both hands and brought them down on the trunk of the tree. The bark and wood exploded the tree toppling and sending the figure falling to the ground. I stepped forward the nausea didn¡¯t bother me that much anymore since I¡¯d long since thrown anything up in my stomach. I stomped down but the archer rolled to the side dodging my attack. It was screaming in pain even though I hadn¡¯t even hit it yet. Focusing in on it I read its description.
Wind-through-Leaves, Gifted- elemental/willow-dryad, Veteran, Rank: 215 Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
I guess attacking the tree had been an attack on it. A whizzing in the air alerted me to another attack and I snatched a thorn arrow out of the air. They¡¯re all around us, Karnen said sounding a bit panicked. I can¡¯t predict any more attacks. They appear to be everywhere at once. ¡°Then it¡¯s a target-rich environment,¡± I snarled. A let loose my spearheads and they began to spin around me. It was a drain on my mana that I couldn¡¯t regain but it was time to go nova on these bastards. There is something hungry in the pond, Voidra added. I looked at the water but couldn¡¯t see anything, so I turned back to scanning the waist-high grass around me and the boughs of the willow trees. A wooden sword lunged at me as another dryad appeared emerging from the trunk of an adjacent willow.
Reaches-to-the-Sun, Gifted- elemental/willow-dryad, Veteran, Rank 234
I knocked aside the sword with my club and slashed down with the other club in my right hand. A thorn arrow bounced off my lower back although it did manage to pierce two inches into my skin, but it didn¡¯t find enough purchase to stick in me. ¡°If you guys like your trees so much, lets, see what you do when I do this!¡± I growled. Shouldering past the sword-wielding dryad I kicked out at the trunk of the willow. My Might attribute was pretty much at the maximum that Black Rage could raise it too, so my kick blasted right through the green wood of the willow. I heard another scream and let out a vicious grin at the payback I was going to dish out. Left! Karnen shouted. I sidestepped the thrust of a spear its head glowing green with the power of some ability. I grabbed the spear shaft and yanked forward clotheslining the dryad with my left forearm. I stomped down crushing the dryad before even bothering to analyze them.
105 rank points gained.
Three arrows hit me in the back. Two went deeper this time and stuck in fast. I roared in pain my human voice morphing into something else as I activated Helheim¡¯s Scream. I turned and threw my left club the dryad dropped its bow a wooden shield springing into place. My club smashed through it tossing the dryad back a dozen yards. The sword-wielding dryad staggered towards me, the loss of its tree clearly affected it but it was still in the fight. I threw my other club at it everything red as my battle rage began to overwhelm me as Black Rage and Blood Frenzy worked together whipping up my emotions into an uncontrollable storm. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talons!¡± I snarled my voice distorted by my rage. Slashing out I cut through the base of another willow purple flames spreading to every surface of the willow. A dryad screamed purple flames appearing all over its body its link to the tree spreading the curse damage to it. I charged it practically running on all fours. Two more arrows hit me, but one bounced off my pauldron the other skidding off my armored skin. Remembering to use my Stoneskin ring I spent the forty mana raising my skin¡¯s toughness by six and halving the physical damage I would take. Flowers burst into bloom under me spraying out a cloud of pollen. I¡¯d been breathing in the stuff for so long that I didn¡¯t even pay it any more attention. Like a lion taking out a gazelle, I pounced and tore into the dryad with my talons. I was so lost in my battle rage I might have even tore into it a few times with my teeth.
124 rank points gained.
All around me, my stone spearheads spun together like a weed-wacker moving the grass and plants to the ground. Big attack coming in from behind, Karnen warned. I jumped straight up backflipping as a lance of wood slammed into the ground where I had been standing. A dryad sat atop a horse made of bits of wood and vines. It looked like it wore plate armor made of bark and carried a massive shield.
Protector-of-the-Grove, Gifted- elemental/willow-dryad, Veteran, Rank 250
¡°Chain Lightning!¡± I snarled. I hadn¡¯t had time to upgrade the ability due to the constant attacks, but it still did lightning damage and the dryad knight staggered as the lightning hit him then bounced to its mount, and then a nearby willow tree scorching its bark. An arrow slammed into my stomach, but I just ripped it out and charged the knight. The effect of Hell¡¯s Talon¡¯s ended but I was so lost in my frenzy I didn¡¯t even reactivate it. Tackling the knight off its steed we rolled across the ground. I beat in its face until it stopped moving but it must have just been knocked unconscious because I didn¡¯t receive any rank points. A wooden sword slashed across my back. Snarling in wild fury I grabbed the ankles of the dryad knight and swung them around like a flail scoring a home run on the sword-wielding dryad they went flying and another dryad rushed me wielding two wooden daggers. Spinning around I swung the dryad knight up and brought them down. For an instant the willow-dryad looked surprised then it was pancaked by its comrade and they both turned to piles of plant matter and green blood.
235 rank points gained.
A massive spear tore through my back and emerged out my front. I looked down at the bloody spearpoint as the dryad used it to lift me up into the air. You¡¯re going to die! Voidra shouted at me, her voice barely understandable to me through my rage. Pull yourself together! It was a struggle, but I grabbed hold of the storm of anger and pushed it down. Able to somewhat think again I wrapped my legs around the spear shaft and twisted cracking it between my legs. Falling to the ground I reached into my storage pouch and pulled something out I hadn¡¯t used in a while. The massive sawblade spun through the air. A dryad tried to intercept it as I hurled it through the air but all it served to do was cut itself in half.
104 rank points gained.
The sawblade ripped through three of the willow trees leaving only four of them left. I jumped forward my flying kick shattering the trunk of another tree. My sawblade cut through a fourth tree, and I jumped between the remaining three my feet and fists smashing through and toppling the remaining willows. The thing in the water is coming out! Voidra warned. Attack from behind, Karnen said at the same time. I rolled to the side as a wooden axe slammed down narrowly missing and eviscerating me. I watched as a pillar of water rose up spinning. It morphed into a feminine form wielding a long slender sword and shield.
Mother-of-the-Grove, Gifted- elemental/naiad, Veteran: 278
Jumping to my feet I raised my hands. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talons!¡± I growled. Punching forward I put a hole through the axe-wielding dryad.
108 rank points gained.
A barrage of water droplets struck me. It was like receiving a million paper cuts each water droplet cutting through my skin and blood turning my skin crimson. The three remaining dryads flanked the naiad ready to give their lives to protect her. I was more than willing to oblige them, and my sawblade spun toward them. A blast of water knocked the sawblade off course. The dryads released arrows. I saw the attacks coming in and raised my hand stopping them in midair. I reached into my storage pouch and pulled out a handful of herbs. Quickly chewing I swallowed the Aurum Garlic, Purity Lilly petals, and Viper Bane. Field Alchemist III activated reducing the negative effects of eating the raw alchemical ingredients and boosting the positive effects. I instantly felt both better and worse; my stamina and mana began to regenerate, and the lethargy and sluggishness vanished. I felt like I was burning up from a fever, but I pushed past that easily. I teleported forward my talons lashing out. The dryads were so surprised they didn¡¯t even have time to put up any defense before my claws ripped through their bark skin and purple flames spread from the wounds. Collapsing to the ground the three remaining dryads went down.
326 rank points gained.
I slashed out at the naiad but she raised her shield of water and my claws slid off it leaving no marks or sign they¡¯d inflicted any damage on her. ¡°Why do you attack us human!¡± the naiad said her voice feminine but also alien. ¡°You started this fight bitch,¡± I shot back. ¡°You trespassed on our lands and stole from our garden!¡± the naiad hissed. ¡°What gives you the right to come and take as you please?¡± Teleporting behind her I struck lightning fast. I reached inside her my claws spreading purple flames over the water as my fist wrapped around something solid and yanked it out from her form. She staggered going to her knees her form floating atop the pond. ¡°I¡¯m the Warlord, anything I have the strength to do, I have the right to do,¡± I said coldly. ¡°If you get in my way, I¡¯ll put you down.¡± She collapsed into water droplets.
139 rank points gained.
I sat back exhausted not just from this fight but also from the past twenty-eight hours of non-stop combat. ¡°You know what the worst thing about all this is?¡± I asked. What? Voidra asked. ¡°I went through all that and didn¡¯t even get an ability,¡± I sighed falling back and passing out. --- An arrow hit the wagon. On impact, its tip exploded sending a burning liquid splattering in all directions and lighting the supplies aboard on fire. All around were similar instances of destruction and chaos. Arthur stumbled out of his tent only his breastplate on and Excalibur in hand. A lightly armored man rode past, he wore only light armor and shot an arrow as his horse galloped by. The arrow hit another tent and exploded on contact a plume of fire shooting up. Arthur cut down the next rider but they were everywhere. He saw two of his own men fighting the confusion of the raid making it hard to tell friend from foe. ¡°To me men!¡± Arthur called rallying those within earshot. His men gathered round and they began to beat back the raiders. A horn blasted and the raiders turned and rode off. A few fell to arrows but they fled into the forest and out of bow range minutes later. Arthur looked around at the destruction, fires were everywhere, tent burned and bodies littered the ground. ¡°Put out those fires and gather the wounded!¡± Arthur shouted taking charge. They rushed around beating out the fires they could shoveling dirt onto the flames. It took two hours to put out the last of the fires. The attack had been devastating only a hundred men out of the few thousand had died and they¡¯d taken out twice that many in return, but the enemy had done what they¡¯d set out to do. Their supplies had been torched, the stores of grain, dried nuts, fruit and meat mostly ash. They had maybe enough food for one day. Arthur sent word back, but his scouts returned. Those that had made it back were wounded and reported the news, their supply lines had been cut. The towns and villages they¡¯d taken had been burned to the ground the men guarding them slain. ¡°They burned their own towns and villages to the ground?¡± Arthur asked in disgust. One of the scouts set down a piece of parchment on the command table. ¡°This was pinned to a post outside of one of the towns.¡± This is the fate of all traitors. ¡°So, any town that surrenders to us will be burned to the ground,¡± Arthur growled. ¡°What lord leads the raiders?¡± The scouts looked at eachother uncomfortably. ¡°Well?¡± Arthur asked again. ¡°There leader is a man named Pierce,¡± one of the scouts said. Arthur paused. ¡°Just Pierce, what is his title?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t have a title sir, from what we¡¯ve heard he isn¡¯t even gifted,¡± another scout spoke up. ¡°You¡¯re telling me all this was done by just an ordinary man?¡± Arthur asked in astonishment and anger. ¡°Yes sir,¡± the scout said hanging his head. ¡°I want four of best gifted scouts to stealth through the forest, track down, and kill this Pierce,¡± Arthur commanded. ¡°Those not blessed by the gods should not meddle in matters beyond their station.¡± Chapter 47: Ursine Clan Jamis stroked the head of the bear as she groaned in labor. Felecia helped to guide the cub out, she had been a midwife before becoming a champion and helped the mewling bear cub out into the world. Setting down the bear cub that was no larger than a kitten and completely hairless against its mother¡¯s belly. The bear cub immediately began to suckle hair visibly appearing on its body as it began to grow in size. Felecia eased out another bear cub and then the third one. Jamis kept the bears docile as she worked. They left Felecia washing her hands of blood and birthing fluids. ¡°Well, that¡¯s six,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m ready to go look for some more bears,¡± Jamis said. ¡°You¡¯ll have to go without me,¡± Felecia said. ¡°I need to be nearby for my abilities to take effect. It¡¯s a constant mana and stamina drain not a onetime cost.¡± ¡°You need anything from me?¡± Jamis asked. ¡°If you could find some plants to help with stamina and mana recovery,¡± Felecia said. ¡°If I see any I¡¯ll grab them for you,¡± Jamis said. ¡°Have you noticed anything weird between Helen and Guinevere?¡± Felecia asked. ¡°They do seem to be walking on eggshells around each other,¡± Jamis agreed. ¡°They had some sort of talk last night and have been on edge since.¡± ¡°Any idea what it was about?¡± Felecia asked. ¡°No and Helen won¡¯t tell me either,¡± Jamis said. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know if I hear anything else.¡± --- I sat up. My body didn¡¯t ache thanks to Magma Heart(s) and Troll Hide. I stood and hiked the final miles out of the prairie. My Foresight was working correctly but I kept turning on Bestial Senses and looking about scanning for any ambush predators around. Breaking out of the meadows I looked up at the mountains and spotted one that resembled a roaring bear. I started moving towards it. I entered a series of ravines that ran through the foothills. I sat down on a rock. I had things I had to that thanks to the constant ambushes by the plant monsters I¡¯d been prevented from doing. ¡°Upgrade Chain Lighting to rank twenty,¡± I told the system. I skipped past the first three notifications.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank five, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Killing a creature lets you chain longer.
¡¤ Targets metal armor take increased damage.
¡¤ Lighting is silent.
Looking over the three options I picked the first one. I rarely fought anything that wore armor at all so that ability was too situational. The third effect was for someone with a different fighting style than me; I wasn¡¯t stealthy by any metric so reducing the noise my abilities I made was a useless cosmetic effect for me.
Chain Lighting: (Rank 5); You cast a bolt of Lighting at a target within 27ft that jumps to 6 other targets within 27ft of the first target. Deals a major amount of Lighting damage to the target, stunning them if they fail an Endurance check based on the damage the target receives.
Targets killed outright by this ability do not count against the maximum number of targets.
Cost: 20 mana per cast.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range and number of maximum targets. Each upgrade increases your Mind attribute by 1.
The damage for the ability had gone up, from Moderate to Major Lighting damage. If that kept up this ability would be perfect for destroying hordes of small weaker creatures since it could just keep traveling from creature to creature and as long as it killed its target it would keep going.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank ten, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Can be channeled through weapons or your body limbs to deal Lighting damage on contact.
¡¤ Heats up any metal objects worn or carried by targets it hits.
¡¤ Chance to stun targets on hit.
The first option was tempting, and I almost picked it but I stopped myself. My melee damage was fine, this was primarily a ranged ability and I need to make sure it was a good ranged ability before getting some tacky extra effects.
Chain Lighting: (Rank 10); You cast a bolt of Lighting at a target within 42ft that jumps to 11 other targets within 42ft of the first target. Deals a Severe amount of Lighting damage to the first half of targets and major lighting to the remaining half; stunning them if they fail an Endurance check based on the damage the target receives.
Targets killed outright by this ability do not count against the maximum number of targets.
Targets who fail an Endurance check are stunned for 1 second.
Cost: 25 mana per cast.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range and number of maximum targets. Each upgrade increases your Mind attribute by 1.
The duration of the stun wasn¡¯t that long but I hadn¡¯t expected much there. Even one second of inaction on my enemies part would be enough to get in a hit on my part and it would probably go up as I ranked it up.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank fifteen, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your Lighting is invisible on all visual spectrums.
¡¤ Lighting has a random chance to double into two bolts on a kill.
¡¤ You leave spots of electricity for damage over time whenever you kill a target.
I liked all the options here. The first one was similar to the silent Lighting effect, but at least invisible Lighting would be harder to dodge. The second option would help me to clear hordes of enemies faster or just do more damage, but I was never a fan of random chance.
Chain Lighting: (Rank 15); You cast a bolt of Lighting at a target within 57ft that jumps to 16 other targets within 57ft of the first target. Deals a Severe amount of Lighting damage to the first half of targets and major lighting to the remaining half; stunning them if they fail an Endurance check based on the damage the target receives.
Targets killed outright by this ability do not count against the maximum number of targets.
Targets who fail an Endurance check are stunned for 3.5 seconds.
Any spot a creature has been killed by this ability becomes Charged* for thirty seconds.
*Charged: Creatures that enter this area take moderate Lighting damage and their movements are disrupted slowing them.
Cost: 30 mana per cast.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range and number of maximum targets. Each upgrade increases your Mind attribute by 1.
The charged effect was interesting. On a battlefield I could imagine electrified corpses acting like an electric fence.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank twenty, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Lighting fuses bit of nonmagical armor together when it hits.
¡¤ This ability can distinguish between friend and foe.
¡¤ Lighting drains minor amount of mana from target on a hit.
The second option stuck out to me. The biggest problem with a lot of my abilities like Helheim¡¯s Scream was that it would affect my allies as much as my enemies. The other effects here I could do without the first was out for obvious reasons. The third would only drain a minor amount of mana and since this was the final rank that would never go up, also I wasn¡¯t sure if drain meant I would get it or they would just lose some mana. Picking the second option I finalized my decision.
Chain Lighting: (Rank 20, Max Rank); You cast a bolt of Lighting at a target within 82ft that jumps to 25 other targets within 82ft of the first target. Deals a Severe amount of Lighting damage to the first half of targets and major lighting to the remaining half; stunning them if they fail an Endurance check based on the damage the target receives. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Targets killed outright by this ability do not count against the maximum number of targets.
Targets who fail an Endurance check are stunned for 6 seconds.
Pain caused by Chain Lighting is doubled.
Any spot a creature has been killed by this ability becomes Charged* for one minute thirty seconds.
Targets can be excluded from this ability to prevent friendly fire for an extra 20 mana per creature excluded.
*Charged: Creatures that enter this area take moderate Lighting damage and their movements are disrupted slowing them.
Final Rank Bonus: You are a creature of an energy as much as flesh, storms are more likely to generate in your vicinity.
Cost: 35 mana per cast.
I ended my Wrathful Meditation I¡¯d activated while upgrading my ability. Immediately I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise up. I was being watched. I turned ready to skewer whatever it was with a spearhead and blast them with Lighting. A man in fur cloak looked down on me from atop the ridge. He held a spear but was leaning against it not threateningly and looked more curious than aggressive. ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked some concern. ¡°We saw you coming out of the Cursed Meadow.¡± I could only imagine what I looked like. Covered in blood and green plant matter from head to foot with bloodshot eyes. I¡¯m surprised the man hadn¡¯t run or attacked on sight. Taking out my cleansing cloth I injected it with mana and quickly removed the filth. I couldn¡¯t do anything about how crazy my eyes must appear but at least I was clean. ¡°Are you a member of the Bear Clan?¡± I asked. The man frowned. ¡°I am part of the Ursine Clan,¡± he corrected me. ¡°Didn¡¯t mean to offend,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°I am Mordred, Champion of Kelesa. I am here to speak with your chief.¡± The man looked up above my head no doubt reading my description. ¡°I can take you to our chief,¡± he said with a nod. The man was large, not as big as the Dragonbreaker¡¯s but close. The only surprise was that I was as big as him. The increases to my attributes had dramatically altered my physicality I¡¯d gone up at least a foot in height and my shoulders had broadened as my body swelled up with muscle. Following him through the foothills gorges and canyons we traveled for about three hours before arriving in a canyon its walls honeycombed with caves that cut into the mountain shaped like the roaring bear head. Large men and women in fur armor and cloaks sat in caves along the cliffs. It was an intimidating image and due to my recent experience with constant ambushes I was a little on edge. ¡°How many people are in your clan?¡± I asked my guide. ¡°This is only part of the clan, we have tribes scattered throughout our territory in the Ancient Forest,¡± my guide explained. ¡°We number six thousand in total but only a forth of that number is here in at the foot of our sacred mountain.¡± ¡°What makes the mountain sacred?¡± I asked looking up at the ice and stone visage or a roaring bear. My guide looked at me for a moment. ¡°Am I correct in assuming your not from our world?¡± he asked. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± I agreed. ¡°What do you know about the myrmidon?¡± he asked. ¡°I know your in clans that center around some type of animal or beast,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve met the chief of the Wolf Clan and fought the Dragon Clan.¡± ¡°Has anyone explained mutations to you?¡± my guide asked obviously steering the conversation somewhere. ¡°No, is that relevant to your race somehow?¡± I asked. ¡°Very much,¡± he said pulling back his gums to reveal his back teeth and their razor sharp points. They hadn¡¯t been filed to points but looked completely natural. ¡°Our abilities are tied to the clan¡¯s sacred animal,¡± he explained. ¡°We absorb pieces of it such as tufts of hair, old claws or broken teeth whenever we gain an ability. This steers our abilities and mutations in line with the rest of our Clan. You may have seen the fury wolflike ears of the Wolf Clan or the scales covering the skin of the Dragon Clan. The Scared Mountain is the home of our sacred animal a great bear who we guard and revere.¡± ¡°What happens if it dies?¡± I asked. ¡°If we cannot find an equally powerful gifted beast it would mean the death of the tribe,¡± my guided said. ¡°But efforts are always made to ensure it has a mate and that their will be a successor. The Clan is watching over its cub right now.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t bears super murderous when you take their cubs?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes,¡± my guide said with a laugh. ¡°But not the males, its mother died so we are raising until it is old enough to care for itself.¡± He¡¯d been leading me down the canyon and we reached the end and the opening to a large cave. It was flanked by two guards. They wore the heaviest armor I¡¯d seen the myrmidon¡¯s in, bits of plate armor and helms that resembled a snarling bear. They stepped to the side when they saw me and my guide. ¡°Are you super important around here or something?¡± I asked. ¡°They didn¡¯t even stop to question us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a hunter,¡± my guide said. ¡°You were analyzed as you came in the chief is probably already expecting you.¡± ¡°Well at least introduction will be short then,¡± I said with a casual shrug. The walls of the cavern were covered in detailed cave painting depicting hunts of beasts and monsters. Sigils and glyphs were scrawled alongside the paintings. To my surprise I could actually read them, they were some sort of poetry or edda describing the scenes painted. We passed them to quickly for me to reach much and the cavern widened out. A man as large as Dragonbreaker sat on a fur covered stone throne. Braziers burned around the room giving light and warming the chill of the caves.
Kas¡¯tu the Ursine War-Chief, Gifted- humanoid/myrmidon (bear), Hero, Rank: 458
¡°I greet you Warlord,¡± Kas¡¯tu said bowing his head to me. ¡°What mission of the goddess brings you here?¡± ¡°I have been sent to conquer this Forest,¡± I said. ¡°I must defeat or subdue the major powers of this forest of which your Clan is one.¡± ¡°Have you come to challenge me then?¡± Kas¡¯tu asked leaning forward a snarl forming on his lips. I looked at above him at his description and rank. ¡°That might be a bit of a tall order for me right now.¡± Kas¡¯tu sat back throwing his head back in a full-throated laugh. ¡°You didn¡¯t even flinch! Well done, my Clan will not submit to you for nothing however.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got to prove myself I¡¯m guessing?¡± I asked. ¡°Korsis said I¡¯d need to prove myself in battle before he¡¯d join me.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Kas¡¯tu agreed. ¡°I know you made it through the Cursed Meadow, a noble feat but being the Warlord is about more that killing powerful creatures. You must prove you can win battles against armies of humanoids and have the strength to destroy or dominate them.¡± ¡°Korsis also wanted to see about you helping him against the Dragon Clan,¡± I said. Kas¡¯tu leaned back in his throne slouching slightly. ¡°He has sent ambassadors to me before about this.¡± ¡°Why haven¡¯t you joined him?¡± I asked. ¡°From what I understand the Dragon Clan have been allying themselves with outsiders and that¡¯s a taboo for you guys.¡± ¡°I have seen no proof of this,¡± Kas¡¯tu said. ¡°You do not understand the stakes of a war with the Dragon Clan. Have you meet with them yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve fought them once,¡± I said. ¡°But I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d call that meeting them.¡± ¡°Then you haven¡¯t seen their settlement,¡± Kas¡¯tu said. ¡°The Dragon Clan are the most powerful of the Clans in the Ancient Forest. My Clan and the Wolf¡¯s number collectively around twelve thousand; the Dragon Clan alone is twice that in number.¡± ¡°How are they so big in comparison?¡± I asked furrowing my brow. ¡°They have embraced the trapping of civilization,¡± Kas¡¯tu said spitting. ¡°Planting fields and rearing herds of cattle. Also, they have absorbed the women and children from two other clans they defeated.¡± ¡°So, this isn¡¯t the first time?¡± I asked. ¡°We often war with eachother,¡± Kas¡¯tu said dismissively. ¡°But the Dragon Clan have been unusually aggressive for the past four generations. There were two other Clans in this forest, the Stag and the Boar.¡± ¡°The Dragon Clan declared war on the Boar Clan, they killed many of their warriors at first but then they did the gravest of offenses. They killed the Clan¡¯s sacred animal. This weakened the Clan and they proceeded to kill all the remaining warriors who would not surrender and join them. When they were done with that, they captured the Clan¡¯s women and children adding them to their own.¡± ¡°The same thing happened with Stag Clan?¡± I asked. ¡°Close,¡± Kas¡¯tu said. ¡°The war against the Stag Clan was much harder for the Dragons. The casualties for the Dragon¡¯s were massive although the Stag Clan suffered greatly as well. Finally, the Dragon Clan somehow found and eliminated the Stag¡¯s sacred animal. After that they repeated what they had done to the Boar Clan.¡± ¡°And now their going to do the same to the Wolf Clan,¡± I said. ¡°Or at least try. And what happens if they do, history is showing a pattern and if they only get stronger every time then your Clan won¡¯t stand a chance against them.¡± Kas¡¯tu sighed. ¡°You speak the truth. My grandfather often spoke of his regret for not coming to the Stag Clan¡¯s aid. What of you Warlord? Where do your allegiances lie?¡± ¡°The Wolf Clan has done right by me, but my allegiance is to myself. I protect what is mine, that¡¯s it. I¡¯ll probably fight the Dragon Clan but I¡¯m just as likely to fight you,¡± I explained. ¡°Bold of you to say while you stand so weak before me,¡± Kas¡¯tu said with a growl. I shrugged. ¡°I believe in the direct approach.¡± Kas¡¯tu stroked his bear in thought. ¡°I will make a pact with you Warlord, defeat the Dragon Clan and I and my Clan will swear allegiance to you.¡± ¡°You have yourself a deal then,¡± I said. ¡°There is one other matter I must discuss with you. I have been given a quest by Kelesa to defeat the eight powers of the forest. I¡¯ve already beaten two, the Bandit King and the Storm Pheonix. Three of them are the myrmidon clans which leaves three remaining, I think the Hell Dragon is one of them but that still leaves two unknown.¡± ¡°You seek to hunt our sacred animal,¡± Kas¡¯tu said standing up. ¡°Walk with me I must show you something.¡± I followed Kas¡¯tu through a series of caverns until we came to courtyard of sorts. A shaft of sunlight shone down from above and grass and flowers grew along the floor. A bear the size of large couch slumbered in the warm grass.
Rashu, Magma Bear Cub, Gifted- beast/magma-bear, Mortal, Rank 8
¡°That a cub?¡± I asked in shock. Kas¡¯tu laughed. ¡°He¡¯ll be much bigger when he¡¯s full grown.¡± He walked up to the bear cub rubbing its short stony ear. The bear didn¡¯t have fur I realized just sharp points of obsidian rising up a orange glow suppressed behind them. It let out a growl raising its head, one side of its face was horrifically scarred but at least its eye was still intact. ¡°What happened to it?¡± I asked. ¡°His father has gone rabid,¡± Kas¡¯tu said. ¡°It is not unheard of for a male bear to kill its cubs, but Urso also killed his mate. Only Rashu here survived thanks to my intervention. I fear our sacred animal will descend the mountain soon and begin to attack the clan. It seems the goddess in her wisdom has given this quest to help both you and my Clan.¡± I didn¡¯t say that I doubted Kelesa cared one way or the other but just nodded in agreement. ¡°So, your fine with me hunting it?¡± ¡°It as the goddess wills,¡± Kas¡¯tu said. ¡°You have my blessing; Urso the Prince of the Mountain lairs in the mouth of bear. He is an Earth Bear with powers that revolve around stone but also some sonic attacks.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve experienced those before,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll head up the mountain as soon as possible, also if your Clan has a dungeon, I could run I¡¯d like the opportunity to do so.¡± ¡°Our dungeon won¡¯t reset for another five days,¡± Kas¡¯tu said. ¡°But if you wish I¡¯ll arrange a party to accompany you, how many warriors will you need for your hunt against Urso?¡± I smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve got this, I prefer to do all my hunts alone.¡± There was silence then Kas¡¯tu nodded. ¡°It is as the goddess wills.¡± --- Arthur could hear the grumbling of his men. It had only been a day but already they were out of the little food they¡¯d had left. His scouts had gone into the forest, but none had returned yet, he may not have had any gifts, but this Pierce was dangerously effective. The army approached a town. They needed to take it to resupply, they¡¯d sent word to their rear supply lines but it would be a week before they could reach their location. Enemy scouts had fled before them and warned the town. The gates were barred and men stood on the walls bows and ballista at the ready. Arthur rode forward on his horse to speak with the town¡¯s governor. ¡°I am Arthur¡­.¡± He began. ¡°We know who you are prince,¡± the man atop the wall said spitting the last word out like a slur. ¡°You aren¡¯t welcome her turnabout and go back to your islands.¡± Arthur grit his teeth. ¡°I am here to offer you the chance to surrender; if you do so no damage to your town or harm to your people will take place.¡± ¡°And if I don¡¯t?¡± the man laughed but his laugh was a bitter thing. ¡°There are no friends of Camelot here prince. Your liberation you¡¯ve come to offer us is not needed or wanted.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have the numbers to fight us,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Oh, I know,¡± the governor agreed. ¡°But that¡¯s not part of the plan.¡± Smoke rose behind them and the men on the ramparts disappeared into it. ¡°Attack the gate!¡± Arthur ordered. They broke down the town¡¯s gate and stormed inside. Spreading out they searched the town but only found a few dozen people still inside. ¡°They set fire to any food we could have used,¡± Kay reported. ¡°So, their plan is to try and starve us,¡± Arthur said. ¡°If they want to play at war like that then we¡¯ll show them just how nasty war can get with a hungry army,¡± Kay said. ¡°What are you suggesting?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°Our mission is to take these lands,¡± Kay said. ¡°We can¡¯t let the lives a few peasants who forgot their place get in the way of that. No more marching across the land trying to peaceably take towns. We move like a storm and smash everything and anything that gets in our way.¡± ¡°There is no honor in that type of war,¡± Arthur said sternly. ¡°With respect Arthur,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°You¡¯re going to need to decide between the lives of your men or these people. One way or another one side is going to win here.¡± Chapter 48: Royal Pain Guinevere blocked Mira¡¯s shortsword. ¡°Good, but mind your footwork,¡± Guinevere said. Mira panted. ¡°I¡¯m more of an archer.¡± Guinevere rolled her eyes. ¡°Fine we¡¯ll work on your archery; but you really need to shore up the areas you are weak in. What¡¯s your archery title?¡± Mira looked uncomfortable. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit rude to ask.¡± ¡°I¡¯m training you and I need to know where you¡¯re at,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I assume you have a weapon title.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Archer Novice,¡± Mira said. ¡°I¡¯ve been shooting since I could walk, I feel like it should be higher than that though.¡± ¡°Weapon¡¯s tiles can be misleading,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°They don¡¯t actually correlate to skill all the time. You could be an excellent swordsman but still only be a Novice Swordsman in the eyes of the system. It has to do more with your fighting style.¡± ¡°You have to either develop a effective style that the system can recognize or be trained by someone with a weapon¡¯s title higher than your own.¡± ¡°Can you even train me in archery then?¡± Mira asked skeptically. Guinevere grinned tossing her hair back. Snatching up her nearby bow and a handful of arrows she drew back and fired. As far as Mira could tell she wasn¡¯t even aiming but each arrow hit its mark on the targets sending them swaying back and forth on their rope tethers. ¡°I¡¯m a Journeyman Archer,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Why?¡± Mira asked in astonishment. ¡°I¡¯ve only ever seen you use a sword.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a Sword-Master,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I can train you up to Apprentice Archer, but you¡¯ll need a trainer with a higher title in archery to take you further or develop it yourself.¡± Guinevere put Mira through her paces, drilling her on how to grip her arrows to nock them faster and how to pull them from her quiver with minimal movements. She had her practice shooting from awkward positions and while moving to push her out of her comfort zone. She went on for hours until Mira was dripping with sweat and ready to pass out from exhaustion. ¡°I¡­got¡­the¡­title¡­.¡± Mira gasped as she tried to catch her breath.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective, receive training in archery from someone with an Archer title at least two levels higher than your own.
Reward: Archer Apprentice.
*Archer Apprentice: You damage with the bow is increase by two stages.
¡°About time,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Like¡­ I¡¯m gonna¡­die,¡± Mira said collapsing to the ground and heaving for breath. ¡°Good that means I worked you hard enough,¡± Guinevere said sitting down beside her. ¡°Archer Journeyman will raise the damage stage again but after that you just get a attribute boost when wielding a weapon related to the weapon title.¡± ¡°What is the rarest title you¡¯ve ever heard of?¡± Mira asked. ¡°Some titles are unique,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°My title, the Winter Lady is unique, it boots my Frost damage and gives me immunity to Frost while I have it equipped. The rarest title I¡¯ve ever heard of was Survivor III.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that do?¡± Mira asked. ¡°It made him almost immune to most insta kill abilities, the amount of damage you had to do to him in one hit for it be a lethal wound made it basically impossible. Titles like that are the reason you have to prioritize skill with weapons above all else. It doesn¡¯t matter how strong or powerful your abilities are. Eventually you¡¯ll run into someone who has a counter to all the abilities you¡¯ve come to rely on and only your skill with a weapon will save you.¡± ---- My hand grabbed the lip of the cliff and I pulled myself up. I looked down at the forest hundreds of feet below, I wasn¡¯t afraid of heights but my visions of falling to my death had given me wariness about being close to edges. I¡¯d made sure to make another chain and grappling hook before coming up the mountain. I was now in the mouth of the Roaring-Bear, the name of the mountain. It was a massive flat area with grass growing in the rocks and scraps with short trees and bushes scattered about. A cave rested in the throat of the Bear where I was told Urso made its lair. I approached causiously my eyes scanning for threats, Karnen had the constant job of monitoring my Foresight even though I could still easily do so. Our combined efforts helped to pick out the best possible future from what I could see. Voidra scanned for any strong emotions to pinpoint potential ambushes. While I hadn¡¯t asked the spirits to take up residence in my soul I¡¯d at last found a use for them. ¡°Anything?¡± I asked. I can¡¯t detect anything, Voidra said. I need to be within five yards to detect much. ¡°Then let¡¯s go,¡± I said pushing forward. Chill winds whipped around the plateau blowing snow down from farther up the mountain. When I got close to the cave, I smelled rot and death and animal excrement. There is rage ahead, though it slumbers, Voidra warned. I brought out my stone spearheads, sawblade and the bone weapons letting them hover above as I closed in on the cave entrance. A deep, resonate growl sounded from the darkness. The ground shivered as Urso exited his lair. The bear was the size of a cargo container his shoulders fifteen feet from the ground. It looked like it had tufts of fur but it was actually just spikes of granite that rose from all over its body forming a heavy lair of defense.
Urso, the Mountain Prince, Gifted- beast/mountain-bear (rabid), Veteran, Rank: 349
This creature was even stronger than the Storm Pheonix had been, I didn¡¯t know what it meant that it was rapid and wondered how a gifted creature would even contract rabies. Urso roared and I was thrown back a dozen feet as the force of the sound wave picked me and all the rocks up and flung us into the air. I teleported down behind the bear striking out at its legs with my clubs. My attacks bounced off its armored hide only a few flakes of stone coming off. I turned incorporeal as Urso back kicked me. His claws went through me and I felt the disruption but took no damage from it. ¡°Chain Lighting,¡± I said blasting a torrent of lighting out from both hands as I double cast the ability. Urso twitched but was not stunned by the lightning. He whirled around with a speed that seemed impossible for something so big. Foam bubbled at his lips, and he bit down but I rolled back then stabbed forwards. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talons!¡± I shouted my nails growing in thickness and length. I left deep furrows across his face, but he yanked back before I could do much more. Purple flames liked along the marks I¡¯d left but they soon faded into nothingness. Digging his claws into the ground Urso charged me. His foot impacted the ground and a crack formed and shot towards me widening as it went. I jumped to the side as the ground gave way and dropped away beneath me. The earth snapped together crushing the rocks that had fallen in. Landing on the ground I staggered as it shook and trembled underfoot. I dropped to the ground bouncing a few inches into the air as Urso swung his claws past me. I pushed off the ground and got my feet back under me. Moving with the swell of the ground I propelled myself upwards jumping forty feet into the air. I grabbed my wyvern bone spear and fell jamming the spear into the mountain-bear¡¯s shoulder with my weight and momentum. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Urso bucked and I was tossed with such force and speed that I couldn¡¯t even teleport before impacting the side of the mountain. I heard my iron hard bones crack as my ribs bent inward and my femur struck a protrusion of rock. Groaning I pushed myself up my left leg dragging as I took a step. Urso charged me again. I dropped all the stone spearheads which were just pinging uselessly off the bear¡¯s stone fur; grabbing a boulder the size of a Volkswagen I hurled it at Urso. The boulder hit and Urso¡¯s charge was changed into a scrabbling side as he was driven off his mark skidding past me his claws ripping up the earth and sending up a cloud of debris as he passed. Picking up boulder after boulder I pummeled Urso with them. It turned out the weakness to earth was more earth. Urso roared as his head and sides were hit with bolder half his size staggering him and knocking him down every time he tried to get up. Piles of rock fragments began to form around him as the rocks shattered on impact and were pulverized by Urso¡¯s swipes to fine dust and gravel. He let out a roar that shattered all the rocks in a fifty-foot radius around him, but I just brought in more. A boulder smashed down into his head and Urso let out another roar of fury as the stone plating of his fur began to crack around his neck and head. The rock around Urso began to shift and move rising up over him forming a dome. I kept trying to smash the dome but no matter what I threw at it nothing could get through. A minute passed and finally the barrier disappeared. Urso stomped out of the dome and swiped a boulder out of the air roaring in defiance. All the cracks in his stone armor had filled with a golden glowing light and the light shone from his eyes as he turned to stare me down. ¡°That¡¯s not a good sign,¡± I said looking over all the cracks I¡¯d caused that appeared to be healed if not made even stronger. Thunder filled the air as Urso roared and I felt a dull pain as internal organs were liquified by the sonic attack. My eyes watered and felt like wobbly jell-o as the waves of sound battered my body. Urso charged me as I was staggered. Attack coming in from below and behind! Karnen warned me. I dived forwards towards the bear which seemed to surprise him as I rolled underneath him as he charged right passed. A pillar of jagged earth like a massive spear shot out of the earth ramming into where I would have been but instead just shattered off of Urso¡¯s chest. Urso kicked backwards his foot taking me in the chest his claws ripping through my ski leaving deep gouges. The claws went through my muscle but didn¡¯t get past the bone my skin had reduced their force enough even if hadn¡¯t been tough enough to keep from being shredded by his claws. I slammed back into boulder the size of Urso and felt my spine crack. Ignoring the pain, I pushed up my body trying to resist my commands but my mind wone out. Getting to my feet I raise my hands. ¡°Chain Lightning!¡± I snapped the words tight and clipped. Forking lightning snaked out at Urso searing his rear leaving black scorch marks marring his stone hide. The bear let out a growl of fury and turned around only to get another blast of lightning to the face. His body locked up as he finally failed an Endurance check. Lightning arced out again and again as I spammed Chain Lightning on Urso. He mostly was able to ignore the stun effect, but he couldn¡¯t make the Endurance check every time. I stepped forward after every casting closing the gap. My mana was at sixty percent, but I still had plenty in the tank to get the job done. I was only five feet away. The golden light had faded from Urso¡¯s eyes leaving only the bloodshot maddened gaze. He snapped at me but I ducked under his jaws and struck up under his chin. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talons,¡± I said. The stone under his chin was weaker than the rest of his body and my claws broke through a torrent of hot blood spilling out. Slashing down I widened the wounds purple flames spreading along the wound as the Curse damage took hold. Urso brought his head down, but I side stepped and slashed my talons across his left eye. Yanking his head back Urso exposed the underside of his chin again. I grabbed my second wyvern bone spear and lunged forward driving it up through the weak point I¡¯d made and into his brain. Urso roared pain and anger reverberating out the sound enough to throw me off my feet. Pushing back up I got ready to continue the fight. Urso staggered towards me then collapsed his body giving out one last shudder before going still.
174 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 249 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Something flew out of Urso¡¯s chest and flowed inside me through the wounds in my chest.
You have absorbed a Curse of Madness which has bonded to your Power Attribute and will fuel and guide your soul¡¯s mutation when you pass the Veteran limit for your Power Attribute.
Ability Gained, Voice of the Chasm (Rank 1); Your vocal cords have been enhanced to project both sound and terror filling your enemies with fear as they hear your voice, your words echoing and reverberating in their minds. You voice becomes deeper and more resonant and can be heard clearly even in the battle as it reverberates through the air. You can project your voice to be 10 dB louder.
Causes fear in enemies within 15ft who fail a Spirit check and hear you.
Cost: 4 mana per second while active
Upgrade this ability to increase how loud your voice is and the range at which its effects take place. Each rank up increases your Power Attribute by 1.
Before I even had time to fully read the post battle results and my new ability, I received a new message from the System.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 50 the Veteran limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attribute from killing you.
My spine which had been twisted from hitting the boulder painfully began popping back into alignment and searing pain wracked my body.
Your use of strong emotions as a power source has been detected, a new internal organ has developed, Enmity Gland, it will now release a flood of chemicals when activated alongside your Adrenal Gland. This will heighten all emotions you are experiencing to make better use of them.
My mind went blank for several moments as rage consumed me. When I came out of it my hands were bloodied from smashing into Urso¡¯s side. I staggered back as with great mental effort I wrestled my rage into submission. Blood was pouring from my chest where the claw wounds resisted my regeneration. I downed a healing potion and packed the wounds with dried Cauter Fennel. The fennel caught fire burning my chest hair but sealing the wounds shut. My regeneration slowly fixed all the damage but there were four new pink lines across my chest from the scarring caused by the ability and my method of healing it. My pants were shredded again. I didn¡¯t even bother changing them yet I was quickly running out of clothes since nothing but my armor and cloak could survive my fights. I looked over Urso but there was nothing to skin. Pulling off his armored plates I sniffed at the meat but recoiled. A foul smell hung emitted from the flesh and blood. Cutting off a piece of the meat I held it up and inspected it.
Rabid Bear Flesh: Type; Food, Rarity: Rare. Mana infused meat of an earth bear inflicted with a deadly curse. Consuming the flesh will inflict the permanent condition rabid on the creature.
Discarding the flesh I made sure I didn¡¯t have any open wounds the blood could get in. I dug through to his bones but they crumbled to dust when I removed them. I pulled an arrow out of Urso as I dug into his shoulder and examined it. I hadn¡¯t used any arrows on him so I knew it wasn¡¯t from me.
Cursed Arrow of Rabis: Type: Ammunition, Rarity: Very Rare, when embedded in a creature for longer than an hour the creature becomes afflicted with the permanent condition Rabid.
Interesting, I thought. Someone deliberately targeted the earth bear. It wouldn¡¯t have been the Ursine Clan, this was their sacred animal. The Wolf Clan could have done it but from what I¡¯d seen of them it didn¡¯t fit them. That left the Dragon Clan, given their history it was more than probable that this was their handywork. Taking the arrow with me I left Urso¡¯s corpse behind and descended back down the mountain. I¡¯d have to see how Kas¡¯tu would react to the news that the Dragon Clan had cursed their Sacred Animal. ---- King Palamedes surveyed the royal army. Six thousand soldiers stood ready in orderly ranks the Sleeping Dragon crest of Dracon on their chest. ¡°Citizens of Dracon!¡± Palamedes spoke his voice ringing out so all could hear thanks to an ability. ¡°Camelot has declared war on our nation, they think that since we have no champions among us that we are fair game and their rightful conquest. King Arthur believes that a god choosing his son as a champion justifies their expansion.¡± Murmurs and spitting among the soldiers gave a subtle backdrop to his speech. ¡°But we are the children of dragon slayers! It was our ancestors who drove out beasts, monsters, chaos spawn, cultists and barbarians. Our ancestors bleed for this land for the people of Dracon. We do not need the courtly etiquette and intrigue of the court of Camelot, and we reject their attempt to assimilate and annex us!¡± Palamedes voice rose in pitch and fervor his ability raising the spirit of his men and hardening their resolve. Some might have considered his use of a mind ability on his own people as unethical but Palamedes was not a man given to softness. ¡°Are you ready Andromeda?¡± Palamedes asked. ¡°Yes father!¡± Princess Andromeda said saluting. She was the last of his children the rest killed in duels, assignations or against monsters on the boarders of their land. Her dirty blonde hair was cut short at her shoulder her green eyes flashing with pride and ambition a spattering of freckles softening the look of avarice on her face. ¡°This will be a test of your power and leadership daughter,¡± Palamedes said placing a hand on his daughter¡¯s shoulder. ¡°One day you will be called to prove that you are worthy of my crown. People will look back to this war and it will determine if the wiccan places the crown on your head.¡± ¡°I will not fail you,¡± Andromeda promised. ¡°Camelot will regret the day they ever stepped foot on Dracon soil.¡± Chapter 49: I Said No Harem Juruk sat astride his mount, Kashtor. The spined-knight-raptor had grown massively, but so had Juruk. The once short goblin now stood a little under six feet and had bulked out as he earned and raised new abilities. He was the chief of the Warlord¡¯s tribe and so it was his duty to be the strongest. The orc war party readied their spears against them. They had ventured into the Ancient Forest from the northern moors looking for beasts and small humanoid tribes to raid and enslave. Juruk had started with a few hundred goblins, now several thousand followed him. Those goblins blessed by the Warlord still rode with him the elite of their army. The other goblins had to prove themselves and so were deployed as archers or infantry. The five-hundred orc war party roared their war chief leading the charge. Juruk screamed out a challenge and his warriors took up the call their death call echoing through the forest. Kashtor lunged forward and Juruk led the charge. He had been weak once, but the Warlord had shown him what strength was and how to claim it. Only by embracing death could he become great and lead his people. Swinging low off his horse Juruk decapitated an orc with one of the swords the Warlord had given him. An orc pushed off a low boulder raising a two-handed battle axe high overhead to cleave Juruk in two. A short javelin from another raptor-rider took the orc in the chest and tossed him back. The goblin foot soldiers swarmed the front line of the orcs. They were shredded and splattered across the ground but served to break their charge. The counter charge hit as the raptor riders swarmed into the orc¡¯s midst. Juruk headed straight for the orc war chief. While Juruk had grown much bigger the orc war chief still towered over him. Swinging a two-handed sword to decapitate him Juruk slid in the saddle hanging off the side as the sword passed overhead before righting himself in the saddle. Parrying the next strike that struck at his mount Juruk swung at the war chief¡¯s thigh. Blocking it on his armor the war chief retaliated but Kastor¡¯s tail whipped out around hitting the war chief in the back of his legs. The spines on Kashtor¡¯s tail ripped through skin and muscle. Juruk leaped off and collided with the war chief. The war chief tried to struggle against him and shove him off, but Juruk pulled a dagger and began savaging him. Plunging the dagger in over and over again Juruk didn¡¯t stop till he got the notification for the war chief¡¯s death. Raising his face to the sky Juruk howled his victory call taken up by the rest of the tribe. ---- Kas¡¯tu was furious. The news that the Dragon Clan had cursed their sacred animal had gone over as you would have expected. I hadn¡¯t realized just how significant their actions had been. To kill the Sacred Animal of a clan you had declared war on was something but to attack without first declaring war was a sign of cowardice. The Bear Clan promised to support the Wolf Clan against the Dragon Clan. I didn¡¯t care; I had my own plan for dealing with the Dragon Clan and it didn¡¯t involve support from either of the other two clans. For now, I¡¯d use this as a spot to rest and train. The clan had their own enchanter and weapons trainer. I¡¯d use the time to work on better learning to fight as well as learning new enchantments. The enchanter had been hesitant to teach me his skills at first but being the Warlord had its benefits. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you, but you must promise to only ever show my enchantments to your own apprentice someday and not to sell them to another enchanter,¡± the bear clan enchanter told me. ¡°Couldn¡¯t someone just study the design to figure out how to remake it?¡± I asked. ¡°They might learn the rune,¡± the enchanter snorted. ¡°But the gemstone and technique used to apply it are very different.¡± He left out the part about me being an idiot for asking but it was implied. I ignored the veiled insult; I preferred people that were blunt and rude. Politeness and niceties were just ways for people to get close so they could screw you over later. You knew where you stood with someone who was an ass to you, there was no pretense, and you could trust them to treat you the way they said. I copied down the runes he showed me as well as the gemstone used in the enchantment. There was an enchantment to add fire damage to a weapon by using kyanite. My reward for completing the System quest had given me knowledge of the old magic; what that meant in practice is that I could read every rune I saw. I didn¡¯t know every rune in existence but once I looked at a rune I could instinctively tell what it meant. ¡°Why is there are runes for blood in your fire enchantment?¡± I asked. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lazar, the enchanter asked looking up from the battle axe he was engraving. ¡°Your fire enchantment has the rune for blood in it,¡± I said pointing to the rune in question which was linked in the sigil pattern to the runes for heat and fuel. ¡°You can read runes?¡± Lazar asked surprised. ¡°Wait you can¡¯t?¡± I asked. ¡°How do you do this if you can¡¯t even read your own work.¡± Lazar looked both irritated and embarrassed. ¡°I just copy the enchantment as it was shown to me by my master. Only sages and shamans can read any of the ancient runes. How many runes do you know?¡± ¡°The system gave me knowledge of the old magic as a reward for a quest,¡± I said. ¡°I haven¡¯t come across a rune that I couldn¡¯t read yet.¡± ¡°Incredible,¡± Lazar breathed out his voice low with awe. ¡°What would happen if I were to remove the rune and just complete the sigil without it?¡± I asked. Lazar took a big step back from me. ¡°You¡¯d probably create a large explosion,¡± he said dryly, the awe gone from his voice. ¡°Enchantments are dangerous, you¡¯re flooding an item with mana, even a single point of mana is massively destructive, but an enchantment will eat up at least a hundred if not more. If the enchantment isn¡¯t stable all that energy gets released at once except now it¡¯s infused into metal. Imagine shards of metal smaller than a grain of sand traveling as fast as lighting ripping through the air. I¡¯ve heard of apprentices trying to experiment being turned to red mist when that happens.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re saying experiments away from others,¡± I said with a nod. ¡°No,¡± Lazar growled. ¡°I¡¯m saying don¡¯t do it. It¡¯s foolish and dangerous, you may be able to read the runes, but can you tell me honestly that you understand their formations? To answer your earlier question about the rune I would have to guess that it¡¯s a trigger for the enchantment. When the weapon tastes blood its edge bursts with flame.¡± ¡°If you were to remove the rune there would be no trigger for it. What happens then? Does it stay on fire until it runs out of mana, or does it become unstable and explode? I don¡¯t know and I don¡¯t care to find out either,¡± Lazar stated and turned his back on me. I dropped the subject. I did want to experiment with creating my own enchantments, but he was probably right, and I should wait until I had an idea about what I was doing. Lazar taught me the two other enchantments he knew. One for an ice resistance that could be applied to armor or shields and the other that could be applied to weapons; it allowed you to regain health when drawing blood from a creature. The healing effects were weird. I had mana and stamina but there was no health bar, effects that would be lethal on Earth were still lethal here. There were no hit points someone would have to reduce before they could kill you. Stab to the heart or hearts in my case, dead. Cut off the head, dead. Eviscerate them, dead. You could survive if you managed to heal yourself quickly enough I knew that from experience but if you couldn¡¯t you would die. As you got stronger it took way more to do that and wounds would become less deadly, and you¡¯d be able to survive longer without certain organs but other things like decapitation would always be instantly lethal. Wandering over to the training area I watched as the men sparred with each other. The bear clan tended to favor axes but there was a mixture of other weapons among them. The master-at-arms walked up to me. ¡°What can I do for you Warlord?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m looking for some weapons training,¡± I said. ¡°Certainly,¡± he agreed. ¡°Do you mind me asking what your current weapon titles are?¡± ¡°My what?¡± I asked. Everyone within earshot turned to stare at me. ¡°Your weapon titles my lord,¡± the master-at-arms stated again. ¡°The titles that increase your damage with a certain type of weapon based on your skill.¡± ¡°The closest I got to that is Bloody Pugilist,¡± I said. ¡°Never heard of that one before,¡± the master-at-arms said. ¡°It increases my unarmed damage,¡± I said. ¡°So, you favor fighting with your fists?¡± he asked me. ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I usually fight with my clubs or a spear. I was told I lacked the necessary traits for learning the sword.¡± ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t have any weapon titles, I can see why they thought that,¡± he said with a sigh. ¡°If you¡¯re starting from nothing, I can at least get you to novice in clubs and spears. Do you have any base training?¡± ¡°Just what I¡¯ve learned in combat and from the Wolf Clan,¡± I said. ¡°I only ever studied martial arts that relied on punching before I came to this world. Probably how I got that other title.¡± ¡°That would explain it,¡± the master-at-arms agreed. ¡°I¡¯ll get Ortuk to train you in maces, he¡¯s got the Master Bludgeoner title so it should be no problem with him getting you the novice title and maybe even apprentice. After that, I can put you through your paces with the spear.¡± I spent the next nine hours in hell. It turned out Ortuk was a mountain of a man, I had thought I was done with other people towering over me as I¡¯d grown in size, but Ortuk looked half giant. He was at least ten feet tall and swung a club made of some strange wood. He had me swinging a club he made me compress that weighed twice my body weight in both hands then trained me with two clubs that each weighed as much as me in both hands. When people learned about my Compress Earth, they had me create dozens of training implementations. Weighted weapons and even a bench press. When your might went up a certain amount regular metal just couldn¡¯t hold up to the strain of the weight you had to put on it. Ortuk had me create weights to hang over my back and strap to my arms and legs. The whole thing reminded me of the cursed prairie as I was slowed to a crawl and forced to block, parry and attack Ortuk while carrying five times my body weight. He struck at me, and I wasn¡¯t allowed to use my usual tactics of teleportation or Phantom Form to avoid the hits. I cursed my Troll Hide ability, if I hadn¡¯t had it then Ortuk would have been forced to give me a chance to rest and heal from my beatings. When he learned it Ortuk had given me a huge smile that chilled me to my core. He¡¯d gathered all the children in the clan to pelt me with stones until I learned to block them with my clubs. It was like the devil¡¯s baseball as I was pelted with fist-sized rocks the children shrieking with delight whenever they connected. Before I would have said that I liked kids, now I hated every last one of them. In the end, though my torture was worth it.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: learn the basic proper ways of attacking and defending with one-handed and two-handed blunt weapons.
Reward: Novice Bludgeoner.
*Novice Bludgeoner: Trained in the use of maces and clubs you are a beginner but have some skill with these weapons. Your damage dealt with clubs and maces is increased by one stage.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Learn how to properly and consistently deflect projectiles with a weapon in your hand.
Reward: Novice Deflector. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
*Novice Deflector: Instead of using a shield you have learned to use your weapon to anticipate and block projectiles. You can instinctively tell the angle at which objects are coming from and where your parry will redirect them towards.
Foresight had been the reason I¡¯d gotten the last title, letting me put my weapons in front of the rocks before they hit and knock them out of the air. It hadn¡¯t been perfect the weights I was wearing had slowed me down and the sheer number of rocks thrown at me had made it impossible to block even half of them. I swore there were at least three children for every adult in the clan. I stumbled towards the quarters I¡¯d been assigned. Wiping myself off with my cleansing cloth the accumulated grit and sweat were removed. I was fully recovered by the time I got to my quarters my aches fixed by Troll Hide and both resource pools filled. Two women were stretched out on my bed. They stood and bowed. They each only wore a silk robe that left nothing to the imagination but still had the effect of alluringly covering everything. ¡°Greetings Warlord,¡± the girl on the left said. She was a brunette with long wavy hair and flawless tawny skin. ¡°I am Morsi, and this is my sister Mirsha, we are the daughters of Kas¡¯tu and are his gift to you.¡± I sighed. ¡°Listen, you ladies are very attractive and pleasing on the eyes, but I have no interest in a harem or time for siring children.¡± There was an awkward silence. ¡°Please return to your father and let him know that while I appreciate the gesture, I will not be able to accept it. This is not a slight against either you two or him. I have a mission from Kelesa and can abide no distractions regardless of how pretty they are.¡± I figured that the religious angle was the best way to get these people off my back. ¡°As the goddess wills,¡± they said bowing. They pulled off thicker fur robes and left. Sitting down on the bed I sank into the furs and fell asleep. -- ¡°Mordred!¡± Sarah called out. I looked up and flashed her a grin. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I asked shutting my locker and shouldering my backpack. Sarah was tall with dark brown hair and blue eyes. She had a cute, upturned nose and a spattering of freckles across her face. She wore a fuzzy green sweater and knee-high skirt today her sneakers worn from her track running. ¡°I¡¯m going to be busy later today,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve got extra practice after school.¡± ¡°No problem,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve got karate after, so I probably won¡¯t see you until tomorrow.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why you don¡¯t do wrestling instead,¡± Sarah said. ¡°You could make a lot of friends and get involved with the school more.¡± ¡°Karate was recommended by my therapist to help with controlling my emotions,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Besides I like it.¡± ¡°Did you finish your part of the project for English?¡± Sarah asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said handing a folder with my part of the written assignment. ¡°Love you,¡± Sarah said kissing me than skipping down the halls. Memories blurred as half-recollected places and events sped through my mind. This was the second high school I¡¯d been to. After moving from foster home to foster home and being kicked out for getting into fights all through my middle school years I¡¯d finally found some stability. The blurring memories stopped, and I was in the middle of my senior year. The track field sat next to the football field. I kicked off my motorcycle, it was an old rundown thing, but I¡¯d bought it with money I¡¯d earned working over the summer and my foster father¡¯s permission as a reward for good behavior. Slamming past a group of my fellow students I moved toward the football team as they were practicing on the field. Our team had won seven of our last games and was on track to win state championships. I didn¡¯t pay much attention to school sports besides watching Sarah¡¯s track meets. But today I was here to see our star quarterback. Michael Hearth had blonde hair and a square jaw he was from a wealthy family and was considered to be the best-looking guy in school. And he¡¯d been fucking my girlfriend. My feet collided with his chest in a flying kick that sent him to the ground. I¡¯d been moving too fast for anyone to react. I was on top of him fists pounding into his face. I felt hands on me and was pulled off but not before I¡¯d left Michael¡¯s face a bloody wreck. -- My eyes snapped open there was a light in the room and l looked down to see my veins glowing red my nails cutting deep into my palms a black mist starting to rise from my skin as Magma Heart(s) and Black Rage activated. Forcing myself to unclench my fists I let my abilities fade as I breathed out heavily. I¡¯d thought I¡¯d gotten over that old betrayal but apparently, I hadn¡¯t. Or maybe it was just the changes I¡¯d been going through that all seemed to focus on opening myself up to my rage instead of locking it away. I sat down cross-legged and began meditating. I¡¯d been given lessons in proper meditation when I¡¯d taken karate, it was part of the reason my therapist had recommended them. It was supposed to help me center myself and find inner peace. Now I just meditated on the rage; peace was overrated and unlike the fury, it wouldn¡¯t give me any strength or resolve. The next few days were devoted to my continued training in enchanting and weapons training. ¡°How do titles work?¡± I asked Lazar one day as we were working together on a special battle-axe. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lazar asked. ¡°All these abilities say they add extra damage what does that mean?¡± I asked. ¡°It means exactly what it says,¡± Lazar sighed. ¡°It adds more damage.¡± ¡°I get that,¡± I said rolling my eyes at his unhelpful answer. ¡°More fire damage equals a hotter fire, more lighting means more electricity. But titles like Novice Bludgeoner or Feral Barbarian add damage when I use a certain weapon or material to attack. How does the system increase that damage?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t, at least not in a direct way,¡± Lazar said. ¡°Let me ask you a question you¡¯ve been training for the past three days have you noticed an increase in your skill?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been training.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s not just from your training,¡± Lazar explained. ¡°Titles like Novice Bludgeoner don¡¯t add direct damage to your attacks but instead they alter you. The system engraves knowledge about how to fight with maces and clubs directly into your mind and alters your body to give you muscle memory on how to use that knowledge. You don¡¯t even notice it feels so natural but your increase in skill is much faster than could be accomplished by training alone.¡± ¡°What about titles like Fireproof?¡± I asked. ¡°Similar but instead of affecting your mind its changes to your body,¡± Lazar explained. ¡°As gifted our bodies will mutate over time when we raise attributes to the next stage but titles like that are micro mutations. The system can subtly impact our bodies to encourage these mutations, but the body still needs to be put under the right circumstances to trigger those mutations.¡± ¡°Are you implying that those mutations would take place even if the system wasn¡¯t there?¡± I asked. ¡°It would take much longer but yes,¡± Lazar agreed with a nod of approval. ¡°Think about it, when you cast a spell how much mana does it cost?¡± ¡°A lot, usually around fifty to sixty mana,¡± I said. ¡°How would a regular person ever cast a spell then?¡± Lazar asked. ¡°They couldn¡¯t,¡± I realized. ¡°But magic as I understand predates the System.¡± ¡°It does, the Ancients had ways of triggering mutations on their own, it was painful and deadly, but they could raise their attributes without the need for slaying monsters. Our stories tell of the time before the system, but the legends are too old to be relied on.¡± Going back to the enchantment I helped Lazar finish the enchantment then strengthened the steel of the axe for him improving the weapon¡¯s quality threefold. My work in the training yard had not lessened in intensity. Ortuk and master-of-arms Rashen took turns finding new ways to torture me with creative training exercises. I never complained about the hardness of their training though, I needed this to become strong and would do whatever I needed to reach the next milestone. Blocking Ortuk¡¯s club with my stone training implement I ducked and stabbed at Rashen¡¯s belly with my training spear. This was part of their new strategy for training me. Since my time to learn the spear and club was limited, they had decided the best way would be to do both at the same time. I rolled, and Rashen¡¯s spear stabbed painfully into my side as I was unable to dodge it. Pushing myself to my feet my club spun about as I deflected a trio of stones thrown by a group of children chosen for having the best aim. Ortuk charged forward, I sidestepped, kneed him in the chest, and slammed my club into his back. Rashen lunged forward with his spear, I stepped into the attack letting the spear slide past me then pinned it to my side with my right arm holding the spear. I smashed my club down on the spear shattering it and then stabbed forward. Rashen dodged my attack neatly by sidestepping it. He grabbed my spear shaft and yanked me forward. Unable to resist, I went with it as Rashen stole my weapon. I headbutted him in the chest as I stumbled forward. He wasn¡¯t staggered but sidestepped and tripped me with my spear and putting the point at the back of my neck. ¡°Much better,¡± Rashen said with approval. The battle was over, and a flood of system messages hit my senses. Opening them up I began to read.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: learn more advanced ways of attacking a defending with one-handed and two-handed blunt weapons and increase your skill with the basics.
Reward: Apprentice Bludgeoner.
*Apprentice Bludgeoner: Trained in the use of maces and clubs you are still only an apprentice but have some skill and experience with these weapons. Your damage dealt with clubs and maces is increased by two stages.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: learn more advanced ways of attacking a defending with one-handed and two-handed spears and increase your skill with the basics.
Reward: Apprentice Spearman.
*Apprentice Spearman: Trained in the use of spears you are still only an apprentice but have some skill and experience with these weapons. Your damage dealt with spears and polearms is increased by two stages.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Deflect all ranged projectiles in a battle with a weapon in your hand.
Reward: Apprentice Deflector.
*Apprentice Deflector: Instead of using a shield you have learned to use your weapon to anticipate, block and redirect projectiles. You can instinctively tell the angle at which objects are coming from and where your parry will redirect them towards sending them that way with half the original force they hit with while expending only a minor amount of effort.
¡°Did you advance your weapon titles?¡± Rashen asked. ¡°Yes,¡± I grunted still short of breath. ¡°Good,¡± Rashen said. ¡°Chieftain Kas¡¯tu told me to tell you that our dungeon will be available for you to run tomorrow.¡± ¡°Good,¡± I said rolling my shoulders as I pulled off my weighted training armor. ¡°I¡¯ll need to move on afterward to continue my quest.¡± ¡°You are a good student, Mordred,¡± Rashen said. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to practice your forms with your weapons. You will need to return here or find another master to advance your titles further.¡± Returning to my quarters I sensed two people inside. ¡°What do you got Voidra,¡± I asked. I¡¯d been more wary after the prairie and was becoming acclimated to my increased perception and was starting to really take in the sights, sounds, and smells around me. I sense fear and desire, and Voidra answered me. There are two sources only that I can detect. I don¡¯t see any signs of an attack in the future, Karnen said as he monitored my Foresight. ¡°Bestial Senses,¡± I said activating my perception ability and then stepping into my quarters. I relaxed when I saw it was just Morsi and Mirsha again in their erotic silk robes. ¡°Can I help you with something?¡± I asked. ¡°We have come to offer ourselves to you before you go into battle my lord,¡± Mirsha said as they bowed their heads to me. ¡°I believe I said no to the harem,¡± I said looking the two over. They were both young and attractive and with bestial senses active I had to admit I found their very scent alluring. I turned off the ability and went back to my regular enhanced perception. ¡°Our apologies Warlord but you are a champion of Kelesa, to let you risk death without passing on your gifts would be a great sin,¡± Morsi said. I had to remember that these people were different from those back on my world. For them, sex wasn¡¯t about pleasure or emotional comfort it was a way to secure the future of their clan by breeding powerful warriors. ¡°I¡¯m not going to die,¡± I said. ¡°But¡­¡± Morsi protested. ¡°To imply that I will fail in my task is both an insult to me and to the goddess,¡± I said my voice rising slightly but I didn¡¯t shout. ¡°You may not understand my reasoning but do not question it again. You are dismissed.¡± The two sisters hurried out of my quarters. Sighing, I sat down cross-legged and began my meditation. I wrestled with the ball of rage at my center as I struggled for control and to make it subservient to me. ---- Everyone was starving. They had been without food for three days and Arthur could tell many were considering desertion. It was all and well to fight for the glory of Camelot on a full stomach, but their bellies constantly growled and the marching without food was putting a drain on everyone¡¯s health. Arthur looked at the haggard faces of his men and decided. ¡°We¡¯ll raid the next town we come to,¡± he said. ¡°We need food, and we can¡¯t risk them burning their supplies before we get access to it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send our scouts ahead to prepare the way for us,¡± Kay said nodding. Lancelot put a hand on Arthur¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re doing the right thing, it may be hard, but your first duty is to your people.¡± -- They crawled across the grass under the cover of night. Arthur lay on his belly inching across the wet grass and mud toward the town walls. Scouts with stealth abilities ranged ahead, some scaling the walls others picking off the guards on the walls with arrows. Only fifty yards from the gate now they waited. Slowly the town gates crept open. Getting to his feet Arthur led a silent charge a few guards were gathered around the gate exchanging fire with the scouts in the gatehouse when Arthur entered the fray. Excalibur flashed out bisecting one then impaling the next through the chest. A distant bell began to ring but Arthur was already running towards the granaries while the army spread out to subdue the town and prevent sabotage. His feet pounding on the cobblestones Arthur was moving as fast as a galloping horse. He saw guards moving towards the granaries and put on a fresh burst of speed. Kicking off the wall of a house Arthur heard it give way behind him, but he was airborne. Landing among the guards he spun Excalibur cutting them down like wheat. Smashing his shoulder into the granaries¡¯ door Arthur saw a man pouring oil. Grabbing him by the back of his neck he tossed him outside hearing his bones crack. More guards ran toward the granaries but when they saw Arthur in his armor the blue glowing edge of Excalibur they stopped and turned. Fleeing back into the town those town militia were dealt with by Camelot soldiers. Arthur saw smoke rising in spots and cursed but he remained where he was. Securing the army¡¯s food was the most important thing he could do right now. Soon a detachment arrived and took over for Arthur loading the stocks of grain and preserves onto wagons. Arthur went to investigate what building had been sabotaged by the town residence. He followed the smoke to a small neighborhood seeing the roofs of several houses ablaze their insides roaring with flames. ¡°What happened here?¡± Arthur asked looking around and seeing a few dead townsfolk on the streets their blood seeping into the cracks of the cobblestones. ¡°There was a fight sir,¡± one of his men, a sergeant said. ¡°Some towns folk were putting up resistance. I sent some men to deal with it. As they were subduing them some fires got set.¡± ¡°What are the casualties?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°None, sir,¡± the sergeant reported. ¡°We completed our mission without losing a man.¡± ¡°I meant for the townsfolk!¡± Arthur snapped. ¡°Your mission was to subdue the town, not butcher your way through the streets.¡± ¡°Sir they attacked us,¡± the sergeant protested. ¡°With what? Pitchforks?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°You¡¯re wearing armor, if you cannot handle a few peasants without being forced to draw your sword then you are not fit for this army. I will speak with your commanding officer and see that your men are disciplined accordingly.¡± Chapter 50: Claws Against Claws Guinevere slipped under the wall and began scaling it. There were no handholds, but ice formed into grips as she placed each hand on the wall creeping up to the top. Rolling over the edge she looked right then left the dropped down. Light bent around her, only in direct sunlight would you notice anything like seeing the glint of the sun on glass. In the darkness of the night, she was completely invisible as she passed through the town. The streets were a marvel made of the same nigh-indestructible stone as the walls. Slipping from shadow to shadow she avoided patches of torchlight and patrols as she approached the castle. Jumping over a second shallow moat she began to climb the wall. Landing on the ramparts she crept up to a door, opened it, and made her way inside. Looking down at the throne room she focused on the figures dinging there.
Hermias Dragonbreaker, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 262
It appeared the Dragonbreakers were growing stronger, Guinevere remembered when she last seen this warrior, he had been rank two-hundred-forty-five. It wasn¡¯t surprising given the constant monster attacks that there would be an increase in their strength; luckily her side was also growing in strength and it was easier to move up for lower-ranked fighters than higher-ranked ones. She kept scanning down the line of heavily armored warriors at the high table
Ormias Dragonbreaker, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 252
Another jump in strength for one of Kaleb Dragonbreaker¡¯s sons. Curious that she had yet to see the famous Bandit King of the Cursed Forest. He was an infamous character who fought his way free of an assassination plot in Dracon, chased into the forest where he¡¯d spend the next twenty years killing bounty hunters and adventuring parties who¡¯d tried and take him down.
Rejiah Dragonbreaker, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 256
Another jump in power. She¡¯d managed to get an ability after all her fighting but getting new abilities from lower-ranked creatures was extremely hard to do so the fact that all of Kaleb¡¯s sons seemed to have gone up in rank was concerning.
Mordred the Storm Knight, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 291
Guinevere smiled in triumph, she¡¯d found him now all she had to do was follow him until he was alone. To attack when he was surrounded by all his most powerful minions would be suicidal. She kept scanning and her smile fell away.
Mordred the Storm Knight, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 291
There were two identical titles in place, she¡¯d heard of abilities to make your title obscured or remove it. They were typically used by assassins but transferring your description onto someone else was something else entirely. This changed things and she needed to figure out who her real target was. ¡°Confessor¡¯s Sight,¡± she said. The ability would let her pierce illusions and see the lies of people as they spoke them. Sneaking over to just above them Guinevere perched and listened. ¡°I wish the System would stop spawning all these snakes,¡± one said. ¡°I¡¯m really getting sick of the taste.¡± She kept listening growing bored as they talked about inconsequential matters or past memories but nothing of military interest or relating to the Warlord. ¡°When are we going to send these noble brats back to civilization?¡± his brother asked Guinevere perked up the conversation seeming to go in an interesting direction. ¡°When Mordred gets back,¡± one of the men whose description said he was the Warlord responded. Guinevere frowned. The man¡¯s words implied that he wasn¡¯t the Warlord but also that the Warlord wasn¡¯t even here. ¡°How much longer is that going to be?¡± one of the younger brothers asked. ¡°How do we even know he¡¯s still alive?¡± ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be bound by his ability if he were dead,¡± another brother pointed out gesturing to the marks on their neck. ¡°Mordred is on a quest,¡± the other one that was labeled as the Warlord said. ¡°If he is successful with it we may get assistance from the Wolf Clan.¡± Guinevere eyes widened at that. The Warlord was as clever as the stories said, while they¡¯d been wasting time here, he was out in the forest growing his army. He might have an army of several thousand already. She backed up she needed to leave and warn the army of the coming danger. --- My fists beat in Michael¡¯s face until I was dragged back by his teammates. ¡°The hell man! What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± someone screamed at me. ¡°He knows why,¡± I said nodding to Michael. He was sitting up holding his broken nose. Blood was seeping from his lip, and he¡¯d have a pair of Irish sunglasses tomorrow. My own lip was bleeding I¡¯d taken a hit from someone when they were pulling me off him. ¡°Mordred!¡± a girl¡¯s voice called out in horror. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sarah pushed her way through the crowd. I turned to her, and she flinched at the look of murder in my eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Sarah asked me. ¡°You know,¡± I said, and she flinched at my words but didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°At least you¡¯re not denying it,¡± I said. ¡°You decided I wasn¡¯t enough for you and to trade me in for an upgrade.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t like that,¡± Sarah protested. ¡°Then how was it?¡± I asked. ¡°You get tired of me, was I your project to see if you could fix the bad boy?¡± ¡°No!¡± Sarah snapped. Michael pushed his way forward placing himself between me and Sarah. ¡°Back off Mordred,¡± he said. He meant his words to be threatening but he couldn¡¯t pull it off with the way his voice sounded with a broken nose. ¡°And you chose this,¡± I said shrugging off the hands holding me and gesturing to Michael. ¡°Michael Hearth, the guy who¡¯s slept his with the prettiest girls in school before he got tired of them.¡± I looked at Sarah behind him. ¡°And he¡¯ll get tired of you too, and when he leaves you, you¡¯ll deserve it.¡± -- My eyes snapped open; I hadn¡¯t gone to bed but instead fallen asleep while meditating. I wasn¡¯t sure if it had been my meditation or the presence of Mirsha and Morsi that had triggered the memory. I pushed down the anger, it had been a few years since it had happened but thinking about it still made me angry. One of the therapists I¡¯d talked to after the fight with Michael had told me that it was because I still hadn¡¯t moved passed my issues with my parents. Luckily the court-ordered therapy ended when I turned eighteen. Pushing aside the rage and the memories I cleared my head taking in several deep breaths. ¡°System, raise Voice of the Chasm to rank twenty,¡± I said. I wanted all my abilities to be maxed out for the dungeon. Skipping the next three prompts I got to my ability choice section.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank five, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your roar can now deal Sonic damage.
¡¤ Your voice can now cause the Panic condition.
¡¤ Your voice can be modulated to be only audible to those you select.
The first option was the most interesting at first glance and as I read over the other options that opinion was not changed. The first caused damage which was always good, and the second would cause the panic condition which was fine but I already had an ability that did that and I wasn¡¯t even sure what I would use the third option for.
Voice of the Chasm (Rank 5); Your vocal cords have been enhanced to project both sound and terror filling your enemies with fear as they hear your voice your words echoing and reverberating in their minds. Your voice becomes deeper and more resonant and can be heard clearly even in battle as it reverberates through the air. You can project your voice to be 50 dB louder. Causes fear in enemies within 35ft who fail a Spirit check and hear you.
You can unleash a roar that deals minor sonic damage to creatures within 5ft of you.
Cost: 8 mana per second while active
Upgrade this ability to increase how loud your voice is and the range at which its effects take place. Each rank-up increases your Power Attribute by 1.
The range at which I could deal damage with this ability was limited but I was confident it would go up with future ranks. The decibels my voice had gone up had increased by a lot. I¡¯d been able to increase the sound of my voice by ten at rank one and now it would be increased by fifty. I wasn¡¯t actually sure how loud that translated to but it sounded good.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank ten, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ You can project your voice to be heard by individuals vast distances away.
¡¤ Has a chance to inflict the Demoralized condition.
¡¤ Has a minor chance to inflict the stun condition on enemies damaged by this ability.
I really liked the third option, if I combined it with Chain Lighting, I could potentially stun-lock an enemy for the entire duration of a fight.
Voice of the Chasm (Rank 10); Your vocal cords have been enhanced to project both sound and terror filling your enemies with fear as they hear your voice your words echoing and reverberating in their minds. Your voice becomes deeper and more resonant and can be heard clearly even in battle as it reverberates through the air. You can project your voice to be 100 dB louder. Causes fear in enemies within 60ft who fail a Spirit check and hear you.
You can unleash a roar that deals moderate sonic damage to creatures within 30ft of you.
Has a minor chance to inflict the stun condition on enemies damaged by this ability.
Cost: 12 mana per second while active
Upgrade this ability to increase how loud your voice is and the range at which its effects take place. Each rank-up increases your Power Attribute by 1.
I skipped the next four notification prompts from the system.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank fifteen, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ You can change your voice to sound how you like at will.
¡¤ Your vocal tenor lets you worm into creatures¡¯ minds letting you control the will of week minded humanoids.
¡¤ Your voice can cause minor damage to structures and items.
Of my options, I liked the third the most. The first was a cosmetic vanity choice, I wasn¡¯t vain enough to pick something like that over tangible power. The second was a bit too evil and had too much overlap with Dominion. The third was interesting I could imagine all the windows shattering around me as I let out a battle cry. Selecting it I got the next prompt.
Voice of the Chasm (Rank 15); Your vocal cords have been enhanced to project both sound and terror filling your enemies with fear as they hear your voice your words echoing and reverberating in their minds. Your voice becomes deeper and more resonant and can be heard clearly even in battle as it reverberates through the air. You can project your voice to be 150 dB louder. Causes fear in enemies within 85ft who fail a Spirit check and hear you.
You can unleash a roar that deals major sonic damage to creatures within 55ft of you.
Has a moderate chance to inflict the stun condition on enemies damaged by this ability.
Your voice can cause minor damage to structures and items.
Cost: 16 mana per second while active
Upgrade this ability to increase how loud your voice is and the range at which its effects take place. Each rank-up increases your Power Attribute by 1.
Skipping the next four prompts I got to upgrade notification.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank twenty, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your sound waves can be used to give you propulsion.
¡¤ The duration of the fear effect caused by this ability is increased by a minor amount.
¡¤ You now can inflict Dread.
The second option was the most tempting of my choices. The first was intriguing but I couldn¡¯t see a way to use it effectively. I didn¡¯t need another way to inflict conditions on people, so the third choice was out, I already had Helheim¡¯s Scream and Hell¡¯s Talons to do that. The second option would make the base effect of this ability last longer so that was the best choice here. Picking the second option I moved on.
Voice of the Chasm (Rank 20, Max Rank); Your vocal cords have been enhanced to project both sound and terror filling your enemies with fear as they hear your voice, your words echoing and reverberating in their minds. Your voice becomes deeper and more resonant and can be heard clearly even in battle as it reverberates through the air. You can project your voice to be 200 dB louder. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
Causes fear in enemies within 110ft who fail a Spirit check and hear you.
You can unleash a roar that deals severe sonic damage to creatures within 75ft of you.
Has a major chance to inflict the stun condition on enemies damaged by this ability.
Your voice can cause moderate damage to structures and items.
The duration of the fear effect caused by this ability is increased by a minor amount.
Final Rank Bonus: Enemies afflicted by fear of this ability have their reality distorted seeing everything around them as a nightmare and you a creature out of a fevered dream.
Cost: 16 mana per second while active.
The final rank bonus was a nice addition, something to put my enemies off balance when they heard my voice. Hopefully, it would lead to some friendly fire on their part and make my life easier. ¡°Show me my current status,¡± I said to the System.
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 310
Available Rank Points: 2507
Might: 53 (+3) = 56 Mind: 47
Speed: 52 (+22) = 74 Perception: 47
Toughness: 31 Spirit: 121
Endurance: 31 Power: 71
Maximum Stamina: 223 Maximum Mana: 1,487
Stamina Regen: 54.6 per second Mana Regen: 77.4 per second
Abilities
Dominion (Rank 30), Telekinesis (Rank 20), Heightened Speed (Rank 20), Foresight (Rank 20), Compress Earth (Rank 20), Bestial Senses: (Rank 20), Phantom Form (Rank 20), Storm Soul (Rank 20), Magma Heart(s) (Rank 20), Troll Hide (Rank 20), Black-rage (Rank 20), Hell¡¯s Talons (Rank 20), Helheim¡¯s Scream (Rank 20), Chain Lighting (Rank 20), Voice of the Chasm (Rank 20)
Blessings:
Blessing of War (Veteran), Blessing of Tadris
Titles
Mark of Cain, Bloody Pugilist, Exorcist, Survivor III, Feral Barbarian, Field Alchemist III, Berserker, Beast Slayer III, War Chief, Venom Resistant III, Keytaro¡¯s Guardian III, Wrathful Meditation, Fireproof III, Superhuman, Bearer of Death, Lighting Resistance, the Fate Breaker, Apprentice Bludgeoner, Apprentice Deflector, Apprentice Spearman
Standing up I exited my quarters finding a guide who led me on a five-hour journey to the clan¡¯s dungeon. It was an archway carved into the mountainside. Entering I traveled down a tunnel before receiving the prompt from the system.
You have found the dungeon, Valley of the Knife Claws, (Veteran Rank); Max party size for this dungeon is six.
Continuing down the tunnel I emerged into a valley open to the sunlight sky. ¡°The sun wasn¡¯t that high when I came in here,¡± I said. ¡°Also there¡¯s no way we went far enough to find a whole valley.¡± Dungeons do not exist wholly within the world, Karnen explained. They are demi-planes linked to the world by the System. ¡°So, they¡¯re similar to the Event,¡± I mused. In some ways yes, Karnen agreed. I scanned the foliage as I followed the path through the valley. Thick ferns and vines provided plenty of ambush spots, so I turned on Bestial Senses every thirty feet to better sense the area. When the first attack came my enemies were quite surprised when their expected ambush turned around on them. A humanoid with a snarling beast mask wearing fur armor dropped down from above me a bone club raised above them. I stabbed up with my spear and tossed the limp body to the side, spinning around I threw the spear impaling another attacker. ¡°Chain Lighting!¡± I said. Lighting sprayed in all directions hitting three attackers their bodies spasming from the shock as it tore through them jumping to every other creature within range. The sound of thunder echoed through the valley as the lighting bounded around. Two of the humanoids died from the first barrage of electricity their bodies crackling with electricity as they lay smoking on the ground filling the air with the smell of char and cooking meat.
Beast Cultist Rogue-Dungeon Creature, Veteran, humanoid/cultist, Power Level: 245.
A bone arrow whizzed toward me. My left hand holding my nemean club snapped out the arrow spinning away. I released a primal sound as I activated Helheim¡¯s Scream. The cultist froze for fled but I raised my hand and a spearhead flew out spearing them in the back. The ambush was over with no survivors on their side.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 264 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Dismissing the notification, I continued on down the path. The trees grew closer around me as I continued on. Stalking forward I became the ambusher, the cultists hid the trees, long grass, and ferns but whatever they used to cloak themselves couldn¡¯t hide from Voidra who fed upon their hunger and fear as I cut them down one by one.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 296 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Teleporting down from above I skewered a cultist to the ground with my spear. A massive ten-foot-tall cultist burst from a foxhole in the ground swinging a heavy two-handed tooth-studded club at me. Letting go of my spear I pulled and crossed both my clubs above my head catching and blocking the strike.
Beast Cultist Brute-Dungeon Creature, Veteran, humanoid/cultist, Power Level: 280.
The brute roared swinging his club in a rapid frenzy that through sheer force knocked the club out of my left hand as I blocked the manic assault. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talons,¡± I snarled parrying the much heavier club with my remaining weapon and ducking inside his guard. My talons raked up his stomach spilling his innards out on the ground in a torrent of blood and viscera. Purple flames licked along the wound and the flesh beneath them rapidly rotted and decayed. The brute collapsed and the remaining five cultists rushed me. ¡°Chain Lighting!¡± I shouted simultaneously activating Voice of the Chasm. The two abilities both had a stunning effect leaving the cultists frozen in rictus convulsions. I stepped forward driving my claws through their throats as they were helpless to do anything against me.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 303 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Striding forward I continued my slaughter of the dungeon¡¯s denizens. ¡°Are these people real?¡± I asked Karnen. That depends on what you mean by that, Karnen replied. They exist, they breathe they have thoughts, and can probably speak. They can eat, drink, sleep, and fornicate if they so choose. By those measures, they are real, however, if you mean were they born, have families, relationships, or philosophy then no. They are created by the System in this dungeon and can never leave it, there are no moral ramifications for killing them; the System will only respawn them again in a few days with no memory of what happened before.¡± ¡°Sounds like a bleak existence,¡± I said. Then it is good they have no way of contemplating it, Karnen said. Maybe you should tell them to see if it breaks their minds, Voidra suggested. ¡°Thank you for your psychopathic input as usual,¡± I said with a sigh. You¡¯re welcome, Voidra said smugly. ¡°I can¡¯t tell if you don¡¯t understand sarcasm or are being facetious,¡± I said shaking my head. My attacks cleared groups of the cultists with ease the thunder of Lighting and my battle cry echoing about the valley along with otherworldly screams. The ground was left stained crimson everywhere I went smoking corpses littering my path.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 345 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Approaching a rise in the valley I looked up to see curious totems made of twisted roots and bones topped with horned and antlered skulls. I was walking upstairs crudely carved into the mountainside. Reaching the top I passed dead trees whose gnarled branches reached up to the sky and arching over the path creating a briar tunnel. At the end of the path was a doorway carved into the cliff face leading into a circular cavern a hole in the ceiling letting in natural lighting. Walking into the cavern I received a notification from the System.
You have entered the Boss room of the Dungeon; your party cannot leave until one of you is dead. The rank of the boss will equal the highest rank of party members or the maximum rank for a Veteran. You will not all receive equal portions or Rank Points upon completion; instead, points will be awarded based on contributions and points will be deducted to pay for loot drops.
A figure emerged from the shadows walking forward a staff in hand and a bone mask with antlers covering their face. The staff was a twisted, gnarled blackened thing topped with a glowing green crystal. Bones were strapped all along the boss¡¯ torso and limbs creating a sort of armor.
Sallator, Keeper of the Spirits, Gifted- humanoid/cultist, Veteran, Rank: 290
Slamming his staff into the ground Sallator¡¯s body began to glow with a green nimbus aura. ¡°You have come to your doom human,¡± he hissed out his voice recognizable but also inhuman in a way I couldn¡¯t quite describe. ¡°This the cutscene before the boss fight?¡± I asked. ¡°What?¡± Sallator asked. ¡°Sorry, didn¡¯t mean to interrupt. You were saying I was doomed,¡± I said. Snarling Sallator shoved his staff forward and a wave of green light rose up growing wider and taller like a tsunami as it approached me. Teleporting past the wave of energy I stabbed forward with my spear. Sallator blocked with his staff a hand shooting out tapping me on the chest. The attack hadn¡¯t been that hard, so I hadn¡¯t bothered to dodge it. That mistake became evident when my Foresight began showing me an increased number of futures with very few good options. Jumping backward I dodged a projectile of green energy. There was a handprint on my chest glowing green. The light grew brighter and brighter until it exploded. I was flung backward only my activating Wrathful Meditation kept me from blacking out from the pain. Looking down I saw a hole in my chest, bone fragments from shattered rips, and the orange glow from my twin hearts as blood poured from the wound. Bars of green light appeared around me like a cage and drew in closer and closer. Teleporting out of the trap I raised my hand my body resisting me as it tried to shut down and heal itself. ¡°Chain Lighting!¡± I roared activating the voice of the chasm. Sallator¡¯s staff that he¡¯d raised to block vibrated then the wood and crystal began cracking as the shockwave from the sound waves hit them. Thunder roared around us as bolts of Lighting began striking him from all directions. His body-smoking Sallator leaned on his damaged staff for support. ¡°Spirits of fallen hunters, I call upon you, aid me!¡± Sallator snarled then began coughing spitting blood out on the ground. I looked around me but couldn¡¯t detect anything. ¡°Bestial Senses,¡± I said activating the ability. Taking a deep breath I breathed in the sweet tang of iron all around me, past it I could smell the char from Sallator and hear the rapid beating of his heart and heavy breathing. The hairs on my body rose and I dived to the side as a ghost bear snapped down on where I had been. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talons!¡± I said and stabbed out my claws slashing through the bear and popping it like a balloon. I backflipped over the snapping jaws of a spectral green wolf. I landed using the force of my fall to drive my claws through the back of its neck destroying the summon instantly. More bears and wolves surrounded me pulling themselves out of the dirt or emerging from the walls of the cavern. I raised my head, and a scream tore from me, any of the summons within twenty-seven feet of me curled in on themselves whining and roaring in pain before popping, vanishing back into the ether. Turning on Sallator I rushed the dungeon boss. Raising his staff again I stopped him before he could do anything. ¡°Enough!¡± I shouted. This time the cracks in his staff caused his weapon to shatter in his hands. I hit him feet first sending him flying into the cavern wall. Teleporting next to him I stabbed out with my claws. A green energy barrier appeared blocking my attack. I let out another scream and the boss flinched his eyes going wide in panic. I slammed into the shield, again and again, purple flames appeared and then vanished on its surface. Finally, the ability gave way and I drove my claws through the boss¡¯s heart. All the summons vanished as the life from the boss¡¯ eyes faded. They were unable to survive without their summoner and he collapsed at my feet as cursed purple flames rotted away his corpse into nothing.
Warning! You have taken Soul damage which you are extremely susceptible to due to your previous Soul Damage.
Congratulations, you have cleared the Dungeon, Valley of the Knife Claw¡¯s solo. Due to this feat, you have received a bonus for your rewards.
45 rank points gained.
A chest appeared in front of me, and I opened it to see what I¡¯d gotten for loot.
Spirit Cannon; Type: Armament, Rarity: Very Rare, Hardness: 12: Crafted from adamantine, moon-silver, and a soul prism this weapon draws on the emotions of its wielder. It attaches to the armor and will focus on the target the wearer feels the most hatred for at any given time. For the cost of forty mana, it will release a projectile of pure energy dealing Extreme Soul Damage on a successful hit. Cooldown between uses fifty seconds.
Durability: 60-60.
The cannon resembled some prototype for a futuristic gun, it was about thirteen inches in length and made of a dark metal with swirling silver patterns on it. A clear white crystal was embedded in the barrel of the weapon pulsing with a bright light. It was connected to a mobile arm mount it swiveled on and made from the same material. I only had my gauntlets, helmet, and pauldrons for armor. It would look ridiculous on my helmet and obviously couldn¡¯t go on my gauntlets. Snapping it to my shoulder I felt my rage connect to it. The cannon swiveled and aimed down at the remains of Sallator. ¡°Very nice,¡± I said. ¡°Extra firepower is always welcome.¡± It feels alive, Voidra said. ¡°What?¡± I asked turning my head to look at the small mini-cannon. It¡¯s not the same but it¡¯s similar to how you feel when you¡¯re hunting a target, Voidra said. A predatory, hungry intent. It¡¯s most likely just copying your own emotions, Karnen said to me. The item¡¯s description mentioned nothing about it being a sentient artifact. ¡°Those exist?¡± I asked as I reached into the chest for the remaining loot piece. Yes, but they are rare, no one really wants or even needs a talking sword, Karnen said. ¡°I can understand that sentiment,¡± I agreed, pulling up the last loot drop.
Mana Magnification Crystal Fractal: Type: Magical Stone, Rarity: Epic, Hardness: 10 A piece of a larger creation once in the first age of this world it has survived the destruction of the artifact it was a part of but it currently without purpose. This crystal can be used in item creation to amplify the input of mana allowing for more cost-effective enchantments and effects.
The crystal was a bright blue and its surface was covered with cracks that seemed to bleed light. ¡°I seem to get a lot of crystals from dungeons,¡± I said sliding the crystal the size of my thumbnail into my storage pouch. You have an ability that lets you compress earth, you don¡¯t have any real training in alchemy but if you did the System would probably reward you with more ingredients for different potions and stuff. Karnen explained. In general, the System tries to reward you with items and materials it thinks you could actually use or could benefit from. ¡°I¡¯m good with not getting plants for alchemy,¡± I said shaking my head. ¡°Potions are fine, but I prefer permanent effects like enchantments than temporary buffs from potions. I¡¯ll collect a few to eat if I need to get rid of some effect but I don¡¯t have the patience to actually brew potions for hours on end.¡± What about poisons? Voidra asked. ¡°Takes too long,¡± I said shaking my head again. ¡°Sure, it might weaken my opponent, but most fights are done in under a minute, I prefer throwing my opponent into a furnace than letting the die from a gradual burn.¡± I didn¡¯t see anything to harvest from the boss, so I left the dungeon. I didn¡¯t head back to the Bear Clan; I¡¯d spent enough time there. It was time I got back to my quest. I¡¯d met with the leaders of the Wolf and the Bear Clan; it was time I met the Dragon Clan and win the obedience of all three clans at once. ---- Arthur led his army out of the subjugated town. The army had regained their strength and reinforcements from Camelot had fought their way past Pierce¡¯s gorilla forces and met with them resupplying them and growing their numbers. Arthur rode at the head of the army alongside Kay and Lancelot. ¡°We¡¯ve been in one spot for a few days now,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°The main forces of Dracon will have closed in on us a great deal by now.¡± ¡°Then we should find a favorable spot to meet them in battle,¡± Kay said. ¡°Are we doing the right thing here?¡± Arthur asked suddenly surprising his friends. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Kay asked. ¡°Is this war justified?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°I know Dracon has committed wrongdoings on their people in the past but those same people are rejecting our help now.¡± ¡°The common people don¡¯t always know what¡¯s best for them,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s up to those chosen by the gods to steer the course of history.¡± ¡°Have you received any warnings against our actions from the goddess?¡± Kay asked. ¡°No,¡± Arthur admitted. ¡°It¡¯s just something I¡¯ve been worrying about for a while.¡± ¡°War is inevitable for these lands,¡± Lancelot said trying to comfort his cousin. ¡°Sooner or later another champion will come along to conquer them or overthrow the ruling family and put themselves on the throne. By us doing it now we can avoid even more bloodshed in the future when people get beyond the ranks of hero.¡± Kay shuddered. ¡°Can you imagine what an Exarch could do on the battlefield, entire battalions of soldiers wiped out by a single man.¡± ¡°Our war may seem bloody,¡± Lancelot agreed. ¡°But it is nothing compared to what will be coming. You need to use the time now to become stronger. There are other champions already in veteran rank, you need to get there and become as powerful as you can to defend Camelot and lands like Dracon from champions who care only about power.¡± ¡°There are only a few chaos spawn in the world,¡± Arthur said. ¡°A few of them are surely even dead by now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not just talking about the champions of the gods of chaos,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to blaspheme but not all the champions of the gods of order are good people. Some are as wicked as the chaos gods, concerned only with gaining power at any cost. You will have to fight them one day just as you¡¯ll have to fight the champions of chaos.¡± Chapter 51: Heavens Wrath ¡°We should tell the others,¡± Helen said again for what had to be the hundredth time. ¡°Tell them what?¡± Guinevere asked letting out a sigh. ¡°That the Warlord isn¡¯t here!¡± Helen said exasperated as tired as Guinevere by the argument. ¡°It will just cause panic,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Unless you have a plan on what to do, we know that is his army inside those walls. He will return at some point.¡± ¡°He¡¯s going to return with another army!¡± Helen practically screamed. The only thing keeping their conversation private was the privacy enchantment projected by one of Guinevere¡¯s magical items. It wouldn¡¯t protect against all abilities, but it would prevent casual eavesdropping. ¡°Do you want to return home then?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°No,¡± Helen said. ¡°We should track down the Warlord.¡± ¡°We have no way of doing that,¡± Guinevere said again. ¡°We have no idea where he is or where he¡¯s going.¡± ¡°He¡¯s going to the Myrmidon Clans,¡± Helen said. ¡°Unless you want to declare war on them too that isn¡¯t helpful,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Each of those Clans outnumbers our forces three to one at least.¡± ¡°Which is exactly why we can¡¯t let the Warlord ally with them,¡± Helen said. Guinevere sighed and leaned back. ¡°I¡¯ve heard reports that the Dragon Clan has been expanding over the past few generations, rejecting many of the traditions of their past in order to grow in strength.¡± ¡°What are you suggesting?¡± Helen asked. ¡°We form an alliance with them,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Send a ship upriver today with an envoy, see if they will join us against the Warlord.¡± ¡°Why would they do that?¡± Helen asked. ¡°The Myrmidon only respect strength, if the Warlord couldn¡¯t defeat them in battle, he wouldn¡¯t be worthy of serving,¡± Guinevere explained. ¡°It¡¯s worth a try,¡± Helen said. ¡°They will want something in return,¡± Guinevere warned. ¡°I¡¯m willing to pay whatever price,¡± Helen said firmly. ¡°You say that now,¡± Guinevere whispered too low for the other woman to hear. ¡°But the Myrmidons only desire a few things, and you may not be so willing when they ask it of you.¡± --- Running across the foothills of the mountains I headed north-west. I¡¯d been shown a crude map of the Bear Clan and the swamps the Dragon Clan resided in were a few leagues upriver from Castle Dragonbreaker. Jumping, I cleared a cliff and soared out into empty space. I laughed as the rush of adrenaline from the fall hit me as the wind tore past my face. Teleporting I landed on the edge of a cliff at the maximum range for my teleportation. I wish you wouldn¡¯t do that, Karnen grumbled. If you die, so do we. I don¡¯t, Voidra interjected. ¡°What happens to you,¡± I asked parkouring over a ten-foot-thick fallen oak. I get absorbed by the void, Voidra said. I just become pure energy that my progenitors will absorb. That sounds exactly like death, Karnen pointed out. Oh no, my mind and memories just disappear they aren¡¯t absorbed into another consciousness like yours will be, Voidra corrected him. ¡°You never fail to bring up some cosmic dread do you Voidra?¡± I asked teleporting across a stream my feet pounding down a muddy deer trail. It¡¯s just the truth, Voidra said with a mental shrug. I kept moving my mental back and forth between the spirits in my head, helping pass the time. After twelve hours of non-stop running, I stopped for the night. Creating a bunker to sleep in securely, I put on my training armor. I held the poses I¡¯d been taught with my massively heavy training weapons until I couldn¡¯t hold them any longer. I went through some katas I¡¯d been trained in. With my evening practice out of the way, I sat down to work on training my enchanting. I¡¯d traded my work for some gemstones to use in enchanting. Taking out a stone spearhead I began work on it. I only finished two of them before turning in for bed but gave one the bleeding enchantment I knew and the other the fire enchantment I¡¯d learned in the Bear Clan. Lying back, I drifted off into dreamless sleep. - Getting up right after dawn I started running again repeating my routine from yesterday. I¡¯d entered the main forest and everything was thicker so I spent more time in the air teleporting finding clear spots to run. Sometimes I just plowed through the undergrowth letting the branches and foliage snap and break as my bulk went right through them. Creating another bunker, I went through my training and katas. Wiping off my sweat with my cleansing cloth I sat down to work on my enchanting. I created another two spearheads, I felt my skill was slowly growing as I learned how to better pour my mana into the gemstone and infused them into the rune engravings. Lying back I fell asleep. - I fought on a battlefield the smoke and dust in the air making it impossible to tell where I was. A silver sword slashed and cut into me as I fended against it. I fought against a silver ghost making attacks against dozens of others all around me but no matter what I couldn¡¯t lay a finger on the silver figure. Suddenly a massive hole was rent below me and I tumbled into a chasm. Falling down¡­down¡­down. - Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. I jolted up breathing heavily. Dreams of falling to my death were becoming increasingly common and I didn¡¯t like it. I stretched, got my gear together and left my bunker, and took off running off again. Trees whizzed by me the smell of decaying leaves, soil, and summer wind filling my nostrils. My heavy footfalls shattered rocks when I landed animals and birds fled before me so only the sound, I heard were the sounds of my heavy ted and the wind through the tree branches above. Kicking off a boulder I soared over a gorge. Hitting the ground, I felt the rush of exhilaration that using my speed always gave me. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d ever get used to being superhuman. I could regenerate from almost any wound, my skin was harder than diamond, and I could speak thunder and shoot lightning. ¡°I..AM..POWER!¡± I screamed, a wild joy bursting inside me. I felt my muscles burn and Troll Hide eased the muscle fatigue letting me keep going nonstop. Before I knew it the sun was setting again. Creating another bunker, I did my training and katas again. I finished three spearheads this time doing two bleed effects and one fire enchantment. I wanted to try something I¡¯d thought of while traveling. Taking out the crystal I¡¯d just gotten from the dungeon I pulled out another I¡¯d gotten from my first dungeon.
Divine Focusing Crystal (epic crafting material): A piece of a once grand piece of glass that belonged to one of the godly realms but is now useless on its own. This crystal can be used in item creation to help focus raw energy or mana into different effects.
Quantity: 1 Weight: .7 lbs.
Holding up the two I senses that I could shape and alter them with Compress Earth. What I was about to do was risky, but I wanted to risk it. Risk had always been rewarded for me by the System and even if it wasn¡¯t this time I wouldn¡¯t be too upset. I wasn¡¯t sure what I¡¯d even use the crystals for and I didn¡¯t want to act like a player in a video game who never used his consumables out of fear I might need them eventually and ended up never using them. Examining the other crystal I had I set the two crystals next to each other in my hand.
Mana Magnification Crystal Fractal: Type: Magical Stone, Rarity: Epic, Hardness: 10 A piece of a larger creation once in the first age of this world it has survived the destruction of the artifact it was a part of but it currently without purpose. This crystal can be used in item creation to amplify the input of mana allowing for a more cost-effective enchantments and effects.
Quantity: 1 Weight: .6 lbs.
Reaching out with my senses granted by my ability I felt there crystalline structures with Compress Earth and closed my eyes to focus solely on the feeling of their energies. ¡°Compress Earth,¡± I said. The two crystals did not want to merge. It was as if they had a will of their own that strained against me as they tried to stay individuals. I wasn¡¯t having it. I brought my mind against them like a hammer battering down their resistances until they gave into my will. Despite their small size I kept pouring mana in as the stones moved like molasses as I blended them together. I delved deeper and deeper into them, and something struck at me with a blinding light. The pain was intense, but I wouldn¡¯t be knocked from my focus. Channel my anger into the crystal I used it like a lance to pierce the light. When the light popped it was like I¡¯d opened up a vortex and mana began to be sucked out of me like a vacuum. The crystal kept eating it as I traveled deeper into combining the crystals on the smallest level I could until they couldn¡¯t even be considered separate materials. Coming out of my deep focus I looked at my mana bar which was at zero. I had a massive headache, but I held a golden glowing crystal the size of my index finger. It had grown in size beyond the mass of the two previous crystals, I wasn¡¯t sure why but maybe it was the massive amount of mana I¡¯d shoved into it. The crystal represented over a thousand points of mana and holding it I felt humming like standing next to a power line.
Crystal of Heaven¡¯s Wrath; Type: Magical Stone, Rarity: Mythic, Hardness: 16; A crystal crafted from two epic rarity magical stones both with incredible potential, one divine and the other arcane. Now fused these crystals have transcended their previous limits and no matter what is destined to birth a legend. They will amplify and focus any mana channeled through it. If damaged or destroyed this crystal will release enough power to destroy all life within three leagues of it.
Quantity: 1 Weight: 1.3
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective, craft an item of Mythic Rarity.
Reward: Divine Smith.
*Divine Smith: All items you create with your abilities have their hardness increased by two and are one grade higher in rarity increasing all base effects of the item.
Congratulations! Only four others in history have ever earned this title, keep striving for greatness Mordred, your work has not gone unnoticed.
Despite how amazing the crystal was and the title I¡¯d earned for creating it what I found the most surprising was the last notification. The system had spoken to me, not just some prompt, it had addressed by my name and implied it had some interest in me and was pleased with my actions. I¡¯d been told the System could think and was intelligent, but I¡¯d just thought of it as some magical AI. The message implied the System had thoughts, wants, and desires. That was profoundly terrifying. Still, it was nice to be appreciated, and to be only one of five who had ever done something was impressive. I hadn¡¯t considered my work to be that special when I¡¯d started, I knew I could do it, so I¡¯d tried. ¡°Why haven¡¯t more people made mythic items before?¡± I asked myself. Maybe because you almost died from draining that much mana! Karnen growled. ¡°What?¡± I asked cocking my head. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± The stupid crystal drained over two-thousand points of mana! Karnen practically screamed at me. You were working on that thing for half an hour, I tried pulling you out of that, but you wouldn¡¯t stop feeding it. If you hadn¡¯t been able to fill that thing up it would have used your life-force to complete itself. ¡°It didn¡¯t feel that long,¡± I said. Honestly, I felt a bit sheepish, it would have been pretty lame to survive all I had only to accidentally kill myself while playing with some rocks. ¡°Still, it worked out.¡± I suppose it did, Karnen admitted calming himself. What are you going to use it for? Voidra asked. ¡°I have no idea,¡± I admitted putting it inside my storage pouch. ¡°But whatever it is, it¡¯s going to be amazing.¡± --- Korsis and Kas¡¯tu clasped hands as the two-clan leader met. ¡°It is good to meet you again, War-brother,¡± Korsis said. ¡°As it is you, War-brother,¡± Kas¡¯tu agreed. ¡°What made you decide to join us?¡± Korsis asked curiously. ¡°The Warlord uncovered some truths that we could abide,¡± Kas¡¯tu said. ¡°The Dragon Clan have gone too far this time, to seek power is one thing but to abandon all our ways in its pursuit is another.¡± ¡°The path is bloody, but it is straight,¡± Korsis said with a nod quoting the old myrmidon saying. ¡°What strategy do you have in mind?¡± Kas¡¯tu asked as they sat down on either side of a stone table a map of the forest etched into its surface. ¡°The Dragon Clan still greatly outnumbers us; I had hoped to combine forces with the Warlord when he brought his army to attack them?¡± Korsis said. Kas¡¯tu froze. ¡°You didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Know what?¡± Korsis asked warily. ¡°My scouts have reported the Warlord was running as fast as the Dragon Flies straight towards the Dragon Clan,¡± Kas¡¯tu said. ¡°Does he intend to fight them all by himself,¡± Korsis asked disbelievingly. Kas¡¯tu gave him a look. Sighing, Korsis nodded. ¡°Of course, he does. We should move into support him. Whatever he does it will at least be a great distraction.¡± Chapter 52: A Warm Greeting ¡°He wants to marry me?¡± Helen asked angrily. ¡°No, he wants his son to marry you,¡± Chritor said wincing as she glared at him. The djinn had been sent to be their ambassador to the Dragon Clan. The Dragon Clan had actually offered simple terms for an alliance. Hellen would marry his eldest son and they would be recognized as an independent nation and faction. In return, the Dragon Clan would cease all raids on Lunara and its allies and aid them in military conflicts in return for the same freedoms and assistance as Lunara¡¯s other allies. ¡°I¡¯m still not sure why you felt the need to seek an alliance,¡± Jamis said. ¡°We already have a plan for growing our army.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the worst deal they could have offered,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I have to marry a barbarian!¡± Helen shouted at her. Guinevere didn¡¯t blink as Helen got in her face, just placed a hand on her shoulder and with much greater strength than the mortal champion forced her to sit. ¡°This is what it means to be a princess,¡± Guinevere said her voice cold refusing to show the sympathy that she felt for her cousin. ¡°You told me you were willing to pay any price, the bill has come due, now you need to decide. Either you take this deal, or we have to tell the others and retreat out of the forest.¡± ¡°Tell us what?¡± Jamis asked. All the champions were there, and Guinevere looked them over before turning back to Helen. ¡°The Warlord isn¡¯t in the fortress,¡± Helen said. Her words meet silence before everyone began speaking at once asking questions, making demands or just shouting to be heard. ¡°Enough!¡± Guinevere snapped her voice cutting through all the rest of their voices. ¡°I attempted to assassinate the Warlord a few nights ago, while there I learned the Warlord hasn¡¯t been there the entire time, we have laid siege to it. He somehow can make some of his vassals appear with his description in place of their own. He has been securing alliances with the Myrmidon clans to expand his army to crush us." There was silence again as everyone absorbed her words. ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Helen said. ¡°Are you sure my lady?¡± Felrick asked her concerned. ¡°I am the Princess of Lunara, it is my duty to protect my kingdom no matter the personal cost,¡± Helen said. ¡°However, let the Dragon Clan know that I will not be a part of some harem. If his son wishes to marry me he cannot take any other wives or mistresses. If they agree we can marry immediately, we need to crush this part of the Warlord¡¯s army as soon as possible.¡± ¡°This is what it means to be a woman with power in this world,¡± Guinevere whispered to Mira as she nodded at Helen. ¡°Not even Princesses, Gifted or Champions are free of it, remember it.¡± ---- My feet crunched on the gravel as I ran along the beach of the river. I was running along the shore as I headed upstream. I only had another day and a half of travel until I reached the swamps. Taking off running I began to practice different ways of moving. I jumped from one tree to another pushing off them trying to keep from touching the ground for as long as possible. This actually worked, however, the damage I did to the trees when my foot slammed into them was a little excessive. Backflipping before I landed just for the fun of it I sped through the forest alongside the river. I kept going until about nightfall when I reached a bend in the river. Across from the bank, I saw willows and some sort of freshwater mangrove, a permanent fog covering the water on the opposite side of the river. Making a bunker I settled down going through my katas and forms with the spear and club. The movements got easier with every repetition as Troll Hide healed the damage to my muscle helping me build the necessary muscle memory faster. Sitting down in a cross-legged position I began work enchanting some more spearheads. As I worked, I noticed a marked improvement in my work. As I finished the first spearhead, I got a notification from the system.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective, craft an enchantment of Apprentice level.
Reward: Apprentice Enchanter.
*Apprentice Enchanter: You have gained the minimum amount of experience and skill in enchanting to be considered an actual enchanter rather than a dabbler. The minimum grade of all your enchantments is now apprentice and the skill in applying and understanding enchantments is increased slightly.
I hadn¡¯t even had a title for being a novice enchanter, apparently, the system didn¡¯t consider it an achievement worthy of its attention. Holding up the spearhead I had just created, I examined it to see what differences me making an apprentice-level enchantment had done.
Spearhead of Bleeding (rare): A compressed spearhead made of an alloy of uncommon metals and stone, it has serrated edges and is enchanted to deal a moderate amount of additional bleed damage on a hit. Hardness: 16.
An exquisite quality spearhead enchanted by an apprentice enchanter. Can only be damaged by weapons or objects with a hardness greater than 16.
Durability: 35-35.
Without my Divine Smith title raising the quality of everything I smithed this spearhead would have been uncommon rarity. It was a satisfying achievement to have reached and see my titles working to boost my progress further. I remained seated in the lotus position. Because of my immunity to exposure and Troll Hide, I could sleep in any position without much discomfort. I focused on wrangling the beast of rage that was building inside. I had so many abilities, items, and even mutations that increased that rage that the control I¡¯d had over it before had been working less and less. I needed to reassert myself and gain self-control. Too many times in my fights, I¡¯d been overcome by my rage and it had made me overextend myself and leave myself open to attack. My anger was a source of power to be sure but left to do as it pleased it would be like an unattended fire that burned down the entire house it was in. I breathed in deeply in and out, I wasn¡¯t trying to find some inner peace or calm state of mind. No, I just needed to be used to the anger to be immunized to it so that it couldn¡¯t overwhelm me. Despite the ravenous emotion, I was struggling with I was eventually able to fall asleep like that. -- ¡°Why does daddy hurt you,¡± I asked my mom as she wiped a scrape on my knee clean. ¡°Your dad is just depressed,¡± Ellen told me. ¡°Why?¡± I asked pleadingly. ¡°Why does he hate me?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t hate you,¡± Ellen said running the washcloth over my face and wiping away a few tears. ¡°It¡¯s just that I got pregnant very young, and your father had to give up on his dream to take care of you and me,¡± she explained. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°He should just leave!¡± I shouted, pushing myself off the bathroom counter. ¡°Mordred!¡± my mother snapped a stern tone in her voice. ¡°Don¡¯t ever say that!¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t love us!¡± I shouted at her before running to my room and crawling under the bed. My mother called after me, but I wouldn¡¯t come out. Hot angry tears rolled down my face, as a child I couldn¡¯t describe the reasons why I¡¯d been angry. I hadn¡¯t been able to understand why my mom would stay with my father. I couldn¡¯t understand why my father hated me. I understood now, my mother had been too weak to stand on her own, my father had been weak too and he¡¯d seen his weakness in me every time he looked at me. -- My eyes snapped open a black mist surrounding me, my veins red as my nails cut into my palms. Bringing my breathing into control I got a grip on my fury and forced it down. Once it was under my control again, I stood up. Why do you do that? Karnen asked. ¡°Do what?¡± I asked. Focus on your anger like that? He asked. ¡°It¡¯s how I control it,¡± I said. Remember what I said about repairing soul damage? Karnen asked. Well, this is literally the opposite of that. Focusing on past wounds doesn¡¯t let them heal only fester. ¡°You¡¯d know all about that,¡± I jabbed at him. I would, Karnen agreed. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you let go of your anger, why don¡¯t you find peace and move on?¡± I asked. Because she doesn¡¯t deserve my forgiveness, Karnen snarled his calm tone replaced with the savage voice I¡¯d heard when I first met him. To forgive her would mean all that pain she caused me wasn¡¯t that bad, that it wasn¡¯t the worst thing to ever happen to me when she ripped my heart out. ¡°Then you know exactly why I don¡¯t,¡± I said nodding. Personally, I love how you focus on your rage, Voidra said. It¡¯s like feasting on the energy of a star. Ignoring her I opened up the way out of the bunker and started running. My feet crunched on the sand of the beach before slapping against the surface of the water. Running across the river I headed into the swamp. The forest in the swamp was very different, there were no trails only short stretches of land. Creatures like fury crocodiles basked in the morning sun diving into the water as I approached. Red and yellow creatures that were stripped like hornets and looked like the cross between a lemur and squirrels ran overhead. It wasn¡¯t until midday that I saw my first sight of the Dragon Clan. I dove to the side rolling across the water like it was a solid floor, a blast of fire made steam rise as a figure dove past gliding thirty feet above me with a pair of bat wings. ¡°Chain Lightning,¡± I said pointing splayed fingers at my flying attacker. Arcing lightning converged on the flyer and his wings and body stiffened and he plummeted from the air hitting the water and skipping a few times before sinking under. I rushed in on his position he came up sputtering. I kicked him in the face knocking him back underwater before he could catch his breath. My right club snapped out deflecting an arrow aimed at the base of my spine. Six-o-clock up above you, Voidra said pinpointing my second attacker. Whirling about I looked at an attacker nested up in the top of a tree his body was covered in dark green scales that gave him some camouflage shifting colors to match his environment. Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t prevent Voidra from discerning his location.
Hasru, Gifted- humanoid/myrmidon (dragon), Mortal, Rank: 74
He drew back his bow again and his arrow grew in length fire bursting along its length. Releasing it I stood there and deflected it away. It exploded on impact and a wave of water was pushed away in all directions. My hair was singed as my fire resistance took effect. The archer seemed surprised that I hadn¡¯t been affected. Spearhead flew out and circled the archer then struck from all directions and he went down.
17 rank points gained.
The first attacker came up for air and I shoved his head below the water with my foot holding him there. I was slowly starting to sink as I stopped moving and the effects of Heightened Speed wore off but I kept at it until he stopped thrashing and went still.
18 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 347 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I checked their equipment but neither had anything worth taking. Orienting myself towards the northeast again I continued deeper into the swamp. As night fell I came into sight of a city. That was the only way to describe it. This wasn¡¯t a clan outpost carved into cliffsides or a grouping of tents. There were stone and brick houses, gardens, and fields outside stone walls. Some of the buildings looked new while others looked quite old. A ziggurat sat in the center of the city. Slowing to a fast walk I approached the city scanning for threats. ¡°Do you detect anything?¡± I asked. Nothing stands out in the immediate future, Karnen said. No strong emotions within the immediate vicinity, Voidra reported. My eyes flicked from side to side. I pressed on towards the city gates my body on edge ready to begin the fight at a moment¡¯s notice. The darkness of the night was lit by torches along the city wall and firelight from inside homes. ¡°Halt!¡± a voice called out from atop the wall. ¡°Who are you, state your business!¡± I stopped, I could see the man clearly, but I was too far away for the system to identify him and it must have been the same for me. ¡°I am Mordred,¡± I said. ¡°I am the Champion of Kelesa, I have come here on a quest given by the goddess herself.¡± ¡°There was a great deal of murmuring at that. A crowd is forming on the other side of the gate, Voidra reported. Get ready for ranged attacks to start, Karnen said. I tensed my fingers hovering by my weapons on my belt like a gunslinger ready to draw. ¡°Open the gates,¡± an old woman¡¯s voice said. There was silence. ¡°Priestess¡­ the Chief said we were too,¡± the man in charge began. ¡°Does the Chief speak for the gods and spirits or do I?¡± the woman, a priestess apparently, said. ¡°I must speak with the Warlord. Deny me again and I shall lay a curse upon you and your family.¡± Her threat silenced any more descent and the gate swung open. Scaled warriors stepped back as I walked under the archway into the city. An old woman in robes made of some reptilian leather and with a headdress made of leather and claws and carrying a bone staff approached me. She looked me over, her eyes settling over my head reading my description. ¡°Come with me to the temple,¡± she said and turned. Not seeing a reason to not go with her I followed. I was still on the lookout for an ambush my eyes never stopping on one spot. ¡°Bestial Senses,¡± I whispered. The scents and sounds of a city were nearly overwhelming but I kept my feet only staggering for a heartbeat. I could hear the sounds of fighting, fucking, children crying, a woman in labor, and the heartbeats of all the creatures within a hundred feet of me. I could smell the smoke in the air, the oily reptilian smell that seemed to coat everything here, and a sulfur order that hung over the water. Scanning the priestess, I read her description.
Remara the Wise Woman, Gifted- humanoid/myrmidon (dragon), Hero, Rank: 470
She looked harmless on the surface, but her rank was as high as of Asmodrin¡¯s had been and he had nearly killed me and would have without Korsis¡¯ interference. I needed to tread carefully around this woman, she had power and in more than one sense of the word. The temple turned out to be the ziggurat. The priestess led me to a cavernous chamber at its center. A brazier sat at the center. Snapping her fingers, she uttered a series of arcane words and the brazier lit instantly. ¡°Have a seat,¡± she said sitting on a stone bench and gesturing for me to take my seat at any of the other benches arranged in a circle around the brazier. ---- The army of Camelot entrenched themselves in the ruins of an old hill fort. The land was just grassy pastureland for miles around leaving nowhere for an army to sneak up on them. Arthur stood at the top of a newly built tower that one of his knights with an earth-shaping ability had created. Lionor wrapped her arms around him from behind pressing her cheek to the back of his shirt. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked. ¡°You haven¡¯t been yourself in a while.¡± ¡°I¡¯m worried,¡± Arthur said. ¡°You don¡¯t think you can win this battle?¡± Lionor asked. ¡°I¡¯m wondering if winning is the right thing to do,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I have no quest from my goddess or even the System to do this. All this bloodshed, the lives I have taken; it¡¯s all for my father¡¯s ambitions.¡± ¡°Do you want to return home?¡± Lionor asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Lancelot told me that I had to become stronger to defend Camelot against the other champions. Even those champions of Order don¡¯t act out of selflessness, many are morally grey and some are as wicked as those who willingly serve the gods of chaos. The problem is by doing all this to become strong enough to face them, I become just like them.¡± Arthur sagged leaning against the railing. ¡°I¡¯m just wondering what I¡¯m fighting for.¡± ¡°I¡¯m late for my period,¡± Lionor said. Arthur froze. ¡°Your pregnant?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet, but I¡¯m a week overdue. What are we going to do?¡± she asked nervously. ¡°You need to return to Camelot,¡± Arthur said. ¡°You don¡¯t want me anymore?¡± Lionor asked, hurt in her voice. ¡°Lionor,¡± Arthur said cupping her face in his hands. ¡°If you¡¯re pregnant I don¡¯t want you anywhere near this war. I will never put our child at risk like that.¡± ¡°Going back now would be just as dangerous as staying,¡± Lionor pointed out. ¡°The ambushes on your supply caravans have only grown bolder. The safest place I could be is by your side. Besides we don¡¯t know for sure yet if I am pregnant.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯m going to handle this,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Guinevere might kill you if she found out. You¡¯ll have to stay away from the capital for a while, at least until the baby is born.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Lionor said taking Arthur¡¯s hand and holding it as he ran his thumb along her abdomen. ¡°Everything is going to be ok.¡± Chapter 53: Its Just Tradition Kira watched as Guinevere fought against the Wind-raptor. The giant hawk summoned small tornados. Guinevere had been different lately; she was always hard to read giving off a cold exterior, but she seemed to be holding back some anger lately. She hadn¡¯t killed the Warlord she knew that Guinevere refused to say what had happened or what she¡¯d seen. She¡¯d only talked to the Lunaren Princess and the two refused to talk. Kira scowled at Guinevere. The woman was as beautiful as freshly fallen snow and just as cold. ¡°Hopefully someone will put some tracks in that snow and mar it up,¡± she muttered. Regald was trying to draw the monster¡¯s aggro, but Guinevere was being too aggressive again. Her job was to be a damage dealer which she did fine, but she didn¡¯t know how to strike and retreat. Once she was engaged Guinevere never fell back and was able to counter almost every attack that came her way. The most annoying part Kira found was that Guinevere was good at it. She didn¡¯t fall back and let Regald tank because she didn¡¯t need him to tank for her. She didn¡¯t need to switch out with Edrick to deal damage and regain her resources and just cycled through her abilities never dropping to zero in all her fights. The truth was Guinevere was so good at her job that she either eliminated the need for them or made it hard for their role in the party. Haldros wasn¡¯t able to drop his fireballs since Guinevere was so close to the enemy so had to settle for weaker attacks that wouldn¡¯t risk hitting her. Sometimes Guinevere had to step in as a tank, blocking attacks that would have hit her other teammates. Her ability to parry, block or counter almost every attack pissed off Regald since it just made him stand back uselessly. Those times when Guinevere had to protect them were the only times she ever slowed down in her attack against her opponent. ¡°Just remember the mission,¡± Kira told herself for what felt like the thousandth time. ¡°This will all be over soon.¡± ---- ¡°Why have you come here alone, Warlord?¡± Remara asked. ¡°I am here on a quest from Kelesa,¡± I said sitting on a stone bench opposite her and the brazier. ¡°As for why I¡¯m alone, I don¡¯t need others.¡± ¡°You are the Warlord, it is your nature to lead armies,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯d do best to not compare me to the Warlords from your histories,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m going to be doing a lot of things differently.¡± ¡°Doing things differently is something I have come to despise,¡± she spat. ¡°What did you see when you came here.¡± ¡°I saw a city,¡± I said shrugging. ¡°A large population that seemed willing to attack me instantly if you hadn¡¯t saved them.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you mean saved you?¡± she asked one corner of her lip turning up. I leaned forward and smiled a predatory grin. ¡°No.¡± ¡°What you saw was civilization,¡± Remara said her face twisted with anger for a moment. ¡°We are the myrmidon; we are to stand against the relentless need the other races have to expand and alter the land in the pursuit of some unobtainable goal. We live in the wilds because they are wild and it makes us strong, to bring civilization to such a place is a sin against our very nature.¡± ¡°Civilization does have its benefits,¡± I said. ¡°Your clan outnumbers the Bear and Wolf combined four to one.¡± ¡°Our warriors are not what they once were,¡± Remara said shaking her head. ¡°The problem with a large population is there simply aren¡¯t enough rank points to go around. Most of our warriors are only in the Mortal Ranks, the elites hoard the use of our dungeons, and the monster spawns.¡± ¡°Yes, I did see the quality of a few of your warriors on the way here,¡± I said remembering the two scouts who had attacked me. ¡°Did you kill some of my Clan?¡± Remara asked dangerously. I didn¡¯t flinch at her words. ¡°I don¡¯t permit people to attack me without repercussions; also they burned up a pair of pants and a shirt and I¡¯m starting to run out of those.¡± She laughed. ¡°Good answer, if they were foolish enough to attack someone a higher grade than them and also the Warlord then their loss is of no consequence.¡± ¡°Your hero rank,¡± I said. ¡°Why not do something about the state of your clan yourself?¡± ¡°My power is spiritual, I could perhaps kill Astrel but just because I did so would not mean the Clan would follow me,¡± she explained. ¡°The corruption of this Clan goes far deeper than one man.¡± ¡°You want something from me then,¡± I said. ¡°I came here to conquer you Clan, doing so will make the Wolf Clan and Bear Clan swear allegiance to me. How do my goals align with yours?¡± Remara sat in thought. ¡°I do not wish to see you cutting your way through my Clan, even if many of these weaklings deserve to be culled,¡± she said. ¡°But there may be another way.¡± A thudding sounded on the door before the gates of the temple were slammed open and a tall figure strode into the room. Stolen story; please report. ¡°You go too far Remara!¡± he thundered. The man carried a double-ended spear its edges glowing violet, he wore dark metal bracers and greaves and a breastplate that reminded me of Greek hoplites. The cloak of a spotted big cat was draped over his shoulders he stepped into the circle of firelight and slammed one point of the spear into the ground, purple flames flashed for an instant along the spear¡¯s edges. ¡°I gave direct orders for the Warlord to be attacked if he entered the city and you let him through our gates!¡± he shouted. ¡°Nice to meet you too,¡± I said not getting up as I scanned who I took to be the Dragon Clan¡¯s chief. Astrel, the Dragon King, Gifted- humanoid/myrmidon (dragon), Hero, Rank: 467 Astrel turned to me and looked me over, scanning me his lips turning up in a disdainful smile. ¡°Is this the Warlord everyone is so afraid of? He¡¯s big I¡¯ll grant you, but I have a dozen warriors twice his rank.¡± ¡°I think I meet one of those warriors,¡± I said with a nod leaning back on the bench against a pillar. ¡°I believe his name was Asmodrin.¡± ¡°You saw my brother?¡± Astrel asked stiffening. ¡°I ripped his throat out with my teeth,¡± I said. That wasn¡¯t the full story of course but better to say as little as possible and let others come to the conclusions I wanted. ¡°You think you can admit to my brother¡¯s murder and walk from this place unscathed?¡± Astrel asked, leveling his spear at me. ¡°There is no murder in battle,¡± I said leaning forward the tip of his spear only a few inches from my head. ¡°Only the dead and the victorious. And I don¡¯t plan on leaving here.¡± ¡°Be mindful of your next words,¡± Astrel snarled. ¡°Remara,¡± I said turning to the priestess who had been silent as she watched the two of us. ¡°How do your people select a new warrior.¡± ¡°Our leaders are either selected by an assembly of the Clans warriors or through trial by combat by challenging the current leader of the Clan,¡± Remara said. ¡°Excellent,¡± I said. ¡°I challenge you to duel Astrel.¡± ¡°We no longer keep with those old traditions,¡± Astrel said lowering his spear. ¡°I am not some common chief, I am a king.¡± ¡°I wonder how the rest of the clan would react to hearing you deny one of our most sacred rights,¡± Remara said. ¡°The right of challenge is core to our beliefs. Your grandfather and father have changed many things in this Clan but the rule of the Strong is the core tenant of our goddess.¡± ¡°Are you really going to end our stalemate now and pick his side?¡± Astrel asked. ¡°I have watched you desecrate our sacred places, seen your warriors violate the priestess under my care,¡± Remara said her voice rising with each word and a palpable power rising in the air. ¡°You have twisted the very nature of what it is to be myrmidon and violated sacred laws and traditions in your blind pursuit of power. If you do not accept this challenge, I will do what I should have done decades past and reduce this Clan to ashes rather than let it morph into this abomination you have conceived.¡± Astrel took a step back. He glared at her and me, I could see more warriors and women in some sort of sacred garb whom I took to be other priestesses. They all stared waiting for his next words. ¡°Very well then, noon tomorrow we shall duel before the temple,¡± Astrel said. ¡°I shall reduce you to ashes.¡± ¡°Looking forward to it,¡± I agreed with a nod. When he was gone, Remara turned to me. ¡°I hope you know what you are doing. I have been saving that option for years now, I won¡¯t be able to use it again.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be the first time I had to kill someone massively more powerful than me in a duel to the death,¡± I said with a shrug. I feigned nonchalance but I wasn¡¯t sure if I could beat him either, his brother had almost killed me, and I¡¯d had help then. Still, I¡¯d grown in power and skill since then and I refused to shy away from reaching for the impossible. ¡°Is there anything you need before tomorrow?¡± Remara asked. ¡°The priestess of the temple will gladly attend to anything you desire.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got two quests you might be able to help me with, I need to defeat the eight powers of the forest, The Bandit King was one, and so was the Storm Pheonix and the Bear Clan¡¯s sacred animal, both beast lords of the forest. The three myrmidon clans make up the other three. What can you tell me about the last two? I was also told your clan had the Helm of Ares which I require to finish my second quest.¡± Remara shook her head sadly. ¡°The Hell Dragon is the creature my Clan reveres, and it is certainly one of the eight powers of this forest although I fear it far beyond you to defeat as you are. Not even me and Astrel working together could survive its breath attack. As for the Helm, it is lost as is the other beast lord I know of.¡± ¡°Lost how?¡± I asked. ¡°They are beneath us,¡± Remara answered. I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve got an ability to move dirt shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± Again, Remara shook her head. ¡°You misunderstand they are not locked away in some tomb or crypt. During Astrel¡¯s father¡¯s reign, he went to war with the Stag Clan. They proved a match for him. However, in desperation, he took the Helm of Ares into battle although such a thing is forbidden to us. It was not enough, the sacred animal of the Stag Clan fought alongside them. They would have routed and destroyed our army if Astrel hadn¡¯t sacrificed his own father. He used an artifact from our armory to open a chasm beneath his father who was locked in battle with the Cursed-Horn Stag. They fell miles deep before it closed.¡± ¡°So, they¡¯re really far down there,¡± I said. ¡°I sense there is something besides that though that prevented you from retrieving the helm.¡± ¡°We call this place the Ancient Forest, the outsiders call it the Cursed Forest,¡± Remara said. ¡°This is not its true name; in the old days, it was called the Forest of the Ancients. They were an ancient sect that called themselves the Order of the Magi, they shunned the use of abilities using only spells and enchantments. They empowered their bodies to the levels of Exarch and Heroes with alchemy and by enchanting their own flesh with spells. You will find little remnant of them on the surface today, they were all heretics and so the gods had them wiped out. The only place that remains of their culture is the caverns deep below, they are warded with old magic none today understand. While down in those caves you don¡¯t have access to the system, which means no way to get rank points, no way to activate abilities that aren¡¯t passive. It¡¯s a man-made dungeon and a death trap, none who go there return.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite the information,¡± I said sitting back and thinking. ¡°I need to complete these quests, but I¡¯ll hold off on trying to get to the helm for now, I don¡¯t even know if the stag would qualify as one of the things I need to kill if its way down there, and if still alive.¡± ¡°Is there anything else I can help you with?¡± Remara asked. ¡°I just need a spot to rest,¡± I said. ¡°I need to get in the right headspace and make sure all my gear is in order.¡± ¡°You can remain here then,¡± Remara said standing. ¡°Before you go you should know that Astrel sent his army away several days ago, he made an alliance with an army beseeching the Bandit King¡¯s fortress. I don¡¯t know all the details, but it is likely an alliance against you. If your army is at that castle they may be destroyed before you come back.¡± ¡°Those not strong enough to exist on their own don¡¯t deserve to survive,¡± I said shrugging. ¡°I¡¯ve done what I can to strengthen those under my Dominion. If they cannot last until I return, then they weren¡¯t worth the spot they took up in my control limit.¡± Remara nodded at my statement. ¡°I shall see to it that no one disturbs you until tomorrow.¡± Chapter 54: Gear Score (Bonus Chapter) Helen stood at the altar as the boats of the Dragon Clan landed. She wore a pearl dress that she¡¯d configured with an ability into a wedding dress. Most of the arriving soldiers ignored the other two armies making a separate camp but a contingent of elite warriors broke off heading straight towards them. ¡°Which of you is the Princess?¡± a thick massive man at the front said. ¡°I am,¡± Helen said raising her chin proudly. The man stepped to the side revealing a much younger man in gold trimmed breastplate, greeves and bracers. He had long black hair tied back revealing a row of scales along his spine. A stripped animal pelt hung over his shoulders like a cape. He bowed to Helen taking her hand in his and kissing the back with courtly mannerisms. ¡°I am pleased to meet you Princess,¡± the man said. ¡°I am Prince Atrel, son of the Dragon King.¡± ¡°I am Princess Helen of the Lunara Kingdom,¡± Helen said curtsying as her years of court training kicked in. The barrel-chested man behind the prince grunted. ¡°Enough pleasantries, I know your father insisted you learn the outsider¡¯s customs, but we are here to seal an alliance.¡± ¡°This is Gustran,¡± Atrel said. ¡°My father assigned him as my bodyguard, he is rough as sand but loyal as a dog.¡± ¡°And mean as one too,¡± Gustran said baring his teeth. ¡°I¡¯ve been sent to assure this alliance is forged before we give you any aid. Are you ready for the wedding?¡± ¡°I would have liked to have time to bring my mother here,¡± Helen said. ¡°By that time this battle will be over,¡± Gustran said. ¡°My king wants your kingdom to recognize these forests as ours, with your backing giving us legitimacy we will stop the raids on you and your allies.¡± ¡°How nice of you to put an end to the threat you yourselves created,¡± Helen snapped. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if you feel backed into a corner,¡± Atrel said. ¡°This isn¡¯t the way I¡¯d like for us to form a relationship, but I am only a servant of my father.¡± ¡°You agreed to the terms Princess,¡± Gustran snorted. ¡°If you back out now, we¡¯ll head back to our ships and leave you to face the Warlord on your own.¡± Helen took a deep breath. ¡°No, my duty is to my kingdom and my goddess. I will do whatever it takes to see this threat eliminated.¡± --- Remara left and I stood up and stretched. I began removing all my equipment, laying it out and inspecting it. I set down my weapons that I regularly used. My spearheads didn¡¯t need examination and there were too many to even work on them all in the time I had before my battle. My two clubs had served me well, but they weren¡¯t magical although the claws did retain the laceration ability from the nemean lion.
Nemean Club: Type: Club, Rarity: Rare. Hardness: 8. A savage implement fashioned from a stone ability and the claws and bone of a nemean lion. This weapon retains the hardness and indestructible nature of the creature it was made from and the effect of one of its abilities has transferred over. The claws of this club will inflict the Laceration condition on any creature they puncture.
*Laceration: Targets wounds do not close when healed and will continue to bleed until the bleeding is staunched or the effect removed.
Durability: 15-15
I hadn¡¯t done much to improve them in awhile and it was probably time to change that. Enchanting took time so I¡¯d probably only have time to do one. Setting down my helmet I examined it as well.
Juggernaut Helm: Type: Helmet, Rarity: Epic. Hardness: 9 Made of dragon-steel and enchanted by master enchanter this helmet is stylized after the face of the legendary Siege Beast Galgemet. At the cost of thirty mana, you double your size for thirty seconds, your physical stats are increased by thirty for the duration and all your damage is increased by a minor amount. You suffer backlash at the end of this as your body recovers from the rapid increase and decrease to your Attributes.
Durability: 15-40
I hadn¡¯t been checked it in awhile and I saw its durability had gone down by over half from where it had started. I have to fix that and hopefully upgrade it somewhat. I took off my rings and gauntlets to examine as well. I¡¯d upgraded my gauntlets before to repair them, but I hadn¡¯t had my title Divine Smith when I had done that.
Gauntlet of the Soldier (Left hand): Type: Armor, Rarity: Uncommon. Hardness: 14, Increases damage with one handed weapons by a minor amount, when paired with another gauntlet of the same type on the opposite hand will increase damage with two handed weapons by a moderate amount.
Made from a compressed metal alloy and empowered by a novice enchanter.
Durability: 22-30.
Its durability had only gone down a few points. That was a good sign that my gear would grow a lot stronger and would need less maintenance in the future. Examining my other gauntlet, I looked to see how much damage it had taken.
Gauntlet of the Soldier (Right hand): Type: Armor, Rarity: Uncommon, Hardness: 14, Increases damage with one handed weapons by a minor amount when paired with another gauntlet of the same type on the opposite hand will increase damage with two handed weapons by a moderate amount.
Made from a compressed metal alloy and empowered by a novice enchanter.
Durability: 24-30.
This gauntlet had taken a bit more damage, but it was my dominant hand so that made sense. Setting it down on the bench I examined my two magical rings.
Ring of Stoneskin: Type: Jewelry, Rarity: Rare. Hardness: 10 For the cost of forty mana, you can infuse your skin with granite like qualities. For the next three minutes you will take half damage from physical attacks and your skin¡¯s hardness is increased by 6. Can only be used once per hour.
Made of pure granite and carved by a master Mason and enchanted by Journeyman enchanter.
Durability: 8-15
Ring of Auroch Strength: Type: Jewelry, Rarity: Rare, Hardness: 8, While wearing this ring your Might Attribute is increased by +3.
Made from the horn of an ancient Auroch and empowered by a journeyman enchanter.
Durability: This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. 11-20.
Both rings durability had gone down so I¡¯d need to repair them as well. I pulled out an item I¡¯d rarely used.
Mask of Winter¡¯s Breath: Type: Scarf, Rarity: Rare. While wearing this scarf over your face you can breathe normally in heavy smoke, poisonous vapors or underwater.
Made from the fibers of lunar silk-worm and empowered by a journeyman enchanter.
Durability: 10-15
Its durability had only gone down a little but that was mostly because I hadn¡¯t used it much. I¡¯d tried using it in the cursed prairie but it hadn¡¯t been able to filter out the pollen, probably because it was some ability rather than a natural effect. Unlike my other gear I had no way of repairing this since it wasn¡¯t made of an earth element.
Cloak of the Forest Lord; Type: Cape, Rarity: Very Rare, Hardness 8, Crafted from the hide of one the Beast Lords of the past this cloak fills its wearer with bestial power and fury. When you kill an enemy while wearing this cloak you gain an instance of Blood Frenzy which lasts for three minutes and stacks with other instances of Blood Frenzy.
*Blood Frenzy; your damage is increased by a minor amount however your Perception Attribute is hampered as your vision turns red making it hard to tell friend from foe and you are filled with the singular desire to kill.
Durability: 7-40.
I¡¯d been able to tell my cloak was getting damaged even without having to inspect it. It had always looked ragged but now it was less an aesthetic direction like ripped jeans and more torn and worn like used pair of socks. Unlike my mask I wore this all the time so it had taken a lot more damage in my fights, also like my mask I didn¡¯t have a way to repair it. Considering how this fight was likely to go this might be my last battle wearing it one way or the other. My pauldrons were indestructible, and I didn¡¯t think I could even alter them. I¡¯d just gotten the spirit cannon attached to it so it didn¡¯t need any repairs. I laid out another piece of equipment, the first magical item I¡¯d gotten but one I¡¯d rarely used.
Shield of the Vengeful: Type: Shield, Rarity: Rare, Whenever struck with a melee attack on your shield a moderate amount of the damage taken is reflected back through the weapon to the arm of the attacker.
Made from a shadow steel alloy and enchanted by a journeyman enchanter.
Durability: 10 -15
It was a good item, but I had lacked the weight and strength to use it properly. I had those now but I wondered if I had the skill to use it effectively. Shrugging I decided to repair it, I¡¯d find out tomorrow how useful it would be to me. I decided to fix my helmet first, I planned on only using it my upcoming fight if absolutely necessary, the backlash was too severe to try and use like some ultimate and could easily get me killed instead of clinching a victory. Taking out a compressed ingot of rare metals, closing my eyes and focusing, I worked on fixing any cracks, dents or imperfections in the metal as I fused the ten pound ingot in with the rest of the helmet increasing its durability and hardness score. Opening my eyes, I examined it to see what changes I had made.
Juggernaut Helm: Type: Helmet, Rarity: Epic. Hardness: 16. This helmet is stylized after the face of the legendary Siege Beast Galgemet. At the cost of thirty mana, you double your size for thirty seconds your physical stats are increased by thirty for the duration and all your damage is increased by a minor amount. You suffer backlash at the end of this as your body recovers from the rapid increase and decrease to your Attributes.
Made of a compressed metal/stone alloy and enchanted by master enchanter
Durability: 45-45
It had gone from a metallic iron color to the same glossy black as my pauldrons thanks to some compressed obsidian I¡¯d added into the mix. The helmet¡¯s rarity hadn¡¯t changed even with Divine Smith, I guess my work hadn¡¯t been extensive enough for the system to qualify what I¡¯d done as creating anything. It had really just been some maintenance, so I wasn¡¯t upset although slightly disappointed. Setting it down I picked up my Ring of Stoneskin. I got so lost in my fights I forgot to use this as often as I should. I resolved to be more diligent in its usage. I wouldn¡¯t need a full ingot for this. Taking a nugget of compressed rare metal, I began working it through the ring. It didn¡¯t take nearly as long and soon I held up the restored ring.
Ring of Stoneskin: Type: Jewelry, Rarity: Rare. Hardness: 16 For the cost of forty mana, you can infuse your skin with granite like qualities. For the next three minutes you will take half damage from physical attacks and your skin¡¯s hardness is increased by 6. Can only be used once per hour.
Made of compressed metal and stone and enchanted by a master enchanter.
Durability: 25-25.
The rarity hadn¡¯t gone up again although its hardness and durability had significantly increased which would hopefully mean it wouldn¡¯t receive as much damage in the future. Just this one ring weighed almost an entire pound. I barely felt its weight with my super strength, but I imagined the extra weight behind any punches I made would be pretty effective. Slipping it on. Doing the same my other ring I held up the hefty piece of jewelry.
Ring of Auroch Strength: Type: Jewelry, Rarity: Rare, Hardness: 16, While wearing this ring your Might Attribute is increased by +3.
Made from the horn of an ancient Auroch and empowered by a journeyman enchanter.
Durability: 25-25.
I slipped on the ring and moved onto my gauntlets. I¡¯d already put a bunch of metal into them before so I just added some compressed obsidian. The dark smokey metal turned a glossy black like looking at midnight waters. Doing the same to both gauntlets I held them up to examine the changes even though I didn¡¯t expect much.
Gauntlet of the Soldier (Left hand): Type: Armor, Rarity: Uncommon. Hardness: 16, Increases damage with one handed weapons by a minor amount, when paired with another gauntlet of the same type on the opposite hand will increase damage with two handed weapons by a moderate amount.
Made from a compressed metal/stone alloy and empowered by a novice enchanter.
Durability: 35-35.
Gauntlet of the Soldier (Right hand): Type: Armor, Rarity: Uncommon, Hardness: 16, Increases damage with one handed weapons by a minor amount when paired with another gauntlet of the same type on the opposite hand will increase damage with two handed weapons by a moderate amount.
Made from a compressed metal/stone alloy and empowered by a novice enchanter.
Durability: 35-35
The changes had been as expected so I moved on to the last piece of gear I could repair. Picking up my shield in both hands I grabbed two ingots of compressed metal with my telekinesis. I slowly infused the mana as I felt the imperfections and damage in the metal and merged the materials together. When I was done, I held up a shield the same glossy black color as my gauntlets, helm and pauldrons. Slipping all my gear back on I sat cross legged. Levitating my preferred club into my hands I took a few nuggets from my inventory and made a pair of engraving tools. Normally I didn¡¯t need to rely on tools since I could etch designs in directly with Compress Earth but this was bone not stone or metal so I¡¯d have to do things the old fashioned way. Slowly and painstakingly I began working on adding the fire-enchantment to each of my clubs claws. I could have added the bleeding enchantment, but the claws already had a similar effect. Rather than doubling down on one effect I wanted to broaden its usefulness. If something was resistant to bleeding I hoped the added fire damage would be effective and vice versa. It took five hours to finish the engraving. Finally, I ground the gemstone in my pedestal, holding my hand over the power I focused on adding my mana. When the crystals were glowing, I mixed in some water and brushed the mixture over the engraving. Wiping away the excess I let the mixture dry then held it up to examine. The runes along the claws glowed red and there was a heat haze around them.
Nemean Club: Type: Club, Rarity: Very Rare. Hardness: 8. A savage implement fashioned from a stone ability and the claws and bone of a nemean lion then enchanted by an apprentice enchanter. This weapon retains the hardness and indestructible nature of the creature it was made from and the effect of one of its abilities has transferred over. The claws of this club will inflict the Laceration condition on any creature they puncture. Deals a moderate amount of fire damage with each hit.
*Laceration: Targets wounds do not close when healed and will continue to bleed until the bleeding is staunched or the effect removed.
Durability: 15-15
My weapon had gone up in rarity, its hardness and durability hadn¡¯t changed although it hadn¡¯t taken damage in my entire time using it. Only another weapon made from nemean lion could damage it and I hadn¡¯t seen another one of those yet. Setting my club across my knees I began my meditation exercises. I didn¡¯t need to be calm for this fight, I needed to be angry but I needed that anger tempered into a weapon rather than a wildfire. Breathing in and out heavily I felt the storm boil inside me. My nails dug into my palms drawing blood as my rage called for me to destroy something, anything, everything. All the injustice ever done to me fueled that rage and it was only amplified by my equipment, abilities and mutations. Chapter 55: To the Death Guinevere gathered Helen and the other Champions in the command tent. One way or another this might be the last meeting where they were all together. Chritor stepped into the tent sweat glistening on his metallic bronze skin as his four arms carried a massive chest. Hefting it onto the table he flashed a bright white smile at everyone. ¡°I finally finished them!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± Jamis said hesitantly. ¡°Finished what?¡± Chritor deflated somewhat. ¡°I have been thinking about how to counter the Warlord¡¯s greatest power.¡± ¡°His ability to dominate others?¡± Helen asked. ¡°He¡¯s probably already ranked it to forty,¡± Felecia said shuddering at the thought. ¡°What is it you created?¡± Helen asked, bringing the conversation back to the topic at hand. Chritor opened the chest and handed an amulet from the chest to everyone in the room. Holding it up they all examined it and read the prompt the system gave them.
Amulet of Mind Shielding: Type: Jewelry (Neck), Rarity: Rare, Hardness: 10. While wearing this amulet you are immune to all mind control, domination, enslavement and suggestion abilities and spells.
Made by a prot¨¦g¨¦ in both smithing and enchanting.
Durability: 25-25.
The description was short but evocative the value of these amulets could not be expressed by a mere description. ¡°Are all these amulets the same?¡± Felrick asked as he placed the necklace around his neck. ¡°Yes,¡± Chritor said a look of weariness on his face. ¡°I¡¯ve been working at it nonstop since we learned for sure it was the Warlord we were fighting. I¡¯m all out materials but I have enough for every member of our army.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not perfect,¡± Helen said putting on the amulet and tucking it under her armor. ¡°They could be stolen by some Thief ability or removed if we fall unconscious.¡± ¡°But it will prevent the Warlord from dominating large groups of our army if we encounter him,¡± Ishtor said. ¡°You are truly one of the greatest craftsmen of this age,¡± Artel complemented. ¡°It is a magnificent gift and contribution to our fight,¡± Guinevere agreed placing her amulet back in the chest. Everyone turned to her. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to put it on?¡± Mira asked concerned. ¡°I¡¯ve never had to worry about the Warlord¡¯s domination,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°He had a master enchanter engrave an almost identical enchantment onto my collar bone when I was thirteen.¡± ¡°Enchanting flesh!¡± Helen exclaimed. ¡°But that¡¯s forbidden! It is the heresy of the Magi.¡± ¡°My father is the Merlin,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°He has immunity of the law when it comes to practicing and studying magic.¡± Felrick frowned. ¡°it¡¯s still not ethical even if it legal. That kind of surgery and procedure is agony, I can¡¯t imagine what kind of monster would do that to a child.¡± ¡°The kind who wished to forge a weapon,¡± Guinevere snapped. ¡°You will refrain from impugning my father¡¯s character again in my presence. Of all of us here I am the readiest for this fight, I have been prepared since I was ten to fight Champions.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you mean Chaos Spawn?¡± Torvin asked. ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said flatly. ¡°I was raised to be able to defeat any Champion that might threaten my kingdom, and I will no matter who they are.¡± ¡°We should distribute these amulets,¡± Helen said breaking in before anyone could get testy with Guinevere. The champions broke up to distribute the mind shielding amulets and to prepare for the battle. ---- My eyes snapped open as the gates to the temple opened the entrance pure white as blinding sunlight flooded the darkness. I stood my shield on my left arm and the wyvern bone spear in my right. I strode towards the entrance. ¡°Bestial Senses,¡± I muttered quietly. I didn¡¯t put it past Astrel to try an ambush and kill me before the duel. Exiting the temple, I entered the massive city square outside. People had gathered around. They stood on the streets and sat atop the nearby rooftops to get a view of the spectacle. In the daylight I could see that there were actually a few warriors around. Most of the people were women or craftsmen, the rest of the warriors must have been part of the army that was attacking my vassals. Slamming my spear down I waited. Priestess and soldiers kept the crowd back. Astrel stood across from me on the other side of the square, his appearance was unchanged other than wearing a helmet with a visage of a dragon engraved on its visor. An energy dome appeared over us, it was about three hundred feet in diameter and half that in height. Readying myself I waited for the fight to be announced. Remara stepped forward, her attire was more flamboyant and ceremonial than what she had worn the night before. ¡°The Warlord has challenged the leader of our Clan to single combat for the right to lead us. As the law of strength says we serve the most powerful in our Clan or the champion of Kelesa!¡± she said to the assembly. ¡°Witness now the battle and swear your allegiance to the one that war smiles upon.¡± Before her last sentence was even over Astrel was charging me. His footfalls cracked the stone paving stones. A blast of fire exploded from the soles of his feet sending him skyward like rocket propellent. Dragon wings appeared from his back spreading wide as he approached me like a comment. Teleporting to the side he struck the ground where I¡¯d been. My spear was already going for his neck, suddenly he disappeared a glowing rune left on the ground. I felt him appear behind me but before I could turn the rune exploded launching me backwards. Somersaulting I twisted around the slash and jab of Astrel¡¯s spear. Using my pauldrons and boots to deflect and block the strikes where I could given their indestructible nature. I was mostly doing a series of acrobatics instead of fighting. I spent the forty mana to activate my ring of Stone Skin, increasing my skin¡¯s hardness by six and reducing the physical damage I would take by half. Teleporting ten feet back I managed to get my feet steady under me. Astrel leaned forward and his mouth opened, I dropped down behind my shield as a cone of green flames surrounded me. Sweat ran down my skin but the shield blocked the main force of the flames and Fire Resistance III reduced the damage of the flames that hit the parts of my legs not protected by my boots. I charged forward straight through the flames and lunged forward. The flames ended just as my spearpoint was an inch from Astrel¡¯s neck. It hit but as the spear tip pushed into flesh it was repelled as thick dragon scales formed completely negating the attack. A violet, malignant aura pulsed out from Astrel and hit me.
You are in the effect of a Curse Aura, all damage you take will be increased by three stages.
Astrel stabbed forward and I barely twisted to the side the spearhead skidding over my skin; it didn¡¯t cut but purple flames did burst into light along my abdomen. He twisted the spear in his hand, the opposite end coming up like a scorpion stinger over the top of my shield. I headbutted the spear, it wasn¡¯t the greatest plan, but it knocked the strike from hitting me in the chest. Suddenly a tail swept around wrapping around my legs, the tail was as thick as my forearm and as agile as a python covered in thick black scales with glowing red rim, a line of spines extending up the tail which led around to Astrel¡¯s rear. The tail began to squeeze, and my bones and flesh protested. Astrel raised his spear to finish me off as his tail kept me down on the ground. Phantom Form resisted activation; it never liked it when I was in contact with another being. It ended up costing six times its normal cost, but the spear passed through my chest. Purple flames burned my spirit, but I rolled out from it and jumped back turning physical again. The act of changing back to my physical state again put out the curse flames but I still felt the ache in my spirit from the damage they¡¯d been able to do. Astrel lunged forward again, the tip of his spear brightening with some ability. Look out! Karnen warned as my Foresight went ballistic. His body blurred even to my enhanced perception as one strike turned into hundreds. There was no way I could dodge them all my Foresight just couldn¡¯t handle the sheer quantity of possible angles and attacks coming my way. Falling back on instinct I used my shield to block the majority of the attacks and my spear to ward off the ones going for the parts of my body not covered by it or armor. A massive strike hit my shield and my entire arm went numb. Another equally powerful attack hit, Astrel was muttering the command phrase for one of his abilities under his breath as he spammed the ability over and over. My shield arm began to hang limp as all the feeling was driven from it and the force of the strikes reverberating through the shield began to actually cause damage, fracturing my forearm and turning the muscles there to mush. Falling back, I teleported to the edge of the dome and dropped my shield. I couldn¡¯t use it properly and I needed a free hand. Raising my still shaky left hand I pointed it at Astrel who was charging me again blasting forward with his own teleportation ability. The ground exploded where he disappeared from as he closed the distance in a few heartbeats. ¡°Chain Lighting!¡± I said. Blue bands of electricity snapped out all arcing towards Astrel, now only a dozen feet away from me. ¡°Mage Bane,¡± Astrel said, and a barrier appeared around him the Lighting striking into it and running off grounding harmlessly into the ground. Astrel held his spear one handed and lunged at me with a burst of speed, the dragon wings appearing on his back again to give him the extra boost. I twisted dodging the deadly cursed spear-tip but Astrel¡¯s other attack made it through. I saw it at the last second it my Foresight but there was nothing I could do prevent it at that point. Astrel grabbed my spear from my hand and ripped it from my grasp. Planting one end against the ground, he brought up his knee and broke my spear in two and flicked his wrist. My own spear rammed into my chest and Astrel spun kicking ramming it through my armored skin and through my ribs into my left heart. Stolen story; please report. Staggering backwards I teleported away. Grabbing the shaft, I ripped out the bloody spear-tip spraying blood out across the ground. It hissed as it touched the stone, dropping the broken haft I downed a healing potion from my belt. The potion and Troll Hide began closing the wound, but Astrel was already charging me again. Astrel teleported again, I was ready for an attack from behind or either side but instead Astrel appeared a hundred feet above. ¡°Falling Star!¡± Astrel snarled. Fast as a beam of light Astrel hit me square in the chest sending me backwards and skidding along the ground on my back. Astrel charged me again. ¡°Petrifying Gaze,¡± he said his eyes meeting mine. Everything slowed down for me, and it felt like I was moving through molasses. I pulled my club from my belt and forced myself to my feet and to move past the petrifying effect as I broke eye contact with Astrel. Stone dust flaked off my skin. Astrel swung and stabbed with his double ended spear at me. I blocked and did my best to parry but Astrel had boosted his Might and it was a struggle to not stagger down to my knees with each strike. My club couldn¡¯t be broken thanks to being made from nemean bone, however that wasn¡¯t the same as damage and I watched as the bone began to twist and warp. Every hit I blocked as Astrel powered forward warped the weapon in my hands. In less than a minute my weapon had been bent into a U shape. Astrel¡¯s tail whipped out and I was too slow to avoid it. Knocked to the ground again Astrel raised his spear to try and finish me off again. Instead of turning incorporeal I rolled to the side as the spear slammed down beside me. Reaching out I grabbed at the spearhead. ¡°Compress Earth,¡± I said. I fed mana to my Spirit Cannon, and it swiveled on my shoulder focusing on Astrel¡¯s face and letting off a beam of silver light. Stone flowed up the spear shaft and the dirt and stone for twenty feet compressed into one solid mass. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do this before but my practice with the ability was paying off. Astrel yanked up straining before jumping back to avoid the beam of Soul Damage from my spirit cannon. Able to use his distraction to finish the job I successfully trapped Astrel¡¯s spear into the ground. He wasn¡¯t getting his spear out unless he had a similar ability to mine or a magical bulldozer. Abandoning his spear Astrel splayed his fingers. ¡°Dragon Claws,¡± he snarled as his nails grew and thickened into eight-inch-long black claws. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talon¡¯s,¡± I said in response my own claws growing from my fingers. Astrel lunged forward and I blocked pushing his attack to the side. Astrel had been much better than me with his spear compared to my skill with spears and clubs combined, however when it came to direct hand to hand combat it turned out I was the better fighter. It was only a slight advantage, and I could tell I was losing, we¡¯d both gone through pretty much every active ability we had and he was able to counter or withstand pretty much everything I had. I needed to overwhelm him quickly before he could adapt. I hadn¡¯t wanted to do it, but this was a literal do or die moment. I activated the speed boost on my boots and the size increase from my helm. Astrel¡¯s eyes widened as I swelled in size towering over him. He slashed out at me with his claws, I was a much bigger target, but I was also much faster. I brought up my leg blocking his claws against the scales of my boots; then I kicked him like a soccer ball. My increase in stats was impressive but I only sent Astrel flying a dozen yards before his wings snapped out and he alighted on the ground. It wasn¡¯t over yet thought and tackled him my shoulder hitting his chest as I was almost parallel to the ground. His back slammed up against the barrier and I rammed my claws into his abdomen. The dragon scales formed blunting my attack, but I still managed to stab them three inches into his stomach. Purple flames burst from his wounds as the curse damage took hold. Astrel¡¯s own claws were stabbing and raking across my body, but I was letting my rage loose and barely felt anything as I tore into him. My claws stabbed in over and over and slashed across his arms as he raised them to defend himself. The curse damage was doing the lion¡¯s share of the damage the wounds rapidly closing but the burning purple flames remaining. Astrel lunged forwards tackling me backwards, he drove his claws into my chest but had as much trouble penetrating my skin as I had his. Rolling across the ground we each tried to pin the other and rip their chest open. The short duration of our claws made us keep having to activate them. In the end I won because of Storm Soul, Astrel was a much higher rank than me, but his mana pool was still nowhere close to mine. He was beating against me with his bare fist. I closed my massive, enlarged hands around his neck, my talons ripping through the scales and skin into his neck. I strangled and tore into his throat, eventually ripping out his trachea. Astrel died instantly, higher rank or no you just couldn¡¯t survive without certain parts of your body. I fell backwards sitting back. The boost to my speed ended and I shrank back down. The backlash from both effects hit me the same time I received the notifications from the systems. I could barely see from the exhaustion and wanted nothing more than to pass out.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 348 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective kill a high tier Hero Gifted while still only in Veteran rank.
Reward: Challenger.
*Challenger: You have proven yourself multiple times in combat against creatures vastly more powerful than you and not only survived but triumphed. You do one more damage stage and receive one less damage stage against higher Tier Gifted than you.
Something flew out of a pouch at Astrel¡¯s side and slammed into my chest melting and flowing through the wounds of my skin.
You have absorbed the bone of an adult fire dragon which has bonded to your Spirit Attribute and will fuel and guide your soul¡¯s mutation when you pass the Hero limit for your Spirit Attribute.
The notification vanished to be replaced by another.
Bone Merge: (Rank 1); You can infuse your weapons with the nonmagical remains of your enemies, the flora of your environment or the corpses of animals and beasts. Your weapons gain different properties bases on the nature of the materials and their hardness is increased by 1.
Cost: 1 mana per square-foot
Upgrade this ability to determine what types of materials from your enemies can be merged into your weapons, to gain exotic effects and increase to their hardness. Each upgrade to this Ability increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
Again, the ability disappeared as soon as I read it to be replaced again by another system prompt.
Your abilities, Compress Earth and Bone Merge, have synergy with each other. Would you like to sacrifice these abilities to combine them into the ability Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory? Ability will be a more powerful combination of both abilities but will only get the standard amount of additional effects.
Yes / No
I was so addled by the fight and the backlash from using both of my boosting items I just mentally selected yes. No, you idiot! Karnen screamed in my head. Your spirit is already at the maximum for Hero Rank! Oh, shit. There was a pain I couldn¡¯t describe. It hit me so hard I hadn¡¯t even been able to activate Wrathful Meditation. I was lost in the agony as my Spirit went up twenty attribute ranks from one-hundred-and-twenty-one to one-hundred-and-forty-one. The maximum attribute for Hero was one-twenty-five so I was well and truly over it. Pushing past the pain I was able to activate Wrathful Meditation. Amazingly I could still feel the pain although it was diminished severely. ¡°Why can I still feel pain?¡± I asked Karnen through gritted teeth. Your soul is literally on fire! Karnen shouted at me mentally. This has nothing to do with your physical being, the fact that a title can block any of this is a miracle! You sure panic a lot, Voidra said. Our host is literally dying for real this time! Karnen yelled at her. Oh, Voidra said coming off her post battle high. We should probably stop that. I finally got the prompt as my abilities merged.
Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory: (Rank 20) (Max Rank); You can infuse both earth, stone & metal with organic materials to create unique more durable and heavier materials that can be shaped by your world. You can fuse a 524,288 square-foot section of earth, stone, metal, or organic materials. Your earth-organic alloys have a hardness rating of 15, your compressed common earth has a hardness rating of 12. The detail you can sculpt with is based on your Mind, Spirit & Perception attributes.
You can use common, uncommon, rare, magical, and enchanted, earth, stone, metal and organic materials. Your creations have different properties and effects based on the materials used.
Final Rank Bonus: The weapons and armor made with this skill are empowered with Hell and Draconic Energies dealing a moderate amount of fire and/or curse damage or granting a moderate amount of resistance to fire and/or curse damage when worn.
Upgrade this ability to increase the hardness and uses of this ability. Each rank up increases your Spirit and Mind by 1.
Cost: 2 mana per square foot.
I¡¯d barely read through the new ability before its description was replaced with another notification.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 125 the Veteran limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attribute from killing you.
Warning! You have raised one of your attributes to Exarch Rank while still only in Veteran Rank. Your survival is doubtful, do your best to survive. Balancing your attributes has the best chance of increasing your survival.
Spend your attribute points directly on your Attributes, Karnen said. ¡°No,¡± I grunted. No? Karnen asked flabbergasted. Your soul is literally about to burn into nothingness, now is not the time to hoard rank points. I sat cross legged on the ground. ¡°If I¡¯m going to win this game, I¡¯m going to do it the right way.¡±
Your spirit has mutated to allow the spirits inhabiting it to absorb the life energies of the creatures you¡¯ve slain to strengthen themselves and by extension you, increasing theirs and your soul¡¯s resiliency and resistance to being damaged.
Instantly I could sense energies slowly flowing off of Astrel¡¯s corpse. Karnen and Voidra reached out with invisible tendrils and pulled the energy into me draining his corpse of it. The agony I was in lessened somewhat but it was nowhere close to being gone. I looked down at my torso and saw something very different. ¡°Why am I glowing like a nightlight?¡± I asked. All my scars were shining white like I was tin can covered with holes and shoved over a lightbulb. Your spirit is too powerful for your body to contain properly, Karnen said. It¡¯s actually a little uncomfortable, Voidra said. Like being inside an oven. ¡°So sorry to inconvenience you,¡± I said dryly. I stood shakily looking out over the assembly of the Dragon Clan. ¡°I hope someone doesn¡¯t try to challenge me now, I don¡¯t think I can fight even a house cat right now,¡± I said. The dome came down and the assembly of the Dragon Clan fell to their knees. ¡°Hail the Warlord!¡± they shouted. Remara brought out a throne and I did my best to not stumble as I made my way over to it and sat down. ---- Guinevere looked out over the fields around the fortified town. It was dawn and they were ready to attack. With the addition of the Dragon Clan, they now numbered nine-thousand strong, giving them four to one against those occupying the fortress. There was a thick tension in the air and soldiers were gathering on the wall opposite everyone able to tell that this was a day that would be marked in history. The Army would attack in three prongs rather than try to merge the three different factions and mess with the complications and restructuring that would require. Atrel was in charge of the Dragon Clan, they had few ranged specialists among them and were mostly front-line fighters. Their advantage was that over three-quarters of them had flight abilities so could rapidly reach the top or fly over the wall. The Lunarens were primarily archer and ranged focus so they would fire on the walls and the ground inside the walls. Once a spot on the wall or gate opened was clear they would advance but until then they would remain at a distance. The force of Camelot was a mixture of heavy infantry and cavalry, they didn¡¯t have any mounts aside from the few bears Jamis had managed to rear in the time they had. Given their lack of mounts they would assault the walls and gate with a ladder and a ram. Helen stepped forward raising her staff. ¡°Soldiers of Lunara!¡± She called out. ¡°Attack!¡± Chapter 56: Desperate Straights Arthur led the counter-charge. The army of Dracon had arrived and immediately surrounded then attacked. They were outnumbered four to one, but they held the superior position. Arrows flew over Arthur¡¯s head as they were bombarded by the enemy and his own archers atop the hill fired volley after volley into the enemy ranks. Their elevated position let them easily aim and fire over their own troops without fear of accidentally hitting them. Excalibur cleaved a man at the base of his torso the now riderless horse plunging into the fray causing chaos. Arthur had a plan, it was simple, desperate, and foolhardy but if he succeeded it would save many lives. He¡¯d offered to duel the leader of the army who to his surprise was a woman. The daughter of King Palamedes she was not an unattractive woman, but she was all edges and brutality. The only remaining child of King Palamedes, if she could be captured then she could be leveraged to force the army to surrender. Kay and Lancelot were to either side of Arthur as they plowed through the ranks of foot soldiers, their blades and abilities cutting a path that closed behind them as they rode through. Twelve knights rode with Arthur, each from the powerful and noble house of Camelot. Punching through the ranks of Dracon infantry was easy, most were ungifted, and those who were only had maybe four to five ranks. A gap began opening up for Arthur as the army moved back. Princess Andromeda and her guards charged Arthur her army forming a parody of the lanes of a jousting tournament. For several seconds Arthur lost all hearing and everything seemed to slow as the seconds before impact came. Pure focus and attention filled Arthur¡¯s every move in the saddle and with his sword practiced and perfected. They struck an enchanted lance splintered off Arthur¡¯s artifact breastplate. Excalibur struck down in a spray of blood. Kay and Lancelot did equal damage. Andromeda was not helpless, however, her own sword deflected three strikes with a rapid display of one of her abilities. Then she pierced one of his knights through the neck. Arthur and Andromeda were side by side astride their hoses now. Excalibur clashed against her sword but couldn¡¯t cut through the metal of her blade. The two artifacts clashed in a series of attacks until they rode past each other and were out of range. Wheeling her horse around Andromeda charged him again and he answered her. Their blades collided Kay, Lancelot and the rest of his knights devoted themselves to defending Arthur from the army pressing in around them. Lancelot conjured a shield of air to deflect a barrage of arrows aimed at them. Kay conjured a wall of stone to keep back the foot soldiers and they held the line as Andromeda dueled from horseback. Andromeda was a master of the sword likely trained since she was old enough to walk but Arthur was the Duelist. In a one-on-one fight she¡¯d never really had a chance. Excalibur cut through the neck of her horse, and she fell its wait pinning her to the ground. ¡°Yield,¡± Arthur commanded. Andromeda spat. ¡°I¡¯m not some Camelot dog to beg for your forgiveness.¡± The body of the horse was suddenly flung up at Arthur. He cut down with Excalibur parting the corpse in two but was blinded by the shower of blood. He barely caught the glint of metal and parried counterattacking instantly in automatic response drilled into him over his entire life. Andromeda staggered back blood dripping down her face a deep fatal wound in the side of her head from where Excalibur had pierced her left eye. Despite the wound, she did not give up but attacked again. Arthur blocked and shoved her back and she fell to her knees. ¡°Yield!¡± Arthur commanded. ¡°Death first,¡± Andromeda spat. Arthur grimaced, there was no way to take her alive surrounded as he was. He raised his sword to finish the job. A crossbow bolt took him under his armpit. Arthur staggered back blood collecting in his lung where the bolt had pierced. Dracon soldiers pushed forward and grabbed the now unconscious body of Princess Andromeda and dragged her back into their ranks swallowing her up and disappearing her away. Sir Hector landed beside Arthur, his left hand glowed as he yanked out the crossbow bolt and used this healing ability to repair the damage. ¡°What now my lord?¡± Hector asked. ¡°We fight back to our side,¡± Arthur said. ¡°They are leaderless now; we regroup with the main force and route this army like the rabble it is.¡± --- I began using Dominion to bring the assembly under my control. The citizens of the Dragon Clan lined up and knelt before me as I raised my hand, adding them to the followers whom I could trust and who would benefit from my ability. Thanks to half the city being gone it only took seven hours but it felt like it was twice that long with how much pain I was in. I remained sitting with my teeth gritted for the whole ordeal able to heave a sigh of relief and sag in the throne when they had all dispersed, ordered to go back to their duties. Finally, I stood up and stumbled over to where I¡¯d trapped Astrel¡¯s spear. ¡°Compress Earth,¡± I said and dragged out the spear. Holding it up I examined it more closely able to read its description now.
Spear of Janus, Type: twin-spear, Rarity: Artifact I, Hardness: N/A; This weapon can only be destroyed by a god. Deals an additional moderate amount of Curse damage on each hit.
Made from remnants of a Death Knight¡¯s armor after its destruction and infused with the remnants of its spirit.
Durability: N/A.
This was the first magic weapon I¡¯d found that I could use. Gripping it I used it like a walking stick. Turning back to the temple, I was going to ask Remara about the Dragon Clan¡¯s dungeon. Suddenly I felt something, the number of my followers was falling. I could passively sense how many people I could dominate at a time, and it was rapidly growing as spots emptied in my available roster. Looking around the city for something that might be killing my vassals. It¡¯s not here, I realized. They¡¯ve started attacking my vassals back at the fort. I wanted to just start sprinting in that direction, no one attacked what was mine. I stopped, I was in incredible pain right now and it would slow me down considerably. It would be at least a day even running at full speed to get there so I wouldn¡¯t arrive in time to do anything anyway. I needed to aid my vassals from afar. I knew a way to do that, of course, that didn¡¯t mean it was a good way. ¡°Karnen,¡± I said. ¡°My spirit is already in Exarch.¡± We¡¯ve noticed, Karnen said dryly. If I had a body, I¡¯d be roasting in here. ¡°Would raising it any further have worse effects on me?¡± I asked. Probably not, Karnen said offhandedly. Wait! Why?! I ignored him and immediately sat down in the lotus position. I focused on my anger, with Wrathful Meditation not working the way it was, this was probably going to suck, a lot. ¡°Raise Dominion to Max Rank,¡± I told the system. I didn¡¯t care how much it cost, I had so many rank points I could afford to spend them, and I could always earn more. The pain in my soul grew but it was like adding fire to more fire, at a certain point you just couldn¡¯t notice a difference. I skipped the first four notifications, with every second spent, more of my vassals were dying.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank thirty-five, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ You gain temporary a bonus to your attributes whenever one of your vassals is slain near you allowing you to avenge them.
¡¤ Your vassals can move tirelessly without fatigue and are able to march for leagues without rest.
¡¤ You can Scry on the nearby surroundings of your lieutenants.
I picked the second option since it was the only one that would directly buff my vassals. I wasn¡¯t sure if it would be helpful in a battle, but it was the best I could do for them now.
Dominion (Rank 35): Ten-thousand times per day plus your Spirit attribute, you can as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. You can dominate a number of creatures at a time equal to your spirit attribute plus 145. A creature may choose to serve you willingly or may attempt to resist by opposing their Mind attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can at will see the Abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion equal to your Spirit Attribute times 36.
The larger your Dominion is the more it grows in power, all Attributes of your vassals are raised by 4 when they are in a group of fifty or more, every fifty vassals increase this bonus by 3 to a maximum possible Attribute score of 45.
You can share your Foresight with five creatures to serve as your lieutenants. The creatures you share this with are not required to be your vassal and will have the exact same version of the ability as you.
(Warning this cannot be taken away from a creature once given and will remain with them until they or you die).
Four times per day you can pick an ability from one of your vassals and gain access to it. You will continue to have access to this ability until you pick another ability or the vassal holding the ability dies. (You must be close to your vassal to select an ability they have).
You can designate three creatures as your generals, with authority over your other vassals, all vassals must obey them as if they were you and your chosen authority¡¯s attributes go up by 11% for every ten miles between the two of you to a maximum of 37%. You cannot select another vassal for this role for a week after using it. The creature¡¯s title description also changes to mimic yours when you are farther than a mile from them.
Your vassals will gain the Enraged status in battle numbing them to physical pain and boosting their damage by two stages for 3 minutes with a 5 minute cooldown.
Your vassals only require a tenth of the amount of rest to be fully recovered and can go for three days with no sleep on a forced march with no ill-effect on them.
Cost: 7 mana per five creatures.
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day as well as the multiplier for how many creatures you can have dominated at a time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
Dismissing the next four notifications.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank forty, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your vassals are like you embodiment of war and benefit from battle wounds closing with each kill they make.
¡¤ You gain a bonus to your effective Attributes based on the size and closeness of your army.
¡¤ Your lieutenants have the ability to create an aura of fear around them.
Looking over my options quickly I chose the one that would best help my vassals survive.
Dominion (Rank 40): Ten-thousand times per day plus your Spirit attribute, you can as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. You can dominate a number of creatures at a time equal to your spirit attribute plus 145. A creature may choose to serve you willingly or may attempt to resist by opposing their Mind attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can at will see the Abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion equal to your Spirit Attribute times 41. The larger your Dominion is the more it grows in power, all Attributes of your vassals are raised by 4 when they are in a group of fifty or more, every fifty vassals increase this bonus by 3 to a maximum possible Attribute score of 45.
You can share your Foresight with six creatures to serve as your lieutenants. The creatures you share this with are not required to be your vassal and will have the exact same version of the ability as you. (Warning this cannot be taken away from a creature once given and will remain with them until they or you die).
Five times per day you can pick an ability from one of your vassals and gain access to it. You will continue to have access to this ability until you pick another ability or the vassal holding the ability dies. (You must be close to your vassal to select an ability they have).
You can designate four creatures as your generals, with authority over your other vassals, all vassals must obey them as if they were you and your chosen authority¡¯s attributes go up by 16% for every ten miles between the two of you to a maximum of 42%. You cannot select a replacement vassal for this role for a week after using it. The creature¡¯s title description also changes to mimic yours when you are farther than a mile from them.
Your vassals will gain the Enraged status in battle numbing them to physical pain and boosting their damage by three stages for 4 minutes with a 4:30 minute cooldown.
Your vassals only require a tenth of the amount of rest to be fully recovered and can go for four days with no sleep on a forced march with no ill-effect on them.
Each time one of your vassals makes a kill, they and any other vassal within 10ft regain up to three stages of damage.
Cost: 9 mana per five creatures. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day as well as the multiplier for how many creatures you can have dominated at a time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
I dismissed the ability in a heartbeat only reading the full description of the new effect. My impatience helped to fuel my anger as I waited for the option to skip each upcoming chance to view my ability in between ranks.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank forty-five, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ You can sacrifice one of your vassals within range causing them to explode dealing massive damage to all nearby creatures and structures.
¡¤ Creatures who kill one of your vassals gain the debuff Marked for Death.
¡¤ Your lieutenants are not freed from service even in death, your Dominion over their soul will resurrect them as a Death Knight under your command.
Picking the second effect since it was the only one, I could see that would directly help my vassals right now. The third one was tempting but I was trying to make sure my vassals survived not bet on them not making it. The first one was out of the question if I wanted to make things explode I had other much more specialized abilities to do just that.
Dominion (Rank 45): Ten-thousand times per day plus your Spirit attribute, you can as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. You can dominate a number of creatures at a time equal to your spirit attribute plus 145. A creature may choose to serve you willingly or may attempt to resist by opposing their Mind attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can at will see the Abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion equal to your Spirit Attribute times 47. The larger your Dominion is the more it grows in power, all Attributes of your vassals are raised by 4 when they are in a group of fifty or more, every fifty vassals increase this bonus by 3 to a maximum possible Attribute score of 45.
You can share your Foresight with seven creatures to serve as your lieutenants. The creatures you share this with are not required to be your vassal and will have the exact same version of the ability as you. (Warning this cannot be taken away from a creature once given and will remain with them until they or you die).
Six times per day you can pick an ability from one of your vassals and gain access to it. You will continue to have access to this ability until you pick another ability or the vassal holding the ability dies. (You must be close to your vassal to select an ability they have).
You can designate five creatures as your generals, with authority over your other vassals, all vassals must obey them as if they were you and your chosen authority¡¯s attributes go up by 21% for every ten miles between the two of you to a maximum of 47%. You cannot select a replacement vassal for this role for a week after using it. The creature¡¯s title description also changes to mimic yours when you are farther than a mile from them.
Your vassals will gain the Enraged status in battle numbing them to physical pain and boosting their damage by three stages for 5 minutes with a 4-minute cooldown.
Your vassals only require a tenth of the amount of rest to be fully recovered and can go for five days with no sleep on a forced march with no ill-effect on them.
Each time one of your vassals makes a kill, they and any other vassal within 15ft regain up to four stages of damage.
Each time one of your vassals dies the killer gains the Marked for Death debuff increasing all damage they take by two stages.
Cost: 11 mana per five creatures
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day as well as the multiplier for how many creatures you can have dominated at a time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
I impatiently dismissed the description of the upgrade and the next four notifications until I got to the next upgrade.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank fifty, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your lieutenants are all legendary heroes give them armored skin and a percentage buff to their strength and speed.
¡¤ The ultimate avenger of your army, whenever one of your vassals is slain you gain a short stacking moderate damage bonus.
¡¤ You are able to contact any of your vassals from any location as long as you are both in the same Realm of existence.
I was unsure here if one ability would help my vassals, but one would let me gather crucial intelligence and perhaps direction which might be even more valuable. I went for the third option, one more buff was unlikely to determine the difference between life and death.
Dominion (Rank 50, Max Rank): Ten-thousand times per day plus your Spirit attribute, you can as a spoken command, force a creature not bound by another creature into your service. You can dominate a number of creatures at a time equal to your spirit attribute plus 145. A creature may choose to serve you willingly or may attempt to resist by opposing their Mind attribute against your Spirit Attribute. You can at will see the Abilities and Attributes of any creature under your Dominion. You may have a maximum number of creatures under your Dominion equal to your Spirit Attribute times 55.
The larger your Dominion is the more it grows in power, all Attributes of your vassals are raised by 4 when they are in a group of fifty or more, every fifty vassals increase this bonus by 3 to a maximum possible Attribute score of 45.
You can share your Foresight with seven creatures to serve as your lieutenants. The creatures you share this with are not required to be your vassal and will have the exact same version of the ability as you. (Warning this cannot be taken away from a creature once given and will remain with them until they or you die).
Six times per day you can pick an ability from one of your vassals and gain access to it. You will continue to have access to this ability until you pick another ability or the vassal holding the ability dies. (You must be close to your vassal to select an ability they have).
You can designate five creatures as your generals, with authority over your other vassals, all vassals must obey them as if they were you and your chosen authority¡¯s attributes go up by 21% for every ten miles between the two of you to a maximum of 47%. You cannot select a replacement vassal for this role for a week after using it. The creature¡¯s title description also changes to mimic yours when you are farther than a mile from them.
Your vassals will gain the Enraged status in battle numbing them to physical pain and boosting their damage by three stages for 6 minutes with a 3-minute cooldown.
Your vassals only require a tenth of the amount of rest to be fully recovered and can go for six days with no sleep on a forced march with no ill-effect on them.
Each time one of your vassals makes a kill, they and any other vassal within 30ft regain up to six stages of damage.
Each time one of your vassals dies the killer gains the Marked for Death debuff increasing all damage they take by three stages.
You are able to contact any of your vassals from any location as long as you are both in the same Realm of existence.
Final Rank Bonus: You and your lieutenants have a passive link that always points to the location of the other and gives an approximation of distance allowing you to find each other and cording attacks better.
Cost: 13 mana per five creatures.
Upgrade this ability to increase how many creatures you can dominate per day as well as the multiplier for how many creatures you can have dominated at a time. Each upgrade increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
Reaching out with my newest effect I contacted one of my vassals I considered the least capable but who just might be the key to everything. ¡°Juruk where are you right now?¡± I asked. --- The battle was going well. They surged over the walls and were locked in combat with the enemy. The bandits weren¡¯t pushovers, but they were outnumbered and facing professional soldiers. Guinevere and her party were cutting their way through a squadron of warriors protecting the gate. During their weeks of waiting, they¡¯d constructed a magical ram that was battering it from outside, but it would take some time to break through. Guinevere hoped to move the beam, holding it shut and letting in the main bulk of the army. The heavy clanking of armor met her ears and she turned to see seven massive men in plate armor charging her.
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank 310
The false title hung above the two leading warriors. Guinevere and her party moved to intercept the squad of Veteran fighters. While a few soldiers here and there in the army had crossed into Veteran rank she and her party will still be the only Veteran party on their side of the battle. The Dragon Clan had apparently already suffered losses recently against the Warlord and Wolf Clan and lost the bulk of their elite fighting force. Their army outranked the soldiers in the Warlord¡¯s significantly but their attribute strength was more equivalent to someone at the beginning of Veteran rank even if they lacked the abilities that came with it. Stepping forward Guinevere raised her sword, its blade looking like it was carved from ice. ¡°Stand-your-Ground,¡± she said activating an ability. A massive maul swung down at her. She didn¡¯t dodge or teleport to the side. Instead, she bent to the side and used the flat of her blade to push the attack to the side. She counterattacked her sword scraping off his thick armor but leaving a trail of white spreading frost that would make his armor more brittle in that section. He seemed somewhat off balance for a second and stepped back. ¡°I can¡¯t see her with Foresight,¡± he said to another man disguised as the Warlord. ¡°She must have a counter of some kind to it,¡± the other man said his sword deflecting Edrick ¡¯s daggers as the rogue appeared out of his shadow and tried to stab through a gap in his breastplate. Edrick dodged and ducked but the man¡¯s sword tracked him wherever he went, almost intercepting him several times. Regald was busy tanking the rest of the Dragonbreakers, so Guinevere had to step in. Breaking her defensive stance, she jumped in blocking a sword strike that would have cut Edrick in two. She spun and ducked as the two men flanked her their weapons coming at her from opposite directions and angles. Guinevere leaped mid-air spinning and rolling in a seemingly impossible display of acrobatics and grace. ¡°You have skill girl,¡± the man with the maul grunted. ¡°But you can¡¯t dodge forever.¡± ¡°My army outnumbers yours,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Surrender now and I will give you what leniency I can when you are free of the Warlord¡¯s control.¡± The man looked around. Guinevere couldn¡¯t see his expression, but his body language seemed resigned. Her troops were steadily advancing their numbers killing his men at the rate of two to one. The outcome of the battle was already set and now it was just the bloody arithmetic to get there. ¡°I gave my word to the Warlord to serve him,¡± the man said shaking his head. ¡°Then so be it,¡± Guinevere said teleporting behind him. Her sword couldn¡¯t pierce his armor, but she had other methods of inflicting damage. ¡°Agonizing Strike!¡± she said. The man¡¯s body spasmed as her sword struck his armor, waves of pure pain immobilizing him for a second. She didn¡¯t have time to take advantage of his helpless state as the other false Warlord stepped in to defend him. ¡°Blizzard Breath,¡± Guinevere said blowing out an icy torrent of wind and snow. The ground was frozen and slick now and the man skidded for a second before stomping his foot down creating an imprint to hold him steady. Their swords clashed again as all around them her army pressed forward. Then it happened, she didn¡¯t notice immediately but the title above the two men began to change. The rank began to creep up in rapid succession. At first, Guinevere considered it good news, it meant the Warlord was secluded somewhere delirious on painkillers. Then the battle began to shift. A red aura surrounded the two men and began to spread through their entire army. They let out a tremendous roar of fury in unison that made everyone freeze for a moment and the sheer volume and fury in it. Then they were striking again, their attacks came heavier with a savage bloodlust that hadn¡¯t been there before. The two men fighting her lost none of their skill, but their blows seemed suddenly much more personal than they had before as if she had pissed them off. As the battle went on people on both sides had been flagging as battle fatigue set in then a second wind passed through the army of Warlord. They perked up and began to push forward slightly. They weren¡¯t turning the tide of battle, but they were grinding it to a halt. A squadron of Camelot knights rushed the Dragonbreakers from behind to add to the battle. The Dragonbreakers had been taking hits and were steadily being whittled down many limping or having trouble holding their weapons with both hands. A knight stepped forward lunging with his longsword only to have one of the Dragonbreakers turn and decapitate him with his halberd. Immediately all the brothers straightened their limps and difficulty holding their weapons vanishing. Guinevere was distracted by the sudden change and barely had time to block the maul swinging for her chest. It still hit with the force of a dragon, and she was flung off her feet and sent flying. She hit the wall of a cottage and went right through it. It hadn¡¯t been made of the same construction as the fortress and walls and she pushed herself up from a pile of rubble. Teleporting back outside she ducked under a sword strike. Using Agonizing Strike again she spent the mana to catch it twice striking both warriors. Looking around she saw the Warlords army was pressing forward foot by foot, whenever they killed someone on her side all of them within a short distance immediately got back up from what should have been lethal wounds. It was as if the army had suddenly gained a contingent of gifted healers and they were getting all their soldiers back into the fight. The next change happened a moment later as Guinevere held off the two false Warlords and the rest of her party struggled to help their knights push back the rest of the Dragonbreakers. One of the Dragon Clan killed one of the Warlord¡¯s vassals, the next instant he was annihilated as every strike that hit him seemed twice as powerful as before. The effect was doubled as people noticed and became less eager to be the one to finish off a target and suffer the same fate. Progress on their side of the battle slowed and began to reverse as the army of the Warlord pressed forward. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you would care to surrender now?¡± the false warlord carrying the sword asked. ¡°You are far from winning this battle,¡± Guinevere spat. ¡°But your victory is not so assured now,¡± he replied. It was true, where before the casualties had been two to one in her favor now, they had switched. That still wasn¡¯t a winning hand for them, her army outnumbered theirs more than three to one and could withstand the losses, but this battle had grown much harder and victory wasn¡¯t certain now. The two men pressed forward but Guinevere had been trained to fight just like this by the best weapon masters in the kingdom. Her father had spent a fortune on forging her into a weapon that could take on the god¡¯s Champions. These two men were probably two of the strongest warriors she had ever faced but her skill with the sword surpassed whatever weapon title they might have had. Suddenly the two men stiffened as if hearing something she couldn¡¯t. They both nodded at some unspoken command or agreement and took a step back. ¡°Fall back to the keep!¡± the one wielding the maul shouted his voice carrying like thunder across the battlefield. Guinevere was confused. They were holding their own now, why were they retreating? Her party rushed to harry the retreating army. Reluctantly Guinevere followed but couldn¡¯t help but feel they were walking into a trap. Slowly the Warlord¡¯s army funneled into their castle archers on the ramparts firing at anyone who tried to fly up or scale the walls. It took an hour to get them all inside, the Dragonbreakers remained at the front of the army their presence like a rock that a stream flowed around. The two men Guinevere was fighting annihilated any common soldier or knight who tried to attack them. Jamis rushed them in his bear form only to have his massive form struck from below by a pillar of earth and sent flying. Trying to attack higher than your rank was always a bad idea and the other champions learned from Jamis¡¯ mistake and focused on beating down the other soldiers. They claimed maybe a tenth of their army before they¡¯d retreated fully inside the castle. With possession of the town, they began to surround the castle bombarding it with abilities and retreating behind cover. It had been three hours since they¡¯d called the retreat and now the army had mostly relaxed and were tending to their wounded. Their siege had intensified but with them now holding the town their eventual victory was assured. ¡°I don¡¯t like this,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°We¡¯ve won!¡± Felrick said his armor bloodstained but a bright white smile flashed. ¡°Not yet,¡± Guinevere muttered darkly. A horn blew from the north. They turned but couldn¡¯t see anything from inside the town¡¯s walls. Guinevere rushed forward teleporting every few steps leaving behind a patch of slick icy ground. Reaching the top of the wall she saw the Lunarens battling with a hoard of goblins. There had to be several thousand of the green menaces. Most of them didn¡¯t look to be gifted but there was a group of goblins mounted on some sort of reptile. The mostly ranged archers and healers were being whittled down by the goblin hoard. Guinevere made her decision. They¡¯d been outmaneuvered, they couldn¡¯t hold the town with enemies inside and without, and unless she acted now Helen and her entire army would be annihilated. ¡°Abaddon the town and help the Lunarens!¡± Guinevere ordered. ¡°You want to abandon our victory?¡± Chritor asked. ¡°This is hardly a victory,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°We can¡¯t hold this town; we¡¯ve done enough for today we need to regroup and attack again tomorrow after we deal with those goblins.¡± Her army and that of the Dragon Clan poured out of the town¡¯s gates. They swept over the goblins who retreated as soon as they saw them. Those on the back of the raptors flanked their army then turned and rode straight for the town. The castle inside looked like a hive of bees as soldiers poured back out to retake the walls. Guinevere could see two warriors atop the wall staring at her and the rest of the Champions. Despite having killed at least half of their number this was more a victory for them than it had been for her. They had repelled a force superior in number and quality of troops; she¡¯d fallen into the Warlord¡¯s trap. They¡¯d lost a quarter of their army; they still outnumbered the Warlord¡¯s army three to one. ¡°I¡¯ll give this to you Mordred,¡± Guinevere said softly to herself. ¡°You¡¯re a cunning bastard.¡± Chapter 57: On the Throne Arthur picked through the battlefield. It had been a bloody thing, but his army was superior if not numerically then qualitatively. They¡¯d lost fifteen percent of their forces but only a quarter of the Dracon¡¯s had survived fleeing the field. Men went through the battlefield searching for their wounded and mercy killing the enemy. They couldn¡¯t afford to take prisoner with their reduced numbers and the force of guerilla fighters still active in the nearby wilderness. Princess Andromeda had disappeared with the retreating forces likely taken back to Dragon-Hold, the capital of Dracon. Shoving Excalibur through the neck of a man dying of a ghastly gut wound. Arthur helped his men as best he could, being as much an example to them as an extra pair of hands. It took three hours, but the battlefield had been cleared and loot disturbed to the men. They were back on the march, if they marched for a day and night without rest, they would be at Dragon-Hold by the next dawn. ---- My feet slapped against the water of the river. This was the fastest way to get back to the fortress, there was no burning in my lungs despite the speed I was going, only burning in my spirit. I was taking the backlash from using my boots to double my speed for an hour. The cooldown was only five minutes now but the jump and then the sudden decrease in my speed attribute made me want to collapse and puke out my guts. It wasn¡¯t helped by me teleporting over three-hundred-and-fifty feet every five seconds when my teleport came off cooldown.
Boots of Midnight Wind (Artifact: Rank V): Gives a +35 bonus to the wearer¡¯s Speed Attribute and gains an additional +1 bonus for every ten ranks you have.
You can double your Speed Attribute for one hour with a cooldown of five minutes, (Max Duration and Cooldown reached)
Once every five seconds at the cost of fifteen mana you can teleport three-hundred-and-sixty-five feet to a place you can see; the range increased by 5ft every five ranks. (Max mana cost and Cooldown reached)
Created by the Goddess Kelesha for her champion Mordred these boots are made from the hide of a black dragon with a mithril alloy for the toe and heel guard and infused with the power of Kelesa¡¯s will; these boots are indestructible except by another deity.
I¡¯d stopped sensing my vassal¡¯s deaths four hours ago. Hopefully, that would last until I arrived. Before I¡¯d gone Remara informed me that another of Astrel¡¯s sons, the youngest had stolen several artifacts from the Clan¡¯s treasury and escaped right after his father¡¯s death. He had nearly a twelve-hour lead on me and could have made it to his elder brother and army if he had a fast boat. Remara wasn¡¯t sure how the army of the Dragon Clan would react to their leader¡¯s death. While I was officially the new leader of the Dragon Clan it wasn¡¯t a given that they¡¯d accept that. Much had been changed in their culture by Astrel and his father and grandfather. After another two hours of running, I came to the site of Castle Dragonbreaker on the top of the cliff overlooking the river. I sped towards it seeing the dock at its base had been destroyed and the boats their missing or destroyed. I teleported to the top of the cliff. A startled man on guard lunged at me with his spear, I blocked it with my hand pushing the tip to the side. It was one of my spears I¡¯d upgraded, looking at it now I was displeased with my earlier inferior work. ¡°Warlord I¡¯m so sorry I¡­.¡± the man stammered. ¡°You attacked what you believed was an invader,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°I can¡¯t blame you for a fight or flight response, just do a better job next time; that attack was way too easy to deflect.¡± ¡°Yes, my lord,¡± the man said rushed his head bobbing so rapidly I had to smile. ¡°Are Tobias and Jeriah in the castle?¡± I asked. Not even waiting for his reply I moved on. People stopped and bowed as I passed. I could see signs of battle all around. Bloodstains, scorch marks, scratches on the stonework, and chunks of earth missing from the ground. I began smoothing out what damage I could, turning the whole ground into a gridded pattern of compressed stone and fixing damage to walls and roofs. The guards on duty opened the castle doors for me and I strode into the throne room. I kept my expression completely blank; it was the best I could do with the pain I was in. I needed a way to get some relief. You need to kill things, Karnen said to me. ¡°I know you enjoy violence for its own sake but I¡¯m looking for something to help me not you,¡± I said. No, Karnen growled. Your mutation allows us to drain energy from your kills to reinforce your soul. Doing so will help to take some of the pain off. Also, it¡¯s tasty, Voidra added. Not helping, Karnen snapped at her. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do,¡± I told them. ¡°Mordred,¡± Jeriah said standing as I approached them. ¡°We didn¡¯t think you could get here soon.¡± ¡°I had to burn some mana but I¡¯m very fuel efficient,¡± I said. ¡°I see,¡± Jeriah said hesitantly, showing he didn¡¯t understand what I¡¯d just said. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I plopped down on my empty throne. ¡°What are our losses?¡± ¡°We lost nearly half the men here, Juruk and his goblins managed to reinforce us but they lost most of their hoard outside the walls.¡± ¡°They were not gifted and did not have the blessing of the Warlord upon them,¡± Juruk said from his position at a side table. He was scarfing down plates of meat placed in front of him. ¡°Their loss is of no importance.¡± Juruk¡¯s transformation was astonishing, he was only two feet shorter than me now instead of only coming up past my waist by five inches. He had long dreadlocks decorated with pieces of sharp metal and bone that rattled as he moved his head. Sharp teeth tore into the roasted meat as he chewed and swallowed with no regard for manners or breathing. ¡°We managed to kill maybe a quarter of their army, but they still vastly outnumber us and will likely attack sometime today or tomorrow,¡± Tobias said. There was silence as I sat on my throne in thought. ¡°What of the dungeon is it still secure or did they discover it?¡± ¡°We dug a tunnel to it,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°We¡¯ve been farming it in secret while you¡¯ve been gone. Your spiders have killed any enemy scouts that discovered it.¡± Those spiders had been an idea of farming rank points I¡¯d had early on, I didn¡¯t need more rank points now I had more than I could spend. What I desperately needed were new abilities to push me into Hero rank. ¡°What is your plan?¡± Jeriah asked me hesitantly. ¡°First take me to the dungeon,¡± I said. ¡°I want to investigate it for myself.¡± Jeriah led me down into the castle¡¯s dungeon. Behind a stack of barrels was a crude tunnel, well crude to me. It looked structurally sound enough but I compressed the walls of the tunnel with my ability turning them an onyx black as we passed through. It was impressive just how long the tunnel was we went for five miles before it finally opened up in the forest. We were inside the cave that hid the entrance to the dungeon. Jeriah and Tobias returned to the fortress to stand guard in case we were attacked while I was investigating the changes to the dungeon and my spiders. Stepping into the dungeon I was greeted by a message.
You have entered the dungeon, Cavern of Death¡¯s Vengeance (Veteran Rank). This dungeon is on cooldown for the next three days and no monsters or loot can be earned from it until then. Max party size for this dungeon is six.
Dismissing the notification, I continued, I wasn¡¯t here to run the dungeon. I looked up into the dark recesses of the cavern¡¯s ceiling. Thousands of glinting eyes stared back at me from the network of webbing that spanned across the ceiling. Two massive spiders could be seen in the center of the web. I¡¯ve come for my share of your gifted offspring; I said sending the mental message to Tigris. Dozens of spiders descended on from thread from the ceiling. Examining one, I read its description.
Etter-hybrid Hatchling, Gifted- beast/etter-hybrid, Mortal, Rank: 8
The rest of the hatchlings all read the same none higher than the eight ranks a creature could be born with. Since their destiny was to be farmed for rank points it hadn¡¯t made sense to invest anything into their rank. I began methodically slaughtering the hatchlings. I only got two rank points per kill since they were a lower tier of rank than I was. It took about halfway through my butchering before I finally got a new ability. The spiders trembled in fear but the controlling ability of their mother kept them from fleeing.
Ability gained, Tremor Soles: (Rank 1); The soles of your feet can sense the slightest of changes movement, and impact within 30ft of you.
Passive: 1 mana per second.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range of vibration you can sense. Each upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
There was the slightest sensation of relief as I gained the ability but most of my pain relief came from Voidra and Karnen as they siphoned off the life force using it to patch the holes in my soul. I kept up the butchering and was rewarded with one more ability.
Ability gained, Setules Palms: (Rank 1): You have gained tiny hairs all over your palms and the soles of your feet enabling you to grip surfaces by mere touch allowing faster climb and a firmer grip. Your palms can hold onto something even while flat each hand can support 100 lbs. of weight plus an additional 10 lbs. of weight for each point in Might above ten.
This is a passive ability costing 1 Stamina/per sec while being used.
Upgrade this ability to increase the weight you can support with each hand. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 1.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 432 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
The remaining ten hatchlings didn¡¯t give me an ability when I killed them. I¡¯d been lucky to get the two I¡¯d gained. My work was done here, I¡¯d leave the spiders to their work. I¡¯d probably let another of my vassals do the butchering next time, I¡¯d hopefully be in the Hero ranks soon and would get nothing from killing Mortal-ranked creatures. Returning through the tunnel to the castle, it was time to sit on my throne and do some proper work as the Warlord. --- Guinevere bent down beside Helen who was regrowing one of Chiron¡¯s arms. ¡°How bad is it?¡± she asked surveying all the wounded around them. ¡°It¡¯s not good,¡± Helen said. ¡°I know you said you wanted to attack today but it¡¯s going to take me and the other healers at least that long to fix everyone.¡± Guinevere nodded and stood. ¡°Then we have to wait.¡± A scout entered the infirmary tent and looked about. Spotting Helen and Guinevere he made his way towards them. ¡°Princess Helen, Lady Guinevere!¡± he said snapping a sharp salute. ¡°What is it, soldier?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°We spotted something on the river, it moved too fast for us to identify it but it disappeared when it got close to the fortress,¡± he said. ¡°Something?¡± Helen questioned raising an eyebrow. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± the scout reported. ¡°Best we could say is that it appeared humanoid, but it was moving too fast for us to get a proper look at.¡± ¡°It was swimming from downstream?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°It could be someone from the Dragon Clan.¡± ¡°No ma¡¯am,¡± the scout said. ¡°They aren¡¯t from the Dragon Clan?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I thought you couldn¡¯t identify them.¡± ¡°No, they weren¡¯t swimming,¡± the scout said. ¡°Whatever it was they were running across the surface of the water. They disappeared every few seconds and reappeared more than three hundred feet away. We only saw it for about forty seconds before it disappeared.¡± Guinevere frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t like added surprises. Do your best to see if you can find out what that was.¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± the scout saluted and left. Guinevere left the infirmary tent and looked out across the battlefield still stained with blood and a pile of goblin corpses. The Warlord was full of tricks and the report unnerved her. What was he planning now? Chapter 58: Under Seige I returned to the castle and sat down on my throne. I was exhausted, I hadn¡¯t slept in over a day, but I didn¡¯t have time just yet. ¡°Bring every weapon and piece of armor in use to me,¡± I told Jeriah. ¡°I need to upgrade them; with your reduced numbers you need every advantage you can get.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you mean with our reduced numbers?¡± Tobias asked. ¡°No,¡± I said flatly. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°With respect my lord you should be more cautious,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°There is a woman on the other side who fights unlike anyone I¡¯ve ever encountered. I don¡¯t think your strategy of rushing in headfirst will work on her.¡± ¡°Your father thought the same thing when I challenged him,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Your abilities are much more advanced than most of ours,¡± Tobias said. ¡°And she has some sort of direct counter to your Foresight, we couldn¡¯t even see her or the effects of her actions with it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve encountered some counters to it as well,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Even if she is everything you¡¯ve said I¡¯m not going to run from her.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not asking you to run,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°But be smart and don¡¯t attack her alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think about it,¡± I said. Realizing that was as much as they were going to get Jeriah and Tobias left to round up all the weapons they could. I took the time to pull out my two clubs, my ring of Auroch¡¯s Strength and Cloak of the Forest Lord. Though my ability to merge earth and organics had come with a hefty price to me spiritually I could at least repair all my gear now. Using a bar of compressed obsidian on both of my clubs. I smoothed and lengthened out the bone giving them each an extra foot-and-half of length, the bones glistened black now. I pulled out two magical rocks I¡¯d been holding onto.
Fire Ruby: rare magical stone, hardness 8, Filled with the fires of creation, deals moderate fire damage on contact.
Frost Quarts: rare magical stone, hardness 7, Touched by the bitter cold of winter deals moderate frost damage on contact.
I broke up each gemstone into five sections using the pieces on each of the claws of the club. The claws were now directly merged into the bone instead of being lashed with the stone bindings. One had sky blue crystal claws with a faint mist as the air chilled around them the other were like rubies with a heat haze distorting the area around them. I¡¯d focused my ability on adding Curse damage to the ice club and extra fire damage to the fire club. I added a compressed nugget of uncommon metal to the Ring of Auroch¡¯s Strength repairing the damage it had taken. Taking out pelts from my storage pouch I infused them into the Cloak of the Forest Lord, I focused on giving me a resistance to Curse damage since I was already resistant to fire. It still had its original tattered look but was less worn and its durability had been repaired and reinforced. Reequipping my cloak and ring I placed my clubs in storage. They were decent backup weapons but I had an artifact spear now so it would be my primary weapon. Jeriah and Tobias returned with two dozen men each laden with spears, swords, axes, bows and arrows. I remained seated as I levitated the weapons over one by one, I didn¡¯t need to add much more to them as I reinforced and improved upon my previous work. I focused on giving the weapon a mix of fire and curse damage before setting it in the finished pile. I kept at it for long arrows, I wasn¡¯t putting much work into their appearance simply giving each a rugged, practical appearance. It wasn¡¯t until I got the weapons of each of the Dragonbreakers that I slowed down and put more work into them. I worked on their edges giving them some flare that if impractical was intimidating. There was no need for me to worry about the structural integrity of my weapons given just how hard they were to break. ¡°Did you enchant this?¡± Jeriah asked, looking over the sword I handed back to him. ¡°I could but I don¡¯t have many enchantments that would do much you,¡± I said. ¡°Unless you got some you could teach me.¡± ¡°Most magical items of quality are from dungeons not made,¡± Tobias said. ¡°We got a mace from the dungeon that does a rotting attack on a hit. Its too small for any of us though.¡± ¡°Can I see it?¡± I asked. Jeriah looked at Tobias who shrugged. They retrieved the mace and brought it to me. I examined the weapon.
Crushing Death: Type: Weapon (mace), Rarity: Rare. Whenever you strike a creature with this weapon you deal an additional major amount of Curse damage. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Made from common steel by a master smith and enchanted by a journeyman enchanter.
Durability: 15-15.
Taking out my sketchbook I copied the runes and the formation they made for the enchantment. Then I did something I hadn¡¯t been willing to do to any of my own gear. Focusing on the groove I felt the difference between the metal and the crushed gemstone that made up its pattern. Reaching in I compressed the gemstone separating it from the steel of the mace. It resisted me but my incredible Spirit Attribute forced my will upon it. When I was done, I was left with a pea-sized gemstone. Holding it up I analyzed it.
Mana-infused Obsidian: Type: Magical Stone, Rarity: Uncommon, Hardness: 12. A piece of pure condensed obsidian infused with mana giving it an affinity for enchantments that inflict curses of Curse damage.
My experiment was a success, I could pull out the gemstone residue in an enchantment to be able to replicate it. That of course would only be useful if I could replicate it with same skill as it had been made with. I was just an apprentice enchanter while the person who made this had been journeyman. That made me wonder where the system got its loot. This description implied that it didn¡¯t actually make its loot or at least not all of that it distributed in loot chests. My pauldrons were another example of that, I¡¯d gotten them from a loot chest, but they hadn¡¯t been created by the system for me. Looking over my gear I considered harvesting some of them for their gemstones but put it off. I was going to be in a battle soon and couldn¡¯t risk not going in fully geared. I powdered the obsidian again and reapplied the enchantment, but the results were less than great.
Crushing Death: Type: Weapon (mace), Rarity: Uncommon. Whenever you strike a creature with this weapon you deal an additional minor amount of Curse damage.
Made from common steel by a master smith and enchanted by a journeyman enchanter.
Durability: 25-25.
The durability had been increased but the rarity and amount of curse damage had also gone down. ¡°Your weapon already has curse damage so I can¡¯t really add much with this enchantment, but I will be able to apply it to future weapons,¡± I said. ¡°Did you just steal the enchantment?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°No,¡± I said rolling my eyes. ¡°I copied it.¡± ¡°The guilds would call that stealing,¡± Tobias said. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be able to just copy and apply enchantments without them teaching you their secrets.¡± ¡°That¡¯s their problem not mine,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Now if you excuse me, I need to pass out.¡± -- Leaving the room, I went to the room reserved for me, when I entered Katlyn was making the bed. She stood straight quickly and curtsied to me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry my lord I didn¡¯t mean to intrude,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said waving her off. ¡°I¡¯d like to be alone now.¡± Katlyn nodded and went for the door then stopped. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking Mordred, why don¡¯t you take me or any of the other women as your concubines? You have the power to fulfill any desire you want, do you not like women?¡± ¡°I find you very physically appealing,¡± I said to her. ¡°But any relationship with me will leave you in pieces. I¡¯m not capable of being in relationships with others without eventually falling into a cycle of abuse.¡± ¡°A cycle of abuse?¡± Katlyn asked confused. ¡°It¡¯s where I¡¯d hurt you, apologize, try to change but inevitable go right back to what I did before,¡± I said. ¡°I can¡¯t change who I am, but I won¡¯t be my father either; this is the best I can do.¡± Katlyn curtsied again and left. I didn¡¯t lie down in the bed but sat in meditative position on the floor. Focusing on the burning of my spirit, I let my anger soothe the pain. My mind drifted and I lost hold of my anger and drifted off to sleep. --- Arthur walked over the shattered remains of Dragonhold¡¯s gate. Behind him the army began to pour into the city and over the walls. The defenders couldn¡¯t hold the massive city walls at all points, and they¡¯d broken in quickly. Now all that was left was to take the palace. Swinging into his saddle Arthur led a battalion of knights up the streets. They cut down anyone who stepped into their path to challenge them. They reached the palace gates and Kay used a short-range teleport to pass through the steel gates to the other side. Cries and the sound of steel rose up before the gates began to slowly open. Dracon knights tried to hold it closed but Arthur stepped up and gripped the edges of the gates. Hauling back and shoving them wide enough to slip through he slipped inside. Excalibur swung about in an arc cutting through the armor and flesh of three knights. Lancelot joined him and he and Kay helped him cut through the guards and knights to the palace doors. Smashing through, they ran past cowering and fleeing servants. They entered the throne room and a portcullis slammed down behind them cutting them off from the rest of their army. King Palamedes stood in full plate armor with a massive halberd in his hand. ¡°So, the Prince of Camelot has come in person to kill me,¡± Palamedes said. ¡°I suppose someone as lowly as mere man should be honored three champions have come to kill him.¡± ¡°Stand down and you need not die,¡± Arthur said stepping forward. ¡°You¡¯ve slaughtered your way through my kingdom,¡± King Palamedes said his voice rising and thickening with anger. ¡°Killed thousands of my subjects, maimed my daughter who even now is on death¡¯s door.¡± ¡°It can all end now,¡± Arthur pleaded. ¡°They have a saying in the Cursed Forest,¡± Palamedes said. ¡°The only Law that is absolute, is the Law of Strength. If you want my crown you will have to take it from my corpse.¡± The battle was brutal. King Palamedes was at the cusp of reaching Hero rank. He was a full rank above the three men, but they were Champions. They had abilities whose strength hadn¡¯t been diluted by generations of being passed down. Their god tier abilities put a quick end to the fight. Despite their strength though they couldn¡¯t take the king alive. Palamedes¡¯ body slumped off Excalibur his lifeblood spreading out over the palace floor. ¡°This is the end of the royal line of Dracon,¡± Kay said with a bit of remorse. ¡°He should have surrendered. If his daughter dies his entire lineage will be gone.¡± ¡°It is for the good of Camelot,¡± Arthur said flicking Excalibur¡¯s blade removing the blood from it. ¡°I will do anything I must for the safety and security of my kingdom. Now that kingdom extends to these lands, intime they will come to respect our rule.¡± Chapter 59: A Storm Brews Atrel greeted the longship that landed on the beach. The warriors on it looked ragged and tired, his younger brother Hattel stepped off. A long object wrapped in cloth was wrapped in canvas and strapped off his eyes were red, but his face was set in stone. Atrel clasped his brother¡¯s arm pulling him into a hug. ¡°What brings you here brother?¡± he asked. ¡°Our father is dead,¡± Hattel said. ¡°What?¡± Atrel asked. ¡°The Warlord arrived two days after you left, he fought Father in a duel and killed him,¡± Hattel said. ¡°Why would Father agree to fight him in a duel?¡± Atrel asked. ¡°It was the Witch,¡± Hattel spat. ¡°She forced him to agree to the fight. It didn¡¯t seem like it should have been too hard with how much weaker he was, but his abilities were formidable, it kept seeming like he should die from his wounds, but he just pushed on.¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s all lost then?¡± Atrel asked sagging. ¡°No!¡± Hattel said. ¡°I took the artifact from the treasury.¡± Atrel¡¯s head snapped up and he glanced around. ¡°We must not discuss that here.¡± The two brothers disappeared into the forest, finding a secluded place to speak. Hattel held the canvas-wrapped object in his hands now. Removing part of the canvas he revealed the tip of a javelin. ¡°It still has the one remaining charge,¡± Atrel said. ¡°We were to save this unless the fate of the Dragon Clan rested in the balance.¡± ¡°Our father¡¯s dream does,¡± Hattel said. ¡°The Warlord will return our clan to what it was, nomadic warriors with no stable form of leadership.¡± Atrel nodded his gaze hardening. ¡°Then we cannot let his sacrifice go unavenged.¡± --- I walked up the steps of my new high school. It was a new city, no one knew me here, and it was a chance to start fresh. I¡¯d gotten my orientation and tour the day before. Entering my first class I sat down and slumped at my desk. I scanned the room looking for those I¡¯d have to watch out for. When my eyes got to the desk on my right I froze. She was one of the prettiest girls I¡¯d seen. She had a dark blue hoodie on and skintight running pants with sneakers and mud still in the tread. Her eyes were a bright sky blue, and freckles were spattered across the bridge of her nose and cheeks. She was tapping her pencil against her bright white teeth as she stared at her notebook. As if she could feel me staring, she turned to look at me. I stuck out my hand. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Mordred,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m Sarah,¡± she said shaking my hand and flashing me a bright smile. I spent the next three minutes before class started talking with her. We didn¡¯t discuss much of importance, I learned she¡¯d been born in this city and lived here my whole life and I told her I was new and from a different state. She didn¡¯t ask why I¡¯d come here, which I appreciated. After class we walked together to biology, it turned out we shared most of the same classes. At the end of last period. Sarah waved goodbye to me. ¡°See you tomorrow!¡± she called out. ¡°Where you headed!¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯ve got practice,¡± Sarah said. ¡°See you tomorrow then,¡± I said giving her a smile that came naturally to me for once. Days passed, then months as the semester passed. I managed to avoid getting into fights thanks to Sarah. I was an antagonizing presence wherever I went but she made friends easily and eased me into her friend groups. I couldn¡¯t even say how it happened but one day her hand just slid into mine as we walked to class. My heart skipped at her touch, and I gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Her touch made me feel a hundred pounds lighter as if I were walking on air. I¡¯d heard about love before, but never experienced it. There had been girls I¡¯d kissed who I¡¯d liked but I¡¯d never felt something like this. I wanted to hold her hand so tight I¡¯d never let go but at the same time, I couldn¡¯t squeeze for fear of hurting her. It was a misty spring day when we had our first kiss. Her lips met mine as I held her on the bridge on the way to her¡¯s and my house. It was like a fire was lit in me, not the burning rage I¡¯d always felt before but a warm fire like the glow from an oven. The only feeling I could describe it as was the feeling of safety, something I hadn¡¯t felt for longer than I could remember. -- My eyes snapped open my nails once more digging into my palms and blood dripping from between my white-knuckled fingers. Slowly I brought my breathing under control. The dream had been sweet, a fond memory turned bitter by what I knew came after. Slowly, minute after minute I pulled my emotions back under control, locking them away again until the tension in my throat was gone. ¡°Why are these memories resurfacing?¡± I asked. The stain put on your spirit by all the soul damage you¡¯ve taken, Karnen said. Your spirit is trying to get you to face your past conflict so that it can close up again. ¡°Well, it can go screw,¡± I said. ¡°I just need to raise my other attributes to Hero rank, right?¡± That will help, Karnen agreed. ¡°Great,¡± I said. ¡°System raise Tremor Soles to rank twenty.¡± Before I reached the ability to choose an extra effect for the ability, I received another prompt from the system.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 50 the Veteran limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attribute from killing you.
I could sense a change in my eyes, but my Wrathful Meditation kept me from feeling the pain as it took place.
Your eyes have further mutated, and your pupil and iris have split in two giving you the ability to spread your focus in multiple directions at once.
I blinked and looked around and found I could focus on two points of space at once instead of just looking in one direction. Before I could experiment with this more, I received another notification from the System.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank five, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ You can absorb the vibrations from heavy impacts to increase your jump distance.
¡¤ Your feet give you added balance on unstable and uneven surfaces.
¡¤ You can absorb the vibrations from shaking ground or unstable surfaces to increase your speed.
I didn¡¯t need added jump distance since my physical stats could let me do pretty much anything reasonable and I could teleport if I needed to go farther. Stable footing was always important for fighting a misplaced step or stumble could spell the end for you. Moving fast wasn¡¯t something I had a problem with thanks to my ability Heightened Speed. Making my choice I chose the second option. I didn¡¯t have anything spectacular here but of my options, this was the best.
Tremor Soles: (Rank 5); The soles of your feet can sense the slightest of changes movement and impact within 35ft of you.
Your feet give you added balance on unstable and uneven surfaces, you are x2 resistant to enemy abilities that attempt to move you.
Passive: 2 mana per second.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range of vibration you can sense. Each upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
The mana cost had gone up by one point per second but with my massive mana regeneration due to an overly high Spirit, it wasn¡¯t a problem. I skipped the next four notifications until I got to the one I needed.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank ten, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ The range your senses can detect is doubled.
¡¤ You can absorb vibrations to reduce fall damage slightly.
¡¤ You can absorb the energy from your footfalls to build a damage charge.
Looking over the options I settled on the first one. The reduction to fall damage wasn¡¯t much so its usefulness was questionable. The damage charge sounded interesting but this was a Perception ability so I should focus on its intended purpose.
Tremor Soles: (Rank 10); The soles of your feet can sense the slightest of changes movement and impact within 80ft of you.
Your feet give you added balance on unstable and uneven surfaces, you are x5 resistant to enemy abilities that attempt to move you.
The range for this ability is doubled.
Passive: 3 mana per second.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range of vibration you can sense. Each upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
The mana cost had gone up again and I could detect a much wider area now but other than that little had changed in its description. I skipped the next four notifications again to get to the important bits.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank fifteen, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ You can build a mental image of creatures based on their vibrations.
¡¤ You can absorb the vibrations of yourself and others to vibrate at speeds the eye cannot track making it harder to see as you move.
¡¤ You can detect magical and ethereal creatures and energies.
The first option seemed like it would make me into Daredevil able to see my surroundings based on nonvisual stimuli. However, I could see even in the dark, and with a high perception this choice didn¡¯t seem optimal for my needs. The next one was interesting, but it seemed to be out of the way of what this ability was focused on. The last one was more in line with what a perception ability was supposed to do.
Tremor Soles: (Rank 15); The soles of your feet can sense the slightest of changes of movement and impact within 90ft of you.
Your feet give you added balance on unstable and uneven surfaces, you are x7 resistant to enemy abilities that attempt to move you. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
The range for this ability is doubled.
You can detect magical and ethereal creatures and energies.
Passive: 4 mana per second.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range of vibration you can sense. Each upgrade to this ability increases your Perception Attribute by 1.
Skipping past the next four notifications again.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank twenty, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ You can attempt to slow a creature by creating pockets of frictionless space.
¡¤ Gives you insight into predicting the creature¡¯s next action base.
¡¤ You can determine the motions, weight, and body type.
looking it over I picked the second option. The first sounded interesting but again outside of the norm. The third would give me more information but nothing actionable. The second would blend in well with my Foresight ability and hopefully cover for it against people and creatures that had a counter to Foresight.
Tremor Soles: (Rank 20, Max Rank); The soles of your feet can sense the slightest of changes movement, and impact within 100ft of you.
Your feet give you added balance on unstable and uneven surfaces, you are x10 resistant to enemy abilities that attempt to move you.
The range for this ability is doubled.
You can detect magical and ethereal creatures and energies.
You have insight into predicting the next actions of creatures within your range.
Final Rank Bonus: You can feel the vibrations of creatures in the air as well as those touching the ground.
Passive: 5 mana per second.
The skill was fully upgraded now. I felt a slight relief in the burning of my spirit, it wouldn¡¯t go away fully until I upgraded at least all my mental attributes to heroic rank. I had Power, Spirit, and Perception done which just left me gaining another ability for Mind. Of course, I could just spend points to raise the stat directly, but I refused to give into that path. With Tremor Soles taken care of, I had only one more ability to rank up. Setules Palms was linked to Might which was already Hero rank, but I needed all the power I could get. ¡°Raise Setules Palms to rank twenty,¡± I said to the System. Skipping past the three initial notifications I got the important one.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank five, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Multiplies the strength (weight) that can be held per square inch of skin.
¡¤ Your hairs gain a minor venom that can be used on touch.
¡¤ This ability extends also to the soles of your feet.
The abilities here were fairly straightforward. The first one would just increase the strength of the base effect, the second would add some offensive potential and the third would make me more like Spiderman. I chose the first. I didn¡¯t need a second way to attack with my hands and the damage didn¡¯t look like it would be much. The third option was out since it would interfere with wearing my boots.
Setules Palms: (Rank 5): You have gained tiny hairs all over your palms and the soles of your feet enabling you to grip surfaces by mere touch allowing faster climb and a firmer grip. Your palms can hold onto something even while flat each hand can support 125 lbs. of weight plus an additional 10 lbs. of weight for each point in Might above ten.
Your palm hairs have x2 strength (weight) that can be held per square inch of skin.
This is a passive ability costing 2 Stamina/per sec while being used.
Upgrade this ability to increase the weight you can support with each hand. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 1.
The stamina cost had gone up but that was to be expected and would only affect me when I was using the ability anyway. I skipped past the next four notifications to get to the ability upgrade list.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank ten, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your palm hairs inflict the debuff Razor Burn on contact with another creature.
¡¤ The hairs on your palms will begin to itch in the presence of danger.
¡¤ You can grip smooth and slippery surfaces.
The first option was out for the same reason as last time. The second one was more Spiderman stuff which made sense considering the creature I had gained this ability from. I didn¡¯t need it though with both Foresight and Tremor Soles. That left the third so I chose it, a wider more useful ability was better than a few nifty effects anyway.
Setules Palms: (Rank 10): You have gained tiny hairs all over your palms and the soles of your feet enabling you to grip surfaces by mere touch allowing faster climb and a firmer grip. Your palms can hold onto something even while flat each hand can support 145 lbs. of weight plus an additional 10 lbs. of weight for each point in Might above ten.
Your palm hairs have x3 strength (weight) that can be held per square inch of skin.
You can grip smooth and slippery surfaces.
This is a passive ability costing 3 Stamina/per sec while being used.
Upgrade this ability to increase the weight you can support with each hand. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 1.
Again, I skipped past the next four notifications.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank fifteen, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your hairs inflict the Dreaded Predator curse on contact with a creature.
¡¤ The hairs on your palms can worm into micro-cracks to strengthen their grasp.
¡¤ The hairs on your palms can slowly weaken an item or surface allowing for it to be more easily destroyed.
The combat ability was tossed out immediately. The second option was interesting again increasing the base effect of this ability. The third I wasn¡¯t even sure what I would use it for so I dismissed it.
Setules Palms: (Rank 15): You have gained tiny hairs all over your palms and the soles of your feet enabling you to grip surfaces by mere touch allowing faster climb and a firmer grip. Your palms can hold onto something even while flat each hand can support 170 lbs. of weight plus an additional 10 lbs. of weight for each point in Might above ten.
Your palm hairs have x4 strength (weight) that can be held per square inch of skin.
You can grip smooth and slippery surfaces.
The hairs on your palms can worm into micro-cracks to strengthen your grip on the surface.
This is a passive ability costing 4 Stamina/per sec while being used.
Upgrade this ability to increase the weight you can support with each hand. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 1.
Skipping past the next four notifications I got the final choice for this ability.
Congratulations! You have raised an ability to rank twenty, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your palm hairs can inflict a powerful paralytic on contact with a creature.
¡¤ Your palms are reinforced against taking damage.
¡¤ Your weight is reduced for the purpose of this ability.
Despite the System apparently really wanting me to add some offensive capabilities to this ability, I dismissed the first option. The second option deserved more consideration, but I dismissed it after a few seconds of thought. Troll Hide made my skin already durable and if something could get through that then it could probably get through a slight durability boost from this effect. That left the third choice, but I liked it. If I didn¡¯t have to worry about more of my own body weight the ability could be used for letting me carry other stuff if I had to.
Setules Palms: (Rank 20, Max Rank): You have gained tiny hairs all over your palms and the soles of your feet enabling you to grip surfaces by mere touch allowing faster climb and a firmer grip. Your palms can hold onto something even while flat each hand can support 170 lbs. of weight plus an additional 10 lbs. of weight for each point in Might above ten. Your palm hairs have x5 strength (weight) that can be held per square inch of skin.
You can grip smooth and slippery surfaces.
The hairs on your palms can worm into micro-cracks to strengthen your grip on the surface.
Your own weight is considered to be one-third for purposes of this ability allowing you to hold onto surfaces that would break under your actual weight.
Final Rank Bonus. Strengthens not only the Setules hairs on your palms but your overall grip strength, increasing the strength of your hands by x3.
This is a passive ability costing 5 Stamina/per sec while being used.
Upgrade this ability to increase the weight you can support with each hand. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 1.
With all my upgrades done, I pulled up my current status.
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 360
Available Rank Points: 1697
Might: 73 (+3) = 76 Mind: 47
Speed: 52 (+35) = 87 Perception: 67
Toughness: 31 Spirit: 141
Endurance: 31 Power: 51
Maximum Stamina: 256 Maximum Mana: 1,526
Stamina Regen: 61.2 per second Mana Regen: 89.4 per second
Abilities
Dominion (Rank 50), Telekinesis (Rank 20), Heightened Speed (Rank 20), Foresight (Rank 20), Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory (Rank 20), Bestial Senses: (Rank 20), Phantom Form (Rank 20), Storm Soul (Rank 20), Magma Heart(s) (Rank 20), Troll Hide (Rank 20), Black-rage (Rank 20), Hell¡¯s Talons (Rank 20), Helheim¡¯s Scream (Rank 20), Chain Lightning (Rank 20), Voice of the Chasm (Rank 20), Setules Palms (Rank 20), Tremor Soles (Rank 20)
Blessings:
Blessing of War (Veteran), Blessing of Tadris
Titles
Mark of Cain, Bloody Pugilist, Exorcist, Survivor III, Feral Barbarian, Field Alchemist III, Berserker, Beast Slayer III, War Chief, Venom Resistant III, Keytaro¡¯s Guardian III, Wrathful Meditation, Fireproof III, Superhuman, Bearer of Death, Lightning Resistance, the Fate Breaker, Apprentice Bludgeoner, Apprentice Deflector, Apprentice Spearman, Divine Smith, Apprentice Enchanter, Challenger
As I looked over my stats there was a knock at the door. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked. Tobias opened the door. ¡°Their armies are starting to march on us again.¡± Standing up I cracked my neck from side to side hearing the satisfying pop as I stretched out my neck muscles. ¡°Then let¡¯s say hello to our visitors,¡± I said a feral grin coming to my face. Tobias looked at me doubtfully as blood began to trickle down my nose. ¡°Are you sure your well enough to fight?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m more than read,¡± I said my voice deepening into a snarl as the anger from Black Rage washed over me as a black mist began to rise from my skin. --- Rain fell on the armies of Lunara, Camelot, and the Dragon Clan. A storm was brewing as they stood arrayed against the fortress again. The defenders were far fewer in number now. Despite their losses morale was high among most of the army, and there was a feeling of relief as the end of this siege was in sight. Guinevere kept her doubts to herself as they approached the walls and gate of the fortress. Jamis rode atop a massive bear a dozen more with riders alongside him. He roared and the army took up the cry their battle roar echoing up to the walls of the fortress. There was no answering cry, the warriors stood still and silent. Their actions were more unnerving than if they had screamed like demons. Guinevere could make out the massive figures of the Dragonbreakers on the wall looking out over the army. They issued no commands and made no gestures. Slowly the archers of Camelot and Lunara advanced. Mira led them since she was a champion of archers, they drew their bows or any other ranged weapons they had and loosed them in a wave. The soldiers on the battlements didn¡¯t duck the arrows fell upon them and then stopped. Suspended midair, every arrow slowly rotated and turned then flew right back at them. ¡°Shields up!¡± Guinevere commanded. A shield wall rose, and the arrows pinged off the metal or stuck fast into the wood. Some arrows found gaps and people screamed, there were few deaths, but the wounded were dragged back for the healers to tend to. They advanced again coming closer and closer to the walls. The Dragon Clan broke into a run, they each had some sort of ability to fly or glide upon the wind and jumped into the air soaring up and over the walls. Thunder crackled as blue lightning shot from one of the massive men among the Dragonbreakers. A black aura surrounded him making it impossible to distinguish his features or equipment apart from a long spear he held its end pointing straight up. The sky continued to darken overhead the clouds beginning to swirl around the fortress and army. -- I blasted the incoming warriors with chain lighting while half my focus was used to grab incoming missiles with Telekinesis and flew them back at the enemy. The battlefield was growing darker, and the wind began pushing harder the air turning frigid. Suddenly the air was brightly illuminated, and thunder cracked across the sky. I looked up. ¡°That can¡¯t be good.¡± A bolt of lightning hit me and sent me to my knees. Chapter 60: Rebuffed Advances I gritted my teeth as I read the notification I¡¯d received after being hit with the lighting.
65 maximum mana gained.
You are stunned for the next five minutes, reduced by Troll Hide to 5 seconds.
Pushing myself to my feet slammed one end of my spear into the battlement. ¡°Compress Earth,¡± I said. The spearhead was stuck in place and stone flowed over my feet holding me in place. I gripped the top of my spear holding me up as Setules Palms activated grabbing and holding me up. Jeriah and Tobias looked around them, their weapons in hand as they scanned the battlefield. ¡°Which one of them do you think is controlling the storm?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°No one¡¯s controlling it,¡± I grunted. ¡°I just attract lightning.¡± Tobias and Jeriah turned their attention to me. ¡°Why?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°Seemed like a good idea at the time starting to regret it now,¡± I said just before another bolt of lightning hit me.
65 maximum mana gained.
You are stunned for the next five minutes, reduced by Troll Hide to 5 seconds.
While my body was stunned my mind was still active. I began to levitate hundreds of my stone spearheads and flung them at the army below. -- Guinevere looked up at the man on the battlements who stood tall as the storm twisted above his head a torrent of lightning raining down on his head. It was as if he had displeased the god of storms and thunder herself and she was throwing all her wrath at him. Despite everything that hit him, bolts of lightning that would have sent her flying, he barely swayed in place. ¡°That¡¯s the Warlord,¡± Guinevere said, sure of it as she looked at him. ¡°Everyone!¡± she shouted. ¡°Focus all your attacks on that man!¡± There was no confusion about who ¡°that man¡± was. Everyone couldn¡¯t help but look at the man who even under the constant assault threw out his own bolts of lightning and controlled razor-sharp blades that cut down anyone attempting to fly or jump over the walls. She rushed forward her sword snapping out deflecting a trio of spearheads that shot toward her. She jumped forward her superior attributes sending her flying. Midair she activated Ice Flash teleporting to the battlements next to the Warlord. Guinevere sent back as a sword passed overhead. Snapping forward she lunged forward only to have another of the Dragonbreakers step into the path of her blade. She needed to be sure this was the real Warlord this time. ¡°Confessor¡¯s Sight!¡± she said. The name above the figure in black mist did not change, he was the Warlord.
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 360
Her sword skidded off the breastplate of the man in her path and she rolled to the side dodging the strike from his maul. All the while the Warlord ignored her focusing on keeping the army from gaining any foothold on top of the walls. ¡°Could use some help with this one Mordred,¡± the man with the maul grunted. Guinevere examined one of the men who had been disguised as the Warlord for as long as she had seen him. Now the false description above his head was gone, replaced by another.
Jeriah Dragonbreaker, Gifted- Veteran, humanoid/human, Rank: 283
Guinevere ducked under the next sword strike and rolled past the next hammer strike from the maul, her sword flashed home. The Warlord didn¡¯t move but her sword skidded off of him. She cursed; he must be wearing plate armor like the rest of them. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Agonizing Strike!¡± Guinevere said and lunged forward rolling past the two Dragonbreakers. Again, her sword struck the Warlord and skidded off. This ability caused unimaginable pain even if it didn¡¯t pierce armor or flesh; she¡¯d used it countless times to incapacitate foes but this time it did nothing. Mordred turned his head to her; she couldn¡¯t see his face through the black mist that surrounded him. ¡°I think you have overstayed your welcome,¡± he said his voice a savage tambor that rolled like thunder. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you fight me?¡± Guinevere asked, deflecting the strike of a sword from the two Warlord¡¯s two bodyguards. ¡°I¡¯m busy,¡± Mordred said. ¡°I¡¯ll catch up with you later.¡± A thunderclap originated then not from the storm above but right next to her as a roar tore from the Warlord¡¯s throat. The soundwave struck her and with no way to dodge, duck, or block it she was tossed clear of the wall. She fell down and down to the ground below. Rolling in the mud she turned to see the Dragon Clan falling back their dead lying in the mud of the trench beneath the walls staining the ground red as the rainwater began to form a moat. Electricity crackled over their bodies and prevented others from getting to nearby wounded. The lightning strikes from the storm were coming less frequently as if the Warlord were absorbing the ire and power of the storm with each bolt of lightning that struck him. Caked in mud Guinevere considered another assault on the Warlord looking about she spotted her team racing over towards her. ¡°You can¡¯t just rush off like that!¡± Kira scolded her. ¡°I had a shot at the Warlord, and I took it,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But he must be wearing plate armor under that black mist of his. I stabbed and slashed but I didn¡¯t draw blood.¡± -- I was incredibly thankful I¡¯d activated my Ring of Stoneskin before the fight started. Those sword strikes had cracked my ribs and cut through the first few layers of skin but luckily hadn¡¯t gone deeper than that. That woman had been incredibly fast and skilled, I¡¯d dismissed Jeriah¡¯s and Tobias¡¯ words at first but after seeing her fight for myself I had to admit she was much better than me. Even the leader of the Dragon Clan hadn¡¯t had her skill even if he had been more physically powerful than her. Another bolt hit me, and I nearly bit my tongue.
65 maximum mana gained.
You are stunned for the next five minutes, reduced by Troll Hide to 5 seconds.
How many bolts of lighting is that now? I asked. About fifty-two, Karnen said. I¡¯m impressed you were able to take all that. I think I¡¯m about to pass out, I replied. Voidra if I die again what happens to me? What do you mean? Voidra asked. I mean do I get dragged back again or is it permanent this time? I asked. My parents would eat us, Voidra said. Us? Karnen asked. You mean Mordred and the two of us? Aren¡¯t you their daughter? They¡¯d seriously eat you? If I couldn¡¯t make my host powerful enough to survive then I would be worthless in their eyes, Voidra said. I have dozens of siblings; they have no need of me if I cannot prove myself. But still, their your parents, Karnen insisted. The worst betrayals come from those closest to us, our parents are no exception, I said the stun breaking off again. Turning my head down I saw the army was retreating now. ¡°Guess they had enough,¡± I said.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 467 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
¡°That was incredible!¡± Tobias said. ¡°How many area effect abilities do you have like that?¡± ¡°About four,¡± I replied. ¡°I need to hide underground before I get turned into a smoking pile of meat.¡± Saying that I teleported away, turned incorporeal, and ducked inside the castle and down into the dungeon below to wait out the rest of the storm. I¡¯d gained three-thousand-three-hundred-and-eighty mana from the storm, but I hit the ground face-first. Even with my titles and Troll Hide, I was wiped. There was only so much a body could take in a short period of time before it had enough. -- The champions sat around their battle table looking dejected. ¡°How are we expected to fight someone like that?¡± Helen asked. ¡°It was like he was drinking in that storm, and he didn¡¯t even seem to care how much it hit him.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think a single one of our abilities hit him once,¡± Jamis said equally despondent. ¡°Enough!¡± Guinevere said stepping forward and pounding her fist on the table. ¡°You are champions of the gods, it¡¯s time you stop pretending to be generals!¡± ¡°What?¡± Felrick asked, raising his head from the table. ¡°You will never match the Warlord with your army,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°It was foolish for any of us to even try. If you look to the histories, you will find how many times the Warlord has ever been defeated in a military engagement.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Chritor asked. ¡°Five,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°And only after massive loss of life to both armies and they¡¯d been ground down to almost nothing.¡± ¡°So, what are you suggesting?¡± Felecia asked. ¡°That we just charge him and defeat him with our courage and weapons?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°The Warlord is not his army he is the head of it. Cut the head off the snake and the body dies. It may cost some of us in this room our lives, but we have to ask if we¡¯re willing to pay that price?¡± ¡°I am,¡± Mira said. ¡°But how are we going to do it? We couldn¡¯t even get close to him last time.¡± ¡°I have an ability that lets me gauge what a person is like and see past falsehoods,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I saw in the Warlord pride and anger. I believe we can trick him into a duel if we challenge his ego.¡± The rest of the night was spent carefully planning how they would arrange their trap. Hattel approached his brother in the back of the command ten the artifact weapon still strapped and wrapped in canvas on his back. ¡°If it comes down to it and it looks like we will not succeed I will use the weapon on the Warlord,¡± Hattel said. ¡°That would affect anyone within fifty yards of him though!¡± Atrel hissed, looking quickly to the champions around the table to see if any of them were listening. ¡°Then make sure your wife is not among them,¡± Hattel said. ¡°We cannot let our father¡¯s death go unavenged or his legacy be destroyed.¡± Atrel hesitated then nodded. ¡°If you have to, but,¡± he placed a hand on his brother¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Only if you have to.¡± Chapter 61: One versus All I pushed myself from the ground as I regained consciousness, I still felt sore which was odd considering my immunity to exposure and Troll Hide. Looking down I saw I was still surrounded by a black mist. The constant extra drain on my stamina must have been the cause of my fatigue. ¡°Why is this still active?¡± I asked. Your nose is bleeding, Karnen said. I think it¡¯s a physical manifestation of your Soul trauma. ¡°I¡¯m still not going to delve into my emotions,¡± I said. ¡°How do I turn this off.¡± You can¡¯t turn off passive abilities as far as I know, Karnen said. That¡¯s what makes them passive abilities, they are always active provided you have the trigger condition. In this case, your bleeding nose counts as a wound you inflicted, even if it is to yourself. I could turn it off, Voidra said. ¡°How?¡± I asked. It¡¯s just attached to your spirit, Karnen could probably do it if he put in some effort, Voidra said goading the other spirit. I¡¯ll show you effort, Karnen growled. ¡°Enough,¡± I said. ¡°Will it hurt me to turn it off and could you turn it back on?¡± Voidra thought for a minute. I don¡¯t think it would hurt you, I¡¯d have to investigate it a bit more to see how to turn it on and off at will. ¡°Fine, work on that and let me know when you have a solution,¡± I said. Climbing the stairs out of the castle dungeons I entered the throne room. The Dragonbreakers were absent and looking up out a window I saw the sky was black and filled with stars. Sitting down on the throne I fell into my meditation. I didn¡¯t want to fall asleep again, too many painful memories haunted my dreams lately. Harnessing and binding my anger I let my body tighten and then relax over and over as I sat in silent meditation. I¡¯m not sure this is good for you, Karnen said. ¡°It¡¯s how I got the title to not feel pain,¡± I said. Just because you are rewarded by the system for doing something doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s a good idea, Karnen chided me. ¡°Enough,¡± I snapped. ¡°This is how I handle my anger.¡± Chaining up a beast and feeding it before releasing it doesn¡¯t count as having control of the beast, Karnen said. But if you insist on doing this then go ahead, it¡¯s only further widening the cracks in your soul. ¡°I¡¯ll handle them in time,¡± I growled. I was broken from my meditation by a notice from the system.
Congratulations, as the Champion of Kelesa you have been invited to participate in an event. The event will take place five months and will allow you to interact with some of the other Champions. During the event, you will be transplanted into another realm. During the event, you cannot suffer permanent death, or other effects such as mind control, domination, or crippling injuries or effects. You can still gain rank points from killing another champion, but they will not lose any rank points they have gathered. Any participant that is¡± killed¡± during the event will be teleported back to where they were before the last event and will only lose any materials or equipment gathered during the event. The goal and reward for the event will be revealed when you enter the realm. Do you wish to be entered into the Event?
¡°Yes,¡± I said automatically. The last event had been very profitable for me, there was no way I was going to miss another one. I heard some footsteps and felt their vibrations through my feet as they approached. Jeriah came into view, and I relaxed somewhat only now realizing how tense I was. Jeriah wasn¡¯t in his armor yet and nodded to me as he sat to my right at the table. One of his sisters or maybe one of his wives, I didn¡¯t bother memorizing who was who, approached and set a tray of food in front of him. She set one in front of me as well. ¡°What¡¯s our plan for dealing with the enemy army?¡± Jeriah asked as he dug into his eggs. ¡°There is no our plan, you will not be needed for this next part,¡± I said. ¡°What?¡± Jeriah asked his fork dropping down. ¡°I will handle them as I always have,¡± I said. ¡°You saw how skilled that fighter was,¡± Jeriah protested. ¡°There¡¯s no way you can defeat her alone with her entire army.¡± ¡°You cannot hope to become great if you do not reach for the impossible,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°You also can¡¯t be great if you¡¯re dead,¡± Jeriah snapped. ¡°You made a promise to me to restore the lands of my forebears to me and my brothers. Do not let your arrogance get in the way of fulfilling your word.¡± I seethed inwardly but nodded. ¡°Very well, you and your brothers may join me on the field you will keep back the other champions; I will see to the woman and her party myself. You¡¯ll need to keep your distance as well many of my abilities will not distinguish friend from foe and I won¡¯t hamper my effectiveness to keep you safe.¡± Jeriah ground his teeth together but grudgingly nodded, accepting the compromise. I ate a few eggs and some sausage made of some unidentifiable meat. Gulping down half a pitcher of watered-down wine I left the castle. I have to agree with Jeriah, Karnen said. Your plan is very unwise. ¡°Wisdom has never been my strength,¡± I said. ¡°I trust only in my powers and resolved to win, betting on the skill and loyalty of others has never paid off for me before.¡± You could die, Voidra pointed out. ¡°But think how awesome it will be when I win,¡± I said with a white-toothed grin. -- Guinevere and her party strode out to the center of the battlefield. The grass had been burned to the ground in many places and dark stains covered others. Looking up at the tall imposing dark walls she saw the army of the Warlord beginning to assemble. ¡°Mordred!¡± she shouted her voice amplified by an amulet Chritor had constructed for her. ¡°I challenge you to combat! Come out and face us! Prove you are greater than your army who has continued to cower behind their walls. Prove you are not a¡­.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Her planned speech filled with taunts and barbs ended in her mouth as a figure shrouded in black mist jumped off the wall. Landing on the ground he strode forward, his body language conveying perfect confidence. Seven men dropped down after him fanning out afterward. He stopped two dozen yards away and called out his own voice magically amplified. ¡°I agree to your duel,¡± he said. ¡°I understand your people rely on a party to shore up your weaknesses. To make sure this is a fair fight I will fight the six of you at once. My vassals are under orders to kill anyone else who tries to interfere or join the battle.¡± Guinevere paused; the plan had been to charge the Warlord with all the champions, but she doubted the mortal-ranked champions could handle the veteran-ranked son of Kaleb Dragonbreaker. She could feel the danger and arrogance that emanated from him. ¡°Very well,¡± Guinevere said. She gave a hand signal to her party, and they sprung at the Warlord. He disappeared the moment they moved, reappearing behind Kira his spear plunging towards her back. Regald barely managed to put his shield between them, and a loud screech filled the air as the spear sparked off the metal of the shield. Mordred didn¡¯t seem phased by his failed sneak attack and his spear spun in his hands blocking two strikes from Edrick¡¯s daggers. ¡°Is this the best you have?¡± Mordred taunted them mocking laughter following his words. ¡°Not at all,¡± Guinevere said. Activating Ice Flash, she was before him, her sword plunging in a two-handed grip for his neck. He slid to the side, but she effortlessly turned her lunge into a slash. She began hacking and stabbing at him from all directions easily deflecting and blocking his retailer attacks with the double-ended spear. Edrick appeared behind the Warlord, his daggers stabbing for his back. An otherworldly sound ripped through the air, the scream wasn¡¯t something any being of flesh and blood should have been able to create. Guinevere felt her blood run cold as she heard it. She resisted the urge to flee but Edrick did not; his face turning white as he stumbled back. Guinevere did notice that her stamina and mana had stopped regenerating. Luckily, she had only been using her passives so far so she still had plenty left. Mordred teleported away again, and her sword plunged into empty space. This time the Warlord appeared beside Regald attacking the party tank. He jammed one of his spears behind¡¯ Regald¡¯s knee crippling the leg. Regald screamed and fell to the ground. Guinevere was standing over him in second her sword warding off the Warlord¡¯s attempts to finish the man off. Kira raised her hand and golden light suffused Regald then washed away but his leg still kept pumping out blood. ¡°I can¡¯t heal him!¡± Kira called out in panic. ¡°Focus on removing whatever curse effects are on us!¡± Guinevere ordered. ¡°I thought your party was supposed to help you,¡± Mordred taunted her as he appeared beside Kira. Guinevere appeared next to her healer blocking Mordred¡¯s attempts to end the lightly armored woman. ¡°They¡¯re doing their jobs,¡± Guinevere snapped. She felt her stamina and mana start to regen again. ¡°So they¡¯re supposed to slow you down and get in the way?¡± Mordred asked, moving around Kira trying to find an opening to use on her. ¡°It¡¯s an interesting tactic I must admit. Is that why you¡¯re so much better? Because you have to make up for the dead weight?¡± ¡°Blizzard Breath,¡± Guinevere said in response. A torrent of below-zero winds and snow blasted out in a cone. She couldn¡¯t see Mordred¡¯s body beneath the black mist, but he showed no sign that he felt the cold. ¡°We¡¯re onto that part of the fight then?¡± he asked. ¡°Fine then, Chain Lightning.¡± -- Brilliant bands of blue electricity blasted from my left hand. Guinevere stepped into the path of the lightning surprising me, her sword flashed out striking the lightning and knocking it away from her and Kira as she protected the both of them. I ducked to the side dodging a fireball tossed by their party¡¯s tank, then my lighting hit the tank mage and the rogue who was just now returning after running away. My attack wasn¡¯t instantly fatal against them but the mage and rogue spasmed as they were stunned. The tank was on his knees using his shield as a crutch as he tried to get back into the fight. ¡°The effect should have ended by now!¡± Guinevere called out. ¡°Heal him!¡± She charged me again and our weapons met. I was getting better with the spear but fighting with this woman showed me how much farther I still had to go. I was a monkey flinging poo at a wall compared to Da Vinci when you compared how the two of us fought. I wasn¡¯t even close to landing a hit on her. I tried a sneak attack with my shoulder cannon, but she deflected the energy projectile. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was a title or ability that let her do that, but I decided to put how good she was to the test. Hundreds of stone spearheads fell out of a pouch at my waist. Like trained falcons, they dove toward the woman. I used the time to examine her as she stood unmoving her sword moving so fast that only my superior perception let me catch even a glimpse of it.
Guinevere the Winter Lady, Gifted- Veteran, humanoid/human*, Rank 280
I had fifty ranks on her but that didn¡¯t seem to matter. As much as I hated to admit it, she was better than me. That angered me. I began trying everything I could. The tank got up and rushed me again. Activating Voice of the Chasm released a sonic roar that flung him a dozen yards away. I unleashed Helheim¡¯s scream again and rushed at Guinevere. My spear flashed at her from all angles, I couldn¡¯t use Foresight on her. She didn¡¯t even appear in it as if she didn¡¯t exist. Tremor Soles was the only thing keeping me from being slashed apart by her sword. Yanking myself to the side I avoided being skewered on her sword. She didn¡¯t even use much besides her passives against me, but it was still more than I could handle. The rogue appeared, his daggers multiplying into a thousand different forms as he flung them at me. Teleporting away again I appeared behind him, and my foot connected with his back as I rammed my sword towards his heart. Again, Guinevere stopped me from killing one of her party members. While she was amazingly skilled her party members lacked her quality when it came to fighting. Honestly, the fight would have been a lot harder if they hadn¡¯t been there. Guinevere and I continued our battle lighting, sonic booms, and boulders the size of horses. Everything I threw at her she avoided using a short, ranged teleport or by just blocking or defecting it. Her weakness was her party, so I began to exploit that. Teleporting next to the tank I stabbed down at him. Guinevere appeared and blocked my attack, but I blasted out lighting at the other members of her party. -- Guinevere deflected the lightning from hitting Kira but Edrick and Haldros were hit again. Guinevere frowned; she was better than the Warlord. She¡¯d felt that as soon as their weapons clashed but he was just so fast. He should be running low on his mana or stamina by now, but he just kept pumping out his ability with no sign of mana or stamina fatigue. Although she didn¡¯t like agreeing with the Warlord her party was hindering her here. Mordred had realized that and was targeting them rather than her to keep her from going on the defensive. ¡°Group together,¡± Guinevere ordered. ¡°Focus on keeping yourselves alive I¡¯ll handle the Warlord.¡± ¡°Finally decided to stop letting others hold you back?¡± Mordred asked. ¡°I¡¯ve decided to show you what I¡¯m really capable of,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Royal Blade!¡± ---- Arthur looked down on Princess Andromeda. She lay in a bed delirious with fever, one side of her face wrapped in bandages. Wounds inflicted by artifact weapons were not as easy to recover from as those from one made by mortal smiths. ¡°We should put her out of her suffering,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°No,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Arthur she is the daughter of our enemy and the last heir to the throne of Dracon. As long as she lives there will be those that plot rebellion,¡± Lancelot argued. ¡°I¡¯ve spilled enough innocent blood in this war,¡± Arthur snapped back. ¡°I won¡¯t let you or any others take the life of a defenseless woman. She will be sent back to Camelot when we return. My father will likely have one of my cousins marry her to give us more legitimacy with the people here.¡± ¡°You¡¯d rather her be forced to become a noble¡¯s breed mare than a quick death?¡± Lancelot asked. ¡°If she hates it that much, she can take her own life,¡± Arthur said. ¡°But I¡¯m done taking away all her choices from her.¡± Arthur left the infirmary after placing a guard on it and making sure the wards were in place to keep anyone from breaking in. He went to the king¡¯s chambers which had been turned into his quarters. Lionor sat on the edge of the bed next to him placing an arm around him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked. ¡°I think this war was a mistake,¡± Arthur said a slight tremor passing through him. ¡°I always knew that war would be a part of my life but this¡­. This hasn¡¯t been about securing the safety of Camelot no matter what we¡¯ve been telling ourselves; this had just been about greed.¡± Lionor pulled Arthur¡¯s head to her chest and ran her fingers along his back and through his hair. ¡°Let¡¯s return home,¡± she said. Taking his hand, she placed it on her stomach. ¡°We have a baby to raise and a life to build.¡± ¡°What right do I have to happiness after all the death I¡¯ve caused,¡± Arthur said a sob tearing from his body. ¡°Learn from this war then,¡± Lionor said. ¡°Don¡¯t let their deaths be in vain and don¡¯t let this happen again.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Arthur said stilling his emotions. ¡°If I ever lead a war again it will be because I decided it was the right thing to do; not because my father told me to.¡± Chapter 62: Into the Pit Guinevere¡¯s blade lit with pale white light; it was as if a silver dawn had crested the horizon. She swung down and the air around the blade hummed with power. Mordred barely avoided the strike and stabbed out with his spear in a retaliatory strike. ¡°Mirror Block!¡± Guinevere said. Feedback damage ran up Mordred¡¯s arm. She could see if stiffen but he gave no sign of feeling the pain. Disappearing Guinevere¡¯s ability Battle Insight let her predict his next action and she swept her blade around as she spun deflecting the attack towards her back. Mordred steeped back and hundreds of stone spearheads spun around her then stabbed in from all directions. Guinevere planted her feet. ¡°Stand your Ground!¡± she said activating one her most potent abilities. Her sword hummed with the power of Royal Blade as it moved about her parrying and deflecting the spearheads five at a time with each sharp fluid movement. ¡°Chain Lightning,¡± Mordred said. Azure lightning shot from his right hand and a pale silver light shot from a weapon on his shoulder. Guinevere felt sweat run down her brow, but she didn¡¯t falter. This sort of fight was what she had been trained for since she was ten. -- Try as I might, I couldn¡¯t get through her defenses with my attacks. Her party were huddled up together now, but I couldn¡¯t¡¯ rely on them keeping Guinevere distracted forever. I needed to use something she hadn¡¯t seen before and wouldn¡¯t expect. I lunged forward with my spear. Guinevere deflected the attack of course and I rolled under her counterattack. Using the motion and the chaos of battle I held my palm against the ground for half a second. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I whispered. I¡¯d gotten much better and faster at using that ability. The ground for fifteen feet around me hardened into a single dark piece of stone. It also flowed up around Guinevere¡¯s feet locking them in place. She looked down and tried to shift her weight, but she was stuck fast. I lunged for her again. She deflected my attack again, but she¡¯d lost some of her grace as she was no longer able to shift any of her weight on her feet. ¡°I see your full of tricks,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But you¡¯re still not good enough to pierce through my defense.¡± ¡°I was thinking more about crushing it,¡± I said as I dropped all my stone spearheads I was controlling and lifted a piece of stone and earth the size of house from the ground. Guinevere looked up at the stone and at her feet. I couldn¡¯t see much of her face behind her helmet, but her eyes flashed. Whether it was with appreciation at my tactic or anger I couldn¡¯t tell. ¡°Its not over tell it¡¯s over,¡± she said and began hacking down at the stone encasing her feet. She might be able to survive this, Karnen said. I hope so, I replied. I¡¯m really enjoying this fight. -- Hattel looked out at the battle and saw how the Camelot princess had held out against the Warlord. Her party had been disappointing but she herself had been a wonder to behold. But now she was beaten as the massive boulder loomed over her. Looking to his brother, Hattel gave a nod before removing the javelin from its canvas wrapping.
Spear of the Underworld (Artifact I): This spear consumes a charge to open a chasm a hundred and fifty feet wide and two miles deep. All creatures in the area are caught in a gravitational pull strongest at its center preventing them from trying to escape and disabling teleportation abilities for its duration. The chasm closes after one minute crushing and trapping all creatures in its affect beneath the earth. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Made by the system as a reward for a champion who completed a quest for them.
Charges Remaining: 1
Hattel ran forward, the other champions looking towards him with surprise. One of the Dragonbreakers spotted him and also ran forward keeping a distance from the Warlord and heroes he was fighting. Hattel threw the javelin into the air as he focused on the Warlord. The javelin flew straight up, it climbed higher and higher into the air rising far higher than he could have possibly thrown it. Then it arced down homing in on the spot the Warlord was standing. Plunging down it speed increases faster and faster. A dark orb appearing next to the Warlord, it started to drag everything in its vicinity towards it as it grew larger and larger. -- The shadow from the massive boulder above cast everything into darkness. I lifted it above Guinevere, and she stood firm. She didn¡¯t beg for her life or rail against unfairness or anything but steadily hacked at the stone chipping away at it like a jackhammer. ¡°I appreciate your stoicism,¡± I said. ¡°I won¡¯t beg for my life, even if you kill me here now eventually, you¡¯ll be beaten. There are more people like me out there who won¡¯t rest until people like you are dead,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°By the time I meet those other people I¡¯ll be even more powerful than now,¡± I said with a shrug. A black orb the size of a pool ball appeared next to me. I looked at it then to Guinevere who looked at it then to me. ¡°Not one of yours then?¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said. I felt a force start to pull at me. The boulder above me shattered. I suspended the fragments in the air as the dust rained down and something hit the ground. The earth heaved under my feet. I tossed the stone fragments to the side. I looked out to see the ground for about a hundred feet in all directions was starting to crack and crumble. When I tried to teleport to the edge, I felt something block my attempt. I took a step and felt the force being applied to me magnify pulling me back towards the black orb. It was growing larger and larger with every passing moment. The ground cracked under my feet. The stone bindings holding Guinevere in place cracked and she yanked fer armored feet clear. I could tell she wanted to fight me but we both had bigger problems than fighting each other at the moment to deal with. The ground gave way beneath us, and we plummeted down. I still couldn¡¯t teleport and pushed off a section of rock. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talons,¡± I said. Stabbing my claws into the walls I tried to slow my descent, but the gravitational force pulled me down. My claws sparked against the stone and caused dust to rain down but did nothing to slow my descent. I saw Guinevere and her party fall past the mage in their group looked to be doing something to slow their fall, but I had to find my own method for survival. More and more people fell past me as I kicked off boulders trying to swim against the force of gravity. A group of Lunaren soldiers, some Camelot knights and Dragon Clan Warriors all fell past screaming in terror. Maybe Guinevere and her party would be able to help them, but I had no time to rescue my enemies. A boulder the size of a bathtub hit me in the chest knocking me back and I spun end over end in the air for a while before managing to kick off another rock and right myself. I saw Ormias, one of Jeriah¡¯s brothers, fall past. Pushing off the wall I landed on a boulder riding it down. I held out my spear to Ormias. ¡°Grab hold!¡± I yelled. He grabbed on and I pulled him up onto the boulder. Than another rock bounced off the wall and hit me like a speeding truck. I was flung off the boulder I¡¯d been riding and started bouncing like a pinball. A rock hit me up under the jaw snapping the leather strap for my helmet and I lost it somewhere in the rain of rocks. Looking up I couldn¡¯t even see the sky anymore. Another rock hit me in the head, then another and another. I felt my ability to teleport return again. There was no way to make it back up this hole but there might be a way to land without killing myself. Looking down I saw the ground quickly approaching. I¡¯d have to time this just right. I took a deep breath and waited, my wrathful meditation letting me ignore the pain of boulders pelting off of me. One second passed, then another and another. I spotted a wide tunnel opening near the pile of rocks at the bottom. I teleported appearing inside the tunnel. I still had all the momentum from my falling, and I ran head first into a wall. One of my mutations I¡¯d gotten made resistant to getting knocked out from blows to the head, however even it couldn¡¯t deal with a crash going over seventy miles per hour into a wall of granite. My mind blacked out as I lay on the cold unrelenting stone. Epilogue: Act II A brown robed man moved through the streets of Dragonhold, he wore a hood that cast his hood in shadows. The city was under a curfew, but the forces of Camelot were stretched thin throughout the city. He moved pair a past a gifted Camelot knights, they analyzed him, but no identifier popped up marking him as just a regular human. No matter how powerful a deception ability was the system never let you hide your power entirely and you always had to display something. The man walked calmly down the street and stepped into the shadows next to the palace wall. Removing a stylus from under his robes he sketched a series of runes on the wall. Moments later a hole half the size of a doorway appeared as the stone their turned to sand and fell away. The robed figure stepped into the palace walls. No one could hear him as he muttered the words of a spell. His body blending into the shadows he approached the palace proper. Reaching its walls, he took out the stylus again. Moving around he cut through and altered the glyphs forming the wards around this section of wall. Then he spoke another spell and placed his hands on the wall. Reaching the balcony, he pulled out the stylus again and disabled the wards. Stepping into the infirmary he looked down on the shivering, feverish form of Princess Andromeda. Reaching down he slid his hands under her and slung her over his shoulder. Going out to the balcony he jumped over the side landing in a crouch on the ground gently cradling the princess. Slinging her over his shoulder again he crept past the patrols of knights and soldiers into the city. Passing a cart laden with hay he nodded to the driver as he slipped the Princess into a hidden compartment. The driver switched the back of his horse and drove off. The robed man turned around his work not yet done. Speaking another word his body turned transparent letting all light pass through him as he moved back into the palace grounds. Heading into the kitchens he slipped around the army¡¯s cooks and servers. His invisible hands flashed tossing powders into pots, pans and sacks of flour and grain. He continued into the main hall walking past rows and rows of feasting knights each with a score of abilities at their disposal. He passed among them unseen, his hands continuing to slip packets of powder into various dishes. He continued up to the doors of the feast hall and removed a stick of chalk from his robes. His hand moving from practiced ease he drew a perfect circle with pentagram inside and a stylized eye at its center. Disappearing back into the kitchen, he exited the palace as cries of pain and discomfort rose up behind him. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Sliding into the saddle of a horse outside the palace gates he rode through the city uncontested. Reaching the city gates, he rode past soldiers and knights lying in the rode and leaned up against the walls groaning vomit covering the ground and their uniforms. Disappearing down the road he dismounted and removed the horse¡¯s saddle and bridle. ¡°Run free beast,¡± he said his voice soft but deep. ¡°Find what happiness you can.¡± Walking under the trees he came to a thick tree. Knocking on its trunk a doorway opened in its side. Descending down a spiral staircase he entered a laboratory. Princess Andromeda lay on a table as healers fussed over her. ¡°How is she?¡± the man asked. ¡°She¡¯ll live,¡± a plump older woman said. ¡°We can replace the eye, but she¡¯ll always have that scar.¡± ¡°Good,¡± the man said with a nod. ¡°Those without scars are without reminders of their failings and shortcomings, it will serve to humble her.¡± ¡°Your too hard on the girl,¡± the woman scolded. ¡°I am hard on all those with the ¡°gift¡±¡± the man replied the last word said with scorn. ¡°They think themselves above us, it is good for them to remember they are just as much the pawns of the gods as the rest of us.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll wake soon,¡± the woman said. ¡°I shall wait then,¡± the man said sitting cross legged on the ground. Closing his eyes in meditation, he remained unmoving for several hours. Finally, the princess stirred on her cot. ¡°Where am I?¡± she asked groggily, her voice thin and weak, her throat parched. ¡°You are in the Forest of the Ancients,¡± the man said. Hey eyes widened. ¡°Why? Where is my father?¡± ¡°Your father is dead,¡± the man said gently. ¡°Dracon has fallen to Camelot. I rescued you from their clutches, this is the resistance.¡± ¡°You rescued me?¡± Andromeda asked disbelievingly. ¡°You expect me to believe a base humanoid snuck past an entire army of gifted soldiers and knights and brought me out all by yourself. Who are you?¡± ¡°I am Pierce,¡± the man said pulling back his hood. He had sandy brown hair and striking blue eyes. A circle was tattooed on his head with a pentagram and styled eye at its center. ¡°Magi,¡± Andromeda whispered the scorn and disbelief gone replaced with fear now. ¡°Welcome to the resistance against the gods,¡± Pierce said extending his hand. Chapter 63: Stones and more Stones can Break my Bones Helen looked out over the flat field of stone and earth where the Warlord and Guinevere and her party had disappeared down into. Atrel had dragged her back before the weapon had fallen from the sky and dragged dozens of soldiers from all their armies down into the chasm with them. Now there was silence as everyone stood in shock. ¡°Did we win?¡± Felrick asked, giving Atrel a look. Atrel released Helen. ¡°Sorry for that but I couldn¡¯t risk you being dragged into the chasm.¡± ¡°You knew that would happen?¡± Helen asked glaring at him. ¡°My family has had an artifact capable of that in their possession since the last Warlord,¡± Atrel said. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t we just use that on the Warlord right away?¡± Jamis asked. ¡°He could have moved if he wasn¡¯t distracted,¡± Atrel answered. ¡°Also, that was its last charge, the artifact is just a useless spear now if it even still exists.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t we get a notification for killing the Warlord?¡± Chiron asked. ¡°That¡¯s your question?¡± Mira snapped as she turned a glare on Atrel. ¡°You just sacrificed one of our companions and the most powerful member of our army for that attack.¡± ¡°I will not apologize for doing what was necessary to achieve victory,¡± Artel said. ¡°Guinevere said herself she was willing to die to achieve victory against the Warlord.¡± ¡°Did we?¡± Jamis asked. ¡°We still haven¡¯t gotten a notification for killing him, our quest should have updated if he was dead.¡± Targets last condition before entering a System Dead Zone was Living and Stable. Confirmation of death will be required before rewards will be given. Jamis and rest of the champions present blinked away the notification. ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate,¡± Felrick said. ¡°How likely is that weapon killed him?¡± ¡°It dropped them two miles underground and dropped all that rock on after them,¡± Atrel said. ¡°I believe it is safe to assume he is dead now.¡± ¡°And so is Guinevere,¡± Mira said. ¡°Enough Mira,¡± Helen said. ¡°While we may dislike Atrel¡¯s methods, he did defeat the Warlord. We can¡¯t be sure Guinevere would have been able to defeat him in battle it didn¡¯t look good for her at the end there.¡± ¡°She would have,¡± Mira insisted. ¡°We can talk about this later,¡± Jamis said. ¡°For now we need to deal with Warlord¡¯s army. They running away, do we let them?¡± The champions turned and it was like Jamis had said. Even the Dragonbreakers were sprinting towards their castle. They flowed inside like rats fleeing into their nest. ¡°So, their leader dies and they lose all their courage,¡± Atrel scoffed a cruel smile curving his lips. A shadow swept over the battlefield. Everyone looked up just as a torrent of green and blue flames ripped apart a group of archers reducing them all to ashes. The boom that shook the land as the fire struck and devoured the air itself nearly sent everyone off their feet. A dragon landed on the battlefield. Its scales were glossy black like obsidian, but each were edged with glowing red and orange like live coals. The dragon¡¯s eyes were a bright scarlet and glowed with a light all their own. Exar¡¯kun Lord the Star-fallen, Gifted- Veteran, Hell-dragon, Rank 384 The pride and scorn that had filled Atrel moments ago vanished his face ash white as he looked upon his Clan¡¯s Sacred Animal. They had to sneak into its nest when it was out hunting to gather fallen scales to use for their mutations no one who encountered the Exar¡¯kun had ever survived. In his younger days the young dragon had decimated entire war parties cementing himself as the true king of the forest. ¡°I¡¯ve been growing my power for over a century,¡± Exar¡¯kun said, he didn¡¯t shout but his voice still carried over the entire battlefield. ¡°I can¡¯t enter dungeons like you small creatures, so I¡¯ve had to hunt for the scraps the system has spawned into the forest. But now that you Champions have arrived the forest has been thick with game. I¡¯ve acquired all the abilities I need to reach next rank; now I just need the rank points. How fortunate for me that there are so many here right now.¡± ¡°What do we do?¡± Jamis asked flexing his clawed gauntlets. ¡°Run!¡± Atrel said, grabbing Helen and throwing her over his shoulder. Atrel was Veteran ranked so he was able to carry the much smaller woman easily on his shoulders as he took off running. All around the soldiers of the Dragon Clan broke ranks and fled in all directions. The soldiers of Lunaren and Camelot slower on the uptake held their ground bunching together and activating their defensive abilities. The cursed energy that infused Exar¡¯kun¡¯s fire chewed through their shields, barriers and blockades. Screams filled the air as men and women roasted in their armor. A group of Camelot knights charged the dragon with their weapons glowing with power as they activated abilities. The dragon¡¯s tail whipped around crushing them against the ground. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. While some of the Camelot knights were close to Exar¡¯kun in rank a dragon had advantages that couldn¡¯t be quantified by the number at the end of his description. The dragon tore into the army with his tail, claws, fire and fangs ripping anyone who didn¡¯t flee to shreds. They might have won the battle against Mordred, but in the end, they had lost the War against the dragon. -- Guinevere dusted herself off and helped push a boulder off of Regald¡¯s leg. They¡¯d landed without killing themselves but the rocks falling from above had done significant damage to them. ¡°What happened,¡± Edrick asked sheathing his daggers and pulling them out again in a nervous gesture. ¡°One of our allies decided to sacrifice us to take out the Warlord,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Is he dead?¡± Haldros asked. ¡°Most likely,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But we need to make sure. Kira heal Regald¡¯s leg we need to get moving.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t!¡± Kira said in panic. Guinevere frowned. ¡°The curse from the Warlord can¡¯t still be active.¡± ¡°No,¡± Kira said desperation in her voice. ¡°I can¡¯t use any of my healing abilities. Soothing Waters, Mending Touch, Restoring Light!¡± she rattled off her abilities trying them all but none of them would do anything. Guinevere frowned and swung her sword. ¡°Royal Blade,¡± she said. No light surrounded her blade, and she couldn¡¯t even see her mana or stamina bars. ¡°What¡¯s going on¡± Edrick asked nervously. ¡°We¡¯re cut off from the system,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Any abilities that require activation aren¡¯t going to work here, my passives all seem active are all yours working?¡± Haldros spun his staff in hand then closed his eyes. ¡°Yes everything I have is functioning.¡± ¡°What are we going to do?¡± Edrick asked. ¡°We¡¯re going to stay calm,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°We need to find and make sure the Warlord is dead then find a way out of here. Regald drink one of the emergency health potions, Kira you¡¯ll have to stay back and focus on just not being attacked now. We don¡¯t have a healer so any damage we take can¡¯t be healed without the use of potions and we don¡¯t have many of those.¡± They spread out and looked about the long dark tunnel they were in. Finding branching paths, they continued searching for them. They found dozens of people crushed under rocks or crumbled on the ground. Guinevere motioned for them to stop and gestured with her sword. A man lay crumpled against the wall. Approaching him Guinevere bent down and investigated him more closely. ¡°He has to be the Warlord,¡± she said. ¡°Can you be sure?¡± Edrick asked. ¡°He¡¯s the right size and that¡¯s his weapon,¡± she said gesturing to the doubled ended spear in his dead fingers. Removing his helmet, she looked on the ashen face of the man blood matting his hair flat to his head where his skull had caved in. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But you chose to serve evil, and you have paid the price for it now.¡± An unearthly scream tore through the air and she and her party whirled around their hands going to their weapons. -- Holding Sarah tight against me we looked up at the stars. We¡¯d rode out here on my motorcycle after sneaking her out of her parents¡¯ house. We were miles from the lights of the city and could see all the brilliance and the beauty of the night sky. ¡°You¡¯re going to get in trouble with your foster parents,¡± Sarah said turning her head and looking up at me. ¡°Mine too.¡± ¡°Only if they find out,¡± I said back kissing her on her forehead. We lapsed into silence for a moment. ¡°What do you want to be?¡± Sarah asked me. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I admitted. ¡°But whatever it is I want to do it with you.¡± Sarah laughed. ¡°Too corny?¡± I asked. ¡°No, I loved it,¡± Sarah said leaning back against my chest. ¡°I want to be doctor, I want to help people,¡± she said. ¡°I think you¡¯d be good at that,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I would though. I don¡¯t always get along well with others, and I don¡¯t think I have the patience to make it through medical school. I want to build things, maybe an architect.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pretty good at drawing,¡± Sarah said. ¡°I think you¡¯d make a great architect.¡± We were silent for a time as I held her in my arms. The summer night cool and comfortable against our skin a light breeze blowing across us. With Sarah right there I felt invincible, like I could do anything and become anyone. She was a source of strength I didn¡¯t even know I could have, and I¡¯d do anything to make her happy. ¡°I love you,¡± I whispered in her ear. Sarah froze and I realized it was the first time I¡¯d ever said that to her. Her breathing quickening, she turned around looking into my eyes. Tentatively she leaned up pressing her lips against mine softly. Our kiss deepened, she slid onto my lap pushing me down onto the blanket we¡¯d spread out. My hands traced her body as our tongues probed each other¡¯s mouths in a passionate desperate need for each other. Soon I felt her naked skin against mine, the ecstasy of joining together. When we rode back to her parents¡¯ place, she kissed me as she slid off my motorcycle. Her brilliant blue eyes stuck in my mind the joy and laughter there haunting me no matter how much I tried to forget them. I jerked awake out of the painful memory. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked looking around. We got sucked down some giant hole in the ground and it closed above us, Karnen said. We¡¯ve got some good news and bad news. ¡°What¡¯s the bad news?¡± I asked. We were able to deactivate Black Rage when we lost contact with the system, Voidra said. ¡°And the bad news?¡± I asked. We lost contact with the system, Karnen said. You¡¯re limited to your passive abilities until you get out of this field of effect or find a way to shut it down. ¡°Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said testing it out. Nothing happened, no mana was expended, and no effect took place. ¡°Interesting, why don¡¯t we have contact with the system?¡± Probably some enchantment or either that or you somehow dropped into a god¡¯s temple, Karnen said. ¡°Well, let¡¯s find out,¡± I said pushing myself to my feet. ¡°Where is my spear?¡± That other guy you tried to help out had it last, Voidra said. ¡°Guess I¡¯m back to using these,¡± I said pulling out my two clubs. I put one in my belt and took out my shield slipping my arm through the straps. I sense something coming down the tunnel, Voidra warned me. I turned and braced myself my shield in front as my four pupils began scanning high and low. A six-legged cat-like creature made of shadow leapt out from tunnel. It released a scream from its mouth that made me want to plug my ears and curl in on myself but instead I ducked down. The claws of my club raked along its underbelly. Black ichor spilled out and floated through the air as if it was underwater before vanishing. The cat turned around to face me, but I was already moving. My club came down from the right passing through and disrupting the spectral cat¡¯s form. It yallowed in pain again but my club was already coming back around and silenced it with another hit. Slowly its body began to melt into the ground. ¡°That was interesting,¡± I said. ¡°Too bad I can¡¯t see if that thing had rank points or not. Can I still get those in place like this?¡± No, Karnen said. Rank points are distributed by the system, no access to it no new rank points or abilities or progress for your quests. ¡°A shame,¡± I said. My ears picked up on the sound of footfalls again. The cat had been soundless, but these were much heavier soon I felt the tread of bipedal creatures in the area of detection from Tremor Soles. Turning around I got a look at the six people approaching me, one of them with a minor limp. Well, Karnen said. Here we go again. Chapter 64: Call me Ishmael Jamis, Helen, Atrel, Mira, Felrick, and Torvin all panted after they had stopped having fled deep into the woods. Jamis closed his eyes and emitted a low deep growl that sent a pulse through the woods summoning the bears under his control. The roars of the dragon could only be distantly heard in the distance. ¡°What was that?¡± Helen asked. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of the dragon, but that thing was stronger than any of the reports lead us to believe. ¡°Exar¡¯kun is the true king of this forest,¡± Atrel said looking back from where they¡¯d come with a haunted expression. ¡°We placed wards around our city to keep him from approaching but he¡¯s mostly kept to himself in the past.¡± Helen was about to say something when a notification popped into her view. Quest Gained; Dragon Slayer: You have been tasked by your goddess to kill the Hell Dragon of the Ancient Forest to prevent it from growing more powerful and leaving this region. Progress: 0-1. Reward: One III Artifact of your choice or creation. Helen blinked the message away looking around to see the rest of her companions besides Atrel doing the same. ¡°We need to slay a dragon,¡± Jamis said looking back. ¡°We¡¯re not anywhere close to being ready to take that thing on,¡± Felrick said. Helen nodded in agreement. ¡°it¡¯s time we return home,¡± she looked Atrel over. ¡°I have to explain my new husband to my mother.¡± --- I looked over the six people, recognizing them as the group I¡¯d fought above. They looked battered now having taken a beating like I had on the plunge down. Their leader, the woman named Guinevere was stained with dirt and blood. She was missing her helmet and part of her silver blond hair stained a dark red. I met her piercing blue eyes and flinched as for a moment I saw a different woman¡¯s face. The memory vanished as quickly as it appeared as I stuffed it back into the corner of my mind. I could see my spear strapped to her back, the weapon rising four feet above her back and hanging down to her knees. ¡°Who are you?¡± the silver-blonde woman asked. ¡°And why are you here?¡± ¡°Call me Ishmael,¡± I said extending a hand. ¡°Some time ago, never mind how long precisely having little money and not much of interest back home I thought I¡¯d come to the Ancient Forest and the wild to seek my fortune.¡± I did not see that coming, Voidra said sounding somewhat impressed. How do they not know who you are? Well that black mist around him would have kept them from seeing his face, Karnen mused. But how many people do they think could have survived that fall? ¡°You¡¯re a mercenary then?¡± she asked, taking my hand in the unconscious way everyone does when offered a hand to shake. ¡°Something like that,¡± I said with a shrug ignoring the running commentary in the back of my head. ¡°So, you don¡¯t serve anyone,¡± one of her companions, a big man with a shield scoffed at me with disdain. ¡°Not true at all,¡± I corrected him. ¡°I serve myself.¡± ¡°But you don¡¯t have a country of your own?¡± the man pressed. ¡°I don¡¯t see the need to tie myself down to one place,¡± I admitted. ¡°How did you survive the fall?¡± Guinevere asked, looking at the cave-in nearby. Now that I looked, I could see an arm poking out from underneath where someone had been crushed by the rocks. ¡°Just had some abilities that let me pull through,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Whose side were you on during the battle?¡± one of the other men this one carrying a staff and wearing mages robes asked. ¡°You don¡¯t look like a Lunaren and you¡¯re not from Camelot. Do you work for the Dragon Clan, or did you serve the Warlord?¡± Did, Karnen said. Do they think they killed you? Apparently, I responded mentally. ¡°I¡¯m with the Dragon Clan,¡± I said aloud. It was technically true too; I was the leader of the Dragon Clan now. Guinevere looked me over. ¡°What was that sound we heard before?¡± she asked. ¡°Some sort of shadow cat,¡± I said. There is another one incoming, Voidra said. Actually, now there are more than a dozen incoming. ¡°I think we¡¯re about to be attacked,¡± I said casually to Guinevere. She stepped back from me, and her sword raised up as she scanned the tunnel around us. The rest of her party responded the same, looking about nervously. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything,¡± the other woman, the group¡¯s healer said. A scream tore through the air as a black shadowy beast phased through the stone and launched itself at her. She stepped back raising her staff and the man with the shield stepped into the block. Another beast emerged from the ground. Voidra, can you disable Magma Heart(s), I asked. Easily, why? Voidra asked. Do it I don¡¯t want to reveal myself to this group yet, I said. Done, Voidra said. There was a slight twitch in my spirit but other than that I felt nothing. More and more beasts were pouring down the tunnel and out of the walls, ceiling, and floor. With a roar, I flung myself into battle diving into the thick of the monsters drawing all their attention onto me. -- Guinevere watched as Ishmael charged past them into the thick of the swarming monsters. The move was so suicidal and idiotic that she momentarily stopped attacking just to watch. Claws slashed across his chest, surprisingly they didn¡¯t immediately rip out his heart. To her surprise the warrior was doing actually well; blocking with his shield and legs the fangs and claws deflected off the metal or leather. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. She supposed she shouldn¡¯t be too surprised by his reckless behavior; scars were rare on the gifted and that man was covered with them. He lashed out with a club, a crude and savage weapon that he used with bloody efficiency. He used his shield as much as a weapon as for defense she saw him ram its edge into the mouth of a wolf-like creature. A giant shadow viper lunged toward her, and she yanked her focus back to the fight. Her sword struck out and cut off the creature¡¯s head. She Slashed, stabbed, blocked, and deflected as the onrush of creatures came on. She stood and the front of her party taking on the bulk of the monsters. The hoard of monsters was being held off mostly by just her and Ishmael. The man was clearly a fighter, but he also seemed to severely lack combat training. He didn¡¯t use them for support to watch his back and mostly ignored defense in the favor of a reckless assault. Whenever she caught a glimpse of him when he burst out of the pile of shadow creatures, she saw his body drenched in crimson. Without armor covering his vital organs she was amazed he was still alive. Her party¡¯s backs were pressed up against the wall. Regald was keeping the monsters off the rest of the team but was struggling without his active abilities and Kira was almost completely useless without her ability to heal others. Edrick was using his daggers and was better off with his ability to stealth and meld into the darkness passive rather than active abilities. Haldros was in a similar situation to Kira without access to the system, but his staff was enchanted, and he blasted off shots of fire from it every second, blasting into the ranks of shadow monsters. Guinevere held the line against the shadow monsters. Despite her perfection, even she was taking hits on her greeves and bracers as she was forced to allow some hits through to deflect off her armor. Looking at Ishmael she couldn¡¯t help but feel jealous, he burst from the hoard of monsters a savage grin on his bloody face and mad laughter coming out of his as he reveled in the slaughter unrestricted by the need to protect anyone. She¡¯d seen this sort of behavior before her father had some of the best mercenaries and bounty hunters in the land train her as a young child. While her sword masters had given her perfection with the blade those other tutors had shown her how to fight and the necessary bloody savagery. Guinevere had never totally grasped what the ability to delve into a fight and find the joy in it and be as brutal as was required; here was someone who had gone beyond anything those teachers had shown her. Ishmael reveled in the battle creatures hanging off his body their fangs and claws ripping into him, but he just kept up the slaughter even as he took wounds that would have incapacitated anyone else with the horror, pain, and blood loss. A bearlike creature reared up on two back legs and slashed at Guinevere with its front claws. She dived forward plunging her sword up to the hilt in its chest. The bear fell back and wrenched her sword from her hand. Guinevere dived forward panic flooding her as she lost hold of her weapon. The monsters swarmed her, and she rolled but felt fangs clamp onto the pieces of her armor and began to gnaw and rip at them yanking her around like a rag doll. Black ichor rained across her and she looked up to see the bloody visage of Ishmael above her. The man was massive, all gifted grew a bit during their mortal ranks, but this man was almost as big as the Dragonbreakers. He was only foot-and-a-half taller than her but as a tall woman, she wasn¡¯t used to being dwarfed so much. ¡°No time for lying about Princess,¡± Ishmael said grabbing her arm and yanking her up. Her sword flew out of the mass of shadow creatures and slapped into his hand, and he handed it to her. ¡°I¡¯m not a Princess,¡± Guinevere snapped as she slashed out at a shadow lion. The two were fighting back-to-back now. Guinevere could feel the energy radiating off of him and she felt it infecting her. She wanted to dive into the fray and just start cutting until there wasn¡¯t anything left. The feeling of wrath disrupted her usual emotionless battle meditation. Glancing over to her party she saw they were being pushed back in a fighting retreat down the tunnel. ¡°We need to help them,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Why?¡± Ishmael asked. ¡°What do you mean why?¡± Guinevere asked, anger filling her voice. -- ¡°I mean why should I help them?¡± I asked. ¡°Look at them, they¡¯re just dead weight.¡± ¡°Why did you help me?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Because I wanted to,¡± I said with a shrug ducking the swiped of the monster¡¯s claws and ripping open its underbelly with the claws of my club. ¡°And you are actually competent.¡± ¡°What do you want then?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I can get you money, land, and titles when we get out of here.¡± She cut around us in a wide swathe. ¡°Useless made-up titles or system titles?¡± I asked. ¡°Very well,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°By my power as a Duchess and the future Queen of Camelot, I swear that if you help me and all my party members that you can to safety you will be granted a system title as a knight of Camelot.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that do?¡± I asked ramming my shield into face of shadow cat and bashing its head in while it was stunned. ¡°It gives knowledge of weapons and using armor effectively and can be added to your description to give you recognized the power and legal protection while in the Kingdom of Camelot,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Now are you in?¡± I thought about it for a second then shrugged. ¡°Why not, I accept your deal. Is this even binding without the system here?¡± ¡°The system will recognize it as soon as we get back into its influence,¡± Guinevere assured me as she pushed towards her party. Spinning about me in a cyclone of violence, I tore through the monsters and pulled the pressure off the useless adventurers. I had to use one of my abilities and turned about to release a roar activating Voice of the Chasm. The ability was activated based on intent, not a command word. A wave of sound hit the shadow creatures and some of the already damaged ones at the front rank were liquified by it. The rest staggered back, giving us some breathing room. Looking over the group I saw the tank was badly damaged as were a few other members in their group. I guessed without access to the system their healer was useless. Reaching into my storage pouch I pulled out some health potions and tossed them to them. ¡°How many of those do you have?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°More than enough,¡± I said. Guinevere and I held the tunnel against the tide of monsters. Eventually, the wave of shadow creatures was reduced to only a few dozen, then five, then two, and then none. I looked over the party behind me. Their wounds had closed but their gear and armor were still battered. Without access to the system, I couldn¡¯t repair anything but even if I could using that ability would have revealed myself. I¡¯m still not sure why you¡¯re even bothering with this deception, Voidra said. I want to learn more about this world from a different perspective, I responded. What better perspective than these people? Why is their insight valuable? Karnen asked. You cannot defeat your enemy until you know your enemy. I said. But what happens when they get to know you? Voidra asked. I didn¡¯t have an answer to that. --- Arthur slammed his fist on the table. ¡°How can you find no trace of her trail?¡± he asked. ¡°Probably the same way they were able to poison all our food,¡± Kay said tiredly. ¡°There is nothing we can do about it now, she¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°This is why I said we should have killed her,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°I don¡¯t regret my choice to show mercy,¡± Arthur said. ¡°What I regret is not having anyone get a single look at our enemy.¡± They were gathered in the great hall of the palace. It was empty apart from the three champions and their highest-ranking officers. Arthur gestured to the doors of the great hall where the graffitied chalk sigil still remained. ¡°That is a threat to all of us,¡± Arthur said. ¡°The Order of the Magi is anathema to our entire civilization.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard the name, but I¡¯ve not spent as much time studying history as you,¡± Kay said. ¡°Aren¡¯t they just a group of heretics?¡± ¡°No,¡± Arthur said. ¡°These people aren¡¯t just opposed to our gods; they are opposed to all gods and to the concept of the system itself. They seek to raise a god of their own who is not a champion in any of the pantheons.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s not possible,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°Well,¡± Kay said. ¡°It is theoretically if you could somehow without being a champion get to five hundred in all attributes without being a champion you could ascend.¡± ¡°Would that be so bad?¡± asked one of the officers. ¡°Yes,¡± Arthur said. ¡°At least the Chaos Spawn act within the confines of the game, they seek to become a god, not to kill the other gods. The game was created to keep the gods from warring with each other, what happens when a god with no ties to the system is born? The wars between the gods literally destroyed entire continents, it was a war no civilization could survive.¡± Chapter 65: Swarming Shadows It turned out babysitting a bunch of adventurers was not fun. By not fun I of course meant that pretty soon the biggest threat to their existence was me. I wanted to strangle them after spending the past five hours listening to them complain, whine and question my every action and decision. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why we need him,¡± the tank whose name was Regald said. Smashing the edge of my shield into the head of a shadow bear pinning it against the wall I brought my club down on its head. It dissolved into a liquid shadow before evaporating into the environment leaving only a dark stain on the floor. ¡°Because¡± Guinevere sighed. ¡°You can¡¯t tank, Kira can¡¯t heal and Haldros can¡¯t use his spell abilities.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t trust him,¡± Kira said. ¡°He¡¯s probably just thinking of ways to kill us.¡± Are you sure we can¡¯t kill them, Karnen asked. Yes, I sighed. I already promised I¡¯d get them to safety. I don¡¯t mind them, Voidra said. Their hatred is very tasty. They hate me? I asked. Seems a bit extreme, we just met. No, they hate the woman leader, Voidra said. You mean Guinevere? I asked. ¡°It¡¯s rude to talk about someone behind their back,¡± Guinevere scolded. ¡°Sorry,¡± I said. ¡°What?¡± Guinevere asked confused. ¡°Um¡­ I said¡­ sorry what was that?¡± I said. Real smooth, Karnen said dryly. We got another wave incoming, Voidra said. Thank goodness, Karnen said. Maybe some of them will die in the fighting. ¡°We got another wave of monsters incoming,¡± I warned the party. Finally, that shut them up. We¡¯d been dealing with stray monsters are entire journey through the twisting and branching tunnels but hadn¡¯t run into another wave of monsters yet. ¡°Are you ready for another fight?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Honestly, I was going to start one with your party if this hadn¡¯t popped up,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s been like being trapped in a car with a group of six-year-olds.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a car?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Not important,¡± I said. ¡°Monsters incoming.¡± Sure enough, the screams and roars of a ravenous hoard could just now start to be heard. The ground started to rumble signifying these wouldn¡¯t just be the shadow beasts we¡¯d been fighting but creatures of physical beings as well. ¡°How could you even detect them from this far away?¡± Haldros asked. ¡°You don¡¯t seem like your focused on being a scout?¡± ¡°I have my ways,¡± I answered taking my place up at the front of the group. ¡°And I¡¯m not focused on anything.¡± ¡°Then how do you help your party?¡± Regald asked as he took up his place a little ways behind me. ¡°I don¡¯t operate with a party,¡± I said. ¡°Why not?¡± Guinevere asked, stepping up beside me and setting her feet. ¡°You don¡¯t want to know,¡± I said shaking my head. ¡°And why is that?¡± Guinevere asked, having to speak up as the howls and roars grew louder. ¡°It would offend you,¡± I replied. A gazelle like creature covered with black carapace outpaced the horde and lowed its head rushing headlong towards us. Dodging to the side I kicked out my foot colliding with its neck and sending it cracking into the wall. Guinevere lunged forward her sword slashing down and finishing it off. ¡°Tell me,¡± she insisted her voice rising just loud enough for me to hear. ¡°Relying on other people will make you weak, without the genuine threat of death, of self-annihilation,¡± I explained as I began lashing about me with my club. ¡°True strength comes from testing yourself with no safety net. You have to face the end with the full confidence and willingness to die to become superior.¡± ¡°A bit egotistical,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°What about raising others up? Teaching others how to fight for themselves and to protect others?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see them as exclusive,¡± I said raising my shield and shoving off a shadow panther that tried to land on my back. Tossing if off I let Guinevere skewered it through the neck. ¡°By forcing them to face their internal weakness they will learn more than you could ever teach them,¡± I explained. ¡°You¡¯re wrong,¡± Guinevere said as she placed her back against mine as the hoard of monsters threw themselves against us. ¡°I¡¯ve seen what happens when a father throws their child into a river so they can teach themselves to swim.¡± I couldn¡¯t shrug with the chaos of battle that required at least half my attention. ¡°I¡¯ve only ever been in the deep end; I don¡¯t know of another way to survive.¡± ¡°Then you must be a true prodigy,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Because doing that to any other child breaks them.¡± ¡°Who says it didn¡¯t,¡± I said so softly I doubted she even heard over the cacophony of battle. -- Ishmael¡¯s unexpected vulnerability and openness surprised her but the look in his eyes was gone as soon as it had appeared replaced by the raging berserker she had first met. Ishmael rushed into battle and a massive two-headed bear latched onto his shield with it teeth and dragged him into the horde. She didn¡¯t have time to worry about him, however. Standing at the front of her party she cut down the monsters that flowed around Ishmael, he was like a rock in a pipe slowing down the flow of water, but he couldn¡¯t stop it entirely. Blood and ichor sprayed around her as she cut into the swarm. It was odd for such a diverse group of monsters to be working together instead of fighting each other. They had a mad hunger and single-mindedness to them that could normally only be found in dungeon monsters, or in Ishmael. Pushing aside thoughts on her new companion, Guinevere fell into her battle meditation taught to her since she was a child. She cut through and pushed back every monster that came her way; the ice blue of her blade was soon covered in dark red or black blood and ichor. Not all the monsters dissolved into shadow and soon piles of corpses were creating barricades slowing down the monsters as they climbed over the mounds of their own dead. Lost in the rhythmic and reflexive technique of her meditation Guinevere was surprised when the wave of monsters finally ended. A pile of corpses shifted, and Ishmael pushed himself out from the blood-soaked fur, chitin, scales, and ooze that formed the various monster bodies. His body shook and when he looked at her, she could feel him restraining himself from striking like a vicious dog straining at its leash. A tremor passed through his body as he hooked his clubs to his belt at his waist. Taking a cloth out of a pouch on his side he wiped it across his face, the blood, gore, and ichor vanished. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Ishmael seemed transformed the pressure in the air of sudden violence vanishing. When he stepped forward, she didn¡¯t back down. Reaching out, he held a pristine white cloth out to her. ¡°Here, clean yourself up, you look like hell,¡± he said. Guinevere took the cloth and examined it. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°A cleansing cloth,¡± Ishmael said. ¡°I got it from a dungeon inject about ten points of mana into it and it will remove any dirt, grim or blood from anything it touches.¡± Guinevere took the cloth and raised it to her face. ¡°Wait,¡± Kira said. ¡°What if its cursed.¡± Guinevere paused and looked Ishmael over. ¡°You¡¯re going to be putting your life in my hands a lot in the future,¡± Ishmael said. ¡°You need to decide now if you¡¯re going to trust me.¡± Guinevere hesitated then took the cloth. Pushing out with her mana she wiped it across her face, instantly her hair and body were instantly cleansed her hair which had been caked with blood and ichor now returned to its white silver sheen. Instantly she could smell the sweat staining her clothes, her nose wrinkling in disgust. She wiped it across her armor and clothes and instantly the smell was whisked away, and she breathed in freely. Turning to Kira the other woman shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not using that, I don¡¯t trust him,¡± Kira said. ¡°Suit yourself,¡± Ishmael said. ¡°Just don¡¯t walk near me I don¡¯t want to be smelling you this whole time.¡± -- We trudged along for another five hours before stopping at a wider part of the tunnel that branched off into two other directions. There was a nearby cave and large pond fed by an underwater stream that flowed from a crack in the wall and slowly went down a narrow underwater tunnel big enough for a creature the size of a trout to swim through. A few blind cave fish were swimming in the pond and mushroom, moss and lichen grew alongside it creating an underground oasis. The three useless heroes and Guinevere began setting up camp. I just sat down cross legged and closed my eyes, beginning to meditate. ¡°Are you going to help us get set up?¡± one of the men asked. ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t need any of your stuff.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just going to sleep on the rocks?¡± the woman asked scornfully. ¡°I¡¯m immune to exposure,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, I need to rest for when we get attacked again and you stand around uselessly.¡± ¡°Why you¡­¡± one the man said his voice rising with anger, but Guinevere cut him off. ¡°Enough!¡± she snapped. ¡°I contracted him to protect you, not be your servant; if he doesn¡¯t want access to our supplies or tents that¡¯s fine.¡± Everyone was silent for about an hour after that. I sat in my silent wrathful meditation, the splash of fish and the hammer of pitons the only sounds disturbing the silence. They set up a fire and brought out some rations. I brought out some of my own from my storage pouch and ate apart from them. They talked among themselves quietly. I listened in on them for a bit, but it was all boring mundane stuff and whining about the possibility of never escaping. Guinevere mostly stayed out of the conversation, an outsider in her own group. She eventually got up and came over sat next to me on the ground. ¡°Tell me about yourself, Ishmael,¡± she said. ¡°Why?¡± I asked not opening my eyes as I sat in cross-legged by back straight against the wall. ¡°Because I want to know if your reliable,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Your hard to read and without the system we have only each other¡¯s word to rely on.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± I sighed. ¡°What do you want to know?¡± ¡°Why were you at the battle?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I can¡¯t tell your face for certain but you don¡¯t appear to be a myrmidon.¡± ¡°There are many non-myrmidons among the clans,¡± I answered my words true if deceitful in the way they directed her thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m human, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking. As for why I was at the battle, because I wanted to be.¡± ¡°But why?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°What was in it for you? Money, land, influence or did you just want to earn rank points by killing other gifted.¡± ¡°Because I wanted to,¡± I said again. ¡°All those other things are incentives for people sure, but it¡¯s not how I operate. I fight because I want to, because I enjoy dancing as close as I can to the edge of death.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like a recipe for a long life,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Safe is boring,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°What about you, why are you here?¡± ¡°I came to kill the warlord,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But why?¡± I asked. ¡°He hadn¡¯t done anything against you.¡± ¡°He would have, it¡¯s in his nature,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°You can¡¯t know that for sure,¡± I insisted. ¡°Did you ever actually meet him?¡± ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°So, you initiated the fight,¡± I said. ¡°Why, what¡¯s your motivation?¡± Guinevere looked me in the eyes, and I again flinched as I saw another woman¡¯s face. ¡°I want to prove that we don¡¯t need the champions to protect ourselves; that someone without the blessing and gifts of the Gods is just as capable of defeating evil as any of the champions of law.¡± ¡°Your statement implies that law is good,¡± I said. ¡°You disagree?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Not necessarily,¡± I said. ¡°But I believe either side is evil when left unchecked. Chaos leads to anarchy and people taking the law into their own hands. Law leads to tyranny and the restriction and control of everyone¡¯s natural rights.¡± ¡°Natural rights?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°That we¡¯re all created equal, and that morality applies to us all the same regardless of our station. Everyone has the right to life and the pursuit of happiness,¡± I answered. ¡°You really believe everyone is created equally?¡± Guinevere asked. I paused then shook my head. ¡°No, but we all have equal potential some just have to work harder than others to realize it.¡± ¡°You have some very strange ideas,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Where are you from.¡± ¡°Missouri,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of that place,¡± Guinevere said. I gave a shrug of my shoulders. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect you too, it¡¯s very far away.¡± Guinevere stood up. ¡°We¡¯ll talk more later, get your rest.¡± Closing my eyes again, I fell into a restful meditation but resisted the call of sleep. -- We have another incoming wave of enemies, Voidra warned me. My eyes snapped open, and I jumped to my feet. My movement caused my dozing companions to jerk awake and they reached for weapons. Sadly, they pointed those weapons at me with the exception of Guinevere who stood at a ready guard. ¡°We¡¯re going to be attacked again,¡± I said. They all paused and listened then shook their heads. ¡°I can¡¯t sense anything,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Do you have some passive detection ability?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I said. It was true even if that ability wasn¡¯t what had alerted me. ¡°Then where are they?¡± the tank asked. A massive shadow bear surged out of the ground and tackled him to the dirt. ¡°There here,¡± I said dryly watching him struggle with the shadow creature for a moment before his party members cut it down. More and more shadow creatures popped out of the walls, ceiling and floor rushing us. I jumped into the fray drawing their attention. Pushing mana into my ring I activated the Stoneskin enchantment, it mitigated physical damage eliminating most of the damage they dealt. However, whatever made them able to pass through walls also helped them to pass through my adamantine skin drawing thin lines of blood all across my body. My main threat was blood loss, the wounds closing quickly but more replacing them every second. My clubs tore about me in cyclone of carnage spraying black shadow ichor across the walls. They quickly dissipated into shadow when killed so they weren¡¯t piling up like last time. I saw a creature that looked like a cross between a panther and a spider moving across the ceiling heading toward the healer. I threw the club in my left hand, and it impacted the spider-panther with the force of a cannon. It fell twitching from the ceiling. Left with just the one weapon now I was pushed back. The creatures were mostly immaterial and only my weapons enchantments allowed me to damage them. They seemed to exist halfway between flesh and blood and being a ghost; able to fully materialize whenever they wanted too. A massive bear-like creature bit down on my club and shook its head. My grip was enhanced by Setules Palms, so I didn¡¯t lose my grip on my weapon; unfortunately my weight wasn¡¯t enough to keep the bear from swinging me around like a rag doll. My entire body became a human flail as I smashed around into the other monsters as the bear tried to disarm me. My shoulder popped but I pushed past the pain. My free fist lashed out over and over into the bear¡¯s face. Eventually it tossed me into the wall, I hit like a stone from a catapult. I finally lost hold of my club as I was stunned and dazed. More and more creatures swarmed me. Guinevere was suddenly by my side and pushed one of my clubs into my hand. We began cutting and hacking through the swarm pushing them back down the tunnel. It was a bloody, blurry haze after that. When it was done, I struggled to push down the fury caused by the instances of Blood Frenzy I had stacked up with my cloak. Hooking my club in my belt I held out my hand recalling the other one to my hand. It slapped into my palm still wet with my own blood and the evaporating shadow ichor. Taking out my cleansing cloth from my storage pouch I wiped it over my face. I instantly felt relieved as the grit and blood covering me vanished. My pants were badly damaged at this point, even being reinforced by Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory there was only so much the nonmagical item could endure. Guinevere was giving me a side-eyed look as she studied me. She did that a lot and I could feel her analyzing and judging me whenever she thought I wasn¡¯t aware of her. ¡°What?¡± I asked, turning to her. ¡°How do you do that?¡± she asked. ¡°Just turn your anger on and off like that, I¡¯ve never seen any other berserker be able to do that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wrong,¡± I said. ¡°I can¡¯t turn it off.¡± Letting me mask drop I looked Guinevere in the eyes. Like every time we met gazes, I saw someone else for a second. We both flinched at what we saw and looked away. ¡°You always flinch when you look me in the eyes,¡± Guinevere said recovering her stoic demeanor quickly hiding the fear I¡¯d seen for an instant. ¡°You remind me of someone else,¡± I said with a shrug turning my back on her. ¡°Who?¡± Guinevere asked her voice much more inquisitive than I¡¯d heard before. ¡°Someone I¡¯d really like to forget,¡± I said. How much longer do we have to be with these people? Karnen asked. I¡¯m enjoying this, Voidra said. This woman has almost as much emotional energy as you Mordred, but she keeps it all bottled up inside her. The others are also delicious. They hate and fear so much I could eat them for years. ¡°That¡¯s enough of that,¡± I said. ¡°Sorry,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to pressure you on something personal.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll help you and your party get out of here and we can figure out what to do from there.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like being without the System,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯ve always had access to it my entire life but now¡­. it¡¯s like missing a limb.¡± ¡°We keep walking, and we¡¯ll find an exit.¡± I said trying to be encouraging. ¡°Hopefully it doesn¡¯t take very long.¡± Chapter 66: The Nature of Strength 8 years later. Ok, it just felt like eight years. We¡¯d been traveling for about a week I guess but there was no sun to keep track of the passing days. Since that last fight, we¡¯d been routinely assaulted as we went down the tunnels. We had to backtrack over a dozen times as we made a crude map charting the maze of passages and left chalk markings. We would get maybe five or four hours of sleep at most before being attacked again. Guinevere had talked to me a few more times but we never spoke on much of importance. Mostly she asked little things like who trained me to fight, or what I thought of the last fight we were in. Our conversations were always interrupted by an attack. The creatures were headless of the cost of their attacks, and we didn¡¯t seem to be thinning out their numbers. If I have to listen to them complain about how long this has been going, I swear I¡¯ll find a way to reach out of you and strangle them, Karnen growled. ¡°That¡¯s enough of that,¡± I said to him. This hadn¡¯t been his only complain, not by a long shot. ¡°I agree,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯m tired too but complaining about it isn¡¯t going to change anything.¡± Another wave is incoming, Voidra told me. ¡°We got another wave incoming,¡± I communicated to the group. ¡°How many of these things are there?¡± growled the mage. ¡°I think they are respawning,¡± I said. ¡°Only creatures in dungeons respawn,¡± Kira said. I shrugged. ¡°I said what I said.¡± ¡°You think we¡¯re in a dungeon?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°But we don¡¯t have access to the system, how could it possibly be a dungeon?¡± ¡°Unless these creatures are all gifted the only explanation, I know of for how powerful they are is if this is a dungeon,¡± I explained. ¡°Which is more likely that a dungeon could exist without access to the system or that hundreds to thousands of gifted creatures just existing underground?¡± Before she could answer a howling roar began. Creatures poured down the tunnel behind and in front of us. We ducked into a short tunnel that dead-ended after about forty yards. Guinevere and I held the front while the baggage stayed back. Guinevere acted as the shield while I was the sword. She kept the monsters back them never really able to touch her, however, her defensive-focused style left her little opportunity to focus on kills. I was the opposite abandoning defense in the pursuit of maximum kills in a pure offensive attack. To those on the outside, it may have seemed suicidal, and it probably was, but I lived for this. A roar escaped my throat as I ripped, tore, crushed, and slashed my way through anything that came within range of me. My stacks of Blood Frenzy built up with each kill until I saw nothing, but shades of red. Claws and teeth raked my skin and I was smashed into the ground only to gut my opponent from underneath them. I laughed in savage glee headless of the black ichor that splattered in my mouth filling it with its acrid taste. -- Guinevere held the line of her battle meditation keeping her thoughts clear, calm, and collected. She acted on muscle memory and trained her mind reserved for calculating the best way to counterattack and use the force of her attacker¡¯s blows against them. Parrying, blocking, and bending around attacks she was like a boulder in a river that couldn¡¯t be moved no matter how fast the river raged. The block then twisted to the side dodging the stabbing of a stinger and using the momentum to twist her blade along the claw and gouge out the beast¡¯s eyes. Claws came in from her right side and she twisted her blade slicing through the stinger and intercepting the claws. The force slid her six feet to the side, but her guard did not break. Jaws snapped down and she bent back slamming the hilt of her sword into the creature¡¯s eye socket. It screamed and fell back, and her sword lunged forward skewering it down its open mouth. Chocking on its own blood another creature took its place. Guinevere held her position as she slid across the floor but didn¡¯t move from the tunnel¡¯s mouth. Her party took the occasional attack from the back ranks, but they were able to contribute very little. Looking at Ishmael Guinevere had to admit that without him they¡¯d probably all be dead. She could have survived but she had no desire to wander these tunnels alone; the very thought of being alone in the darkness caused old fears to rise up. She pushed them down and renewed her focus on her battle meditation. Losing herself to the rhythm of the fight again, she was surprised when the wave ended. Ishmael crawled out of a pile of corpses. Wounds all across his body were closing and a section of his midsection that had been ripped out was slowly regrowing. Guinevere stayed back until Ishmael seemed in control of himself and used his cleansing cloth to wipe the gore and blood off. She took the proffered cloth and wiped her armor and face. Despite her excellent defense her armor was starting to look a little worn but at least it was still in one piece, Ismael¡¯s pants were ripped to shreds and soon he might as well be wearing nothing. More scars could be seen across his legs. ¡°How do you have so many scars?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°You¡¯ve seen me fight,¡± Ishmael said looking at her from the corner of his vision. ¡°Yes, but your regeneration doesn¡¯t leave behind scars,¡± Guinevere pointed out. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°I didn¡¯t always have that ability,¡± Ishmael explained. ¡°Before I had to rely on common herbs like cautr fennel and red yarrow to keep me alive. That¡¯s where all those healing potions I¡¯ve been handing came from.¡± ¡°Cautr fennel,¡± Guinevere said as she tried to remember her herbology lessons. ¡°That¡¯s a herb that ignites on contact with blood, people use that to coat their arrows mostly. How do you handle the pain from applying that to your wounds.¡± ¡°Pain is weakness leaving the body,¡± Ishmael said with a smile. ¡°Besides I got a title that lets me ignore pain.¡± ¡°How do you get that?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking,¡± she added hastily. ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± he said shrugging. ¡°But it won¡¯t do you any good, it requires you to never use any pain relievers when ranking up all your attributes to Veteran rank.¡± Guinevere froze. ¡°But that¡¯s pure agony, how are you still sane.¡± ¡°That¡¯s debatable if I am,¡± Ishmael said. ¡°But that title evolved from one that let me lessen pain by drawing on my anger, it wasn¡¯t much but it helped me to endure my fights and the process or ranking up.¡± ¡°But why would you do it?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Pain relievers aren¡¯t expensive any novice alchemist could have sold them to you.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have access to them, and I needed to get stronger,¡± Ishmael said with a shrug. ¡°Besides the system doesn¡¯t like it when you take the easy route.¡± ¡°You believe the system wants us to suffer?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I think it wants us to challenge ourselves,¡± Ishmael said. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you¡¯re the exception but look at your group. They work together to have safety in numbers instead of stepping out on their own to test themselves. If they had been properly tested before coming down here, they might be useful.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it the duty of the strong to shield the weak?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°No,¡± Ishmael said flatly. ¡°That just gets them dragged down with the weak.¡± ¡°So what? We just throw everyone into the fire and see who walks out?¡± Guinevere asked, crossing her arms. ¡°Have you ever heard of the Red Queen Hypothesis?¡± Mordred asked. ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Who is she?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not an individual,¡± Ishmael explained. ¡°let me ask you a question, and I¡¯ll frame it in a way to make sense to you. You have two populations, one has everything they need to survive and live in peace, and the other is constantly struggling to provide for its population and endures constant monster attacks. Now these two populations come into conflict, which one is going to win?¡± ¡°The one that has constantly been attacked by monsters,¡± Guinevere admitted. ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that¡¯s your ideal state for the world?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s how the world is. Some people are isolated but eventually the Red Queen comes for everyone,¡± Ishmael said turning his back on her. ¡°We should get moving, we need to find a safer place to make camp with fresh water.¡± -- My blood pounded in my ears as I sat in meditation. The steady rapid thud, thud, thud of my twin hearts beat with the power of the train engine. I felt footsteps approaching as Tremor Soles let me detect the soft vibrations. ¡°You move very quietly for someone in all that armor,¡± I said to Guinevere. ¡°I just wanted to check in on you,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°The safety of my party depends on you.¡± ¡°You¡¯d be fine if I wasn¡¯t here,¡± I pointed out. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± Guinevere said looking out at the cavern we had discovered. Massive underground flora filled the cavern with some bioluminescent fungi providing a modicum of lighting. ¡°Being alone in all that darkness¡­.¡± She hides her fear well, Voidra said. But she is terrified of it? ¡°You¡¯re afraid of the dark?¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said quickly. A lie, Voidra said but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the source of her fear. ¡°So, you¡¯re afraid of being alone?¡± I guessed. ¡°Isn¡¯t everyone?¡± Guinevere retorted defensively. ¡°I¡¯ve always been alone,¡± I said. ¡°Surely not always,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°What about your family?¡± ¡°They¡¯re why I¡¯ve always been alone,¡± I said. Guinevere was silent. ¡°I don¡¯t want to pressure you about your personal life, but me and my friends have our lives in your hands.¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t your friends,¡± I said. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Guinevere asked, crossing her arms again. It was a defensive gesture I noticed she used a lot. ¡°I have an ability to tell the emotions of those around me,¡± I said telling most of the truth. ¡°I can feel their anger and hatred for you. Just as I can tell you¡¯re afraid when you talk about being alone and in the dark.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t everyone afraid of that?¡± Guinevere asked defensively. ¡°Not to the level you are,¡± I said. ¡°Tell you what, I answer your personal question and you answer a personal question about yourself. Deal?¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But I go first, why don¡¯t you trust anyone?¡± ¡°Right to the point,¡± I said, then shrugged. ¡°Because everyone whom I¡¯ve ever trusted or should have been the people I could rely on the most has all betrayed or abandoned me. My father was abusive and thought I was worthless, when I tried to protect my mother from him, she chose him over me. My first love cheated on me and broke my heart.¡± ¡°Has there ever been one person who hasn¡¯t betrayed you?¡± Guinevere asked. The memory of another woman¡¯s face came to me, it held a different pain than memories of Sarah did. ¡°Yes, there is one person who didn¡¯t betray me,¡± I whispered recalling her scent the touch of her hand. ¡°Who?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°That¡¯s already been two questions,¡± I said. ¡°My turn, why do you fear being alone?¡± ¡°When I was a child, I got stuck in a maze,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find my way out and had to survive on my own for weeks. It was pitch black and I ran out of light. Being alone reminds me of how afraid I was.¡± ¡°Why were you in that maze in the first place?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s my turn to ask a question,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Who was it that didn¡¯t betray you?¡± Her face came to me again and I pushed it aside feeling a sharp pain in my spirit. ¡°Her name was Eve, I don¡¯t know if she would have betrayed me; I broke off our relationship,¡± I explained my voice flat and emotionless. ¡°My turn, why were you in that maze?¡± Guinevere flinched. ¡°My father put me there,¡± she said her voice becoming as flat as mine. ¡°I think we should stop there.¡± ¡°Probably for the best,¡± I agreed. ¡°Get some sleep princess.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a princess,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°You¡¯re the future queen of Camelot,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°That¡¯s close enough for me.¡± --- I didn¡¯t let myself fall asleep afraid of the memories that would come with my dreams. I sat in meditation until the others had rested. We weren¡¯t attacked during the night and set out after the others got up. The tunnel started to slowly widen, it was gradual, but it widened out by a foot or so every hundred yards. Soon we were standing at the entrance of a massive cavern, it was filled with pale flora. Voidra told me she only felt tasteless emotions from inside the cavern. Translated, that meant it was just bugs and other normal fauna; not monsters or people. There were ruins among the white leaves and mushroom stalks, Buildings carved into the side, and stalagmites. An arch that might have once been part of a wall still stood and writing was scrawled across its top. ¡°What¡¯s it say?¡± the tank asked. ¡°I can¡¯t read it,¡± Kira said. ¡°It¡¯s in runes, Guinevere your father is the Merlin can you read it?¡± Guinevere squinted. ¡°I can only recognize a few of the words, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s an enchantment.¡± Looking up I read aloud the sentence above the arch. ¡°We stand against the tyrant and the judge, every overseer in the heavens and the spirit they have created, we use the arts of mortals to resist, and we will overthrow the gods. We are the Magi.¡± Chapter 67: This isnt Alabama ¡°How can you read that?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I¡¯ve studied runes for most of my life and even I don¡¯t know that many.¡± ¡°I got a title from the system as a reward for a quest,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°And now you can just read runes like a book?¡± the mage asked sounding pissed. ¡°That¡¯s bullshit!¡± ¡°It is what is it is,¡± I responded. ¡°I can¡¯t detect any dangerous lifeforms in this cavern, we haven¡¯t been attacked for the past twelve hours so we might be out of their hunting grounds for now.¡± ¡°So, what do we do?¡± Kira asked. ¡°Rest,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°We need to catch up on sleep and make sure we¡¯re ready. Take the time to explore and see if you can find anything useful around here.¡± ¡°What do you need from me?¡± I asked disinterestedly. ¡°Just make sure no threats approach without us knowing,¡± Guinevere told me. ¡°How do you even detect those threats?¡± the rogue asked. ¡°Your way to accurate for it to just be one ability.¡± ¡°An ancient eldritch being from the void where souls go to be devoured when they die sits in my head and comments on the world around me,¡± I said my expression not changing an inch as I stared him in the face. ¡°Fine, don¡¯t tell us,¡± he grumbled. Since I wasn¡¯t needed, I left them all to go explore. I needed a break from them, Guinevere I could handle but the others I couldn¡¯t. After several months of being on my own for most of the time and always having people listen to and respect me, I¡¯d almost forgotten what people were like. The past week or so of fighting had pushed me to my limits physically and emotionally and I needed a nap and rest away from people. I kept expecting them to put together who I was and try and kill me but they hadn¡¯t yet. I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯ll try and kill Guinevere before they kill you, Voidra said. ¡°Do they really hate her that much?¡± I asked. That was another thing, being able to talk aloud and not have two separate conversations go on was something that really started to wear on me. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s hatred, not real hatred, Voidra said. It¡¯s like they¡¯ve convinced themselves to hate her, they don¡¯t hate you they just fear you. He does walk around with a scowl on his face a lot, Karnen agreed. ¡°You¡¯re a spirit of vengeance,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re in no place to judge.¡± I looked around but no one was watching me. I started combing through the ruins, my Bestial Senses had a passive effect that let me smell magic and my nose was itching. Following the source of the feeling I looked up at the cavern walls. Spotting a small cave, I teleported up inside it. It was cramped and I had to crouch down but after crawling on my hands and knees for around ten minutes the ceiling eventually rose, and I was able to crouch. The cramped confines made me realize how much bigger I¡¯d gotten since I¡¯d come to this world. I hadn¡¯t noticed it much other than my clothes being extra tight but now it was clearly evident. I was a brick house, picture a barbarian in your head; covered in scars, a big unkempt beard, long hair most of their body naked and with more muscles than you realize the human body has. I wasn¡¯t a body builder but every muscle I had was defined and there wasn¡¯t an ounce of fat on my frame, I guess it was lucky I was immune to exposure, or I¡¯d have been freezing. The feeling in my nose intensified and eventually I came into a room. There were stone workbenches carved into the wall and shelves that might once have held books but now they were covered in dirt and mushrooms grew along them. The smell of spores filled the room unpleasantly. I looked up and saw a massive enchantment. Pulling out my sketchbook I began copying it. It was slow going and I was running out of erasers, no idea where I¡¯d get a replacement in this world. As I copied it, I slowly began to understand the enchantment. Its complexity was awe inspiring, the enchantments I¡¯d seen so far had been children¡¯s drawings by comparison. The enchantments for adding bleeding to a weapon contained maybe at most four to five words, this was a five-page essay. ¡°This is what¡¯s blocking the system,¡± I said. So if you break it will you be able to use your abilities again? Karnen asked. ¡°No¡­.¡± I said musing over the design. ¡°This thing is only a piece of a larger whole, its connected to something else that¡¯s giving it power. Think of this like a strand of webbing, you can break it yes but the spider will just replace it.¡± But breaking one strand still lets the fly escape, would it stop the system block in this small area? Karnen asked. That made me pause, it might do that. I could break the lines of the runes, presuming I survived the blast when the magic exploded. The system should be out in this area for a while. That left one question, did I want to leave? I still had a few months left before the next event, I wasn¡¯t getting any rank points down here, but I was learning by studying Guinevere and how she fought. If I broke the enchantment, we¡¯d all be able to see each other¡¯s identification. There would be no hiding it then, I was the Warlord, and they¡¯d try and kill me. The others would be easy to kill but Guinevere had a good chance of actually finishing me off. ¡°No,¡± I decided. ¡°I promised Guinevere I¡¯d get her and her party to the surface safely.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Wouldn¡¯t breaking this enchantment do exactly that? Karnen asked. ¡°No, it would lead to a fight against me which is the opposite of safe for them,¡± I said with a vicious grin. You know we can tell when you project false confidence right? Karnen said. ¡°That¡¯s enough out of you,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m getting Guinevere and her party to the surface; I¡¯ve been a lot of things in my life, a lot of them bad, but I¡¯ve always kept my word.¡± So, you need to kill the spider, Voidra said. Can you use this to find it? ¡°That,¡± I said pausing, ¡°Is a good question.¡± I started poking around and trying to focus on the itching sensation of magic. This room had two other tunnels branching off of it. I took the right one and followed it. The magic led me into another crafting room, this one had only one workbench. It was carved out of the stone and a few tools lay scattered across it. Picking up the metal files and narrow chisels I was surprised to see them not covered in rust. I pressed my finger against the head of the chisel and yanked it back as it cut through my skin like butter. ¡°That is wicked sharp and strong,¡± I said examining the chisel more closely. There were runes engraved along its handle showing how it had survived for so long. This thing was able to carve through material above diamond toughness. The rest of the files and chisels were similarly inscribed. Putting them in my storage pouch I followed the tunnel until it came out overlooking the cavern, there were stairs leading down but they broke off about ten feet down leaving a seventy-foot drop to the floor below. I teleported down continuing in the direction I was sensing. There were dozens of tunnels leading around and the scent was hard to catch but I found it. Looking back, I¡¯d been feeling the presence of the magical trail for days, but it had been so weak I¡¯d taken no notice of it. Now that I knew what it was there was a goal, we could work towards instead of just endlessly wandering, find the source of whatever was blocking the system and destroy it. Returning to camp I leaned against the ruins of a stone wall and fell asleep. I was so exhausted I didn¡¯t even have any dreams or recurring memories. -- My eyes snapped open as I felt light footfalls approach me. My head jerked up and Guinevere took a step back. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she apologized. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to startle you¡­ you¡¯re a very paranoid sleeper.¡± ¡°I had a plant incident,¡± I said. ¡°I have absolutely no idea what that means,¡± Guinevere said shaking her head. ¡°You¡¯re a very strange man Ishmael.¡± ¡°You here to play another game of questions?¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Well, I do have some questions, you said you can feel the emotions of people. Why do you say my party hates me?¡± ¡°That been bothering you?¡± I asked. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it bother you to learn that the people you are closest too hate you?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°You just described my childhood,¡± I said with a grin. ¡°And look how well reasoned and developed you turned out,¡± Guinevere pointed out. ¡°Touch¨¦,¡± I said nodding my head to her. ¡°To what?¡± Guinevere asked. I guessed that hadn¡¯t translated well. ¡°It¡¯s just a word that means I acknowledge your point,¡± I explained. ¡°Very well princess, ask away.¡± ¡°Please stop calling me that,¡± Guinevere sighed. ¡°It has political ramifications that go along with it. Part of the reason I think Kira hates me is that she grew up with Arthur. She never got over her feelings for him, but my uncle insisted we marry and she blamed me for it instead of him.¡± ¡°Whose your uncle?¡± I asked my brow furrowing. Guinevere looked at me like I was stupid. ¡°King Arthur, everyone knows that. Seriously, where are you from?¡± ¡°Wait,¡± I said holding up my hand. ¡°Back up, your marrying your cousin?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Guinevere said frowning. ¡°why are you surprised its perfectly common among the gifted.¡± ¡°No¡­. I think that¡¯s a you thing,¡± I said. Guinevere crossed her arms. ¡°So, your saying where your from¡­ Missouri that people don¡¯t marry their cousins.¡± ¡°I did NOT say that,¡± I corrected her. ¡°But it isn¡¯t socially acceptable.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°How would you make sure abilities in the family remain pure.¡± ¡°Whoa their princess,¡± I said holding up my hands. ¡°Let¡¯s not bring purity into this I¡¯m starting to feel like I¡¯m in Alabama.¡± ¡°Where is Alabama?¡± Guinevere asked exasperated. ¡°Close to Missouri, when people joke about cousins getting married in my country that¡¯s where we say they¡¯re from. Its where we think of when we think of stereotypical backwards, inbred hillbilly.¡± ¡°You keep bringing up words I have no context for,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°What¡¯s a hillbilly?¡± ¡°You can get that one from context,¡± I said. ¡°Well, this isn¡¯t Alabama,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°And here it¡¯s perfectly normal.¡± ¡°Sure it is,¡± I agreed. ¡°That¡¯s why all the commoners also marry their cousins.¡± Guinevere was silent. ¡°They don¡¯t do they?¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± Guinevere admitted grudgingly. ¡°Do you at least love this man?¡± I asked. ¡°His name is Arthur, and yes I do,¡± Guinevere said defiantly. Lie, Voidra said. ¡°You forgot I could tell people¡¯s emotions,¡± I said. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re at least not enthused about marrying your cousin.¡± Guinevere got to her feet. ¡°I didn¡¯t come here to be mocked you know.¡± She turned around and began to storm off. ¡°I found the way out,¡± I said. She stopped. ¡°What?¡± ¡°A magical trail, there are a series of enchantments around this place blocking out the system, I¡¯ve found a thread that will lead us back to the source,¡± I explained. Guinevere turned around and sat down again breathing out a heavy sigh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry forgetting upset at you, I¡¯m just not used to being teased.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Hey its your life, if you think this is the best choice for your life I¡¯m not going to judge you¡­. Ok I¡¯ll judge you a little.¡± Guinevere smiled and shook her head. ¡°I do love him you know.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I agreed, ¡°but as a cousin. Let me ask you this if you had the choice to marry anyone would you pick him?¡± Guinevere was silent and she subtly looked back at her party who were busy and out of earshot. ¡°No,¡± she admitted. ¡°My father didn¡¯t want me to marry Arthur either for political reasons, but I am a noble of Camelot. I have privileges given to me because of my station that common people don¡¯t have. I can¡¯t just toss aside every privilege I¡¯ve ever been given I have to do what is best for my people.¡± ¡°Very noble of you,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s not very fun though,¡± Guinevere admitted. ¡°My father hasn¡¯t spoken to me since and has basically pretended I didn¡¯t exist. The only thing he insisted on was picking the members of my party.¡± ¡°And they are such stellar choices,¡± I agreed. Guinevere smiled again. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have picked them either, but they are actually very accomplished adventures. They¡¯ve been trained by my father since they were children.¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you trained by your father too?¡± I asked. ¡°That is some serious quality variation there.¡± Guinevere actually laughed the first time I¡¯d heard her do so since meeting her. The heads of each of her party members jerked towards us showing it must have been a surprise for them too. ¡°You say I¡¯m not in love with Arthur,¡± Guinevere said changing the subject. ¡°How do you know? What¡¯s love like too you?¡± I was silent. ¡°It¡¯s wanting to spend every day with them, to sacrifice everything you have for them. When they¡¯re around you don¡¯t want to look at anything else and your heart beasts faster in excitement just to be around them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never felt that way about anyone,¡± Guinevere admitted her shoulders drooping. ¡°I hope you do one day princess,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re not going to stop calling me that are you?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Nope,¡± I agreed with a quick grin. Chapter 68: Alone in the Dark The enchantment exploded and thousands of sand-sized grains of slate shattered and when flying like a frag grenade. I was doing something very dangerous, trying to create my own enchantments, I¡¯d learned hundreds of new runes from studying the enchantment array. Now I was trying to create something new, I was taking some precautions since I¡¯d been warned of the dangers of enchanting. Using telekinesis, I was carving the runes with my new chisels onto flat stones while I sat in a trench. Thanks to Foresight I could tell when it was about to explode and ducked down avoiding the deadly shrapnel as the mana violently exploded. The granite walls around me looked like drywall that had been used as target practice by a ten-year-old with a BB-gun. I mentally marked off that combination of runes and went back to engraving. We¡¯d been here for three days resting; I¡¯d explored all I could but hadn¡¯t found anything else of interest. Now I was working on improving my skill in enchanting and trying to find more complex and interesting enchantments to apply. After about twenty minutes I had a new enchantment made. I held my breath, but it didn¡¯t explode. Slowly I levitated it over to where I was sitting and looked it over. I saw the runes glowing, but they were pulsing rapidly with color in a way that didn¡¯t look at all stable. A crack formed along one of the runes and I tossed it to the side and ducked down. The explosion came again, and I popped my head up again. My mutations had made it so my ear canal could close instantly to keep from being deafened by loud noises. When they unblocked themselves, I heard the heavy tread of Guinevere in her armor. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I asked. ¡°Are you ready to head out?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting on you all,¡± I said. ¡°What¡¯s with the explosions we¡¯ve been hearing?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°You¡¯ve been blowing up things in this tunnel for two days so far.¡± ¡°Just working on trying new enchantments,¡± I said. Guinevere raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re an enchanter?¡± ¡°I know some enchantments,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s pretty easy for me to learn since I¡¯m fluent with runes.¡± ¡°Just as long as you aren¡¯t casting spells,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with spells?¡± I asked. ¡°They¡¯re heretical,¡± Guinevere said flatly. ¡°But by your tone I¡¯m guessing you can cast some.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I said. ¡°I got a tome from a dungeon.¡± Guinevere sighed. ¡°How does someone like you get access to so many dungeons.¡± ¡°Someone like me?¡± I asked indignantly. ¡°Not a noble,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Dungeons are a prized resource you can¡¯t just use them whenever you want.¡± ¡°Then find new dungeons,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Or sneak into them; if people want to hoard power than that¡¯s fine just as long as they are able to.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t follow any laws, do you?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I follow the Law of Strength,¡± I said with a shrug. Guinevere sighed again but said nothing. ¡°We¡¯ll meet you at the tunnel entrance. We set off again five minutes later. Following the thread of magic, I wasn¡¯t lost in the many twists and turns. I took the straightest path I could every time, we had to backtrack a few times when we ran into dead ends but overall, we were doing very well. We stopped near an underground stream after around seven to eight hours of marching. I could have gone faster but that would have meant leaving the others behind. Spearing some blind fish from the stream I started roasting them on a pan. This pan was the only successful result of my enchanting. Taking the runes, I knew for adding fire damage to a weapon I¡¯d added some new runes I¡¯d learned. If you were to say the runes aloud as a sentence it would have read. Constant heat applied at moderate degree for five minutes where minutes equals mana input sixty consumed at a rate of ten mana per minute. It turned out enchantments were less fun magic, and more boring math. After frying the fish, I lay back and took a nap. Around six or seven hours later we set off again. The others only had my word that we were actually going along a path, but we did seem to be making progress with the air in the caves changing so I didn¡¯t have to deal with too much complaining this time. We had to still deal with the hordes of monsters and the tunnels were getting narrower which made it both easier and harder to fight them. The tight confines made swinging our weapons harder but also limited how many we had to fight at any one moment. My clubs were a blur, but I struck the wall so hard one of them nearly flew from my hands. Only Setules Palms kept it from going off down the tunnel. Growing in frustration I dropped the club and drew one of my spearheads using it like a dagger. It was less devastating in its damage, but I could wield it more freely. The ground around us trembled and shook. Stumbling my face slammed into a wall as I lost my footing. The monsters at least seemed equally surprised and panicked, tearing into each other. I drove my improvised daggers under one¡¯s jaw and ripped open another¡¯s throat spraying me with black blood. The horde of monsters only had a dozen or so left so I pushed past the piles of corpses cramming the tunnels. The remaining shadow cats, wolves and goblins rushed me, and I accepted the wounds they dealt me as I crushed skulls and slit open throats. With them all dead I turned back to the party I was protecting. The ground lurched again, and I placed a hand against the wall feeling it tremble. My Foresight warned me of the impending danger, and I dove forwards tacking Guinevere¡¯s party to the side as a massive, scaled worm tunneled through the rock where they had been. They pushed me off them and I looked at the massive circular hole through the rock. The stone began to crack overhead, and it was obvious that following it would be a good way to be trapped and buried alive. Stolen novel; please report. The ground around us was no longer stable either. It shifted and cracked. A large crack formed, and I rolled to the side dragging the mage and healer with me as the crack widened into a dark abyss. Guinevere wasn¡¯t fast enough. She shoved the tank to the side but in the process of saving him slipped and fell. I heard her armor hitting the sides as she fell down. Her sounds faded and I frowned. The space down there was not stable I was sure and would probably close on me if I tried to follow after her. ¡°Screw it,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m finding you someplace to hide than I¡¯m going after Guinevere,¡± I said. ¡°You heard how far she fell,¡± Kira protested. ¡°There is no way she survived.¡± ¡°For your sake you had better hope she did.¡± I continued for about five minutes until I found a dead end tunnel. ¡°Stay here.¡± Turning around I returned to where the crack had opened up. It was still there and as dark and forbidding as ever. I jumped and plunged down the shaft. I spread out my arms and legs dragging against the sides of the chasm to slow my descent. It took around a minute to reach the bottom like that. I looked around what appeared to be another set of tunnels but there was no bioluminescent fungi here. There had always been some light, however meager, but this place was entirely dark. There was the sound of sniffles and I turned seeing Guinevere leaned up against the wall one leg laid out awkwardly in front of her badly mangled. ¡°Whose there?¡± Guinevere. ¡°Its me Mor¡­ Ishmael,¡± I caught myself as I approached her. ¡°You look pretty messed up.¡± ¡°How can you see anything?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°You can¡¯t, see?¡± I asked. ¡°Of course, not there isn¡¯t any light,¡± Guinevere hissed in irritation and pain. ¡°What about your mutations?¡± I asked squatting down beside her. ¡°They are focused on spotting small movements more easily and viewing things over far distances,¡± she said. ¡°It take it you can, see?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said laying my hand on her leg. She screamed in as much fear as pain. ¡°Sorry about that didn¡¯t mean to startle you,¡± I said. She was completely terrified before you came along, Voidra informed me. ¡°I don¡¯t think a healing potion is going to fix this,¡± I said. ¡°You have any passive self-healing abilities?¡± ¡°No,¡± Guinevere answered through the pain her teeth clenched tight. ¡°I¡¯m going to try and straighten your leg out,¡± I said. ¡°So don¡¯t be scared when I touch you again.¡± ¡°Ok,¡± Guinevere agreed. ¡°I¡¯m going to need to remove some of your armor,¡± I said. The leg armor on her right leg was twisted by the fall and I had to cut the straps rather than unbuckle them. Guinevere bit back a scream but I could still hear her whimper. The leg was bad, part of her shin bone was sticking through her skin. Gritting my teeth, I used what little I learned of first aid and tied a tourniquet around her thigh. What I did next no doctor would have approved of, but they also didn¡¯t have access to healing potions. Grabbing her leg, I yanked the bone back into place. Guinevere reflexively hit me across the face as she screamed in agony, and I felt my jaw dislocate from the force of her punch. Ignoring the hit, I maintained my grip on her leg and forced the bones to align properly. Next, I poured a healing potion over the injury and made Guinevere drink another. Red yarrow wouldn¡¯t mend the bones, but it would repair the torn muscle and skin. I took out two pieces of long wood and lashed them on either side of her leg. ¡°That¡¯ll have to do for now,¡± I said. ¡°Thanks¡­.¡± Guinevere said panting as she recovered from the pain. ¡°For¡­. coming¡­down for me.¡± ¡°You would have done the same for me,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I would have,¡± Guinevere said with a dry humorless chuckle. ¡°You¡¯re afraid of the dark,¡± I said. ¡°But you also care for others, you wouldn¡¯t let even your enemy suffer your worst fear.¡± ¡°You seem to think highly of me,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯ve gotten to know you decently well,¡± I said. ¡°You have a sense of duty and commitment to others I¡¯ve never encountered in others. You wound up down here because you were trying to save one of your party members at your own personal risk.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d do it again,¡± Guinevere said recovered mostly from my harsh ministrations. ¡°You would have,¡± I said putting an arm around her and lifting her up. ¡°As dumb as the action might have been, you would still do it.¡± ¡°I can walk,¡± Guinevere protested. ¡°If you insist,¡± I said setting her down. Guinevere hobbled for a few steps before giving up. ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± she admitted. ¡°Princess carry it is,¡± I said picking her up again. ¡°How are you going to climb back up while carrying me?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I¡¯ve got a plan don¡¯t worry,¡± I said. Kicking off my boots I bent down and picked them up one handed putting them in my storage pouch. Removing my socks, I looked up the chasm we¡¯d gone down. I¡¯d have teleported up but I couldn¡¯t do so while touching another living creature. So instead, I ran straight at the wall. Jumping nearly thirty feet up my feet hit the stone surface and gripped with the microscopic hairs there as Setules Palms picked in. Guinevere wasn¡¯t that heavy even in all her armor and I barely wore any armor, so I just had my body weight to deal with, but it was still close. I could feel my grip loosening each time I placed my feet down, but I pushed up and made it another ten feet with each jump. It was exhausting and I felt my stamina plumet as I chewed through it. I might have thousands of mana, but my stamina pool was still normal for my rank. Pushing forward I powered through my Heightened Speed dipping into my mana instead of stamina as I neared the top. Tumbling over the edge I rolled so I wouldn¡¯t land on top of Guinevere and injure her leg more. My chest heaved as I struggled to drag in air. The climb had been intense and reminded me of my first days on this world when using Heightened Speed and doubling my speed with my boots nearly gave me a heart attack. Closing my eyes, I drew in a deep breath over and over again. -- Guinevere scooted up, still unable to stand without assistance. She looked down on Ishmael as he recovered from his astonishing physical feat. She backed away from the edge of the hole feeling a momentary surge of irrational fear as if the darkness would reach up and drag her back in. Ishmael sat up and opened his eyes. She flinched when she saw them. There was something primal inside them and the twin pupils and irises in each of his eyes was an unusual mutation. ¡°Why are your eyes like that?¡± she asked. ¡°What?¡± he asked. ¡°Split like that, its¡­ it¡¯s a little disconcerting,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯ve seen mutations from advancing attributes before, right?¡± he asked, seeming confused. ¡°What¡¯s so strange about my eyes.¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t human,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°There is a theory that our abilities and mutations we get are based on how we see ourselves as much as they are based on the monsters and items we absorb.¡± ¡°Is there any basis to the theory?¡± he asked. ¡°You¡¯ve got a lot of ice themed powers would you describe yourself as a cold person or do you view yourself as a personification of winter?¡± ¡°Many others do view me as cold,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Not an answer to how you view yourself but whatever,¡± Ishmael said shrugging as he sat up and leaned his back against the wall his legs still trembling as he regained control of his body. Ishmael studied her and their eyes met as they stared each other down each trying to decipher something from the other. Ishmael took out one of his clubs and examined it. ¡°I made this from the bones and claws of a monster I killed,¡± he said. Guinevere nodded though she didn¡¯t understand his point yet. ¡°I view myself as human, but I revere and admire monsters if you can understand that,¡± he said. ¡°They are stronger, faster, and can endure pain better than a man.¡± ¡°They also tend to enjoy killing humans for fun,¡± Guinevere pointed out. ¡°They aren¡¯t animals its why we call them monsters, they are creatures meant to hunt, devour and torture humanoids.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t understand the world by just thinking of the good and righteousness in others,¡± Ishmael said. ¡°You need to search within yourself and others for that dark place where mankind¡¯s own monster hides. When you find that monster then you really begin to understand who you are.¡± ¡°and have you found the monster?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°The problem is once you find it, it doesn¡¯t want to stay in the darkness anymore,¡± he said. A cold moment of silence fell between them. Finally, he stood and extended a hand out to her. ¡°Come on we should get to your party before they get themselves killed.¡± Chapter 69: The Magis Work The going was a lot slower for a while. Guinevere wouldn¡¯t let me carry her while we were around her party, so our pace was slowed to a crawl as she limped along. Luckily as Gifted we healed fast and she was back on her feet fully after only two days. We continued to move down the twisting tunnels. The hordes of monsters did not return which made me uneasy instead of happy. I kept anticipating an ambush around every corner. My plant paranoia made the white vines and flora I saw a threat even though Voidra insisted there was no emotion at all coming from any of them. We made camp every ten or twelve hours though it was hard to tell any sort of time. I just made guesses based off how long it took us to walk a mile and then using that as my internal measuring device. We arrived at another cavern before we stopped for camp that day. Here the area was far less in ruins, the walls around the underground village were still intact. There was much less flora in this cavern and the air was dry and the air still. I jumped the wall into the ghost town. Can you detect ghosts? I asked Voidra. Of course, they have just as much if not more emotions as flesh and blood creatures, Voidra answered. Thinking of Karnen I had to agree with her. I pushed open the metal gates, noting the runes along them. Nothing about them seemed like they were a trap and instead were focused on durability and resistances likely why they weren¡¯t rusted into red paste by now. There was a central building and I headed there as Guinevere and her party entered the village behind me. Following the thread of magic, I went to the door of the central building which was built like a fortress and tried the double doors, but they were locked from the inside. Ramming my shoulder into the door over and over didn¡¯t get me anywhere. Teleporting to the room I found another door. This door broke after about a dozen kicks, and I descended down a set of spiraling stairs. Crumbling skeletons in battered armor were scattered around showing the remains of some battle. I went to the doors of the fortress and pulled aside tables, chairs and heavy stone blocks that had been put in front of it. Unbarring it I let Guinevere inside her party setting up camp in the main foyer. I found the enchantment on the floor at the center of the building. Now the trouble was their was a lot of background feedback. Imagine being in a room with hundreds of people talking and trying to pick out one conversation, that was what I was dealing with. There were so many nearby enchantments and magical aura in the area getting the trail was nearly impossible. Following my nose I found enchantments on doors, broken weapons and armor. Putting the fragments into my storage for later study and to remove the feedback. I also took the doors off their hinges and through painful effort also put them in my storage pouch. With the feedback being removed I discovered something I never would have if I hadn¡¯t been manhandling a set of iron doors. When I finally pried it off its hinges it went flying and struck a wall. The stone cracked and a stone block was knocked free. A black space behind it let out an icy cold draft with the dry smell of a tomb and death. Pulling at the bricks I opened up a hole deep enough for me to crawl through. A narrow shaft led straight down and a ladder had been carved into the stone. I just put my hand and feet against the sides of the shaft and slid straight down. Dropping down my eyes looked about the pitch-black room able to see thanks to one of their mutations. It was another workshop though this one was very different; the walls were chalkboard black and just like a chalkboard were covered with white markings. Runes, pictures and various sigils covered every surface. There was a workbench in the center of the room was a dais with a book chained down across it. Its cover was a black crystal similar to obsidian, its edges trimmed in gold with glowing red runes along its edges. I looked around but couldn¡¯t find a key so eventually I just took out my chisels and broke the lock. I opened the book ready for eldritch secrets and was greeted by blank pages. There was a stylus next to the book and I looked it over. It was made of black obsidian like the book and had similar glowing red runes on it. I could read them, but they didn¡¯t make any sense to me. This was like knowing what numbers were, being perfectly capable of reading them but not understanding a string of code. I recognized some of the runes and pulled out my sketch book and pulled it out setting it next to the other book to compare them. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. The book went full Harry Potter on me. Teeth sprouted from its edges and it freaking ate my sketch book. Papers were shredded and devoured into the tome. ¡°You son of bitch!¡± I said about ready to pulverize the tome into a pile of pulp and crystal. It flipped onto its side and opened up revealing the pages of my sketchbook copied inside it on its once blank pages. I turned one page hesitantly, ready to yank my hand back if it went all chompy again. After a while I saw it had perfectly copied all my drawings although all the pencil marking had been converted to black ink. I picked up the tome and saw there were two eyelets on either end of its spine. Taking some of the chain that had been used to bind it to the dais, looped it through the eyelets and hung it off my belt. I tried putting it in the storage pouch, but it was like there was forcefield preventing me from putting it inside. I started going over the designs on the walls on the walls and copying them down in my new tome. The stylus stabbed a needle into my skin and drew on my blood as an ink. It dried instantly turning black on contact with the pages. I tested it and found I couldn¡¯t draw on other surfaces with it. The tome proved to be invaluable. I drew a rune wrong and watched as the tome automatically corrected it on the page the black lines twisting to properly match what I was seeing on the wall. ¡°You know what this is?¡± I asked the two spirits in my head. ¡°What are you getting from it Voidra?¡± Feels similar to my family, Voidra said. It is hungry. What does a book eat? Besides other books apparently? Karnen asked. ¡°Knowledge,¡± I said. As I copied the diagrams into the tome, I began to understand what I was seeing. A design for a spell or enchantment, I couldn¡¯t tell what the difference between them was when they were written. That gave me pause, what was the difference? Was an enchantment just the written form a spell? I knew a few spells and I would have to experiment with seeing if I could translate them into enchantments. For now, I kept copying the diagrams. Not all of them were about the portal but most were. The portal was constantly changed in every diagram, and I kept reading phrases about breeching, passing beyond and piercing the veil, one of the last diagrams gave me the most pause. Enter other universe, the diagram was unfinished, but it was mostly identical to the other besides that. Enter another universe, like I had come here from my world. These magi people had been trying to enter other worlds? Why? I thought about it, would they bring back weapons? Unlikely and not helpful as I was now, I could rip apart a platoon of hardened marines. Their bullets would bounce off my skin and even a tank round would just knock me off my feet. Abilities let you become far superior to anything short of a nuke and I was sure there was some magical equivalent of that out there. Putting aside the uses for the portal for now. I kept copying the diagrams, no matter how much I drew I never seemed to progress in how many pages I was using up in the tome. Shrugging and chalking it up to magic I kept at it. Not all the enchantments were about the portal they¡¯d been working on, some of them were patterns for armor enchantments. I learned some enchantments for hardening armor, adding acid resistance and a ring for storing a spell cast into it. I came across what I believed was a spell not an enchantment although I now theorized it could be made into one. It would create a pure beam of lighting from my hand lasting for a few seconds before ending. Copying it down I held out my hand and tried to use it. It took a few dozen tries before the lighting burst out, it extended nearly six feet out and lasted for around five seconds before vanishing. It also filled the room with thunder and slammed my back against the wall like I¡¯d been launched from a rocket. This spell had obviously been experimental, but I admired it for its destructive potential. There were still spots in my eyes from the brilliant light emitted. ¡°Oh yeah, I need to find a way to use that,¡± I said. I¡¯m pretty sure I heard your spine snap when you hit the wall, Karen said. Maybe you should avoid self-damaging spells and not think about using them during combat. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine,¡± I insisted. There was nothing left to study. So, l left the hidden workshop with my new tome and stylus and climbed back out. The air was free of the feedback and magical static and I was able to find a trail. No one wanted to spend a bunch of time in the ghost town, so we all agreed to head out the next morning. I took my own private watch in a tower atop the fortress away from the others. I was examining the ruined enchanted weapons and armor trying to piece back tighter their enchantments, most of the magic had headed from them but enough still lingered in them. I might have been able to have repaired them in I still had access to all my abilities. That gave me a thought. Voidra you can turn off my passive abilities, does that mean you can also turn them on? I asked. Of course, I can turn them back on, Voidra said. ¡°No,¡± I corrected her. ¡°could you activate one of my spoken abilities like Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory or Chain lighting?¡± Voidra was quiet. Maybe, she finally said hesitantly. ¡°Start trying,¡± I said. ¡°That is now yours and Karnen¡¯s job if you can figure out how to bypass this system block and get all my abilities working again it will open a lot of options for us.¡± Chapter 70: The Tide The remaining Dragonbreakers stood over the wreckage of the battlefield, they had fled underground with their forces when the Hell dragon had arrived. Now they stood over the spot where their brother and he had gone down into that gaping pit. There were no longer any enemies to stand against them, but it had been weeks without word from the Warlord. ¡°What do we do?¡± Tobias asked. That was a phrase that had been asked a lot recently and no one had an answer still. A horn sounded from the woods, and they turned their hands, all going to their weapons. Two men one riding a large silver-furred wolf and the other a stone armored bear entered the clearing. They dismounted and approached Jeriah giving a nod of respect. ¡°Are you the Warlord¡¯s second in command,¡± the man who had been riding the wolf asked. ¡°I am,¡± Jeriah answered, he looked above the man¡¯s head and read his description. Korsis the Moonwolf, Gifted- humanoid/Moon-Elf, Hero Rank 599 ¡°I am Korsis, Chief of the Wolf Clan,¡± he said stepping forward and clasping Jeriah¡¯s hand. ¡°And I am Kas¡¯tu, Chief of the Ursine Clan,¡± the massive man who had been riding a bear said clasping Jeriah¡¯s arm. ¡°I applaud your family¡¯s bloodline it is good to see men their proper size.¡± Jeriah was suddenly the center of everyone¡¯s attention clearing his throat as he spoke. ¡°The Warlord promised to return my family¡¯s ancestral lands to me; I am from the Kingdom of Dracon. We have heard of the war there and how Camelot, one of the same kingdoms that came here to attack us, has laid claim to it.¡± ¡°It is time to remind these people why they do not venture into these forests, we shall flow out like a tide and take the lands of Dracon for the Warlord,¡± Jeriah said his voice growing with fervor and confidence as he spoke. ¡°Mordred has one of the pieces of the armor of Ares, Dracon has another one taken by the Lion Clan.¡± At the name of one of the clans that had turned from the ways of war, the myrmidons spat and growled. ¡°We shall take back the artifact of Ares and give it back to the Warlord where it belongs, we shall remind these ¡®civilized¡¯ kingdoms not to overreach as they have here,¡± he said gesturing around him. ¡°These woods belong to those who reject their laws, and they have no place here!¡± Jeriah shouted. There was a roar as all the factions that had gathered under the Warlord¡¯s banner roared in a combination of rage, fanaticism, and bloodlust. --- Guinevere found me in the tower and sat across from me looking nervous. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I asked. ¡°This place just makes me nervous,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I grew up hearing stories of the magi and how dangerous they were.¡± ¡°Who were they?¡± I asked. ¡°They were an order of ancient humanoids who rebelled against the gods when they created the system,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°They believed they could ascend to godhood without becoming a champion.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you just need to raise each attribute to five hundred?¡± I asked. Guinevere gave me a look. ¡°How would you do that without being a champion? You¡¯ve got a quest from the system which makes you special, but most people, even the most powerful and gifted, never receive a single quest in their life. Occasionally a god will give a quest to one of their priests but without quests, you have to get your rank points from killing gifted monsters.¡± I nodded catching up with her. ¡°And the System only spawns monsters when there are champions so the rate at which you can gain rank points makes it impossible to farm them except for the bosses at the end of dungeons.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Guinevere agreed. ¡°My father owns over twelve dungeons, five of which are heroic rank, and it took him almost three decades to reach Exarch rank.¡± When she talked about her father, I noticed her expression changed. She didn¡¯t look sad, angry, or afraid, instead, she just went blank, icy, and cold with no expression whatsoever. ¡°I don¡¯t want to pressure you or anything,¡± I said hesitantly. ¡°But you seem to go all go cold whenever you talk about your father. You don¡¯t need to tell me anything but if you need to vent, I know better than anyone the problems you can have with your father.¡± Guinevere looked me cold in the eyes. ¡°Did your father kill your mother?¡± she asked. ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°But he did abuse her.¡± ¡°My father did as well before he¡­¡± She didn¡¯t finish her sentence. She¡¯s feeling a great deal of pain and anger, Voidra said. I didn¡¯t need you to tell me that, I responded. ¡°Did you try to stop your father?¡± Guinevere asked me. ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°But it didn¡¯t go as I intended. She took his side; I was separated from them by the state for my and their safety; I did hear that he got better when I was gone but it was too late for me.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Never tell anyone what I¡¯ve told you,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°If my father didn¡¯t kill you for knowing I would.¡± ¡°Understood,¡± I said bowing my head to her. ¡°Why did you tell me? I¡¯m not exactly the type of person people confide in.¡± ¡°I think I can trust you,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°You seem too blunt to stab me in the back, if we ever come to a fight, we¡¯ll both be facing each other when it happens. There is nothing I hate more than a liar.¡± She turned her back on me before she could see my expression change. I think it¡¯s going to become personal when you fight next time, Karnen said. ¡°You¡¯re probably right,¡± I agreed. ¡°But we¡¯ll burn that bridge when we come to it.¡± --- We set out again down a passage in a direction I felt was north. My inner compass was pretty good but, in the twists, and turns of the tunnels no one could be sure of anything. The air was becoming thicker and thicker with humidity and the smell of subterranean flora and fauna. It was on the third day since leaving the Magi ghost town that we encountered the shadowy monsters again. This time everyone heard them coming at the same time; we didn¡¯t need an advanced warning from Voidra as a roar echoed down the tunnel behind us. I could hear pebbles rattling as the thundering charge approached us. Stepping up to the back of the group to meet the coming threat I gave a jerk of my head for the others to continue. ¡°Keep going,¡± I said. ¡°We aren¡¯t stopping.¡± ¡°You want us to try and outrun them?¡± Kira asked disbelievingly. ¡°There is no way we can outpace those monsters,¡± the tank agreed. I love how she manipulates them, Voidra sighed contentedly. What? Karnen asked. ¡°Do you hear it?¡± I asked Guinevere ignoring the separate conversation going on in my head. The healer, she¡¯s got those three men wrapped around her finger, Voidra said. They¡¯re all in love with her and she¡¯s been sleeping with them all. That comment nearly broke my entire line of thought but I kept going. Watching Guinevere as she cocked her head to the side listening to the oncoming horde. Her eyes widened and she nodded. ¡°That¡¯s at least six times as many as there were in the other waves,¡± she said. ¡°How are there so many of them?¡± Kira asked her skin paling. ¡°I think these are the defenses for the Anti-System Formation,¡± I said. ¡°So these waves are just going to get worse?¡± the mage asked angrily. ¡°Sometimes you have to walk through fire to reach safety,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll slow them down, Guinevere, you kill any that get past me.¡± There was no more time or need for words, Guinevere nodded to me in acknowledgment and the black abominations swarmed down the tunnel. I buried myself into their ranks activating my ring of Stone Skin just as I plunged into the thrash of claws and teeth. Shadowy claws ripped along my flesh drawing only pinpricks of blood, but enough pinpricks can kill anyone. I was a tornado with my clubs gutting, bashing, and ripping apart any creature within reach. They still tried to limp past me even as black ichor spilled out from them, and their entrails hung out from their stomachs. Beasts latched onto my arms trying to drag and pin me down. I was deep in their ranks and couldn¡¯t see any of the others with how far I was into the mass of creatures. ¡°Voidra reactivate Black Rage and Magma Hearts,¡± I snarled as I ripped open a hyena-like creature¡¯s throat. You sure? They might still see you, Voidra cautioned me. ¡°I can¡¯t keep them alive unless I risk it,¡± I said. ¡°Do it. Rage flooded my system as the black mist began seeping out of the pores of my skin and flowing out of the hundreds of wounds across my body. Red light shone from my wounds as my blood shone with a brilliant red luminous sizzling on contact with anything it touched. Power flooded my limbs as my Might attribute began increasing with every wound I inflicted, my mana and stamina rapidly refilling as well for every hit I made. I spent a sixteenth of my total maximum stamina and mana to activate eruption. The creatures began to be pulverized on contact with my weapon. Their bodies hit the wall liquifying their internal organs as I pushed through them. Troll Hide kept me on my feet repairing the damage that I took as I stormed through them in a mad need to slaughter and kill. The rage from my cloak, black rage, and the inner fury I always kept in me drove me to abandon my defense completely. I could barely hear anything past the thudding in my ears when Black Rage suddenly shut off, I was so surprised and drained I teetered before falling. A pair of hands caught me and lowered me to the ground. Guinevere looked down at me concerned, she looked battered, and her silver snow hair was stained with red and black blood. There was still a thudding in my ears, and I couldn¡¯t hear her as she spoke. I could hear Voidra. I kept trying to tell you Guinevere was headed your way, but you wouldn¡¯t listen, I had to shut down your Abilities to keep her from finding out, Voidra explained. ¡°Are you all right?¡± Guinevere asked me. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± I croaked. My throat was ragged from roaring and screaming all through the fight and I spit out a bit of blood that I didn¡¯t think was actually my own. Guinevere looked relieved. ¡°I thought you were just committing suicide when you ran into them like that. How did you survive that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even remember most of the fight,¡± I responded dodging answering the question. ¡°Your party still alive?¡± ¡°Yeah, though some of them got a bit torn up when a few monsters made it past, they handled them,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°As comfortable a spot as this is,¡± I said. ¡°We should really get going,¡± Guinevere blushed when she realized she¡¯d laid my head in her lap and stood up as soon as I sat up. I wiped my face with my cleansing cloth and handed it to Guinevere. She wiped her face the sweat and blood disappearing from her face and hair. She wiped it over her armor, and it returned to its silver gleam although I noticed a few rents in the chainmail and dents in the metal plating. ¡°How¡¯d you do?¡± I asked, accepting the cleansing cloth and putting it back in my pouch when she handed it back. ¡°It was rough, but they mostly focused on you, I only had to deal with the sneakier and faster ones,¡± she said. ¡°You think we¡¯ll see another horde that size?¡± ¡°I think we¡¯re going to see even bigger ones,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve been on the outskirts of the beach before, and now the tide is going to come in.¡± Guinevere expression hardened with resolve. ¡°We¡¯ll find a way, I¡¯m sure of it.¡± -- Five days later we were burned ragged. Even though I was on the edge of a physical and mental breakdown, Guinevere expression was as icy as ever, but I¡¯d learned to pick up on the signs of her distress. Day after and days of battles that dragged on for an hour, sometimes with only five at most hours in between the next wave. I had my own inner dread as I felt us draw closer to the end. Who I was would soon be revealed one way or another and Guinevere was going to kill me for lying to her. I¡¯d learned more about her in the handful of conversations we¡¯d managed to steal in between the battles, and she had her own sense of honor. Lying to her was not going to go over well and I had my doubts about beating her in a straight-on fight. Pushing aside my worries I continued on. After another day of travel, we finally came to another subterranean village, this one was overgrown with white vines, but a central tower remained intact at the center of the cavern surrounded by the ruins of other buildings. Cutting our way through the foliage we managed to shove open the door and break inside. Barring the door behind us we collapsed with exhaustion. I watched as Guinevere sagged back and made my decision; I would have to handle her now. ¡°Guinevere, come with me,¡± I said standing up. ¡°I need your help.¡± Chapter 71: The Whole Truth Guinevere followed me giving me a quizzical look. I took stairs down into the basement and found a few tunnels leading into empty storerooms. There was nothing remarkable here except the superb architecture that had managed to survive for what might have been thousands of years since this place had been visited last. Are the others out of earshot? I asked Voidra. I could feel the presence of people with Tremor Soles, but it didn¡¯t hurt to have a backup detection method. They¡¯re still up there, Voidra said. The healer just took one of the men into a room and they¡¯re¡­ That¡¯s enough of that, I cut her off. Seriously too much information; why would I need to know that? Turning to Guinevere, I set down my weapon and shield and sat in the narrow tunnel. Gesturing for her to sit down I waited until she was across from me sitting cross-legged. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°You said there is nothing you hate more than a liar so I¡¯m going to confess something to you,¡± I said. This is a bad idea, Karnen said. It¡¯s going to happen sooner or later, I replied. Now shut up both of you. ¡°Be honest about what?¡± Guinevere asked warily. Leaning forward I stared into her winter blue eyes as I readied myself for the worst. ¡°I lied about my name, it¡¯s not Ishmael; my name, is Mordred.¡± It took only a few seconds for Guinevere to put the pieces together. Her sword was out resting at my neck, but I didn¡¯t flinch away from the edge of the ice-cold metal. ¡°Why?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to be more specific,¡± I said. ¡°Why did you lie?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Why have you been helping us?¡± I sat back drawing a small line of red across my neck, but the tip remained just in front of my throat. ¡°Because I wanted to understand your way of thinking,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°You¡¯re were a superb fighter and leader, I¡¯ve fought people more powerful than you in rank but nowhere near as dangerous in skill. I wanted to know how you think and what made you so intent on killing me.¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re the Warlord,¡± Guinevere snapped. ¡°You are a threat to the entire world.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I challenged her. ¡°I never left the forest before you came, the only humanoids I killed were goblins, criminals, and raiders.¡± ¡°You would have,¡± Guinevere spat. ¡°It is in the nature of the Warlord.¡± ¡°What do you know of my nature and motivation?¡± I spat back feeling sudden heat at her accusation. ¡°I¡¯ve heard you talk about how you laid siege to my fortress, how you crafted your plans to assault its walls. If you hadn¡¯t made assumptions about who I am you might have been able to take it in a few days. Every failure of your army can be traced back to YOU thinking YOU know who I am.¡± ¡°Then who are you?¡± Guinevere asked her sword not wavering from my throat. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I want to be all I can, to challenge myself against the greatest threats,¡± I said. ¡°I want to explore this world and learn its secrets.¡± ¡°And what happens when people stand in your way?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Will you just kill them?¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°You and your party are in my way,¡± I said. ¡°How have I treated you?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t trust you,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Everything you¡¯ve done has been a lie.¡± ¡°That is not true,¡± I said my voice growing hard. ¡°I¡¯ve only lied to you once, stop trying to justify your actions by making me into something in your head. If you¡¯re going to kill me than do so, but don¡¯t lie to yourself about why.¡± ¡°Lie to myself?¡± Guinevere asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°You want to convince yourself I¡¯m some beast from the shadows,¡± I said. ¡°But you need to look at me and make the choice to kill who I actually am. You say there¡¯s nothing you hate more than a liar then stop lying to yourself. The warlord has never been this unstoppable force no matter what your history books may say. He was just a man like me, but with different motivations and standards of morality.¡± ¡°But you are a threat,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Your goddess, your quests everything is geared to conquer, destroy and kill.¡± ¡°I can kill any creature to complete that quest,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Humans might be easy to kill and its why I don¡¯t go after them. There¡¯s no challenge in killing helpless sheep its why hunters go after wolves, I can conquer lands like the Ancient Forest with no real civilization or government. You think my destiny is predetermined, but it only is if you decide it is, and use that sword.¡± Guinevere¡¯s hand wavered. ¡°I¡¯ve been raised my entire life to defend the world from people like you.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t about other people and what they want,¡± I said. ¡°You need to let me live or kill me because YOU decide it¡¯s what needs to be done. Don¡¯t push this decision off on others, because you¡¯re the one who will have to live with the decision.¡± Leaning back against the stone I stared her down waiting for her to make her move. ¡°So, you¡¯re just going to let me decide if you live or die?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°If you try and kill me, I¡¯ll fight back,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure who would win but we can find out.¡± ¡°Is that why you separated me from my party for this to make sure I was alone if you had to try and kill me?¡± Guinevere asked her voice barbed. I actually laughed at that. ¡°Come on Guinevere, we both know they¡¯d just get in the way. I was using them as human shields against you last time and now they don¡¯t even have access to their abilities.¡± A long tense minute grew as Guinevere wrestled internally with her own inner thoughts. Eventually she lowered her sword setting it down across her legs. ¡°So, what happens now?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I promised you that I¡¯d do my best to get you and your party back to the surface, that¡¯s what I intend to do,¡± I said. ¡°And then? Guinevere asked. I shrugged. ¡°Hunt monsters, search out treasures, I had a quest I was working on I guess I¡¯d try and finish that. Look for more dungeons, hunt more monsters, repeat.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t plan on attacking Lunara and the other nearby kingdoms?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I will if they attack me again,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not just going to lie on the ground and let people curb stomp me. You struck first, I¡¯ll let it slide once but after that¡­its war.¡± ¡°They will strike again,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Then you have your answer,¡± I said. ¡°So, you do plan on going to war with the kingdoms of law,¡± Guinevere accused. ¡°Does your country not have the concept of self-defense?¡± I asked. ¡°If you attack a man, they are within their rights to do whatever they deem necessary to ensure their survival.¡± Guinevere rose to her feet and followed her. ¡°I can¡¯t make a decision on this yet,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I need to think.¡± ¡°Take your time,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re going to be down here together for a while longer.¡± --- Arthur rode his horse through the gates of Camelot. Cheering crowds lined the streets as the army marched in ranks behind him. Knights on horseback smiled ear to ear as flower petals were thrown from the upper stories of the buildings filling the air with color and the fresh smell of flowers. Filing through the gates they continued down to the proving grounds. Arthur kept a smile on his face through the whole display, the exhaustion only showing when he dismounted, and a page lead his horse away. A squire helped him out of his armor, and he made his way to the palace bathhouse. Sinking beneath the soapy water he sighed, letting the dust of several days of riding was off. A bath attendant scrubbed his back and arms and he lay back and let the stress leave his body as she removed the layer of dirt and sweat, he had accumulated. A knock at the door startled him. ¡°Arthur?¡± Lionor called out softly. ¡°Leave,¡± Arthur said to the attendant, and she got up silently exiting through a servant¡¯s door. ¡°Come in,¡± Arthur said. Lionor slid through the door and sat at the edge of the bath taking the cloth and gently cleaning Arthur¡¯s skin. ¡°Guinevere disappeared beneath the Ancient Forest with the Warlord; she may be alive but its likely she died with him.¡± ¡°I heard,¡± Arthur said with a heavy sigh. ¡°Its still hard to believe.¡± ¡°Is it wrong of me to hope she really is dead?¡± Lionor asked. Her hand drifted to her belly, she hadn¡¯t started to show yet, but it was only a matter of time. ¡°I didn¡¯t want her to die but now that she¡¯s gone¡­¡± Arthur took her hands in his raising them to his lips. ¡°I will do everything I can to convince my father to allow us to marry, but no matter what I will not abandon you or our child.¡± Tears rolled down Lionor¡¯s face. ¡°I love you,¡± she said. ¡°I love you, too,¡± Arthur said. Chapter 72: Ive Got This Guinevere didn¡¯t speak to me for the next two days that we rested in the tower. I spent the time working on my enchanting and finding the next path for us to follow. I sat quietly in the basement below the tower engraving a flat stone. I was working on trying to convert my spell for locating metals into an enchantment that would act like a compass, but I was having limited success. The stone began to shiver and shake, and I tossed it down the hall before it exploded. Picking up another rock I began to carve another variation of runes onto it. Soft footfalls descended down the stairs and a feminine scent filled the tunnel. She didn¡¯t bother moving stealthily so Voidra hadn¡¯t even bothered to alert me. ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked as I kept at my work. ¡°I just wanted to apologize,¡± Kisha said. ¡°You¡¯ve been working so hard to protect us and we haven¡¯t been grateful for all you¡¯ve done for us.¡± What¡¯s she want Voidra? I asked. Her emotions are oily, Voidra said sounding disgusted. She¡¯s like a bad cocktail, a mixture of fear, loathing and desire. ¡°Tell me why you¡¯re really here,¡± I told Kira flatly. ¡°I¡¯m afraid,¡± Kira said her bottom lip trembling. ¡°We might die tomorrow and I¡­.¡± ¡°Save your seduction act for your lackies,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in being in your male harem.¡± ¡°What?¡± Kira asked indignantly. ¡°Oh, stop it,¡± I scoffed. ¡°You can try to hide it with all the perfume you want but I can still smell them all over you.¡± Kira¡¯s face darkened in what might have been shame or anger. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± she said her voice like flint. ¡°If you want me to spell if out for you I can,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want from me but you¡¯re not going to get it. I assume it has something to do with Guinevere but whatever problem you have with her I¡¯m not going to help you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a problem with Lady Guinevere,¡± Kisha insisted. ¡°I simply feel you¡¯ve been getting too close with her lately, until the other day at least.¡± ¡°I can feel your hatred for her,¡± I said. ¡°And I¡¯m not telling you anything she told me or that I said to her if you¡¯re here fishing for information.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a very unpleasant person to speak with,¡± Kisha said her hands tightening into fists. ¡°I¡¯m polite to those who deserve my respect,¡± I said. ¡°You have yet to show anything redeeming that makes you worthy of my respect.¡± She turned on her heel and stormed out of the basement tunnels. I sat down and went back to my enchanting. After seven more hours of work, I created my first successful prototype. The stone spun the arrow on it spinning to face one of the walls where veins of iron could be seen running through the wall. The item itself was useless to me but its proof of concept was invaluable, spells could be converted into enchantments. It would be hard, but I had a number of spells that could translate into enchantments, if I could modify those spells or enchantments, it would allow me to create weapons with properties that no one else had access to. I set my tools back in my pouch and sat cross-legged falling into my meditative sleep. -- A blade shone like a star. I stood ragged and bloody with the carnage of battle all around me, my body was riddled with holes seeping blood that glowed with molten fire. The blade struck down, but I couldn¡¯t move, Guinevere lay unconscious under me and moving would lead to her certain death. The blade struck down and cleaved through my leg to the bone. The swordsman was shrouded in black shadows, he yanked out his sword and struck again. My left leg crippled and I fell to the ground. The sword struck again, I blocked with my clubs, and it sheared through and shattered them. The blade buried itself into my collarbone. I fell backwards and the blade struck down again piercing through Guinevere¡¯s chest. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Trying to roar in rage, all I could do was spit up blood my body rebelling against my commands for it to move. -- My eyes snapped open, and my twin hearts thudded like jackhammers moments later the sound of footfalls came down the spiral stairs. Guinevere entered the tunnel and slowly approached me. ¡°We¡¯re ready to go,¡± she said. I stood up and cracked my neck as I did a few stretches. ¡°Are we speaking to eachother again?¡± I asked. ¡°My party needs you to survive,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°You know I don¡¯t give a fuck about your party,¡± I said. ¡°Kisha came by here earlier fishing for information. I¡¯d keep my eye on her.¡± ¡°Why do you care?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°When this is over, we will end up on opposite sides, why do you care what happens to me?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re good,¡± I said. ¡°So, because I¡¯m a good fighter that¡¯s why you care?¡± Guinevere asked disbelievingly. ¡°No,¡± I corrected her. ¡°Because YOU are good. You care about your party even though they hate you, your first concern is for normal people instead of gifted. You deserve more than what you¡¯ve been given, and I believe you can make a difference out there if we make it back to the surface.¡± ¡°Why do you care about normal people?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I come from a world filled with people without abilities, in fact no one has them,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ve had them your entire life I¡¯ve only had them for a few months so far, I don¡¯t think of ungifted as different than I am.¡± ¡°You¡¯re always talking about how your better than others,¡± Guinevere said crossing her arms. ¡°And when it comes to fighting, I am,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°But I¡¯ve been through enough shit to know my failings and that I¡¯m just as fallible as others.¡± ¡°And what¡¯s your failing?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°That I¡¯m destined to hurt those closest to me the most,¡± I said. ¡°Come on we need to go.¡± -- We set out down the tunnel, three hours later we were beset by another horde of creatures. Hundreds of creatures, some of shadow others of flesh assaulted us from the front. I plunged into the horde and emerged from the bodies when it was done. Wiping myself off I offered Guinevere my cleansing cloth, she hesitated for a moment than took it and wiped her face and armor. ¡°How much longer do you think this is going to take?¡± she asked. ¡°It feels like the trail is getting stronger so not much longer I hope,¡± I said. We pressed on for another seven hours. Finding a narrow side tunnel into a dead end with a cave we set up camp and I sat guard. Sitting cross-legged I heard Guinevere come up behind me. She handed me a bowl and I took the food. ¡°This is new,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about what you said,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Your right, I didn¡¯t think of the Warlord as human, but you are a human. So, until you give me a reason to not that¡¯s how I¡¯ll treat you.¡± ¡°But you still believe that reason is inevitable,¡± I said dipping a chunk of stale bread into the stew. ¡°Kelesa isn¡¯t going to let you set up a farm, eventually she¡¯ll push you into doing something where I can¡¯t stand by,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Well, that will be an interesting day when that happens,¡± I said. -- Setting out again we reached a three-way split in the tunnel. Here the trail we were following frayed and went down each of the three tunnels. I stopped and surveyed both tunnels each one had a trail but which one should I take? Looking down one had a set of stairs carved into it so I chose that one. Signs of human construction were a better sign of development than the basic tunnels that had just been carved out of the stone. Leading the others down we hiked down the stairs. Gradually the tunnel began to grow wider and wider, making me nervous. We¡¯d been able to hold out against the hordes of monsters due to the close confines restricting how many could come at us at once. If they could just flow around me then I wouldn¡¯t be able to effectively hold them back and Guinevere¡¯s party would start dropping like flies. The walls began to be transformed, becoming smooth with columns rising and the arched ceiling holding the weight of the world above. The rough unfinished tunnels had been completely left behind leaving us in the ruins of a dead civilization. I wasn¡¯t sure if my nervousness had spread to the others but soon the whole group was on edge. This spurred us to move even faster. I started seeing changes in the environment, piles of bones of the creatures we¡¯d been killing were piled around us, scratches marred the walls around us from some battle. We moved faster and faster but soon the cause of our dread came. A deep resonate sound began to vibrate from the tunnel behind us. I jerked to a stop listening to the sound, the bones and ground began to vibrate filling the air with a threatening rattle as if we¡¯d stepped next to a diamond-back. ¡°How many hundred is it this time?¡± Guinevere asked. I shook my head. ¡°We¡¯re not dealing with hundreds this time,¡± I said shaking my head. Guinevere paled. ¡°Thousands?¡± ¡°At least ten thousand,¡± I said nodding to her. I turned my back on her and the party. ¡°I¡¯m going to need to go all out to do this,¡± I said. ¡°You need to keep running.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll die!¡± Guinevere protested. ¡°I need my spear,¡± I said. ¡°Your spear?¡± Kira asked indignantly. ¡°That¡¯s our loot we won that¡­.¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Guinevere snapped at her. She unslung the double ended spear off her back. She looked it over then slowly placed it in my hand. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you to sacrifice yourself for me.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± I said giving her a grim smile. ¡°Remember who I am. I¡¯ve got this.¡± Guinevere paused then stepped forward and hugged me. My body stiffened in shock as she wrapped her arms around me in quick hug. She pulled away as soon as she made contact. ¡°Good luck,¡± she said. Turning to her body she gave a jerk of her head for them to start moving the other way and started running. The howls and roars grew closer and closer as I turned away from where Guinevere had run. ¡°Alright Voidra pull out all the stops I need every ability I have if you can get my activation abilities to start working now would be a great time to get that to work.¡± Chapter 73: I AM WHO I AM The wave of monsters pulled into view, and I spun the spear in my right hand, opening my storage pouch I let every last spearhead I had fall to the ground. Rising up they hovered above me like a cloud, with a mere thought I sent them flying forwards into the front ranks of monsters. Screams and howls filled the tunnel as they fell in droves but more and more surged behind them faster than my spearheads could take them down. The first beast, a combination of a lion and a bear lunged for me, ducking under it my spear took it in the chest. Purple flames spread from the wound consuming it as the curse damage began to ravage it. More and more beasts swarmed me, their claws and fangs breaking on my skin but dealing deep bruises, and the more powerful managed to inflict cuts. The spear in my hands was a blur as black mist poured from my skin pours and wounds. My Might attribute soared with every hit I made, and I was flinging creatures five times my size around like toddlers. The spear spun in my hands like a baton, I jabbed, slashed, and lunged at the forms I¡¯d been given to memorize and utilized in ways my instructors had likely never intended. A huge ogre beast made of a mixture of flesh and shadow struck me in the chest and I went flying fifty yards down the tunnel. Rolling to my feet I planted my legs the way I¡¯d seen Guinevere do dozens of times and met the charge of monsters. My roar met theirs and we clashed again in a mad display of aggression and lack of self-preservation. --- Guinevere looked back but she couldn¡¯t see Mordred behind the twists of the tunnel anymore. She could hear the roaring and screaming of monsters but how he was doing against the monsters she had no idea. The fact that the Warlord had just sacrificed himself went against everything she¡¯d ever learned about the champions of Chaos. Pushing aside Mordred from her thoughts she focused on the here and now they had to find somewhere to hide or defend themselves to make Mordred¡¯s sacrifice worth it. Her body had changed radically from when she was a child, she didn¡¯t feel muscle burn and her lungs breathed easily despite the mad run they¡¯d been doing for the past five minutes. They¡¯d already made it around four miles.
Gw@st (*ranted! 344% destroy.. the ..4*54^orce ..of the ¡­.
Guinevere nearly crashed into a wall as the broken message flashed across her vision. She kept running, she slowed as the message reappeared this time much more legible.
Quest Gained, Reveal the Unseen: A large section of the underground has been blocked from the system for several millennia, correct this oversight by destroying the source of the block.
Reward: Tier III Artifact to all participants.
Not pausing her running Guinevere kept running. She wondered why she could suddenly get notifications from the system, for an instant she considered blaming it on Mordred and accusing him of blocking access to the system but that was ridiculous. No champion, no matter how powerful, could block access to the system. She considered going back for Mordred but if he was still alive he was surrounded by thousands of monsters in a section of tunnels without access to the system so she wouldn¡¯t be able to help him. She had to keep running and get her party to safety. They broke out of the tunnel into a massive cavern three times the size of any they¡¯d seen before. White flora grew everywhere but this area looked very different than the ruins they¡¯d come across before. Mounds of bones littered the ground, and skeletons from beasts she¡¯d fought many times in these tunnels were scattered around like a child¡¯s toys. Chew marks on the bones showed that whatever had killed so many of them was at least omnivorous although the tooth marks screamed carnivore. The mushroom trees swayed as a creature moved toward them. Stepping forward Guinevere readied herself. ¡°We¡¯ve got an incoming threat,¡± she said to her party. ¡°We all have our abilities back so everyone gets back to your roles.¡± The creature parted the stalks of mushrooms stepping into the clearing before the tunnel entrance. Its head reached nearly twenty feet into the air. Black carapace with violet markings covered it entirely giving it a beetle appearance which was enhanced by its six legs but its form and antlers revealed its true species as that of a deer.
Cerunn, the Fallen Prince; Gifted- ebon-stag/beast, Hero, Rank: 875
Guinevere sucked in her breath when she read its rank. This creature was only a few hundred ranks short of being an Exarch. Its head swiveled towards them as it scanned its surroundings. It had no eyes though the markings on its head vaguely resembled a face. Pawing the ground purple flames burst to life along its hooves, antlers, and long whipping tail. With a huff of air that sounded like a hunting horn, the stag charged them. Guinevere held her ground as she readied herself to face a near-impossible challenge. -- Ducking under the snapping pincers of a scorpion snake I stabbed my spear through its jaw and ripped it out spinning around to block the blow of a gorilla-like creature who had its mouth in its chest instead of in its head; the mouth was filled with razor-sharp snapping teeth. I knocked it back than rammed my spear through that mouth spun to block the next attack. Taking the blow along the shaft of the spear kept it from hitting me but it didn¡¯t save me from the force which sent me flying. I¡¯d gradually been pushed back farther and farther. A wolf with snakes instead of fur tackled me to the ground and we rolled as it tried to salvage my throat with its fangs as the snakes bit down on me over and over. A few of them managed to get their fangs into already open wounds but for the most part, they merely pinched harmlessly against my skin. Using my Foresight, I lifted up the wolf using it to intercept a blow meant for me. The massive fist collided with the wolf¡¯s skull shattering it and I tossed the limp corpse off me and rolled to the side dodging another colossal fist. Another gorilla creature rushed me. Goring it through its belly I left it dying on the floor as I charged back into the mess of bodies, claws, and fangs. Losing myself to the heat and desperation of battle, blood flew from me and the creatures around me. A creature that vaguely resembled a goblin got stuck on one end of my spear and I ended up using it as an improvised mace to smack apart an entire tribe of similar little shits until its body finally fell apart spraying its brothers with its gore and blood. With my spear free I spun it around me killing the rest of the tribe. A sound reverberated through the tunnels, a loud clear horn that sent a shiver through the horde of monsters. They started ignoring me and rushing past desperate to charge down the tunnel and get to the source of that sound. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t,¡± I snarled. Grabbing onto the mane of a lion bear I was pulled along my spear spinning in my right hand as I cut down every other monster alongside me. Driving my spear through the lion-bear¡¯s neck I was catapulted forward as it crashed into the tunnel wall. Teleporting forward I landed in front of the rushing hoard. I spun about me, but they just kept coming parting around me like a stone in a stream. Gritting my teeth together in frustration I teleported my maximum distance down the tunnel. I staggered as my senses were overwhelmed with a flood of notifications.
Quest Gained, Escort Mission: You have been given a binding oath by a member of Camelot nobility to escort at least her and her party to an area of safety where they have contact the system.
Reward: Title, Knight of Camelot, can add the suffix Sir before your name description and adds a minor amount of damage with melee weapons while you have this title equipped. You also have full rights and privileges as all nobility while you are in the Kingdom of Camelot.
Quest Gained, Reveal the Unseen: A large section of the underground has been blocked from the system for several millennia, correct this oversight by destroying the source of the block.
Reward: Tier III Artifact to all participants.
Quest Update, Conquer (Repeatable): You have been tasked with conquering your first region. Take control of the Forest of the Ancients by defeating the eight powers of the region and preventing any other faction from forming a presence in the region. Current progress 6-8.
Reward: One rank IV Artifact of your choice or creation.
Blinking away the notifications I ducked under a monster that leaped over men and kept rushing past. Cracking my neck, I grinned my smile lost in the black mist surrounding me. ¡°Well, looks like I don¡¯t have anything holding me back anymore¡­. Chain Lightning!¡± -- Rolling to the side Guinevere narrowly missed being trampled. She swiped at the stag¡¯s legs and her sword connected but even weakened with her ice the armored carapace was only cracked or chipped. Its tail whipped around, and she brought up her sword blocking but the force sent her rolling across the ground. Rearing up the stag¡¯s horns began firing balls of purple fire towards her and her party. Regald held up his tower shield and a dome appeared around him and anyone within ten feet of him. The shield dome was holding but it was quickly degrading under the onslaught of the much more powerful creature. Golden light spun from Kira¡¯s hands healing the wounds they¡¯d received in the fight, but she was quickly running out of mana. Fireballs blasted from Haldros¡¯ hands and staff bombarding the stag¡¯s flanks but doing little to its black carapace. Edrick appeared on its back his daggers passing through its carapace as he used an ability; the stag bucked and sent him flying. Disappearing in a puff of black smoke, he barely managed to avoid having his spine shattered. Cerunn pawed at the ground with his hoof again then charged towards the shield dome. Guinevere intercepted it her hand brushing across the ground. ¡°Winter¡¯s Touch,¡± she said. Ice spread out across the ground in a thirty-foot radius. Cerunn hit the ice and his legs began skidding as he tried to correct his path. Guinevere struck with her sword, but Cerunn managed to duck his head blocking her sword with his antlers bucking his head up he ripped the sword from her hands and it flew a couple dozen yards away. Guinevere rolled to the side dodging his flashing hooves; annoyed by her trick with the ice Cerunn focused on her charging after her as she raced for her sword. Cerunn let out another bugling below that rumbled through the cavern. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. As if in response the sounds of howls and roars could be heard down the tunnel they had come from. Guinevere¡¯s heart fell in her chest, Mordred had fallen and now they would have to choose between being killed by this beast or the horde of monsters. Pushing aside her doubt she slid across the ground grabbing her sword and rolling to her feet. ¡°Stand-your-ground!¡± she shouted, activating her ability. Blocking a kick from one of Cerunn¡¯s hooves she ducked its swiping tail. The stag began to dance around her, but her defensive ability let her block its massively more powerful attacks without being sent flying. Angling her blocks to absorb as little force as needed she held her position as her party regrouped and charged the stag. The sound of thunder rumbled from the cavern. The echoing of it gave it a distorted sound as if the tunnel were the throat of some beast letting out a roar. Then over the thunder came another sound, Guinevere had only heard it a few times, but the horrible unearthly sound gave her some hope even as it chilled her blood. The Warlord was coming. -- My spear spun in my right hand as I used it one-handed like a combine harvester to reap the bodies around me. My left hand rose and fell point all around me as I let loose blast after blast of Chain Lightning. The lightning continued down the tunnel spreading its various effects as it left charred sparking corpses, whenever it killed a creature, it didn¡¯t count against the number of targets affected and the lightning chain went farther and farther. A sonic roar escaped my throat as I used Voice-of-the-Chasm knocking back the incoming horde and liquifying internal organs. As soon as the roar had faded Helheim¡¯s Scream came off of cooldown and I activated it again. The monsters in its vicinity went insane, some tried to flee others started attacking their allies while others collapsed in writhing mounds on the ground trampled by their brethren. ¡°Chain Lightning!¡± I screamed.
Quest Updated, Blood and Souls: 2,048 Rank Points Added.
Even this much larger tunnel began to be stacked with bodies as the mounds piled up. I struggled to the top of the hill I was creating using my spear like a walking stick to maintain my balance on the bloody corpses. Smoke obscured the air and the hot iron smell of blood was overwhelming. ¡°It¡¯s good to be back!¡± I snarled backhanding a monster that tried to rise up from the pile of corpses. Its skull shattered when my fist impacted it. I was maxed out on Black Rage now, the instances I was acquiring were dropping off as quickly as I acquired new ones. At this moment in time, I might have been the most physically powerful creature on the planet. ¡°Chain Lightning!¡± I shouted out again. The roaring thunder blasted out as it arced from creature to creature. ¡°Chain Lightning! Chain Lightning!¡± I repeated it like an insane mantra. The beasts, goblins, and monsters were climbing over the mound of corpses blocking the tunnel but were pulling each other back and trampling each other in their desperation to continue. My spirit cannon fired from my shoulder each shot killing a creature. My vision was red and I acted on instinct and muscle memory to strike and kill my abilities firing off over and over as fast as I could get them out. My chest heaving with exertion and rage I looked around for another target to kill but nothing moved in the hazy smoke and no sound but the squelching of blood under my boots and the sound of flames crackling. A bugling roar sounded behind me and my head whipped around honing in on the source. I started running teleporting off the mound of bodies landing on the ground in a blurring sprint.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 2,500 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Dismissing the notification, I headed towards the sound eager to kill anything that stepped into my path. -- Guinevere rolled across the ground pushing up with her hands and was on her feet again. Dodging backwards she dodged a kick from one of Cerunn¡¯s hooves. It turned from her to Edrick and reared up to trample him, Regald wasn¡¯t close enough to tank so Guinevere teleported in between them. The hooves came down and she managed to block and parry them away saving Edrick from an instant death, she rolled out of the way of the hooves but was off balance. Cerunn¡¯s tail whipped around hitting her in the chest. Her armor gave under the force of the attack links of chain mail snapping as her breastplate dented inwards. She was thrown across the ground coming to rest at her party¡¯s feet. Kira bent down pulling a knife and cutting the straps of her breastplate. Guinevere heaved in a breath as she was able to breathe again but coughed up blood a moment later. Cerunn pawed the ground and then charged them; his antlers were afire with cursed purple flames. Golden light shone from Kira¡¯s hands as she desperately tried to get Guinevere back on her feet in time, but everyone could tell it wouldn¡¯t be fast enough. A roar shook the cavern as a black shadow emerged in front of Cerunn. The armored stag struck the vaguely humanoid figure, but he didn¡¯t go flying; instead grabbing Cerunn¡¯s antlers and sliding back across the ground. "Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± the figure snarled. The earth by his feet shifted in color and flowed up his legs halting his sliding and Cerunn staggered under the sudden loss of momentum. The stag was ten times the size of the man holding it but its struggles to shake its head loose from his grip were in vain as the man held tight not budging an inch from the ground. Another roar tore from the man¡¯s throat as his body strained then there was a crack as he tore free one of the stag¡¯s antlers. The roar of the man and the scream of the stag sent vibrations through the earth. He released the other antler and Cerunn staggered backward reeling in pain. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± Mordred said again. For a moment he turned to face Guinevere and she looked into the glowing molten eyes, the only clearly visible feature on him behind the black mist surrounding his body. The earth around his feet melted back into the ground and he strode towards the stag still holding its antler in his right hand. The stag reoriented itself and focused on the man approaching him. Rearing up Cerunn fired a torrent of purple fire from its remaining antler. Mordred disappeared reappearing above the stag. Landing on its back he drove down the antler like a spear into its back. Carapace cracked and broke under the strike; bucking the stag tossed Mordred off him and whirled about charging the man again as he rolled back to his feet. Lowering its head with its remaining horns Cerunn went to gore him. Mordred stood still then sidestepped, the movement was so fluid it was as if he could see what would happen before it did. Lunging forwards Mordred drove the antler up into Cerunn¡¯s chest. The carapace there had slowly been chipped at by Guinevere and now under the force of colossus strength, it shattered completely. The tips of the razor-sharp black antlers drove up into the stag¡¯s heart and lungs. Cerunn staggered backward bellowing in agony. Mordred strode forwards, he held out his hand and a double-ended spear flew into his palm. Driving it forward he thrust it up under the stag¡¯s jaw into its brain. The stag shuddered then went limp collapsing to the ground. Mordred looked around him and paused. Crouching down next to a pile of bones he tossed some aside. The black mist around him began to fade revealing his gore-splattered body and armor and the tattered fur cloak draping his shoulders. He rose holding a glossy black helm trimmed with gold, its style identical to his pauldrons. Dust fell from inside the helm, removing a cloth he wiped the helm clean, and his face as well as all the gore covering him vanished instantaneously. Placing the helm on his head he turned to face Guinevere and her party. -- I had sensed the feeling of magic with Bestial Senses and found the helm which radiated power. It was filled with gross corpse dust but that was easy to remove with my cleansing cloth. Placing it over my face I found it miraculously didn¡¯t obscure my vision at all. Finally, something blinked into my vision as I got the rewards for my kill.
145 rank points gained.
Ability Gained, Dark Guardian (Rank 1): You have shown the willingness to sacrifice for others and can sacrifice your flesh and blood to protect those you choose. Allies within thirty feet of you heal a minor amount for every Severe wound you take.
Cost: N/A
Upgrade this ability to increase the range and amount of protection you grant to others. Each upgrade increases your Toughness by 1.
The ability wasn¡¯t something I would have chosen but at least it would increase my Toughness. Several more notifications filled my screen and I read over them as I kept an eye on Guinevere and her group.
Quest Updated, Heir of Ares: You have found the helm of Ares lost beneath the earth for nearly a century. You have gained part of the set bonus for your armor. Find the other three pieces of the armor of Ares. 2 of 4 total set pieces acquired.
Pteruges of Ares: Location unknown
Maninca of Ares: Location unknown
Reward: Title, Spirit of Ares
I would have to check the armor description in a second, but I had another quest notification to deal with first.
Conquer (Repeatable): You have been tasked with conquering your first region. Take control of the Forest of the Ancients by defeating the eight powers of the region and preventing any other faction from forming a presence in the region. Current progress 7-8.
Reward: One rank IV Artifact of your choice or creation.
I had killed Cerunn, the sacred beast of the now-lost Stag Clan. The Wolf and Bear Clans must have pledged their support to me after the defeat of the Dragon Clan. That left the greatest challenge of them all to complete, the Hell Dragon. I was able to look at my notifications in a heartbeat thanks to having advanced my perception and mind attributes so far. I brought up the description for my new helm reading over its description and the effect I got for pairing it with my pauldrons.
Helm of Ares (Artifact IV): One of the four pieces of the armor of Ares earned with the blood of four nations he conquered to complete the quests of Kelesa and crafted by her with the aid of the system. This helm is part of a larger set that gains more power the more pieces of the armor the wearer possesses. Made from black mithril, celestial gold, and the leather of a deep ocean dragon and enchanted by Kelesa herself. Those who are not the Champion of Kelesa and wear this may incur her wrath.
Odikinesis: The power of the Greek god of war to make his enemies turn on each other, you can unleash an aura extending 50 feet around you that fills creatures around you who fail a Spirit check with rage and hate, people in your aura are driven to fight and kill even their allies if no other creature is within range. Every twenty ranks the size of the aura increases by 50ft, starting radius of 50ft.
(2 Pieces) Battle-Hardened Warriors: Your aura extends to your allies; they receive a hardness bonus to their skin equal to a quarter of yours and are immune to the negative effects of your abilities and equipment.
(3 Pieces) Battle Glory: When you kill an enemy your allies within 100ft are Heartened increasing their damage stages by one for the next 5 seconds.
(4 Pieces) Authority of the Warlord: You can telepathically speak to any of your vassals within your Aura.
Weight: 4 lbs.
Dismissing the notification, I focused entirely on the people before me. Crossing my arms, I waited to see how they would react. ¡°You¡¯re the Warlord!¡± Kira said stepping behind the tank as everyone, but Guinevere went into panic mode. A shield dome popped up around them Guinevere on the outside as the four others moved into position. I didn¡¯t move and watched somewhat amused as they prepared their defenses. Nothing happened for a long moment as they waited for an attack that didn¡¯t come. ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯ve known who he really is for a while now. He won¡¯t attack us unless we attack him. He¡¯s done his job and gotten us to safety we owe him the courtesy of treating him as a human and not a monster.¡±
Quest Complete, Escort Mission: You have been given a binding oath by a member of Camelot nobility for escorting at least her and her party to an area of safety where they have contact with the escorting at least her and party to an area where they have contact with the system.
Reward: Title, Knight of Camelot, can add the suffix Sir before your name description and adds a minor amount of damage with melee weapons while you have this title equipped. You also have full rights and privileges as all nobility while you are in the Kingdom of Camelot.
¡°But he¡¯s the Warlord!¡± Kira said. ¡°We need to kill him!¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°Because you¡¯re a threat to us,¡± the tank said. ¡°Everything¡¯s a threat to you,¡± I corrected him. ¡°I am who I am, and that is someone much more powerful than you. Guinevere is the only one in your group who can fight me¡­the rest of you will just die.¡± Kira turned to her three companions and made a series of strange hand signals. I looked to Guinevere but she looked equally confused as me. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Guinevere asked. Kira gave her a dark look and turned to me. ¡°Then it¡¯s a shame that she died fighting against the Warlord.¡± Chapter 74: Knives in the Back ¡°Doors of Muspelheim,¡± Haldros said hiding inside the shield dome. Nine rings of fire appeared in a circle ninety feet away. They grew wider and wider, a red and orange curtain of light shining inside each of them. The light disappeared revealing buildings in a forest with a sunlight sky overhead. Black-clad figures began stepping through the portals into the cavern, naked blades in their hands. They formed a half ring around Guinevere as I stepped up next to her putting my back to hers. A tall man in dark leather armor stepped to the front of the group of nearly sixty assassins. ¡°Warlord,¡± he said his voice calm and cool. ¡°What an unexpected meeting, we have no quarrel with you, we are here on a contract for Lady Guinevere, you can leave now through our portals unmolested.¡± I looked the man over his face was shrouded in a black cowl a mask hiding his features, but it couldn¡¯t hide the description above his head.
Versu the Undefeated; Gifted- humanoid/human, Exarch, Rank: 1224
¡°You need to run,¡± Guinevere said in defeat. ¡°You can¡¯t fight someone like that.¡± ¡°Telling me I can¡¯t fight someone is a sure way to get me to do it,¡± I said turning back to the leader I included my head to him. ¡°I respectfully must decline your offer, I never back down from a fight.¡± ¡°Then I hope you are as great as your legend and pride,¡± Versu said a blade appearing in his hand. It glowed a bloody crimson and he vanished from where he was standing. I blocked the strike with the haft of my spear as he appeared behind me my Foresight warning me of the attempted surprise attack. I shoved back as Voidra reactivated Black Rage for me my strength surging. I wished I had my helm of the Juggernaut to boost my stats but would have to deal with this with the tools I had for now. Activating my Ring of Stoneskin I rolled to the side. I held out my hand and threw back Versu with Telekinesis, it was hard to grab living people especially those with power, but I managed to toss him a hundred yards as I turned to Guinevere. She was beset on all sides by the sixty assassins; a quick look at their descriptions showed them all to be Veteran rank luckily there were no Hero ranked officers among them. I reached into my storage pouch and tossed an object at Guinevere. ¡°Catch!¡± I shouted. She rolled and her left arm slid into the straps of my shield. Jumping to her feet she blocked a sword strike on it, the attacker recoiling in pain as the damage he tried to inflict was reflected back on him through his weapon. She hacked and cut about her, my shield helped to protect her vulnerable sections where she was missing armor from where it had been removed or damaged. I had one last thing I could to help her. ¡°System designate Guinevere as one of my lieutenants,¡± I said.
You have designated Guinevere the Winter Lady as one of your Lieutenants granting her access to your ability Foresight.
Versu appeared in front of me, and I barely dodged his strike. Unable to help Guinevere anymore than I had I focused on my duel with what had to be one of the most powerful men on the planet. His blade spun and only my Foresight let me block or evade his incredible speed my massive boost in Might thanks to Black Rage let me match his strength with my own, but it wouldn¡¯t last. With every passing second more of my instances of Black Rage were dropping off and soon I¡¯d be back to my regular strength. ¡°Chain Lightning!¡± I said and spent the extra cost to exclude Guinevere from the possible targets. Thunder roared as the lightning forked out from my left hand. Versu rolled but the fork chased him he caught it on his sword grimacing in pain, but he wasn¡¯t slowed. The lighting struck the shield dome around Guinevere¡¯s traitorous party, and it shattered. Arcing through the ranks of assassins it didn¡¯t kill any of them outright, but it did damage and stun a number of them. Guinevere took advantage of this to skewer one through the heart and slashed open one of her stunned assailant¡¯s throat. Versu charged me again and I let out a bellow activating Voice of the Chasm rocks and bones around me shattered in a cone focused towards Versu. He disappeared at the last second before the sonic wave could hit him, but the fear effect still rattled his underlings and they recoiled away from me. Guinevere was dealing with the sixty assassins and doing fairly well but even with the shield and the ability I¡¯d just given her access to she couldn¡¯t handle the level of abilities being used on her simultaneously. Versu was on me again before I could unleash another ability. The two of us disappeared and reappeared at random as we teleported around each other. He was able to dodge or block my attacks thanks to his higher stats and I was able to do the same because of Foresight. As I fought him I got the sense that despite his much higher rank he didn¡¯t have that many abilities he must have directly raised his attributes with rank points to get to his level instead of only spending them on abilities like I had. ¡°Unyielding Strike!¡± he shouted slashing at me with a one-handed strike. Foresight let me know there was no blocking this attack, so I teleported away. He teleported next to me, but I was ready and thrust at him forcing him to duck and roll away. He came back at me again pressuring me backward, he fought a lot like Guinevere but if it were based purely on skill I thought she would beat him¡­ but I wouldn¡¯t. Stumbling backward I was distracted by a scream, Guinevere stumbled backward a gaping gash in her stomach. Teleporting over to her I blocked a strike to her chest that would have finished her but a thrown dagger hit her in the chest and she collapsed to the ground black lines radiating out from the wound as the poison spread through her veins. ¡°Chain Lighting,¡± I said blasting the assassin¡¯s point blank. Stunned by the electric assault the twin tips of my spear spun about cutting open several throats. Two of them had died outright from the lighting already wounded by Guinevere and its prior attack. I watched as Kira ran through one of the portals the rest of her companions were dead their bodies cut to ribbons. Guinevere had taken revenge for their betrayal, but she wouldn¡¯t get to finish the job. Versu ran at me and I couldn¡¯t dodge away this time. The memory of this happening and my impending death that I had foreseen flashed through my mind. If I stood here and tried to protect her, I would die, even if I didn¡¯t, I would likely still be killed by this man. I didn¡¯t move. The sword came down and I blocked my strength had faded and the much more powerful man sent me to my knees my arms vibrating with the force I had just absorbed knocking my spear from my hands. The sword came at me again too fast for me to react to and buried in my leg only stopping went it hit my bone the metal structure keeping it from just taking my leg clear off. I collapsed on top of Guinevere shielding her with my body. ¡°Comet Strike,¡± Versu said coldly as he raised his sword again the red blade beginning to shine like the sun. The blade came down again and I brought up my club in my left hand to block. The club shattered in my hands and the bones along my forearm shattered from the amount of force inflicted upon it. My Neman Club, the weapon that had endured so much and been enhanced by one of my abilities was unable to withstand the might of this attack. The blade had only been slowed slightly and buried into my collar bone crippling my right arm. I lay over Guinevere knowing the outcome already but helpless to prevent it my body still at least a minute from being able to regenerate enough to fight again. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Versu raised the blade pointing straight down and stabbed downwards at Guinevere¡¯s chest. A hand of pure darkness lashed out and gripped the blade. I was as shocked as Versu as I looked upon a third arm emerging from my Torso. Another hand emerged from my other side and grabbed my spear thrusting up at Versu. He jerked his head to the side avoiding the strike.
Ability Gained, Spirit Collective, (Rank: Error): You have created a symbiotic instead of parasitic relationship with the spirits inhabiting you. Through manipulation of your mana and stamina, they have created a third type of energy and can use it to manifest through your body and interact with the world.
Cost: 1 Ethereal point per second of use.
This ability should not exist and cannot be upgraded. As punishment for bypassing the system to gain abilities, all current unspent Rank points will be spent to purchase this ability.
Slashing down he buried his sword into the unarmored thigh of my other leg. I growled in frustration and the discomfort from the small amount of pain I could feel through my rage. He tried pulling his blade out and I was nearly dragged into the air as it became lodged in my leg bone. Growling in frustration I reached out with my mostly repaired left arm and grabbed the blade. ¡°Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I snarled.
Error! This is an Artifact Weapon and can only be destroyed by a deity.
¡°Fuck that,¡± I growled my fingers bleeding as Versu yanked me around by my leg trying to get his weapon free. ¡°Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory!¡± I wasn¡¯t even thinking, blinded by maddening rage and helplessness I threw every point of mana I had into the attempt forcing it through my hand. Another hand, this one made of brilliant crimson light instead of void black reached out and grabbed the blade. Together we poured mana into the blade, the weapon began to shine bright as it had before, but Versu wasn¡¯t the one causing it this time. Fragmentation lines appeared across the blade until, with an explosion that tossed back Versu and nearly tore my leg off the blade shattered. Breaking into hundreds of pieces the shards went flying like a frag grenade luckily missing me and scattering throughout the cavern.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective destroy an artifact made by an enemy deity.
Reward: title, Artifact Breaker.
*Artifact Breaker: Defying the very rules of this world you have broken an Artifact while still a mortal. You can alter the fragments of broken artifacts. Artifacts broken by you gain a pseudo sentience and will follow the will of their creator and seek revenge on you for their destruction. Seriously cut this out.
Troll Hide fixed my other leg enough for me to hobble to my feet. All around me were the dead bodies of assassins, their bodies shredded by the destroyed artifact or slain by Guinevere or me. Versu limped forward one arm limp at his side his face exposed now although one side was skinned to the skull. ¡°That blade was in my family for generations!¡± he roared. ¡°how did a creature like you destroy it?¡± ¡°Get good scrub,¡± I said my spear snapping into my functioning left arm my left still hanging uselessly. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the red fragments float up and orient themselves on me. They darted towards me in the same manner as my stone spearheads worked. I teleported to the right and then swerved reversing directions to follow me. Versu had forgotten about Guinevere and was now intent on slaying me. He rushed after me drawing a dagger from his belt. There was no way I could take him on, even with the new ability I had acquired I was beat to shit and he had several hundred points above me in basically every attribute. I couldn¡¯t beat him but there might be a way to cheer him up. I would have to time this perfectly. Freezing in place I devoted all my attention to Foresight waiting for the perfect moment. My wounds slowly began to close apart from the one to my left leg which remained stubbornly unhealed. Versu charged me and the shards of the artifact shot toward me outpacing him. They had converged and were about to shred me like a swarm of bees when I teleported. Appearing behind Versu I blocked a slash with his dagger as he whirled to face me. The attack shoved me off balance and he kicked my leg out from under me and was about to finish me off. Then the shards of his own blade went right through him to get to me. Versu looked stunned as he looked down at his shredded and mangled body. He turned to me, and we met eye to eye. ¡°This isn¡¯t the end of us Warlord,¡± Versu promised me. ¡°If you survive this we will meet again.¡± He promised me. ¡°Earthquake!¡± A shockwave erupted from him, and the walls, ceiling, and floor began to rattle. His body dissolved into a mist of blood, and he disappeared carried up and away by an unseen wind. The shards of the artifact seemed to have lost their power after going through Versu and fell lifeless to the ground. With a mental thought, I picked them up with Telekinesis and swept them into my storage pouch. A boulder fell from the ceiling nearly crushing me. The tunnel I¡¯d used to get her collapsed in on itself the age-old construction having finally given way.
Shards of Assurin: Type: Magical Metal, Rarity: Mythic, Hardness: Indestructible (at least they should be). Once part of a mighty sword called Assurin these blades are all that is left a tier III Artifact sword created by Sabre the God of Swords and Blades, they are cursed by him to never create an edged weapon again. These shards use in crafting are unknown, but they still hold immense power and potential even with the curse on them due to the nature of their destruction they have gained the trait Enmity and will give it to whatever item they are used to forge.
*Enmity: Increases the damage dealt or reduces damage taken when the wielder is enraged.
Shards: 250. Total Weight: 3 lbs.
Teleporting next to Guinevere she was still unconscious, and I didn¡¯t have a way to wake her up. Stuffing Cauter fennel into my leg wound It smoked and smolder but stopped bleeding I poured a healing potion over it and drained another one down my throat to replace my lost blood. Dragging Guinevere up from the ground I threw her over one shoulder, picked up her sword, and stowed my shield away. I searched for an exit as boulders continued to rain down around us. The tunnels around us had collapsed leaving no obvious exits. I spotted an underground river, its waters rushing down and disappearing into a cave wall. While drowning to death wasn¡¯t an experience, I wanted to have it was the only way out of this cavern I could see, and I was quickly running out of time. I began moving as fast as I could but when I tried to teleport I couldn¡¯t. That ability was for a single person so I couldn¡¯t do so while carrying Guinevere. A boulder nearly crushed us my Foresight allowing us to step aside in the nick of time. Rocks were bouncing off my helmet and the instability of the cavern was growing with every passing second. ¡°This is going to hurt,¡± I said and turned around holding out my hand. I¡¯d only used this spell once before and it took several attempts to get it right but eventually, a burst of pure white plasma exploded from my hand. The force was so great it carried Guinevere and me up into the air as I had intended. I cradled Guinevere¡¯s neck to protect her from whiplash and the fall. We struck the surface of the water and went down into the darkness. --- Captain Neman stood at the edge of the town walls. The town population had mostly been pacified and he¡¯d been awarded a permanent post here as a reward for his part in the war. He¡¯d already sent word to his wife and son to come and join him. After a few decades preserving the peace in this new province he¡¯d be able to retire. Blowing out some smoke from his pipe he smiled, looking up at the golden gryphon on a red background that represented the Kingdom of Camelot. Turning around he was about to continue his rounds examining the defenses when he heard a horn blow from the forest. Whirling around he scanned the forest line four hundred yards away. He was the highest ranking gifted assigned to this town but was only Veteran rank. A goblin emerged from the forest and his shoulders sagged in relief. A goblin raiding party was something that normal people dreaded but nothing that he and his men couldn¡¯t handle. Then a spined raptor stepped out of the shadows behind it. Captain Neman had fought spined raptors before during his training as a knight of Camelot. They were vicious creatures and more intelligent than wolves but he¡¯d never seen them fight alongside goblins before. The odds of their survival were going down, but he wouldn¡¯t abandon his post without a fight¡­ Humans on foot and horseback, Myrmidons alongside and riding wolves and bears emerged from the tree line. They did not approach the walls in ranks for files but that did not diminish their threat. More horns blew and howls and war cries began to be taken up. Captain Neman swallowed heavily. The letter he¡¯d just sent to his wife would likely be the last she ever heard from him. Chapter 75: Void Walker My back smashed into the wall as the current dragged me and Guinevere down the underwater river. The foaming bubbles and murky water made it impossible to see. My head smacked about, and I curled around the unconscious Guinevere. We would need air soon, especially her, but I was trusting fate on where this river would lead me. I needed to get Guinevere air, or she¡¯d drown before she even regained consciousness. I grabbed hold of a rock and held myself against the current struggling to do so one handed. ¡°Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I mumbled out through the water expending my precious air. I shifted the rock above us creating a pocket of space. Pushing up, I dragged Guinevere inside and widened it out. Her skin was turning a deathly grey, the black lines still spreading from the wound in her chest. Her chest wasn¡¯t moving so I began doing compressions. I¡¯d briefly worked as a lifeguard during high school and had to perform CPR on several people. Pushing air into her lungs I moved back and began doing compressions on her chest again she coughed and spat out water beginning to breathe again, but her breathing was ragged, and the black veins continued to spread. I hadn¡¯t yet removed the blade sticking there in her chest yet for fear of letting her bleed out. I began pulling out my jars of herbs, I had no healing abilities so this would all have to be my nonexistent understanding of alchemy. She was suffering from poison and the only thing I knew about that was that if you survived it long enough and enough deadly doses, she¡¯d basically become immune to it. I pulled out my remaining Purity Lilies from the memory of acquiring them when I contracted Ghoul Rot surfacing. Hopefully it would save her life like it had mine. I began mixing herbs together in a base of a Red Yarrow healing potion. Plugging her nose, I yanked out the dagger and poured the mixture down her throat. I packed the wound on her chest with Cautr Fennel. She writhed on the floor in agony, but I held her down until her convulsions had expired. The black veins slowly began to recede as Guinevere¡¯s Toughness fought against the poison now aided by my improvised antidote. Her armor was ruined now and hanging off her in tatters like my clothes had been. She shivered with cold and doing my best to preserve her modesty I removed her wet clothing and set it out to dry. Using Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory, I created a raised section of ground and put down some furs and laid her out on it. Covering her with more pelts, I sat down into meditation looking at the swirling water in the hole beneath us. For several long minutes I collected myself. The past five minutes since ending my fight against Versu had been a state of panicked desperation and half cooked ideas. Decompressing I let the stress role off me as I sat down able to just think without worried about something ripping into my back. ¡°Pull up my Status,¡± I said not sure if I was out of influence of the System again.
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 360
Available Rank Points: 0
Might: 73 (+3) = 76 Mind: 47
Speed: 52 (+35) = 87 Perception: 67
Toughness: 32 Spirit: 141
Endurance: 31 Power: 51
Maximum Stamina: 289 Maximum Mana: 4907
Stamina Regen: 45.2 per second Mana Regen: 81.4 per second
Ethereal Regen: 10 per minute. Maximum Ethereal: 100
Abilities
Dominion (Rank 50), Telekinesis (Rank 20), Heightened Speed (Rank 20), Foresight (Rank 20), Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory (Rank 20), Bestial Senses: (Rank 20), Phantom Form (Rank 20), Storm Soul (Rank 20), Magma Heart(s) (Rank 20), Troll Hide (Rank 20), Black-rage (Rank 20), Hell¡¯s Talons (Rank 20), Helheim¡¯s Scream (Rank 20), Chain Lightning (Rank 20), Voice of the Chasm (Rank 20), Setules Palms (Rank 20), Tremor Soles (Rank 20), Dark Guardian (Rank 1), Spirit Collective (Rank Error)
Blessings:
Blessing of War (Veteran), Blessing of Tadris
Titles
Mark of Cain, Bloody Pugilist, Exorcist, Survivor III, Feral Barbarian, Field Alchemist III, Berserker, Beast Slayer III, War Chief, Venom Resistant III, Keytaro¡¯s Guardian III, Wrathful Meditation, Fireproof III, Superhuman, Bearer of Death, Lightning Resistance, the Fate Breaker, Apprentice Bludgeoner, Apprentice Deflector, Apprentice Spearman, Divine Smith, Apprentice Enchanter, Knight of Camelot, Challenger, Artifact Breaker
It was irritating to have all those rank points I¡¯d worked so hard to get just get taken away but at least I¡¯d gotten an ability out of it. Although by the looks of it I would be able to use it for around ten seconds, I would have to find a way to increase this new resource or get a better regen rate for it if I wanted to use it more. Guinevere was still out so I pulled out the artifact shards I had acquired. They didn¡¯t come to life and attack me anymore so at least that was out. I couldn¡¯t make them into a weapon at least not one with an edge, so what could I do with them. I only had about three pounds worth of the stuff so it wasn¡¯t enough to make any armor on their own but if I could combine them with something else¡­. I pulled out my rarest crafting material I had. The stone hummed with power in my hand as I held it, the nine-inch-long crystal practically vibrated with barely contained power. Its golden light was the only source of illumination in the pitch-black cave. It was blinding after sitting in the darkness even if I¡¯d been able to see perfectly thanks to my eye¡¯s mutations.
Crystal of Heaven¡¯s Wrath; Type: Magical Stone, Rarity: Mythic, Hardness: 16; A crystal crafted from two epic rarity magical stones both with incredible potential, one divine and the other arcane. Now fused these crystals have transcended their previous limits and no matter what is destined to birth a legend. They will amplify and focus any mana channeled through it. If damaged or destroyed this crystal will release enough power to destroy all life within three leagues of it.
Quantity: 1 Weight: 2.3
Don¡¯t you remember what happened last time you messed with that? Karnen asked his voice filled with irritation and exasperation. ¡°I¡¯ve got more mana this time,¡± I said. ¡°A lot more, plus you haven¡¯t even heard the crazy part of my plan yet,¡± I said. And what¡¯s that? Karnen asked defeated. Reaching into my storage pouch I pulled out an item I hadn¡¯t touched since I¡¯d looted it after slaying the Storm Pheonix. The blazing blue and white light made the glow of the Crystal of Heaven¡¯s Wrath seem like nothing as I held the weightless ball of energy in my hand.
Heart of the Storm: Type: Energy/Crystal, Rarity: Mythic, Hardness: Not applicable. The heart of an endless storm whose power, for now, is restrained and contained. Its uses in crafting are unknown.
Quantity: This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. 1 Weight: Not applicable
I don¡¯t think that counts as stone, metal or even organic material, Karnen pointed out. How do you even plan on working with that? ¡°I¡¯ve got a side ability with Storm Soul I¡¯ve never used,¡± I said pulling up the ability.
Storm Soul: (Rank 20, Max Rank); Your soul is energy and as such you can absorb lighting to gain a permanent increase in your power. You are a lightning magnet drawing natural and artificial electricity towards your person and are capable of manipulating it into physical form. For every bolt of natural lightning, you are struck by you gain a +65 to your maximum mana. Increases your damage with lightning abilities by 25%.
Damage from lighting-based attacks or abilities will restore a severe amount of mana in proportion to the damage received.
Electrical effects are drawn towards you when cast or manifested within 250ft of your person.
You can trap lightning into lasting crystals.
You take one less damage stage from lightning both natural and created.
Final Rank Bonus: Storms will be drawn to your location veering off course when they come within seven leagues of your location and will remain over you until they naturally disperse.
Cost: An extra 1 mana to lightning spells, no other cost
¡°See the third extra effect,¡± I pointed out to him. ¡°If I convert the Heart of the Storm into a crystal I think I¡¯ll be able to manipulate it with Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory.¡± Think! Karnen practically shouted in my head. You¡¯ve never even tested this before and now your going to wing it with a mythic rarity material that could probably level a small country! I think it¡¯s a great plan, Voidra said deciding to join the contribution. You have no self-preservation instinct, Karnen said. ¡°I¡¯m doing this, whether you want me to or not,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re still trapped underground and I need to gain more titles and power creating something like this is sure to get a reward from the system.¡± We¡¯re all going to die, Karnen sighed. Which one are you going to do first? ¡°Not sure,¡± I admitted. ¡°Do you have a preference on which one?¡± Do I have a preference for how we die? Karnen asked wryly. Do the Heart of the Storm first if you can¡¯t convert it into a crystal we won¡¯t have to worry about trying to add it to the Crystal of Heaven¡¯s Wrath. I shrugged. ¡°Makes as much sense as anything.¡± Setting the Crystal of Heaven¡¯s Wrath back in storage I held the ball of tingling energy in both hands. I focused in on it closing my eyes as I tried to reach out and effect it. ¡°Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said just to see if it would work. It did not. Letting out a disappointed sigh I continued. Storm Soul was a passive ability so I wasn¡¯t sure how to consciously use it. I felt Voidra digging around in my soul and felt a switch go off as she messed with my abilities inner workings. I began to feel hot all over my eyes opened and I could see all my scars glowing as mana began leaking off of me. Closing them again I focused on the Heart of the Storm, I began squeezing it feeling it shock me as it fought back against my will. More and more lighting struck into me but my resistance to that damage type let me push past it without being distracted. It took about ten minutes but eventually the Heart gave way and imploded in a second. My hands clapped together as the pressure I¡¯d been putting on the Heart was suddenly uncontested. Opening my eyes I held up a perfectly round blue marble. It shone blue and a raging storm could be seen inside it. It was surprisingly heavy for its size, not supper heavy but maybe half a pound in weight.
Heart of the Storm: Type: Energy-crystal, Rarity: Mythic, Hardness: 20. The heart of an endless storm whose power, for now, is restrained and contained in a crystalline shell giving it a solid tangible form. Its uses in crafting are unknown.
Quantity: 1 Weight: .4
Its description hadn¡¯t changed but I felt more confident about using it now. ¡°Ok, do we use this on the Shards of Assurin or the Crystal of Heaven¡¯s Wrath first?¡± I asked. Using it on the Shards of Assurin seems like the best choice, Voidra said. If they become hostile again you don¡¯t want them to have the power of that stone so test it on the Heart first. Nodding I brought the sword fragments out of my storage pouch.
Shards of Assurin: Type: Magical Metal, Rarity: Mythic, Hardness: Indestructible (at least they should be). Once part of a mighty sword called Assurin these blades are all that is left a tier III Artifact sword created by Sabre the God of Swords and Blades, they are cursed by him to never create an edged weapon again. These shards use in crafting are unknown, but they still hold immense power and potential even with the curse on them due to the nature of their destruction they have gained the trait Enmity and will give it to whatever item they are used to forge.
*Enmity: Increases the damage dealt or reduces damage taken when the wielder is enraged.
Shards: 250. Total Weight: 3 lbs.
Each of their edges were razor sharp but I gathered them all in my cupped hands levitating the Heart of the storm on top of them like an egg in a nest of razors. Closing my eyes, I focused on all the shards and the Heart with my senses I¡¯d first gained from Compress Earth. ¡°Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said. The shards fought against me. Each one had their own will; they were weak individually but together it was like trying to hold a dozen struggling cats at once. My Spirit lashed out at them, and it was not alone, Voidra and Karnen were with me adding their own will to mine. The shards resisted but the Heart seemed eager; one by one I fed it the shards of the sword. The Heart eagerly consumed them drawing them into its shape. It took over an hour and my mana was empty by the time I was done but when I opened my eyes I beheld something completely different. The crystal was no longer a perfectly smooth orb but an angry mess of jagged points. Its electric blue coloring had been replaced by a luminescent crimson that pulsed, growing brighter than darker. It was much larger but didn¡¯t seem any heavier than the total mass that had gone into it and was around the size of a baseball.
Heart of Malice: Type: Magical Metal, Rarity: Mythic, Hardness: Indestructible (at least it should be). Made from the shards of the mighty sword called Assurin and merged with the Heart of the Storm this item holds incredible power but also a deep uncaring hatred. It has been cursed by the Sabre the God of Swords and Blades to never create an edged weapon. Due to the nature of the sword¡¯s destruction this crystal has gained the trait Enmity and will give it to whatever item its is used to forge.
*Enmity: Increases the damage dealt or reduces damage taken when the wielder is enraged.
Quantity: 1 Total Weight: 3.4 lbs.
That¡¯s quite something, Karnen admitted. Are you sure you don¡¯t just want to use it as is in some weapon? ¡°If I¡¯m going to use this to make a weapon, I want it to be as powerful at it can be,¡± I said picking up the crystal of heaven¡¯s wrath. It was much smaller than the Heart of Malice, but I honestly wasn¡¯t sure which one was more powerful. Settling down I place my hands in my lap as I settled into meditation to boost my focus. I waited until my mana pool was full again before I started. ¡°Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I whispered. If the shards had resisted me before it was nothing compared to how both crystal reacted to eachother. It was like trying to bring the opposing poles of the worlds most powerful magnets next to eachother. They strained against me as I poured my mana into the skill. My will clashed against the crystals but they were not so easily cowed their pseudo sentience struggling against my demands. ¡°Dominion!¡± I snarled and brought to bear another of my abilities against them. While not living creatures and thus unable to become vassals the skill did seem to lessen how effective they could struggle against me but even this wasn¡¯t enough. My mana was bottoming out and my regen rate despite how impressive it was for my rank wasn¡¯t able to keep up. Karnen and Voidra reached out with their energies and began to assist me wearing down the resistances of the crystals. I felt a power I¡¯d only felt briefly when fighting against Versu. Mentally checking my status, I saw my limited Ethereal energy being drained and poured into the crystals. The use of a second energy seemed to alter how my ability worked and my stamina began to rapidly drain as well. I was too deep into the forging of this stone now, I would either succeed or die in creating it. The stones were beginning to merge even as they still struggled but the amount of mana it was taking was absurd. My mind was dragged into the darkness as my mana, stamina and Ethereal all hit zero. -- I stood on the edge of the cliff in the void. I was not hanging off it this time but a single move would send me over. There was light this time and I looked down at my hand where a crystal glowed crimson like a dying sun. Two sets of arms emerged from my torso and together we held the crystal aloft. All around me I felt the void recoil than attack as its darkness was encroached upon. The hunger of the void crashed down upon me but I did not quiver under its onslaught. Drawing on my link with Voidra I reached out to the void and struck out grabbing at it. I drew upon the struggle might of the void to me. A feeling of hunger rose in me, but it encountered a more powerful emotion, rage. My hatred and anger clamped down on the void, there was no strength of body in this place only emotion. The void had no true concept of emotion, but I did, and this made me stronger than it in this moment. I poured the energy of the void into the crystal guided by my anger, hatred. The void begged for release, but I felt no pity for it and continued to siphon its power my cruelty and malice pinning it down. There was a brilliant flash and the crystal solidified in my hands. -- My eyes snapped open, and I sucked in a breath. My lungs heaved and I pushed myself up from the ground where I had fallen. I looked down to my right hand where a long blood red crystal was gripped between my fingers. It was around fourteen inches long from tip to tip but no thicker than my thumb.
The Star of Mordred; Type: Magical Energy-Crystal, Rarity: Mythic, Hardness: Indestructible (at least it should be).
Made from the remnants of many mythic treasures, The Heart of the Storm, The Shards of Assurin and the Crystal of Heaven¡¯s Wrath this treasure is something the world has not seen the likes of and is destined to birth a legend change the very fabric of destiny. Forged by the human Sir Mordred the Storm Knight while still a mortal it is infused with his rage, hatred, cruelty and desire for power. The Star of Modred has the following properties, Power Source, Mana Magnification and Greater Enmity.
This item has been cursed by Sabre the God of Swords and Blades to never be able to create an edged weapon.
*Power Source: This item has an infinite source of energy residing within it.
*Mana Magnification: This item will amplify and magnify any mana passing through it.
*Greater Enmity: Massively increases the damage dealt or reduces damage taken when the wielder is enraged.
Quantity: 1 Weight: 5.7 lbs.
This Sabre God is really getting on my nerves, Voidra growled. You can only make a staff or club with this because of him. ¡°I have a different plan for it,¡± I said dismissing the item description as I saw several prompts awaiting me in the corner of my vision.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Force the Void itself to bend to your will. By stepping outside the bounds of the system and forcing its ancient enemy to obey even if for a moment you have earned the favor of the System.
Reward: Void Walker
*Void Walker: Your regeneration and max pool for Void based energies is doubled as you draw on the place beyond death to empower you.
Looking at my status I saw that my Ethereal regen rate and max pool had doubled in size. So I would have to interact with the Void if I wanted to increase that resource. It would be risky but could prove worth it in the end. The only problem would be accessing the Void since the only way I¡¯d found to do so was by being at death¡¯s door. So you said you had plans for it, Karnen said mentally eyeing the crystal star warily. What are they? ¡°Have you ever heard of a lightsaber?¡± I asked. Chapter 76: Diving In Guinevere still wasn¡¯t awake and I went to check on her placing the newly created star in my storage pouch. Placing my hand on her brow I felt her temperature. She was a bit hot but nothing serious I thought. Leaving her be to let her get rest and recover, I went over to the wall. I needed to try and get to the surface, but I didn¡¯t have a portal ability like Guinevere¡¯s companion had. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said. The work to move the non-magical earth felt like cutting butter in comparison to creating the star had. I began creating a spiraling tunnel upwards. I made it about a hundred yards up before my ability just shut off. Puzzled, I looked at the earth and tried to move it. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said again. Nothing happened. Sighing, I realized I was cut off from the system again. Heading back down the tunnel I tried it again. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talons,¡± I said as a test. My nails grew into claws, and I sighed again. I wasn¡¯t going to be tunneling my way to the surface then. Going to check on Guinevere she was still asleep, I pulled back the furs covering her and checked her wound, there was a silver scar there but no more black poisoned veins. Covering her back up I left her alone and began creating another tunnel in a horizontal direction to see how far I could get. I actually made it half a mile before the system was cut off again. Moving back again I created a small room and a stone door to block sound. I set down my Grimoire, its pages rustling with anticipation as I brought it out. I turned to the page with the spell for the lightning blast. The spell was way too powerful, but it was precisely what I needed. All I needed to do next was figure out a way to turn it into an enchantment. First I needed something to test it out on. ¡°Chain Lightning,¡± I said. Using Storm Soul, I channeled the lighting which erupted from my fingers into a ball in my hand which condensed down into a crystal the size of my pinky nail. I kept at it the thunder echoing around in the room as I cast and condensed the lighting into crystal after crystal. After four hours of this I had a stone barrel filled with the things. Next, I brought out some condensed quartz I had and began creating crystals identical in size and shape to the Star of Mordred. When I was done, I had around a thousand of the crystals laid out in a stone crate I made to store them in. Reaching to my side I took off my grimoire chained to my waist and set it down on the table.
Mab, Type: Grimoire, (Artifact Tier I): This Artifact is a work of heresy created by the Magi of old, it was both one of their greatest successes and failures. The pages were made from the skin of nine champions of the gods who the magi slayed in battle. Their leader the archmage sundered an artifact shield the first and only person (before you) to ever do so. Although he did not survive this achievement the shards of that shield were forged into the case of this tome. They enchanted their greatest spells into and poured the accumulated mana store of their entire order into it giving it sentience and artifact status. However unintended by them the grimoire gained sentience it absorbed all the knowledge of the order and was not content to serve them seeing them as lesser than them and lacking imagination. When they tried to make it bend to their will it rebelled against them. Unwilling to let it do as it pleased, they drained all their knowledge from its pages and locked it away.
For now, this artifact serves you but its loyalties may change and it may be the wisest course of action to destroy it. Doing so will not incur any wrath from any gods or the system.
That description told me more about this world than any single conversation I¡¯d had. First of all, it implied I could create an artifact as well. I of course wasn¡¯t going to destroy this grimoire, it was incredibly useful, and I was confident I¡¯d be able to control it one way or the other. Despite how much information the description contained it did very little to actually tell me what the grimoire could do, only implying it could absorb and steal knowledge. I touched my stylus to the page of my grimoire and began creating the first prototype for the enchantment. I knew spells could be turned into enchantments I just needed to experiment until I found a way. Halfway through transcribing the enchantment the door to my work room swung open and Guinevere stood there looking annoyed. ¡°Where are we and why was I undressed?¡± she asked clearly pissed off. ¡°There was a cave in back in the cavern,¡± I said. ¡°I had to carry you and jump into an underground river. I made this place to keep you from drowning, your clothes were soaked and ruined so I had to take them off. I was respectful so don¡¯t get your panties in a twist.¡± A look of horror passed over Guinevere¡¯s face and she looked down. I rolled my eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t touch your panties; I didn¡¯t even remove your pants just your shirt and armor.¡± Guinevere glared at me. ¡°Then why did you bring them up?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just an expression where I¡¯m from,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°Are you actually mad at me, or are you just taking it out on me because there¡¯s no one else here?¡± ¡°Where is everyone else?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°How did we even survive, that man was an Exarch.¡± ¡°Tricks,¡± I said. ¡°I broke his sword and used some shenanigans to get him killed, well I mostly killed him. I think he had some ability that saved him at the last second, but he had to bugger out.¡± ¡°His sword was an artifact,¡± Guinevere said her brow furrowing. ¡°There is no way you could have destroyed it.¡± ¡°The system said the same thing,¡± I said with shrug. ¡°Wait, how do you know it was an artifact?¡± ¡°That sword was stolen from the Armory of Camelot a century ago,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Assurin was the sword given to the first Lancelot by Arthur.¡± ¡°Is the leader of your country seriously always named Arthur?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°It¡¯s been that way since Arthur the first, a champion of Viviane.¡± ¡°Well, I guess it make it easier for everyone to remember the King¡¯s name,¡± I said shaking my head. ¡°What if the heir dies though.¡± ¡°Than the next in line is renamed to Arthur,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Are you also named after someone?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes¡­¡± Guinevere was explaining but then glared at me. ¡°You¡¯re just trying to distract me, how did we escape.¡± ¡°I told you I broke the sword¡­¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Guinevere broke in. ¡°Look if you¡¯re going to keep interrupting and contradicting me, we¡¯re never going to get anywhere,¡± I said. ¡°I get it, you can¡¯t break artifacts, I did get over it.¡± ¡°Prove it,¡± Guinevere said. Rolling my eyes, I brought out the Star of Mordred and set it down on the table. Guinevere eyed it curiously but took the bait, stepping over and touching it. Her eyes widened and she yanked her hand back as if she¡¯d just touched a hot stove. ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± she said with breathless horror. ¡°If it makes you feel better the shards of the sword tried to kill me as soon as I broke it,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s how I cheesed the Exarch.¡± ¡°No, that doesn¡¯t make me feel better and what does cheese have to do with this?¡± Guinevere asked reverting back to being pissed at me. ¡°Sometimes I really hate your world,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°It¡¯s an expression meaning I used something that was meant to do one thing to do another thing and cheat and exploit my way into doing something that should have been impossible.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°What does cheese have to do with it though?¡± Guinevere asked exasperated. ¡°Is cheese impossible to make on your world or something?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why it¡¯s called that it just is,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m starting to regret saving your life.¡± That shut her up. She opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again then sighed and took a seat on the edge of the table but kept away from the mythic crystal. ¡°Thank you for saving my life,¡± she said. ¡°I still don¡¯t know why you did it but thank you.¡± ¡°Your welcome,¡± I said. ¡°Now for an actual important conversation why was an Exarch assassin working with your party to kill you?¡± ¡°Why is simple,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯m betrothed to the crown prince of Camelot, and someone doesn¡¯t like it. The real question is who there are hundreds if not thousands of people with motive but which one of them could afford to pay an Exarch assassin?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve only been on your world for a few months so don¡¯t ask me,¡± I said. ¡°But when you find them let me know that assassin is going to becoming after me eventually and I¡¯d like to get the drop on him next time.¡± ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan now?¡± Guinevere asked looking at me cautiously. ¡°Same as before,¡± I said. ¡°Tried tunneling out but ran into system interference again. We also got that quest to destroy the source of the block.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind getting a custom artifact,¡± Guinevere admitted. ¡°So how do we get out of here?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to need to go back underwater,¡± I said. I looked Guinevere over; she¡¯d put her clothes and armor back on but right now she looked like a female warrior from some video game her armor patchy and way too much skin exposed. Granted I wasn¡¯t one to talk with how I was armored but I had abilities to deal with that and from what I¡¯d seen Guinevere didn¡¯t. ¡°You want me to fix your armor?¡± I asked. ¡°You can do that?¡± Guinevere asked then looked at the crystal on the table. ¡°Silly question of course you can, I¡¯m just surprised the Warlord has a crafting ability.¡± ¡°You have to have weapons in order to fight,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°It was the first ability I got in this world. I¡¯ve also used it in combat a few times although it¡¯s a bit slow to activate.¡± ¡°I¡¯d appreciate you fixing my armor,¡± Guinevere said. Taking out more pelts and leather from my storage pouch I brought out compressed ingots and got to work. When I was done, I stepped back from Guinevere, and she blushed. ¡°Did you have to make it on me?¡± she asked. Realizing I¡¯d been directly shaping the material over her chest and around her things I just shrugged. ¡°Had to make sure it fit right. Is it too tight anywhere?¡± I asked. Guinevere took several steps and bent to the side moving through a series of steps of some dance as she got a feel for new armor. I¡¯d had to scrap most of what she was wearing but the new stuff had been based on her old equipment. I¡¯d made a few executive decisions. She had a breastplate that perfectly hugged her skin, it was inspired by the aesthetic designs for female armor from my world, but it didn¡¯t do anything stupid like leave holes to expose her cleavage. I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯d have tried to kill me if I¡¯d done that. Her breastplate ended at her sternum and was replaced with chainmail after that hanging down to her thighs. Plate armored sabatons, greeves and thigh guards rose up covering her legs. Her arms were covered in plates as well and an articulating gorget rose up her neck. ¡°it¡¯s good,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Very good the stats are very impressive, but did you have to make it so¡­.¡± ¡°Sexy?¡± I asked leaning back against the wall and smiling. ¡°Yes,¡± Guinevere said flatly giving me a look. ¡°What can I say I¡¯m an artist and I like to make pretty things,¡± I said. ¡°Where I¡¯m from that¡¯s what female armor looks like.¡± ¡°Your wars must look very interesting,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯ll have to explain the concept of a video game to you sometime,¡± I said as I packed up the crystals I¡¯d been making. ¡°We ready to go?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you need to rest?¡± Guinevere asked. I paused surprised to find I wasn¡¯t tired in the slightest. ¡°No, I¡¯m good,¡± I said. Guinevere and I returned to the hole leading into the rushing underwater river. Giving eachother one last look we each took a deep breath and dove in. We had no idea if there was even an exit, but it was either this or trying mining for several years to get to the surface or starving. Grabbing Guinevere¡¯s hand, we swam with the current. She crashed into me as we shoulder checked the tunnel wall. Spinning around she grabbed tight and rolled cushioning our impact against the tunnel wall again. My head smacked into the wall, and I was glad I found my helmet. Finally, we burst into air¡­ right out into empty space over the edge of a waterfall. Plunging back down we both surfaced spluttering swimming for shore. Guinevere had higher physical stats that me, but she was also wearing a full suite of heavy armor and got stuck in the mud. I actually laughed as she was down to her thighs in the silt struggling to get out. ¡°A little help would be nice,¡± she said glaring at me. Still laughing I teleported next to her. I sank down into the mud too, but I grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her up. Holding her in my arms I jumped up and began to run. Just as I thought, the mud was close enough to water for my Heightened Speed to allow me run across it. The entire cavern was a muggy bog so I couldn¡¯t put her down as I rushed through the cavern. I came to the edge and froze. There it was the faint scent in the air, the trail we¡¯d been following for several weeks now. I couldn¡¯t be sure it was the same one, but it would lead to the same place. ¡°Um,¡± Guinevere said awkwardly. ¡°You can put me down now.¡± ¡°No,¡± I said distractedly. ¡°This will be faster.¡± ¡°What will be fasterrrr!¡± Guinevere said her voice cut off into a scream as I took off. Running several hundred miles per hour, we were blazing through the tunnels now no longer slowed down by four other people. Guinevere was screaming something at me, but I couldn¡¯t hear her with the how fast we were moving. Her arms were nearly squeezing the air out of my neck, I had to guess that in a world where the best form of transportation was a horse, she¡¯d never moved this fast before. I came to stop at an intersection and Guinevere pounded on my chest. ¡°Put me down!¡± she shouted. Setting her down I met her death glare with some amusement. ¡°You didn¡¯t enjoy the ride?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t!¡± she hissed. ¡°How is it even possible for someone your rank to move that fast?¡± I snapped my heels together the metal heel guards of my boots clicking against each other. ¡°My boots are the artifact I chose, they enhance my speed and let me double it for a time. If I could teleport when carrying someone we could have gone even faster.¡± Guinevere shuddered when I said that. ¡°Thank the gods you can¡¯t. Why did you feel the need to carry me?¡± ¡°How fast can you move?¡± I asked raising an eyebrow. ¡°Fast enough,¡± Guinevere insisted. ¡°Well not as fast as me,¡± I said. ¡°We don¡¯t have your party to worry about anymore so we¡¯re going to avoid the hordes of monsters by just outpacing them. So that leaves you with two options.¡± ¡°Which are?¡± Guinevere asked, crossing her arms. ¡°Do you prefer to a piggyback ride or a princess carry?¡± I asked. Guinevere was silent and tried to stare me down. She did not succeed. Her arms around my neck, her eyes tightly shut we were speeding down the tunnel again. I heard the roar of monsters ahead but didn¡¯t slow down. The hoard of monsters rushed towards me and I just plowed through them. Thirty seconds later we were on the other side running as their howls disappeared into the darkness behind us. ¡°See wasn¡¯t that better,¡± I asked laughing. ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said sulkily, her eyes opening as she looked at the blurring tunnel walls. ¡°Want to go even faster?¡± I asked. ¡°What? Wait no!¡± she screamed. Laughing my head off I doubled by Speed with my boots and the world around us became a blur. The trail was getting stronger and stronger, and we had made the progress we¡¯d made in a day before in just an hour. Guinevere¡¯s head was buried in my shoulder, her eyes squeezed shut. Eventually she opened her eyes and relaxed, there was only so long you could be scared of something before you got used to it. I came to a stop and set her down. Her legs trembled as if she¡¯d been on a ship and she sat down. ¡°Come on it wasn¡¯t that bad,¡± I said sitting down next to her and pulling out some rations. ¡°I¡¯d say it was the worst experience of my life, but I¡¯d be lying,¡± Guinevere said taking some of the jerky and dried biscuits I offered her. ¡°What¡¯s the worst?¡± I asked. Guinevere was silent for a long moment. ¡°When I saw my mother kill herself,¡± she said. That wiped the smile right off my face. She sat down and I sat few feet away as I tried to think of what to say. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that,¡± I said finally. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°It¡¯s my fathers, but from what you¡¯ve told me you know all about bad fathers.¡± Taking out a bottle of whiskey I¡¯d been given by Dragon Clan, I took a shot and passed it to her. ¡°Aint that the truth.¡± We were quite for many long minutes silently passing the bottle back and forth and eating our dinner. I found I still wasn¡¯t tired and stood up stretching. ¡°You ready to continue?¡± I asked her. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re ready?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°We drank about half the bottle.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll burn it off in a few minutes,¡± I said rolling my shoulders. ¡°And it¡¯s not like there are any cops to arrest us for drunk driving.¡± ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about most of the time,¡± Guinevere sighed and stood up. ¡°Just so you know if you go super-fast again¡­ I¡¯ll probably throw up on you.¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± I agreed slipping my arms under her hips and hoisting her up in princess carry. Let¡¯s get to it then. --- Arthur stroked the feathers of the royal griffin. His family boasted an aviary containing twelve of the regal beasts, while technically classified as monsters they were capable of having children unlike some other species and had been breed, raised and trained to protect Camelot since they were hatchling for over five-hundred years. The other noble families had aviaries of their own but none were as large or as magnificent as the royal families. The massive head of the griffon turned around and nuzzled against Arthur with its beak. ¡°I wish I could have taken you with me when we went to war, Pheonix,¡± Arthur said scratching its downy feathers under its beak. ¡°But bringing you out would have risked bringing other countries down on us.¡± The griffon, though intelligent, couldn¡¯t really understand him but that just made him a better confidant in Arthur¡¯s mind. The use of griffons or other aerial mounts was restricted in war by several agreements Camelot and the surrounding countries had come up with. Also, necromantic abilities, the use of spells and the breeding of war beasts were all restricted to keep wars from raging out of control and spreading to far. They all still kept their arieal mounts though, Merlin was an archmage who could create spells as powerful as any abilities and deep below Camelot were chained a variety of Warbeasts. Arthur would like to tell himself their were no necromancers in his father¡¯s employ but recent events had shaken that faith. Pheonix closed his golden eyes in pleasure as Arthur groomed his head plumage as he talked to him. ¡°I just want an enemy that I can really fight,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Someone who opposes me and who I can feel good about defeating. I want a nemesis.¡± Chapter 77: Power Politics Even with her armor, my Might attribute was high enough that she weighed almost nothing. My feet began pounding down the tunnel. The bare stone was slowly changing and the natural rock beneath my feet had been replaced by cobblestone a few miles back. I began to see signs of life. Fluorescent mushrooms, white-leafed plants, and vines grew over the walls and floor. We entered into a massive cavern filled with mushrooms the size of trees and small ones littering the ground like grass. Anything living here? I asked Voidra. Yes, but they¡¯re sleeping right now, Voidra said. Deciding to just let me be, I kept running. The flora continued to grow more varied and abundant the farther we traveled. Strains of blue and purple mushrooms began to mix in with the white variants we¡¯d been seeing. I saw several carnivorous vines devour some rats and kept well clear of them from then on; I¡¯d already had my time fighting plants and wasn¡¯t interested in doing it again. We stopped around midday, or at least what I thought was midday, for lunch. I brought out some rations for us and we started eating. Eventually, we¡¯d need to start hunting but we had enough rations to last us another month. ¡°I¡¯ve told you the worst day of my life when was yours?¡± Guinevere asked me. Biting down into the jerky in my hand I took my time to answer her as I thought the question over. It was hard to put my finger on the worst day of my life, there had been several days when it felt like my world was ending. The day my mother had abandoned me to stay with my father was one, but it was so long ago that even the pain of that wound had grown duller. ¡°I think it was when my first love cheated on me,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯d never been so in love and so sure of anyone before, but she found someone more attractive and popular and didn¡¯t even break up with me before she started sleeping with him.¡± ¡°Do you ever wonder why she did it?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Too many times,¡± I said. ¡°Ultimately, I concluded that she thought that she could fix me and she either didn¡¯t like the result or realized she couldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Do you think you needed fixing?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Does a volcano need fixing?¡± I asked. ¡°Or does it merely act in its nature?¡± ¡°Either way it¡¯s very destructive,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Is that how you see yourself as a volcano?¡± ¡°Sometimes,¡± I said softly. ¡°But mostly I try not to reflect on it at all.¡± We said nothing for a while longer. ¡°Do you wonder why your mother did it?¡± ¡°Every day,¡± Guinevere said, and she wasn¡¯t able to hold the grief back from her usually stoic voice. ¡°Somedays I blame my father, other days I blame her. She left us and I had to stand up to my father to keep my brother and sister safe.¡± ¡°What did he do?¡± I asked, not sure if I even wanted to know. ¡°He forged me into the weapon he wanted me to be,¡± Guinevere said, her voice turning savage. ¡°And I let him, to keep them safe.¡± ¡°Was it worth it?¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± Guinevere admitted sagging. ¡°Now they worship him, they don¡¯t even remember our mother or what father was like.¡± Taking out the bottle of whiskey again I passed it to Guinevere, and she took a long swig from the bottle. I took a swig as well and we sat in silence neither feeling the need to break it again. After another ten minutes, we were done eating. We stood up, Guinevere sighed but held out her arms. Picking her up I started running again. We had to charge through two other hordes of monsters in the span of five hours. We weren¡¯t slowed by the need to fight them this time and kept going. I was able to keep going for the next twelve hours, Guinevere eventually lost her fear of the breakneck pace and fell asleep the way you would on a boring car ride. Eventually, of course, I did get tired. Stopping to rest we set up a camp in a natural cave that was fifty feet off the ground in one of the massive caverns. Despite how long we¡¯d been running I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d gone that far. Sure, I¡¯d traveled several leagues, but the tunnels doubled back on each other going up and down and I was fairly certain we were still under the Ancient Forest. We didn¡¯t say much to each other, neither having anything we wanted to talk about right now. We ate our food and leaned against the cave walls and drifted off into a light sleep. We¡¯d only been asleep for around four to six hours, but I felt rejuvenated. We ate a light breakfast and hit the road again. The trail we were following was growing stronger and stronger. When I first found it, the trail had been like a frayed thread, now it was a thick rope. The air was becoming more humid, and we encountered another underground river that flowed down the tunnel. Even if it hadn¡¯t been faster, I would have had to carry Guinevere here as we ran across the surface. We arrived at white marble steps. I slowed and set Guinevere down as she opened her eyes and stretched. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked looking around. ¡°I think we¡¯ve arrived,¡± I said looking up at a massive white tower that rose in the center of this cavern. It rose from the center of this island, the river flowing all around it. ¡°This is the source of the block?¡± Guinevere asked looking up at the tower. ¡°It does look like a magi fortress,¡± she agreed. ¡°Who were these magi anyway?¡± I asked. ¡°I get they were some order of people fighting against the gods but why?¡± ¡°Who are,¡± Guinevere corrected. ¡°It¡¯s not widely known but the order still exists, though they are much less powerful now. They operate in cells over the world, but they don¡¯t have the power to threaten any of the major kingdoms.¡± ¡°Ok, so they¡¯re terrorists,¡± I said. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°What¡¯s a terrorist?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Someone who uses terror to promote a political or religious idea,¡± I said. ¡°We got them in my world too.¡± ¡°I thought your world didn¡¯t have magic or gods,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Not as far as I know,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Yes, by your definition the magi are terrorists, their agenda is to create a new system that would allow all people to gain power not just those skilled in battle or born with the gift,¡± she said. I let out a snort of derision. ¡°That would never work, the system allows anyone to gain power now, a new system would still have those without power and those with it. The problem is people, not the system.¡± ¡°You seem pretty sure of that,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen enough of your world and enough of mine to tell you that people behave the same on both,¡± I said. ¡°it¡¯s the classic principals of Realpolitik.¡± ¡°Real politics?¡± Guinevere asked as the word was translated into her language. ¡°What¡¯s that.¡± ¡°It means how people actually behave not how we would want them to,¡± I said. ¡°When people are in power, they don¡¯t behave on principles of morality or honor they act on the principles of Realpolitik. Take power, keep power, and deny it to others.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a very tyrannical view of the world,¡± Guinevere pointed out. ¡°It¡¯s a realistic view,¡± I retorted. ¡°Doesn¡¯t your family own a bunch of dungeons and regulate who gets to use them?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the main reason for the conflict between my father and uncle,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Right, the reason why you have to marry your cousin when you get back,¡± I said grinning as I found another excuse to bring that up. Guinevere gave me a look. ¡°Again?¡± she asked drily. ¡°I¡¯ll stop when it stops being funny,¡± I said. ¡°This is my life, not a joke,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°My namesake was the first Queen of Camelot. It is my duty to ensure the security of my people.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not,¡± I said. ¡°Maybe for you personally, but if that were the genuine duty of those in power then you wouldn¡¯t need to marry your cousin because your dad and uncle wouldn¡¯t go to war in the first place. Is that really what you want to do?¡± I asked. ¡°Finish this and just return home, waltz into the palace, and marry your cousin.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how it works,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°The Queen of Camelot has to be won in the Dragon Tournament. It symbolizes how the first Arthur rescued Guinevere from a dragon.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± I said. ¡°Just when I thought you people couldn¡¯t get more barbaric you start using women as game prizes.¡± Guinevere glared at me again. ¡°I¡¯m not a game prize.¡± ¡°You sure about that?¡± I asked. ¡°The Dragon Tourney is just an opportunity for nobles to show off their skills and win favor from the crown they aren¡¯t there to actually win,¡± Guinevere explained. ¡°Great,¡± I said. ¡°So, you¡¯re a prize in a rigged game. What would happen if someone else did win though?¡± ¡°Theoretically,¡± Guinevere said with a sigh. ¡°I would be required to marry them. That is unlikely though Arthur is the Duelist, beating him in a one-on-one fight is practically impossible. Now can we move on and break this seal?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I agreed. We walked up the steps to the tower coming to a pedestal with a plaque and two handprints on it. I ignored it and tried to keep going up the steps but ran face-first into an invisible barrier. It didn¡¯t do any damage, but I couldn¡¯t damage it. It was spongy and just flexed inwards before springing back into shape forcing back my fist giving me only a tingling feeling. ¡°Some stupid barrier,¡± I said. I tried teleporting past it but I just disappeared then bounced off the barrier and rolled down the steps. ¡°There has to be a way in,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°A barrier without an entrance is unstable and wouldn¡¯t have lasted this long. I think this pedestal might be the lock but I can¡¯t read what it says.¡± Walking over to her I looked at the pedestal and read the message written in glyphs. ¡°To break the seal requires two hands bound by heart, trust, and love.¡± ¡°What¡¯s it say?¡± Guinevere asked. Turning from the glyphs to her I met her eyes then looked back to the sign. ¡°It says we¡¯re going to die down here,¡± I said dryly. --- Lady Kira had returned to Camelot malnourished and severely wounded and with grave news. Lady Guinevere was dead, killed by the Warlord although she had managed to deal a lethal wound to him before she fell killing him as well. Kira had fled before the Warlords surviving minions could slay her and managed to flee through a portal before it closed. She had returned to her family¡¯s estate wounded in both body and soul from her ordeals. Arthur sat on the steps of the palace after reading the report given to him describing how she had fallen. He wiped some tears away and composed himself, he was not a stranger to death even if was someone as close to him as Guinevere. Rising to his feet he composed his features and entered the king¡¯s hall. Going to the council chambers he took his seat at the Round Table next to his father. Both Kay and Lancelot were seated serving as representatives for their fathers. Arthur¡¯s uncle, Merlin sat at the opposite side of the table from the King, the two staring at each other. ¡°We need access to your dungeons,¡± King Arthur said. ¡°And the negotiated agreement for your access is now null,¡± Merlin said. ¡°My daughter is dead, her betrothal to your son no longer is valid.¡± ¡°You have another daughter,¡± King Arthur said. ¡°You want me to betroth my only other daughter to your son right after my firstborn¡¯s death?¡± Merlin asked, his voice rising in anger. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that pretend anger,¡± King Arthur said his voice not rising to match his brothers. ¡°What do you want Merlin?¡± There was silence in the council room, Kay and Lancelot looking uncomfortable and like they wanted to leave. ¡°May I speak to you in private father?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°Not now,¡± his father said distractedly. ¡°Yes now,¡± Arthur insisted. King Arthur frowned and turned to his son. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer to speak to you in private first,¡± Arthur said. Sighing, the king pushed back his chair and he and Arthur left into an adjoining chamber. King Arthur turned and looked at his son. ¡°What is it?¡± he asked. ¡°I don¡¯t want to marry Dindraine,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Our wants don¡¯t matter here,¡± King Arthur said dismissively. ¡°You need to do what is best for the kingdom.¡± ¡°I love Lady Lionor,¡± Arthur said. ¡°These are childish feelings,¡± his father said. ¡°They will pass with time.¡± ¡°She is pregnant with my child,¡± Arthur said staring his father in the eyes. King Arthur sighed and sat back. ¡°That makes it more complicated, but bastards are not unheard of, we¡¯ll send her out of sight for the pregnancy then¡­¡± ¡°No,¡± Arthur interjected. ¡°I¡¯m not going to treat her like that.¡± ¡°Son, you have to do what is best for the kingdom¡­¡± King Arthur began. ¡°Is it what¡¯s best for the Kingdom or what¡¯s best for you?¡± Arthur challenged. ¡°Was it best for the kingdom when I slaughtered men in Dracon, or did it just grow our power?¡± ¡°Son¡­¡± King Arthur began looking confused. ¡°I am the Champion of Viviane the goddess of Duelists and Honor, there is no honor in abandoning the mother of my child,¡± Arthur said. ¡°There is also no honor in breaking your vows to your betrothed and siring a bastard out of wedlock,¡± the king snapped back. ¡°I¡¯ve made many mistakes,¡± Arthur said. ¡°But I¡¯m trying to stop making them now.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t,¡± King Arthur said stepping forward and poking his finger into his son¡¯s chest. ¡°Do you know what will happen if we can¡¯t get access to those dungeons?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Arthur retorted. ¡°Wrong!¡± King Arthur said slapping Arthur across the face and startling him. ¡°My brother cares nothing for the welfare of this kingdom, only his own personal power. Do you want to know why we went to war with Dracon? It was to create a buffer zone between us and the other powers.¡± Arthur rubbed his cheek where the slap had struck him. ¡°So, all that talk about the tyranny of the Dracon nobility was just a lie.¡± ¡°When you¡¯re King you don¡¯t always get to do the right thing,¡± the King said. ¡°Sometimes you have to do what is necessary. Already barbarians have poured out of those woods and attacked border towns in both the lands that we had before and after the war.¡± ¡°When did this happen?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°I received a report this morning,¡± King Arthur said. ¡°A town next to the Cursed Forest was overrun by a band of humans, goblins, and myrmidon a few days ago.¡± King Arthur took his son¡¯s face in both hands and stared into his eyes. ¡°We need those dungeons to train and equip our knights. So, you will do your duty as a prince and marry whomever you have to.¡± Arthur sagged in defeat. ¡°Yes, father.¡± Chapter 78: A Trial of the Soul ¡°What¡¯s it really say?¡± Guinevere asked me. ¡°To break the seal requires two hands bound by heart, trust and love,¡± I read aloud. ¡°What kind of lock is that?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°How is that designed to keep out their enemies?¡± ¡°I think the lock is a statement,¡± I said. ¡°The Champions of the gods aren¡¯t going to be the type of people to trust anyone.¡± ¡°What about normal people?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°You think normal people would survive down here?¡± I asked her. ¡°You¡¯ve seen the waves of monsters we¡¯ve been fighting.¡± ¡°What about me?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I¡¯m not a champion.¡± ¡°And I still don¡¯t get why you¡¯re not,¡± I said. ¡°But even so what are the odds two people fulfilling those requirements would make it through this maze and make it here?¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s not the worst lock in the world,¡± Guinevere admitted. ¡°How do you plan on getting past it?¡± ¡°Well, I think its safe to say we don¡¯t fulfill the requirements,¡± I said. ¡°But we should probably try opening it anyway.¡± We looked down at the handprints and both removed our gauntlets and placed our hands onto the grooves on the pedestal. A buzzing feeling went through my arm then my vision went dark as my body was locked in place. -- I found myself watching myself. Not the giant of man I was now but the small afraid child I had been. I was like a ghost observing myself in third person and I could feel through not see myself or Guinevere beside me. My mother held a washcloth filled with ice against my face. It stung and I felt more tears gather at the corner of my eyes, but I did my best to hold them back. My father walked into the kitchen and looked me over. ¡°What happened to him?¡± he asked. ¡°Some boys have been bullying him at school,¡± mom told him. ¡°I¡¯ve talked to the school board, but they say they can¡¯t do anything about it; its just Mordred¡¯s word against theirs. Maybe you can talk to the principal and see if he can have a talk with those boys.¡± ¡°Mordred needs to man up,¡± my father said. ¡°You need to learn to hit back and hit harder then them. They only pick on you because your weak.¡± I looked down. ¡°Sorry dad.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry be stronger,¡± my father said then left the room. My mom wiped some blood leaking from my nose. ¡°It¡¯s alright Mordred,¡± she said. ¡°Your father just wants you to be able to take care of yourself. You just need to stand up to those bullies and they¡¯ll leave you alone.¡± ¡°I tried mom,¡± I said my voice quavering. ¡°I¡¯m just too little.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to be physically strong,¡± mom said tapping my chest. ¡°You have all the strength you need in here.¡± Another memory began to play but I couldn¡¯t take it anymore and I especially couldn¡¯t handle it with Guinevere right there observing my most private and worst moments in my life. I yanked my hand back breaking free of my grip on the pedestal. Guinevere staggered backwards as well expelled from the dream state the moment, I pulled free. Loosening my jaw I stopped clenching my teeth together. My eyes opened and I sat up loosening muscles that had stiffened with rage. A memory that might have given someone else a fond reminder of their mother only caused me to remember how she had abandoned me in the end when I¡¯d needed her the most. ¡°Never mind,¡± I growled the anger from observing my past weakness still fresh in my mind. ¡°that¡¯s the best damn lock in the world.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Because you have to be willing to show your deepest most private moments with another person,¡± I said. ¡°The reason you have to trust the other person isn¡¯t because that¡¯s what opens the barrier but because that¡¯s the only way, you¡¯ll be able to get past that.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad,¡± Guinevere insisted. ¡°You trust me enough to let me watch every bad memory you¡¯ve ever had?¡± I asked. Guinevere was silent when I asked her that. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought,¡± I said sitting on the white marble steps. ¡°So, we need to find another way out of here.¡± ¡°Your going to just give up like that?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I¡¯m the Warlord,¡± I said. ¡°Your destined enemy, you think we¡¯re going to be able to open that together?¡± Again, Guinevere was silent. ¡°I¡¯m going to look for another tunnel we¡¯ll have to find somewhere with system access or a tunnel to the surface,¡± I said. Jumping off the stairs I hit the water and started running across its surface. I hit another barrier headfirst and bounced off sinking into the water. The current carried me along and I slid along the barrier underwater before I surfaced spluttering. Teleporting up I began running along this second barrier that had popped up my fingers tracing along it. The new barrier started about a hundred feet from shore and went around the entire island. I began trying to teleport over, under, swimming down and digging under it but to no avail. I trudged back to Guinevere who¡¯d been watching me the entire time. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°So, we¡¯re completely trapped?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes,¡± I said dejectedly. ¡°It probably popped up when we touched the pedestal.¡± ¡°Fucking magi,¡± Guinevere swore. ¡°So, what now?¡± ¡°Well,¡± I said blowing out a breath. ¡°I guess we¡¯re going to have to learn to trust each other.¡± We both walked up to the pedestal again and placed our hands into the sensors. Again, my vision went dark as I was pulled into the memories. -- The same memory played out again, but its emotional impact was not lessened. In fact, every emotion I had felt magnified in this place. The scene played out and another memory began to play out. A punch struck me across the face, and I fell back into the grass. I looked up at the face of my bully, Chase was a year older than me and had nearly forty pounds and two feet of height on my small scrawny frame. I didn¡¯t have my father¡¯s tall athleticism yet, instead having my mother¡¯s small frame. ¡°Get up Mordred,¡± Chase said. ¡°You talk big when you¡¯re at school.¡± I didn¡¯t move. ¡°Come on,¡± Chase goaded me. Screaming, I jumped up and threw myself at him. I barely got a single hit before I was lying in the grass kicks pummeling my ribs. My mother pressed ice up against the bruises on my face and ribs. ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± she snarled. ¡°They¡¯ve gone to far this time the school board has to do something.¡± My father stepped into the room and looked me over. ¡°He didn¡¯t have to go the emergency room, did he?¡± he asked. ¡°No,¡± my mother said. ¡°But look at what they did to him Arthur!¡± ¡°I fought back,¡± I told my father proudly. ¡°Just like you told me too dad.¡± My father looked at me coldly. He didn¡¯t even say anything, just turned his back on me and walked away. Another memory began but I yanked my hand back from the pedestal unwilling to continue. Guinevere was pushed out from the dreamscape as well. I sat down on the steps, my hands clenching and unclenching as I worked the rage out of my system. ¡°I can see why you hate your father,¡± Guinevere said tentatively. ¡°It must be painful having to watch that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not him I hate when I relive those memories,¡± I said my teeth clenched the words barely getting passed. ¡°It¡¯s me. I hate myself for ever wanting to try and prove myself to him; and I hate that eventually I became exactly who he wanted me to be.¡± Guinevere didn¡¯t have anything to say to that. She sat down on the steps as well as I tried cooling off. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if we¡¯re going to be able to get through this,¡± Guinevere said. I looked around at the cavern. ¡°You want to spend the rest of your life of this island down here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if we have a choice,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯ve barely looked into your past and you haven¡¯t even glimpsed mine. We¡¯re incredibly different people with very different goals and perspectives. How are we supposed to be able to trust each other.¡± Sighing I got to my feet. ¡°Lets give it at least another shot.¡± We both placed our palms into position our vision going dark as our minds were sucked into the dreamscape. -- Steeling against the memories we relived my past again. It wasn¡¯t just the pain of watching it but I also experienced the memories of my childhood self in time as I watched them feeling everything both emotional and physical that he went through. The visions of the past ended, and a new memory came but this time it wasn¡¯t mine. A storm raged outside the castle. Guinevere looked out one of the windows to see her mother drenched to the bone going up one of the ramparts. Getting up she rushed to the window pressing her face against the glass. Lightning flashed outside and she saw her mother hurrying up the winding outer steps. Guinevere rushed to the hall and pushed open the door to outside. The wind threw a torrent of water into her face soaking her dress instantly. Ignoring the downpour Guinevere rushed after her mother. ¡°Mommy!¡± Guinevere called out the wind and thunder stealing her voice away. Nearly slipping and falling back down she climbed the slick stone steps of the castle following her mother¡¯s retreating figure. ¡°Mommy!¡± Guinevere called out again desperately. ¡°Come back!¡± For a moment, it seemed like she stopped but then she kept running. Hurrying after her Guinevere activated her ability she¡¯d been born with Grace of the Fey. She didn¡¯t have much mana, but her feet stopped slipping and she gained a little ground. ¡°Mommy!¡± she called out again. She reached the top of the tower and looked at her mother standing on the edge of the ramparts overlooking the raging waters below the castle. ¡°Mother!¡± Guinevere shouted in fear and panic. Her head spun around, and she stared at Guinevere, her eyes wide and sleepless. Her body was rail thin and her skin pale as snow. ¡°Go back to your room, Guinevere,¡± Elain said shakily, her body shivering from the cold. ¡°Where have you been mother?¡± Guinevere begged, stepping forward, reaching out a hand. ¡°I need you mommy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Guinevere,¡± Elain said tears running down her face. ¡°But I can¡¯t go back to him.¡± ¡°Why mommy?¡± Guinevere asked, taking another step forward. ¡°I love you,¡± Elain said and stepped forward. Guinevere screamed, jumping forward and watching as her mother¡¯s dress disappeared into the churning waters below. Her scream kept going until she ran out of air then she wept the rain drenching her to the bone her tears whisked away to join the flood waters below and her mother¡¯s body somewhere in those dark waters. I was pushed out of the dreamscape as Guinevere yanked back her hand tears streaming down her face. Like my own memories I had felt the emotions of child Guinevere as if they were my own. I reached out to touch Guinevere but stopped myself pulling back. She sagged and leaned her back against the pedestal. ¡°I can¡¯t show you more,¡± she said. ¡°I can¡¯t go through that again.¡± I didn¡¯t naysay her just nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll set up camp.¡± --- Dindraine curtsied as she stood before the king. Merlin stood behind her his hands holding the new staff. King Arthur eyed his brother warily, that staff created for the first Merlin was a tier IV artifact and in the hands of the wrong person could level the entire country. ¡°You agree to the terms set?¡± King Arthur asked her. ¡°Yes, my king,¡± Dindraine said demurely. ¡°You are fine with the amendments to the betrothal contract?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°Of course,¡± Dindraine said without hesitation. ¡°I understand if you have¡­. Other needs that you need to be filled.¡± She said delicately. Merlin read the contract and raised his eyebrow. ¡°What is this line about?¡± he asked pointing it out. ¡°In the event that Guinevere somehow did survive and returns this arrangement will be nulled and she will be accepted to take her place,¡± King Arthur said. ¡°Guinevere is dead,¡± Merlin said stiffly. ¡°We have only the word of Lady Kira for that,¡± King Arthur said. ¡°And her mental state was not the best when she was questioned, it is unlikely that she survived. However, if she did, your eldest daughter is required to fulfill her oath to the crown.¡± ¡°She won¡¯t agree to the changes made father,¡± Arthur said. ¡°My daughters will do what they must,¡± Merlin responded bowing his head to King Arthur. ¡°Dindraine is still too young to marry,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I¡¯ll be sixteen this summer,¡± Dindraine said. ¡°Then I shall send out word for the Dragon Tourney to be held starting Midsummer day,¡± King Arthur said. ¡°I shall see you then brother.¡± Chapter 79: You Learn who Someone is in a Fight A day passed on that island without us speaking to each other again. We found a stretch of flat ground and set up a camp there. We ate and sat around a small fire but didn¡¯t even look at each other. We could see the pedestal from where we were. It was a physical reminder of the gap between us and the weight of our past. There was only so much you could do on the island. I waded out into the river catching some blind white trout and harvested some edible mushrooms that I tested. Even if we ran out of rations we at least wouldn¡¯t starve or dye of thirst here. I pulled out my grimoire and went to work on the trying to design a new enchantment based on my lighting burst sword. The grimoire was able to correct some of my work, but it was still all theoretical and would be until I actually carved them onto something and tested them out. Guinevere began growing just as restless as me. Enchanting was all well and good, but I was first and foremost a fighter and any crafting I did was just to support that. She started hauling rocks over and constructing a hut using grey river clay to form a cement between them. Three days passed like that. I tried out enchantments they didn¡¯t work and flung them out passed the barrier. Interestingly the objects passed through harmlessly but as soon as they exploded the barrier blocked all the micro pieces of mana infused shrapnel. Guinevere finished the hut in our camp and moved our few supplies inside. There were three rooms, a main common area and two bedrooms. I didn¡¯t bother to tell her I didn¡¯t need the room since my immunity to exposure meant I could sleep anywhere just fine. I sensed she just needed something to do and didn¡¯t want to take that away from her. I brought out some furnishings I had in my storage space. A bunch of the junk the goblins had now served a purpose. I even brought out the massive mirror I¡¯d stored away. My physical appearance was something to behold. My hair was long going six inches passed my shoulders and my beard made me look like an old testament prophet. Taking out a razor-sharp knife that the hardness to be able to cut my skin I shaved off my weeks of growth. Giving myself a haircut was harder but eventually I just hacked if off close the shoulders and tied it back with a length of cord. Guinevere was the one who broke our silence five days into our imprisonment. ¡°I have an idea,¡± she said. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked looking up from the crystal I was busy engraving my grimoire open before me with my sketches, failed designs and notes covering its pages. ¡°I¡¯ve never been able to trust anyone since my mother died,¡± Guinevere said taking a seat beside me as well. ¡°Except for one person.¡± ¡°Who were they?¡± I asked. ¡°Master Sazu,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°He was an easterner my father hired to train me; he was the man I looked up to and was more of a father than to me than my real one. He taught me how to fight the way I do but he also told me something else.¡± Not saying anything I waited for her to go on. ¡°You learn who someone is in a fight,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°We¡¯ve fought beside each other for weeks,¡± I pointed out. ¡°But we haven¡¯t fought each other,¡± Guinevere pointed out. ¡°That one time doesn¡¯t count either I had my party with me then.¡± ¡°So¡­ your solution to us not trusting eachother¡­.¡± I said slowly. ¡°Is for us to try and kill eachother?¡± ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said glaring at me. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you fight its obvious you have no real training, I¡¯m going to start training you how to fight with a sword for real.¡± My first instinct was to be offended when she told me I didn¡¯t know how to fight but I pushed down my pride. She was correct and I had enough humility to push aside my ego and admit that. ¡°I don¡¯t really see how this is going to help us learn to trust each other,¡± I said. ¡°But all right. At the very least it will give us something else to do to pass the time.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll train for four hours every morning, and another four every evening after dinner,¡± Guinevere said. She set down two identical swords that I noticed were very sharp. ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried we might accidentally kill eachother with these?¡± I asked. ¡°We won¡¯t be using abilities,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Even if we could, this is a test of our skill with the blade. You heal from pretty much anything from what I¡¯ve see, and you¡¯ll have to hit me first.¡± The challenge in her words sparked a fire in me and I smiled a predatory grin. ¡°You¡¯re on then.¡± -- Turn off all my passive abilities, I told Voidra. Are you sure? Voidra asked. I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s already going to kick your ass and she has no way of turning off her own passive abilities. I¡¯m sure, I responded. If I can learn to fight effectively without my passives, I¡¯ll be even better during a real fight. I suddenly felt blind as my Foresight was turned off and all I could see was the here and now. Guinevere stood before me on the grey sand of the beach on the opposite side of the tower from the pedestal. Guinevere raised her saber in front of her face then slashed it down in a fencer¡¯s salute. ¡°Begin,¡± she said. I lunged forward with my sword, and she parried and slashed her sword across my back my cloak kept the sword from opening up my spine, but it still hit with the force of a car crash. Growling, I cut up taking my sword in both hands and bringing it down in heavy two-handed attack. Guinevere blocked my attack, my sword striking and sliding off to the left as she angled my force away using the minimum effort required to rebut my attack. ¡°Your anger clouds your judgement,¡± she criticized me. Snarling I redoubled my efforts my attack slashing and stabbing at her from a dozen angles and with the force of truck behind each strike. Guinevere didn¡¯t even move from her spot bending around my attack, blocking, parrying and reposting a score of cuts appearing all over my body the ice creeping through my veins as my blood dripped to the floor. ¡°You¡¯re not going to learn anything if you don¡¯t take things seriously,¡± Guinevere said frowning. ¡°I¡¯m taking this perfectly seriously,¡± I responded spitting out a wad of saliva. ¡°Then stop letting your emotions rule you,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°My emotions make me stronger,¡± I said slicing at her legs. Her sword dipped down catching my blade and she flicked up the tip of her sword throwing my attack to the side. ¡°Not from what I¡¯m seeing,¡± she retorted. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I stood and slashed down at her shoulder. She stabbed forward her strike powerful but made halfheartedly, and I deliberately didn¡¯t dodge letting it plunge through my left heart. My skin resisted it but the sword was strong enough and had enough power behind it to break through. Guinevere stared in horror having clearly expected me to block it. I stepped forward plunging the sword deeper into me and met her eyes letting her see there was no pain in my expression. ¡°I can use my rage to turn off all the pain receptors in my body,¡± I explained. ¡°I assure you that my emotions aren¡¯t a problem. Stop going easy on me and train me.¡± Guinevere pulled her sword out, blood splattered out across the sand, but the wound quickly closed. ¡°All right,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But before I go all out we need to go over the basics.¡± She spent the next few hours of our training going over how I had to hold my sword. It was surprisingly complicated; you didn¡¯t just grip it like a hammer but instead let it rock in your hands using your pinky and index fingers than switching to your pointer and index when you slashed forwards. When were done I had a headache from the amount of information I had just taken in, luckily my advanced attributes wouldn¡¯t let me ever forget what I¡¯d been told. I set Mab out on a stone block I¡¯d been using as my work bench. The grimoire automatically opened itself to the latest page an I looked over my notes. I wasn¡¯t worried about anyone stealing my research anything that wasn¡¯t written in magical glyphs was written in English so no one from this world would be able to translate it unless they could find someone else from my world. Bringing out my stylus and set of chisels I grabbed a crystal from the crate I left sitting on the stone block. I spent the rest of the day drawing new designs and creating prototypes. While I knew this was possible the spell, I was trying to turn it into an enchantment was one of the most complicated I had ever seen. Granted that number was small, but still, spells were uncommon for anyone to use since those who could would just use abilities instead. The day past quickly and I¡¯d only made three prototypes. My stomach rumbled and I bound Mab back to my belt the heavy tome thudding against the armored skirt with each step I made. I sat down by our campfire and took a trout Guinevere handed me. She chopped up some mushrooms and adding them to the frying pan as I added fillets into the pan. After eating we stood and returned to our training area. Next Guinevere started teaching me of all things¡­how to dance. ¡°I thought we were supposed to be learning how to fight with a sword,¡± I said. ¡°Master Sazu always told me that the reason he was such a great duelist was because he was a great dancer,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Dancing is all about moving with and reacting to your partner without having to say a thing. It¡¯ll teach you balance and how to step without tripping over yourself.¡± After three hours I had to admit she might be onto something she was all grace and smooth movements while I was a bull in china shop. I was starting to get used to the movements and steps of the dance she was teaching me. We didn¡¯t touch a sword once during the training session, but I felt slightly nimbler when we were done. ¡°Do you have any training with a sword?¡± Guinevere asked me. ¡°Not really,¡± I admitted. ¡°I was told that I lacked the focus and grace for the sword and didn¡¯t have the time to properly learn it so I was just taught with maces and spears. I did get that title you offered as quest reward, but it doesn¡¯t seem to have helped much.¡± ¡°Titles are no substitute for real skill and training,¡± Guinevere said dismissively. ¡°Those other weapons are usually just as if not more effective than a sword,¡± Guinevere admitted. ¡°But you¡¯ll find that a skilled swordsman will beat a skilled spearman more often in my experience abilities just working better with swords than most other weapons. As for lacking focus and grace, I have to disagree with the first I think you can be more focused than anyone if your motivated and you can learn to be graceful.¡± ¡°What are we going to do have me fight while balancing a book on my head?¡± I asked. That taught me not to make jokes about training with Guinevere since she thought that was great idea. We spent the next few days doing just that as she ran me through training while multitasking. I had to balance a book, my grimoire, since it was the only book we had, on my head while going through the steps of a dance and moving my sword through the moves she¡¯d taught me. Guinevere was an unconventional if flexible teacher. She took advantage of the terrain having me fight waist deep in the water while strapped with my weighted armor when she learned I had that. I had to fight up the steps against Guinevere all while dragging a boulder chained to my back. I don¡¯t know if Guinevere was learning about me through fighting me, but I was learning a lot about her by having her as teacher. She was uncompromising and unflinching when it came to training. I didn¡¯t ask for breaks or quarter, and she never offered to be as merciless as any enemy would be against me. My days were never the same, Guinevere was always varying up how she taught me and the exercises she put me through and my attempts at creating an enchantment were growing more varied and creative as my experiments taught me more and more about creating enchantments. Exploring the island also provided me with more insight into enchantments. I tried examining the pedestal to see if I could destroy it. No dice on that one, but I did learn many new runes and glyphs. Writing them down in Mab they disappeared from the page, then my grimoire flapped its page and I found it had organized all the words I¡¯d learned and organized them into a dictionary. Interestingly the dictionary was organized from A to Z. ¡°How is your alphabet organized?¡± I asked Guinevere one night. ¡°What?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Your alphabet,¡± I said. ¡°In my language from my world we have twenty-six letters, how many are in yours.¡± ¡°Twenty-six,¡± Guinevere said confused at this line of questioning. ¡°What are they called?¡± I asked. ¡°A, B, C...¡± Guinevere began. ¡°Wait,¡± I said holding up my hand. ¡°We have the same alphabet.¡± ¡°I guess,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Our alphabet and writing system was established by Arthur the first.¡± ¡°Was this first Arthur from Earth?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Did he name all his companion¡¯s stuff like Lancelot, Percival, Kay, Merlin, Gawain and Galahad?¡± I asked. Guinevere¡¯s mouth dropped open. ¡°Wait did you already read our history or something I thought you¡¯ve only been in our world for a few months.¡± ¡°Arthur is a mythical figure in my world,¡± I explained to her. ¡°Did he choose a sword as his Artifact and name it Excalibur?¡± ¡°Your saying your world has stories of the first Arthur?¡± Guinevere asked excitedly. ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m saying your first Arthur based everything he did off a story from my world.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°And how do you know so much about it?¡± ¡°I took the name of one of its characters as my name too,¡± I explained. Guinevere¡¯s brow furrowed in thought. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard it before.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not surprised he left it out,¡± I said. ¡°Mordred was the bastard son of Arthur; he was also the one who killed him in the story.¡± ¡°Why would your name yourself after someone like that?¡± Guinevere asked with horror. ¡°Because I¡¯ve always admired him for managing to finish the job against his father,¡± I said. ¡°And because the villain is the role I was set in on this world. Case in point you tried to kill me before you even met me and before I even interacted with the outside world.¡± ¡°I agreed to not try and kill you,¡± Guinevere said rolling her eyes. ¡°No,¡± I corrected her. ¡°You said you¡¯d wait until I inevitably did something that would lead you to attack me. You never said you weren¡¯t going to try again.¡± Our conversation ended after that. --- Jeriah charged the city gates. Tobias beside him their brothers forming a phalanx directly behind them. Tobias and Jeriah hit the gate with their shoulders. Their combined weight and strength couldn¡¯t break the enchanted steel bound doors, but they could rip them off their hinges. The dust settled a minute after the gates fell but the slaughter at the gates was already over. Goblins poured through the streets on the backs of their razor raptors. Myrmidons battled on the walls well the former bandits under Jeriah¡¯s control rounded up anyone who surrendered. Three hours after they had arrived the third city they had come to had fallen. The forces of Camelot were too scattered, and the Dracon natives felt no loyalty to fight beside them. Jeriah sat on the city ruler¡¯s throne. Those who had surrendered stood before him nervously. ¡°Who are you?¡± one man brave enough to step forward asked. ¡°I am Jeriah Dragonbreaker,¡± the man said. There was some murmuring from the populace when they heard that name. The Dragonbreakers were an infamous family tales of their ancestors¡¯ exploits and of the fabled bandit king told throughout the country. ¡°Do not be afraid,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°We have not come here to ravage or to steal. We are liberators! The dogs of Camelot have displayed the land of my ancestors for long enough and I cannot abide to see it any longer.¡± The population of the city cheered at his words, but the surrendered soldiers looked at each other nervously. Jeriah turned to survey them. ¡°I give you one choice now, surrender the pointer finger of your dominated hand so you cannot wield a sword again and return home or die here and now,¡± he said his voice devoid of any compassion. No one chose death. One by one the pointer finger of each other right hands was removed. Men wept in pain and regret, but they were sent packing without their weapons to march back to Camelot. ¡°Remind me why we didn¡¯t just kill them?¡± Tobias asked. ¡°If you back an animal into a corner it will fight even more viciously to the death,¡± Jeriah explained. ¡°By providing our enemies with a chance to live their will be more and more that surrender or desert rather than face what happens to those who keep fighting.¡± They turned to the walls where the bodies of those who had stood hung crows and ravens perched on them pecking at their dead eyes. Chapter 80: Blood Pact Guinevere and I kept up our routine for the next week. I was nowhere closer to being able to beat her in a swordfight but I did have much better understanding of how to use a sword. Our actual goal of being able to trust each other was still just as much out of reach as me being able to beat Guinevere in a fight with no abilities. Side stepping Guinevere she whirled around me. Our feet stepped in and out of an unheard rhythm as we invaded each other¡¯s space and retreated. Her blade slashed out at my neck, and I brought up my sword at an angle. While I could block learning to use angles and momentum like Guinevere did, so I used as little force as possible was what I had trouble with. Guinevere slid one of her legs between mine and hooked my leg with hers yanking it back and sending me onto my back. Her sword was at my throat, slapping the ground she held her hand out and pulled me to my feet. ¡°Better,¡± she said. ¡°Doesn¡¯t feel like it,¡± I said my heavy training armor clanging together. ¡°You¡¯ve been making tremendous progress from where you started out from,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°If you can keep this up you might be able to make it to my skill level in as little as a year, trust me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the problem,¡± I said with a sigh sitting on a boulder at the edge of the beach. ¡°We still don¡¯t trust each other.¡± ¡°Trust takes time,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°This might take more than time,¡± I said. ¡°Think about it, we¡¯re trying to trust each other enough to get out of here but as soon as we do we go back to being on opposite sides.¡± ¡°So what?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°We just give up and live here forever?¡± ¡°We may not have a choice,¡± I said. ¡°Your training me how to be a better fighter, do you trust me not to use that against you when we¡¯re on opposite sides of a battle.¡± Guinevere was silent but finally spoke up again. ¡°What if I could make it so we knew for sure we wouldn¡¯t turn on eachother at the slightest provocation?¡± ¡°I¡¯d say I had my doubts,¡± I said warily. ¡°You know my father is Merlin,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°That means he¡¯s responsible for protecting our kingdom from magical threats, as such he¡¯s had to learn magic, real spells not just abilities. As his daughters I¡¯ve had access to his research and grimoires, and I may have learned some spells of my own.¡± ¡°And one of these spells will do this?¡± I guessed. ¡°Its called blood pact,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°We write down on piece of paper in our own blood a contract then mix our blood. It will use our own mana to bind us to our oaths.¡± ¡°So then what we just promise to never fight eachother?¡± I asked. ¡°It seems to broad and wasn¡¯t something I thought you would agree too.¡± ¡°We need to come to terms first.¡± Guinevere agreed. It took us the rest of the day arguing to come up with a list of terms we both agreed upon. One. I would not initiate any attack on ungifted humanoids or those from her kingdom. Two. She would assist me in any battle where those same people attacked me first. Three. We would never tell anyone of what we saw in the other person¡¯s memories or disclose their personal information without the others¡¯ permission. Four. We would not tell anyone else what we knew about the other¡¯s abilities or gear. Five. We would not lead the other person into traps or guide other people to their locations. Six. I wouldn¡¯t go to war with any other country without them first making an attack against me. There were other things we might have wanted the other to agree on but those were the terms we could both agree on and live with. I ripped a sheet of paper out of Mab, the grimoire didn¡¯t like that as it rustled its papers at me in agitation. Taking my stylus out Guinevere and I picked out palms and wrote out the terms in our blood. I listened to her as she chanted out the spell. Her blue eyes glowed with inner luminance as the mana passed out of her. Our bloodied hands were bound to each other and there was a dark red light and a searing pain as our blood mingled and the spell took hold. The paper crumpled to ash but the oaths we¡¯d just made were not bound to the paper they were written on. If either of us tried to go back on our world our own mana would rebel against us. We both looked to the pedestal and at each other warily. ¡°Are we ready for this?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°No,¡± I said then let out a sigh. ¡°But lets get it over with anyway.¡± Placing our hands into the handprints our minds went black as they were sucked into the dreamscape. -- We were forced to reexperience the memories we¡¯d already seen again. When Guinevere¡¯s ended, I could feel her trembling as she held herself in place with sheer mental will. ¡°You are my firstborn,¡± Guinevere¡¯s father said to her. ¡°Even if you are a girl that comes with responsibilities. Your brother is too young and weak to start his training, so you will have to be strong enough for the both of you.¡± ¡°Yes dad,¡± Guinevere said meekly. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I need to test you,¡± her father said coldly taking her hand and guiding her to dark cave entrance. He spoke the words of a spell and pushed Guinevere. Screaming she fell. She plummeted downwards but when she hit the ground she landed with no damage to herself. ¡°Dad!¡± she screamed up at the circle of light above. ¡°Find the way out, Guinevere,¡± Merlin said. ¡°You need to show me your brave.¡± The light disappeared and Guinevere was left in darkness. Before the memory could play out fully Guinevere yanked her hand back and I was ejected from the Dreamscape with her. We both sat down on the steps saying nothing. This was a trial of the soul neither of us wanted or were ready for. Wordlessly we both got up and went back to our respective tasks we used to spend our days. Mine was making crystals that violently exploded like Grenades and I found that Guinevere¡¯s hobby was gardening. She¡¯d taken silt from the river and stones and made several garden beds. The island was covered with flora and not just mushrooms. There were white berried bushes, some wild gourds and a type of onion. My guess was they were plants the magi had bred that had gone wild. She spent her days gardening around our hut transplanting plants we could eat and some just for their aesthetic value. I left her to it since I didn¡¯t care how the place looked and she seemed to enjoy it. My work on creating a lighting sword was frustrating. Every time I created a new enchantment, I was sure this one was going to work and every time it failed. We tried getting past the barrier the next day, but Guinevere yanked her hand back at the same time again. I couldn¡¯t get mad at her; I wasn¡¯t exactly eager to expose my deepest and darkest moments and fears to someone either. We trained in the morning, did our enchanting and gardening and then trained again in the evening. Every day we tried to get past the pedestal but every day we failed to make it past Guinevere¡¯s second memory. -- Guinevere sat on the pier I¡¯d created into the river. Her feet dangled in the water and I dropped down beside her dipping my toes in and watching the little blind minnows nibble at them. I brought out some sandwiches I¡¯d made out of what little broadleaf I had left, they had some cheese we still had and smoked fish that tasted a lot like salmon. ¡°Thanks,¡± Guinevere said taking the food and biting in. She moaned in pleasure at the taste of bread and cheese. We had basically nothing but mushrooms and fish everyday that the taste of anything else was heavenly. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± I said. ¡°Today seemed especially bad for you.¡± ¡°Its just¡­ my father¡­¡± she stopped unable to put her thoughts to words. ¡°Fathers are complicated,¡± I agreed. We ate in silence for a few more minutes before I broke it deciding to try another approach. ¡°Your father is very powerful and everything. You said he was Exarch rank, why doesn¡¯t he try to become King he seems like he has the power to make a play at it.¡± ¡°It would go against every law and tradition in Camelot,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Not to mention the binding oaths we all swore to the king.¡± ¡°Every noble is required to swear their allegiance to the king if they wish to hold land or any position of authority in Camelot,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I myself swore them when I was thirteen.¡± ¡°Are these magically binding like the blood pact?¡± I asked. ¡°They are similar, but no one likes calling it a spell,¡± Guinevere said waving her hand side to side. ¡°It exists on the periphery of what the gods will allow.¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you a little young to sign an agreement like that?¡± I asked. ¡°What¡¯s the age of consent in your country anyway?¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°What age are people allowed to get married on their own and are considered an adult?¡± I asked. ¡°Sixteen is the approved of age but some get married younger though it is frowned upon,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Your considered to be an adult when you reach eighteen, but women are still considered to be the wards of their fathers until they get married.¡± ¡°Typical medieval stuff,¡± I said nodding. ¡°Why didn¡¯t your father tell you not to marry the prince then if he could?¡± ¡°The King overruled him,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°There are limits to what the oaths can force anyone to do but a direct order from the king is almost impossible to disobey.¡± ¡°Does your head explode or something?¡± I asked. ¡°No but its like the weight of a mountain comes down on you and you begin to feel immense pain,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°For how much your people seem to hate me for being the Warlord that seems very similar to Dominion,¡± I said. ¡°Its not at all the same,¡± Guinevere retorted. ¡°People have a choice when they swear the oath, when you dominate someone there is no choice.¡± ¡°Do they really?¡± I asked her. ¡°If I put a sword to your throat and tell you to submit or die have, I really presented you with a choice? You technically have one but how many people do you think will choose death or servitude?¡± Guinevere didn¡¯t have an answer for that. I stood up dropping the paper my sandwich had been wrapped in. I¡¯d folded it into the shape of a boat and Guinevere watched it float away as I left her sitting there thinking on my words. --- Helen ducked under the sword, struck her staff coming up between Felrick¡¯s legs as she counter attacked. Felrick swung to the side taking the strike on his inner thigh instead of the groin. Mira and Jamis dueled against each other. Their training was intense, they were bouncing between the twelve dungeons Helen¡¯s mother had under her control. Helen¡¯s husband, Atrel, was now part of their team bringing them up to six members. He was the only member of their group that wasn¡¯t a champion, but he brought a variety of areas of effect attacks to the group that they were lacking. They were slowly ranking up and gathering better gear as they grinded out the dungeons. The distance between and the respawn rate of the dungeons gave them a few days every week without any dungeons to run. It wasn¡¯t enough time to seek out monsters to slay although those did spawn frequently in their proximity. They kept to noble estates of Helen¡¯s allies training as they paired off and sparred against each other. Despite how hard they went against each other they knew that fighting other humanoids was not proper preparation for going against a dragon. They were each close to breaking into Veteran Rank from there they could move onto the more powerful dungeons and fight the more powerful monsters and bosses there. One dragon in particular called Red Wyvern¡¯s Lair was one they wanted to run as it would help them to more properly train against a dragon-like opponent. They collapsed after training. Servants brought them out food and Atrel and Helen went for a walk together. Mira had been more withdrawn since news of Guinevere¡¯s death had come to them. She had held out hope for her friend, but they had all knew it was a longshot. It was a surprise that anyone who had been sucked down into that pit had survived at all. Jamis stroked the fur of the two bears who now followed him at all times. They were young but were growing fast, he couldn¡¯t take them into their dungeons since they would split the rank points, they earned even further but they helped against the monsters that spawned around them. ¡°What happens if someone else kills the Hell Dragon first?¡± Atrel asked Helen as they walked through the estate¡¯s gardens. ¡°Would we still get the artifacts?¡± ¡°No,¡± Helen said. ¡°the gods aren¡¯t allowed to award people for quests that aren¡¯t completed by them. They sometimes use this to subtly interfere with other gods by assigning the same objective for a quest that another champion has to make the other champion fail when someone else completes the objective before them.¡± ¡°Well, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for us,¡± Atrel said. ¡°No one has been able to threaten Exar¡¯kun since it grew from a hatchling and took to the skies.¡± ¡°Is it really that deadly?¡± Helen asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Atrel said. ¡°If we hadn¡¯t started running as soon as we did, we would be ashes on the wind now. His breath is infused with an energy unique to it I¡¯ve never encountered or heard of being encountered anywhere else.¡± ¡°Well, his mother was a champion and she still died,¡± Helen said. ¡°We¡¯ll finish the job with her spawn when we¡¯re ready.¡± Chapter 81: Broken Little Girl Guinevere yanked her hand back from the pedestal and we sat down after another failure. It had been weeks since we had made our blood pact and we had yet to get through a new memory. I¡¯d lost track of how long we¡¯d been down here for certain and started marking off ticks on the wall of our hut for every day that passed. At this point I think I¡¯d been down here underground for longer than I¡¯d been in the forest above. The island was peaceful, the soft murmuring of the river a constant backdrop and the soft whites and luminescent plants providing a stark contrast against the mud and grey black stones. It was a beautiful place¡­ and I hated it. I wanted action and battle and was stuck here. Training against Guinevere wasn¡¯t the same we had a pact not to try and kill the other person and even though she pushed me to my limits every single day there was never that threat of looming death over me that I craved. I was a junkie and going through withdrawals as I was denied the thrill of battle. I longed for the waves of monsters to find us but they never approached the tower. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°What for?¡± I asked distracted by my own inner thoughts. ¡°For not being able to show you¡­that,¡± she gestured at the pedestal. ¡°It¡¯s not you, I¡¯m not ashamed to show that to you. It¡¯s just¡­.¡± Guinevere trailed off unable to finish her sentence. ¡°You don¡¯t want to experience that again,¡± I said understanding. ¡°Yeah,¡± Guinevere agreed. ¡°Can I ask you what happened in there?¡± I asked. Guinevere sucked in her breath. ¡°I was stuck in that maze for a week. I had to crawl on my hands and knees through cracks and eat bugs and drink water that tasted like piss. But the worst part was the silence, the darkness and being all alone.¡± ¡°You mentioned that you¡¯re afraid of being alone,¡± I said nodding as I recalled our past conversation. This time Guinevere didn¡¯t protest my statement. ¡°Yes,¡± she admitted. Hesitantly I took Guinevere¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s just the past Guinevere, you¡¯re not actually there this time. When you are feeling alone just remember I¡¯m right there with you.¡± Guinevere swallowed and nodded. She didn¡¯t let go of my hand as we stood and placed our hands back onto the pedestal. Our fingers slid into the handprints and our minds went black. -- The memories played out again, I pushed aside my own anger and focused on the feelings Guinevere was exuding. I watched as Merlin pushed child Guinevere into the pit. The entrance closed and she was left in darkness. While I mostly disconnected from my body, I could dimly feel her hand crushing mine with superhuman strength. I gently squeezed it to let her know I was there. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Find the way-out Guinevere,¡± Merlin said. ¡°You need to show me your brave.¡± The light disappeared and Guinevere was left in darkness. Crying she crawled through the darkness. Her head smacked against the cave wall and she recoiled backwards in pain. Blood trickled down her face from the cut on her head. She continued to crawl and search through the darkness. She grew tired and cold curling in on herself and sobbing to sleep. She woke and continued to crawl blindly through the caves her hands stretching out in front of her to keep from smacking into the wall again. Days passed her stomach rumbling and her throat parched. She found a pool of water. Bending down in the pitch black she cupped her hands and drank. The water was foul but she kept drinking the thirst greater than her disgust. She kept going her hands blindly catching skittering spiders and beetles that she bit into to ease her hunger. The silence besides her scuffling on the ground and sniffles was absolute. She continued to crawl water dripping from the ceiling keeping her wet and cold. She began to see shapes in the darkness that made her freeze in place. Eventually she was forced to move as she continued her blind search for the way out. There was no way to know how much she back tracked or how long she was trapped down their precisely, but it was days at a minimum. One day she rounded a bend in the tunnel and light struck her eyes. She fell back shrieking as the light blinded her. Gradually she recovered and crawled towards the light. Getting to her feet shakily she ran for it emerging out in the dusk. Her father stood nearby his arms crossed. Cold grey blue eyes surveyed her ragged, thin frame. ¡°Did you learn to conquer your fear?¡± Merlin asked. ¡°Yes father,¡± Guinevere lied. ¡°We shall see,¡± Merlin said taking her hand and leading her back to their estate. -- The memory ended and Guinevere pulled her hand back and sagged against me. I held her unsure how to comfort her as tears ran down her face and shudders went through her body. It was hard to reconcile the fear I felt in her now with the amount of strength and steel resolve I knew she had. ¡°You did good,¡± was all I could say. ¡°I can¡¯t go through that again,¡± Guinevere said her voice faint and soft her breaths coming in quick and short. Cupping her chin, I forced her to meet my eyes. ¡°Your father may have been cruel, but he was right in one thing we overcome our fears by facing them,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ve faced that fear of your own choice this time. You might still be afraid, but it doesn¡¯t rule you anymore.¡± Guinevere nodded, resolving herself. We didn¡¯t touch the pedestal again that day, I didn¡¯t want to undo the progress we¡¯d made by overexposing herself to her fear. We returned to the hut and ate. Guinevere busied herself in her garden clipping the leaves of bushes that were overgrown or not bearing fruit. Deciding to take a break from making an enchantment, I decided to instead try and make a simple spell. Blending spell-words I knew into a incantation, I bent down over a withered white lily. I breathed out the spell softly. Mana flooded out of me as most of it was wasted but enough went into the flower that its withered leaves began to stretch and grow. The blossoms opened and turned up to face me as if I were the sun. Guinevere looked over and smiled as she looked at the flower. Its petals were glowing brightly, its leaves had a healthy gloss to them now instead of their old withered wrinkled appearance. One by one I breathed new life into any plant in her garden that looked sickly or was having trouble with their transplant. Guinevere didn¡¯t thank me, but she didn¡¯t need to and we both simply enjoyed the silence and the fragrant scent of the flowers. Chapter 82: There is Only Pain There The next day we clashed in our training. Guinevere had me wearing my heavy training armor, but she had finished training me in the fundamentals. Now we were worked on honing my skill. She didn¡¯t hold back knocking me down every time. It didn¡¯t help that she had Foresight on, and I didn¡¯t, but I was confident that fighting without it was a handicap that would eventually let me become as skilled as her. She left cuts all over the gaps between my armor while I couldn¡¯t even put a scratch on her. Troll Hide let me keep fighting even when I should have gone down but she always found a way to trip me up and put her sword to my throat. I continued to learn more and more from her. Sword moves that would have been considered wild and impractical in real life and would have only been shown in a video game were actually viable when you were superhuman. It was the same with Guinevere back on my world if she had just been a normal woman it wouldn¡¯t have mattered how skilled she was as a man I would have been physically stronger and superior to her in a fight. My bones and muscles would have been denser, and I would be able to easily over power her but here it didn¡¯t matter your gender, all that mattered was power. Get enough abilities and raise your attributes and a farmer could overthrow a king. In a way that made this world more egalitarian than my own. Of course, it wasn¡¯t that simple, the powerful had dungeons they horded and used to farm power so farmer or soldier would ever be able to rise above them. Perhaps that¡¯s what the magi really fought against. The ability of a few to control and determine how power was distributed to others. I didn¡¯t think that goal was possible, but I supposed I could admire for them trying to accomplish their goal. Our training ended and I went back to trying to get the Lighting Blade spell into an enchantment. Every prototype I made I thought I had it and every time as soon as it was finished cracks began to start forming and I had to throw it out past the barrier before it evaporated me into red mist. Today wasn¡¯t any different resulting in another five failed attempts. My only hope was that the more I learned with each failure I was getting closer to a useful result. I trained again with Guinevere. She danced around me, my reactions slowed by my having Heightened Speed and Foresight turned off, but I still managed to block around half her attacks. I was getting better at using the technique of using leverage and angles to absorb and require as little force as possible to redirect and counter attacks. I still ended up on my back as Guinevere wrapped one of her legs around mine and rammed me in the chest with her shoulder. Helping me up she and I went to the pedestal. I took Guinevere¡¯s hand feeling a tremble running through her body. Placing out hands into the magical scanner our minds went dark. -- We made it passed my memories and Guinevere¡¯s although I still felt her tremble with fear as she was forced to be alone in the dark again. The memory ended and a new one began to play. The smack ran out through the house and I winced hiding under my covers. My mother and fathers voices screaming at each other in the other room was distorted by the walls. It went on for half an hour before the flashing blue and red lights of sirens shone through my bedroom windows of our ground floor apartment. Knocking at our door came then the usual the cops spoke with my mother. I cracked open the door and watched, listening to my mother as she defended my father. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the disturbance¡­¡± she said. Form where I was I couldn¡¯t hear what they said. ¡°No¡­ no¡­.¡± my mother said. ¡°I just tripped¡­.¡± Eventually the police left. My father stormed out of the house and I stepped out of my room going over to my mother who was sitting in the kitchen her back pressed up against the fridge her body shaking. ¡°Are you ok mom?¡± I asked touching her face. ¡°I¡¯m fine baby,¡± she said taking my hand and kissing it pulling me into a hug. Wrapping my arms around her I smelled her hair the sweet smell of flowers filling my nose. Her soft arms cradled me as she rocked me against her chest. ¡°Its ok Mordred,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯re going to be ok.¡± ¡°One day I¡¯ll be strong enough to protect you mom,¡± I said. ¡°I just need you Mordred,¡± my mom said. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± The memory ended. A new memory of mine began the moment it began I pulled back my hand. My chest heaved and Guinevere looked at me. ¡°I can¡¯t do this,¡± I said. ¡°Why?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I can¡¯t show¡­ you can¡¯t see¡­.¡± Unable to explain or put to words my shame I let go of her hand turning my back on her and fled. What was that memory? Karnen asked. I can¡¯t see it, its like its locked in a safe. ¡°Its my greatest failure,¡± I said. You¡¯ve shown her your pain and anger before, Voidra said. What makes this memory different? ¡°Because this is when I became a monster,¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s finally accepted me as a person¡­ a human. If I show her what¡¯s there¡­ she¡¯ll realize she was right about me, that I am the monster that the Warlord is in her histories.¡± You can¡¯t know what her reaction will be, Karnen argued. ¡°How else could anyone react?¡± I asked. But¡­ Voidra argued but I cut her off. ¡°Enough!¡± I snarled. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I won¡¯t continue. Don¡¯t bring this up again.¡± -- Guinevere continued to train me, and I continued to try and create the lighting blade enchantment, but I felt myself slipping. My frustration was growing with every failed enchantment or failure to beat Guinevere in a duel. As my frustration grew, my failures grew, my enchantments became more sporadic, and I couldn¡¯t focus on them. My swordplay became sloppier, and Guinevere beat me more easily. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Days turned to weeks as we remained trapped on the island. I found myself trapped not only physically but mentally, my progress stagnated, unable to improve myself in any way. The pedestal sat their as if it were mocking me and I grew to hate it. Several months passed like this. The time for the Event the system had invited me too was passed and the knowledge that I had missed out only added to my frustration and anger. Guinevere found me one night. I had stopped sleeping in the hut instead of sitting in mediation under the only waterfall on the island fed from a spring somewhere inside the tower. The water fell down on my head like ice the only way I could feel anything thanks to the heat of magma hearts burning in my chest. She didn¡¯t say anything, just sat down on a rock across from me. You need to let her know, Voidra said. If your going to trap her underground with you for the rest of your lives you at least need to explain why. No, I growled back at her. Yes, Karnen insisted agreeing with Voidra for one of the only times in his life. This is destroying you. I won¡¯t, this is the end of this discussion, I snapped back at them. If you won¡¯t do it willingly then you¡¯ve forced our hand, Voidra said. Her words chilled me. My eyes snapped open as a hand of pure dark matter reached out from my torso and held its hand out to Guinevere it was followed by another formed of crimson red energy. She reeled back in shock at seeing the appendage, she had been unconscious when I had created the ability. ¡°What is that?¡± Guinevere asked in horror and fascination. Remember, Karnen said. She hates lying. I grit my teeth together, but I had to answer. ¡°Her name is Voidra,¡± I said. ¡°Her?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°She is a spirit of the Void,¡± I explained. ¡°I died in a battle; afterwards I dangled in the Void at the edge of death, another spirit who fled into my soul after I defeated him helped to pull me back from the brink. But it was the entities of the Void who let me escape in exchange for becoming a host for their¡­daughter.¡± Guinevere was silenced by my revelation. ¡°Are they¡­friendly?¡± That actually made me laugh. ¡°I would have to say no,¡± I said. ¡°Karnen was a wraith before I defeated him he is still driven by his need for vengeance. Voidra feeds off the emotions of others especially those created by suffering and death.¡± ¡°I¡­ see,¡± Guinevere said slowly. ¡°Why reveal them to me?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°They decided to show themselves.¡± ¡°Why would they do that?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Because they think I need to talk to you about¡­ why I can¡¯t continue,¡± I said again struggling to find the words. Guinevere took my hands in hers, her touch surprised me, but I didn¡¯t pull back. ¡°Whatever you have to say, say it,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯re going to be here with each other for a long time if we don¡¯t get through that barrier so you might as well tell me. Otherwise, this is just going to hang between us like a drawn sword.¡± Meeting her eyes I drew in a breath. ¡°I tried to kill my father,¡± I said. Guinevere didn¡¯t pull away as I let out the confession. ¡°I can tell by the way you talked about him you hate him,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But why is this so hard for you to tell me?¡± ¡°That the things,¡± I said with a mirthless laugh. ¡°I¡¯ve told practically every other person I¡¯ve met on your world that since I got here. I try to convince them and myself that I don¡¯t feel any shame for it that my only regret isn¡¯t finishing the job. I even took the name of a man whose most famous deed was killing his own father to take the throne from him.¡± Guinevere remained silent continuing to hold my hands and let me explain. ¡°But I do feel shame,¡± I admitted. ¡°I am the monster that tried to kill his own father. The more I try to run from the shame to push away the guilt and revel in my sin the greater my shame becomes.¡± ¡°Then its time to stop running,¡± Guinevere said softly. ¡°I¡¯m not going to run from you Mordred. Show me.¡± We placed our hands on the pedestal. Guinevere¡¯s fingers were cool on my skin as she squeezed my hand. Then our minds went dark as we were drawn into my darkest memory. The slamming of the door and crashing as the painting fell off the wall again. I winced hearing my father stumble down the hall. ¡°Ellen!¡± my father¡¯s voice rang out, the anger evident in his drunken slur. Pushing myself out of bed I reached under the pillow. My small child¡¯s fingers were wrapped around the handle of a kitchen knife. I winced hearing my father¡¯s foot collide with the door. I stepped out into the hall walking towards my parent¡¯s room. I heard the stinging slap as my father hit mom. My heart was beating so loud I couldn¡¯t even hear my father¡¯s words or my mom¡¯s soft attempts to calm him down. Stepping into the darkness of the room I saw mom in the corner my father standing over her. My anger rose up and I charged forward forgetting my fear. I slashed out with the knife a deep savagery rising in me a scream tearing from my throat as I attacked like a beast. Crimson sprayed out. A scream of pain and anger filled the air, I slashed out again in a mad frenzy. Then my head was spinning as I knocked against the wall. Soon flashing lights were shining through the window dancing along the walls. The wail of a siren filled the air. Officers pulled me away as my mother held my father¡¯s stomach closed. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you Mordred?¡± her words kept running through my ears over and over. Time passed in a blur. The courtrooms, lawyers, child protective services. It was decided that I couldn¡¯t be placed in the same home as my father. My mother had the choice between staying with him or cutting off contact and retaining custody of me. She chose him. That old pain rose up, I¡¯d buried it down, but it had never healed. I¡¯d tried to save her in the only way I¡¯d been able to think of. My mother had rejected me, she saw me as the monster not him. I bounced around foster home to foster home the memories of families trying to take me in but the pain had turned to anger. I lashed out at everyone and everything getting into violent fights leaving other kids bleeding even if I always ended up as bruised and bleeding as them. Eventually, I was left alone, I was mandated to go to therapy. There I was told to let go of my anger, that it was poisoning me. It was time to forgive I was told, but I couldn¡¯t, I wouldn¡¯t. They tried to fix me but I didn¡¯t need fixing. I buried the shame and from it grew only more anger and the need to destroy. My anger was justified and I wouldn¡¯t give up or forgive what had been done to me and taken from me. The memory ended and I pulled back my hand ready to see the look of condemnation in Guinevere¡¯s eyes. Instead, I felt her arms wrap around me as she hugged me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Mordred,¡± she said. Her words froze me in place, the lack of disgust or fear in her paralyzing me. Eventually I returned to the embrace the comfort of a another human¡¯s touch who knew my darkest secret and didn¡¯t reject me a balm I couldn¡¯t put any price on. --- ¡°We¡¯re ready,¡± Jamis said. His gauntlets were still stained with the wyvern¡¯s blood. This had been their fifth time running this dungeon each time they had done better and now could take down the wyvern boss with no difficulty. They were each Veteran rank, while Exar¡¯kun had likely reached the beginning of Hero rank they were a full party and prepared to face him. Mira had a quiver full of arrows specially designed for killing dragons. Felrick had an enchanted dragon slaying sword and they had purchased dozens of fire and curse resistance potions. They could train more but the dragon was also growing stronger, and it was only a matter of time before it was confident enough to roam outside the bounds of the Cursed Forest in search of prey. ¡°We weren¡¯t able to rescue my cousin,¡± Helen said. ¡°But after this we¡¯ll track down the bandits who still have her and bring her home.¡± ¡°We should give a name to our group,¡± Torvin said. ¡°Not this again,¡± Mira said rolling her eyes. ¡°I agree with Torvin,¡± Jamis said. ¡°How are the bards going to address us if we don¡¯t have a name.¡± ¡°What are your suggestions this time?¡± Helen asked. ¡°And if I hear word horse or calvary in any more of your suggestions I¡¯m kicking you from the group.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a suggestion,¡± Atrel said. ¡°You are the champions of the gods of Law, the Heaven¡¯s Scales.¡± ¡°And when we slay a dragon it will fit us even more,¡± Jamis said with a raucous laugh clapping the dragon myrmidon on the back. ¡°I love it!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t hate it,¡± Mira sighed. ¡°That¡¯s probably the best we¡¯re going to get,¡± Felrick said looking to Helen. ¡°Fine we have a team name,¡± Helen said. ¡°Are you happy now Torvin?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Torvin agreed fist bumping Jamis. ¡°When do we head out, I¡¯ve been getting a bit bored running the same dungeons over and over the past ten months.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll ride out tomorrow,¡± Helen said. ¡°It¡¯s a long way to the Blighted Swamp.¡± Chapter 83: Take my Hand The next day my duel against Guinevere felt different. The mental block that had been keeping me from progressing was gone, my thoughts were perfectly clear. Guinevere stumbled back as I pressed her countering and landing hits across her armor. She still managed to turn the tables on me, but I didn¡¯t¡¯ feel as if I were stagnating anymore. My work on my enchanting yielded its first success. The spiraling runes around the crystal stabilized. A bolt of lightning shot out from it. It was not a steady blade like I wanted but it was a stable enchantment. Mab¡¯s pages seemed to vibrate with pleasure as I completed the successful enchantment. ¡°Well done,¡± I told the tome. I watched as it altered some of the runes I had drawn, and I analyzed its suggestions. ¡°That might work,¡± I said. ¡°But I think the power output you have here would draw too heavily on the mana source and result in a discrimination.¡± The runes changed again as Mab communicated with me in its unique manner. ¡°Are you talking to your spirits?¡± Guinevere asked coming up from behind. She was much quieter outside of her armor. Neither of us wore our armor when not in training we¡¯d been here for months without being attacked once and it was more comfortable without it on all the time. She wore a pair of black pants, long knee-high boots and a white tunic. I had on my last remaining shirt and pair of pants. ¡°No,¡± I said turning and gesturing to my grimoire. ¡°I was talking to him.¡± ¡°You talk to books?¡± Guinevere asked skeptically raising an eyebrow. ¡°it¡¯s a sentient artifact,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s been helping me work on the enchantment I¡¯m trying to create.¡± Guinevere took a seat next to me. ¡°I want to learn more about magic, I¡¯ve been training you how to fight with the sword I want you to train me on how to use spells.¡± ¡°You already know magic,¡± I pointed out. ¡°I know a few spells,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°You KNOW magic. I¡¯ll bet you learned the spell for Blood Pact as soon as you heard me say it.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I confessed. Mab¡¯s pages flipped turning to the page where I had written out the spell. Guinevere eyed the grimoire in fascination. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of sentient artifacts, but I¡¯ve never really seen one,¡± she admitted. ¡°Which god created this one?¡± ¡°It was created by the Order of the Magi,¡± I confessed hesitantly unsure how she would react to the information. ¡°But¡­that¡¯s impossible,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°You said breaking an artifact was impossible too,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Just because the gods say we can¡¯t doesn¡¯t mean we actually can¡¯t, just that¡¯s its very hard.¡± ¡°The gods don¡¯t like us learning magic either,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°The gods of Chaos are more tolerant of it but even they despise those truly dedicated to becoming mages.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll teach you what I can,¡± I told her. ¡°But I can¡¯t promise I¡¯ll be a good a teacher as you are.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Where do we start?¡± Sliding Mab over in front of her I tapped its pages. ¡°Open up to the dictionary section,¡± I told him. We spent the next four hours studying. Guinevere mouthing the words and reading their definitions. Mab would rustle his pages at her. I created the enchantment that Mab and I had been discussing, for a single second a thread of lighting extended out six feet from the tip of the crystal. Then the runes began to fracture, and I hurled it out past the barrier. It exploded into a million shards of blue crystal like a firework. ¡°What exactly are you trying to make?¡± Guinevere asked me looking up from the tome. ¡°I¡¯m trying to create an enchantment for a lightning blade,¡± I said. Guinevere reached around and drew her sword setting it down on the stone slab. ¡°This is a tier II artifact blade, its not the most powerful but you might be able to learn something from it.¡± ¡°In my experience the runes on artifacts are hidden,¡± I said. ¡°The gods don¡¯t seem to be a big fan of us examining their work.¡± Mab pounced on the blade. For a second, I was worried he would rip it apart like he had my sketchbook when we first met. If he did that then both Guinevere and I would probably die when the sword exploded. Luckily the sword did not explode. Mab rolled back onto its spine and opened its covers turning to a page where a detailed sketch of the sword had been made. There were added details this time however, intricate swirling patterns of runes were shown spiraling down the blade that weren¡¯t visible on the ice blue metal. ¡°That¡¯s incredible,¡± Guinevere said tracing the rune patterns on the page. ¡°Why didn¡¯t the magi take this artifact with them? I remember when you started carrying this around it was after we found that one fortress of theirs. Why would they leave this behind.¡± ¡°They imprisoned it,¡± I said lightly touching the books pages. ¡°I¡¯m not sure why but for some reason they had a falling out. They stripped all the knowledge he¡¯d acquired and bound it down beneath that fortress.¡± ¡°Are you worried about him turning against you?¡± Guinevere asked me. I thought about it and realized I wasn¡¯t, which was strange for me. ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure why but I feel like it and I have the same goals. We both want to learn and create without restrictions or limitations.¡± ¡°Sometimes there are good reasons we have limitations,¡± Guinevere pointed out. ¡°But are they for the good of us or someone else?¡± I asked. We didn¡¯t say any more about that, but I did set down my spear, boots, Pauldrons and Helm. I hadn¡¯t ever put them close together before when I wasn¡¯t wearing them, and Mab absorbed the knowledge they contained eagerly. The enchantments they created reminded me of the formations the magi created. They were that complex again, revealing how simple the enchantments were that I had been taught. No wonder people were constantly farming dungeons if you wanted actually good, enchanted items it was the only way to get them. It would be like walking around with a stone hatchet and then upgrading directly to a pistol. Mab absorbing the enchantments revealed many things to me. First of all, I had no idea the gemstones used to create them so they would be impossible for me to recreate if it was even possible in the first place. Secondly, I learned many new runes and words to add to my experimentation. It also showed me I was thinking too small and simply. These items had multiple enchantments working to create single effects. If I wanted to create a lighting blade, I would need to create several enchantments that fit together like gears to create a single outcome. I¡¯d been trying to get the effects of a battery drill by creating a hammer. I needed to create the components of my enchantment and then fit them together into a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Guinevere¡¯s magical study and my experimentation ended, and we put our armor back on. Meeting on our sparring ground again we circled each other for several seconds before striking. Our blades collided as we blocked and parried our feet moving and out of step as we tried to hook and trip the other person. We were a blur of movement even without active abilities. Our duel ended when Guinevere managed to step behind me and put her sword up against my neck. ¡°Good work,¡± Guinevere said stepping back. ¡°You¡¯re getting much faster.¡± You¡¯d be a lot faster if you used your passive abilities, Karnen chided me. ¡°Thanks,¡± I said ignoring the irritable spirit. Guinevere paused and then let out a breath. ¡°I wanted to just tell you¡­ thanks¡­ For being here, you saved my life, but you could have left me behind. I know you don¡¯t mind being alone, but you know I do. So thanks for not leaving me to be alone. You¡¯ve been a good friend to me.¡± ¡°Your welcome,¡± I told Guinevere sincerely meeting her eyes before the both of us looked away suddenly. Guinevere laughed nervously. ¡°Who would have thought one my closest friends would be the Warlord?¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably just Stockholm syndrome,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°It¡¯s a psychological condition where a person held captive develops an emotional bond with their captors because they are reliant on them for their survival,¡± I said. ¡°You don¡¯t really count as my captor in this situation, ¡°Guinevere said. ¡°But we do count as captives,¡± I said looking towards the barrier. ¡°Are you ready?¡± She nodded. Together we rounded island and climbed the stairs. Guinevere took my hand, and we placed our hands onto the pedestal. Our minds blacked out and we were drawn into the dreamscape. -- We passed through the memories we had already seen. They still hurt but we were able to endure after having shown them to each other already. My memory ended and another began. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Guinevere stood in a ring of sand. Her face was contorted with rage and the broken form a boy around her age lay before her. ¡°Enough!¡± her instructor snarled catching Guinevere¡¯s wooden sword in his hand as she was about to bring it down on him again. ¡°The duel is over!¡± Guinevere left the training ground. She was stopped by her sword master at the door. ¡°I told you that your temper would lead to consequences young lady, none of my other disciples will spar with you now. I can no longer train you.¡± ¡°My father won¡¯t let you stop,¡± Guinevere responded defiantly. ¡°I¡¯ve already spoken with your father and found you a replacement teacher,¡± he said. ¡°Don¡¯t return here Lady Guinevere you aren¡¯t wanted.¡± Guinevere got into the carriage awaiting her and was driven back to family¡¯s city estate. Stepping out she passed through the gate into the palace grounds. Walking up the marble steps she stopped as a man stepped in front of her. ¡°So, you¡¯re Lady Guinevere,¡± he said his eastern accent light but noticeable. He was tall and lean wearing ring and leather armor. He carried three swords, a long greatsword strapped to his back, a longsword and a shortsword hung from his hip. ¡°I am,¡± Guinevere said defiantly as she analyzed the man. Sazu the Iron Wind, Gifted- humanoid/myrmidon (tiger), Veteran, Rank: 305 ¡°I am your new sword instructor,¡± he said. ¡°Follow me I must test you.¡± Reluctantly Guinevere followed her new instructor into the estate¡¯s training area. She stepped into the dueling ring and looked around. ¡°Who will I be fighting?¡± she asked. ¡°You are one of those lucky enough to be born with the gift,¡± Sazu said. ¡°Fighting humans is something that should be beneath you. It is a waste of precious resources; I am not here to teach you fancy dueling tricks to impress other nobles.¡± ¡°Than how are you going to teach me?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°The only way to fight a monster is to become a monster,¡± Sazu said. ¡°You must learn what a monster truly is¡­ there is but one way to do this. You must face a real monster.¡± Sazu uttered an arcane incantation and Guinevere¡¯s head jerked towards him as he violated the Law by casting a spell in the capital of Camelot. A shimmering circle appeared in the air and a large lizard dropped into the sand. Its tail ended in a stinger, and it brought it back as it advanced on Guinevere. ¡°Fight Lady Guinevere,¡± Sazu said. ¡°You learn who someone is in a fight. I must learn what I am working with if I am to train you.¡± The lizard sprung at Guinevere. She barely rolled to the side avoiding its barbed tail. She swiped at it with her sword, but it avoided her. She kept advancing, growing frustrated at every failed strike she made. It struck her again and again and was to fast for her to hit and she could barely avoid its barbed tail or claws. It sprung on her chest tackling her to the ground. The stinger came down and she screamed. A hand closed around the stinger tip. Sazu casually tossed the lizard against the wall where it turned to paste before evaporating into smoke. ¡°You cast magic!¡± Guinevere accused him. ¡°I could have you hung for that!¡± ¡°You could not,¡± Sazu corrected her. ¡°I see you are still raw clay and have not yet been turned to iron. Your father has given me permission to train you to be the greatest fighter in your kingdom. I can do this, but it will require you to want it.¡± Sazu knelt in front of her meeting her eyes with his and she noticed his eyes were like those of a cats. ¡°Do you wish to become a great fighter Guinevere?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Guinevere said instantly and without hesitation. The memory ended and we passed to the next one. Guinevere screamed and brought her sword down on the back of the scaled wolf. Blood sprayed across her turning to smoke as the summoned creature disappeared after its death. ¡°You are reckless,¡± Sazu chided her. ¡°I killed it didn¡¯t I?¡± Guinevere asked defiantly. ¡°You killed one,¡± Sazu agreed. ¡°But wolves travel in packs; what if this hadn¡¯t been a single summons?¡± Guinevere was silent seething under his reprimand. Sazu softened his tone. ¡°You must first learn to control your emotions, Guinevere. You cannot control the blade in your hand until you control the mind that guides it.¡± ¡°Yes master Sazu,¡± Guinevere acknowledged bowing her head. ¡°You have great potential Guinevere,¡± Master Sazu said. ¡°Don¡¯t let your fear or anger hold you back.¡± Guinevere continued to fight monster after monster day after day. Sazu trained in more ways having her balance of rafter beams while throwing rocks at her. When she could default the rocks and remain balanced he began summoning flesh-eating bats to harass her. Years passed as Guinevere trained. She had other tutors training her in other ways but Master Sazu was her prime tutor with the ability to veto her others instructors if he felt their decisions would negatively impact her. She rarely saw her father and had to watch over her siblings pushing aside her anger to keep them from seeing it. She didn¡¯t get rid of the anger but learned to suppress it keeping it beneath a cool fa?ade. Her memory ended and I felt something in Guinevere that hadn¡¯t been present before. A feeling of heartache and longing. Light came into the darkness as we began to delve into a new memory. The memory shown was not as clear as Guinevere¡¯s had been. It was not a distinct moment but a collage of events. Foster home after foster home. I¡¯d get into a fight with anyone and everyone who crossed me. Some people tried to help me but I was a side project, they had so many people they were involved with they could only devote a fraction of their time to making sure I stayed out of trouble. I would always eventually get kicked out or run off. I tried living alone in the woods for a few weeks and it worked. I learned to fish and start a fire but eventually someone reported me, and I was put back into the system. Each event in itself was not very impactful but like a trail of water slowly eroding the land it had an irrevocable effect on my life. The slideshow of random events and memories ended, and a new memory began to play. It was eight years since I had tried to kill my father. I instantly recognized the house in memory the faded trim and the large oak tree in the front yard a familiar scene. I was sixteen now and it was the end of summer, the air filled with humidity that made your clothes cling uncomfortably to your body. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to go to a secure facility you need to make this work Mordred,¡± my case worker told me as we pulled into the driveway. ¡°I never start the fights,¡± I scowled. ¡°But you always finish them,¡± Mrs. Blair said. ¡°You¡¯re lucky, the last family didn¡¯t press charges.¡± I didn¡¯t answer, just got out of the car resisting the urge to slam the door behind me. I hadn¡¯t been responsible for that fight; he¡¯d come at me with two of his friends. In the end, I¡¯d been bruised and beaten, but they had been worse. My foster parents had known it hadn¡¯t been my fault which was why they hadn¡¯t pressed charges; I didn¡¯t blame them. I always got in a fight with someone, never for the same reason. I tried to control my anger but couldn¡¯t, this led to me lashing out with my words which led to retaliation with fists. I tried to stick to myself but was always forced to interact with others to help me ¡°learn to socialize¡± but this only led to me getting annoyed. I wasn¡¯t an introvert; I could get along fine with others. I just had no tolerance for listening to others whine. My verbal abuse for their weaknesses always led to someone squaring up with me and the inevitable fight. A large man opened the front screen door and stepped out. He stuck out his hand and pumped my arm in a firm handshake. ¡°Welcome,¡± he said. ¡°Come on bring your stuff inside.¡± I carried my suitcase inside, setting it down in the foyer. A kind looking woman came downstairs and stood next to the man smiling at me kindly. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± she asked. ¡°I have a few papers you need to sign,¡± Mrs. Blair said. My new foster parents talked with her for a few minutes. A large dog wandered up to me sniffing my hand and leaning into my leg. Smiling, I bent down feeling his course fur under my hands his mouth opening in a doggy grin. ¡°Remember Mordred,¡± Mrs. Blair said before she left. ¡°Behave yourself.¡± ¡°Is there anyone else here?¡± I asked, looking around warily. It was always the other kids I was housed with who ended up sparking a conflict one way or another. ¡°Just us,¡± the man said shaking my hand again. ¡°I¡¯m Peter.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Amanda,¡± his wife said shaking my hand. ¡°I just made dinner if you¡¯re hungry.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. Peter and Amanda seemed cool. They showed me to my room and gave me some space, they¡¯d been married for around fifteen years but hadn¡¯t been able to have children. Adoption hadn¡¯t worked so they decided to become foster parents to help children. While their motives seemed noble, I was distrustful of them. I¡¯d met too many foster parents who just used more children as a tax break. The last few weeks of summer passed, and I grew more comfortable around Peter and Amanda. They genuinely seemed to care about me and knew how and when to give me some space. I went on hikes through the woods that ran up to the backyard taking the dog, Jeriah, with me. The young mut loved chasing after squirrels but always would run back to me to check if I were still following him. I climbed over logs, forded streams and crested hills as I explored the little stretch of wilderness. My time alone couldn¡¯t last, and I felt this memory fade as another, and more familiar memory took its place. Mentally resisiting the urge to pull my hand back I let my anger seethe as the memory began to play out. Peter and Amanda dropped me off and waved to me as I walked up the steps of my new high school. I gotten my orientation and tour the day before even if I had wanted to skip it. Entering my first class I sat down and slumped in my desk. I scanned the room looking for those I¡¯d have to watch out for. I¡¯d learned to pick out the people I wouldn¡¯t get along with and did my best to avoid or ignore them. When my eyes got to the desk on my right I froze. She was one the prettiest girls I¡¯d ever seen. She had glanced at me for a second as I was surveying the room revealing sky blue eyes that seemed to dance as if she were sharing a joke with you. Freckles spattered her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. She was leaned forward in her desk tapping her pencil against her bright white teeth her sneakers were muddy and hooked under her chair as she leaned forward. As if she could feel me staring, she turned to look at me. I stuck out my hand. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Mordred,¡± I said extending my hand out to her and breaking her from her thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m Sarah,¡± she said shaking my hand and flashing me a bright smile. I spent the next three minutes before class started talking with her. We didn¡¯t discuss much of importance, I learned she¡¯d been born in this city and lived here my whole life and I told her I was new and from a different state. She didn¡¯t ask why I¡¯d come here, which I appreciated. After class we walked together to biology. We looked at our schedules and it turned out we shared most of the same classes together. At the end of last period. Sarah waved goodbye to me. ¡°See you tomorrow!¡± she called out. ¡°Where you headed!¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯ve got practice,¡± Sarah said. ¡°See you tomorrow then,¡± I said giving her a smile that came naturally to me for once. Days passed, then months as the semester passed. I managed to avoid getting into fights thanks to Sarah. I was an antagonizing presence wherever I went but she made friends easily and eased me into her friend groups. I couldn¡¯t even say how it happened but one day her hand just slid into mine as we walked to class. My heart skipped at her touch, and I gave her hand a gentle squeeze. All while this was happening my emotions were in whirlwind. When reliving these memories, you reexperienced the emotions you had when the events were taking place. Normally those emotions were still the same, you still felt rage or fear as you relived the memories. This time my emotions did not match at all, the feelings of joy and love I felt then were countered and went to war with my present emotions of hatred and rage. The memory continue to play out and I felt the confusion from Guinevere as she experienced both sets of emotions from me. Her touch made me feel a hundred pounds lighter as if I were walking on air. I¡¯d heard about love before, but never experienced it. There had been girls I¡¯d kissed who I¡¯d liked but I¡¯d never felt something like this. I wanted to hold her hand so tight I¡¯d never let go but at the same time I couldn¡¯t squeeze for fear of hurting her. It was a misty spring day that we had our first kiss. Her lips met mine as I held her on the bridge on the way to her¡¯s and my house. It was like a fire was lit in me, not the burning rage I¡¯d always felt before but a warm fire like the glow from an oven. The only feeling I could describe it as was the feeling of safety, something I hadn¡¯t felt for longer than I could remember. At last the memory ended and I yanked my hand back. I dropped Guinevere¡¯s hand and stormed off without saying a word. Chapter 84: Anger is my Fortress My anger ate at me so much I wasn¡¯t able to talk to Guinevere for a full day. She finally found me when I was going through the sword kata I had developed, it was based off her style of combat but altered to be more aggressive and use multiple weapons at a time instead of a single sword. ¡°Was she the one who¡­¡± Guinevere asked not needing to finish the sentence. ¡°Yes,¡± I said doing my best not to lash out with my anger at the only available target. ¡°It still hurts that much?¡± Guinevere asked me. Letting me practice sword and club fall I wiped the sweat from my body. ¡°I never learned to deal with the past,¡± I said. ¡°Do you think this the time to start?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I resent the implication that I need to change,¡± I said picking up my sword again. ¡°Why?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know, would you like it if I just started listing off flaws, I see in you and start telling you to fix them?¡± I asked. ¡°What flaws?¡± Guinevere asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Exactly,¡± I said. ¡°I imply that I see you as flawed and you don¡¯t like it. I¡¯ve had people trying to ¡°fix¡± me my entire life and I¡¯m sick of it.¡± ¡°You told me yourself that you see yourself as a monster,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°And maybe that¡¯s who I¡¯m meant to be,¡± I said with a dismissive shrug. ¡°Everyone whose tried to repair me has focused on where I am now instead of where I came from. I am what I was made, and I don¡¯t feel the need to conform to other people¡¯s desires.¡± ¡°We all have responsibilities to each other,¡± Guinevere argued. ¡°We only have responsibilities to those we care about, everyone else is just dead weight,¡± I responded. ¡°It may have been wrong for me to try and kill my father, but my actions were still justified. I was a child with no way of dealing with the evil I saw before me and acted in the only way I could think of.¡± ¡°And after that?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°You¡¯ve never let go of your hatred or rage, its eaten away at you your whole life destroying everything around you. Why do you cling onto it so much?¡± ¡°Because it is my fortress,¡± I snarled whirling on her. ¡°When I let my anger take control, I don¡¯t feel anything but that rage, it blocks out the heartbreak, the pain and the voices all around telling me that I am evil.¡± ¡°When I¡¯m the monster I¡¯m not evil, a monster isn¡¯t evil it is just something acting in its nature.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t a monster Mordred,¡± Guinevere told me stepping closer even as my face was twisted with hate. ¡°You told me yourself when you admitted who you really are, you are just a man.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°So what do you want me to do? Just abandon my anger, let if fall behind me?¡± I asked. ¡°Your one to talk. I can feel your emotions in the dreamscape too. Your just as angry as me, you may have pushed it down but its still there.¡± ¡°At least mine isn¡¯t an out-of-control wildfire,¡± Guinevere shot back. ¡°No,¡± I agreed. ¡°It¡¯s a sleeping volcano, and one day it¡¯s going to erupt. How many people will you hurt when that anger you think you have under control breaks free. I¡¯ve been dealing with my anger for years,¡± I said stepping closer and poked her in the chest. ¡°You¡¯ve been drugging a wild beast and think you have it tamed.¡± Guinevere pushed my hand back. ¡°At least I can go through my life without constantly making myself the victim.¡± ¡°The victim?¡± I asked my voice laden with scorn. ¡°You blame everyone else for all the problems in your life,¡± Guinevere said, her voice disgusted. ¡°I¡¯ve seen your memories never once have you taken the high road. At the slightest provocation you beat down anyone who pushes back on you.¡± ¡°And you just stand their and take their abuse,¡± I retorted. ¡°Your father, your teachers your peers. Is there anyone you haven¡¯t let walk all over you? Your marrying your cousin because if you don¡¯t two men who care more about power than their own people will go to war.¡± ¡°And what would you do if you were me?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Fuck¡¯em,¡± I said. ¡°You have enough strength to stand on your own Guinevere, but you¡¯ve always been to afraid to do so. Be who you are, not who they want you to be.¡± ¡°And are you who you want to be?¡± Guinevere asked, poking me back in the chest. ¡°I¡¯ve seen inside you too; your anger can¡¯t mask all your self-loathing. Is this who you really want to be is it who you really are?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°That¡¯s your problem,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°There¡¯s an easy way to prove it,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡± I asked. ¡°Touch the pedestal again,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Show me who you really are.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± I said flatly. ¡°You want to see the real me, let¡¯s see show each other who we really are.¡± --- Arthur readied himself as he circled Lancelot. The Dragon Tourney was only a few months away and while it was a ceremonial competition he wanted to still be in top form for it. There was also the matter of the next Event in a month and a half. Both he and Lancelot wanted to be ready for it. The details were sparce, but the system had implied that it would be different from what the last two had been like. ¡°How¡¯s the baby?¡± Lancelot asked, trying to distract him. Arthur didn¡¯t falter but a smile did come to his face. ¡°Galahad is fine,¡± he said. He¡¯d wanted to name his firstborn Arthur but had been forbidden by both his father and uncle. His heir had to come from his wife, so he had settled for another traditional name for his son. ¡°When are you getting married?¡± Arthur asked, launching a series of attacks against his friend. ¡°When I¡¯m good and ready,¡± Lancelot said countering each of the attacks and trying to hook Arthur¡¯s leg and trip him. ¡°What about those letters I¡¯ve seen you writing to that one lady?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°Mira was her name, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a friendly acquaintance between me and another champion,¡± Lancelot retorted shoving against Arthur with his shoulder as he pushed him back to make some space. ¡°You should try making them more often.¡± ¡°Why would I do that?¡± Arthur asked stabbing forwards in a feeling then slashing at Lancelot¡¯s left side. ¡°Because maybe then you wouldn¡¯t keep having your women problems,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°What would Guinevere think if she could see your bastard now?¡± The words were meant to put Arthur off balance, and they worked. Lancelot swept his legs out from under him, and his sword was at his neck. ¡°I win,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°That was a dirty trick,¡± Arthur said scowling standing up. Lancelot shrugged. ¡°I need to use them to beat you, what was that? Seven to one in your favor?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the champion of duelists,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Try fighting me with a few other people if you hate losing so much.¡± ¡°The disadvantage makes me better,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°don¡¯t be so sour, it¡¯s not my fault if your words sting, you broke your word to her she¡¯s dead now. You need to move on and live with the consequences you¡¯re not doing your son or anyone else any favors by wallowing in your guilt.¡± Chapter 85: The Real Me Placing our hands on the pedestal, we were drawn into the dreamscape. ¡°Mordred!¡± Sarah called out. I looked up and flashed her a grin. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I asked shutting my locker and shouldering my backpack. Sarah was tall with dark brown hair and blue eyes. She had a cute, upturned nose a spattering of freckles across her face. She wore a fuzzy green sweater today and knee-high skirt today her sneakers worn from her track running. ¡°I¡¯m going to be busy later today,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve got extra practice after school.¡± ¡°No problem,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve got karate after, so I probably won¡¯t see you until tomorrow.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why you don¡¯t do wrestling instead,¡± Sarah said. ¡°You could make a lot of friends and get involved with the school more.¡± ¡°Karate was recommended by my therapist to help with controlling my emotions,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Besides I like it.¡± ¡°Did you finish your part of the project for English?¡± Sarah asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said handing a folder my part of the written assignment. ¡°Love you,¡± Sarah said kissing me then skipping down the halls. Time passed as Sarah and I grew closer, she won race after race and I progressed with my skill in karate rising to the top of my class and signing up for several competitions. We spent the summer together and I got a job working at a farm down the road from my foster parents¡¯ house. Peter taught me how to drive a car and a motorcycle. He let me use my money from my summer job to purchase an old Honda motorcycle. I felt at peace with where I was. My past emotions continued to clash with current ones the knowledge of what was to come souring any joy or sense of accomplishment I might have felt. My memories sped forward to the next summer before Sarah and I would become Seniors. I¡¯d snuck her out of her parent¡¯s house and we¡¯d raced for a block before starting up my motorcycle and drove out of town. We were miles from the lights of the city and could see all the brilliance and the beauty of the night sky. ¡°You¡¯re going to get in trouble with your foster parents,¡± Sarah said turning her head and looking up at me. ¡°Mine too.¡± ¡°Only if they find out,¡± I said back kissing her on her forehead. We lapsed into silence for a moment. ¡°What do you want to be?¡± Sarah asked me. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I admitted. ¡°But whatever it is I want to do it with you.¡± Sarah laughed. ¡°Too corny?¡± I asked. ¡°No, I loved it,¡± Sarah said leaning back against my chest. ¡°I want to be doctor, I want to help people,¡± she said. ¡°I think you¡¯d be good at that,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I would though. I don¡¯t always get along well with others, and I don¡¯t think I have the patience to make it through medical school. I want to build things, maybe an architect.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pretty good at drawing,¡± Sarah said. ¡°I think you¡¯d make a great architect.¡± We were silent for a time as I held her in my arms. The summer night cool and comfortable against our skin a light breeze blowing across us. With Sarah right there I felt invincible, like I could do anything and become anyone. She was a source of strength I didn¡¯t even know I could have, and I¡¯d do anything to make her happy. ¡°I love you,¡± I whispered in her ear. Sarah froze and I realized it was the first time I¡¯d ever said that to her. Her breathing quickening, she turned around looking into my eyes. Tentatively she leaned up pressing her lips against mine softly. Our kiss deepened, she slid onto my lap pushing me down onto the blanket we¡¯d spread out. My hands traced her body as our tongues probed each other¡¯s mouths in a passionate desperate need for each other. Soon I felt her naked skin against mine, the ecstasy of joining together. When we rode back to her parents¡¯ place, she kissed me as she slid off my motorcycle. I rode home and parked out behind the garage. Jireh let out a single bark, but I shushed him rubbing his ears and feeding him a biscuit to shut him up. I snuck back upstairs and lay down but was unable to sleep, my heart still racing. Barely keeping from yanking my hand back and storming away in anger I continued to relive my past as I could feel Guinevere watching all the events transpire with me and feel every emotion I was and had been feeling. The deeper you went into the dreamscape the more vivid the memories and emotions became. The enchantment magnified every feeling you had to ten times what it had been forcing you to experience your highs and lows to extremes you never had when they occured. The memories skipped into the middle of senior year. Shutting the door of my locker I noticed a couple of the football players laughing and keep looking at me. I turned my back on them and ignored them. ¡°Hey Kung Fury!¡± one of them yelled. Keeping my back turned, I kept walking. ¡°How¡¯s it feel to be a cuck?¡± he asked. ¡°What do you want Isaac?¡± I asked, turning around. ¡°I just want you answer my question,¡± Isaac said stepping closer to me. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± I said sighing. Isaac held out his phone and what I saw made my heart drop from my chest. It showed Michael our schools star quarterback and Sarah together in his car. There was no way to interpret their actions as anything but what they were. ¡°Where is he?¡± I asked my voice low and flat. ¡°Kung Fury going to get some payback?¡± Isaac laughed. ¡°Michael¡¯s one of us if you want to get to¡­¡± My foot snapped up in a circle kick. My fist lashed out impacting the face of one his friends next to him. My leg ripped the feet out from under the third guy and he cracked his head on the tile floor as he hit the ground. My foot kicked into Isaac¡¯s ribs, and I placed it on his neck. ¡°Where is he?¡± I asked again, my voice a low growl. ¡°He¡¯s on the field doing extra practice,¡± Isaac wheezed. I turned to walk picking up speed with every second. I didn¡¯t break into a run, but people began stepping out of my way, the look on my face promising murder to anyone in my path. Pushing out of the school doors, I strode out onto the sidewalk that led to the football field. Scanning the players standing around it looked like they were taking a break. Spotting Michael I started walking again. With every step I moved faster and faster until I was sprinting. I lifted off the ground and flew like an arrow. My feet collided with Michael¡¯s chest, only his football gear protecting him from several shattered ribs, but I still heard several crack. He wasn¡¯t wearing his helmet and my fists began to pound his face in. My attack had been so sudden that people had just stood around for several seconds. People grabbed me and tried to pull me back, but I shook them off me keeping up my berserk attack. Eventually I was yanked off of Michael, but his face was a bruised and bleeding wreck at that point, and he was missing several teeth. ¡°The hell man! What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± someone screamed at me. ¡°He knows why,¡± I said nodding to Michael. He had sat up and was holding his broken nose. His face was already darkening with bruises and blood flowed freely from a split lip. My own lip was bleeding and my jaw was already sore. I¡¯d been so blinded by rage I couldn¡¯t even say who it was who had hit me. ¡°Mordred!¡± a familiar voice called out in horror. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sarah pushed her way through the crowd. I turned to her, and she flinched at the look of murder in my eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Sarah asked me. ¡°You know,¡± I said, and she flinched at my words but didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°At least you¡¯re not denying it,¡± I said. ¡°You decided I wasn¡¯t enough for you and to trade me in for an upgrade.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t like that,¡± Sarah protested. ¡°Then how was it?¡± I asked. ¡°You get tired of me, was I your project to see if you could fix the bad boy?¡± ¡°No!¡± Sarah snapped. Michael pushed his way forward placing himself between me and Sarah. ¡°Back off Mordred,¡± he said. He meant his words to be threatening but he couldn¡¯t pull it off with the way his voice sounded with a broken nose. ¡°And you chose this,¡± I said shrugging off the hands holding me and gesturing to Michael. ¡°Michael Hearth, the guy who¡¯s slept his way through the prettiest girls in school¡­ before he got tired of them.¡± I looked at Sarah behind him. ¡°And he¡¯ll get tired of you too, and when he leaves you, you¡¯ll deserve it.¡± Sarah flinched at my words, but I didn¡¯t take them back. I buried any love I still had for her letting my anger smother it. The police came and took me away. I was a minor still so there wasn¡¯t much they could to me. I was expelled of course for attacking four students all of whose families were threatening to press charges. I didn¡¯t give a shit. I collapsed against the wall of the shower, the water running down my back easing the pain of bruises. A sob broke free and I let it out tears streaming down my face to be instantly washed away. My throat was so tight I could barely breathe. Thoughts spun through my mind too fast to even focus on. Sarah¡¯s face, then Michael¡¯s, his beaten in the face. My mother, her bruises after my father hit her, the knife in my hand, the flashing lights and sounds of the sirens. I sagged to the bottom of the tub letting the water rain down on me as I pulled my knees tight. I cried letting out all the grief and anger. The hot water turned cold, but I didn¡¯t move up letting my body shiver as the downpour from the shower turned icy. I stayed there for hours until I couldn¡¯t cry anymore. It was a moment I¡¯d gone through many times as a child. First with the abuse from my father, then when my mother had chosen him over me. I remembered crying all those times. Eventually I¡¯d stopped crying and hadn¡¯t cried since then. Every time the tears had wanted to come, I¡¯d shoved them down but now I couldn¡¯t stop. Eventually of course the tears did stop, I buried the grief with my anger. Pulling myself out of the tub I dried off and sat at the edge of the bed. Jireh came over to me his tail wagging and I smiled a single sob escaping before I locked it down. My hands ran through his course hair heeling the softness of his ears as I scratched under his collar. Time passed as I was confined to the house. It was fine I didn¡¯t have anywhere I wanted to go. The families did press charges all except for Michael¡¯s. I guess pressing charges against the guy whose girlfriend you were cheating with would have made him look bad. The day of my court case came and my foster family drove me over, their support was the only way I¡¯d been getting through the past few weeks. I sat behind the desk, my attorney at my side. I didn¡¯t know his name and hadn¡¯t bothered to learn it. He was just someone appointed by the state and would have as little interest in me as I had in him. Isaac and his friends had reported me attacking them to the police. My history of getting into fights had led to this hearing. I was seventeen now so I wasn¡¯t sure what would happen, given my good behavior for the last three years I was hoping it wouldn¡¯t be too severe. The judge read through the papers at his desk before looking down at me. ¡°I see a history of fights, battery, and assault in your juvenile record,¡± he said. ¡°However, you broke the pattern and haven¡¯t had any reported problems for the last three years; what changed?¡± I shrugged. ¡°They had it coming.¡± The judge scowled in disapproval. ¡°You can¡¯t stay with your current foster family any longer. Although they have requested you be allowed to stay you¡¯ve been suspended from your school and there is a restraining order against you from the boys you assaulted, I also have reports of you assaulting another boy even if he didn¡¯t press charges.¡± I said nothing. ¡°Given your age and history there aren¡¯t many families willing to take you in,¡± the judge continued. ¡°Since you¡¯re not an adult yet you also can¡¯t live on your own. However, your family has offered to take you back in.¡± My head snapped up and I twisted around scanning the small courtroom. It wasn¡¯t big but I hadn¡¯t cared enough to look at anyone. Scanning the few people there I stopped on a man and woman with two children sitting beside them. I recognized them both even if had been almost a decade since I¡¯d last seen them. My father¡¯s hair had more grey in it and the scowl I remember on him so clearly was gone replaced by a look of concern. My mother¡¯s hair was tied back, and she wore a simple bouse and skirt. Two children who had to be around ten and twelve were sitting their looking nervous and bored the way children do in formal public settings. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°They have requested time to speak to you in private and I¡¯m granting it,¡± the judge said. ¡°We¡¯ll take an hour break for lunch and resume afterwards.¡± I sat across from biological parents, my foster parents by my side. I stared at them saying nothing as they talked at me and my foster parents and legal counsel. ¡°This is probably the best outcome you can expect Mordred,¡± my Lawyer said. ¡°if you don¡¯t go with your parents, you¡¯ll sent to a juvenile detention center until you¡¯re an adult.¡± Not turning to acknowledge he had spoken I finally addressed the room. ¡°If I¡¯m a monster, then what are the people who made me?¡± I asked. ¡°You talk about my anger, but it¡¯s my father¡¯s gift to me. You say I can¡¯t let things go? What about the woman who chose to stay with her abuser and abandon her own son?¡± When I said that I turned to my mother who flinched and looked away. ¡°All my failures are of your creation, but I¡¯m the one who¡¯s been left to suffer them,¡± I said my voice ringing out harsh and accusing. ¡°Mordred¡­¡± my mother said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for how we treated you, it wasn¡¯t right but we¡¯ve¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked scornfully. ¡°You¡¯ve changed? Good for you! You started over with a new son,¡± when I said this, I looked to my younger brother who I hadn¡¯t even known I had. ¡°Well, it¡¯s too late too undo your mistakes; I don¡¯t forgive you. The two of you destroyed my childhood and you think you can just swoop in, and it all be water under the bridge.¡± ¡°No, fuck you,¡± I snarled. ¡°I¡¯d rather go to jail than have to spend a day with you again.¡± My foster parents tried to convince me to give my parents a chance, but my mind was made up. I was allowed to pack up my things. I hugged Jireh goodbye breathing in the musk of his fur as tears rolled down my face. I hugged Peter and Amanda goodbye and left. I finished my GED in juvie. I pulled back my hand letting the dreamscape end. Guinevere turned and met my eyes. ¡°That,¡± I said. ¡°Is the real me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Guinevere said taking my hand. ¡°Whatever monster you think you are, I trust you.¡± She pressed my hand against the pedestal, and we were both sucked back into the storm of memories. Once again, we watched out childhoods pass by my memories passed and I looked at my parents face again. When there faces faded to black, we didn¡¯t¡¯ continue with my story, instead looking on Guinevere¡¯s past. Guinevere was around twelve or thirteen now. Master Sazu stood on a balcony above her, and she looked up and nodded to him. With a snap of his fingers a dozen cages were opened and real, not summoned, monsters were released. They raced towards her, and she held her ground, her face expressionless. A panther with the tail of a snake leaped at her, she ducked gutting it open as it passed over her and her sword flicked out removing the head of its tail as its corpse passed over her. A ram with a dark stony carapace charged at her. Guinevere pivoted on one heel and used her momentum to drive her sword through its side pushing against the pommel of her sword with other hand to add the extra needed force to break through its armor. The other monsters came at her in ones and twos, they weren¡¯t all the same type, so they lacked the concerted effort of a unified pack of monsters, but their attacks did not relent as they tried to kill the thirteen-year-old girl. When it was done their blood and guts were leaking into the sand of the training area. ¡°Well done,¡± Sazu said. Guinevere flushed with pride and excitement at his praise. ¡°When will I be ready to run a dungeon?¡± she asked. ¡°Your not ready to handle that sort of thing alone,¡± Sazu said. ¡°Agreed,¡± a powerful voice said. ¡°Which is why she should have a party.¡± Merlin stepped out into full view on the upper balcony. ¡°You have taught Guinevere well, but she requires testing. I¡¯ve several young nobles around her age ready for their first forey into a dungeon. Sazu¡¯s frown deepened further. ¡°You want to send her into a dungeon with an untested group?¡± ¡°Has she been lacking in her training?¡± Merlin asked calmly. Sazu straightened indignantly. ¡°I¡¯ve full confidence in Guinevere; she could fill any role needed in a party, she cannot cover for an entire party though.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sending her with dregs,¡± Merlin said. ¡°These are nobles who have undergone the same training as Guinevere has.¡± ¡°I assure you they have not,¡± Sazu said coldly. ¡°You told me I would have full control of her training.¡± ¡°This is not training,¡± Merlin said smoothly. ¡°As my eldest daughter it is her duty to serve as my representative, I require the other nobility to see that she has not fallen behind them.¡± ¡°When this goes badly it will be on your head,¡± Sazu warned. ¡°Not mine, and above all not hers.¡± ¡°Understood,¡± Merlin said although their was an edge of annoyance in his voice now. ¡°Then so be it,¡± Sazu said. -- Guinevere stood nervously with the group of four other children her age. Their equipment was resplendent and ornate. Sazu had permitted her to only take one magical item with her. Her hands gripped the storm grey leather of the artifact sword passed down her mother¡¯s line.
Eira- (Artifact II), Type: Sword, Created by Viviane the goddess of Duelists and Honor as a gift to his wife Guinevere. The sword is aligned with her bloodline and only one of her descendants can wield it. It is an artifact and cannot be destroyed by anything except anther deity.
The sword does a moderate amount of additional frost damage on each hit.
The sword inflicts Brittle on any armor it comes in contact with.
*Brittle: Hardness of armor reduced by 1 while armor is chilled.
Sazu didn¡¯t want her to have an abundance of magical items already. It would affect not only the loot the dungeon rewarded but also any titles she might be awarded. A larger boy stepped forward he wore thick heavy plate armor engraved with runes. ¡°My name is Latrel, I am the firstborn son of Baron Galahad. I propose I act as team leader for this dungeon run.¡± Two other boys immediately moved to support him. There was one other girl there, she carried a heavy repeating crossbow. She looked at Guinevere but neither said anything to naysay the three boys in their party. They stepped into the dungeon together and were greeted by the system notification.
Welcome to the Dungeon Frozen Hearts.
Rewards will be increased slightly due to your party being one under the max size.
Dungeon Rank: Mortal Max Party Size: 6
They continued for a hundred yards before running into their first monster. Guinevere¡¯s father had made sure that neither she nor any of her party members had been allowed to study up on the dungeon beforehand. They would have to act as if this were an unexplored dungeon and learn as they went. The first creature towered four feet over Guinevere. It was covered in white fur and horns like a mountain goat. Letting out a roar its arms, which hung down to the ground propelled it forwards as it charged Latrel who was acting as their tank. ¡°Iron Bastion!¡± Latrel shouted.
Adolescent Yeti Warrior, Dungeon Creature, monstrous-humanoid/yeti, Mortal, Power Level: 15
Guinevere hadn¡¯t ever earned a new ability. The few captive monsters she¡¯d slain hadn¡¯t been judged a great enough threat to warrant an ability by the system and had only let her upgrade a few of her abilities. The yeti¡¯s fist hit Latrel¡¯ shield. To his credit he didn¡¯t fold under the attack; he did slide back unable to absorb all the force. The boy to his right stepped forward and plunged a halberd into the yeti¡¯s chest. The other boy teleported behind it and swung down his sword cleaving into its spine. The yeti died and they pushed onwards. The next room had three more yetis and proved a more troublesome endeavor. Guinevere blocked and spun out of the way of the attacks the yetis were resistant to cold damage, but the razor-sharp edge of her sword still cut easily through their hide. A little more bruised the boy with the halberd, Petre, used a healing ability to fix the small amount of damage they had taken. They continued to press through the dungeon like this, but Guinevere had an uneasy feeling the farther they went. She had heard stories of dungeons and this one was just too easy. ¡°We should be seeing more monsters,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Where are they?¡± ¡°They probably ran off when they saw how many of them, we were killing,¡± Latrel said shrugging his shoulders and continuing to march on. ¡°Dungeon spawn don¡¯t know fear,¡± the other girl whose name was Iriela cut in scornful of his answer. ¡°I think we should backtrack and look for any side tunnels we might have missed,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°The record for a team clearing this dungeon on their first attempt is two and a half hours,¡± Latrel said. ¡°I¡¯m here to beat that record and I¡¯m not going to jeopardize that because you feel a little uneasy.¡± The two boys who were obviously his yes men immediately backed him up and Iriela and Guinevere had no choice but to follow them. They kept moving deeper into the dungeon as Guinevere nervously scanned the tunnels around them. They entered a large cavern. The white and blue walls reflected their light source all around them. Guinevere¡¯s nerves were on total edge as she looked about and didn¡¯t see a single dungeon spawn. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong,¡± she said. This time everyone was on edge, but Latrel stood straighter. ¡°Listen Guinevere,¡± he said. ¡°I realize you think you¡¯re something special because of your father but I¡¯m the party leader. We¡¯re pushing forwards.¡± He stepped forwards his two companions reluctantly following him in. Guinevere stepped into the cavern fully followed by Iriela. That¡¯s when the trap went off. Howls echoed down the tunnel behind them. Ice fell from the ceiling as holes appeared. Yeti¡¯s began hurling javelins made of hardened ice at them. Guinevere barely avoided being skewered. A deeper more guttural roar rose and echoed about the cavern. A massive yeti stepped into the cavern three times the size of the other creatures. Its horns curled back around and its had a pair of thick tusks as well. Unlike the rest of the yetis who at most would use a club or crude spear this monster carried a heavy axe and wore armor made of bone and hide.
Abnel the Cruel, Gifted- monstrous-humanoid/yeti, Mortal, Rank: 55
Warning! This is a random wandering boss, it has increased the threat level of this dungeon. Killing it will provide additional rewards if you can survive.
¡°We need to run,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°No one runs!¡± Latrel said slamming his shield into the ground. ¡°Anyone who tries I¡¯ll kill you myself! We can beat this thing if you follow my orders.¡± Guinevere knew they couldn¡¯t and wasn¡¯t about to die to satisfy this boys pride. Master Sazu¡¯s words echoed back in her mind from an old lesson they had. ¡°Sometimes we must do evil things to ensure that the least amount of people suffer.¡± Guinevere stepped forward, her sword plunging straight ahead. Latrel looked down in shock at the blade emerging from his chest as he collapsed to the ground. ¡°You two,¡± Guinevere snapped her voice filled with authority as she channeled her father. ¡°Get her to safety, I¡¯ll slow them down and meet you down the tunnel.¡± They were shocked and stunned staring at the corpse of their leader. ¡°Now!¡± Guinevere shouted. Whether it was panic or her tone of authority they began to run. The wandering boss roared and Guinevere turned to face it. There was no way they could outrun this thing but perhaps she could slow it down. It charged her and swung its axe. She bent backwards under the axe and snapped back up her sword clashing up and cutting deep into its wrist. Abnel had to abandon its twohanded grip on the axe. Guinevere rolled under it as it smashed its fist towards her. She sliced it up into its groin and even on a monster that strike was extremely effective. Howling in agony the yeti slashed blindly about it. Guinevere parried one strike that would have only grazed her and dodged another. Her stamina was running low, but she paced herself. ¡°Mirror Block,¡± she said using one of her abilities she had since birth. ¡°Royal Blade. Winter¡¯s Aura, Winter¡¯s Touch.¡± While Winter¡¯s Touch and Aura wouldn¡¯t do much against a creature like this they also gave her a passive resistance to cold damage. She rolled under another strike her sword glowing with the power of royal blade. She hacked into the yeti¡¯s knee. It stumbled backwards and she summersaulted over another strike from the axe. A single hit would kill her here. Latrel¡¯s shield would have been shattered by the first hit from that axe. Wandering bosses were notorious for being twice as powerful as the main boss of a dungeon. Luckily, they were rare but only the most prepared of teams or those very familiar with a dungeon would take one on. Roaring Abnel charged her again blue blood sprinkling the ground from all its wounds. ¡°Stand your ground,¡± Guinevere said. She held her position bending under the axe strike and pushing against its edge with her sword. She thrust up her sword digging into the artery on the yeti¡¯s neck. It stumbled past her blood fountaining out. Finally, it collapsed to the ground letting out one last growl before going still. Guinevere ran into cover to escape the barrage of ice javelins from the ceiling. As she ran, she received several notifications from the system.
Ability Gained, Ice Flash (Rank 1): You use temperature to displace yourself and reappear elsewhere. You can teleport up 15ft dealing minor frost damage to all enemies within 3ft of the location you just vacated.
Cost: 3 mana per cast Cooldown 30 seconds
Upgrade this ability to increase the range and damage dealt and reduce its cooldown. Each upgrade increases your Spirit by 1.
27 rank points gained.
Congratulations you have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective kill one of your own party members.
Reward: Cold Blooded
*Cold Blooded: You deal two extra damage stages against those who perceive you as an ally.
The notification made her sick. She hadn¡¯t wanted to kill Latrel, but she had needed to make sure her other team members survived and now she was being rewarded for killing one of her own party members. She pushed down the guilt and vomited and kept running. The bodies of yeti¡¯s littered the ground where her surviving party members had cut their way to freedom. She stepped out of the dungeon and was immediately confronted by a furious Petre. ¡°You killed Latrel!¡± he shouted, having obviously had enough time to process the event. ¡°When his father learns what you¡¯ve done, you¡¯ll hang for this.¡± Guinevere didn¡¯t defend herself. Her own inner voice was telling her the same thing. It turned out Guinevere wouldn¡¯t hang. When your father was Merlin there weren¡¯t any consequences at all for you. That made Guinevere even more sick, but she kept a smile on her face as her father praised her for her quick thinking. ¡°I knew you were ready,¡± he said giving her a proud smile. -- Years passed in training again. Guinevere turned from a lanky awkward teenager into a lithe beautiful young woman. She ducked under the strike of a tail cutting it off at the base and driving her sword through its chest. Another of the forest drakes dropped on her from the trees above. She skewered it through the neck flicking it off her blade. Breathing out heavily she looked at the massacre around her and turned to Master Sazu for approval. ¡°Well done,¡± Sazu said giving her a sad smile. Guinevere bowed to him her sword going out as she bent one leg backwards. ¡°All thanks to your training. What next?¡± ¡°Your training is done,¡± Sazu said. ¡°I have nothing left I can teach you.¡± ¡°What?¡± Guinevere asked shocked. ¡°This is goodbye,¡± Sazu said stepping forward and extending his hand. ¡°You have grown so much from the little girl I first met but our time together has passed.¡± ¡°But¡­ I thought,¡± Guinevere said her heart twisting in her chest. ¡°I can tell you believe you have feelings for me,¡± Sazu said kindly. ¡°But I¡¯m not the one for you. You¡¯ve been like a daughter to me, and I care for you¡­ but I can¡¯t care for you in the way you want.¡± Guinevere bowed her head a flush of embarrassment and shame coming to her face. ¡°You have a great destiny in your future,¡± Sazu said. ¡°And I will watch your life to see what you make of yourself.¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± Guinevere asked. Sazu hesitated for a moment. ¡°I have friends in Dracon I have not heard from in a long time, I intend to go check in on them.¡± ¡°Will I ever see you again?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°If fate wills it,¡± Sazu said. Guinevere¡¯s brows furrowed in confusion. ¡°Don¡¯t you mean if the gods will it?¡± she asked wondering how he got the expression wrong. ¡°You¡¯ll understand one day,¡± Sazu said. Guinevere watched him ride away the little flame she had kept burning for him dying out. Guinevere and I pulled back our hands back mentally and emotionally drained by having to experience each other¡¯s and our own magnified emotions. As the darkness of the dreamscape faded our eyes met again. I wasn¡¯t sure what she expected to see from me, and I also wasn¡¯t sure how I had expected her to react. ¡°I¡¯ve seen who you are,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°And I still just see another human.¡± My hands moved of their own accord. I pulled Guinevere against me as my lips found hers. A tremble passed through her. She reciprocated my touch for a second then pushed back breaking free. A flush rose up her cheeks. She turned and fled to our hut. I was left standing there unsure of my actions or why I had taken that step. Good for you, Voidra said. I¡¯ve been waiting for you to make a move on her for weeks, but Karnen said it was a bad idea. When you tell someone to do something it usually means they should do the opposite, Karnen said. But I do agree you should have moved in on her awhile back. ¡°I need some quiet,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°If the two of you could keep your conversation to yourself for a while, I¡¯d appreciate it.¡± Chapter 86: Star Crossed Neither Guinevere nor I brought up the kiss again. It hung between us but neither of us was willing to bring up the topic or cross that line again. We dueled in training then sat across from each other as we worked on our respective magical studies. I was close to a new protype for my enchantment having figured out several pieces that would fit together into a larger whole. Guinevere was rapidly learning more and more of the language and was able to start reading enchantments. That evening after dinner we fought again. I got close to knocking Guinevere over, but she managed to sidestep at the last second and use her left leg to trip me then drove her sword hilt first into my chest knocking me over. Rising to our feet again we wiped off the sweat with my cleansing cloth and returned to the pedestal. Having viewed the memories once was enough to get passed them again but you were still forced to watch and experience them again every single time. As far as I could tell time didn¡¯t actually seem to pass while we were in the dreamscape or if it did then it was rapidly accelerated. Memories of our childhood and adolescence passed. Then a new memory began to play I could tell we were nearing the end, both because we were running out of my life to view, and I could feel the lock on the barrier slowly starting to turn. -- My memories of being in juvie were a blur the time there leaving no impact on me. I got my GED and applied to several collages. Since I was minor nothing I had done was on my record. I had been an alright student but not enough to receive any scholarships. I got enough financial aid and was accepted at a small local university to study architecture. My first semester was unremarkable. I did well in classes even if I didn¡¯t enjoy them. I met her the following semester. She literally bumped into her outside one of my lecture halls. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± she said bending down to help me with my books. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± I said picking up my textbook and a few scattered pages. She met my eyes a playful cast to her emerald eyes. She pushed back dark golden-brown hair behind her right ear. As she hugged a sketchbook to her chest. ¡°I¡¯m Eve,¡± she said extending her hand. ¡°I¡¯m Mordred,¡± I said taking her hand. ¡°I don¡¯t normally do this but¡­ do you wannna grab a coffee sometime?¡± she asked me. I hesitated memories of Sarah haunting me but I pushed them down. ¡°Sure,¡± I said. We exchanged numbers and I watched her skip away. We started dating and moved in with each other that summer. I tried to forget what Sarah had done but it kept flashing in my mind. I was never able to trust Eve and found myself getting irrationally furious at her. Our relationship was whirlwind of passionate romance and furious arguments. My fist smashed into the wall as Eve screamed at me. I couldn¡¯t even recall the exact reason for the fight we¡¯d had so many. Eve got in my face and before I could stop myself, I found my hand striking out, slapping her across the face. I looked down on her and for an instant I didn¡¯t see her but my mother after my father had hit her. The memory hit me harder than any blow could have. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said and fled our apartment. I dropped out of college. I hadn¡¯t been doing great and being around Eve was too painful. I looked in the mirror and I didn¡¯t see my face but my father instead. The memory ended. Guinevere met Arthur in the palace gardens. They were both clad in dark cloaks to hide their identities. ¡°My father has refused your father again,¡± she said. ¡°This isn¡¯t good,¡± Arthur sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know why your father won¡¯t renew the lease on us using them for training the army.¡± ¡°Because he knows that four of your dungeons went dark,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°You need him more than he needs you and he has something he wants.¡± ¡°My father isn¡¯t going to give him the staff,¡± Arthur said. ¡°If he had that he could level the whole country. I¡¯ve got no idea what we¡¯re going to do.¡± For a moment Guinevere was silent. ¡°We could get married,¡± she finally said. ¡°What?¡± Arthur asked surprised. Guinevere pulled out a law book from under her cloak and set it down on the garden bench between them. ¡°Camelot states that the heir of a noble house can grant access to Dungeons to the vassals of her spouse,¡± she explained opening up to the law in question. ¡°Your father might disown you if you tried that,¡± Arthur said. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said confidently. ¡°That¡¯s too direct for him he¡¯d just use our marriage to try and leverage some other gain.¡± ¡°Is this something you want to do?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°No,¡± Guinevere answered honestly. ¡°But we are scions of the two most powerful houses in Camelot, its not about what we want. However, I do have conditions.¡± ¡°And what are those?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°You will never lie to me,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°And I won¡¯t just be a pollical pawn either. I will have the full powers of royalty, and you will not take any concubines or mistresses.¡± ¡°Getting you the full powers of royalty will be hard,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I¡¯m going against my father here,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°You¡¯ll do whatever you have to get your father to agree to my demands.¡± Guinevere left and time began to blur as the betrothal was agreed to. Guinevere began to tour the land to gain political allies both in Camelot and abroad. Her father insisted she take a party of his choice to keep her safe. She was in the border provinces near the Cursed Forest when she received news of the Warlord. Guinevere¡¯s memories ended but another one began for me. It was close to the end. The emotions washing over us were as powerful as an orgasm if no where near as pleasant. I pulled my hand back just before it could show the last memory and complete itself. We were ejected from the dreamscape violently this time as if being so close and refusing to go all the way had angered the magic holding us back. Waves of emotion washed over us like a tide as we experienced all our highs and lows in an instant. ¡°Why can¡¯t you open up to me!¡± Guinevere screamed in frustration pushing away from the crystal. I sagged to the ground, the emotional weight on me dragging me down. ¡°Why can¡¯t you move on?¡± Guinevere asked, falling to the ground across from me sobbing from the emotional turmoil the backlash had caused us both. ¡°Because I¡¯m afraid,¡± my voice weak and horse from the bottled-up emotion. ¡°Afraid of what?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°That you¡¯ll betray and abandon me,¡± I admitted. ¡°We¡¯re bound together by a blood oath, I can¡¯t betray you,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Not now, but someday.¡± I said heat coming to my voice. ¡°I¡¯m your enemy remember, what happens when your kingdom declares war on me. Will you stand by and let me cut down all that come my way, will you let them surround and tear me down or will you join them in destroying me?¡± Guinevere was silent. ¡°You¡¯ve not considered it have you?¡± I asked a small laugh escaping but it wasn¡¯t filled with joy, just despair. ¡°We¡¯re destined to be enemies, compelled by forces greater than ourselves to never be on the same side after this.¡± ¡°What do you want from me?¡± Guinevere asked tears running down her face. ¡°To say that I¡¯ll stand beside you and face those armies? You know I can¡¯t, those people are my family and countrymen.¡± ¡°I want you to care,¡± I snapped. ¡°Sometimes I see something in your eyes but you lock it away and turn to ice.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t feel for you,¡± Guinevere said, her voice shaking. ¡°Why not?¡± I asked. ¡°Because it will break my heart,¡± Guinevere said standing up and fleeing into the cavern. Guinevere didn¡¯t speak to me for the next two days, the emotional web between us keeping us apart. She didn¡¯t come to find me, and I realized I would have to be the one to bridge this gap. I found her sitting on a boulder in the water, her bare legs dangling into the water. At first I didn¡¯t say anything, just removed my boots and dangled my feet into the water beside her. We sat together in silence for several minutes. ¡°Do you love me?¡± I asked. That was not the question I had meant to ask but it was what had come out when I opened my mouth. Guinevere¡¯s head jerked to the side as stunned as I by the question. He eyes met mine and she immediately looked away. ¡°I can¡¯t answer that?¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Why not?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯ve shown me your entire life, what about this question is more difficult than that?¡± ¡°Because that was the past!¡± Guinevere snapped back. ¡°This is here and now, and that question is about the future. I had a dream last night; I¡¯ve been having them since you gave me that ability.¡± She was referring to when I had made her one of my lieutenants so she could stand against the assassins, I realized. I hadn¡¯t considered the ramifications of giving my lieutenants visions when I had chosen that ability to share with them. ¡°What did you see?¡± I asked. ¡°A black warrior flying through the air,¡± Guinevere replied. ¡°All around you was ash and smoke and the heavens roared at your passing¡­. and I was there beside you.¡± ¡°What makes that so bad?¡± I asked. ¡°Because I am betrothed to someone else!¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I may not love Arthur, but I gave him my word.¡± ¡°And do you think he kept his?¡± I asked. ¡°We¡¯ve been gone for almost a year he probably thinks you died and even before I¡¯m willing to bet he wasn¡¯t faithful to you.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Even if he was unfaithful it doesn¡¯t make it right for me to break my word to him. The actions of others do not define us, only what we do.¡± ¡°And what will you do when you return to Camelot and he has moved on?¡± I asked. ¡°Then I will be free and my word unbroken,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°And then?¡± I asked the implied question hanging between us. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Your asking me to give up my entire world to be with you, would you give up being the Warlord?¡± I wasn¡¯t even sure if was possible for me to give that up. I thought about my answer before I spoke. ¡°If being with you meant I could wage no wars I would do so. But I won¡¯t stop trying to win, I will ascend.¡± ¡°Then¡­ maybe,¡± Guinevere said her voice full of confliction. I held out my hand to her. ¡°Then are your ready to go through?¡± --- Mira¡¯s eyes narrowed as her passive abilities enhanced her vision. She could see for leagues from the top of the tree she was perched in. Far to the north she caught sight of black scales and a burst of green fire. Jumping down her wings snapped out and she glided to the ground. ¡°I saw him,¡± she said. ¡°He¡¯s maybe four to three days away from us. The start of the Blighted Swamp is only two days journey from where we are now.¡± ¡°We need to get in and get out quickly,¡± Atrel said. ¡°Why we brought potions of resist curse, fire and disease,¡± Jamis said. ¡°What other dangers do these swamps contain.¡± ¡°The Blight,¡± Helen said darkly. ¡°No one knows what it is but it comes from the fallen star it killed everything for leagues. The old kings had to erect a circle of enchanted menhirs around the swamp to keep it from spreading. Its some sort of energy that kills and corrupts everything it comes in contact with.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen deer drink from the waters there,¡± Atrel said. ¡°Then their offspring are born twisted and malformed. Two headed animals and beasts are not an uncommon sight around the swamp, those that manage to survive are enhanced by whatever it is and are far more deadly.¡± ¡°That does sound unpleasant,¡± Jamis agreed. ¡°Is there no protection against it?¡± ¡°Not one that we have discovered yet,¡± Atrel said. ¡°When we raided the dragons nest for fallen scales, we would have to shave all our hair off when we left the swamp. You¡¯d vomit for days afterwards, some men developed growths that had to be cut off.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Torvin said. ¡°Spend as little time in the swamp as possible I totally understand.¡± Chapter 87: A Seal Broken Our hands slid into the pedestal for what would hopefully be the last time. The darkness closed in around us as the dreamscape dragged us back in. -- The memories passed the emotional torment still like a knife in the heart for both us. We reached the end and light flooded our eyes. This was not a memory we were in I instantly recognized. It was a vision. A ragged and battered man knelt in plain of corpses. Black mist surrounded him but could not hide the blood dripping of him. He lifted his head and an bestial howl tore from his throat. Crimson eyes burned through the black mist full of rage and hatred. Not another living soul could be seen. Howerer many corpes could be seen, bodies of horrifying monsters littered the ground torn into pieces and shredded to the bone. It wasn¡¯t just monsters though, men were impaled on their own weapons, women lay half naked into pools of their own blood and the caved in skull of a child were just a taste of the horror and carnage that surrounded the beast. It was the scene out of nightmare, more real and visceral than anything a horror movie could produce and with an air of malice that made my skin crawl. Looking down I saw I was not a disembodied spirit as I had been in my memories. I had a physical form. My hand was entwined with Guinevere who also stood next to me in physical form. I looked around confused at this change in the pattern. ¡°What is this place?¡± I asked my voice echoing and reverberating through the space. ¡°This is what will transpire if you ascend to godhood,¡± a voice spoke out. Guinevere and I went back-to-back our months of fighting against waves of monsters returning to us in a moment. We looked around but could see nothing. Then a feminine figure made of pure light appeared in the space with us. ¡°What are you?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I am the barrier that guards this tower,¡± the spirit said. ¡°I have watched you struggle to gain entrance for many months now. I am here to convince you to go back.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked, narrowing my eyes. ¡°Because this is the fate that awaits you,¡± she said gesturing to representation of me. ¡°Behold, Mordred God of Blood and Slaughter the scourge of all life.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t know that,¡± I said scornfully. ¡°Can¡¯t I?¡± the figure asked, she turned to Guinevere. ¡°You have seen him fight, felt his rage and madness. You have seen visions of the carnage he will unleash. Are you willing to unleash that on the world?¡± ¡°And what would you have me do?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Kill him? if you¡¯ve been watching us you know I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Kill him? No that¡¯s not what I¡¯m asking you to do,¡± the light spirit said. ¡°I¡¯m asking you to pull your hand back. Don¡¯t try to go through the barrier again. Live out the rest of your days here on the island with him, grow and old with eachother and have children.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen the future myself,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve also changed it, the future is not set in stone. That,¡± I said gesturing to my alter self. ¡°is not inevitable.¡± ¡°You seem so certain,¡± the spirit said. ¡°But the choice is ultimately Guinevere¡¯s will you risk unleashing another black god upon the world?¡± The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Guinevere paused and turned to stare and the bloodstained creature. You couldn¡¯t call it a man, there was no emotion or soul behind its eyes just a mindless feral rage that would lash out at anything in its field of view. When I looked at it, I felt a twinge of unease. Despite my words to Guinevere, a part of me did resonate with this beast, I understood it more than I was comfortable with. ¡°Is this what you want to become?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°No!¡± I snapped reflexively. ¡°I know you Mordred,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Better than anyone, maybe even better than yourself. I hate to say it, but this is a path you¡¯ve already stepped down.¡± ¡°If you really believe that than why are you here?¡± I asked dropping her hand and stepping away from her. ¡°And could you stay with someone like that?¡± I asked gesturing to the beast. ¡°Could you spend the rest of your days on this island with someone as much beast as a man?¡± ¡°I could,¡± Guinevere said taking my right hand in both of hers. ¡°Because I don¡¯t believe that is what you are, but I fear it is what you will become. You have so much anger and its eating away at you; I see the good in you, I¡¯m just worried that you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°What do you want from me?¡± I asked her my voice suddenly tired and defeated. ¡°I want you to want more than to just to win at any cost,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I want you to believe your worthy of being loved.¡± My left hand closed around hers as I brought it to my lips kissing the back of her palm. ¡°I don¡¯t know if any of us are worthy of that, I think it just happens to us.¡± Guinevere met my eyes. For a long moment she said nothing than she stepped closer and put her head against my chest. ¡°I trust him,¡± was all she said. ¡°Well done,¡± the spirit said surprising us both. ¡°You have passed the trial.¡± ¡°Wait seriously?¡± I asked. ¡°This was the test?¡± ¡°Whatever my creators¡¯ intensions were they created me only to ensure that those who tried to break the seal had enough trust in each other to be able to witness the raw creatures that are you humans,¡± the guardian spirit said. ¡°You two have completed that, whatever you become now is up to you.¡± ¡°What happens to you?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°My work is done,¡± the spirit said. ¡°I have no more purpose¡­ except perhaps one thing. We will speak again one day daughter of winter.¡± With that the spirit vanished and we were sucked out of the dreamscape. -- Guinevere leaned against me sagging from relief as we exited the trial. I froze as I held her in my arms, her hair soft against my cheek, despite her strength she seemed so fragile right now and I was afraid to move and break the moment between us. For a long time, we just stood there, then we looked up at the steps towards the white tower. ¡°We should get ready to leave,¡± I said. ¡°Yeah,¡± Guinevere agreed. Neither of us moved. ¡°What happens to us now?¡± Guinevere asked. She wasn¡¯t asking about our immediate future, and I knew it, but I didn¡¯t have an answer to her yet. ¡°Are you still going to marry him?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t want to,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But you¡¯re going to do it anyway,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve been gone for a year, there¡¯s no way he hasn¡¯t moved on.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t about him!¡± Guinevere said pushing back against my chest, so our eyes met again. ¡°It¡¯s not about his actions, its about mine. I gave my word, to preserve the peace of my kingdom, my word means something to me. If I break my promise¡­ I won¡¯t be me.¡± ¡°So, what happens when you get there, and you find he¡¯s already moved on?¡± I asked. ¡°If he¡¯s broken his promise to me than I¡¯m free of my obligations to him,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°And then?¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± Guinevere sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She looked away. ¡°Do you want to be me with me?¡± I asked gently, turning her head by her chin to look me back in the eyes. ¡°Yes,¡± Guinevere admitted. ¡°But¡­ you¡¯re the Warlord, and I¡¯m a lady of Camelot.¡± ¡°Does that matter?¡± I asked her. ¡°It should,¡± she said. ¡°but I don¡¯t want it to. If Arthur has broken his word to me, I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll come find you.¡± ¡°And if he¡¯s kept it,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll come find you.¡± ¡°And do what?¡± Guinevere asked, a tear-filled laugh escaping her throat. ¡°There is only a slim chance of a future for the two of us.¡± ¡°A slim chance is all I need,¡± I said. ¡°As long as there is hope, I¡¯ll never stop pursuing you.¡± Moving in I pressed my lips against hers. Guinevere trembled but returned the kiss her hands sliding around my neck, her fingers gripping my hair. We held each other like that for I don¡¯t know how long before finally both breaking away. The moment was done but I refused to let it be the last. Turning my gaze to the tower I hardened my resolve. Nothing and no one was going to stop me, I had something more than just anger to guide me now. Chapter 88: Tower of the Red Wizard Guinevere and I lay next to each other as we rested from the emotional drain of the trial. Slowly her breathing steadied as she drifted off to sleep, her head resting against my shoulder. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep but couldn¡¯t. The vision of the blood-stained version of me hung in the back of my mind like a specter. Mordred, the god of Blood & Slaughter, while this wasn¡¯t a future set-in stone it did give me pause. I¡¯d been so focused on achieving victory I¡¯d never stopped to think what victory would mean or what I would become as a result of it. This wasn¡¯t a question any of my life experiences had prepared me for, what kind of god would I be? Did I even have choice on what I could become, or would I just be assigned something by the system? Questions that hadn¡¯t seemed important when I started down this path now loomed over me. Once again, I briefly wondered if I had made the right choice taking Kalesa¡¯s deal. I turned my head and looked at Guinevere sleeping beside me. Yes, I had. Whatever else becoming her champion entailed I never would have met Guinevere without it. That alone was worth the price. I still wasn¡¯t sure what kind of god I might become but I wanted to be one that Guinevere would admire. Closing my eyes, I slowly drifted off into a dreamless sleep. --- Slowly my eyes opened; a warm presence beside me told me Guinevere was still sleeping. I slowly shifted, letting her fall gently back into the blankets and keep sleeping. I knelt on the ground and began strapping on my armor as I began my meditation. Whatever peace I¡¯d found here it hadn¡¯t changed how I meditated. My anger was now just a pure thing, no longer clouded by memories or guilt, if anger was the devil¡¯s cocaine than I was using Heisenberg¡¯s shit now. My eyes snapped open as I detected movement. I rose to my feet, my fur cloak falling down from my shoulders to flow out behind me. ¡°Ready?¡± I asked Guinevere. ¡°I am,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just anticipating a fight,¡± I said. ¡°I haven¡¯t had a real one in almost a year.¡± ¡°What about our sparring?¡± Guinevere asked, crossing her arms. ¡°Your not actually trying to kill me,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s been good practice, but I¡¯ve missed the adrenaline rush from putting my life on the line.¡± ¡°You think there¡¯s something in there still after all this time?¡± Guinevere asked looking up at the tower. ¡°I¡¯d bet my life on it,¡± I said. ¡°Which is handy because that¡¯s what¡¯s going to happen anyway.¡± -- Guinevere and I stood before the doors to the tower, we were contrast to eachother, I had almost two feet of height on her and weighed at least a hundred pounds more than her. While I wore barely any amor she was armored up to her neck only missing a helmet, her hair was plaited back to keep it from getting in her face in the middle of a fight. I¡¯d half expected the barrier to still be up like some cruel joke, but we reached the doors with no interference. I pulled open the double doors, they were heavy and open slowly with a grinding of ancient dusty hinges. It seemed the magi had so much faith in their barrier they hadn¡¯t even bothered to lock the door when they left. I stepped into the tower and looked around. It was as dry as a tomb despite the humidity of the cavern outside, dust filtered down through the air. There was nothing left here the only magic I could smell was from where the trail to the system block led. I walked to the center of the tower and looked up. There were at least twenty floors to the tower that opened up into a shaft that extended down to the ground floor. An intricate series of circles that had gold poured into them decorated the tower floor. At the very center was a ring embedded into the floor. Hooking a finger into the ring I popped it out and strained as I pulled up. It was slow at first but gradually it began to rise. After it had gone up about a foot it stopped needing my effort to pull it up. I stumbled back as the ground shifted under me. I stepped back next to Guinevere and watched as a column rose from the floor. There was an archway in the middle of the column from which a brilliant light shone. The light disappeared as something stepped in front of it. Once I recovered from the momentarily blindness my eyes settled on a tall man in dark red robes with a scarlet red breastplate. Curved crossed swords hung on the back of his belt and he had long swept back black hair. His eyes were like fresh blood with slit pupils and his ears were long and flared like a bats. Chalk pale skin unmarked by scars contrasted with his crimson eyes and midnight hair. ¡°Who are you?¡± the man growled in a voice that maintained its eloquence despite the malevolence carried in it. ¡°I¡¯m Mordred,¡± I said. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°I am Narces the Red Wizard,¡± he said haughtily, his chin turning up as he looked me over. ¡°Whom do you serve Mordred?¡± ¡°Just me,¡± I said. ¡°A lie!¡± Narces hissed. ¡°I can smell the stench of the gods about you, you are touched by divinity. A champion of one of the tyrant gods, which of them sacrificed their champion to send them here? Was it Falgest or Sulren?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know which ones those are,¡± I said keeping him talking as I analyzed him studying him for weaknesses. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long you¡¯ve been here but there are a few hundred of those guys now.¡± ¡°And which of them have you tainted yourself with?¡± Narces asked. ¡°Kalesa,¡± I said. ¡°The war goddess? Strange that one of them would sacrifice their champions,¡± Narces said. ¡°Let¡¯s just say I¡¯ve been on vacation,¡± I said. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, why are you still here? There is clearly nothing here to protect.¡± ¡°Fool!¡± Narces spat, his lips pulled back for an instant revealing long upper fangs. ¡°You behold the treasure of this place and don¡¯t even recognize it.¡± Bending at the waist to look around him I spotted a massive crystal inside the column¡¯s alcove. ¡°That crystal thing?¡± ¡°Not the power array! Me!¡± Narces growled, I had evidently offended him. ¡°Sorry, you just don¡¯t seem worth all the effort it takes to get into this place,¡± I said shrugging. ¡°I tire of your visit,¡± Narces said. ¡°Sadly for you, I won¡¯t be showing you the door.¡± He lunged for me, his body moving almost faster than I could see. Only my Foresight saved me from being impaled on his sword as I moved and let it slide past my chest. My clubs were in my hands and slashed out as thigh. Gliding like a leaf on the wind the wizard evaded my attack. Guinevere stepped in her sword slashing out, the wizard blocked her attack, but Guinevere had already moved into another. The next few seconds revealed that Guinevere was a much better fighter than the vampire but that it had much higher attributes than either of us. He muttered arcane phrase I couldn¡¯t quite catch and disappeared. Appearing eighty feet away he dropped the sword in his right hand which hovered in the air beside him. ¡°Inevitable Death,¡± Narces said. A javelin or blood red light flew towards me, it didn¡¯t move that fast but Foresight let me know what it would do if that thing even slightly touched me, instant death, there wouldn¡¯t even be a stain on the floor. Teleporting behind the wizard I stabbed forward with Janus. The vampire¡¯s supernatural perception let it dodge my sneak attack, but I managed to rip open the dark red robe and trousers of his thigh and draw a narrow line of blood. The wound immediately disappeared revealing the regeneration ability of the wizard. Narces turned and began to slash at me. I blocked most of his attacks and managed to get in a few strikes of my own, but I took way more hits than I dealt. Both of us bled on the floor as our wounds closed. I wasn¡¯t sure which of us had the better regeneration, but it would take hours for either of us to kill the other at this rate. Guinevere joined me flanking the vampire, this helped for a few moments before it disappeared into red mist again. ¡°Wounds and cuts refuse to close, let your blood flow fast and freely,¡± Narces chanted. He wasn¡¯t speaking English, or whatever language they spoke here. Instead, he was using arcane words translated thanks to my title. Immediately after his spell went off the cuts across my body stopped regenerating and began to bleed faster, I looked around, but the vampire was a cunning bastard and had veiled himself from us. ¡°Blood drawn in battle and spilled on the ground gather and condense,¡± he chanted. The blood dripping off my body began to swirl through the air condensing into an orb at the south-west edge of the room. Teleporting next to it I spun about with my double-bladed spear. Its tip caught something and immediately Narces reappeared as I broke his invisibility. Guinevere was next to me a heartbeat later and the two of us unleashed attack after attack against the undead wizard. ¡°The two of you work very well together,¡± Narces said. ¡°To well, let¡¯s do something about that. Rifts of the nether plane open!¡± A portal appeared next to him, and he kicked out hitting Guinevere in the chest knocking her through it. It closed as soon as she passed through, and he turned to face me. ¡°I¡¯m going to be busy with your lady friend, but don¡¯t worry I¡¯m a good host, I won¡¯t leave you without entertainment,¡± he said a cruel smile spreading across his face. ¡°Blood of my enemies take my guise and fight in my stead.¡± He disappeared into a cloud of red mist that my spear stabbed through harmlessly as he teleported somewhere. I heard a sound behind me and turned to watch a dripping red figure made of blood fall out of the blood orb in the air. It rose to its feet, it resembled Narces apart from being made entirely of blood it slashed out with a sword of blood. I dodged the attack; the blood clone was fast although not quite as fast as the vampire had been. Another creature dropped out and then a third, this was probably going to get out of hand soon. -- This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Guinevere¡¯s back slammed into a bookshelf, and she rolled to her feet. She was on one of the higher levels of the tower. She looked around, her sword in hand. ¡°You don¡¯t smell of the gods,¡± Narces said. ¡°I don¡¯t serve any of them,¡± Guinevere said as she looked around for the source of the voice. ¡°Why not? You have skill they would not doubt reward you for serving them,¡± Narces said his voice coming from multiple directions. ¡°Because I don¡¯t trust them,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I had the chance to become a champion, I turned it down.¡± ¡°Than why stand next to the Warlord?¡± Narces asked. ¡°Because I trust him,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Than I am sorry that you must die,¡± Narces said. ¡°Creeping shadows of the void blind my enemies.¡± Guinevere immediately found herself blind. She couldn¡¯t see anything, even her hearing seemed muffled. The complete darkness was something she hadn¡¯t experienced since she was a little girl, her Perception attribute letting her see clearly even on moonless nights. The total blindness reminded her of the cave and her breaths started coming in fast. ¡°My my,¡± Narces said his voice the only sound she could hear clearly. ¡°That was very effective, afraid of the dark I presume. Let me check how your friend is doing, don¡¯t go anywhere.¡± His mocking laughter faded as he left and Guinevere fumbled around blindly for the walls. -- I rammed my spear through the seventh blood thrall popping it like a balloon. The problem was that the blood just flowed back into the orb and another blood clone appeared. Not only that but more and more were spawning meaning not only was I not diminishing their numbers but that there was increasingly more of them. I was up to twelve right now and an extra one would drop out soon. Luckily Black Rage was increasing quickly with each attack I made. ¡°You¡¯re doing much better than I expected,¡± Narces said. ¡°Normally you champions are like feeble babes without your abilities, I see you still have some of your passives. Not being able to block those was always a flaw in our design we never managed to work out.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re trying to bore me into committing suicide you¡¯re doing a good job,¡± I said. ¡°No appreciation for banter,¡± Narces sighed. ¡°Very well, let¡¯s see if I can¡¯t speed up your demise. Blood of the old one¡¯s rise up and flood the land.¡± A dark black ichor began to seep from the cracks in the marble floor it rose higher and higher until it was about halfway up to my thighs. It sucked at my heels slowing my movements as it tried crawling up my legs but as long as I continued to move it didn¡¯t seem to be able to make any progress. ¡°Ravenous fangs, and hungry bodies drink your prey dry,¡± Narces chanted yet another spell. The black ichor rippled and moved as somethings began swimming through it quickly towards me. I didn¡¯t want to find out what they were and started moving. A leach popped out of the water like a jumping dolphin as it dived for my chest. ¡°Have fun with those,¡± Narces said laughing then his laughter cut off as he presumably teleported again. A scream tore through the air from above me. My head jerked up as I honed in on the source of the sound. I forgot my own problems letting several leaches latch on and a sword of blood slice along my ribs as I searched for Guinevere¡¯s location. Pushing off from the ground I leapt forty feet into the air with supernatural strength. There was a cloud of darkness on one of the tower floors and I teleported up to and dived inside. As soon as my feet touched the ground I knew where Guinevere and Narces were. I couldn¡¯t see through the magical black fog, but Tremor Soles let me feel where everything was. Guinevere stumbled about as Narces stalked her through darkness. I charged forwards and knocked him across the ground, surprising him with my ability to detect him through the darkness. The air began to grow brighter with every second I was in the fog and with a pop it vanished entirely. ¡°Curious,¡± Narces said. ¡°That spell should have lasted several more minutes. Oh well, ¡°rain of burning blood fall down upon us.¡± Guinevere was still off balance, and leaned against the wall, her breaths coming in quick and fast, her eyes wide with a deer in the headlights look. Acidic blood spattered down on us, materializing out of the air and falling down like a thunderstorm. It stained Guinevere¡¯s snow-white hair and burned into our exposed skin. Narces strode forward confidently with both his swords in his hands. ¡°This has been a good way to wake from a millennia old nap, but all fun must come to an end, goodbye fair lady I regret it has to end this way,¡± Narces said his voice almost sounding genuinely apologetic. ¡°rabid frenzy and bestial might.¡± Narces¡¯ face twisted losing any humanity it might have held. His body moved forward in a blur; Guinevere hadn¡¯t recovered so I did the only thing I could. I hit her from the side knocking her a dozen feet across the room interposing myself in front of Narces. His swords swung down in a blow that should have finished me but I was still riding high on Black Rage and slid across the ground my back slamming into the wall as my Might met and matched his. ¡°Your strength has grown,¡± Narces growled all the eloquence gone leaving only the monster he truly was behind. ¡°Good your blood will taste all the sweeter for it.¡± ¡°Bring it bitch,¡± I snapped headbutting him as he got in to close. Narces stumbled back more in surprise than in pain. His monstrous face twisted even further in anger. ¡°Let¡¯s see just how strong you really are, ¡°binding thorns of blood hold my foe in place.¡± Twisting red vines grew from the floor and wall around me yanking me back and pinning me to the wall behind me. I struggled but whatever they were made of, even my massive supernatural strength couldn¡¯t break the binds holding me in place. ¡°So, not that strong after all,¡± Narces mocked. A sword nearly took his head off as Guinevere reentered the fight. Narces blocked but Guinevere¡¯s fighting style had changed, she had always been calm and collected in battle before but now she fought the way I did with mad and reckless abandon. The fury of her assault shoved Narces over the edge of the balcony he fell through the air for only a few dozen yards before bat wings swept out from his back and he swooped back up to level with us. ¡°I grow tired of your struggles, let¡¯s end this,¡± Narces said raising his hand to point at me. ¡°Inevitable death.¡± Guinevere stepped in between me and the orb. ¡°How beautiful, the lady sacrifices herself for her man,¡± Narces said laughing and clapping his hands. ¡°Its like a tale from a storybook.¡± ¡°Get out of the way,¡± I hissed struggling against the thorns that still held me pinned to the wall. ¡°You didn¡¯t leave me to die against assassins when I was at death¡¯s door,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯m never going to leave you.¡± ¡°It will kill you!¡± I shouted at her my struggles growing more frantic. ¡°Sometimes we can¡¯t stop death,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°When you dance on the edge of death, sometimes you fall off.¡± The orb grew closer and closer. Panic filled me as I realized for certain that Guinevere wouldn¡¯t move out of the way. Fear, rage and love pushed me forward as a roar ripped out of my chest. There was a snapping sound that I realized later was my spine as I ripped myself forward. I didn¡¯t break free of the vines, but I did drag the entire wall with me as I tackled Guinevere to the ground. The rubble of the wall lay around us the vines still tied to the block like ropes to anchors. The orb still homed in on me as Guinevere struggled to get out from under me. ¡°Let me go!¡± Guinevere said the same desperation that had driven me, filling her voice. ¡°Not a chance,¡± I snarled. My death drew in close than something ripped itself from my waist. Spreading its pages open wide the spell struck Mab fully. The tome collapsed back to the ground, the crystal on its cover fading but the spell was gone. My hand snapped out closing around it, as soon as it connected with the blood dripping from my palm the crystal flared with light again as it drew on my mana stores. The vines holding me in place disappeared as soon as they made contact with my Grimoire. I slowly pushed myself to my feet, my movements stiff and jerky. ¡°That book!¡± Narces snarled. ¡°Where did you get that! It was supposed to be destroyed!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know you can¡¯t destroy an artifact Jackass,¡± I spat holding up the tome infront of me having the found the perfect counter to the wizard. ¡°I beg to differ,¡± Narces said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it done, and I¡¯ll see it done again. I won¡¯t let my life¡¯s work rest in the hands of champion.¡± Narces snapped his wings diving towards me. He likely thought I¡¯d try to dodge so he was extra surprised when I counter charged him. Narces was tall but was rather thin, I had at least hundred pounds of weight on him so when we hit, it didn¡¯t¡¯ go his way. Both of us went into freefall rolling through the air. I got lucky and ended up on top when we hit the ground driving my fist into his smug monstrous face as we struck the ground. The marble cracked beneath us; Guinevere jumped landing in a roll as she joined us on the ground. In a moment the accumulated blood clones were scattered droplets as she ended them with a cut of her sword. Narces shoved me back and I slid through the black ichor swamp. Despite my minor victory against the vampire, we needed to end this, and I couldn¡¯t do it was I was. ¡°Guinevere break the crystal!¡± I shouted as I rushed forward a club in one hand and Mab in the other. Narces turned to deal with Guinevere, but I wasn¡¯t going to give him the chance. The claws of my club hit his breastplate drawing sparks and spinning him around. His swords flashed out and struck my club, the force drove me back, but I wouldn¡¯t relent. He swung down with his other sword driving me to my knees. Dropping his left sword, he brought down his right in a twohanded grip I braced my club and blocked. My defenses saved my life, but my club shattered under the assault although cracks also ran through Narces¡¯ sword. ¡°Impressive workmanship to have lasted that long against me,¡± Narces said. ¡°Sadly, like you, it was not up to the task.¡± The sound of shattering crystal filled the air. ¡°Try me now,¡± I snarled as I shot back to my feet.
Quest Completed, Reveal the Unseen: A large section of the underground has been blocked from the system for several millennia, correct this oversight by destroying the source of the block.
Reward: Tier III Artifact to all participants.
Narces whirled around. ¡°Blood lightning scour my enemies,¡± he chanted. I was able to finally read his description with the System restored.
Marris the Blood Mage, Abomination- undead/vampire, Exarch*, Rank: Error
He was listed as Abomination instead of Gifted which was new and concerning, also he didn¡¯t have a rank implying he didn¡¯t actually have any abilities. I didn¡¯t have time for this speculation however, so pushed it from my thoughts. Teleporting in front of him I raised Mab absorbing the spell as he unleashed it. ¡°pretty spell,¡± I said. ¡°Let me show you what a real storm looks like. Chain lighting.¡± Arcs of electricity lanced into the vampire and its body spasmed in pain although he still managed to move forward resisting the stun effect. Guinevere teleported behind him and drove her sword forward through his chest. The vampire twisted, taking her sword with her as it launched itself at me. He pinned me to the ground as he landed on top of me. ¡°Your wounds have made me thirsty let¡¯s see how fat the service of the gods have made you,¡± he snarled his fangs going for my neck. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talons,¡± I snapped dropping Mab to the ground. My fingernails transformed into footlong claws, simultaneously two more sets of arms emerged from my torso, one scarlet red the other so black it absorbed all light around it. Both sets ended in claws as they ripped into the vampire. Desecrate and Mana Rot as well was Curse damage tore into his flesh as their ethereal attacks bypassed the scarlet breastplate he wore. With the Desecrate condition affecting him Narces could no longer regenerate, and his mana already mostly spent from all the spells he¡¯d been casting was now bottomed out. Guinevere skipped to a stop beside us and her sword swung down. Narces was held fast by my own claws digging into his collar bone and entrails. He tried to struggle free but I¡¯d dealt enough wounds to him that my Might was able to keep him in place. He had an ability to teleport but like mine it required you not be in direct contact with another creature. ¡°This is not the end of me!¡± Narces raged. ¡°I will not be killed by the likes of you!¡± ¡°This is the end for you,¡± I said coldly. ¡°I¡¯ve seen death and I don¡¯t think you have what it takes to come back from it.¡± Unable to move Guinevere separated his head from his body in a single strike.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: slay a powerful abomination.
Reward: Abomination Slayer
*Abomination Slayer: Damage stages against abominations increased by two.
The vampire hadn¡¯t had a rank, so we got no rank points for defeating it. That seemed like an oversite on the System¡¯s part but I couldn¡¯t do anything about it. The acid burns disappeared from me and Guinevere as we healed. I looked down in the crater where the crystal had been. ¡°What now?¡± Guinevere asked me. I bent down and compressed the armor from Marris into a single ingot. Looking it over I read the material¡¯s description.
Blood Gold: Type: Magical Metal, Rarity: Legendary, Hardness: 16; made of a gold that has been infused with magically enriched blood from thousands of creatures. Blood gold enhances regeneration abilities, bleed effects, healing abilities and curses when made into weapons or armor and then enchanted. Due to the nature of its creation many races consider possessing such metal as a crime and will kill its owner.
Quantity: 1 Weight: 6.7
¡°I start tunneling and we head to the surface,¡± I said. ¡°I take you back to your fianc¨¦ and we work out something from there.¡± Chapter 89: Spell Carver Getting to the roof of the cavern. I created a stone ladder from the roof of the tower and compressed the stone to the side and created a platform for us to stand. From there I began compressing a tunnel spiraling upwards. I had to navigate us around several water sources to avoid flooding. One time the walls got really hot, and I started having Minecraft flashbacks and got us out of their right way. The work was slow but steady. I found several veins of ore and extracted them completely. Pockets of gems began filling my storage space as I mined our tunnel upwards. I wasn¡¯t in a hurry and even used my spell for locating ore and precious stones to hunt down even more. We¡¯d been gone for at least a year at this point that I didn¡¯t feel like a few more days were going to hurt. Neither Guinevere nor I had chosen an artifact as our reward yet and I was still considering what I wanted. We stopped for the night in a camp I formed for us. I set to work with Mab, the grimoire showed me the page where it had copied the spell for blood lighting. The runes and glyphs expanded my words for lightning and storm. Excited that I might have discovered the missing piece I crafted the emitter section of my enchantment. Mab offered a few suggestions, and I tweaked them until we arrived at a result I thought might work. Carving them onto one of my few remaining lighting crystals I poured mana into it. The crystal began to vibrate and a blade around three feet long sprung from the crystal. It lasted for about a minute before dying and going dark as it ran out of mana. Despite its death I was elated. The desired enchantment had a working prototype now, all that was left was for me to perfect it.
Congratulations you have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Create a unique enchantment never seen before.
Reward: Spell Carver
*Spell Carver: Your enchants are 50% more stable.
As I got the title, I instantly saw all the flaws in my enchantment that would lead to it becoming damaged and flawed over time. New insights and ideas were sparked as the knowledge the title imparted with it seeped into my mind as if they had always been there. I took out another crystal and set to work. The next blade lasted for five minutes before it ran out of mana. The blade was tighter and less like a spray of lighting and extended out another two feet. Guinevere looked at me in irritation at the constant thunder the blade produced something she didn¡¯t¡¯ enjoy. I smiled sheepishly and created a separate workroom and a thick stone door to block out the sound. That night I barely slept; Mab and I worked late as I perfected the enchantment. I took a short nap only to awaken with a start as a new idea came to me. I started work again and held out the lighting crystal as I finished the enchantment. Two blades appeared on either side of it. I spun it around in my hand before it went out. It only lasted half the time as the others had since it was doing double the output but I had increased that time to around fourteen minutes. Modifying that enchantment, I poured my mana into it again. Two blades of lighting appeared on either side of the crystal. They buzzed and shocked me as I held them but my resistance to lightning let me weather the damage easily. With a mental thought one side of the blade retracted in on itself leaving me holding only one blade again. I retracted that side as well and set the crystal to the side. Beginning another modification, I added it and held the crystal in both hands. The powerful blade vibrated in my hand as it came to life wanting to move of its own accord. The blade extended out to seven feet in length becoming a greatsword, I retracted it again that extended two double blades out. I set it down and received a notification from the system.
You have completed a hidden objective and unlocked a new title. Objective: Create an enchantment of Masterwork quality.
Reward: Master Enchanter
*Master Enchanter: You have mastered the art of creating and applying enchantments. The minimum grade of all your enchantments is now master and the skill in applying and understanding enchantments is increased greatly.
My daily work had paid off with skill and a new creation. I thought about working on the Star of Mordred now but held off. There was a specific way I wanted to use it and I would wait until that time. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Standing I gathered my finished enchantments and set them in my storage. Guinevere was up practicing her sword forms. We didn¡¯t spar that day but instead continued our long climb to the surface. The farther we got up the more I had to work on compressing the stone as water dripped down. I was worried we were below some giant lake but I was blind to which direction I needed to go. The air began to feel¡­ strange. ¡°What is that?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Its like ants walking on my skin.¡± We continued upwards, the feeling growing stronger and stronger. Finally, we emerged into daylight, the light was blinding after so long in pitch darkness. I coughed as I breathed in what would be a breath of fresh air, instead the air was foul, it smelled and tasted of death and decay. --- The first shot bounced right of Exar¡¯kun¡¯s scales. He turned and dropped through the air, his body spinning reflecting the next six shots Mira made at him. His wings snapped out sending a hurricane of wind that knocked her from her perch in the dead tree and sent her tumbling. Each of the dragon¡¯s scales was midnight black but its edges were trimmed with red and orange that glowed as if his armor were a bed of coals. The ground shuddered as he landed. Torvin charged out of the brush astride a summoned steed his lance glowing with golden light. He bent over to the side ducking a strike from the dragon¡¯s tail, the sound making a crack of thunder as it passed overhead. Jamis rushed in from the other side to flank the dragon riding a massive bear. He launched himself from its back and pulled back his fist. A wing struck out and sent him flying. Exar¡¯kun¡¯s long sinuous neck turned as he surveyed Helen and Mira behind Felrick. ¡°You are brave to try and face me,¡± he growled his voice as deep as a chasm. ¡°But often your kind confuses bravery with folly!¡± The scales all along his neck began to glow, rising up from his chest they turned from black rimmed with red to a brilliant orange. As the fire built up a deep reverberation began to sound out, the reverberations grew faster and faster than they cut out. Green flames shot out in a torrent focused on Helen and Mira, the air changed as the oxygen was sucked away and some sort of fell energy laced the air. Felrick jumped in front of the two women brining up his shield the fire impacted it, and a translucent barrier appeared several inches away. Felrick began to inch backwards as the force of the flame pushed him back. His shield began to glow as it heat up. It might be immune to destruction but that did not give it immunity to heat transference. Jamis and Torvin tried to land attacks on Exar¡¯kun while he was distracted; his tail whipped out obliterating Torvin¡¯s summoned steed. Torvin jumped free and landed on the dragon¡¯s black managing to impale his lance a foot into the dragon¡¯s hide. Jamis rolled under the dragon¡¯s wing then sprung to the side as it nearly crushed him under one of its feet. He punched upwards into its more vulnerable underbelly. ¡°The gods have decreed your death beast!¡± Torvin shouted as she pushed his lance in deeper. Exar¡¯kun ended his breath attack and dropped to the ground, Jamis barely made it out before being crushed. Rolling over onto its back then back to his feet he tossed Torvin off of him as well. ¡°You seem to have forgotten one thing humans,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°I am not just some dragon with wings and fire, I am the only surviving spawn of a great champion whose nest was poisoned by the likes of you. And with that I have powers you cannot imagine. Seeking Spines!¡± The spines all along his back and tail shot out homing in on the champions around him. Felrick managed to deflect a few but others darted around the barrier he had put up heading for Mira and Helen. Helen slammed her staff down creating a golden barrier around herself, she was still sent flying when it impacted and exploded against her barrier, but she was still alive. Jamis was impaled through the leg and the spine exploded, blowing it off. Helen rolled to her feet and rushed over. Torvin and Mira managed to dodge the spines and Atrel knocked one aside with his spear and teleported away to escape the rest. Hellen laid her hands on Jamis healing light closing the wound and rapidly regrowing the leg. Felrick charged directly towards Exar¡¯kun. ¡°Binding Chains,¡± he shouted. This was part of their plan, but it was sooner than they had wanted to do it. Mira jumped up drawing her bow and releasing an arrow. ¡°Blinding Falcons!¡± she shouted. The arrows transformed into a flock of hawks and falcons that swarmed the dragon¡¯s eyes pecking at its eyes. They weren¡¯t able to scratch the lids of its eyes, but they did keep from being able to see. Torvin summoned his steed again mounting and charging towards the dragon. Jamis was healed and grabbed Exar¡¯kun¡¯s head by the horns. He activated Bear¡¯s Strength while Helen cast an attribute boosting buff on him. Barely stronger than the dragon he was able to drag its head and neck closer to the ground as his weight was artificially magnified by an enchantment on his belt he had earned from the last Event. Atrel used his spear to pole vault and land atop the dragon¡¯s back. He swung it around the dragon¡¯s neck, his arms barely reaching as he used his spear to choke and pull back its head exposing the weaker scales under its chin. Torvin leaned forward in the saddle his lance glowing with his most powerful ability the potential damage increasing the farther and faster his charge. Torvin struck Exar¡¯kun managing to jerk his head to the right at the last second. The lance still pierced his artery, the mighty dragon had been outnumbered and in battles against the gifted it was usually the side with the most abilities that won. Snapping the magical chains binding him hot blood fell to the ground hissing and steaming. His wings flared out as the mortally wounded dragon roared in agony and took to the air. ¡°After him,¡± Helen ordered. ¡°We have to finish him off before it finds some way to heal.¡± Chapter 90: Where the Heavens Met the Earth Pushing past the foul smell we emerged from the ground into a crater. The bones of beasts littered all around. Dead withered trees were scattered around, and vents belched steam and sulfur from the ground adding to the smell in the air. The bones of a great dragon were scattered across the ground. At the center of the crater was a ball of black metal shining particles drifted through the air reflecting the light and denying the call of gravity. ¡°What is this stuff?¡± I asked wrinkling my face with distaste as I felt the strange feeling on my skin. ¡°The Blight,¡± Guinevere said with some apprehension. ¡°We aren¡¯t exactly sure what it is, but it poisoned the land when it came. We must be in the Blighted Swamp.¡± ¡°That would explain the smell,¡± I said. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I asked pointing at the ball of black metal. ¡°The Fallen Star,¡± Guinevere gasped in wonder and horror. ¡°I¡¯ve read about it in the histories but never thought I¡¯d be this close to it. Oh shit, we¡¯re way to close to that!¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked stepping closer to it to get a better look. ¡°What¡¯s it do?¡± ¡°It kills anything that¡¯s ever touched it,¡± Guinevere said pulling me back. ¡°Just being close to will start to kill us we need to leave. Unless you want to die a horrible painful death, we need to run.¡± Some pieces began to click together in my head. ¡°Does it cause burns to the skin, vomiting, diarrhea and cause tumors to start growing?¡± ¡°Yes, which is why we need to leave,¡± Guinevere said still pulling on my arm. ¡°Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said calmly. Using telekinesis, I gathered the dust particles in the air my perception letting me go down the microscopic scale as I compressed them together into a single ingot. The oppressive energy in the air was lessened slightly but still radiated from the fallen star. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°For starters I¡¯m getting rid of a dangerous radioactive object,¡± I said. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°What¡¯s radioactive?¡± Guinevere asked stumbling over the word as she began to speak it in English the word having not translated. ¡°I¡¯m not the best person to explain it but basically it¡¯s a dangerous form of energy that causes cells, the pieces that construct all living things, to die, mutate or grow out of control,¡± I said. ¡°You have this in your world?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°We use it to produce energy sometimes,¡± I explained. ¡°We also have bombs made with it capable of destroying our entire planet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s terrifying,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°You get used to it,¡± I said with shrug. ¡°There¡¯s only so long you can live with existential dread hanging over your head before people stop caring. Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory.¡± The giant black core of the fallen comet began to compress and shrink until it was a black orb that would fit inside my hand. I brought out a chunk of lead I had mined and created a chest dropping the orb inside and sealing it shut. I had never touched the orb and didn¡¯t intend to. I dropped the chest in my storage pouch hoping that energy wouldn¡¯t start leaking out. ¡°What do you plan on doing with that?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Play a game of catch with my enemies?¡± I suggested with a grin. ¡°Very funny,¡± Guinevere said dryly. ¡°I thought so to,¡± I agreed ducking a swat she aimed at the back of my head. ¡°Is this where the Hell Dragon lairs?¡± There were black scales littered around the ground. I gathered up a large armful of them storing them away in my pouch. ¡°Yes,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°As far as I know it¡¯s the only creature that ever-survived contact with the fallen star. It¡¯s energy that, radioactive stuff you were talking about changed it. It infused and changed all its abilities.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± I said holding up my hand to stop her. ¡°Your telling me I have to fight a radioactive dragon?¡± ¡°Why do you have to fight it?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Quest,¡± I said. ¡°To conquer this forest, I have to subdue or kill a big list of creatures and people; the dragon¡¯s the last on the list. Back to the first question, your saying this is a radioactive dragon, does it have some atomic breath or something.¡± ¡°What atomic?¡± Guinevere asked with another sigh as I kept bringing up words she didn¡¯t understand. ¡°It¡¯s another way we refer to this type of energy,¡± I said. ¡°The blight is spread with its breath,¡± Guinevere confirmed. ¡°Great, so now I have to fight a winged Godzilla,¡± I muttered. ¡°Before you ask that¡¯s the name of mythical creature from my world that was also altered by radioactivity.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to hear some stories from your world sometime,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°For a world that doesn¡¯t have monsters you seem to have a lot of stories about them.¡± ¡°Someday, I¡¯ll have to tell you about Star Wars,¡± I said distractedly my head turning as I heard a sound. Guinevere tilted her head to the side, also hearing something. We turned and looked up; a pain filled roar shattered the air as a dragon plummeted down towards us from the sky above. Not waiting for permission, I scooped up Guinevere in my arms and started running to escape the impact zone. Chapter 91: Star Crash The dragon hit the ground with the force of an earthquake, and I was thrown off my feet. I rolled so my back hit the ground instead of falling on top of Guinevere. We disentangled and rolled to our feet ready to face the dragon. I approached it slowly watching as it rolled its head to face me. A single crimson eye met mine as we both analyzed the other.
Exar¡¯kun the Star Fallen, Gifted- dragon/hell-dragon, Hero, Rank: 559
¡°Has your goddess sent you kill me too, Warlord?¡± Exar¡¯kun asked. ¡°Perhaps,¡± I said holding out my hand. ¡°Dominion.¡±
Target has an ability giving them immunity to mind control, domination and enslavement abilities.
The dragon laughed, the stones rattling. The laughter turned to a wet cough, but it didn¡¯t stop the dragon¡¯s form from shaking. ¡°You cannot dominate a dragon, Warlord,¡± Exar¡¯kun wheezed. ¡°My spirit can be destroyed, but never broken.¡± ¡°Worth a shot,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Finish it,¡± Exar¡¯kun growled. ¡°You¡¯ll soon have to contend with my killers, they will not allow you to leave this place once they see you.¡± ¡°More champions?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Exar¡¯kun snarled. ¡°The gods of order it seems cannot let those they don¡¯t control to grow stronger.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a Hell Dragon,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°It is in your nature to destroy.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°I have never left this forest in all my life,¡± Exar¡¯kun said his words resonating with me. ¡°It was you who trespassed on my domain.¡± ¡°What if I let you live?¡± I asked. ¡°Would you fight by my side?¡± ¡°You would trust me?¡± Exar¡¯kun asked. ¡°That would be most foolish, I am much more powerful than you. Without binding me to your will how could you be sure I would not destroy you?¡± Turning I looked at Guinevere. ¡°I have learned recently that sometimes you have to give people your trust to earn theirs.¡± Exar¡¯kun did not give me an answer right away. Our supernatural hearing began to hear the sound of hoofbeats and footfalls pounding the ground. Whatever his decision, he would have to make it quickly. Exar¡¯kun slowly and with great effort rose up his head moving directly in front of me. I didn¡¯t move or flinch as he moved within easy striking distance, his two burning crimson eyes met mine and we stared each other down. ¡°Very well,¡± Exar¡¯kun said his voice like the rumble of a storm. ¡°If we survive, I shall fight alongside you.¡± Nodding I took my helm that was hanging from my belt and slid it on over my head. AS I opened my eyes and looked through the visor. ¡°Then I look forward to fighting alongside you,¡± I said my voice distorted to a more savage tone by the helm.
Quest Completed, Conquer (Repeatable): You have been tasked with conquering your first region. Take control of the Forest of the Ancients by defeating the eight powers of the region and preventing any other faction from forming a presence in the region. Current progress 8-8.
Reward: One rank IV Artifact of your choice or creation.
A hand landed on my shoulder and the world froze. --- Mira crested the hill and looked down on a massive crater. The dragon lay at the center of the crater and two humanoids were standing next to it. She grit her teeth at the sight of two people trying to steal their rank points and potentially ruin their quest. She drew her bow and sighted along the shaft her vision being magnified by one of her passive abilities. What she saw made her blink in shock. Guinevere stood unharmed in bright silver armor, her hair plaited, and her arms crossed as she looked around her. Seeing her friend alive made her freeze in confusion for a moment. A smile curled her face then she turned her arrow to the side and focused on the other humanoid. What she saw chilled her, she had never seen his face, but she knew instantly who it was. The Warlord lived. Chapter 92: Clarent ¡°You have done well my champion,¡± Kalesa said behind me walking around me. ¡°It¡¯s been awhile,¡± I said. ¡°but I¡¯m glad I¡¯m fully dressed this time.¡± ¡°You have completed your quest and I thought if fitting to give you your reward,¡± she said he shark teeth snapping together with each word. ¡°That¡¯s fast, why the rush?¡± I asked. ¡°Your enemies are quickly closing in on you,¡± Kelesa explained. ¡°And I fear you underestimate them.¡± ¡°I fought an Exarch and lived I think I can handle a few of these champions,¡± I said. ¡°You overestimate yourself!¡± Kelesa snapped. ¡°The last time you faced your peers you were much more powerful than them, but you have been gone a long time. They have caught up with you and many have surpassed your power level.¡± ¡°You have so little faith in me?¡± I asked. ¡°I do not have so much arrogance as to risk my champion without giving you every edge I can,¡± Kalesa responded. ¡°I am going to take you into my realm, time there will pass as I choose. When we emerge, you will be rearmed and ready to face your rivals. Your concubine can fight beside you too if you wish.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t refer to Guinevere like that in my presence again,¡± I said coldly. ¡°Your attachment to this woman is unbecoming of you,¡± Kelesa said. ¡°Whatever bond you think you have with her, she is still your enemy.¡± ¡°That is my concern, not yours,¡± I said my voice hard as dragon scales. ¡°If you must learn the hard way, then so be it,¡± Kelesa sighed and opened a portal stepping through. ¡°Follow me.¡± Stepping into the portal after her I was once more at the top of the ziggurat where I had first gained my powers. Kelesa sat down and I sat across from her. ¡°So, what weapon do you want for your artifact?¡± she asked. ¡°I assume you want a weapon this time.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want you to make something for me,¡± I said. ¡°I want you to help me create my own weapon.¡± Kelesa raised an eyebrow. ¡°I have been unable to view you for quite some time, what weapon do you have in mind?¡± ¡°An energy blade,¡± I said placing the Star of Mordred on stone block between us. Kalesa picked it up and examined it. ¡°Yes, there is much power within this item, in fact if you push yourself hard enough it may be possible to turn this from a tier IV artifact into a tier V one.¡± ¡°How much time do we have to work on it?¡± I asked. Kelesa gave me smile that chilled me to my core. ¡°We have all the time in the world. When we are done you will return and continue what you have started.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Quest Gained, Conquer (Repeatable): You have been tasked with conquering your second region. Take control of the Kingdom of Dracon by taking control of at least 95% of the land of Dracon and driving out the forces occupying it.
Current Progress: 26% out of 95%
Reward: One rank IV Artifact of your choice or creation.
The work apparently was never done. -- For what might have been weeks I worked without rest. I never felt tired, and my mind never grew fatigued. Under Kalesa¡¯s guidance I carved each rune with the utmost care and precision into the Star of Mordred. When it was done the runes along its smooth cylindrical sides glowed golden as Kalesa poured her divine mana into them. However, the work was not finished yet. I took a single ingot of the radioactive metal from the fallen star and used it to form a hilt around the crystal. Kalesa showed me how to nullify the effects of the blight to keep it contained within the blade the new runes and enchantments vastly expanding what I could create. Finally, taking the scales of Exar¡¯kun I moulded and shaped them with Hell Dragon¡¯s armory creating a grip around the outside of metal hilt. I held up the blade and with only a thought a blade of crimson lightning emerged from the tip of the crystal. The sword didn¡¯t look like a lightsaber as I had envisioned it at first. Instead, it looked like the sort of thing some wizard might create based on the description they received of what a lightsaber was. The sword literally roared a constant stream of never-ending thunder emitted from it. Kelesa frowned and took a knife, cutting a long strip of skin from her arm. Dipping my stylus in her blood she drew a long series of glyphs along it. Taking the hilt of the sword from me she wrapped and tied the strip of her skin around the hilt. Taking it back from her I ignited the blade again, the thunder was gone instead only a low rumble remained like the purring of a giant feline. ¡°What will you name your weapon?¡± Kelesa asked me. I looked deep into the ever-shifting stands of scarlet lighting that formed the blade. ¡°Its name is Clarent,¡± I said.
Clarent (Artifact V): A sword created by the Warlord Mordred and blessed by Kelesa the Goddess of War & Conquest. Made with the Star of Mordred a natural treasure of unlimited potential and with a grip of blighted star metal and Hell Dragon scales and then wrapped with the with skin of the goddess Kelesa herself with runes marked in her blood to hide this sword¡¯s thunderous roar.
This sword can take three forms, longsword, greatsword and double-bladed sword. The change is mental and instantaneous.
The sword deals Severe lightning damage on contact with any surface, objects are heated and melted on contact with the blade can cut and melt through hardness 7 material, cuts through an additional 1 hardness every twenty ranks. Starting bonus: cuts through hardness 7.
The range of lightning-based abilities are increased by 10ft per twenty ranks and allows them to be cast without verbal components. Starting bonus 10ft.
Power Source: This item requires no mana from its wielder to activate any of its effects.
Mana Magnification: This sword will act as a wand also, any lightning-based spells or abilities cast through it will have their damage doubled.
Greater Enmity: The damage with this sword is massively increased when its wielder is enraged.
Weight: 9.5 lbs.
As soon as I read the description I blinked and found myself back in the world in same position I had been in before Kelesa had come for me. The frozen effect on the world ended and everything was as it was except for one thing resting in the palm of my hand. Chapter 93: I Am Not the Same ¡°It¡¯s the Warlord!¡± Mira called out. ¡°He¡¯s alive?¡± Felrick asked in shock and horror. ¡°I thought he died with Guinevere.¡± ¡°They¡¯re both alive,¡± Mira said the words giving her a mixed feeling in her stomach. ¡°We don¡¯t have time to talk,¡± Helen said reaching into a pocket on her robes. ¡°Everyone put on your amulets if you don¡¯t have them on already. We can¡¯t risk anyone being dominated by him.¡± Her party geared up to face the Warlord, now the dying dragon before them being ignored for now in the face of the greater threat to their world. The Warlord didn¡¯t move, merely crossing his arms a black bar tipped with red visible to Mira who continued to watch him for any sign that he would strike. They slowly descended the sides of the crater fanning out to encircle the Warlord. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°We do,¡± Helen said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what spell he has you under, but we will free you of it.¡± ¡°She was actually talking to me,¡± Mordred said. ¡°As a favor to Guinevere I will give you this one opportunity for all of you to leave with your lives.¡± ¡°There are six of us,¡± Jamis said. ¡°And some of us outrank you this time.¡± ¡°For now,¡± Mordred said the black bar tipped with crystal held out before him. ¡°You have until one of you makes an attack against me or the dragon.¡± ¡°We will not suffer a Champion of Chaos to live,¡± Torvin spat and charged forward on his mount. ¡°So be it,¡± Mordred sighed. ¡°Guinevere, I do not require you to keep to our pact and fight with me. I¡¯ve got this.¡± A blade of crimson lightning appeared in his hand, and he disappeared the instant before Torvin¡¯s lance would have hit him. The shock of the weapons¡¯ appearance momentarily stunned the champions, it was instantly broken as he reappeared behind Mira and brought the lighting blade down in a two-handed grip. -- Mira rolled on instinct the attack only grazing her but that was enough to send streams of agony through her as the searing blade burned through the leather of her armor scorching and cooking her flesh. I blocked two bolts of silver light that shot from Helen¡¯s staff. I had used the time we were talking to analyze and learn the names and ranks of all my opponents. Some of them were forty or thirty ranks over me but none of them were below me. I wasn¡¯t sure if the old me before I fell into the pit could have taken out this party. They were each prodigies chosen by a god. Guinevere could beat them one on one still I was sure, but I wasn¡¯t sure she could take on the entire party. That was the difference between a champion and someone who just had abilities our blessings and divine and custom abilities and artifacts gave us a serious advantage over any enemy not also blessed by a god. We could outlast people with our regeneration rates and the unique advantages our divine abilities gave us. Of course, that was for others, I barely used my own divine ability. The Warlord wasn¡¯t meant to fight like I did, they were meant to lead armies and come up with clever tactical plans. That¡¯s not how I operated and would never be, even with all my training I had received from Guinevere I was still a berserker if a much more skilled one. The three martial champions surrounded me along with a member of their party who wasn¡¯t a champion. They struck at me with their respective weapons, I stood there as Guinevere had shown me and blocked, parried and reposted. Clarent¡¯s rumble would turn into a scream when I swung him through the air. The champions were good and blocked my attacks, but my own defenses were holding against them. ¡°Bear Form,¡± Jamis snarled. His body began to twist and grow hairier as he swelled in size. He struck me in the chest and knocked me a dozen feet back but freeing me from the encirclement. ¡°If we¡¯re bringing out our abilities then let me show you a neat trick,¡± I said extending my hand towards them. Red lightning burst from my fingertips. The color was changed by my sword, and I no longer even needed to say the activation phrase to use it. I had excluded Guinevere and Exar¡¯kun from the spell¡¯s effects, so the lighting converged on the party. Their tank jumped forwards using some ability to draw most of the lightning towards him. The red forks struck his shield, and he was catapulted backwards into the side of the crater. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Wow,¡± I said impressed by the extra power Clarent had provided to Chain Lighting. Black mist began to rise from my skin as the damage I inflicted from each of my attacks gained me six instances of Black Rage. Mira was in the air again, her wings keeping her aloft as she loosed shot after shot at me with the speed of a machine gun. Concentrating only on her for a minute I deflected every arrow she sent towards me. Clarent screamed with every twist and slash through the air and Mira landed back down her torrent of arrows ended and looking winded. As soon as her attack ended another began. Atrel lunged for me his spear a dancing blur. I blocked a series of spear strikes from Atrel his face twisted in anger. ¡°You killed my father!¡± he snarled. ¡°Your father?¡± I asked analyzing his facial features instead of just his description. ¡°Ah, your Astrel¡¯s son, you need to let that go. If you sit upon a throne you need to be ready for people to pull you off.¡± An attack that didn¡¯t show up in my Foresight hit me in the back and a lance appeared through my stomach piercing through my diamond hard skin. ¡°Maybe you should learn that lesson yourself,¡± Torvin said. ¡°Perhaps,¡± I agreed stepping clear of the weapon inside me and letting my flesh knit itself back together. ¡°Or maybe I¡¯m just a bit rusty.¡± Torvin and Atrel charged me at the same time. Gripping them with telekinesis, a mental struggle that I did my best not to show, I tossed them backwards. Felrick charged me his body a blur of motion. I blocked with Clarent sliding back across the ground as I met his charge. ¡°Phantom Form,¡± I said under my breath. Passing through his body which stumbled after losing the resistance he¡¯d been pushing through. I whirled around and slashed across his back dealing soul damage to him. A trio of silver beams of light struck my immaterial form. They hurt a lot but I¡¯d taken away my vulnerability to them, so it was just regular damage instead. Rematerializing, I took an arrow to the chest. It exploded after burying itself in and blew a hole through my right side. Spinning from the impact I took a cut across the thigh from Felrick as he capitalized on my disorientation. Before I could reorient myself a swarm of hawks descended on me. Their beaks and claws were somehow able to cut through my skin and began ripping in and tearing out chunks of flesh. A sword slashed across my stomach and claws racked my back as a spear jammed into my thigh. My opponents were spamming through all their abilities to boost and deal damage as they began to shred my flesh down to the bone. I blocked one attack only for another to strike me, having superhuman speed was fine if you weren¡¯t fighting people who were also superhuman. For every two or three attacks I blocked one managed to hit me in a direction I couldn¡¯t defend from. My teleportation was on cooldown and Phantom Form wouldn¡¯t make me immune to these weapons. I let loose a scream that tore the ground around me apart. The scream was a combination of both Helheim¡¯s Scream and Voice-of-the-Chasm. The blast sent my enemies flying or stumbling backwards. The otherworldly sound sent shivers down their spines as the debuffs began to be applied to them. The archer turned and started to run as the fear overcame her. Felrick was staggered and I drove my sword into his gut, the molten metal from his breastplate dripping down into the charred wound I left behind as I ripped it out. Torvin charged me again, but I roared unleashing Voice of the Chasm sending him backwards. Their healer was doing her best to cleanse the debuffs I¡¯d inflicted as well as to heal their tank. Jamis hit me from behind the man turned bear bowling me over and savaging me with his teeth and claws. He left dozens of scratches, but my skin was up to the job of resisting his natural weapons. Kicking up with my legs I knocked him back long enough for me to teleport away. Atrel appeared beside me using some ability or item to teleport. His spear slashed and cut at me, my sword blocked the edges of his double bladed metal spear. They turned red as it rapidly heated up whenever they made contact with Clarent. He never kept his weapon against mine long enough for it to be cut through, but it was obvious that his spear was not an artifact and was taking damage from touching mine. ¡°You know,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re a much better fighter than your father was.¡± ¡°I remember watching you fight against Guinevere,¡± Atrel said. ¡°you¡¯re just a brutal barbarian. You rely on overwhelming your opponent.¡± ¡°That was about a year ago,¡± I responded blocking his strike and stepping forward hooking his leg with my foot and yanking out his leg from under him. ¡°I think you¡¯ll find that I am not the same now.¡± Torvin tried to charge me on his mount again no matter that the trick hadn¡¯t worked on me the first two times he tried it. I didn¡¯t even turn my attention to him, just letting the Spirit Cannon on my shoulder turn and fire and evaporate the summoned mount from under him. I raised my sword to finish of Atrel on the ground, my foot stomping on his wrist to keep his spear pinned. Jamis jumped over the fallen Atrel, his fur catching fire as I brought Clarent down on his back. He was on fire now, but his side was surprisingly resistant to Clarent¡¯s lightning edge. He swiped forward with his paw, and I blocked it but was thrown a dozen paces back. I spun midair and landed on my feet again, the claw wounds I had just taken already closing up. Raising my left hand, I unleashed another torrent of lighting from my hands. This time Felrick wasn¡¯t in any shape to try and tank it as the bolts struck home. Atrel managed to deflect and ground the current of electricity into the ground with his spear. Helen created a golden barrier around her that shattered but dispersed the lightning. Letting loose another blast of lighting I watched as Mira and Felrick went unconscious. Jamis came at me again, his form that of a human again. A spiked gauntlet sped towards my face. Raising my left hand, I caught his wrist holding him in place as he strained against me. My strength was much higher than his with all my instances of Black Rage I had stacked up. I pulled him forward as rotated my body to increase the power of my next strike; Clarent stabbed forward ramming through his bare chest. The smell of roasted flesh filled the air as he let out a gasp then collapsed. Chapter 94: Strong Enough to Show Mercy Helen screamed in horror as Jamis dropped to the ground. The warlord retracted his lightning blade and turned to face the rest of them. They couldn¡¯t see his body through the black mist that surrounded him. The only details they could see were the glowing of the runes on his armor and the burning fire of his eyes and veins and the molten blood dripping from rapidly closing wounds. Guinevere stepped forwards and placed her hand on his arm. Helen expected him to strike out and kill her, but he froze shuddering. Slowly his body stilled the shuddering ceasing as he seemed to regain control of himself. ¡°They are beaten,¡± Guinevere said softly, her voice sad. ¡°They attacked me, Guinevere,¡± Mordred said. ¡°Give me a good reason for why I should let them live.¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re strong enough to show mercy,¡± Guinevere said. Mordred strode forwards and knelt before Helen as she laid her hands on Felrick closing the gap in his stomach. ¡°This is your last chance,¡± he growled. ¡°If you come after me again it won¡¯t just be one of you that dies. If you value your lives than go back to your kingdom and stay out of my forest. Get in my way again and the only thing I¡¯ll leave behind is corpses.¡± Atrel helped her drag Mira and Torvin away as Felrick limped behind them, his body still ravaged by the storm of lightning. They looked over their shoulders to see the black smoking monstrous figure of the Warlord. --- I watched until the rival party was out of sight. Voidra canceled Black Rage for me and the black mist around me disappeared. I wiped the blood off my body and knelt down to loot the corpse.
150 rank points gained
You have slain the champion of a rival god and earned an upgrade to your blessing
Previous: *Blessing of War (Veteran): You are the mortal embodiment of war and carnage. You regain 10 stamina and 10 mana per second to fuel you as you carve your way through the battlefield.
Upgraded: *Blessing of War (Veteran): You are the mortal embodiment of war and carnage. You regain 13 stamina and 13 mana per second to fuel you as you carve your way through the battlefield.
Ability Gained, Brutal Spite: Even when you have beaten down, your blood sapped from your body and to the point of death you continue on. For every severe wound you are currently suffering at one point your stamina regeneration is increased by x2.
Cost: not available
Upgrade this ability to increase the rate of increased stamina regeneration per wound suffered. Each rank of this ability increases your Endurance by 1.
Congratulations you have completed a hidden objective and earned at title. Objective: Display sufficient mastery with a sword in a life and death fight. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Reward: Master Swordsman
*Master Swordsman: Your damage with swords is increased by four stages.
Congratulations you have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Deflect over thirty shots without being hit in less than twenty seconds.
Reward: Master Deflector
*Master Deflector: Instead of using a shield you have learned to use your weapon to anticipate, block and redirect projectiles. You can instinctively tell the angle at which objects are coming from and where your parry will redirect them towards sending them that way with their original force they hit you with while expending only a minor amount of effort on your part.
¡°They will attack you again one day,¡± Guinevere said breaking the silence between us that had begun ever since my last threat to them. ¡°That¡¯s their mistake to make,¡± I said. ¡°And your just going to kill them?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°What do you want me to say?¡± I asked. ¡°You wanted me to show them mercy and I did, but I¡¯m not going to die for them.¡± ¡°They¡¯re good people!¡± Guinevere shouted at me. ¡°They¡¯re just¡­ they just¡­ they don¡¯t know who you are.¡± ¡°And they don¡¯t care enough to learn either,¡± I retorted. ¡°These are adults not children, if they can¡¯t see past their own hypocrisy then the consequences of it are on them. Let me ask you this, do you feel bad about killing the assassins who came after you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s different,¡± Guinevere said defensively. ¡°Is it?¡± I asked. ¡°Who knows what reasons they had for coming after you perhaps the were ¡°good people¡±. They probably had families who cared about them but you cut them down without a second thought.¡± Guinevere was silent at that. She looked down at the body of Jamis. ¡°What do you plan on doing with his body?¡± she asked. ¡°Nothing,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°I just wanted the loot he had on him.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to have him returned to his friends for a proper burial,¡± Guinevere said looking out where they had run off. ¡°Pretty sure there at least a few miles away by now,¡± I said. ¡°What now?¡± Guinevere asked. Not answering her right away I thought about the question hidden behind her words. ¡°You want to return home to Camelot?¡± I asked. ¡°I have to,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°There is¡­ unfinished business there.¡± ¡°Marrying your cousin,¡± I said dryly. ¡°I gave my word,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I guess this is goodbye.¡± ¡°Well,¡± I said. ¡°I can at least give you a ride.¡± I turned to Exar¡¯kun who looked much healthier now. Dark Guardian had healed him for every major wound I¡¯d taken, and he likely had his own ways of healing himself as well to have survived this long. ¡°You mind giving us a lift?¡± -- Flying was much faster than walking. My legs gripped Exar¡¯kun¡¯s neck as I sat directly behind his head. Guinevere held onto me from behind. For a brief moment I was reminded of going on rides with Sarah on my motorcycle. The memories still hurt but not as much as they had before. Your soul damage is mostly all repaired, Voidra informed me. Not entirely though, Karnen warned me. So don¡¯t go stabbed by any spirits or let your soul get ravaged by curse damage again. What would have been a journey of at least a few days for me, even running at my top speed took us only eight hours. We landed on the opposite side of the mountains. I¡¯d seen a few sketches of maps to know that most of Camelot was on island adjacent to the continent. This stretch of land that abutted the Ancient Forest was just a minor province of the kingdom. Guinevere and slid off Exar¡¯kun¡¯s neck to the ground. There was town visible in the far distance, the fire light shining through its windows as the dark night sky shone with stars above us. ¡°Mordred I¡­¡± Guinevere said and stopped unable to find the words. Taking both of her hands in mine I met her eyes. ¡°This isn¡¯t the end princess.¡± Guinevere sighed. ¡°We come from different worlds, in more than ways than one.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± I said raising her fingers to my lips. ¡°You need to let me go,¡± Guinevere pleaded. ¡°If you pursue me people will die¡­you¡¯ll die.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to lose you Guinevere,¡± I said. ¡°If I die trying to follow after you¡­ so be it.¡± Guinevere tore her hands away and turned her back on me. ¡°Please¡­don¡¯t follow me.¡± I watched her go my enhanced hearing able to hear the sound of her heart thudding and sob the choked down. ¡°What¡¯s next Warlord?¡± Exar¡¯kun asked me. ¡°Are we going after your mate?¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± I said. ¡°But you are going after her?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m never giving her up to anyone,¡± I replied throwing myself into the air and landing atop his neck again. ¡°I have the start of a plan it just needs some work. For now, we find my vassals.¡± ¡°They left the Ancient Forest months ago,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°Last I caught sight of your army was on the border of Dracon.¡± Chapter 95: A Dark Messiah Jeriah stood at the front of the Warlord¡¯s army. The forces of Camelot had finally gathered and stood against them. They had taken losses during their conquest of Dracon and now held control of half the country. Without the Warlord with them, however, they had limited ways of replenishing their numbers. They had slowly been whittled down, those that remained were the strongest of their army, but they were outnumbered five to one. Their army was not made for defending castle or city walls so they had taken to the field where they could be the most effective. The pike formations set against them and the ranks of armored knights on horseback made Jeriah uneasy, but he didn¡¯t show it. He and his brothers stood at the front of the army. They didn¡¯t ride horses except for going between places in battle unless you were rich enough to afford gifted steeds a horse was only good against non-gifted. The heavy thud of thousands of feet striking the ground at once filled the air and sent vibrations through the earth as the army of Camelot advanced. Howls and roars rose up from the army of the Warlord, the pike formations stopped as the din of monstrous noises rose up but their commanders drove them forwards. The two armies clashed. Goblins were skewered off their mounts by long pikes and men were dragged out of formation by fur clad warriors while razor raptors jumped over the wall of spears. Blood began to drench the ground the smell of iron and excrement filling the air as death fell on both sides. For every one of theirs that fell two or three died on the other side but Jeriah could feel the end coming they just didn¡¯t have numbers to continue. ¡°Run brothers,¡± Jeriah said turning to his blood and half-brothers. ¡°The battle is lost for us.¡± ¡°Are you running?¡± Tobias asked. ¡°I am the commander of this army,¡± Jeriah said shaking his head. ¡°I will die with it.¡± ¡°Then we will die with you,¡± Rejiah said clasping his elder brother on the shoulder. ¡°We are with you till the end.¡± ¡°Then let us make our end echo through history,¡± Jeriah said. They turned to front line that fell under the never-ending pike phalanx. They charged into the snapping jaws of spears ready to smash through and cut through them into the very heart of the army. A roar louder than anything else on the battlefield cut the air. Jeriah¡¯s head jerked up and he looked at the dragon that had invaded their battle once before. Arrows rose up to strike the dragon¡¯s underbelly, but an invisible force halted the rain midair, and they dropped uselessly to the ground. A wall of green fire cut through the center of the army. Men screamed as the blighted fire boiled them inside their armor. Crimson lightning lashed down from atop the dragon a man astride its neck now visible. The dragon swept low, and the man jumped off into the very heart of the army where their most powerful officers and knights were stationed. -- Hitting the ground with the balls of my feet I turned my impact into a roll springing to my feet Clarent coming alive in my hand. He screamed as I swung him through the air and bisected a man in plate armor in half. Black mist rose around my body as I slew the man and I spun forward my sword blocking blows that came at me from all directions and cutting and melting through armor. Men in plate armor only had to be touched by Clarent and were driven to their knees as lighting traveled across their bodies leaving burning and charred corpses behind. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. The army¡¯s high command rushed me, and I met them eagerly. While I had fallen behind in rank during my year of exile below ground that did not mean I had become weaker. If Guinevere had taught me one thing it was that if you weren¡¯t a good fighter, it didn¡¯t matter if you were of a higher rank. Arrows thudded into me from behind my cloak absorbing and letting the fall to the ground harmlessly. The general of the army swung a heavy two-handed mace at me. At this point my Might was high enough for me to just block his strike. He stumbled backwards as what he had thought was a devastating attack was blocked by my one-handed grip on Clarent. I constantly was spamming Chain Lighting out. No longer needing to even say the phrase, the crimson bands of lightning tore out spread through the army. I unleashed Helheim¡¯s Scream and Voice of the Chasm inflicting fear and sending men flying as my voice ripped them off their feet. Plunging Clarent forwards my blade melted through the man¡¯s enchanted breastplate and drove through his heart. All around me the soldiers of Camelot were in a state of panic, their lines broken. Some were attacking their own comrades others curled up on the ground in the fetal position and being trampled by those trying to flee from me. Exar¡¯kun was laying waste to the cavalry he had trapped in a ring of fire. He had landed on the ground and his tail whipped around him sending men off their mounts as he gored himself on horseflesh. Arrows fell into the disoriented ranks as my army rallied and dove into the fight. The army that had been at the brink of victory had been routed in under five minutes. I wasn¡¯t aware of most of this lost to my berserker rage as I tore into anything that moved within sixty feet of me. Soon there was nothing but mounds of charred and burning corpses. My rage slowly subsided as I regained control of myself. My arms were stained with blood, my chest covered in blood from myself and others.
604 rank points gained.
Exar¡¯kun slowly walked across the battlefield on his two legs, the fingers on the ends of his wings gripping the ground as he walked. His head lowered beside me, and I mounted behind his crown of horns. Raising his head, I was able to see and be viewed by my entire army. ¡°I have been gone for a long time,¡± I said. ¡°But I am glad to see you have not been idle in my absence. Today you will pick this battlefield clean of any gear and divide it amongst yourselves, we shall feast and drink. Tomorrow we shall take the rest of this country from Camelot!¡± My army cheered. ¡°Mordred!¡± The cry was taken up and soon my name rolled and echoed across the bloodstained hills as my army shouted in exultation. --- A massive tent was constructed for me. It was still only large enough for Exar¡¯kun to fit his neck inside but the women who had followed the army still poured out barrels of wine for him and set down several spitted hogs for him to eat. ¡°Why did you attack Dracon?¡± I asked Jeriah. I could tell he was somewhat uncomfortable at having taken direct control of my vassals like that but I didn¡¯t assuage his fears wanting to see what he had to say. ¡°I knew you had the Pauldron¡¯s of Aries,¡± he said. ¡°The other two pieces are said to both be in Dracon, the Lion Clan has one and the royal family had the other.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not angry at you,¡± I said. ¡°An army deserves to be used and I was underutilizing you.¡± ¡°What are your plans next?¡± Jeriah asked me. Setting down my drinking horn I looked out over the men, goblins and myrmidon feasting all around us. ¡°Tell me what you know of the Dragon Tourney.¡± Epilogue Act III Guinevere stood at the bow of a ship headed for the shores of Camelot. The wind brushed along her skin, her hair loose in the breeze. The mist of the harbor slowly began to clear, and the sight took her breath away. Thousands of warships were in harbor. Each was large enough to carry at least five hundred men on board. She knew there hadn¡¯t been this many ships a year ago. Sliding into port she stepped off the ship and paid the captain for his service although he tried to refuse. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be right to take money just for helping a lady return home,¡± the captain said. ¡°All service deserves just rewards,¡± Guinevere said placing a small bag of coins in his hand. ¡°Please take this with my thanks.¡± Guinevere pulled up the hood of her cloak. It served to hide her armor and face as she walked through the cobblestone streets. The pavement was clean, the drainage and sewer system created by earth abilities when the city was first constructed. She watched columns of soldiers march past. Guinevere noticed the signs of militarization the more she moved through the city although the mood of the city was joyful, so this wasn¡¯t the result of some siege. ¡°Excuse me,¡± Guinevere said stopping at a blacksmith. ¡°Why are there are so many soldiers in the city? I¡¯ve been gone¡­ for a long time.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t heard about the war?¡± the blacksmith asked. ¡°You must have been far away then. The King liberated Dracon last year we were in the process of rooting out all the old loyalists when barbarians from the Cursed Forest attacked.¡± ¡°We attacked Dracon?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Prince Arthur himself led the army and struck down their corrupt king himself,¡± the blacksmith said his sense of pride and patriotism evident. ¡°Thank you for your time,¡± Guinevere said leaving. She continued to make her way to the palace. There were at least ten thousand soldiers marshalled around the city based on the patrols she was seeing. Pacing into the Gold District she was stopped at the gates to the palace grounds. ¡°Halt and state your business,¡± the guard at the gate said. Guinevere pulled down the hood of her cloak. ¡°I am Dutchess Guinevere of the lands of Logres, betrothed to Crown Prince Arthur.¡± There was a shocked silence but a quick look at the description above her head confirmed who she was. Although it was possible to make up a false name it was not possible to fake titles and her title of the Winter Lady was evident in her status. Guinevere was brought into the palace and made to wait outside the throne room. This was odd since as the betrothed to the Crown Prince she should have immediately been brought before the King and Prince. Crossing her arms Guinevere used the time to look up her status.
Guinevere the Winter Lady, Gifted- Veteran, humanoid/human*, Veteran Rank: 301
Available Rank Points: 157
Might: 70 Mind: 73
Speed: 72 Perception: 53
Toughness: 70 Spirit: 75
Endurance: 71 Power: 45
Maximum Stamina: 353 Maximum Mana: 289
Stamina Regen: The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. 70.8 Mana Regen: 64
Abilities
Oracle¡¯s Ghost (Rank 20), Grace-of-the-Fey (Rank 20), Stand-your-Ground (Rank 20), Rime-frost Armor (Rank 20), Mirror Block (Rank 20), Royal Blade (Rank 20), Winter¡¯s Aura (Rank 20), Winter¡¯s Touch (Rank 20), Confessor¡¯s Sight (Rank 20), Ice Flash (Rank 20), Frigid Blast (Rank 20), Blizzard Breath (Rank 20), Razor Edge (Rank 20), Agonizing Strike (Rank 20), Battle Insight (Rank 20), Cursed Crown (Rank 1)
Titles
Master Swordsman, Lady of Camelot, the Winter Lady, Immovable, Prodigy, Coldblooded, Aphrodite¡¯s Image, Swift Blade, Fire Resistant III, Survivor III, Abomination Slayer, Dark Valkyrie
She had only gained one ability in the entire year she¡¯d been gone. She¡¯d gotten it after the cursed stag was slain due to her being the second largest contributor to that fight. She had also gained a title after killing the vampire abomination. The name and description of that title still made her uneasy and she wasn¡¯t willing to equip it just yet or tell anyone about it.
*Dark Valkyrie: You can equip this title to appear after your name in your description. While equipped you deal x3 damage while fighting alongside a Void-bound entity within 60 feet of you, damage multiplier and range is halved while title is not equipped.
The implication of Mordred being void bound was not what shook her she had already known he harbored a spirit of the void. The fact that his presence was affecting her abilities and titles was what concerned her. Her ability she had gained was still at rank one but once upgraded would push her into Hero Rank, but she was hesitant to take that step.
Cursed Crown (Rank 1): You have slain a prince of the forest alongside a champion of the gods earning you the notice of both the gods of law and chaos. Your regal bearing now takes the form of a halo of flames above your head that lasts for 1 minute. All your attacks deal an additional minor amount of cursed damage any creature striking you with a melee attack receives a minor amount of curse damage.
Cost: 10 mana Cooldown: 5 minutes
Upgrade this ability to increase the damage and duration of its effects. Each rank of this ability increases your Power attribute by 1.
The doors of the throne room finally swung open. Guinevere walked inside noticing how the usual courtiers were absent. Her father was there, which surprised her. Stopping the curtsied as was customary even if she wasn¡¯t wearing a dress. ¡°My King,¡± she said respectfully. ¡°Father.¡± ¡°Where have you been?¡± Merlin asked, his voice stern. ¡°Going to and for under the earth,¡± Guinevere replied. His harsh voice did not stinger her as much as it had once. ¡°And the Warlord?¡± King Arthur asked. ¡°We were told you and him died in battle against eachother.¡± ¡°Who told you that?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Lady Kira,¡± the King replied. ¡°Is it true? Is the Warlord dead?¡± ¡°I would not trust a word Lady Kira has to say,¡± Guinevere responded. ¡°Last I saw him the Warlord was alive.¡± ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t we trust the word of Lady Kira?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°Because she and her party betrayed me, they opened up portals and brought in a group of assassins to kill me,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I killed the rest of the ones that betrayed me, but she managed to escape.¡± ¡°That is a bold accusation,¡± Merlin said. ¡°Do you have any proof?¡± ¡°Only that she fled and told others that both I and the Warlord died when that was lie,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°May I speak with Lady Guinevere alone?¡± Arthur asked. Both Merlin and King Arthur looked at each other, than the prince. ¡°Do you think that wise?¡± his father asked. ¡°It is necessary, I need to explain some things to Guinevere,¡± Arthur said. Merlin and King Arthur left leaving Guinevere alone with Arthur. Turning her back to Arthur Guinevere walked over to the window overlooking the palace grounds. Hundreds of knights could be seen training and a tourney ground was being constructed by the edges of Lake Virviera. ¡°Confessor¡¯s Sight,¡± Guinevere breathed out her voice so soft there was no one that could have heard her without her whispering it in their ear. ¡°Guinevere¡­I¡­¡± Arthur said the moment coming and he found himself at a loss for words. ¡°A lot has happened since you left.¡± ¡°So, I¡¯ve heard,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°You have?¡± Arthur asked, seeming surprised. ¡°Not all of it,¡± Guinevere said turning to face him. ¡°Do you remember why I agreed to this in the first place?¡± ¡°To stop our fathers from going to war,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Yes,¡± Guinevere said coldly. ¡°But when I return home, I find that not only are we on the edge of war but you yourself have already marched off and destroyed an entire country.¡± Arthur flinched at her words. ¡°It¡¯s not like that,¡± he protested. ¡°Then what is it like?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Because I only agreed to marry you in order to save lives, not to secure your father¡¯s power base so he could wage war more effectively. The harbor is filled with a thousand warships, patrols of soldiers march the city streets.¡± ¡°Barbarians have invaded our lands,¡± Arthur snapped back. ¡°They are invading the lands you conquered,¡± Guinevere corrected. ¡°You don¡¯t get to strike first and then claim self-defense.¡± Arthur let out a breath. ¡°This isn¡¯t what I needed to talk to you about.¡± ¡°And what was that?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I have a son,¡± Arthur said blurting it out. Guinevere expected to feel something, but the admission of his infidelity didn¡¯t give her any reaction. If she was honest with herself she felt relived. ¡°Was he conceived before or after you thought I was dead?¡± Guinevere asked. Arthur was silent and wouldn¡¯t meet her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Our betrothal is done.¡± ¡°Its not,¡± Arthur said with a sigh. ¡°When we learned you were dead there were amendments made to the betrothal contract. I was to marry your sister this summer in place of you, however my father added that if you were to return the arrangement would change back to the old.¡± ¡°The old agreement required you to remain faithful,¡± Guinevere reminded him her voice like ice. ¡°My father used his authority as king to change it,¡± Arthur said with a sigh. ¡°Whether you or I like it the marriage is going through.¡± ¡°And your mistress?¡± Guinevere asked her voice like a knife at his throat. ¡°I will not abandon the mother of my child,¡± Arthur said finally meeting her eyes. Guinevere stepped in close, her voice growing low. ¡°If you go through with this and force me into a marriage against my will¡­ then know there is no place on this earth where your child or mistress will be safe.¡± Arthur was stunned. ¡°What happened to you Guinevere? Your threatening a child!¡± ¡°The Warlord happened,¡± Guinevere replied. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Arthur said lowering his head as he assumed the worst. ¡°Don¡¯t be,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Unlike you at least he keeps to his word. Goodbye Arthur remember what I said to you today, unlike you, I always keep my promises.¡± Chapter 96: Reckless Strategy ¡°The Dragon Tourney?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°It¡¯s some Camelot tradition they have if I remember right.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know anything more about it than that?¡± I asked. ¡°Lady Kathleen would probably know more,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°Kathleen the Warlord wishes to speak with you,¡± he called out. The moon-elf I had rescued from the Ettercaps stood and approached us. She was as lithe as ever, but I noticed a swell to her belly. Jeriah noticed my look and coughed. ¡°I took Kathleen as one of my wives, I hope you aren¡¯t angered by¡­¡± he began seeming nervous. Waving him off I turned my attention to Kathleen. ¡°They aren¡¯t my women, while I¡¯m not interested in starting a harem as long as what you do is consensual, I don¡¯t have any issues with it. It was consensual right?¡± I asked him to give him a side eyed look. ¡°Of course!¡± Jeriah responded offended. ¡°Then we have no problem,¡± I said. ¡°Kathleen what do you know of the Dragon Tourney?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a ceremony held when the crown prince has chosen his wife,¡± Kathleen said. ¡°Its to pay homage to when the first king of Camelot rescued princess Gwenfer from a great dragon and married her founding the kingdom.¡± ¡°Gwenfer? Not Guinevere?¡± I asked. ¡°The name was changed to that later in the histories but that was not her name when they married,¡± Kathleen explained. ¡°Interesting,¡± I said. ¡°How do you win the Dragon Tourney?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a real competition,¡± Kathleen said with a laugh. ¡°It¡¯s just a chance for the nobles to make connections, alliances and show off their skills.¡± ¡°So only the nobles can enter into the Tourney?¡± I asked. ¡°Any noble of at least the rank of knight can enter into the tourney,¡± Kathleen said. ¡°My mother told me that Tourney for the current king lasted for several months with the number of competitors.¡± ¡°So just to be clear,¡± I said. ¡°Anyone knight of Camelot can join the tourney, how do they tell if you really are a knight.¡± ¡°Every Knight of Camelot has a title they can show in their description,¡± Kathleen said now seeming hesitant as I continued to probe this insignificant detail. ¡°The only condition is they must be the same rank as the prince.¡± ¡°Excellent,¡± I said. ¡°Thank you that was all I needed from you.¡± Kathleen curtsied and left me and Jeriah be. ¡°What was all that about?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°Lets just say I¡¯ve found a woman,¡± I said. Jeriah smiled. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful, when can we meet her?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the difficult thing,¡± I said. ¡°She is currently set to marry the prince of Camelot.¡± Jeriah closed his eyes and leaned his face into his hand. ¡°You don¡¯t pick anything easy, do you?¡± he asked. ¡°Where would the fun in that be?¡± I asked. ¡°Now where are other pieces of my armor located?¡± ¡°Once piece might still be within the royal vault of Dragonhold,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°The Princess escaped before she could be made to open it, so Camelot has been having to try and break their way past its defenses for months now.¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s where we¡¯ll go,¡± I said definitively. ¡°Enjoy the feast I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡± I left my vassals to their revelry. So many people all together after my months of speaking and sharing space with only one other person was jarring. Using Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory, I made a cave in the side of a hill and sat in meditation. Closing my eyes, I breathed out a sigh of relief enjoying the isolation. My moment of peace was quickly broken. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Congratulations, as the Champion of Kelesa you have been invited to participate in a new style of event. The event will take place in one month and will allow you to interact with the other Champions. During the event, you will be transplanted into another realm. During the event, you cannot suffer permanent death, or other effects such as mind control, domination, or crippling injuries or effects. You can still gain rank points from killing another champion, but they will not lose any rank points they have gathered; the amount of rank points you gain will be reduced due to having multiple lives. All participants will be given a number of lives during the event, when killed they will revive in their respawn area. When a participant has lost all their lives and is ¡°killed¡± they will be teleported back to where they were before the last event and will only lose any materials or equipment gathered during the event. The goal and reward for the event will be revealed when you enter the realm. Do you wish to be entered into the Event?
I had missed the last Event do to being trapped underground. This notification looked different than the last one I remembered. I couldn¡¯t recall the other notification perfectly but this one seemed to be on a bigger scale than what I had seen last. --- A shadow fell over the walls of Dragonhold. Enchanted ballista bolts fired up into the air and Exar¡¯kun spun avoiding the enchanted armor piercing tips as they flew above the city. What remained of the Camelot forces in Dracon were gathered here defending the walls against my army. I didn¡¯t allow Exar to breath his fire out on the walls since it could spread to the nearby buildings too easily. The same applied to my chain lighting, since killing a creature would let it chain indefinitely if it got into a crowd of regular people, it could eradicate the cities entire population. Rising up Exar¡¯kun folded into his wings and went into a nosedive. We plummeted through the air towards the palace at the heart of the city. A hundred feet up from the ground Exar¡¯kun snapped out his wings, we struck the ground in a blast of dust and broken stone. Men cried out as his tail swept about him. A blast of ice and razor-sharp sleet cut towards us. Exar snapped forward with his jaws, but the mage rolled to the side stabbing forwards with a spear tipped with an ice blue blade. Positioned right behind Exar¡¯kun¡¯s head I blocked the spear and kicked out, breaking the mage¡¯s nose. Sliding off his neck I dropped down my body surrounded in black mist. ¡°Is this all the defense that Camelot can muster against me?¡± I taunted the remaining soldiers and knights. My voice came out as deep as a well reverberating as Voice-of-the-Chasm and my helmet altered it. A brave soldier lunged forwards and plunged his spear towards my chest. My feet unmoving, I twisted to the side letting it pass by. Grabbing it I yanked the man forward and knocked his legs out from under him. His head hit the stone and he lay stunned on the ground. ¡°You are brave I¡¯ll give you that,¡± I said and held my hand down to him. ¡°I will give you this chance, join me as my vassal and you will not die this day.¡± He rolled out from under me drawing a dagger and slashing at my leg. His blade slid off my skin and I looked down on him with pity. ¡°You lack the strength to defeat me, there is no shame in this defeat.¡± The man shook with what might have been rage or fear. His blade clattered to the ground and he fell to one knee. The other knights looked at him with a mixture of fear or disgust. ¡°Traitor!¡± one of the knights snarled and lunged forward to kill the man. Clarent extended out and cut off the head of the knight¡¯s pike. He flew towards me as I gripped him with telekinesis and drove my sword through his breastplate. I dropped the dead knight to the ground and looked at the remaining men and woman arrayed before me. ¡°There remains only one more chance for the rest of you,¡± I warned them. ¡°Kneel or fight and die, these are your only choices.¡± Six knights charged me. Teleporting in between them I slashed out cutting off one¡¯s leg. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talons,¡± I snarled my voice distorted by rage and my helm. Slashing open the man¡¯s throat with my claws I spun taking the strike from a glowing sword on my Pauldron. Clarent drove through my attacker¡¯s stomach, and he collapsed, not dead yet, but out of the fight. The other four backed off a bit trying to circle me and strike while another distracted me. The earth began to suck me down as the ground beneath me turned to an unnatural mud that sucked and pulled with much greater force than it should have. My remaining attackers struck and stabbed at me with their weapons; I either just took the attack if it would do minor damage or blocked. My clawed left hand struck out grabbing a female knight by the front of her breastplate. Dragging her forward I pushed her down into the mud using her back as a stepping stool to step out of the ever-deepening sinkhole and left her submerged and suffocating in the earth. A pillar of earth shot towards me, and I turned incorporeal. ¡°Phantom Form,¡± I said. A black spirit I struck forward with a spectral version of Clarent into the chest of another knight. He fell to the ground screaming as his soul was ripped open and exposed. Only one knight remained, and he dropped his mace and raised his hands. Clarent decapitated him and his head tumbled out of his helmet. ¡°He surrendered!¡± one of the other soldiers shouted at me. ¡°Only after attacking me again,¡± I reminded him. ¡°To fight me is to die. I have shown enough leniency today, give me your choice now or it shall be made for you.¡± Those that remained all dropped their weapons. Some shook with fear, others with rage but all that mattered was that they served me. ¡°You are all part of my army now,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°Welcome to the army of the Blood Sworn,¡± I held out my hand before me as I brought them all under my will. ¡°Dominion.¡± Chapter 97: The Power to Give and Take As I looked down on my new vassals a notification came up to award me for my kills.
455 rank points gained across targets slain.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 4,100 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Quest Updated, Whip and Chains: 256 rank points gained.
Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 2,560 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current Progress 517 out of 2560. When you complete this quest, you will gain 512 Rank Points and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
With how many kills I was getting from gifted humanoids I was quickly regaining the rank points I had lost when the system punished me for artificially creating my own ability. I was a few thousand short of the number I had lost but was getting closer. The problem was I couldn¡¯t spend the points yet. If I wanted to enter the Dragon Tourney, I had to be the same rank as the prince, which meant I couldn¡¯t go up in rank and risk being locked out. That was one of the main reasons I wanted to complete the quest and get my full armor set. Not only would I have a full set of artifact armor but also a new title which promised me even more power. Titles and equipment weren¡¯t really something you could regulate and was the only advantage I could farm right now. ¡°Rise,¡± I commanded my new soldiers and knights. ¡°Report to Lord Jeriah, he we will give you your new instructions.¡± Turning my back on them, I shoved open the palace gates. A wooden beam shattered as I snapped it in two. Servants screamed but I ignored them as I walked past. Following my nose, I descended down into the palace following the itching scent of magic. Workbenches and tables had been abandoned but I could see a set of double iron doors, their surface inscribed with enchants. That looks like a pain to get through, Karnen said. You think you could break the enchantments? ¡°No,¡± I admitted. ¡°Those enchantments are to complicated to break without just exploding them, the force would be cataclysmic when those doors shattered, I wouldn¡¯t even survive the attempt.¡± So, what do you need to open it up? Voidra asked. ¡°A key,¡± I said reaching the enchantments. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s some sort of blood lock. I guess it¡¯s this world¡¯s magical equivalent of biolock. That must have been why they needed that princess Jeriah mentioned.¡± So, we need to track her down? Karnen asked with an internal groan. ¡°Not necessarily,¡± I said. ¡°With a bit of fenagling I might be able to alter this lock and switch who it needs blood from. I can¡¯t break it open, but it doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t pick the lock.¡± I will remind you that you did just say ¡°cataclysmic¡± when referring to what would happen if you got this wrong, Voidra said. Maybe it¡¯s worth looking for the princess briefly. ¡°Fine,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Jeriah and Tobias if they¡¯ve heard anything about her location. We might check out the location of this Lion Clan as well.¡± -- I found Jeriah in the throne room seated in a chair before the throne as he gave out orders. Sitting down I watched him and waited for those present to leave. Eventually it was just me, him, and Tobias. ¡°What do you need Mordred?¡± he asked. ¡°The location of the princess,¡± I said. ¡°I need her blood to open up the vault. Do you have any reports on where she is.¡± Jeriah looked about as if we might have people listening in on us. ¡°There are rumors,¡± he said, his voice low. ¡°That she was taken by a mysterious group called the Order of the Magi. They¡¯re a group¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± I waved him off. ¡°I know all about them, so your saying they¡¯re walking around up here now?¡± ¡°Up here?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°Long story,¡± I said. ¡°So, you don¡¯t have any actual idea of her current location.¡± ¡°Not as of yet,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°Though we haven¡¯t been focused on tracking her down.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± I said. ¡°Well, we can¡¯t get into the vault just yet, tell me about this Lion Clan.¡± ¡°They are nomadic group of warrior herders on the moors to the east,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°They act as an independent nation trading pelts and fine leather in exchange for grain, metal and other products.¡± ¡°Have we made contact with them yet?¡± I asked. ¡°I sent an emissary to them a few months ago but haven¡¯t heard back from her yet,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°Her?¡± I asked. ¡°I sent Syvia,¡± he said. ¡°she¡¯s a fast scout and myrmidon so I thought she was the best choice.¡± ¡°You are aware that they view the Lion Clan as traitors to their goddess since they gave up raiding in pursuit of peace?¡± I asked. ¡°Well¡­no,¡± Jeriah admitted. I sighed. Even I, a stranger to this world, could tell that the emissary we had sent was likely one of the worst choices we could have made. Juruk would have been better, and he was a fucking goblin. ¡°Nothing to be done about it now,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll have to visit them myself.¡± Tobias shoved open the throne room doors. ¡°We have a monster attack at the front gates!¡± he said. ¡°Then deal with it,¡± Jeriah said irritably. ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± Tobias said. ¡°it¡¯s an army of them and their leader is hero ranked.¡± -- Moments later I teleported onto the outer wall having ran and teleported the entire way. I looked out over a group of monsters. They were like centaurs but they each had antlers like gazelle and their eyes were coals, their hooves burning with and scorching the ground as they stamped and trampled the grass underneath them.
A raid has been created to test and challenge you as you step onto the path of ascension. Since you have conquered a capital city of a nation expanding the borders of your Kingdom you will receive more frequent spawn rates around you to test you and see if you are worthy.
Only the leader of a raid will award you rank points but will drop a Loot chest to reward you upon defeating them. The fewer participants in the battle the greater your reward will be.
It wasn¡¯t even a question for me. ¡°Stay here, I¡¯ll handle this on my own.¡± I said to Jeriah. A crash landed on the wall beside me, and I looked up to see Exar¡¯kun looking down on the demon centaurs hungrily. ¡°I would greatly appreciate being allowed to participate; it is rare to find worthy prey. I have not had a single fight against an opponent of my own rank since I ascended to Hero.¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. My first instinct was to deny him, but I thought about it. Exar¡¯kun was not my vassal he was an ally bound to me by choice, I would need to treat him with the same respect I would Guinevere. Besides which, making my means of fast travel and aerial bombardment was always going to be a good thing. ¡°Very well, but just you,¡± I said. Dropping down to the ground the centaurs stopped battering at the barely repaired gate. Pawing at the ground they encircled me. Their leader strode forward. His head was fifteen feet off the ground and he carried what appeared like a scythe of some sort, its blade made of blood red crystal. ¡°Are you the Warlord?¡± he asked.
Skorias, Leader of the Burning Horde, Gifted- monster/infernal-centaur (raid boss), Hero, Rank: 750
¡°I am,¡± I said my voice distorted again by my helmet I had put back on. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that you can speak. Do you know what you are and why you were created.¡± ¡°I was created to destroy you,¡± Skorias growled charging forwards and slashing at me with his scythe. ¡°No,¡± I corrected him as I bent under and around his strike extending Clarent and slashing at his back legs. ¡°You were created to be food.¡± Skorias managed to intercept and block my attack with his scythe. I couldn¡¯t just focus on him as the rest of the burning horde charged me. A deep growl shook the land as Exar¡¯kun landed on the ground sending a shockwave from his impact. There had to be at least a thousand centaurs in the herd, each armored in dark armor from head to hoof.
Infernal Shock Trooper, Raid Creature- monster/infernal-centaur, Veteran, Power Level: 345
A massive maul swung down at me, and I turned incorporeal letting it pass through. My spectral sword slashed at six centaurs within reach their screams a cross between that of a man and a horses. Turning corporeal again, I teleported onto the back of a centaur driving Clarent down in a two-handed grip into its spine riding its corpse to the ground. Turning aside a spear I cut off its head. Gripping the tip of the spear with my telekinesis I threw it piercing through the neck of its wielder. Green flames ripped through the herd adjacent to me and I turned my back to their anguished screams as I focused on their approaching leader. A ring of fire appeared around Skorias, and he jumped through it disappearing into thin air. Like Guinevere I couldn¡¯t sense Skorias with my Foresight, but I had trained to fight without it for over a year. Skorias reappeared and I blocked his scythe as it came down on my neck. Twisting to the side I turned and threw off the weapon pressing down on me. My hand shouted out and crimson lightning blasted from my fingertips. Skorias roared in pain but was far too powerful to take lethal damage from a mere lighting strike. He began to move faster and faster around me, his speed increasing with every strike he made against me. After forty seconds he was going faster than my perception could track with ease. He moved around me in a blur, his scythe and hoof striking at me in sporadic patterns I couldn¡¯t predict. Forced to activate my speed boost on my boots when I first got them that would have put the battle on a timer but now the speed boost was an hour long and the battle would be over long before than one way or another. Even with my speed doubled the centaur raid boss continued to gain speed going even faster than me. I spun to the side, but it wasn¡¯t enough, and a hoof struck me in the chest and I heard my ribs crack and break under the force. He was over me before I even finished rolling across the ground. I had to throw myself to the side to keep his hooves from finishing the job and caving in my chest. ¡°Is this all the strength the Warlord can bring?¡± Skorias laughed. A dragon tail whipped through the air and the half-man-half-horse went flying. ¡°If you want strength,¡± I growled. ¡°I¡¯ll show you strength. Hell¡¯s Talons.¡± I threw Clarent into the air gripping his hilt with Telekinesis and spinning him around me in a scarlet whirlwind as I charged into the remaining horde. I slashed out with my claws not to kill but simply to deal as many wounds as possible. My skin already covered in black mist began to produce it like a waterfall as instances of Black Rage stacked up. If my opponent could increase their Speed in battle, I would have to do the same with my Might. Skorias was dancing around Exar¡¯kun the dragon unable to move fast enough to get another hit on him. The scythe was able to break through scales inflicting only minor wounds here or there but at such speed they would quickly overwhelm even the dragon. The remaining horde numbered around six-hundred and converged on me to keep me from going to Exar¡¯kun¡¯s aid. Unleashing Helheim¡¯s Scream I sent the horde reeling. Some resisted and continued to charge me while others fled or attacked their allies or just froze in panic. I cut through those in-between me and their leader as I raced forward. Jumping up I began dancing along their backs Clarent stabbing and cutting as I murdered my way forwards. Dropping to the ground a hundred feet away I called ¡°Hey! You ready for round two or you still in refractory?¡± Skorias was by my side in an eyeblink, his scythe going for my neck once again. Clarent intercepted the attack, and I threw him back the force of my riposte sending the raid boss reeling. Teleporting under him I slashed upwards, I only managed to deal a shallow wound but the lightning from Clarent raced across the centaur¡¯s body. Stunned in place for only a half second, it was long enough for Exar¡¯kun to bite down on the centaur¡¯s back. While large Exar¡¯kun wasn¡¯t big enough to fly away with the giant monster, but he shook him like a dog. Skorias didn¡¯t lose his head and began stabbing and slashing Exar¡¯kun¡¯s eyes with his scythe. Teleporting onto his head I barely kept my balance, I was finally grateful for the Ring of the Duelist as it helped me maintain my balance. Tossing his body against the walls there was an audible crack as something vital broke. Skorias dragged himself forward, but his back half was paralyzed. I strode forwards and countered his frenzied assault. The remaining horde charged us, but Exar¡¯kun turned to deal with them. The spines along his back shot out new one instantly regrowing to replace them as the projectiles acted like homing missiles. A steam of blight-fire evaporated the front ranks of the charging monsters. Drawing in close I drove Clarent through the raid-bosses chest. The fire that lit his hooves and eyes died slowly and he went limp. Retracting Clarent¡¯s blade I hooked him on my chest. Looking back, I found the army dead destroyed entirely by Exar¡¯kun¡¯s fire.
187 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 4,430 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Ability Gained, Blood Renewal (Rank 1): From the blood of your enemies are your allies restored. For every gallon of blood spilled on the ground you can exert 1 mana to heal all allies within 100ft of you for a minor amount of damage taken.
Cost: 1 mana per gallon of blood.
Upgrade this ability to reduce the amount of blood required, the range and amount of healing it does. Each rank of this ability increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
That doesn¡¯t seem like your kind of ability, Karnen said disappointed. I disagree, Voidra said. ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± I asked distractedly. Anyone can kill and destroy, Voidra explained. Real power comes when you can both give and take life from others. --- Guinevere stood before the King and her father¡¯s arms crossed over her chest. ¡°No,¡± she said coldly. ¡°You will do as your told and marry the Prince,¡± Merlin told her his voice holding no room for argument, or so he believed. ¡°Or what?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°What?¡± he asked, taken aback. Guinevere leaned forward suddenly reminded of Mordred when he talked to her party. ¡°Or¡­what,¡± she said again pausing between every word. ¡°You will be punished,¡± he growled being only questioned by his daughter in front of his brother and nephew enraging him but he kept it bottled up inside. ¡°This is not a request,¡± King Arthur said. ¡°Your father has some legal authority over you even if you are an adult and I am you king, you will obey.¡± ¡°No, I will not,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I originally made this pact with you to keep peace between you and my father. When I did so you made promises to me, promises that were written down.¡± She pulled out a scroll of parchment and laid it out on the table. ¡°The condition was that Arthur as my spouse and betrothed was to remain faithful to our marriage bed and would be allowed no other wives, concubines, and mistresses. He has already broken the first and fully intends to break the second.¡± ¡°That contract is no longer valid,¡± King Arthur said. ¡°It¡¯s your seal on it,¡± Guinevere responded. ¡°Leave us,¡± King Arthur commanded his son and brother. ¡°Father¡­.¡± Arthur began. ¡°Leave,¡± his father said again his voice turning as harsh as a blizzard. When Merlin and Arthur were gone King Arthur stood up and removed his crown examining it. ¡°Do you know why I am King?¡± he asked. ¡°Because your father¡­¡± Guinevere began. ¡°Wrong,¡± he snapped. ¡°I am not king because of my father; my son will not be king because of me. I am King because men like your father say I am. You believe that your father wants my throne, you are right. What you fail to understand is that both he and I know he cannot take it because might is not what makes a king.¡± Guinevere was silent as she listened. ¡°It is the barons and dukes who decide who is King, if they were to all decide today that I wasn¡¯t than my own power would mean nothing,¡± King Arthur said pacing back and forth. ¡°And what would they say if they knew you broke your word so easily?¡± Guinevere asked. Arthur looked at the parchment in her hands and snapped his finger. Ashes fell through her fingers as it disintegrated. ¡°What I am trying to tell you is that you do not matter. You have no real power, only your relation to your father gives you any value.¡± Guinevere stared daggers at him, a red-hot furry rising within her. ¡°And if I were to leave?¡± she asked. ¡°And go where?¡± King Arthur asked. ¡°If you abandon your duty here, I will name you a wolf¡¯s head no kingdom will except you. That is not to mention the toll I will extract on your brother and sister.¡± ¡°You would threaten my family?¡± Guinevere asked her hand dropping to the hilt of her sword unconsciously. ¡°My father¡¯s children.¡± ¡°I would make your father do it himself, and he would,¡± King Arthur told her his voice mercilessly. ¡°You are mistaken if you think my brother would do anything to jeopardize his power.¡± ¡°You will marry my son, you will be his queen, and do as you are told,¡± King Arthur said. ¡°If you do not, I will cast you alone into the deepest darkest dungeon there is. You were born to serve your King and you will do as you are told.¡± As he said the words an oppressive weight came down on her shoulders and binding oaths she had sworn as a child dragged her to her knees. ¡°Yes, my King,¡± Guinevere said the words like acid in her throat. Chapter 98: The Law of Family Pierce knelt on the bloodstained ground of the battlefield. Piles of corpses were still burning from where the Warlord¡¯s army had stacked them. The smell of smoke and iron was heavy in the air, and he breathed in heavily. His brown robes concealed the light armor he wore under his robes. His hands dug into the blood-soaked earth as he carved a circle in the grass. ¡°Is it time?¡± another man behind him asked. His hair was black streaked with grey, and he carried three swords on him, a greatsword on his back and a long and short sword hung at his hip. ¡°Yes, I think it is,¡± Pierce said. ¡°She¡¯s as ready as we can make her in the time we have left.¡± ¡°The presence of the Warlord is troubling,¡± the other man said. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be happy to at least learn your old apprentice is still alive,¡± Pierce said. ¡°Guinevere is a prodigy, but I fear she is bound to tightly to the customs of the gods,¡± the man said. ¡°I gave her the foundation, but she will have to build herself up from there.¡± ¡°She cannot build herself up in Camelot,¡± Pierce said shaking his head sadly. ¡°The oaths she is bound with will forever bind her to the will of lesser men.¡± ¡°I have faith in her,¡± the swordsman said. ¡°That is what I admire about you Sazu,¡± Pierce said. ¡°You never cease to hope despite how the odds are stacked against us.¡± ¡°Hope is our greatest weapon against the gods,¡± Sazu said. ¡°One day we will see the birth of a new way.¡± ¡°One day,¡± Pierce agreed. ¡°but today, let¡¯s go return Andromeda to her throne.¡± --- Exar¡¯kun winged his way east towards where the Lion Clan was said to live. The moors were completely unlike the Ancient Forest or the Underground They were outside the borders of Dracon and were a sort of no man¡¯s land, inhospitable to most life only the Lion Clan had managed to eke out an existence on its windswept steps. Wide open spaces a barely a bush to be seen. Rolling hills covered in thick grass and rocks and boulders. I had around twenty-eight days before the Event, and I wanted to get at least one more piece of my armor set before that happened. Spotting a group of humanoids Exar angled down, and we plunged through the clouds. His rough scales would have shredded the skin of my thighs if I didn¡¯t have Troll Hide and the effect from my pauldrons. Dropping down he spread his wings landing lightly on the ground. The herd of cattle scattered in panic before the dragon, but we paid them no mind looking at the mounted herders. I could instantly tell the difference between this Clan and the others I had met. It was the amount of metal they carried, the other clans mostly had hide or leather armor their iron and steel reserved for their weapons. This clan wore chain and half plate armor their pauldrons, elbow and knee guards stylized to look like the heads of lions. I slid off the back of Exar¡¯kun and approached them. They had bows drawn on me but the strongest one of them was only Veteran rank, so I wasn¡¯t worried.
Randren the Tamer, Gifted- humanoid/myrmidon, Veteran, Rank: 210
¡°What do you want Warlord?¡± he asked me, their bows still trained on my chest. ¡°I¡¯ve come seeking the pieces of the armor of Aries,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve been told your clan has one piece.¡± ¡°And if I told you we didn¡¯t?¡± he asked. A lie, Voidra said. ¡°I would say you were lying,¡± I responded. ¡°Listen, you¡¯re just out here minding your cattle. I¡¯m a problem above your paygrade, just tell me where your leader is, and I¡¯ll go become their problem.¡± He thought about my words for a bit, apparently realizing that I was right and wanting to be rid of me. ¡°The khan lies to the northeast; they are holding a sacred ceremony at the Stone Circle.¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°You¡¯ve been very helpful,¡± I said turning and jumping atop Exar¡¯kun again. We flew northeast. The sky was starting to darken with clouds, and I could feel a storm coming in. We spotted a massive hill in the distance and dove for it. The brewing storm clouds were still a few hours out and I didn¡¯t want to see what being up in the air would do to me in the middle of a storm. His feet clawed the ground as we landed, and I slid off. There was a palisade wall of logs and a moat around the hill, but it wouldn¡¯t be enough to keep out a high ranked Mortal. I jumped over the gate landing on the other side and was greeted by a Shieldwall as dozens and dozens of warriors formed a line. ¡°I¡¯m here for the armor of Ares,¡± I said deciding to jump straight to the heart of the matter. ¡°Take me to your leader.¡± -- Exar¡¯kun stomped up the winding road up the hill as we were ¡°escorted¡± up to the summit. A ring of stones similar to stone henge were arrayed in a circle a stone alter at their center. A throne of ivory adorned with animal pelts was set up and a woman sat there. Her hair was grey with age, but her features still were smooth with an unnatural beauty.
Meliana the Grey Huntress, Gifted- humanoid/myrmidon (lion), Exarch, Rank: 1023
¡°You are here for my Clan¡¯s piece of the armor of Aries?¡± she asked, surveying me with a severe gaze. ¡°I¡¯m here for my piece of the armor of Aries,¡± I corrected her. ¡°Also, one of my people was sent here as an ambassador, what happened to her?¡± ¡°And what makes it yours?¡± Meliana asked ignoring my question about Syvia. ¡°the armor was made for the Warlord,¡± I said. ¡°I am the Warlord.¡± ¡°The armor was made for Ares, what give you the right to inherit his legacy?¡± she asked me her voice never rising in inflection. ¡°The right of strength,¡± I said. ¡°We no longer keep to those traditions,¡± Meliana said. ¡°They resulted in the deaths of to many of our clan for generations.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t follow those traditions than what traditions do you follow?¡± I asked. ¡°We keep to the Law of Family. The Law of Strength says that a man or woman should and can do whatever they want if they have the power to do so. The Law of Family says that a man or woman must always act with the interest of their people placed above their own.¡± She explained. ¡°Tell me Mordred, do you have a family.¡± ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I have those that are related to me by blood, but they aren¡¯t on this world and I have no loyalty to them.¡± ¡°Then this will be a most hard law for you understand, is there no one you care for?¡± she asked. ¡°This woman perhaps?¡± Syvia was dragged before me by two armored warrior. She was gagged and in chains as they dropped her on the ground. ¡°There is someone, but not her,¡± I admitted cautiously. ¡°And what would you sacrifice for them?¡± she asked. ¡°Anything,¡± I responded. ¡°You seem so sure,¡± Meliana said with a cynical chuckle. ¡°What if doing so required giving up being a champion and laying aside your dreams of godhood?¡± That made me pause. ¡°You have not considered every possible cost yet,¡± she said. ¡°But that is to be expected, you are young.¡± I found her derisive words grating and had to hold my tongue as I stared her down. ¡°I¡¯m not here to debate philosophy with you. If you value your family as much as you say than hand over the piece of the armor and I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to try and make me submit and join your army?¡± she asked, tilting her head to the side like a cat that had just had a mouse start talking to it. ¡°I don¡¯t have a quest to do that, and I don¡¯t need you,¡± I said. ¡°I made a promise to someone that I wouldn¡¯t strike first when starting wars and you haven¡¯t given me a reason to attack you, yet.¡± I didn¡¯t receive an answer right away. Meliana studied me for several minutes before standing. ¡°I must speak with my clan¡¯s wise woman and consult our ancestors. You may take your woman with you whatever the outcome here.¡± Can they actually do that or is just superstition? I asked Voidra. Why would I know that? Voidra asked. Because you¡¯re a spirit that eats souls that die, I said. Not all who die make it to us, Voidra said. Only those whose souls are damaged and have no ties to any other afterlife. There are other afterlives? I asked. Now isn¡¯t the time for this discussion, Karnen reminded us. Meliana rose and descended down a set of stone stairs into the ground below. My tremor soles let me detect the tunnels that ran beneath us before they disappeared out of range. I sat down cross-legged levitating Mab before me as I brought out my stylus and chisels. Taking out a bar of compressed rare metal I used Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory to turn it into a spearhead. Then I began enchanting it carving in runes for extra bleed. My battle against the abomination had taught me the importance of keeping all my weapons up to date. He¡¯d been able to destroy my spearheads despite their incredible durability, but my new creations would be miles ahead of my past crude instruments. Several hours passed and I only created around five spearheads when Meliana returned. ¡°You are much more patient than you appeared at first,¡± she said. ¡°Let¡¯s just say I¡¯ve recently gone through a trial that forced a lot of self-reflection,¡± I said. ¡°Good,¡± Meliana said. ¡°You will need that. Our ancestral spirit has decided to test you.¡± Breathing out a sigh I stood up. ¡°What do I need to fight?¡± ¡°You misunderstand, I have full confidence in your ability as a warrior,¡± Melania said. ¡°We will test to see if you can be more than a Warlord, we will see if you are still a man.¡± Chapter 99: Ancestral Spirit I sat on the altar in the center of the stone circle as shamans burned incense around us. The wind was picking up the storm nearly upon us. Apparently, this ritual had to be completed tonight so I closed my eyes as the rain began to mist on me and distant thunder heralded the lightning that would soon be hunting me down. ¡°Remember Warlord, this is not a test of might, it is a test of heart,¡± Melania said to me. ¡°Yeah, yeah I¡¯ve been through this before,¡± I waved her off. She looked at me with a mixture of pity and sadness. ¡°You have not experienced this before.¡± The smoke filled my lungs, and I exhaled a plume of smoke. Exar¡¯kun was wrapped around one of the menhir a single eye keeping an eye on the proceedings, Syvia had been ordered to be silent, but she was unchained and ungagged and sat beside the dragon. My vision slowly darkened as I fell into a vast empty void. -- An empty expanse of space surrounded me. Slowly the landscape filled in and I was once more sitting on the altar in the middle of the stone circle. The world was greyscale, a creature emerged from the stone it was the only color to be seen its body made of green smoke. It took the form of a lion, but I could sense it was more than that. ¡°What are you?¡± I asked. My voice produced no sound, but it still echoed despite the vast expanse around us. ¡°I have existed since the first war of the gods, I have had many names,¡± the lion spoke though its face did not move. ¡°The Hunter, Deceiver, Trickster, Protector, Provider, False God, Ancestral Spirit. All these things I have been called.¡± ¡°And which are you?¡± I asked. ¡°Perhaps I am all of them,¡± the spirit said. ¡°We are not here to test me though; we are here to test you.¡± ¡°So, what are we going to do? View my past memories to see if I¡¯ll crack?¡± I asked. ¡°I am not the Order of the Magi,¡± the ancestral spirit said. ¡°I can see through your thoughts to what you think will happen. That is not what you are here to face, you are to face your shadow.¡± ¡°My shadow?¡± I asked skeptically. ¡°Is that my evil twin or something.¡± ¡°Good, evil, they have no place here,¡± the ancestral spirit said. ¡°Only weakness and strength, fear and bravery. We are to see if you are in control of your emotions or if you are instead controlled by them.¡± ¡°What happens if I fail here?¡± I asked. ¡°Do I die in the real world.¡± ¡°I do not see this place as any less real then yours,¡± the spirit said. ¡°There is no death here but if you do not overcome the shadow, than you will be overcome by it instead.¡± ¡°Bring it, I¡¯m not afraid of myself,¡± I said. ¡°You will be,¡± the spirit warned me than disappeared along with the landscape around us. -- I stood at the center of a battlefield the ground littered with corpses. Figure in black mist turned around face me crimson eyes meeting mine. The mist slowly faded, and I was left staring at my own helmeted visage. He removed his helm and tossed his hair back a well-trimmed beard underneath surprising me. ¡°Surprised?¡± he asked. ¡°I expected my shadow to be a bit wilder,¡± I admitted. ¡°I know when to contain my savagery,¡± he said. ¡°Are you here to fight me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I admitted. ¡°I must defeat you, but I feel like fighting you would be giving into the dark side or whatever.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know why you¡¯re here,¡± my shadow self said. ¡°You don¡¯t need to do this trial you could have just taken the armor.¡± ¡°There leader is an Exarch,¡± I reminded him. ¡°You¡¯ve fought an Exarch before,¡± he snarled his voice turning savage. ¡°That weakness in us disgusts me, when we came to this world you threw yourself at every challenge and were rewarded. Now look at you, making deals and backing down from a challenge.¡± ¡°I gave my word to Guinevere¡­¡± I said heeling heat rise up in my chest. ¡°Guinevere!¡± my shadow-self scoffed. ¡°She left us to go marry her cousin, you should have dominated her when you had the chance. She has made us weak.¡± I didn¡¯t even realize I¡¯d drawn my sword before the scarlet light from Clarent shone across my shadow self. ¡°At least you haven¡¯t left yourself completely behind,¡± my shadow self said drawing his own version of Clarent. ¡°You do realize you can¡¯t beat me here?¡± ¡°And why is that?¡± I asked. ¡°Because I am everything that makes you, you,¡± my shadow self said. ¡°That anger that drives you, your rage in battle, that is me. The more you embrace what makes you strong the stronger I will become.¡± We stared eachother down for a long minute as we circled eachother. ¡°Where is your ambition?¡± my shadow-self asked. ¡°You require a quest to make this clan your vassals, it is their nature to serve you. It is what their race was created to do. Remind them why they should bow before your presence.¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s what I really want?¡± I asked. ¡°To be feared and worshipped by those under my command.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you even know what you want anymore,¡± he said. ¡°You think you want Guinevere, but you don¡¯t take her. You act as if you know the Law of Strength, but you don¡¯t live by it. Make her yours and destroy anyone who steps in your way.¡± ¡°She wouldn¡¯t be mine than,¡± I said coldly. ¡°Just someone under my control forced to do as I say.¡± ¡°She would change with time,¡± he said. ¡°You have seen her weaknesses; to obey is in her nature.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe that,¡± I said. He laughed. ¡°I¡¯m you, you do believe that, even if your infatuation with her makes you lie to yourself. Deep down you know I¡¯m right.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m starting to see why people hate me.¡± ¡°People don¡¯t hate us, they envy us.¡± My shadow said. ¡°We are everything everyone wants to be even if they don¡¯t admit it. We do whatever the fuck we want whenever we want to fucking do it; or at least we did until you went soft.¡± ¡°Perhaps I merely learned self-control,¡± I said. ¡°This is what I hate about us,¡± the shadow said. ¡°You latch onto someone and try to find strength in them instead of finding it in yourself. First it was our mother, than it was Sarah, Eve and now Guinevere; when will you learn that others only make you weak!¡± With this last outburst my alter-self struck the black mist rising around them once again. The twin versions of Clarent struck each other in a scarlet storm. I rammed Clarent through his side, but he kept moving as if he hadn¡¯t received a wound at all. A slash struck me across the thigh, and I fell back as pain coursed through my body. The sensation was disorienting all the more since I couldn¡¯t negate it with Wrathful Meditation or reduce it with Berserker. ¡°You think you can use your rage to fight against me?¡± My doppelganger laughed. ¡°I am your rage, your hatred desire to be more than this pathetic thing!¡± he gestured towards me, lighting, coursing through his hand and driving me to my knees. He came at me again and breathed out pushing past the pain. Standing my ground, I blocked and countered using the lessons Guinevere had taught me. My shadow self was all aggression and didn¡¯t have a defensive instinct in him but no matter the wounds I placed on him he didn¡¯t go down. ¡°I see you¡¯ve found some strength after all, but your weakness is still there,¡± he snarled ramming through my defenses headless of the wounds he took. He tackled me to the ground, looming over me his hands sliding around my neck. ¡°I will remove this weakness from you,¡± he growled. ¡°I will purge you of petty ideas of honor. When you emerge from this place you will be everything you should be. Nothing will stand in our way.¡± I scrambled to push him off, but it was as if a mountain was sitting atop me. He leaned down looking at me a cruel malice I was only beginning to recognize now. ¡°You will take everything you want and damn what consequences they try to bring, Guinevere will be ours no matter what she or anyone else has to say about it.¡± The hatred and rage I saw in my shadow-self reminded me of my father, this wasn¡¯t just my hatred made manifest, this was what I hated most. I gasped for air and shoved him off, taking in a deep breath. ¡°Give in!¡± the shadow demanded. ¡°This is your destiny!¡± ¡°If my destiny is to become my father I¡¯d rather die,¡± I said. ¡°You won¡¯t die here, you can¡¯t me I can¡¯t kill you,¡± he said with a laugh. ¡°You feel pain I don¡¯t, the outcome is inevitable.¡± ¡°There is something we haven¡¯t tried yet,¡± I said raising my hand. ¡°Dominion.¡± Something ripped into me, and I let out a scream, my shadow-self screaming in reply. He lunged at me, his hands connecting with my throat. The ripping sensation came again, and my shadow began to melt his body sticking to mine. Pulling away he tried to break free. Red lighting forked down from the sky around us as the pain ravaged my mind, body, and soul. ¡°You¡¯ll destroy us!¡± the shadow screamed at me. ¡°This is what you wanted,¡± I said coldly even as the pain threatened to drive me to madness. ¡°For me to face death without fear.¡± My shadow-self ripped himself away from my body at the last second. ¡°I will not be a part of your weakness any longer!¡± he screamed out. -- My eyes snapped open as blue lighting struck me on the altar. I didn¡¯t move even as the lightning coursed through my veins like a shot of heroine. A black mist took shape before me, it was only vaguely shaped like a humanoid red lights within forming a jagged jaw and blazing furious eyes.
The Shadow of Mordred, Gifted- spirit-entity/spirit-of-malice, Veteran, Rank: N/A
¡°You do not deserve the strength you have!¡± The spirit hissed aloud. ¡°According to the Law of Strength, if I can defeat you, I deserve exactly what I have,¡± I said. ¡°Dominion.¡± The spirit wrestled against my will as strongly as before, but I wasn¡¯t alone this time. What is this thing? Karnen asked. ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± I said. ¡°Or at least a part of me, and I¡¯m not letting it get away.¡± I stepped forward with Clarent in hand, a bolt of lightning hitting me across my back, but I didn¡¯t stumble away this time. No copy of Clarent existed in the real world so I drove it through my shadow¡¯s chest uncontested. It howled in agony, now able to feel pain. A black and a red spectral hand reached out of me laying their fingers on its chest and began to draw its energy inside me. Moments later the spirit was gone, and I stood soaking wet in the rain as lightning hammered down on me from above. The storm began to swirl above my head as the lighting struck me over and over but I stood unmoving against it.
8125 maximum mana gained
Dismissing that notification, I was greeted by another.
You have absorbed a part of your spirit back into yourself mending a part of the soul damage you have taken although you are still suffering a minor amount of it.
It was as if I had caged a beast inside me. I could feel it bashing against the sides of its cage but its efforts were useless, the prison I put it in was made of my own rage so the more it roared in fury the stronger its prison became.
Congratulations, you have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective host at least three spirits inside your soul simultaneously.
Reward: the Possessed
*the Possessed: While equipped you deal x2 more damage with spirit aligned abilities and their duration is doubled and cost halved. If you do not have this title equipped the effects are halved.
Well, I wasn¡¯t about to equip that as my title. I¡¯d gone to Sunday school enough as a kid to know people didn¡¯t typically respond well to people that were possessed. ¡°You were meant to destroy your shadow,¡± Melania said. ¡°No,¡± I responded. ¡°I was told I had to defeat it. I did so, if you wanted a different outcome than your Ancestral Spirit should have been more specific.¡± She studied me in silence and seemed to be listening to some inner voice. Nodding she reached under her cloak and brought out a wooden box. And handed it over to me. ¡°You have completed the trial to the satisfaction of the Spirit Guardian,¡± she said. ¡°The Manica of Ares is yours.¡± Taking the box, I opened it up and beheld the golden chainmail and black metal plates, grey fur and dark green scaled leather that made the pieces of the armor. It was everything I could have wanted, and I smiled. ¡°Thank you, this will do very nicely,¡± I said. Chapter 100: Dress to Opress My gauntlets wouldn¡¯t fit on with my new armor, so I had to take them off. I buckled on the top strap of the armor which compressed around my bicep the chainmail from it guarding the part of my biceps not already protected by my pauldrons. The chainmail had grey fur under it for padding the soft hairs smooth against my skin as it. The chainmail ended a little past my elbow where it turned into black plates with gold trimming red glowing runes etched into the gold. Golding spines jutted out of the bracers which extended all the way to the end of my wrists.
Manica of Ares, Type: Armor (Arms) (Artifact IV): One of the four pieces of the armor of Ares earned with the blood of four nations he conquered to complete the quest¡¯s of Kelesa and crafted by her with the aid of the system. These arm guards are part of a larger set that gains more power the more pieces of the armor the wearer possess. Can only be worn by the Champion of Kelesa.
Blood of Hercules: Your body is suffused with superhuman strength, your Might Attribute is increased by 4. Every twenty ranks the Might bonus increases by 2, starting bonus 4.
(2 Pieces) Battle Hardened Warriors: Your aura extends to your allies; they receive a hardness bonus to their skin equal to a quarter of yours and are immune to the negative effects of your auras from this set and your abilities.
(3 Pieces) Battle Glory: When you kill an enemy your allies within 100ft are Heartened increasing their damage stages one for the next 5 seconds.
(4 Pieces) Authority of the Warlord: You can telepathically speak to any of your vassals within your Aura.
Weight: 10 lbs.
The only thing I had giving me a bonus to my strength right now was my ring of the Auroch which only gave me minor plus three. When I had first got it had been a big deal but how it was nothing. At my current rank the Maninca of Ares gave me a whole forty additional points to my Might over half my current Might attribute. I hadn¡¯t looked at my status in a while so brought it up to check on.
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 362
Available Rank Points: 1209
Might: 73 (+43) = 116 Mind: 48
Speed: 52 (+38) = 90 Perception: 67
Toughness: 32 Spirit: 141
Endurance: 32 Power: 51
Maximum Stamina: 300 Maximum Mana: 13,033
Stamina Regen: 60 per second Mana Regen: 89.6 per second
Ethereal Regen: 20 per minute. Maximum Ethereal: 200
Abilities
Dominion (Rank 50), Telekinesis (Rank 20), Heightened Speed (Rank 20), Foresight (Rank 20), Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory (Rank 20), Bestial Senses: (Rank 20), Phantom Form (Rank 20), Storm Soul (Rank 20), Magma Heart(s) (Rank 20), Troll Hide (Rank 20), Black-rage (Rank 20), Hell¡¯s Talons (Rank 20), Helheim¡¯s Scream (Rank 20), Chain Lightning (Rank 20), Voice of the Chasm (Rank 20), Setules Palms (Rank 20), Tremor Soles (Rank 20), Dark Guardian (Rank 1), Spirit Collective (Rank Error), Dark Guardian (Rank 1), Brutal Spite (Rank 1), Blood Renewal (Rank 1)
Blessings:
Blessing of War (Veteran), Blessing of Tadris
Titles
Mark of Cain, Bloody Pugilist, Exorcist, Survivor III, Feral Barbarian, Field Alchemist III, Berserker, Beast Slayer III, War Chief, Venom Resistant III, Keytaro¡¯s Guardian III, Wrathful Meditation, Fireproof III, Superhuman, Bearer of Death, Lightning Resistance, the Fate Breaker, Apprentice Bludgeoner, Master Deflector, Apprentice Spearman, Divine Smith, Master Enchanter, Knight of Camelot, Challenger, Artifact Breaker, Abomination Slayer, Spell Carver, Master Swordsman, the Possessed
Pushing aside my status screen. I went back to examining my equipment. Its growth potential with my rank made it my only other piece of equipment that would provide rising stats. The other was my boots which would boost my speed by one for every ten ranks I gained. I slid my other bracer over my other arm. With artifacts being indestructible that made my arms basically invulnerable from most physical attacks. Some attacks could bypass armor but those would drain my opponent¡¯s stamina and mana to use against me constantly. While my head and torso were protected most of my chest and stomach, waists and legs were bare or lightly armored. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking my leave now,¡± I said turning and walking toward Exar¡¯kun. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to try and force us to join your army?¡± Melania asked. ¡°You don¡¯t seem interested, and I don¡¯t need you,¡± I said shrugging. ¡°Like I said I don¡¯t have a quest for you, so you¡¯re just side content. Others may come after you, I may in the future if I have reason; but your safe from me for today.¡± ¡°You are very strange Warlord,¡± Melania said. ¡°Where is your lust for power?¡± ¡°I seek personal power more than political,¡± I said mounting up behind Exar¡¯kun¡¯s horns holding a handout for Syvia, pulling her up behind me. ¡°I don¡¯t need others to be strong for me.¡± -- We flew back to Dragonhold Syvia had her hands wrapped tight around my waist. The moors quickly sped by beneath us and we entered more plains with scattered copse of trees. My keen vision caught sight of something, and I slapped Exar¡¯kun on the side of his neck to get his attention. ¡°Land here,¡± I shouted over the rush of the wind. Banking down he landed heavily; his feet leaving massive indents and scraping in the dirt. I slid off Syvia following her legs shaking under her as she gripped the grass with her hands. She apparently wasn¡¯t a big fan of heights. Stooping down I looked down on the reason I had stopped us. It was a single flower with silver leaves and vibrant violet and amaranth petals; the pistol was a luminous gold that shone like a star. Exar¡¯kun leaned forward sniffing as he examined the flower for himself.
Silver Leaf Jasmine: Type; plant, Rarity: Mythical. This flower is incredibly rare due to its difficulty in reproducing but despite this has no known uses in any crafting resulting in it only being valued for aesthetic purposes further reducing its numbers due to lack of cultivation. Only grows and reproduces with massive amounts of pure mana in its environment.
¡°Useless,¡± Exar¡¯kun sniffed. ¡°A mythical rarity item and it can¡¯t be used for anything.¡± ¡°Beauty has a value all in its own,¡± I answered as I slowly and carefully dug around the plant. ¡°What do you want it for?¡± Exar¡¯kun asked. ¡°You don¡¯t strike me as the flower sort of person.¡± ¡°There is someone else I have in mind,¡± I said. ¡°You humans and your giving of flowers,¡± Exar¡¯kun snorted. ¡°You should give her something useful like gold.¡± ¡°Gold doesn¡¯t have a use,¡± I said. ¡°Sure, it does,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°You can eat it.¡± ¡°No you¡­ wait you eat gold?¡± I asked. ¡°And other metals,¡± Exar¡¯kun said shrugging. ¡°What do you think are scales were made of?¡± ¡°How do you even fly?¡± I asked. ¡°Magic,¡± Exar¡¯kun said with a grin that I wasn¡¯t sure was intended to be vicious. ¡°All dragons are born with an innate Ability that gives us access to flight, we need to kill and get enough rank points before we can truly use it. Usually, our parents would provide us with half dead prey when we¡¯re hatchlings.¡± ¡°I thought you never knew your parents,¡± I said. ¡°How do you know all this stuff?¡± ¡°Much was taught to me by the Dragon Clan¡¯s wise woman,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°She and I have an accord of sorts, other things I learned by questioning trespassers in my territory or from ancestral memories.¡± ¡°Ancestral memories?¡± I asked. ¡°They are like lessons that you experience while in your sleep,¡± Exar¡¯kun said flicking his tail. ¡°They can only teach so much though.¡± I finished digging up the jasmine and set it in a pot putting it into my storage pouch. ¡°That¡¯s all I needed here,¡± I said turning to Syvia lying on the ground. ¡°Get up we¡¯re moving again.¡± -- Angling down we hit the ramparts of Dragonhold, the stone cracking under Exar¡¯kun¡¯s weight. Frowning at that I waved my hand. ¡°Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said. All along the wall within five-hundred-thousand feet of me the earth sank away and sunk into the wall hardening there. As it grew in size and thickness. What was left was smooth glossy dark grey walls like polished marble. Jumping off his neck I landed on the ground and looked around. The city seemed the same as when I had left it and no imminent disaster seemed to await me, so I continued towards the palace. I took the time to repair the streets I walked turning them from dirt and cobblestone to a singular piece of compressed stone. I added the beginnings of a drainage system since the city didn¡¯t already have one. My improvements didn¡¯t cover the whole city but the section of ground within the radius of my ability was changed from the wall I landed on all the way to the palace. I also added a thin stone shell inside the walls of every building to increase their structural integrity although it would also prevent any attempts to expand or alter the buildings from now on. But that was someone else¡¯s problem, not mine. Sitting down on the throne I pulled out an item I had received a long time ago but never used. It had come out of a loot chest during my only Event I¡¯d been in, but I¡¯d never seen the use for it until now.
Far Seeing Mirror: Type: Utility, Rarity: Rare, This mirror will show you any person or place you have seen before as long as both of you are in the same realm. Made from moon-silver and the scale of a phantom koi this was created by a master crafter and enchanted by a master enchanter.
Hardness: 10. Durability: 20-20
¡°Show me Guinevere,¡± I commanded it. I was ready to put it away if she was in a private moment, but I wanted to make sure she was alright. The surface of the mirror distorted color and light swirled in it as an image took form. Guinevere was wearing a long brown dress instead of her armor. It was a simple but still obviously expensive piece of clothing as she knelt in the dirt of garden a basket beside her as she cut flowers and dug up some weeds. Just seeing her felt like wind had been blown into my sails. She looked up as if she could feel me watching her. I saw in her eyes the red puffiness around them from crying as well as a deep anger that lurked there. Anger rose up in me and I wanted to destroy whatever was bothering her. Pushing down the anger for now soon enough I would see her in the flesh again. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Bringing out Mab I sat him on the arm of the throne and brought out my chisels and stylus. I had work to do. Lighting blasted from my fingers as I condensed it into crystals the thunder echoing around the throne room. Soon I had hundreds of the crystals available. Adding in ingots of compressed uncommon metal I turned them into spear heads. They ended up having a glossy blue appearance when the crystal and metal had finished merging. Taking out my chisels I began engraving enchantments into them. I could have used Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory to carve the runes, but I preferred the effort it took to use my hands to create. There was a coughing beside me, and Jeriah stood there. ¡°Since we have taken over this city the matters of its governance have fallen to us,¡± he said. ¡°Some of the people¡¯s leaders have requested an audience with you.¡± Letting out a sigh I set aside my enchanting for now. I¡¯d gotten around ten spearheads made but I needed to complete a few thousand. ¡°Send them in,¡± I said. A group of around twelve civilians walked into the throne room and stood before me. Most of them looked nervous but one of them a relatively younger man had a bold cocky attitude. ¡°I am Silus leader of the Free-People¡¯s Movement,¡± he said. I looked to Jeriah for an explanation, but he just shrugged. ¡°And what exactly is it your movement all about?¡± I asked. ¡°We seek to gain the same rights and privileges as the Gifted,¡± Silus said passionately. ¡°We will not stand idly by while you continue to oppress us.¡± ¡°And you want others to see the violence inherit in the system?¡± I asked with a grin. ¡°What¡­?¡± Silus asked my question derailing his line of thought. ¡°Nothing, I just didn¡¯t expect to find myself in a Monty Python sketch this morning,¡± I said. ¡°Continue.¡± ¡°We demand that we be given the rights to own property, titles and hold office the same as any of the gifted,¡± he continued on breezing past my nonsensical words. Jeriah scoffed but otherwise remained silent. ¡°Did the last King of Dracon grant you your demands?¡± I asked. ¡°No¡­¡± Silus said and was about to continue when I cut him off. ¡°And what about when Camelot took over, did they listen to you?¡± ¡°No, but¡­¡± he said. ¡°Then why do you believe I will be different?¡± I said, speaking over him Voice of the Chasm carrying my words to every corner of the massive throne room. ¡°Do you want to know why they didn¡¯t listen to you.¡± Silus was silent watching me cautiously waiting for me to speak. ¡°Because they didn¡¯t have to,¡± I explained. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you stand idly by, beat your fists against my chest or even try to plunge a sword through my heart. You lack the strength to be any threat to me. It doesn¡¯t matter your numbers either that would just turn it from an execution to a massacre.¡± ¡°So, nothing will change under you either,¡± he said his voice clipped with anger. ¡°Jeriah how many mortal rank dungeons do we have under our control?¡± I asked. Around ten that we¡¯ve discovered that the old nobility was using although there may be more,¡± Jeriah answered. ¡°Very well,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what Silus, I will grant one of these dungeons to the people. If you want the rights of the Gifted, then take them.¡± ¡°You want us to seek our death in some dungeon?¡± he asked outraged. ¡°You want me to give you power,¡± I said my voice low but still carrying to his ears. ¡°To give you rights, but neither can be given. If they were something given, I could just take them away again whenever I desired. If you want power, freedom, rights, and privileges than you must take them in order to make them truly yours.¡± Sitting back, I waved my hand in a shewing gesture. ¡°We¡¯re done, either take power for yourself or continue to live out your lives in obscurity. But don¡¯t bother me again.¡± Chapter 6: A Dragon on the Throne Again ¡°You¡¯ll realized they¡¯ll die if they try that dungeon, right?¡± Jeriah asked me. ¡°That¡¯s the idea,¡± I responded with a callous shrug. ¡°They either admit to their own weakness and cowardice, they die in the dungeon, or they survive and actually become useful.¡± ¡°They want a society where everyone is gifted,¡± Jeriah said with tired sigh. ¡°Why isn¡¯t everyone gifted?¡± I asked. ¡°Your world has had the system for thousands of years as I understand it. If gifts are passed down genetically than how is that everyone doesn¡¯t have them by now? They aren¡¯t that rare.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what genetically means,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°But if a person¡¯s bloodline goes on for to long without earning new abilities and increasing in rank, they stop passing on their abilities. You can¡¯t just have abilities you actually need to use them. If a family of farmers were all given abilities now but didn¡¯t give up their life of farming to go hunt down monsters and raid dungeons, they would revert back to regular people in two generations.¡± ¡°And since there aren¡¯t enough rank points to go around when the gods aren¡¯t having their competition every five hundred years that means only a select few can maintain their abilities,¡± I said understanding. ¡°Exactly,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°Its what heretics who fight against the gods want. A new system that allows for other ways to gain power than just killing.¡± ¡°Even if such a system existed those who gained power by killing would still be in charge,¡± I said shaking my head. ¡°You can change the environment someone is but you can¡¯t change human¡­ humanoid nature.¡± -- Returning to my work I began making spearhead after spearhead. No two were the same even if I made an enchantment to do the same effect I was constantly tweaking and altering them in search of better outcomes or slightly altered effects. I had ones that would unleash a blast of lightning when impacting a creature and others that would deal major fire, ice or curse damage. I set out the loot I¡¯d gotten after killing Jamis. I¡¯d never had a chance to look and analyze them properly.
Gauntlets of the Bearserker (Artifact V): Type: Armor/Weapons (hands), Made from adamantine and the hide of greater demon these gauntlets are made to defend the hands and allow for brutal unarmed attacks with the spikes on them.
¡¤ Deals a major amount of piercing and bludgeoning damage with each hit.
¡¤ Inflicts the Laceration condition on each hit.
¡¤ Your Might is increased by +4, gain an additional +1 every ten ranks.
¡¤ For every wound your receive while wearing these gauntlets you gain an instance of Bear Skin.
*Laceration: Targets wounds do not close when healed and will continue to bleed until the bleeding is staunched or the effect removed.
*Bear Skin: While wearing no other piece of armor your take one less damage stage for the next minute. Stacks to a maximum of 10 times.
Reading the puns for the weapon¡¯s name and effects removed any guilt I had for killing him. The gauntlets extended all the way down to the elbow serving also as a pair of bracers. They didn¡¯t fit my fighting style and even if they did, I couldn¡¯t wear them and the Manica of Ares. Of the two pieces of armor the lesser artifact was superior in my opinion. Setting the gauntlets on top of Mab¡¯s pages I let him read and copy the divine enchantments into his pages. Just because I personally couldn¡¯t use them didn¡¯t mean I couldn¡¯t find a use for them. They didn¡¯t fit any of the Dragon Breakers who all fought with large weapons and wore heavy plate armor. I¡¯d probably give them to Juruk, the goblin only wore hide armor so he wouldn¡¯t be losing much, and the artifact might help him out.
Belt of the Wrestler: Type: Equipment (waist); Your unarmed attacks deal one more damage stage and your might is doubled when grappling with an opponent.
Made of the hide of an earth-dragon and enchanted by a master enchanter.
Hardness: 9 Durability: 12-20
Again, not useful for me; I copied the enchantment and tossed it in the giveaway pile.
Boots of the Traveler: Type: Footwear; Your walking and running speed is increased by one pace, and the stamina cost of movement abilities are reduced by 5.
Made from the hide of storm-elk and enchanted by a journeyman enchanter.
Hardness: 9 Durability: 18-20
The boots wouldn¡¯t have been bad if I wasn¡¯t already wearing a far superior pair. Again, I simply copied them and tossed them into the pile.
Headband of Endurance: Type: Headgear; The cost of your stamina abilities is reduced by 10%. Increases your Endurance by +5.
Made by a master weaver from sun silk and dyed with the distilled blood of a fire dragon and enchanted by a journeyman enchanter.
Hardness: 7 Durability: 2-16
This one had some potential uses for myself however it was almost broken, so I¡¯d have to use Hell Dragon¡¯s armory to repair it. Potentially I could also just replicate its effects and create a better version considering I was a better enchanter than whoever had made this.
Amulet of Elemental Shielding: Type: Jewelry; You take two less damage stages from fire, cold and lightning.
Made from the fragments of a fallen star and five elemental gems by a master jeweler then enchanted by a master enchanter.
Hardness: 11 Durability: 18-25
This amulet had some potential for resisting those damage types, but I already had titles that reduced the damage by three stages. I guess I could try to stack resistances against them, seeing as I didn¡¯t have anything else in my neck slot right now, so I put it on. That was all the loot Jamis had on him. Considering it was decently powerful he¡¯d likely moved on or upgraded from lesser pieces of gear. My equipment was much better than his, but I¡¯d likely performed better in the first Event than they had, and I had completed a quest and discovered another piece of my armor set. Mab was happy with the new knowledge he¡¯d absorbed and there was a lot I could do with the new runes and enchantments I had learned. I began crafting a new ring to replace the Ring of Auroch¡¯s Strength. I could make better than it now and it was time to move on. I had thousands of spearheads to make, and I needed to get started now if I wanted to finish them before the start of the Event. While it was sometimes tedious my time below had given me a great deal of patience. I sat on the throne for days as I created spearhead after spearhead. It wasn¡¯t just the enchantments that I changed. Some of the heads were made to pierce armor better, others were barbed, or had rings in them to tear open flesh more and create wider wounds. I created several tri-blades spearheads and some that spiraled around like a cyclone just to break up the monotony. Days passed as I created spearhead after spearhead spending hours enchanting them. I barely slept as added the enchantments to them setting them aside and picking up another. It took me around two weeks to complete just a little over a thousand. I was interrupted by knocking at the throne room door before it swung open, the sunlight from outside was blinding for a second and Jeriah walked in. I hadn¡¯t seen another person in days. I had a little over a week before the Event and had given orders for me not to be disturbed. ¡°There¡¯s an army at the front gates to see you Mordred,¡± he said. ¡°Again?¡± I asked with a sigh but rose to my feet. ¡°Just humanoids this time,¡± he said. ¡°Also, I think I found your princess.¡± -- The doors of Dragonhold swung open as stepped out from under them. As I moved the ground, walls, gatehouse and doors changed darkening in color as I condensed and improved the structures around me my various Perception abilities and the senses I had from Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory letting me change the buildings without even looking at them. Exar¡¯kun landed on top of the gatehouse which probably would have collapsed moments ago under his weight. His long neck hung down going level with me and Jeriah as we confronted the woman leading the army of brown robed figures. ¡°I am Princess Andromeda¡­¡± she began. ¡°We can read your description princess there are no need for introductions,¡± I interrupted her. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I have come to retake my throne,¡± she said glaring at me, even if you could read a person¡¯s name it was considered polite to let them introduce themselves. She had an ugly scare marring an otherwise beautiful face. Not that I was in any position to criticize people and their scars, my own face bore the scars from when I¡¯d nearly lost an eye to the adolescent nemean lion. ¡°It taken you a long time,¡± I said. ¡°Camelot conquered your country nearly a year ago. What took you so long to come back?¡± I asked as I paced back and forth examining her and the army behind her. They wore brown robes, their faces obscured by black masks. I couldn¡¯t see only a few descriptions among them but most of them didn¡¯t show anything meaning they weren¡¯t gifted. ¡°I¡¯ve been gathering support to drive out all invaders,¡± she said her hand dropping to the hilt of her sword. ¡°Easy there,¡± I said. ¡°You don¡¯t want to be the one to start this.¡± ¡°And why is that?¡± she asked. ¡°Because you¡¯ll die,¡± I said flatly. ¡°You seem very sure,¡± Andromeda said. ¡°But I¡¯ve learned powers that even you a champion cannot contend with. Their will be a dragon on the throne again.¡± ¡°If we wanted a dragon on the throne,¡± Exar¡¯kun growled. ¡°I¡¯d crawl inside your little stone nest and sit there myself. Insult me again by calling yourself a dragon and regardless of Mordred¡¯s thoughts on the matter I will melt the flesh from your bones.¡± Andromeda paled as a low reverberation began to build up in Exar¡¯kun¡¯s chest and the edges of his scales began to glow brighter and brighter. ¡°Let¡¯s put a pause on that for now,¡± I reprimanded Exar¡¯kun lightly. ¡°Though I would listen to him, I¡¯m pretty sure he was serious about that.¡± The army of robbed figures shifted uncomfortably since they were right in the path the line of fire would take. There was around two-thousand of them in total. Their robes obscured what weapons or armor they were wearing. The lack of descriptions above their heads should have been comforting but I sensed a trick of some kind. I circled around Andromeda and watched as she stiffened as I passed into her blind spot as she refused to take her eyes off the dragon and the walls in front of us. ¡°It¡¯s said you were rescued by the Order of the Magi,¡± I said. ¡°Maybe I was,¡± Andromeda said. ¡°And what do you think of their philosophy and goal?¡± I asked. ¡°That everyone deserves to have access to the system and a chance to ascend?¡± ¡°I think its noble,¡± she said. ¡°What do you think of it?¡± ¡°I think it sounds too much like socialism,¡± I said. ¡°I also think it¡¯s foolish. They are addressing the symptoms instead of the problem. I come from a world with no system, and we aren¡¯t all equal there. There will always be those with power and those without it.¡± ¡°And those without power? They¡¯re meant to just accept their lives under the boot of people like you?¡± she asked her voice telling me exactly what she thought of me. ¡°The strong do what they will, and the weak suffer what they must,¡± I said. ¡°Why are you really here? Your army isn¡¯t big enough to take me on, what do you hope to accomplish?¡± ¡°Are you sure of that?¡± a man called stepping out from the ranks of the army. He pushed back his hood and pulled down his mask to reveal a sandy brown beard and piercing blue eyes. ¡°And you are?¡± I asked noting there was no description above his head. ¡°I am Pierce,¡± he said extending his hand out. ¡°I¡¯ve trained to counter champions since I was a child.¡± I watched as arcane power began to build up in his hands. I held up my hand to stop my army from firing as the spell built up. It only took two seconds before the blast of purple energy in the form a laser beam as thick as a tree trunk blasted from his fingers. The spell¡¯s power was devastating and would have evaporated anyone without some sort of shielding or teleporting ability. I just stood there and held out Mab. The book¡¯s pages fluttered as it greedily drank in the spell leaving behind not even a spec of soot when it was done. Lowering the grimoire back to my belt I hung it there again as I met the astonished expression of Pierce. ¡°That book¡­ it can¡¯t be¡­¡± he said. ¡°I believe it was once one your Order¡¯s,¡± I said. ¡°Sadly, for you I don¡¯t think he¡¯s too happy with you after your ripped out all the knowledge he¡¯d accumulated working for you.¡± ¡°They should have destroyed it when they had the chance,¡± he growled in frustration as he glared at the black crystal covers. ¡°Now, now,¡± I admonished him. ¡°We both know what happens when we destroy an artifact you can¡¯t blame them for not wanting to commit suicide.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t destroy an artifact,¡± Andromeda said a look of confusion on her face after witnessing the display. ¡°Sure, you can¡¯t,¡± I agreed winking at Pierce. ¡°It¡¯s definitely never been done before.¡± ¡°Are we going to fight these people or not?¡± Exar¡¯kun asked me irritably. ¡°I think this has gone on for long enough,¡± Jeriah agreed. ¡°What are your orders Mordred?¡± Circling around Andromeda again I stopped in front of her. ¡°I need your blood to open the vault below the palace, I don¡¯t particularly care about this country, so I¡¯ll make you a deal. You open the vault and swear a binding oath to me, when Camelot is driven out and my quest for this land is complete, I will establish you as its Queen. You can rule as tyrannically or benevolently as you want as long as you don¡¯t try to go after me or my vassals.¡± Jeriah coughed and I snapped my fingers. ¡°You will of course be required to return the ancestral lands of the Dragonbreakers to them.¡± ¡°And what else would her oath require from her?¡± Pierce asked, stepping forward, revealing himself as the real power behind the throne. ¡°Nothing really,¡± I said and shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t care enough to be bothered with setting tax rates or immigration policy; you can do what you want as long as you don¡¯t interfere with me.¡± ¡°You really don¡¯t care about running a country?¡± Pierce asked suspiciously. ¡°Why would I?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re the ones that think they can change the world, I¡¯m just living in it. Whether I die in battle or become a god nothing about human nature and the way things are run is going to change.¡± ¡°Than why even bother?¡± Andromeda asked. ¡°If it¡¯s all meaningless, why are you even competing?¡± ¡°Because I can change myself, I can become something greater and change my own nature,¡± I replied. Pulling a piece of parchment out I took out my stylus and drew up the contract. It was simple, only a few paragraphs or so. I wasn¡¯t trying to tie down Andromeda with every legal phrase I could. If she found some loophole to slip out and betray me than so be it. The contract made it clear that if she did so I would be released from my part and be free to kill her. I held out the contract to her with the stylus and small knife. ¡°This is a blood pact,¡± I said. ¡°Your companions can tell you more about it but it will use your own mana to bind you to your word.¡± Andromeda looked to Pierce who slowly nodded. Andromeda took the parchment read over it one final time than signed. I let her keep the contract as I stepped back. ¡°Welcome home Princess,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t require me to marry you,¡± Andromeda said. ¡°Most others would have.¡± ¡°Would you have agreed to that?¡± I asked looking at her sidelong. ¡°I would do anything to secure the future of my house,¡± she said. ¡°Well, my princess is in another castle,¡± I said. ¡°And she wouldn¡¯t tolerate any rivals and I¡¯m not really into harems anyway.¡± Turning to the Magi I looked them over. ¡°You are welcome in the city since you are allies of mine by proxy, just know that if you start anything with me you better be able to finish it. I don¡¯t want you get the wrong impression of me from today, I chose this route because it was the most interesting not because I don¡¯t enjoy combat. If you want to go to war with the gods do so, I don¡¯t care, just leave me out of it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a champion of one of the gods and plan on becoming one,¡± Pierce said. ¡°Do you really think you can stay out of it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m prepared to give it a try for as long as I can,¡± I said. ¡°To the vault princess, you have your part of the deal to hold up.¡± Chapter 101: A Dragon on the Throne Again ¡°You¡¯ll realized they¡¯ll die if they try that dungeon, right?¡± Jeriah asked me. ¡°That¡¯s the idea,¡± I responded with a callous shrug. ¡°They either admit to their own weakness and cowardice, they die in the dungeon, or they survive and actually become useful.¡± ¡°They want a society where everyone is gifted,¡± Jeriah said with tired sigh. ¡°Why isn¡¯t everyone gifted?¡± I asked. ¡°Your world has had the system for thousands of years as I understand it. If gifts are passed down genetically than how is that everyone doesn¡¯t have them by now? They aren¡¯t that rare.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what genetically means,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°But if a person¡¯s bloodline goes on for to long without earning new abilities and increasing in rank, they stop passing on their abilities. You can¡¯t just have abilities you actually need to use them. If a family of farmers were all given abilities now but didn¡¯t give up their life of farming to go hunt down monsters and raid dungeons, they would revert back to regular people in two generations.¡± ¡°And since there aren¡¯t enough rank points to go around when the gods aren¡¯t having their competition every five hundred years that means only a select few can maintain their abilities,¡± I said understanding. ¡°Exactly,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°Its what heretics who fight against the gods want. A new system that allows for other ways to gain power than just killing.¡± ¡°Even if such a system existed those who gained power by killing would still be in charge,¡± I said shaking my head. ¡°You can change the environment someone is but you can¡¯t change human¡­ humanoid nature.¡± -- Returning to my work I began making spearhead after spearhead. No two were the same even if I made an enchantment to do the same effect I was constantly tweaking and altering them in search of better outcomes or slightly altered effects. I had ones that would unleash a blast of lightning when impacting a creature and others that would deal major fire, ice or curse damage. I set out the loot I¡¯d gotten after killing Jamis. I¡¯d never had a chance to look and analyze them properly.
Gauntlets of the Bearserker (Artifact V): Type: Armor/Weapons (hands), Made from adamantine and the hide of greater demon these gauntlets are made to defend the hands and allow for brutal unarmed attacks with the spikes on them.
¡¤ Deals a major amount of piercing and bludgeoning damage with each hit.
¡¤ Inflicts the Laceration condition on each hit.
¡¤ Your Might is increased by +4, gain an additional +1 every ten ranks.
¡¤ For every wound your receive while wearing these gauntlets you gain an instance of Bear Skin.
*Laceration: Targets wounds do not close when healed and will continue to bleed until the bleeding is staunched or the effect removed.
*Bear Skin: While wearing no other piece of armor your take one less damage stage for the next minute. Stacks to a maximum of 10 times.
Reading the puns for the weapon¡¯s name and effects removed any guilt I had for killing him. The gauntlets extended all the way down to the elbow serving also as a pair of bracers. They didn¡¯t fit my fighting style and even if they did, I couldn¡¯t wear them and the Manica of Ares. Of the two pieces of armor the lesser artifact was superior in my opinion. Setting the gauntlets on top of Mab¡¯s pages I let him read and copy the divine enchantments into his pages. Just because I personally couldn¡¯t use them didn¡¯t mean I couldn¡¯t find a use for them. They didn¡¯t fit any of the Dragon Breakers who all fought with large weapons and wore heavy plate armor. I¡¯d probably give them to Juruk, the goblin only wore hide armor so he wouldn¡¯t be losing much, and the artifact might help him out.
Belt of the Wrestler: Type: Equipment (waist); Your unarmed attacks deal one more damage stage and your might is doubled when grappling with an opponent.
Made of the hide of an earth-dragon and enchanted by a master enchanter.
Hardness: 9 Durability: 12-20
Again, not useful for me; I copied the enchantment and tossed it in the giveaway pile.
Boots of the Traveler: Type: Footwear; Your walking and running speed is increased by one pace, and the stamina cost of movement abilities are reduced by 5.
Made from the hide of storm-elk and enchanted by a journeyman enchanter.
Hardness: 9 Durability: 18-20
The boots wouldn¡¯t have been bad if I wasn¡¯t already wearing a far superior pair. Again, I simply copied them and tossed them into the pile.
Headband of Endurance: Type: Headgear; The cost of your stamina abilities is reduced by 10%. Increases your Endurance by +5.
Made by a master weaver from sun silk and dyed with the distilled blood of a fire dragon and enchanted by a journeyman enchanter.
Hardness: 7 Durability: 2-16
This one had some potential uses for myself however it was almost broken, so I¡¯d have to use Hell Dragon¡¯s armory to repair it. Potentially I could also just replicate its effects and create a better version considering I was a better enchanter than whoever had made this.
Amulet of Elemental Shielding: Type: Jewelry; You take two less damage stages from fire, cold and lightning.
Made from the fragments of a fallen star and five elemental gems by a master jeweler then enchanted by a master enchanter. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Hardness: 11 Durability: 18-25
This amulet had some potential for resisting those damage types, but I already had titles that reduced the damage by three stages. I guess I could try to stack resistances against them, seeing as I didn¡¯t have anything else in my neck slot right now, so I put it on. That was all the loot Jamis had on him. Considering it was decently powerful he¡¯d likely moved on or upgraded from lesser pieces of gear. My equipment was much better than his, but I¡¯d likely performed better in the first Event than they had, and I had completed a quest and discovered another piece of my armor set. Mab was happy with the new knowledge he¡¯d absorbed and there was a lot I could do with the new runes and enchantments I had learned. I began crafting a new ring to replace the Ring of Auroch¡¯s Strength. I could make better than it now and it was time to move on. I had thousands of spearheads to make, and I needed to get started now if I wanted to finish them before the start of the Event. While it was sometimes tedious my time below had given me a great deal of patience. I sat on the throne for days as I created spearhead after spearhead. It wasn¡¯t just the enchantments that I changed. Some of the heads were made to pierce armor better, others were barbed, or had rings in them to tear open flesh more and create wider wounds. I created several tri-blades spearheads and some that spiraled around like a cyclone just to break up the monotony. Days passed as I created spearhead after spearhead spending hours enchanting them. I barely slept as added the enchantments to them setting them aside and picking up another. It took me around two weeks to complete just a little over a thousand. I was interrupted by knocking at the throne room door before it swung open, the sunlight from outside was blinding for a second and Jeriah walked in. I hadn¡¯t seen another person in days. I had a little over a week before the Event and had given orders for me not to be disturbed. ¡°There¡¯s an army at the front gates to see you Mordred,¡± he said. ¡°Again?¡± I asked with a sigh but rose to my feet. ¡°Just humanoids this time,¡± he said. ¡°Also, I think I found your princess.¡± -- The doors of Dragonhold swung open as stepped out from under them. As I moved the ground, walls, gatehouse and doors changed darkening in color as I condensed and improved the structures around me my various Perception abilities and the senses I had from Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory letting me change the buildings without even looking at them. Exar¡¯kun landed on top of the gatehouse which probably would have collapsed moments ago under his weight. His long neck hung down going level with me and Jeriah as we confronted the woman leading the army of brown robed figures. ¡°I am Princess Andromeda¡­¡± she began. ¡°We can read your description princess there are no need for introductions,¡± I interrupted her. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I have come to retake my throne,¡± she said glaring at me, even if you could read a person¡¯s name it was considered polite to let them introduce themselves. She had an ugly scare marring an otherwise beautiful face. Not that I was in any position to criticize people and their scars, my own face bore the scars from when I¡¯d nearly lost an eye to the adolescent nemean lion. ¡°It taken you a long time,¡± I said. ¡°Camelot conquered your country nearly a year ago. What took you so long to come back?¡± I asked as I paced back and forth examining her and the army behind her. They wore brown robes, their faces obscured by black masks. I couldn¡¯t see only a few descriptions among them but most of them didn¡¯t show anything meaning they weren¡¯t gifted. ¡°I¡¯ve been gathering support to drive out all invaders,¡± she said her hand dropping to the hilt of her sword. ¡°Easy there,¡± I said. ¡°You don¡¯t want to be the one to start this.¡± ¡°And why is that?¡± she asked. ¡°Because you¡¯ll die,¡± I said flatly. ¡°You seem very sure,¡± Andromeda said. ¡°But I¡¯ve learned powers that even you a champion cannot contend with. Their will be a dragon on the throne again.¡± ¡°If we wanted a dragon on the throne,¡± Exar¡¯kun growled. ¡°I¡¯d crawl inside your little stone nest and sit there myself. Insult me again by calling yourself a dragon and regardless of Mordred¡¯s thoughts on the matter I will melt the flesh from your bones.¡± Andromeda paled as a low reverberation began to build up in Exar¡¯kun¡¯s chest and the edges of his scales began to glow brighter and brighter. ¡°Let¡¯s put a pause on that for now,¡± I reprimanded Exar¡¯kun lightly. ¡°Though I would listen to him, I¡¯m pretty sure he was serious about that.¡± The army of robbed figures shifted uncomfortably since they were right in the path the line of fire would take. There was around two-thousand of them in total. Their robes obscured what weapons or armor they were wearing. The lack of descriptions above their heads should have been comforting but I sensed a trick of some kind. I circled around Andromeda and watched as she stiffened as I passed into her blind spot as she refused to take her eyes off the dragon and the walls in front of us. ¡°It¡¯s said you were rescued by the Order of the Magi,¡± I said. ¡°Maybe I was,¡± Andromeda said. ¡°And what do you think of their philosophy and goal?¡± I asked. ¡°That everyone deserves to have access to the system and a chance to ascend?¡± ¡°I think its noble,¡± she said. ¡°What do you think of it?¡± ¡°I think it sounds too much like socialism,¡± I said. ¡°I also think it¡¯s foolish. They are addressing the symptoms instead of the problem. I come from a world with no system, and we aren¡¯t all equal there. There will always be those with power and those without it.¡± ¡°And those without power? They¡¯re meant to just accept their lives under the boot of people like you?¡± she asked her voice telling me exactly what she thought of me. ¡°The strong do what they will, and the weak suffer what they must,¡± I said. ¡°Why are you really here? Your army isn¡¯t big enough to take me on, what do you hope to accomplish?¡± ¡°Are you sure of that?¡± a man called stepping out from the ranks of the army. He pushed back his hood and pulled down his mask to reveal a sandy brown beard and piercing blue eyes. ¡°And you are?¡± I asked noting there was no description above his head. ¡°I am Pierce,¡± he said extending his hand out. ¡°I¡¯ve trained to counter champions since I was a child.¡± I watched as arcane power began to build up in his hands. I held up my hand to stop my army from firing as the spell built up. It only took two seconds before the blast of purple energy in the form a laser beam as thick as a tree trunk blasted from his fingers. The spell¡¯s power was devastating and would have evaporated anyone without some sort of shielding or teleporting ability. I just stood there and held out Mab. The book¡¯s pages fluttered as it greedily drank in the spell leaving behind not even a spec of soot when it was done. Lowering the grimoire back to my belt I hung it there again as I met the astonished expression of Pierce. ¡°That book¡­ it can¡¯t be¡­¡± he said. ¡°I believe it was once one your Order¡¯s,¡± I said. ¡°Sadly, for you I don¡¯t think he¡¯s too happy with you after your ripped out all the knowledge he¡¯d accumulated working for you.¡± ¡°They should have destroyed it when they had the chance,¡± he growled in frustration as he glared at the black crystal covers. ¡°Now, now,¡± I admonished him. ¡°We both know what happens when we destroy an artifact you can¡¯t blame them for not wanting to commit suicide.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t destroy an artifact,¡± Andromeda said a look of confusion on her face after witnessing the display. ¡°Sure, you can¡¯t,¡± I agreed winking at Pierce. ¡°It¡¯s definitely never been done before.¡± ¡°Are we going to fight these people or not?¡± Exar¡¯kun asked me irritably. ¡°I think this has gone on for long enough,¡± Jeriah agreed. ¡°What are your orders Mordred?¡± Circling around Andromeda again I stopped in front of her. ¡°I need your blood to open the vault below the palace, I don¡¯t particularly care about this country, so I¡¯ll make you a deal. You open the vault and swear a binding oath to me, when Camelot is driven out and my quest for this land is complete, I will establish you as its Queen. You can rule as tyrannically or benevolently as you want as long as you don¡¯t try to go after me or my vassals.¡± Jeriah coughed and I snapped my fingers. ¡°You will of course be required to return the ancestral lands of the Dragonbreakers to them.¡± ¡°And what else would her oath require from her?¡± Pierce asked, stepping forward, revealing himself as the real power behind the throne. ¡°Nothing really,¡± I said and shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t care enough to be bothered with setting tax rates or immigration policy; you can do what you want as long as you don¡¯t interfere with me.¡± ¡°You really don¡¯t care about running a country?¡± Pierce asked suspiciously. ¡°Why would I?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re the ones that think they can change the world, I¡¯m just living in it. Whether I die in battle or become a god nothing about human nature and the way things are run is going to change.¡± ¡°Than why even bother?¡± Andromeda asked. ¡°If it¡¯s all meaningless, why are you even competing?¡± ¡°Because I can change myself, I can become something greater and change my own nature,¡± I replied. Pulling a piece of parchment out I took out my stylus and drew up the contract. It was simple, only a few paragraphs or so. I wasn¡¯t trying to tie down Andromeda with every legal phrase I could. If she found some loophole to slip out and betray me than so be it. The contract made it clear that if she did so I would be released from my part and be free to kill her. I held out the contract to her with the stylus and small knife. ¡°This is a blood pact,¡± I said. ¡°Your companions can tell you more about it but it will use your own mana to bind you to your word.¡± Andromeda looked to Pierce who slowly nodded. Andromeda took the parchment read over it one final time than signed. I let her keep the contract as I stepped back. ¡°Welcome home Princess,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t require me to marry you,¡± Andromeda said. ¡°Most others would have.¡± ¡°Would you have agreed to that?¡± I asked looking at her sidelong. ¡°I would do anything to secure the future of my house,¡± she said. ¡°Well, my princess is in another castle,¡± I said. ¡°And she wouldn¡¯t tolerate any rivals and I¡¯m not really into harems anyway.¡± Turning to the Magi I looked them over. ¡°You are welcome in the city since you are allies of mine by proxy, just know that if you start anything with me you better be able to finish it. I don¡¯t want you get the wrong impression of me from today, I chose this route because it was the most interesting not because I don¡¯t enjoy combat. If you want to go to war with the gods do so, I don¡¯t care, just leave me out of it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a champion of one of the gods and plan on becoming one,¡± Pierce said. ¡°Do you really think you can stay out of it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m prepared to give it a try for as long as I can,¡± I said. ¡°To the vault princess, you have your part of the deal to hold up.¡± Chapter 102: The Heir of War We descended down the steps of the palace into its depths. The intricate iron gates of the Vault stood before us. Andromeda hesitantly held out her hand placing it into the mouth of a dragon statue. The jaws closed down and she winced as it extracted her blood. The doors slowly began to grind open, and I was greeted by a marvelous site. Chests of gold were piled against the walls. Glass displays with weapons in them were set up like a museum and stands with full sets of enchanted armor were erected haphazardly. Ignoring them all I went to the back to a single glass display case. Opening it set off an alarm, but it quickly died. I reached down and pulled up the last piece of my armor set. Glossy black plates with gold trim and red glowing runes made up most of it like the other pieces of the set. It was padded with the grey fur and gold covered chainmail hung down to protect my more sensitive areas. The savage gold spikes were present as well. Uncaring what others thought I kicked out of my boots and stripped out of my pants and the armored skirt I had been wearing ever since I looted it off the goblin chief. Strapping on the set of waist armor I turned to a full-length mirror in the vault to see how I looked now. I was the picture of a barbarian king. My torso was bare of almost any protection only the upper part of my chest and shoulders covered with armor. The scars along my body were a ragged testament to my battles and what I was willing do suffer to achieve victory. The tattered pelt that hung from my shoulders gave me an even more savage appearance, the spines along my armor adding to that look. Opening the notification, I read the description for the armor.
Pteruges of Ares, Type: Armor (waist) (Artifact IV): One of the four pieces of the armor of Ares earned with the blood of four nations he conquered to complete the quest¡¯s of Kelesa and crafted by her with the aid of the system. This waist armor is part of a larger set that gains more power the more pieces of the armor the wearer possess.
Courage of Hector: You have an aura of courage that gives you resistance to fear, terror, stuns, paralysis and shares it with any allied creatures in a 50ft around you. Every twenty ranks the size of the aura increases by 50ft, starting radius 50ft.
(2 Pieces) Battle Hardened Warriors: Your aura extends to your allies; they receive a hardness bonus to their skin equal to a quarter of yours and are immune to the negative effects of your auras from this set and your abilities.
(3 Pieces) Battle Glory: When you kill an enemy your allies within 100ft are Heartened increasing their damage stages one for the next 5 seconds.
(4 Pieces) Authority of the Warlord: You can telepathically speak to any of your vassals within your Aura.
Weight: 10 lbs.
I¡¯d only had to deal with stuns and paralysis a few times and was already able to shrug off most fear and terror effects but being able to share that with my allies was a nice bonus. The ability to telepathically speak with my vassals wasn¡¯t something I really needed but I could see how the traditional Warlords would have appreciated the battlefield control it would have given them. A new notification popped up and I selected it and read it. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Quest Completed, Heir of Ares: You have won the Pauldron¡¯s of Ares which were lost beneath the waves and awarded to you for completing your Event in first place, found the helm of Ares lost beneath the earth and cut off from the System. You faced your inner self to win the Manica of Ares from the Lion Clan and made an uneasy alliance with your enemies to unseat the vault of Dragonhold and take back the Pteruges of Ares.
Reward: Title, Spirit of Ares
I read the title but before I could get to what it would do my vision darkened and I was in a world of greyscale once again. -- ¡°What¡¯s with people keep sending me here?¡± I asked irritably. I looked around a battlefield ravens feasting on the dead all around us. A man turned to me he carried a spear and shield but was almost a mirror of me our armor being exact clones of each other. ¡°You must be the new Warlord,¡± he said. ¡°And you must be Ares,¡± I said. ¡°So I guess I died,¡± he said, I remember the battle the sword rammed through my heart but then it all went black after that. ¡°How are you even here?¡± I asked. ¡°As I understand you died thousands of years ago, shouldn¡¯t your soul have been devoured by the Void or you be in the fields of Elysium or pushing a rock up a hill?¡± ¡°I could tell my death was almost inevitable,¡± Ares said. ¡°Using all my remaining power I created a quest and imbued it into my armor for the next warlord.¡± ¡°so you were the one to actually give me that quest?¡± I asked. ¡°With some system magic, yes,¡± Ares said. ¡°This wasn¡¯t some elaborate plan on your part to try and possess me and wreak your vengeance on the world, was it?¡± I asked suspiciously. ¡°No,¡± Ares said with a laugh. ¡°My time walking on the earth is done the System wouldn¡¯t allow me to try for godhood again after my failure.¡± ¡°So¡­why am I here?¡± I asked looking around. ¡°Didn¡¯t you read the quest?¡± he asked. ¡°The reward was the Spirit of Ares. I¡¯m not here to possess you but to offer to assist you and give you guidance. I would reside in your spirit and speak to you advising you militarily.¡± ¡°Its getting a little crowded in there,¡± I said. ¡°What?¡± Ares asked. ¡°Nothing,¡± I said. ¡°Why do I need you, you did lose your competition remember.¡± ¡°I lost against the remaining ten champions in the game,¡± Ares said. ¡°It required all of them to defeat me and in the end only three of them were still alive when they struck me down. I learned a lot about the gods and their champions, I know how they deploy them and the type of tactics they advise them to take.¡± We stared at each other for a long minute. I removed my helmet, and he did likewise. His beard was well groomed, and his eyes were a dark brown, his olive skin wasn¡¯t scarred like mine but had a harsh weather-beaten appearance to it. ¡°Who was it that killed you?¡± I asked. ¡°A woman named Viviane,¡± Ares said. ¡°She and I had met before, for a time we even were allies¡­ and maybe more than that.¡± His tone conveyed more than words could about the betrayal he felt. ¡°I will accept your guidance,¡± I said. ¡°Though I cannot promise I will always follow your advice, you may find me an unconventional Warlord.¡± ¡°You managed to gather all the pieces of my armor together, you are the only one to have managed to do that,¡± he said extending his hand. ¡°That¡¯s a long story and had some luck to it,¡± I said clasping my hand around his wrist. ¡°Then I look forward to fighting with you,¡± he said. ¡°Luck is often the determining factor in battle.¡± -- My eyes snapped open, and I was looking in the mirror once again. A four specters hovered behind me, one of pure crimson energy, the other made of impenetrable darkness, one that stretched and grew from my shadow, and another made of grey billowing smoke taking on the appearance of a man. Another one? Karnen asked. You know you¡¯re not the only one who lives here. ¡°Gotta catch em all,¡± I said my mouth turning up for just a second. ¡°I am not a Pok¨¦mon!¡± Karnen shouted. ¡°How do you even know about Pok¨¦mon?¡± I asked. There is nothing to do in your head most of the time but watch your memories, Karnen said. Voidra has made me watch every single horror movie you¡¯ve seen at least a dozen times. I see what you meant when you said crowded, Ares said. Thankfully the Shadow just growled in disapproval, of all the spirits I had, It was my favorite. He¡¯d never spoken a word since I absorbed him into my soul. Turning I saw Andromeda and my vassals were watching me with concern. From their perspective I¡¯d put on my armor, looked in a mirror zoned out and started talking to myself. ¡°The throne room is all yours Queen Andromeda,¡± I said. ¡°If you need something get it yourself, I need to prepare for the Event.¡± Chapter 103: Im on Nobodys Side I went out into the wilderness of Dracon. Exar¡¯kun found a large cavern and settled in his bulk blocking the entrance as I sat cross legged in meditation. My wrathful meditation no longer required me to focus on past painful memories to draw on it. I wouldn¡¯t say that I had moved past those events, but they no longer had the power over me they once had. The anger was still there, and I doubted it would ever fade; and I didn¡¯t want it to.
The fourth Event of this cycle will take place in five hours, please make sure you are prepared and have all your required equipment with you. Only items you are physically in contact with will be taken with you to the Event.
Clarent hung from a belt around my waist, the Spear of Janus was slung across my back. Other than it all my other weapons were in my storage pouch, the only other thing on my waist being Mab. I was ready I¡¯d missed two events while out of contact with the system and I didn¡¯t intend to miss this one.
This is your one-minute warning, the countdown will begin at the ten-second mark, prepare yourself Champion the Event will test you and the foundation you have built for yourself so far. Only the worthy will prevail.
My eyes opened as the countdown began.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Initializing Event
The transference happened faster than it was possible to register. One minute I was in a cave, the next I blinked and was under the open sky. I rose from my mediative position looking around at my surroundings. Unlike this time, I wasn¡¯t alone but was instead in a group of at least a hundred people. They were all armed to the teeth and the magic that radiated from their gear made my nose itch like a nest of ants had crawled up it. Suppressing my initial instinct to attack before I could be attacked, I read the system prompt that popped into my vision.
You have entered the Realm of the Proving Grounds. This massive area is split into three zones, one controlled by you the other by the opposing group of champions. There are roughly two-hundred champions in each faction. Each champion has three lives and will revive in their spawn zone when killed, when their last life is lost, they will be removed from the event but will keep all rank points they gained but will lose any equipment or loot gained over the battle. You cannot loot enemy or allied champions of their belongings but will be rewarded with random drops based on the following outcomes.
Killing enemy champions (rewards further effected by the risk taken to do so). 1>
Stealing an enemy faction¡¯s standard and moving it to your spawn point. 40
Rescuing your faction¡¯s standard and returning it to your spawn point. 15
Holding another faction¡¯s standard for 24 hours. 20
Taking control of strategic points scattered over the battlefield. 15
Successfully defending strategic points you¡¯ve taken and your spawn point from attacks. 10
A final reward will be given to those still in the competition at the end of the Event based on the number of points they have gotten for completing objectives. The Event will end in seven days, you have six hours to plan and prepare your bases defenses before the battle will begin.
Grimacing, I looked around at the people the System had assigned as my allies. I was not a happy camper, I fought alone and my experience of teaming up with another champion had put me off the whole thing. ¡°Speak of the devil,¡± I said as I caught sight of her. Her armor was different but the golden half skull mask she wore was unmistakable as was her light grey skin and white hair. Her hair briefly reminded me of Guinevere, but I pushed those distracting thoughts from my mind for now.
Ammerila, Champion of Salrilla, Goddess of Assassins & Murder, Gifted- Veteran, humanoid/dusk-elf, Rank: 426
She was a higher rank than me and I watched as she sized up all the people around her no doubt planning on how to backstab them later on. Before I could confront her or do anything I heard someone shout and a hand landed on my shoulder. Whirling around only a message and an overwhelming weight dropping on my shoulders kept me from impaling the man through the chest. Clarent hung motionless in my hand its blade not even extended.
Warning! You cannot attack anyone during the planning stage of the Event, any further attempts to initiate violence by you until the six hours are up will result in your expulsion from the Event.
¡°You!¡± the man snarled. ¡°Do you recognize me?¡± ¡°No,¡± I replied honestly relaxing since there was no danger. My answer seemed to derail his entire line of thought. ¡°You¡­ you don¡¯t remember me we fought during the last Event.¡± I looked up at his description above his head.
Hornar the Adamantine Bastion, Champion of Amadra, Gifted- Mortal, humanoid/kassadrons, Rank: 374
¡°Nope, still don¡¯t remember you,¡± I said. ¡°You killed me during the Event!¡± he snapped. ¡°Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?¡± I asked. ¡°Were you one of the people that tried to kill me after I left the safe zone?¡± ¡°What? No, you interfered with me and my companions fight against one of the mini-bosses,¡± he said. ¡°Oh, you were that guy, well you seem fine now,¡± I said dismissively turning my back to him. ¡°I¡¯m not done with you Warlord,¡± he snapped reaching out to grab me. His hand froze before making contact as the system informed him of the rules. He took a step back scowling at me and looked around. Looking around Ammerila was the only champion of a Chaos god that I could see but that did not make us allies. People were talking and already forming groups, some recognizing each other and exchanging words. ¡°Listen everyone!¡± Hornar shouted. ¡°This man is the Warlord! He is a threat to every nation any of us are aligned to.¡± ¡°So?¡± someone in the crowd asked irritated by this interruption to their conversation. ¡°He killed me in the last event,¡± Hornar said. ¡°I¡¯d stop telling people that,¡± I said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make me sound that bad and makes you sound like a pussy little bitch.¡± His face reddened and he took a step ready to attack me before remembering the Systems warning. ¡°When this time limit is over, you¡¯ll learn just how much stronger I am now,¡± Hornar threatened me. ¡°Even at my worst is better than your best,¡± I said dismissively. ¡°Let me guess you operate in a party, act as the tank? I¡¯m going to shred your like wet toilet paper, because that¡¯s what you are something to wipe up my shit with.¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. I wasn¡¯t sure if he knew what toilet paper was, but trash talk was a universal language and my days in Xbox live chat weren¡¯t going to let me down. Our verbal altercation was drawing a larger and crowd as every champion began to gather around. ¡°The system might have put us on the same side of this battlefield but that doesn¡¯t mean we are allies, I for one will be happy to sacrifice some advantage if that means preventing you from participating in this Event,¡± Hornar said. ¡°What are you saying,¡± A male humanoid with midnight black skin that specked with blue crystal dust like a starlite sky asked. ¡°He means that we should kill him ourselves to prevent him from becoming stronger,¡± Another man said and stepped forward. He was dressed in immaculate gold and silver armor; I could instantly tell my its intricacies that almost every piece was an artifact; the hilt of a greatsword poking over his back also screamed Artifact to me. Looking up I read his description and my expression soured though no one could see it under my helmet. Arthur carried his own helmet under his left arm, I would have said he was clean shaven but he looked still to young to grow proper facial hair. He had medium length golden blond hair and boy band features with a strong jaw line. I wasn¡¯t gay but I could judge another man¡¯s appearance and he was a lot better looking than me, if he had been in my world he¡¯d be movies or working in the model industry.
Arthur, Crown Prince of Camelot, Champion of Viviane, Gifted- Mortal, humanoid/human, Rank: 525
While Hornar had just been above my rank by a bit Arthur was nearly at the next rank, I had to guess that he also matched me equipment wise. ¡°Is that allowed?¡± the star skinned man asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t see any rules against it,¡± Hornar said. ¡°We just can¡¯t attack him for six hours, but when the clock is up, I for one wonder what sort of ability you might get from killing the Warlord.¡± I ignored Hornar, the bigger dog had just shown itself and it was time to size up my opponent. ¡°So, you¡¯re Prince Arthur,¡± I said as I circled around him examining him from every angle. ¡°At least you came dressed the part of hero.¡± ¡°And you¡¯ve dressed like a barbarian,¡± he said coldly. ¡°They say dress for the job you want,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°How is Guinevere these days?¡± Arthur stiffened. ¡°Don¡¯t talk about her, I have no idea what poison you put in her ears but your done corrupting her.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not over till it¡¯s over,¡± I said. ¡°What did you do to her?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°She isn¡¯t the same since she came back.¡± ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s pretty much the same, I just helped her to let more of her real self out.¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t the real Guinevere,¡± Arthur spat back. ¡°If you don¡¯t like what you see then I¡¯ll take her,¡± I said. ¡°If you ever go near Guinevere again,¡± Arthur said taking a threatening step forward. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a little too enthusiastic about marrying your cousin,¡± I said ignoring his attempt to tower over me. He was tall but I actually had about six inches of height on him. ¡°Wait¡­ he¡¯s marrying his cousin?¡± someone in the crowd asked. ¡°It¡¯s perfectly normal,¡± Arthur said. ¡°No, no its not,¡± I said. ¡°Where I¡¯m from people who marry their cousins live in shacks in the woods, what was it called me¡­ a barbarian? Well, that¡¯s what we think of people who marry their relatives.¡± ¡°We have our reasons for marrying,¡± Arthur said. ¡°We have our responsibilities to ensure the safety of our people.¡± I stepped in close to Arthur and breathed in deeply. ¡°My, my, you¡¯ve been a bad boy,¡± I said as he stepped back my sudden invasion of his personal space as I took a whiff of him surprising him and making him uncomfortable. ¡°That¡¯s not Guinevere¡¯s perfume or scent, I can smell the sex on you, she won¡¯t be happy about that.¡± ¡°She already knows,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I¡¯m guessing she didn¡¯t take it too well,¡± I said. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that her one condition to marrying you? You¡¯re young but I guess she figured the knight in shining armor could keep his word.¡± ¡°How do you know about our deal?¡± Arthur asked, his eyes narrowing. ¡°I know Guinevere better than you ever will,¡± I said my teeth flashing behind the narrow slit in my helmet. Arthur reached for the hilt of his sword but froze as he received the warning from the system. ¡°I warned you about talking about her.¡± ¡°Or what?¡± I asked dryly. ¡°You¡¯ll kill me, we both know we¡¯ve already crossed that bridge.¡± ¡°Enough,¡± a woman said stepping forward. ¡°We aren¡¯t here to fight each other this is a competition, we need to work together and come up with a plan.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not working with him,¡± Arthur said pointing at me. ¡°I don¡¯t care if it makes me lose this Event I¡¯m not siding with the Warlord for any length of time. Anyone who does so will be considered an enemy of Camelot.¡± ¡°The feeling is mutual,¡± I said crossing my arms. ¡°Come on this is an Event not the real world,¡± another man said. ¡°Can¡¯t we put aside our differences for a while we are here?¡± ¡°No,¡± Arthur and I said at the same time as we stared each other down. ¡°I¡¯m not willing to work with an Oathbreaker,¡± I said. ¡°And you¡¯re not?¡± Arthur snapped. ¡°I¡¯ve always been true to my word,¡± I said with a dark smile. ¡°How does it make you feel knowing that your nemesis has more honor than you?¡± ¡°Your my nemesis?¡± Arthur asked crossing his arms. ¡°You¡¯ve never heard the story of your name¡¯s sake?¡± I asked. ¡°I come from the same world as your ancestor. Our names come from the same story, the legend of Arthur.¡± ¡°And who are you in the story?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°Some dark Warlord come to steal his Queen away?¡± ¡°Not at all, Mordred in the story is a lot like you, the inbred bastard son of Arthur and his sister,¡± I said. ¡°I am not a bastard,¡± Arthur growled once again reaching for his sword hilt before stopping himself. ¡°So, you admit your inbred,¡± I said grinning. ¡°What¡­no!¡± he protested but a chuckle had already passed through the crowd around us. ¡°In the story,¡± I continued ignoring Arthur¡¯s murderous look. ¡°Mordred is the one who kills Arthur in battle, so you see little prince we were always destined to be enemies.¡± ¡°And I welcome it,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Anyone who would choose the name of the villain is someone we¡¯re better off without.¡± ¡°Villainy is a matter of perspective,¡± I said. ¡°One might call you the villain for forcing their cousin to marry you for political gain.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a barbarian,¡± Hornar said stepping forward alongside Arthur. ¡°That¡¯s right jump to your boyfriend¡¯s defense,¡± I said. ¡°maybe when we¡¯re done here you can go off in private and suck each other off.¡± ¡°Do you have to be so crude?¡± the star skinned man asked. ¡°You¡¯ve never played PVP have you?¡± I asked him. ¡°That was pretty mild.¡± ¡°PVP?¡± he asked confused. ¡°Enough,¡± Arthur cut in. ¡°It¡¯s obvious the two of us will never be on the same side so I say again. Anyone who fights besides the Warlord will be an enemy of Camelot. I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re on this side of the battlefield if you fight beside him I¡¯ll kill you along with him.¡± With that ultimatum everyone looked back between me and the prince as the sides were quickly formed. ¡°This is pointless,¡± a champion huffed. ¡°Is anyone siding with the Warlord?¡± No one said anything or stepped forward, I hadn¡¯t expected anyone either. We were all competing against each other, standing up to defend your competition was a stupid mistake. Everyone chose their side, and I discovered a target rich environment. I couldn¡¯t act on it, yet I had doubts about my success against this many champions. A party of five had nearly killed me this group could kill me and then spawn camp me until I lost all three of my lives and got kicked out of the Event.
You have been isolated from your faction, since this is against the spirit of this Event you are being given a third option. Leave this starting area and set up your own spawn point. You will be able to summon 200 points worth of vassals (Power, rank will determine the number you can summon.)
It wasn¡¯t even a question for me. I walked through the crowd to the dividing line that set apart the spawn area from the battlefield. A curtain of prismatic light shone an obvious magical barrier. My foot passed through, and I was through. I could sense others try to follow me, but they weren¡¯t allowed out until the time limit was over. My feet pounded the ground as I ran over the rolling hills of grass and rock. The battlefield was massive, at least a hundred miles wide and long if I had to guess. I could only see the other side thanks to my superhuman perception and by teleporting up into the middle of the air to get a bird¡¯s eye view of the land. Aiming for the dead center of the battlefield, I landed on top of a massive hill with the ruins of a stone fort on top of it.
You have discovered a strategic location. Hold this position to gain points passively over the course of the Event.
¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said. The small fort melted down into the ground as I spread out a foundation a mile wide on which to build my fortress. Walls began to rise higher and higher. They were built like a colosseum. I pulled dirt and stone for material from the ground outside starting a massive chasm as the tower grew higher and higher. Two bridges spanned the chasm wide enough for only one to two people to cross at a time. I created three levels to the tower, the stairs spiraling around the inside of the tower to reach the higher levels. I created a throne and sat down. My work on the fortress was complete and now it was time to decide on who I would bring to fight with me. As much as I valued and enjoyed fighting by myself there were simply to many much more powerful enemies for me to fight them alone. I had lots of vassals to pick from. Jeriah and Tobias were obvious choices, but they were the commanders of my army and taking them away from their position for a week could cause massive problems. A thought crossed my mind and I had to ask the System. ¡°What counts as my vassal?¡± I asked.
A vassal is anyone effected by your ability Dominion such as those dominated or made into one your lieutenants.
¡°Can I make someone a lieutenant from here?¡± I asked.
There is no range limit on marking lieutenants, you must state their name and they have to option to refuse or to accept. You have only one remaining position open for Lieutenants.
¡°I would like to appoint Exar¡¯kun as my lieutenant,¡± I said. There was a brief pause before I received another notification.
You have designated Exar¡¯kun the Star Fallen as one of your Lieutenants granting him access to your ability Foresight.
¡°I would select Exar¡¯kun as one my vassals to bring into the Event,¡± I said.
You have selected a creature that is Hero rank and also considered a monarch rank threat. This will cost you 110 out of your 200 available points. Do you wish to proceed?
¡°Yes,¡± I said. There was a shimmer in the air, than the massive form of Exar¡¯kun materialized. He blended into the dark stone of the tower only the glowing outline of his scales giving away his position. ¡°This is unusual,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be able to enter an Event as a non-champion.¡± ¡°There are some exemplary circumstances allowing it,¡± I said. ¡°Hold on I still have vassals I need to bring in.¡± Since I could bring in Exar¡¯kun there was one more lieutenant I wanted to invite. --- Guinevere walked under the oaken bows of the wilderness sanctuary on her father¡¯s estate. Guards trailed her in the distance, but this was about as alone as she could get these days. She could feel the eyes of servants spying on her at all times and she couldn¡¯t go anywhere without an escort. The restrictions chaffed on her, and she hadn¡¯t even been able to grind any dungeons since getting back.
Thanks to your status as a lieutenant, you have been invited by Mordred, Champion of Kelesa, to participate in the Event as one of his vassals. This event will take place over the next seven days, you will have three lives and will be returned to this location if you lose them all. Your equipment cannot be taken by others, and you cannot suffer any permanent effects. Do you wish to accept? Yes/NO
Guinevere hesitated for only a moment. Disappearing for a week would cause tons of problems for her later but she couldn¡¯t miss the chance to enter an Event. These Event were what separated Champions from any other gifted in terms of power. It let them power rank with little risk and come back with thousands of rank points and a score of new abilities letting them outstrip any non-champion. ¡°Yes,¡± she said. She didn¡¯t have her gear on her right now, but it didn¡¯t matter she needed to kill someone and if there was one thing about Mordred you could rely on, it was that he always had enemies around him to kill. Chapter 104: Friends with Benefits Guinevere found herself in massive throne room. Mordred sat on a throne with Exar¡¯kun curled around the back of it. The dragon opened one eye to look at her than closed it again. Mordred removed his helmet. He¡¯d gotten a haircut recently and shaved although that just made the long scars over the left side of his face more visible. ¡°Welcome to the Event,¡± Mordred said a smile spreading over his face. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure if you would come.¡± ¡°This is the opportunity of a lifetime,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I can¡¯t recall ever hearing any other time a non-champion was given the chance to enter into one of the Events.¡± ¡°You can thank Arthur for that,¡± he said. ¡°Arthur?¡± Guinevere asked, her body stiffening as she heard his name. ¡°Of course, he¡¯s here, but how is he responsible for this?¡± ¡°This Event is meant to be a PVP battle,¡± Mordred said. ¡°PVP?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Player versus player,¡± Mordred explained another one his earth terms. ¡°There are two sides on either side of a massive battlefield, we needed to kill eachother, move flags from one side of the battlefield to the other and hold objectives to earn points to win. Some people wanted to kill me, Arthur among them, he told them that if anyone fought alongside me Camelot would consider them enemies after this.¡± ¡°He does have the authority to make that kind of decision,¡± Guinevere admitted. ¡°Well, no one sided with me, smart decision on their part.¡± Mordred said. ¡°The System didn¡¯t like them questioning the team composition it built so it gave me the option to strike out on my own as a third faction with a limited number of vassals I could summon.¡± ¡°So how many people are on our side?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°It¡¯s just us,¡± Exar¡¯kun said his voice a deep rumbling growl. ¡°He blew all his points summoning you and me since we¡¯re both higher ranks that him.¡± ¡°There¡¯s another problem,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I can¡¯t be seen helping you¡­ there are complications back home.¡± ¡°I can do something about that,¡± Mordred said reaching into his storage pouch and removing a half dozen ingots and several pelts another other miscellaneous materials. The objects rotated around her as he used his crafting ability to forge her armor in the span of a few minutes. Runes began to glow along her armor as gem infused ink was directed into marks all along the edges of the plates infusing the dark black metal with red glyphs and sigils. Guinevere ran her hands down the armor, it was as tight fitting to her curves as the last set he had made her but she had come to appreciate it for its elegance as well as how well it moved with her. As her fingers ran along it she picked up a helmet that Mordred offered her reading its description.
Helm of the Blackguard: Type: Armor (head), Rarity: Rare, Hardness: 16: Your hair and eyes turns crimson while wearing this helmet and your description is changed to an alias. This enchantment cannot be pierced by abilities but will immediately be dispelled if the helmet is removed. Crafted by Mordred, Champion of Kelesa a master rank enchanter and divine smith.
Weight: 3.5 lbs. Durability: 25-25
She set the helm over her head her hair spilling back behind her. Her snow-white locks began to turn crimson as if she had dipped them in fresh blood.
You have equipped a item that will hide your identity please select an alias and a title. (You cannot create your own title and your rank will remain unchanged in your description)
Guinevere thought for a second before going with her mother¡¯s name. ¡°Inara the Dark Valkyrie,¡± she told the system.
Your description had been changed and will now read as
Inara the Dark Valkyrie, Gifted; Humanoid/human*, Hero, Rank: 445
Holding up her hands she examine the bracers and gauntlets she now wore. They were different than the last he had made for her. Her old set had been smooth and rounded these were jagged at the ends of them ended in sharp claws.
Gauntlets of the Bloodletter: Type: Armor (forearms), Rarity: Epic, Hardness: 16: All damaging elemental abilities you deal with are instead converted into bleed damage. Has a major effect on how abilities are manifested. Crafted by Mordred, Champion of Kelesa a master rank enchanter and divine smith.
Weight: 3.5 lbs. Durability: 25-25
¡°I figured people might be able to guess your identity even with an alias if you kept using the same abilities everyone knows you have,¡± Mordred said. ¡°How is this possible?¡± Guinevere asked in wonder. ¡°Your changing how an ability works, enchantments shouldn¡¯t be able to do that.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Mordred asked. ¡°The more I study magic the more they have in common with abilities. I think abilities might be just super advanced spells that are physically and spiritually engrained into us to make them easy to use and reduce their mana and stamina cost.¡± ¡°That comes close to heresy,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Don¡¯t care,¡± Mordred said. ¡°I was told to win a competition, not be a priest.¡± ¡°Is Kelesa really that hands off?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I¡¯ve spoken to her only three times,¡± Mordred said. ¡°As long as I keep gaining power, she seems to be pretty happy and doesn¡¯t care what I do.¡± ¡°She¡¯s never given you any advice?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°She advised me against you,¡± he said with a shrug. ¡°But she chose me because she wanted things done differently so she can stuff it, doing my own thing means doing my own thing.¡± ¡°You really aren¡¯t afraid of being smited are you?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°If she¡¯s going to smite me for a lack of respect than she would have done so the moment we met,¡± he said. ¡°Don¡¯t pick up a scorpion and expect it not to sting you.¡± Guinevere ran her fingers over the waist of her breastplate feeling the soft fur that lined its edges as she read its description.
Bloodletters Breastplate: Type: Armor (torso), Rarity: Epic, Hardness: 16: All elemental sources of protection are converted into void based defenses. Has a major effect on how abilities are manifested. Crafted by Mordred, Champion of Kelesa a master rank enchanter and divine smith.
Weight: 10 lbs. Durability: 50-50
¡°What is a divine smith?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen that on an item before?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a title I almost died to get,¡± I said. ¡°It increases the rarity of everything I create by one grade and increases its hardness by two.¡± Strapping on her helmet, Guinevere spun around. ¡°How do I look?¡± ¡°Like a vision,¡± Mordred said smiling and she felt her heart flutter for a second before she clamped down on the feeling. ¡°What now?¡± she asked returning to business. ¡°We still have about four hours before the Event starts for real,¡± Mordred said. ¡°I need to rank up some of my abilities, almost everyone here is a higher rank than me.¡± ¡°Why have you been delaying ranking up?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I would have figured you¡¯d already be Hero rank by now.¡± ¡°I have¡­ reasons,¡± Mordred said cagily. ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon.¡± ¡°I thought we were passed keeping secrets from each other,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Think of it as less a secret and more a surprise,¡± he said. ¡°This should only take a few minutes.¡± -- ¡°You¡¯re not going to use any pain killers?¡± Guinevere asked me. I opened one eye and looked at her. ¡°Right, you have some ability to ignore pain,¡± she said. ¡°Title,¡± I corrected her. ¡°System, raise Blood Renewal to rank twenty.¡± The strain of my Spirit attribute being so high would be reduced if I raised all my spiritual attributes to Hero Rank. It would bring me dangerously close to crossing the gap into Hero rank, but I planned on keeping five points from getting to fifty in my Endurance and Toughness. The likelihood of me picking enough abilities to push those stats was so small it wasn¡¯t even a real risk. I skipped past the first three notifications until I came to one, I hadn¡¯t seen in over a year.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 50 the Veteran limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attribute from killing you.
I could feel something twist and change as I momentarily lost control of my body as something inside me changed. The change wasn¡¯t bad as I felt the strain from my too high Spirit attribute fade as my other mana attributes finally all raised to Hero rank.
Your brain has converted fully into a bio-crystal and will hold memories perfectly with no degradation or change overtime. Due to your connection to the void and your semi-spirit nature it is converting into an ether-crystal which will allow you to survive piercing shots through your brain without receiving a Mortal wound.
I wondered if someone would harvest my body to turn into weapons someday like I had to the beasts I had slain. Would they make me into some armor or weapon or just let my corpse rot on the battlefield? Pushing aside that morbid thought I skipped passed the next notification to the upgrade section I had been waiting for.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank five, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Increases the amount of healing you do with this ability.
¡¤ Your healing will also grant your targets a damage shield for a short duration.
¡¤ Increases the range of this ability.
With the option to make a choice to upgrade my abilities again I surveyed my options. I wasn¡¯t a healer no matter what abilities the system gave me so increasing the range or healing wasn¡¯t something I was interested in. A damage shield sounded interesting; if someone was so hurt, they needed me to heal them, than chances, were they were in the middle of a fight. I picked the second option and read over the list of changes.
Blood Renewal (Rank 5): From the blood of your enemies are your allies restored. For every gallon of blood spilled on the ground you can exert 4 mana to heal all allies within 120ft of you for a Moderate amount of damage taken.
Grants your targets a damage shield for the next 15 seconds reducing the damage they take from the next attack by a Moderate amount.
Cost: 4 mana per gallon of blood.
Upgrade this ability to reduce the amount of blood required, the range and amount of healing it does. Each rank of this ability increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
The damage shield wasn¡¯t much but there was potential for it grow as I increased the rank of the ability. I moved on skipping past the next few notifications to get to the upgrade.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank ten, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your healing removes debuffs and curses.
¡¤ Your targets will gain the Valorous buff when healed.
¡¤ Your targets will gain the Sanctified buff when healed.
After a quick look at the options, I picked the first. I didn¡¯t know what those buffs did, and I was more concerned about keeping allies from dying than I was in giving them buffs.
Blood Renewal (Rank 10): From the blood of your enemies are your allies restored. For every gallon of blood spilled on the ground you can exert 7 mana to heal all allies within 140ft of you for a Major amount of damage taken. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
Grants your targets a damage shield for the next 20 seconds reducing the damage they take from the next two attacks by a Major amount.
Your healing removes debuffs and curses effecting your targets.
Cost: 7 mana per gallon of blood.
Upgrade this ability to reduce the amount of blood required, the range and amount of healing it does. Each rank of this ability increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
The damage shields and healing were increasing every five ranks hopefully when it was maxed out I would be able to give out some serious healing. I skipped the next four notifications to get to the upgrade notification.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank fifteen, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your healing removes poison and disease.
¡¤ Your healing give the Regenerate buff for a short duration.
¡¤ Your healing gives the Life steel buff for a short duration.
I wasn¡¯t here to buff people and giving people a life steal ability right after they¡¯d just been healed seemed redundant. I went with the first option since that seemed more in line and my personal experiences with poison told me that resisting it was a very important thing.
Blood Renewal (Rank 15): From the blood of your enemies are your allies restored. For every gallon of blood spilled on the ground you can exert 10 mana to heal all allies within 160ft of you for a Severe amount of damage taken.
Grants your targets a damage shield for the next 25 seconds reducing the damage they take from the next four attacks by a Severe amount.
Your healing removes debuffs and curses effecting your targets.
Your healing also cleanses your targets of poison and diseases.
Cost: 10 mana per gallon of blood.
Upgrade this ability to reduce the amount of blood required, the range and amount of healing it does. Each rank of this ability increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
While this sort of ability wasn¡¯t really my style, I intended this one to be a generalist healing thing. I could shoot if off in the middle of a battle to get my allies back up than go right back to fighting. Skipping past the next few notifications I got to the good one.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank twenty, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your healing gives the Ironclad buff for a short duration.
¡¤ Your healing also gives a short damage bonus to the target.
¡¤ Your healing also restores targets stamina and mana.
The first choice was another bust but the second one was tempting but again I wasn¡¯t here to provide buffs. I picked the third option restoring mana and stamina would let my allies sort out whatever trouble they were in on their own with their own abilities.
Blood Renewal (Rank 20, Max Rank): From the blood of your enemies are your allies restored. For every gallon of blood spilled on the ground you can exert 15 mana to heal all allies within 200ft of you for an Extreme amount of damage taken.
Grants your targets a damage shield for the next 30 seconds reducing the damage they take from the next eight attacks by a Extreme amount.
Your healing removes debuffs and curses effecting your targets.
Your healing also cleanses your targets of poison and diseases.
Restores half of your target¡¯s maximum mana & stamina.
Max Rank Bonus: The blood you use to cast this ability turns into a mist over the ground healing you and allies in it for a Moderate amount of damage each second for two minutes and causing enemies a Moderate amount of bleed damage.
Cost: 15 mana per gallon of blood.
Upgrade this ability to reduce the amount of blood required, the range and amount of healing it does. Each rank of this ability increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
The max rank ability was a combination of damage and healing, it was only a moderate amount but a damage over time effect didn¡¯t need to be overwhelming like my attacks. That was this ability taken care of, on to the next! ¡°Raise Dark Guardian to rank fifteen,¡± I told the system. This would put my toughness close to being fifty, but I would just raise Brutal Spite to only rank ten. I skipped the first four notifications until I got to the one for additional effects.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank five, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Cause the damage your allies take to be reduced.
¡¤ You can take a portion of the damage you receive and unleash it as a retributive attack.
¡¤ You can instantly swap places with a nearby ally to take the hit in place of them.
This choice was a bit more difficult. I dismissed the second one, I wasn¡¯t going to waste an effect on a single damage effect, especially on a defensive ability. The third one was more interesting but I ultimately dismissed it as well, I was too busy dealing damage to play tank. I took the first since it looked like a passive effect that would benefit my allies without requiring any work from me.
Dark Guardian (Rank 5): You have shown the willingness to sacrifice for others and can sacrifice your flesh and blood to protect those you choose. Allies within 70 feet of you heal a Moderate amount for every Severe wound you take.
For every Severe wound you are suffering the damage your allies with 70ft of you would take is reduced by a Moderate amount.
Cost: N/A
Upgrade this ability to increase the range and amount of protection you grant to others. Each upgrade increases your Toughness by 1.
Unfortunately, this ability revolved around me getting the shit beaten out of me to the point of death. Did that happen on a regular basis? Yes. Was it something I did intentionally? No, well not exactly; I recklessly endangered myself, but I wasn¡¯t a masochist, probably. Moving on from that thought I dismissed the notification and the next four as well.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank ten, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ When healed by this ability your allies gain the buff Galvanized for a short duration.
¡¤ Your allies restore a small amount of stamina overtime while this ability is in effect.
¡¤ Your allies become tougher the more you suffer.
As much as I hated the rhyme the third option was the most suited to this ability. It revolved around me getting hit and this effect sounded like it would be more of the same. I already had other ways of restoring their stamina with my healing ability and I still wasn¡¯t here to provide buffs.
Dark Guardian (Rank 10): You have shown the willingness to sacrifice for others and can sacrifice your flesh and blood to protect those you choose. Allies within 120ft of you heal a Major amount for every Major wound you take.
For every Major wound you are suffering the damage your allies with 120ft of you would take is reduced by a Major amount.
Your allies within 120ft of you gain a bonus to their Toughness equal to 5 per Major wound you are currently suffering.
Cost: N/A
Upgrade this ability to increase the range and amount of protection you grant to others. Each upgrade increases your Toughness by 1.
While I wasn¡¯t going to change anything about my fighting style my tendency to end a fight with my flesh hanging off my bones meant my allies would be in peak health through the whole fight. Skipping past the next four notifications I got to the next upgrade options.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank fifteen, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your healing gives the Ironclad buff.
¡¤ When taking elemental damage become resistant to that type of damage.
¡¤ Your allies take reduced elemental damage.
No matter how much the system tried to goad me into it I wasn¡¯t going to take a buff. The second option was a major break from the other options I¡¯d seen before it was focused on reducing the damage, I would take rather than my allies. The third would benefit my allies but they were already receiving less damage thanks to me, the smart thing to do was to make sure I stayed in the fight so I could continue to provide passive healing and damage reduction. Selecting the second option I looked over the changes.
Dark Guardian (Rank 15): You have shown the willingness to sacrifice for others and can sacrifice your flesh and blood to protect those you choose. Allies within 120ft of you heal a Severe amount for every Moderate wound you take.
For every Moderate wound you are suffering the damage your allies with 120ft of you would take is reduced by a Severe amount.
Your allies within 120ft of you gain a bonus to their Toughness equal to 5 per Moderate wound you are currently suffering.
You gain a 5% damage reduction to a particular type of elemental damage you are attacked with stacking to max of 40% for every attack you receive from the same damage element. (Can gain resistances to multiple elements at a time).
Cost: 3 stamina per second
Upgrade this ability to increase the range and amount of protection you grant to others. Each upgrade increases your Toughness by 1.
This ability would let Guinevere and Exar¡¯kun power through my enemies and help me to resist some of the elemental attacks the other champions were sure to have. With that done I moved onto my next ability that I felt would have a lot of synergy with this one. ¡°Raise Brutal Spite to rank ten,¡± I told the system.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank five, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your wounds bleed less letting you fight for longer.
¡¤ You are capable of ignoring all pain in a fight.
¡¤ Deal more damage against creatures that have recently damaged you.
The first option was kind of weak and the second one was useless thanks to my Wrathful Meditation title. Luckly the third was fairly interesting, it was a revenge effect the more a target would damage me the more damage I could do in return to them. A perfect choice for me.
Brutal Spite (Rank 5): Even when you have been beaten down, your blood sapped from your body and to the point of death you continue on. For every Severe wound you are currently suffering your stamina regeneration is increased by x3.
You deal x2 damage against a creature who has dealt a Severe wound to you within the last 2 seconds.
Cost: not available
Upgrade this ability to increase the rate of increased stamina regeneration per wound suffered. Each rank of this ability increases your Endurance by 1.
A damage multiplier but it required me to take a significant amount of damage in order to activate and barely lasted for a few heartbeats but there was potential there. I dismissed the next four notifications eager to get to the next changes.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank ten, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Increases your mana regen rate as well as your stamina.
¡¤ Take less damage from the next attack in proportion to the damage received by the last attack.
¡¤ You can place a mark on a single creature increasing your damage against that creature.
The first one would just increase my mana regeneration rate which was huge, my mana pool was huge but it would take minutes to fill once emptied this would let me actually keep it topped off during a fight and make me a spell cannon. The other effects weren¡¯t bad but despite the simple sounding nature of that first effect it was by the far the most powerful option here. More mana meant more of every other ability I had not just one more nifty augmentation to a single ability.
Brutal Spite (Rank 10): Even when you have been beaten down, your blood sapped from your body and to the point of death you continue on. For every Major wound you are currently suffering your stamina and mana regeneration is increased by x4.
You deal x3 damage against a creature who has dealt a Major wound to you within the last 10 seconds.
Cost: not available
Upgrade this ability to increase the rate of increased stamina regeneration per wound suffered. Each rank of this ability increases your Endurance by 1.
That was that I couldn¡¯t put more points into this attribute and risk going over the limit for the Dragon Tourney by ascending into Hero Rank. ¡°Pull up my current status,¡± I said.
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 407
Available Rank Points: 1,034
Might: 73 (+43) = 117 Mind: 68
Speed: 52 (+40) = 92 Perception: 67
Toughness: 46 Spirit: 141
Endurance: 41 Power: 51
Maximum Stamina: 342 Maximum Mana: 13,053
Stamina Regen: 77.2 per second Mana Regen: 103.8 per second
Ethereal Regen: 20 per minute. Maximum Ethereal: 200
Abilities
Dominion (Rank 50), Telekinesis (Rank 20), Heightened Speed (Rank 20), Foresight (Rank 20), Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory (Rank 20), Bestial Senses: (Rank 20), Phantom Form (Rank 20), Storm Soul (Rank 20), Magma Heart(s) (Rank 20), Troll Hide (Rank 20), Black-rage (Rank 20), Hell¡¯s Talons (Rank 20), Helheim¡¯s Scream (Rank 20), Chain Lightning (Rank 20), Voice of the Chasm (Rank 20), Setules Palms (Rank 20), Tremor Soles (Rank 20), Spirit Collective (Rank Error), Dark Guardian (Rank 15), Brutal Spite (Rank 10), Blood Renewal (Rank 20)
Blessings:
Blessing of War (Veteran), Blessing of Tadris
Titles
Mark of Cain, Bloody Pugilist, Exorcist, Survivor III, Feral Barbarian, Field Alchemist III, Berserker, Beast Slayer III, War Chief, Venom Resistant III, Keytaro¡¯s Guardian III, Wrathful Meditation, Fireproof III, Superhuman, Bearer of Death, Lightning Resistance, the Fate Breaker, Apprentice Bludgeoner, Master Deflector, Apprentice Spearman, Divine Smith, Master Enchanter, Knight of Camelot, Challenger, Artifact Breaker, Abomination Slayer, Spell Carver, Master Swordsman, the Possessed
A horn blew through the air as I closed my notification screen and a new pop up appeared.
The Event has begun, fight well and prove which of you is the worthiest of power. No interference from any deity will assist you now only by your own strength will you prevail. Prove yourselves champions.
Rolling my shoulders, I stood from my throne. ¡°Time to introduce myself to the rest of my peers,¡± I said. ¡°When I¡¯m done this place is going to be like a COD lobby.¡± ¡°Is that a good thing?¡± Guinevere asked me. A vicious smile spread over my face. ¡°No, no, it is not.¡± Chapter 105: A Crown of Flames I stood up from my throne. Walking out the doors of a balcony I had created I looked out over the battlegrounds. The area was massive and there were various points of interest that were probably locations that could be captured for points. The spot my tower was built on was one such point, as long as I kept the enemy from capturing it I would continue to earn some passive points. The problem this led to was simple, numbers. This game gave the side with more people a large advantage since they could capture and hold multiple points at a time. My faction had a total of three people, or two people and one dragon depending on how you looked at it. You¡¯re thinking of this wrong, Ares said. How so? I asked him mentally. You don¡¯t need to capture lots of points, you just need to take away the enemy¡¯s ability to do so, Ares said. I nodded in realization. We kill every last one of them. No, Ares said. While that would work it would take to long and the risk is to great. You have the ability to shape the earth, use it to destroy the control points so they can¡¯t be used. That does make more sense, I admitted. You should also have Exar¡¯kun remain behind, Ares advised me. His presence should be hidden until it gives you the greatest advantage and someone needs to defend your own capture point. He¡¯s not going to be happy about that, I said. He¡¯s existed for centuries slowly gathering power, Ares said. I think you underestimated his patience. Turning around I entered the tower¡¯s throne room again. ¡°Ok I¡¯ve got a plan; I¡¯m going to destroy the capture points across the battlefield to keep the enemy from gaining points from them. Exar¡¯kun, I want you to remain behind, your my trump card and I want your first appearance to have the most impact.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°But if they come here my existence will be revealed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s where Guinevere comes in,¡± I said turning to her. ¡°I want you to hit their bases, you don¡¯t need to destroy them but cause as much of a distraction and damage as you can without dying.¡± ¡°You want me to take on groups of Champions by myself?¡± Guinevere asked skeptically. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t believe you can do it, I do,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re more powerful than you know Guinevere, it¡¯s time for you to discover that for yourself. -- My feet pounded the grass and stone, I jumped fifty feet into the air with the momentum I¡¯d gathered spotting my target and teleporting two-hundred-and-thirty feet I arrived at the base of ruined stone fortification.
You have discovered a strategic location. Hold this position to gain points passively over the course of the Event.
¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said. This time I didn¡¯t reinforce the structure, I obliterated it. A compressed smooth bowl was all that was left when I was done.
Capture point destroyed; no point gained.
I smiled; true I hadn¡¯t gained any points from its destruction but now no one would ever get any points from it. I was about to go scorched earth on these people. Just like in ruling a kingdom the principals of realpolitik held true here, take power, keep power, and deny it to others. If I couldn¡¯t hold the capture points, than no one would. Taking off running again I set to work. --- While Mordred was confident in her Guinevere was not so sure, champions were beings of legend who strove for the highest rank there was, godhood. She was talented sure, a prodigy of her time she knew but standing against people with divine abilities? She wasn¡¯t sure if she would have agreed to the task if she didn¡¯t have the extra lives. Her black armor glistened like the shell of a beetle as she charged across the grassy plains. She was drawing close to short stone walls. Someone must have constructed them like Mordred did, but one look told her these walls didn¡¯t have the raw strength and near indestructibility of his creations. The ability Mordred had gifted her a year ago, Foresight, let her roll to the side as an arrow struck the ground behind her blasting a crater into the ground. Keeping to her feet she kept running, jumping up into the air she used her ability Ice Flash to teleport to the top of the wall. Instead of the usual icy gale that accompanied her this time there was an inferno left behind as she appeared behind the archer on the wall. Before they had time to react, the crimson edge of the sword Mordred had made for her slashed through the back of their spine.
25 rank points gained, further halved for killing a creature of a lower rank.
That was another advantage she had. Mordred hadn¡¯t seen anyone above Veteran on his side of the battlefield and it stood to reason it was the same on this side. The advantage of being a higher rank than her foes was not a small one, all the damage she inflicted on them would be increased and the damage they did to her would be reduced. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. The alarm sounded as she stabbed another champion through the heart.
37 rank points gained, further halved for killing a creature of a lower rank.
She spun through their ranks, while she had been taught to stand and hold her ground, she hadn¡¯t been the only one learning while teaching Mordred. He was all motion and momentum and she¡¯d picked up some tricks from his unorthodox if effective methods of fighting. A party of five champions awaited her. Their bodies glowing with various buffs and augments they¡¯d activated as they prepared to meet her assault. ¡°Cursed Crown,¡± Guinevere said. She had never used this ability before but now wasn¡¯t the time to hold back. She¡¯d upgraded it to max rank and now was the time to see just all it could do.
Cursed Crown (Rank 20, Max Rank): You have slain a prince of the forest alongside a champion of the gods earning you the notice of both the gods of law and chaos. Your regal bearing now takes the form of a halo of flames above your head that lasts for 20 minutes. All your attacks deal an additional Extreme amount of curse damage, any creature striking you with a melee attack receives an Extreme amount of curse damage.
Your attacks inflict the Desolation condition.
Your attacks inflict the Mana Rot condition.
A Spector rises from the corpses of enemies slain by you while this ability is active, they last until they are destroyed and are under your control as their ruler, they will have lesser versions of the abilities the creature they came from possessed. They have all the bonuses from Curse Crown applied to them and inflict the same amount of curse damage and conditions as the ability.
Your authority lets you mark a single target within 120 feet of you, they will take x3 damage from you and your specters for the duration of this ability.
Max Rank Bonus: You can transfer any damage you would take to one your Specters instead.
*Desolation: Target cannot regain mana or stamina for duration.
* Mana Rot: Targets lose 15 mana per second they are inflicted with this ability.
Cost: 60 mana Cooldown: 1 minutes
Upgrade this ability to increase the damage and duration of its effects. Each rank of this ability increases your Power attribute by 1.
A dark halo of red and black fire appeared above her head and purple flames spread down the edge of her blade. Teleporting into their midst she slashed about her, her attacks weren¡¯t instantly lethal but the agony that curse damage inflicted made all her assailants fall back. One of them in heavy armor swung down a heavy warhammer towards her head. She slid to the side only taking a glancing blow off her shoulder. The hit still staggered her slightly but the effect it had on him was far greater as purple flames raced down his own weapon consuming his body. Guinevere ran her sword through his neck ending his suffering.
28 rank points gained, further halved for killing a creature of a lower rank.
A dark Spector made of black smoke and purple flames rose from his corpse it lashed out at the groups healer who was trying to purge the debuffs on her party. The healer screamed in agony as more cursed purple flames spread out. The Spector was a mockery of the man it had come from, although its form was static and made of smoke it bore the visage of a knight in plate armor its sword made of violet energy. The sword slashed across the healer¡¯s robes, and she collapsed her body a smoldering pile of flesh and bones. The equipment vanished from every corpse leaving behind a body covered in rags. The features of the deceased still remained, and Guinevere shuddered as she imagined looking down on her own corpse. Pushing that thought from her mind she continued with her mission, her job was to draw as much attention as she could and cause as much destruction as possible. She didn¡¯t have the wide area effect abilities that Mordred possessed but what she did have was a decade of training from the finest tutors in the world. Another Spector rose up from the body of the healer. Guinevere cut down a rogue who tried to sneak attack her from behind Foresight letting her dodge and eviscerate him easily. She didn¡¯t even look at the names or which god the champions she slew served, that didn¡¯t matter. This battle wasn¡¯t real, not in the sense that mattered there would be no permanent death for anyone here. That made her angry, everyone else had to fight and risk death to gain power but the chosen of the gods were given these opportunities to gain power with no risk. A snarl twisted her face as she cut down the last remaining champion from the party of five, he had been an armored mage of some type, but his extra armor hadn¡¯t helped him. The spectral variants of the party now gathered around her. The spectral healer was able to still repair their spirit forms and the knight whose spirit had been filled with holes from the mages attacks was returned to a more solid appearance. More and more champions arrived, brought in by the cries of alarm and the screams of the dying. It was time to leave, she had done her part in causing a distraction and destruction. Regardless of how powerful Mordred thought she was fighting dozens of champions at once over open ground was not something she could do. Guinevere ordered her specters to remain behind and fight until they were destroyed to buy her as much time as she could. With that done she began running back to the tower. --- Mira stood beside Lancelot as they looked over the grassy plains around them. They had found a capture point and had to remain here to capture it. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Lancelot asked. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to pry but you seem¡­ different.¡± ¡°My team lost one its members,¡± Mira said. ¡°The Warlord killed him, after that¡­ it shook my faith.¡± ¡°The Warlord?¡± Lancelot asked. ¡°Guinevere didn¡¯t mention anything about encountering your party.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen Guinevere?¡± Mira asked. ¡°I thought the Warlord had her under his control, he ordered her to stand aside and not interfere when we fought him.¡± ¡°Guinevere is different now,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°A spell might explain it but she¡¯s immune to domination effects, her father made sure of that.¡± Mira shivered and rubbed along her collar bone remembering Guinevere telling them of the enchantment engraved into her bones. ¡°Then I don¡¯t understand how she could just stand by. The Warlord¡­ he wasn¡¯t human in the way he fought. I saw his flesh stripped down to the bone and he kept moving as if his entrails weren¡¯t hanging out of his stomach.¡± ¡°Could be a berserker skill,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen those,¡± Mira said. ¡°This was different, it was as if he didn¡¯t feel any pain at all. His weapon was something else also, it was made of crimson lighting and had a growl like beast. Whenever he swung it it turned into a scream.¡± ¡°What rank was he?¡± Lancelot asked. ¡°Under four hundred,¡± Mira said. ¡°We were all higher ranks than him, but it didn¡¯t matter. I saw him fight before against Guinevere it was brutal swings but no real skill or training; when we fought him it was like he was a different person.¡± ¡°What will you do if we see him again,¡± Lancelot said. Mira¡¯s fingers tightened around her bow, her knuckles turning white from the force of it. ¡°I¡¯m going to get some payback.¡± Chapter 106: The Fujiwara Effect As much as he would have liked to go after the Warlord, Arthur knew it wasn¡¯t in the best interest of his kingdom. If he saw him, he¡¯d kill him, but he couldn¡¯t waste his time tracking one man down. He was here to get stronger and that meant increasing his faction¡¯s score. When they did find the Warlord, he was ready for him. He pulled up the description of his Divine ability.
Heroic Blade (Rank 50): You issue a challenge against a single target if they do not accept to duel you one-on-one, they will take x10 damage from all your attacks for the next hour. Your attributes increase by 10 per second while in a duel until your Attributes they are equal to 175% of your opponent¡¯s Attributes.
Increases your attack speed by x2 stacking for every 15 seconds that passes in the duel.
You gain an increased resistance to debuffs, curses and poisons for every 5 seconds that passes in a duel.
You gain an increased resistance to debuffs, curses & poisons for every 5 seconds that passes in a duel.
You gain a stacking damage resistance for every wound you receive in the duel (ends once the duel is over)
Each of your attacks blesses your weapon with a stacking augment dealing a minor amount of Holy damage to your opponent.
Opponents who refuse the challenge also have their Toughness reduced by 25% and gain vulnerability to Holy damage.
Reduces the backlash you receive from loss of Attributes at the end of the duel by 25%.
Max Rank Bonus: Upon defeating an opponent, you are restored from half the damage taken as well as half your Stamina and Mana spent during the duel.
With this ability he could face nearly any creature of his rank, fighting creature of higher tiers than himself was always risky, this effect wasn¡¯t like an enchantment that boosted your attributes. Every time he used this ability it was like ranking up, without the pain at least, but it meant that if his attributes went beyond what they should be for his rank he would suffer. Also, when the duel ended all that excess strength disappeared leaving him in a crashed state, which was why he needed a party to watch his back after duels. He and a group of four others he¡¯d put together were racing across the battlefield now, he wasn¡¯t exactly sure if he trusted them all to watch his back, but he had picked them for other reasons. His breath heaved as he plowed forward, while he had excellent Endurance It was times like this where Arthur really wanted a summons for a mount. They reached a point that their scout had marked with one of their abilities. They reached the capture point and looked down at a smooth black crater. ¡°What happened?¡± the scout asked, she was an archer and the Champion of Meresha, the goddess of Seers and Oracles. ¡°This was a hill half an hour ago, it had the ruins of a stone tower on it.¡±
This capture point has been destroyed and can no longer be utilized to gain Event points.
¡°You can destroy capture points?¡± Hornar asked. ¡°Apparently,¡± Arthur said grinding his teeth. ¡°But who would do that?¡± Hornar asked. ¡°The Warlord,¡± Ammerila said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen him shift stone like this before, he¡¯s just one man and knows that. He can¡¯t hold all these capture points, but he can stop us from doing so too.¡± Arthur looked at the Assassin, she was as deadly as she was beautiful, and he knew it. He had taken her into his party for one reason, she wanted to kill the Warlord. While he didn¡¯t trust her, he did trust that. They would be enemies again when this Event was over but for now, they had a common enemy. He looked away from the pale skin of her face and gentle smirk that curved her lips. It was hard to believe that the living embodiment of murder could have such a gentle face, but he had to keep reminding himself of that. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Kay asked. Kay was the only one in the party that Arthur had full confidence in. ¡°We keep going,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Either we find a capture point, or we run into the Warlord; I¡¯ll consider either outcome a victory.¡± --- I lowered my hand for the hundredth time as I finished destroying another capture point.
Capture point destroyed; no points gained.
Teleporting into the air I oriented myself, spinning around in a circle as I fell back to the earth but not before catching sight of another likely capture point. I wasn¡¯t sure how many of these things there were, but based on what I¡¯d seen so far there were no more than two or three per square mile. I¡¯d started as close as I could to the side I¡¯d entered the Event, Arthur wouldn¡¯t be finding any capture points near him. Hitting the ground hard I rolled to disperse the force of my impact, it still rattled my body, but my body was supernaturally reinforced. I still had a third of the battlefield left to go over, it had been two hours and though I hadn¡¯t seen anyone else yet, I was sure I would soon. Some of these capture points would be occupied and it would be up to me to evict their current tenants. Reaching the next capture point I raised my hand. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said. It took me less than a minute to destroy the capture point.
Capture point destroyed; no points gained.
My work done I was off again teleporting into the air to find my next target. I spotted one and dropped to the ground. I thought I¡¯d caught a glimpse of movement; I might have my first fight for the day soon. Racing across the ground I teleported to the side as something whizzed past my head. It wasn¡¯t an arrow, too small for that. I kept moving and my Foresight warned me of another attack. Rolling, it went over my head, but my enhanced perception caught a glimpse of the bullet. ¡°Who brings a gun into a fantasy setting?¡± I asked. Springing forward I continued to close the distance twisting to the side as another bullet brushed past my torso. ¡°I mean it¡¯s not like they¡¯re more powerful than any other weapon,¡± I said rolling forward again. ¡°And we have spells that can far exceed what even the US military could do.¡± Are you talking to us? Karnen asked. I think he was just musing aloud, Aries said, while instead he should be focusing on the fight. How many of them do you sense Voidra? Just five, Voidra said. They¡¯re pretty calm right now, they have no idea what¡¯s about to him them. Teleporting forward I was at the top of the hill. A spear thrust forward and spun to the side letting it pass me. Another bullet shot at me from point blank range, Clarent was out in a heartbeat the stands of lightning catching the bullet turning it into molten slag and then flinging it up into the air. ¡°Your lightning sword is impressive,¡± a gruff voice said. I focused on the speaker; he carried a shield and a heavy warhammer its shaft made of blue crystal. He wore dark silver chainmail and Nordic style helmet and fur mantle around his shoulders. He would have looked very human accept for the dark raven wings that emerged from his back. Our battle paused for a moment as we surveyed eachother and his party organized themselves better to face me. I analyzed the man, reading his description.
Itzal the Thunderbringer, Champion of Hundar; Gifted- humanoid/seraphim, Veteran, Rank: 517
¡°I am Itzal, the Champion of Hundar, the god of Storms and Lightning,¡± Itzal said. ¡°I am Mordred, the Champion of Kelesa, the goddess of War and Conquest,¡± I said, this seemed like some sort of ritual we had to do even if we could read the others description. ¡°Ah!¡± Itzal said seeming excited. ¡°You¡¯re the Warlord I have heard so much about?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t realize I was famous,¡± I said shrugging. ¡°Perhaps not you but your legend of what you can become,¡± Itzal alleged. ¡°It is my comrades honor to fight you, I apologize if we won¡¯t hold back.¡± ¡°Apology accepted, please accept mine in return,¡± I said readying myself. ¡°Excellent,¡± Itzal said. A torrent of gunshots rang out, the champion who held the gun had turned it from a sniper rifle into a machine gun. A dozen spears stabbed up from the earth and a lightning bolt fell down from the heavens. I was already incorporeal, the bullets and spears passing through me harmlessly and the lightning only stinging me slightly. Rushing forward the spectral version of Clarent screamed like a banshee as I brought it down in heavy swing. The spear wielding champion made the mistake of trying to block instead of dodge and the phantom blade passed through his weapon and he screamed as the soul damage ravaged his spirit. The gunslinger ejected his magazine. ¡°Spectral rounds,¡± he said sliding in a replacement and unleashing another salvo of bullets into me. These bullet did real damage punching holes through my spectral frame. I materialized and teleported away. Appearing behind the groups support I grabbed the startled man by the shoulder and rammed Clarent through his back twisting and slicing up along his spine. He collapsed to the ground as a burning corpse, and I spun blocking another spear strike aimed for my chest. The healer had gone down easy but that was to be expected, it was the fault I had found with this world¡¯s away of doing things. Sure, the holy trinity of healer, tank and dps worked in games but we were all combatants trying to reach the top. If you couldn¡¯t do all three yourself than you had already admitted, you were never going to win.
35 rank points gained.
The spear wielder blocked a retaliatory strike from me stepping back to gain space as he stabbed at the unarmored sections of my body. The bullets continued to ping off my armor and dig into my skin. They burned like burning balls of plasma as they connected with my skin, but I barely noticed the pain. Foresight warned me and I rolled to the side as Itzal plunged down his hammer hitting the ground sending out a shockwave. He and the spear wielder flanked me gripping Clarent in both hands I extended its other blade. Catching the spear with one side I ducked a strike from the hammer twisting to striking towards Itzal¡¯s chest. ¡°Your fast,¡± Itzal said. ¡°But let¡¯s see if you can outpace lightning. Storm Strike.¡± A bolt of lightning hit me from the sky, nearly driving me to my knees.
You are stunned for the next five minutes, reduced by Troll Hide to 5 seconds.
The spear wielder lunged forward activating an ability of his own. ¡°Ignore armor,¡± he snapped out. The head of the spear rammed through the left side of my chest through my heart. He yanked it out with a pleased look on his face. The stun wore off and I still stood there, my body smoking with Black Rage and burning flesh from the lightning bolt. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°That the best you got?¡± I asked, spitting out the blood from my lungs. ¡°Let me show you what a real storm looks like.¡± Red lightning races across the hilltop, Itzal was unfazed by it, but his campions were not. The gunslinger and spear wielder were not aside the gunslinger shuddered as he was affected by the stun effect. Thanks to Clarent I didn¡¯t have to say the activation phrase freeing me up to unleash another ability instead. A howling scream tore from my throat as I unleashed Helheim¡¯s Scream. The torrent of bullets had stopped, and the spear wielder was running as he failed to resist the Panic effect. Itzal¡¯s hammer came at me in a fast series of attacks as he pressed forward seeming to have resisted most if not all of the effects. I switched Clarent from its double-bladed form back to a single blade as I blocked and dodged the strikes from the hammer. Despite its greater weight the hammer moved incredibly fast, with every swing a jet of electricity shot out from the back of the hammer propelling it forward faster. The strikes seemed to grow faster and faster with each subsequent attack. Clarent slashed across his chainmail heating up the links to a bright red, but he gave no reaction as the electricity arced across his body. Gunfire sounded off again as bullets tore into me like a swarm of hornets. Iztal¡¯s hammer swung down onto empty air as appeared before the gunslinger. He blocked Clarent with the barrel of his riffle, but my attacks came thick and fast and he quickly fell back under them. Itzal rushed into assist his party member the hammer swinging down for the back of my head. I spun to the side grabbing the gunslinger by the front of his armor yanking him forward directly into the path of the hammer. A heavy thud sounded as the side of the gunslinger¡¯s helmet was dented in. I didn¡¯t get a notification for rank points, so he was still alive, but not for much longer as he collapsed unconscious to the ground. I extended Clarent¡¯s blade into its greatsword form and brought it down. The gunslinger, unlike Itzal, was not immune to lightning and the blade split him at his midsection.
36 rank points gained.
That killing strike had cost me as Itzal¡¯s hammer hit me full on in the chest and I heard and dimly felt several ribs crack from the force of it. I flew back a dozen yards rolling down the hill. Itzal flew after me his raven wings spreading out as he landed over me. I was dazed as he reached down grabbing me by the front of my pauldrons and then launching us both into the air. My hands grabbed him around the throat as he flew higher and higher until we were both struggling to breathe with how thin the air was, and he struggled to breath as I tried to choke the life out of him. He headbutted me knocking me back enough to loosen my grip on his throat but not enough to dislodge me and send me falling to the ground below. The clouds around us began to darken and thicken swirling around us. ¡°You will taste the wrath of the storm,¡± Itzal promised me. ¡°I¡¯ve already eaten one storm,¡± I retorted beckoning him forward with one hand. ¡°Bring it Thor wannabe.¡± Lighting struck us both, you could see my bones through my skin as the electricity passed through us both. Itzal was mostly unaffected by it apart from his clothes beginning to burn. I managed to pass the Toughness check to resist being stunned by it but my body was not having a good time. Another bolt hit me and then another. I wanted to rip him apart with my claws, but I was having a hard enough time maintaining a grip as at it was. He headbutted me and I snapped my head back and hit him in turn our helmets colliding over and over sending a ringing through my ears. ¡°Just die,¡± Itzal growled. He began swooping and diving through the storm trying to throw me off as we struck by bolt after bolt of lightning. The storm seemed to be a construct of his rather than a natural phenomenon since I got no mana increases, I was struck by lightning bolt after lightning bolt. I held on for dear life as he bucked and struck at me with his hammer trying to throw me off. My left hand slipped, and I nearly went fly but rotated my body around. I got one leg around his neck and clamped down. Itzal began to choke and wheeze, his movements becoming more and more frantic as he struggled to throw me off. I didn¡¯t relent squeezing with my leg more and more until at last I heard a crunch as I broke his trachea.
34 rank points gained
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 4,433 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Storm Fall (Rank 1): He who wields the storm need not fear it. Wreathes your body in lightning giving you Moderate damage resistance to lighting and dealing Minor lightning damage to anyone who strikes you with a melee attack while active.
Cost: 4 mana per second while active.
Upgrade this ability to increases damage resistance to lightning and damage dealt to melee attackers. Each rank increases your Mind by 1.
My enemy was dead, but I was still several miles in the air. My cape flared back as I and Itzal¡¯s corpse plummeted down through the air. I needed a solution to survive, and I needed it five minutes ago. ¡°Raise Storm Fall to rank twenty and do it now!¡± I snapped at the system. My mind began to go dark as I was overloaded as my Mind attribute began to increase faster than was safe.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank five, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ The amount of lighting damage your attackers will take when hitting you is doubled.
¡¤ You deal extra lighting damage with all your attacks.
¡¤ Reduces the amount of damage you take from falling.
While the other effects were good, I needed the third one; I selected it immediately. I opened my eyes and saw the ground coming in closer and closer, I maybe had seconds before I would hit if this ability didn¡¯t finish its upgrade in time.
Storm Fall (Rank 5): He who wields the storm need not fear it. Wreathes your body in lightning giving you Major damage resistance to lighting and dealing Moderate lightning damage to anyone who strikes you with a melee attack while active.
When you hit the ground hard enough to do damage to yourself you can expend mana to reduce the damage. 10 mana to reduce minor damage, 20 mana to reduce moderate damage, 40 mana to reduce major damage, 80 mana to reduce severe damage, 160 mana to reduce extreme, 320 mana to reduce divine damage. Your impact than deals damage equal to the damage you would have sustained in a 30ft radius from your impact point.
Cost: 6 mana per second while active.
Upgrade this ability to increases damage resistance to lightning and damage dealt to melee attackers. Each rank increases your Mind by 1.
Dust and dirt billowed out around me, and I lost over three-hundred points of mana. I climbed out of the crater I had formed spitting out a wad of dirt from my mouth. A spear lunged towards my face, I grabbed it yanking him forward and cut off his hands with Clarent. Then I swung from the hip and took off his head letting it roll off into the grass as I tossed the body into the crater behind me. The battle had been rough, and I¡¯d survived mostly by luck, but I wasn¡¯t done with my work for the day. I dismissed the next few notifications as if I finished ranking up this ability.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank ten, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ You will deal lightning damage to those who strike you with ranged attacks.
¡¤ Your body is wreathed in lightning increasing your speed slightly while this ability active.
¡¤ You gain the ability to fly briefly.
The first ability had potential letting me do damage to all attackers near and far. The second one wasn¡¯t a bad effect but I wasn¡¯t having trouble moving faster so I dismissed it for now. The third ability was the game changer, not only would this ability let me ignore fall damage but it would also let me fly, I could teleport and move faster than a supercar but flight was something I didn¡¯t have access to and I needed it.
Storm Fall (Rank 10): He who wields the storm need not fear it. Wreathes your body in lightning giving you Major damage resistance to lighting and dealing Moderate lightning damage to anyone who strikes you with a melee attack while active.
When you hit the ground hard enough to do damage to yourself you can expend mana to reduce the damage. 10 mana to reduce minor damage, 20 mana to reduce moderate damage, 40 mana to reduce major damage, 80 mana to reduce severe damage, 160 mana to reduce extreme, 320 mana to reduce divine damage. Your impact than deals damage equal to the damage you would have sustained in a 40ft radius from your impact point.
You can expend 15 mana to launch yourself 150ft through the air. You can hover in the air for the cost of an extra 2 mana per second.
Cost: 10 mana per second while active.
Upgrade this ability to increases damage resistance to lightning and damage dealt to melee attackers. Each rank increases your Mind by 1.
While I could teleport farther than this ability would let me move, I had a cooldown on that and not on this. Teleportation was also locked out whenever I was in contact with another living creature.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank fifteen, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ You can send out a bolt of lightning as a ranged attack.
¡¤ Your body and spells will deal lighting damage when used to attack while this ability is active.
¡¤ The resistance this ability gives to lightning damage is doubled.
The first ability was out, I already had a ranged lighting attack, and this ability wasn¡¯t devoted to this effect so this one wouldn¡¯t even be that powerful. The second one had more potential, I didn¡¯t intend on it happening, but a lot of my battles ended with me grappling with my opponent so dealing more damage when that happened would be useful. The third option made the second one the only good choice, I already had a title that let me reduce lighting damage, that stacked with this ability would make me immune to the damage type, so I didn¡¯t need to increase it further.
Storm Fall (Rank 15): He who wields the storm need not fear it. Wreathes your body in lightning giving you Major damage resistance to lighting and dealing Moderate lightning damage to anyone who strikes you with a melee attack while active.
When you hit the ground hard enough to do damage to yourself you can expend mana to reduce the damage. 10 mana to reduce minor damage, 20 mana to reduce moderate damage, 40 mana to reduce major damage, 80 mana to reduce severe damage, 160 mana to reduce extreme, 320 mana to reduce divine damage. Your impact than deals damage equal to the damage you would have sustained in a 50ft radius from your impact point.
You can expend 30 mana to launch yourself 300ft through the air. You can hover in the air for the cost of an extra 2 mana per second.
Your unarmed attacks deal Minor Lightning damage, and your Lightning spells deal a Minor amount of extra Lightning damage.
Cost: 14 mana per second while active.
Upgrade this ability to increases damage resistance to lightning and damage dealt to melee attackers. Each rank increases your Mind by 1.
The upgrade said spells not abilities so I didn¡¯t think it would affect Chain Lighting. I didn¡¯t often have need of spells, but I guess the option was good. I dismissed the next few notifications getting to the upgrade options for the next effect.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank twenty, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Stun effects have a chance of not applying to you.
¡¤ Your lightning abilities will deal increased damage.
¡¤ You will deal lightning damage in a radius upon impact with the ground.
These options were all good but the first one like resisting fall damage was the one I needed. While I was immune to lighting damage stun effects were not something I could ignore. Troll Hide reduced the duration of such effects but even five seconds of not being able to defend myself in a fight was a death sentence.
Storm Fall (Rank 20, Max Rank): He who wields the storm need not fear it. Wreathes your body in lightning giving you Major damage resistance to lighting and dealing Moderate lightning damage to anyone who strikes you with a melee attack while active.
When you hit the ground hard enough to do damage to yourself you can expend mana to reduce the damage. 10 mana to reduce minor damage, 20 mana to reduce moderate damage, 40 mana to reduce major damage, 80 mana to reduce severe damage, 160 mana to reduce extreme, 320 mana to reduce divine damage. Your impact than deals damage equal to the damage you would have sustained in a 60ft radius from your impact point.
You can expend 60 mana to launch yourself 600ft through the air. You can hover in the air for the cost of an extra 2 mana per second.
Your unarmed attacks deal Moderate Lightning damage, and your Lightning spells deal a Moderate amount of extra Lightning damage.
Stun effects on you have a 50% chance of having no effect.
Max Rank Bonus: Lightning damage used on you increases your movement speed by 50%.
Cost: 14 mana per second while active.
Upgrade this ability to increases damage resistance to lightning and damage dealt to melee attackers. Each rank increases your Mind by 1.
I flexed my hands activating the ability and watching as arc of electricity traveled across my body. I smiled under my helmet as I looked to the sky and launched myself through the air my body seeming to transform into a bolt of lighting as I flew through the air. I had more control points to destroy. Hitting the ground atop the hill I¡¯d been battling for control of I sent out a cloud of dust and dirt. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said. Leaving behind another crater I took to the skies. I intended to win this event and I had work to do. Chapter 107: Nemesis Blades Guinevere raced over the plains the champions hot on her heels. She skidded to a stop as she reached the bridge spanning the chasm to the tower. Turning around she planted her feet and prepared to fight. She checked her timers in the corner of her vision, Curse Crown had one minute left on its cooldown before she could use it again. She¡¯d led her pursuers on a chase zigzagging and back tracking across the plains. She¡¯d ambushed a few groups dealing casualties here and there. She had twelve specters under her control now and they hovered in the air around her. An arrow buzzed past her face as she tilted her head to the side. Letting its fletching zip through her hair. Six burly men in heavy armor and assorted weapons charged her position raising her hands she fixated on the ground in front of them. ¡°Fridged Thorns,¡± she said. Red and black vines grew from the ground ensnaring and tripping them as they ran past fires igniting across their bodies and clothing as the thorns dug in. Signaling them Guinevere sent her specters to deal with the entangled champions as she deflected three arrows with her sword. Guinevere didn¡¯t have a good way to deal with ranged attackers, it was one of the weak points in her abilities. She envied Mordred¡¯s numerous ranged area attacks but she also knew he¡¯d put himself in life and death fights to get those. Fights like the one she was in now. Teleporting behind the burning net of thorns she dived into her ranged assailants. Teleportation abilities were not uncommon, but they were all different, having different effects and limitations; hers would create an icy point of damage and slowing effect in the area she disappeared from. With the enchantments she was wearing that ice effect was now converted into a blazing inferno. A hammer glanced off her breastplate, but her retaliatory strike was much more effective. ¡°Agonizing Strike,¡± she whispered as she slashed across the man¡¯s face. She only managed to graze his cheek, but he fell back screaming as if she had plunged it into a vat of acid. Ducking, she dodged the thrust from a halberd. Sliding under the weapons shaft she rammed her sword up through the stomach of the woman who had just attacked her. Her sword¡¯s edge blazed with fire as it went through the woman¡¯s kidney and up into her heart. Ripping out her sword Guinevere let the dying woman drop as she spun blocking the strike of an axe to her back that would have felled an oak. ¡°Mirror Block,¡± Guinevere muttered. The damage she would have taken was instead transferred and reflected back through the weapon into the hands of the axe wielder. He dropped his axe as every bone in his hands shattered as the perfectly timed counter ability turned the force of his own ability enhanced strike against him. An attacker blazed forward their body glowing with silver light as they moved with a speed Guinevere could barely follow. ¡°Bypassing Blade,¡± the blur said. A sword rammed through the right side of Guinevere¡¯s chest, and she staggered back. The blur stopped moving revealing a smug looking woman with a long silver rapier. ¡°I don¡¯t know how someone who isn¡¯t a champion got into here,¡± she said. ¡°But even if you¡¯re a rank above us you should have known better than to pit yourself against a champion. We are your betters, chosen by the gods themselves.¡± ¡°You talk too much,¡± Guinevere said lunging forward. ¡°Royal Blade, Curse Crown.¡± The woman expression changed from smug to shock as Guinevere tackled her to the ground. Mordred hadn¡¯t been the only one to gain titles while they were underground. After surviving the assassination attempt against her thanks to Mordred, Guinevere had gotten the infamous title, Survivor III.
Survivor III: You are resistant to death itself proving over and over again that you have what it takes to continue; mortal wounds are less effective on you and require damage stages three higher to occur.
Purple flames coursed along the woman¡¯s body as Guinevere¡¯s sword plunged into her shoulder. Guinevere ripped it out and while the woman was still screaming and disoriented by the pain brought the glowing sword around to decapitate her.
43 rank points gained.
Ability Gained, Void Beam (Rank 1): Channeling the utter oblivion of the void you create a beam from your hand 1ft wide and 30ft long dealing Moderate Void damage to any creature struck by it. The void beam persists for as long as you continue to channel it and will follow the direction of your hand.
Cost: 1 mana per second. Cast Time: Instantaneous
Upgrade this ability to increase the range, width, and damage of the beam. Each rank of this ability increases your Mind attribute by 1.
A grin spread across the visible section of Guinevere¡¯s face. She hadn¡¯t understood what Mordred had meant about dancing on the edge of death, but she was starting to. She had risked death before but there had always been others as a safety net to fall back on if she faltered, now it was just her. Heart pounding with fear, adrenaline and excitement, her gaze turned to her next victim. She had work to do. --- Clarent pierced through the back of the archer as I dispatched the last of the trio atop the hill. The last two capture points I¡¯d come to had been occupied, there were still more out there but I was out of clear targets now. Turning to the west, I looked at the tower on the horizon. My vision telescoped in and I could see flashes of light as abilities were discharged. Guinevere must have fallen back to the tower as planned. The other capture points would have to wait; I needed to help Guinevere defend our own capture point. I had faith in her, but enough Champions would overrun anyone. Turning to the sky I launched myself into the air, I teleported three hundred feet forward than darted forward with Storm Fall again as I shot towards the tower. Hovering in the air above the tower I spotted a group of champions launching various ranged attacks towards Guinevere. Guinevere was fighting off the attacks of five melee attackers assisted by what looked like wraiths. She looked like she had the melee fighters taken care of, so I focused on the group of archers and mages. I used Storm Fall not to move up but to divebomb the ground. I expended a hundred-and-sixty mana to reduce the Extreme fall damage to zero my impact sent out a blast of force dealing that same Extreme damage I had avoided to the archers and mages. They were sent flying and I raised my hand blasting their still flying bodies with crimson electricity.
224 rank points gained from multiple kills.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 4,449 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
A scream tore from my throat as I unleashed a combination of Helheim¡¯s Scream and Voice of the Chasm blasting a group of men charging me back through the air. I advanced on the staggered and prone figures ready to finish them off. Black smoke billowed off my body from the few dozen stacks of Black Rage I¡¯d gained from that single attack. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Mordred!¡± a voice rang out. I froze and turned, seeing Arthur standing there his greatsword in hand as he stood thirty yards away from me. He wore a long flowing scarf around his shoulders, and it blew back in a sudden breeze. ¡°Face me,¡± Arthur shouted.
You have been given a Challenge, refusing the challenge will increase the damage dealt to you by the challenger by x10 for the next hour, reduce your Toughness Attribute by 25% and give you vulnerability to Holy damage. If you accept the challenge, you can only attack the target. Any attack that you make that strikes another target will break the challenge resulting in the above penalties occurring. If any allied creature that jumps into assist you will break the challenge resulting in you being penalized, any rival creature that assist the challenger will break the Challenge with no ill effect towards you; third party interference will have no effect. Accept Challenge? Yes/No
¡°Yes,¡± I said. Clarent snapped into my hands from my belt, I didn¡¯t extend the blade yet slowly approaching Arthur as we began to circle each other. Arthur staggered for a moment, his eyes flashing with surprise and pain but he collected himself almost instantaneously. I filed that away for later consideration as I focused on the here and now. ¡°That was a clever trick with the capture points,¡± Arthur said his voice sounding strained for some reason. ¡°I¡¯m full of tricks,¡± I answered. Excalibur swung for me and I stood my ground the crimson lightning of Clarent¡¯s blade springing forth to meet the azure edge of Excalibur. I shifted my weight and angled Clarent to require as little force as possible to counter and redirect the incoming strike. Arthur¡¯s eyes narrowed behind his helmet as he studied me. ¡°That fighting style¡­¡± he said. ¡°I recognize it.¡± ¡°Guinevere taught me,¡± I said shifting my weight and launching a quick series of jabs and thrust towards him, he blocked three but two got past his guard Clarent clashing off his breastplate as I tested his defenses. It was definitely an artifact; likely every other piece of his armor was as well. ¡°Why would she help her enemy?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°What did you do to her?¡± I let out a sigh. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything to Guinevere, we signed a blood pact¡­¡± ¡°You forced her into a blood pact!¡± Arthur snarled unleashing a trio of attacks against me. ¡°You can¡¯t force anyone into a blood pact,¡± I said blocking his first two attacks and countering and reposting third. Clarent buzzed past the gap between Arthur¡¯s neck and helmet, but he managed to twist out of the way in time. ¡°There are many ways to coerce someone into them,¡± Arthur said slashing out at me from a dozen directions as I took a step back parrying and blocking each of them. ¡°Your one to talk,¡± I snapped back. ¡°Your father requires everyone to give him blood pacts to ensure their loyalty.¡± ¡°They have a choice to do that,¡± Arthur said he stepped in close hitting me with his shoulder as he tried to bowl me over. I showed him the difference between the ridged stand your ground of the Camelot style and my fluid maneuverability. I slashed out at his thigh then went for his neck, but he blocked both attempts. ¡°Hypocrisy is always so hard to recognize in oneself,¡± I said. ¡°You don¡¯t think a king demanding you sign something is coercive?¡± ¡°They have a choice,¡± Arthur said. ¡°That¡¯s more than I can say for those under your Dominion, your ability gives you the power to enslave the minds of those you conquer.¡± His sword strikes came in pounding against my defenses, with every passing second his attacks seemed to be hitting harder and his body moved faster. Harsh laughter spilled from my lips. ¡°You don¡¯t even understand what Dominion does, I don¡¯t enslave anyone¡¯s minds. I¡¯m not some puppeteer, I give an order and if they disobey, they feel tremendous pain. The truth is if they could endure that pain, I would have no power over them. They could kill themselves to be free of it, they simply lack the will and choose servitude and obedience over death and freedom.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll say anything to justify your actions,¡± Arthur said. ¡°If that isn¡¯t the pot calling the kettle black,¡± I said teleporting behind him in an attempt to sneak attack him. ¡°You know when we first met, I thought my feelings on you might have been biased from jealousy. I¡¯m happy to report that I¡¯m going to feel no remorse from killing you.¡± ¡°The feeling is mutual,¡± Arthur said spinning around to easily block my attack. Our blades strained against each other as we tried to shove the other person off balance. Lightning from Clarent crawled across the metal of Excalibur blade and azure light shone bright from the spot where the two blades touched. There was an explosion and the two of us were tossed apart. Shaking my head to clear it of the ringing I read the notification in my vision.
The psudosentience of you and your opponent¡¯s artifact swords have recognized their wielders hatred for each other. They have become each other¡¯s nemesis, no one person may ever wield both these blades at the same time, and they will refuse to fight alongside the wielder. The swords will deal double damage against the wielder of their nemesis.
¡°It seems our swords are in agreement with us,¡± I said standing. Arthur stood shaking the dirt and dust off his armor. A look of pure hatred shone from his eyes, I wasn¡¯t exactly sure what it was about me and him but there was just something about him I couldn¡¯t stand. Maybe it was the fact he was stealing Guinevere from me, or maybe I just saw to much of myself in him. Whatever it was I knew now for a fact that peace between us had never been an option. I was starting to breathe heavier, I had almost unlimited mana, but my stamina pool was normal for someone of my rank. Normally refilling it wouldn¡¯t be a problem with Magma Heart(s) but I hadn¡¯t inflicted a single wound on Arthur and I couldn¡¯t attack anyone else to refill my resources. My strength was in my massive amount of mana, so I had to try and use that. Rolling away from another attack I lifted a boulder off a nearby hill and launched it at Arthur like a missile. Arthur slashed out with Excalibur turning the boulder to rock dust as he pursued me relentlessly as I backed away grabbing boulders and rocks ranging from the size of milk jugs to plow horses. Arthur either ignored them letting them shatter against his armor or turning them to harmless powder with his sword. His armor was too durable, so I tried something else. ¡°Phantom Form,¡± I said surging forward in my incorporeal form. A spectral version of Clarent swung down on Arthur passing through his armor. Arthur let out a scream but that turned into a roar as a bust of golden light burst from him in a ring spreading out. When the light touched my incorporeal form, it felt like I¡¯d decided to swing from a power line. I was shocked out of my spectral form back into physicality and barely avoided being impaled by Excalibur. ¡°You¡¯ve already lost, Mordred,¡± Arthur said stalking forward bringing Excalibur forward in a lighting fast downward slash. I narrowly slipped to the side my own counterattack easily blocked. ¡°History has already been written here, you¡¯re the dragon and I¡¯m the hero. It¡¯s a tale as old as time and we already know how it ends.¡± I let loose a roar unleashing Voice of the Chasm. Arthur slammed Excalibur into the ground to anchor him in place as the force of my voice tried to send him flying. He pulled it out and continued to advance on me, his steps sure and his body conveying nothing but confidence. ¡°The hero doesn¡¯t always win against the dragon,¡± I said striding forward to match his confidence. ¡°They just don¡¯t write about him when he loses!¡± Clarent swung down towards Arthur. I teleported around him at the last second Foresight warning me of the instantly fatal attack that would have killed me. I doubled my Speed attribute with my boots. Arthur¡¯s next slash, which had been too fast to follow just a moment before collided with Clarent as I brought it around to block. I was fast enough to face him again, but his strength was growing with every passing moment. I could only hope he would run out of resources soon because his power seemed limitless. Arthur was breathing harder, and I could see sweat dripping down from under his helmet, but he gave no signs of slowing down. I shot into the air with Storm Fall, I didn¡¯t need to say its activation phrase since it was a lightning ability and one of Clarent¡¯s enchantments letting me use those by thought alone. I pointed down at Arthur with my left hand. There were lots of targets in the area so I had to spend a massive amount of mana to make sure I wouldn¡¯t hit any of them as I unleashed Chain Lighting against my single target. Arthur blocked the lightning with his sword but some of it still traveled up his arm. He looked up at me hovering a hundred feet above him. ¡°Gryphon¡¯s Flight!¡± he snapped his body blurring through the air as he flew above me. ¡°Comet Strike!¡± He hit me and we both fell back to the earth. I felt my ribs crack and break from the force, I had negated the fall damage, but I had still taken the brunt of Arthur¡¯s attack as we created a crater in the earth. Arthur stood up and planted a boot on my chest pinning me down. I slashed at his leg with Clarent, but he kicked out knocking its hilt out of my hand and breaking my wrist before slamming his armored boot back into my chest. ¡°This is where you end,¡± Arthur said coldly. Excalibur slashed down and everything went dark. --- Arthur breathed out heavily and staggered backwards yanking off his helmet and vomiting. The sudden rush of power he felt when he¡¯d activated Heroic Blade had been overwhelming, the Warlord was a madman to have one of his attributes that high while still in Veteran rank. He hadn¡¯t been prepared for the agonizing increase to his Spirit attribute as he matched Mordred¡¯s highest attribute at the start of the duel. It had put him off balance for a while but as the other attributes rose, he had breathed easier. He sagged as the backlash from losing all that strength hit him. He looked up and saw a woman in dark black armor with a halo of magenta flames floating above her and a wave of scarlet hair flowing out under her helmet. She stood over the body of Mordred surveying the red slash through his neck that had nearly taken off his head entirely. ¡°You killed him,¡± she said her voice emotionless. ¡°Yes,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry he¡¯s enslaved you; I hope one day to be able to free you.¡± ¡°Do not speak as if you understand,¡± the woman snapped her eyes snapping up to meet his. Arthur flinched back from the fury and wrath he felt fixated on him. ¡°There is someone who holds me in chains, but it is not Mordred,¡± she said. ¡°He¡¯s the only one whose ever given me any freedom.¡± ¡°You serve him willingly?¡± Arthur asked heat rising in his voice. ¡°Gladly,¡± she said surging forwards. Kay¡¯s blade and shield stepped in to protect Arthur as he took a guard position in front of him. She knocked him aside her feet striking the shield sending him flying as she landed in front of Arthur. He tried to block but he knew he was already dead; he was still suffering the weakness of all his attributes dropping and she was a rank above him. Her swords shot outwards piercing him through the neck and spine. He dropped to the ground lifeless only dozen paces from where he had killed the Warlord. Chapter 108: The Necromancer and the Thief My eyes snapped open, and I sucked in a breath, the sight of Excalibur coming down on my neck fresh in my mind. I jerked up from where I had been lying on the stone in the center of the tower. My body seemed fuzzy as if I wasn¡¯t fully real. It slowly faded and felt normal once again and slowly stood the racing of my hearts slowly fading. I felt arms wrap around me and nearly flipped out before I realized it was Guinevere. I stopped myself from attacking on instinct realizing I may not have calmed down as much as I thought. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯ll be fine,¡± I said hesitantly. ¡°How long was I¡­ gone.¡± ¡°About five hours,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°After you and Arthur died the rest of them retreated aways.¡± ¡°Arthur died?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Guinevere said, her voice hardening. ¡°I made sure of it.¡± ¡°He seemed to get stronger the longer we fought,¡± I said. ¡°Do you know what the reason for that?¡± Guinevere sighed. ¡°I forget you¡¯re not a native. He¡¯s the Duelist, Viviane is the goddess of Duelist¡¯s and Honor; her divine ability she grants to her champions is called Hero¡¯s blade. The longer he¡¯s in a fight against a single opponent the stronger he grows, sort of the opposite of you actually.¡± ¡°Good to know,¡± I said rubbing my neck. ¡°Does it have any limitations or other effects I should know about?¡± ¡°It instantly raises one of his attributes to equal his opponents highest attribute,¡± she said. ¡°Ah,¡± I said coming to a realization. ¡°That¡¯s why he looked so pained at the start of the fight, his Spirit attribute went much higher than he was expecting; I¡¯m actually impressed he handled it that well.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Guinevere asked her brows furrowing. ¡°How high is your Spirit attribute?¡± ¡°One-hundred-and-forty-one,¡± I said. ¡°What!¡± Guinevere shouted at me. ¡°You idiot! Why would you raise your Spirit to Exarch levels while still only a Veteran.¡± That¡¯s what I said, Karnen muttered in my head. ¡°It was an accident,¡± I said defensively. ¡°How do you accidentally raise one of your attributes?¡± she asked exasperated. ¡°I was nearly dead after one of my abilities and got an option to combine two abilities, one of them and didn¡¯t realize I¡¯d be getting twenty points of Spirit if I did it.¡± ¡°Sometimes you¡¯re like a newborn,¡± Guinevere sighed. ¡°How did you even survive that?¡± ¡°The spirits inhabiting me helped,¡± I said tapping my chest. Guinevere looked slightly uncomfortable as I brought up my passengers. She knew about them, but we hadn¡¯t really ever discussed them much. We were silent for a moment before Exar¡¯kun lumbered forward. ¡°What is the plan now?¡± he asked. ¡°I grow tired of waiting here.¡± ¡°I destroyed most of the strategic points but there are still a few out there,¡± I said. They are likely heavily defended by now, Ares said. ¡°The risk of going after those is to high now,¡± Guinevere said unable to hear Ares. ¡°You only have two lives remaining.¡± ¡°That leaves killing other players and capturing flags,¡± I said. ¡°Speaking of which, where is our flag?¡± ¡°It¡¯s over here,¡± Exar¡¯kun said flicking an object onto the ground in front of us with his tail. ¡°The system materialized it about fifteen minutes after you left.¡± ¡°So, what¡¯s our plan now¡­.¡± Guinevere was asking when a loud horn blew, and a notification appeared in our vision.
This is the end of the first day of the event, rewards will be distributed, and points gathered so far will be tallied and shown.
Points For: Western Side: 3rd Place Eastern Side: 1st Place The Warlord: 2nd Place
Contestants Killed: 55 68 84
Standard Captures: 0 0 0
Standard Rescued: 0 0 0
Standards Held: 0 0 0
Strategic Points Captured: 15 90 15
Strategic Points Defended: 10 50 20
Distributing first round of rewards based on current points gathered.
3 Celestial Oranges (gains +10 permanent attribute points for each one consumed)
2 Ambrosia (boosts regen speed by +10 per second for one resource type.
1 World Heart (epic rarity gemstone, crafting material)
¡°Arthur must not be happy about being in last place,¡± I mused. --- Arthur clenched his fist, only the fact that his gauntlets were artifacts kept the metal from bending in on itself. ¡°How did he beat us?¡± Kay asked. ¡°He out played us,¡± Ammerila said. ¡°We were busy running around looking for capture points while he destroyed them than he lured us all to the center of the battlefield where his higher-ranking vassal could kill as many of us as possible to gather kill points.¡± ¡°I have to agree,¡± Arthur said. ¡°As much as I¡¯d like to go after them if we want to win, we need to focus on gathering more points, we only kill the Warlord when we see him. He wants us to waste time hunting him down. We let him sit in his tower but if he steps out, he¡¯s a dead man.¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. --- ¡°So how are we doing the loot distribution?¡± I asked. ¡°There are three of us and three oranges, so each one of gets one?¡± ¡°Seems fair,¡± Exar¡¯kun said his tongue darting out and snapping up one of the glowing golden oranges that had appeared. ¡°That leaves, two doses of this ambrosia stuff and this gemstone,¡± I said. ¡°I can use the gemstone so I say you two take the ambrosia.¡± ¡°As much as I would like to,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°We aren¡¯t going to be the target here, you need all the strength you can get, I say you take both doses of ambrosia.¡± ¡°I agree,¡± Exar¡¯kun said surprising me. ¡°Why is that?¡± I asked. ¡°System,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°What happens to me and Guinevere if Mordred loses his two remaining lives.
As you are not champions and will lose your sponsor you will be immediately ejected from the Event and lose all rewards not consumed.
¡°Well¡­ I guess I better make sure I don¡¯t die,¡± I said taking both the vials of ambrosia and the gemstone. The vials held a glowing liquids that was a marbled silver and gold, the vial was made of crystal with a crystal stopper. The gemstone was the size of chicken egg, perfectly round and glowed red and orange like the molten core of a planet. It looked like it should be hot but was cool in my hand.
World Heart; Type: Magical Stone, Rarity: Epic, Hardness: 14; A gemstone taken from the heart of a destroyed planet. It hold the ability to contain the energy of an entire planet and will enhance enchantments that utilize heat and fire effects.
Quantity: 1 Weight: .6 lbs.
¡°What¡¯s the plan now?¡± Exar¡¯kun asked. ¡°I guess we kill players, try to destroy the last remaining capture points and maybe grab their teams¡¯ standards,¡± I said with an indifferent shrug. ¡°Um, Mordred,¡± Guinevere said looking at the ground. ¡°Where did our standard go?¡± Looking down sure enough the standard Exar¡¯kun had tossed their moments ago was gone. ¡°Well shit,¡± I said. ¡°New plan, chase down who ever just stole our standard.¡± Using Storm Fall I shot out one of the tower windows. I scanned the few bridges leaving the tower. It was possible the thief could fly but¡­ there he was. I spotted a figure only visible when a ray of sunlight passed through a blur of shadow and smoke. I shot towards the figure hitting the ground and sending out a shockwave. The man nimbly rolled and managed to doge getting hit by the shockwave and knocked off his feet. He tried to run but wasn¡¯t fast enough. As I sped towards him. He rolled again right between my legs jumping to his feet. I took a moment to analyze him.
Quinn, the Fleet Footed, Champion of Orkturn; Gifte- humanoid/human*, Veteran, Rank: 398
¡°So which god is Orkturn?¡± I asked as I circled around him. ¡°Orkturn is the god of thieves and smugglers,¡± Quinn said flashing me a bright white grin under the shadow of the cowl he wore. ¡°One of the best professions there is.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call stealing a profession,¡± I said. ¡°It is if you¡¯re good at it,¡± he said, he had an accent that reminded me of an old-time radio personality. ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t look like you are one of those,¡± I said. ¡°And the penalty for stealing in this world I believe is death.¡± ¡°And how are you going to do that without your sword?¡± Quinn asked, twirling the hilt of Clarent between his fingers. Holding out my hand I gripped Clarent with my Telekinesis and he slapped into the palm of my hand. ¡°Well, I suppose you could do that,¡± Quinn said. ¡°Quick question, have you noticed how there are no more bodies around here anymore?¡± His erratic way of speaking actually threw me for a second and I did suddenly recall seeing no bodies from yesterday¡¯s battle anywhere around us. ¡°Grave Chains,¡± a voice intoned behind me. Spectral chains shot from the dirt wrapping around my feet. I twisted my head to see another man in dark black robes and wearing a feathered headdress of black feathers and carrying a staff topped with an antlered skull.
Jas¡¯trel, the Spirit Catcher, Champion of Mournresh, Gifted- humanoid/bone-fey, Veteran, Rank 445
Of the two this one was the more powerful, at least rank wise. ¡°And you are?¡± I asked flexing my feet to test the strength of my binds. ¡°I¡¯m just here to slow you down,¡± Jas¡¯trel said. ¡°You can¡¯t chase down Quinn if you¡¯re dealing with me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m for,¡± Guinevere said landing beside me. Quinn looked her over. ¡°No offense missy, but I¡¯m pretty sure I can outrun you.¡± ¡°But can you outrun him?¡± I asked. ¡°Who¡­¡± Quinn asked then looked up as Exar¡¯kun blocked out the meager light from the moon. ¡°Oh shit, gotta run Jas¡¯trel.¡± The Thief darted off his body a blur as he took off into the hills. ¡°Go after him both of you,¡± I said to Guinevere and Exar¡¯kun. ¡°I¡¯ve got this.¡± Both of them ran off without objecting. The chains around my legs disappeared as either the caster released them, or their duration ended. ¡°So which god is Mournresh?¡± I asked. ¡°God of Rot and Necromancy,¡± Jas¡¯trel said waving his hand and over hundred corpses lumbered into view or burst from the dirt. ¡°This isn¡¯t personal.¡± ¡°It never is at first,¡± I agreed than launched myself at him. Clarent swung down but he bent around the strike and retaliated with a blast of black shadow. The magic burned against my skin, but I ignored the vague sensation of pain as I turned to follow up on the attack. Jas¡¯trel glided away as if he were on a hoverboard. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you sent away your vassals, the flag is important, but you seem to have overlooked something.¡± ¡°And what is that?¡± I asked shooting towards him and slashing down. He ducked and blocked with his staff, the wood didn¡¯t conduct the electricity and the staff showed no signs of damage, it was likely an artifact. ¡°I have an army,¡± Jas¡¯trel said. ¡°You don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I fail to see how that¡¯s relevant,¡± I said. I teleported next to him Clarent swinging around screaming as it cut through the air. The body disintegrated to ashes as the skeleton the Necromancer had swapped placed with turned to ash. I spun and located him again launching myself forward with Storm Fall again but as Clarent touched his skin he instantly swapped places with one of his minions again. ¡°That trick will only save you for so long,¡± I said. ¡°Eventually you¡¯re going to run out of minions to sacrifice.¡± ¡°Fortunately, you¡¯ll be dead long before that,¡± Jas¡¯trel said as another searing bolt of black energy hit me from multiple directions. ¡°Oberon¡¯s Bane.¡±
You have been inflicted with the Curse Oberon¡¯s Bane increasing the damage you take from necrotic effects by x5, for the next hour, reduced by Troll Hide to 56 seconds.
Blasting forward with Storm Fall I slammed into the ranks of undead from where the curse had originated. My attacks scythed through seven ghoul like creatures, but the Necromancer disappeared again. ¡°Let me show you why having an army is important,¡± Jas¡¯trel said. He let loose a long howl and all his minions began to glow with a red aura as they fixated on me, their slow lumbering turning into a sprint as they charged me. I braced for the attack but wasn¡¯t prepared for just how ferocious they would be. I had fought ghouls before, but this was on a different level than that. One of the ghouls manifested a sword out of the air showing they had some access to the abilities they had as living people. Their claws, summoned weapons and spell-like abilities all had been transformed by their undeath changing to rot afflicting attacks. My skin and flesh rotted away and sluffed off wherever they made contact, but I was regenerating it almost as quickly and Black Rage was quickly rising in strength. ¡°Grave chains,¡± Jas¡¯trel said again. Chains bound my legs to the ground as the undead piled on top of me, teeth, claws, and blades seeking my exposed skin and sinking in. The weight pushed down on me trying to force me to my knees, more and more spells hit me as the Necromancer took this opportunity to unleash as many abilities on me as he could. ¡°Titanian¡¯s Shadow,¡± he chanted.
You have been drained of 25% of your mana and stamina.
I let loose a roar blasting off the corpses with Voice of the Chasm. My hand pointed out and scarlet lighting raced out jumping from creature to creature. Undead didn¡¯t have a nervous system so it wasn¡¯t effective on them as living creatures, but several already heavily damaged specimens collapsed when hit. They weren¡¯t the real target anyway. He might be able to outrun my blade but let¡¯s see if the Necromancer could outrun lighting. ¡°No Release in Death,¡± Jas¡¯trel said from somewhere off to my right. I turned to go after him but stopped as I witnessed pale translucent figures pull themselves out the ghouls and skeletons I had destroyed. The ghosts howled and rushed towards me, my lightning passing through them harmlessly. ¡°Phantom Form,¡± I said. The spectral form of Clarent blocked the blade of a ghost and turned and decapitated their incorporeal body, the apparition turning into mist. The ghosts tried to overwhelm me with their numbers, but I cut them as if they were nothing more than morning mist. ¡°Torturous Gaze,¡± Jas¡¯trel said. Agony I hadn¡¯t experienced in ages hit me. The sudden influx of pain was paralyzing as neither Berserker nor Wrathful Meditation could do anything to stop it. What¡¯s happening? I asked Voidra. It¡¯s a soul attack, Voidra said. Physical pain resistance can¡¯t do anything to stop this. Endure it and press on, Ares told me cautiously. You have endured such pain before, this time is no different. Dropping out of Phantom Form I fixed a hate filled gaze on Jas¡¯trel. ¡°the Darkness of Mab,¡± he said.
You have entered a nullification area; only passive abilities will work in the area of this influence.
We were enveloped in a black mist as thick as cotton. I couldn¡¯t see a thing but the vibrations of Jas¡¯trel¡¯s retreating feet told me exactly where he was. I shot forward my hands wrapping around his neck. He was surprisingly strong and knocked my hands off his throat as we both fell to the ground. A dagger went for my neck, but I could see my opponent in my mind¡¯s eye as clearly as if we were in a sunny field. tussling on the ground I grabbed hold of his head. Pulling him forward first I than slammed him down against the ground where a sharp stone protruded from the ground. The first strike didn¡¯t kill him, but hot blood began coating his hair. I slammed him down again, thrice, four times before his skull gave way.
29 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 4,450 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Wild Hunt (Rank 1): You summon a twisted horn into your hands, blowing on it lets out a piercing call that summons 2 hounds that will act as extensions of you, their rank will be equal to your rank. They will last for 10 minutes and have a cooldown of 1 hour before they can be summoned again.
Cost: 20 mana Cast Time: 50 seconds
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of hounds, how powerful they are and the duration for which they will remain. Each rank up increases your Spirit by 1.
You get to many Spirit abilities, Karnen said. Don¡¯t rank this one up. ¡°I might not have a choice,¡± I said shrugging. ¡°Don¡¯t tell Guinevere.¡± I would if I could, Karnen grumbled. Do you think she and dragon caught the Thief? Ares asked me. ¡°Lets just say I pity that little thief,¡± I said. Chapter 109: Cat and Mouse Guinevere raced after the Thief. He had been right; he was a lot faster than her but with Exar¡¯kun¡¯s aerial advantage he wasn¡¯t able to slip away. Guinevere teleported again closing the gap between them slightly. The Thief jumped forwards and disappeared. Exar¡¯kun landed on the ground and Guinevere skidded to a stop. ¡°Where did he go?¡± she asked. ¡°He dropped down this hole,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°Fitting that he¡¯s decided to hide like a rat. I can¡¯t fit down there but I¡¯ll do my best to track you both by scent from up here if he tries to resurface.¡± Guinevere nodded and jumped down the crack in the ground. She hit the ground toes first going into a role as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She instantly hated the narrow, wet, dark confines, but she pushed aside her fear and pressed on. The ground of the tunnel was wet mud and Guinevere could see a clear set of footprints in them. She ran forwards keeping a hand on the wall as she ran forwards after the Thief. She charged forward down the long twisting turns and branches of the tunnels realizing it would be easy to become lost in these tunnels. This wasn¡¯t some cave, and these tunnels likely spanned the entire width of the battlefield. Guinevere jerked to a stop her forearm coming up blocking the tip of a dagger with her bracer, she had barely reacted in time only Foresight warning her of the ambush. ¡°You¡¯re a quick one after all,¡± the Thief said fading back into the shadows. ¡°And your sneaky,¡± Guinevere said trying to pinpoint his location. ¡°I try,¡± Quinn said. ¡°Curse Crown,¡± Guinevere said. A purple crown appeared above her head and the edge of her sword danced with purple flames. This augmented her attack as well as providing light to let her see. ¡°A neat trick,¡± Quinn said his voice seeming to come from all directions. ¡°But let¡¯s see how you do without your sword.¡± He appeared about ten feet in front of her sword in his hand their standard in the other. Guinevere looked at her hand to find herself holding a rock. The flames along her sword remained for a moment than winked out. ¡°Disappointing, but to be expected,¡± Quinn said. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ll surrender now that your unarmed?¡± ¡°Kill him,¡± Guinevere said. Thirty specters dropped from the ceiling and stepped out from the walls and converged on the thief. He melted back into the shadows, but the specters were able to home in on his life pulse. The Thief started running as the specters hounded him. They were much slower than him but were relentless in their pursuit. Guinevere raced after him, teleporting just in front of him she caught him across the face with a right hook. He slammed back into the wall dropping her sword but keeping hold of the standard. She scooped up her sword and lunged forward to impale him, but he twisted to the side dodging the stab. He slashed at her wrist with a pair of twin daggers, but her armor easily withstood the weak attacks. She slashed him across the stomach ripping through the leather armor he was wearing. Bright red blood spurted out but he was tougher than he looked and kept to his feet. He rolled past her swiping at her belt, her sword still in hand she watched as he downed one of the health potions Mordred had given her, healing the wound in his stomach. He disappeared back into the shadows. Guinevere stood still listening as much as looking. Quinn tried to stab her in the back again but with the help of Foresight it was a futile effort on his part. He immediately darted back into the shadows disappearing from all her senses. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°You¡¯ve got some method of detecting imminent danger to yourself,¡± Quinn mused. ¡°That¡¯s a rare ability, where¡¯d ya get it?¡± ¡°The Warlord,¡± Guinevere said swiping in a wide arc around her to try and catch him moving. ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem the sharing sort to me,¡± Quinn said appearing from the shadows in front of her. Guinevere parried his trio of attacks before reposting scoring a deep cut along his shoulder. It would hurt and bleed but wasn¡¯t a vital injury. ¡°Mordred is far more than he seems,¡± she said. ¡°So, you like the fella?¡± Quinn asked his voice conversationally as if he wasn¡¯t in a fight for his life. ¡°You could say that,¡± she responded driving her sword forward. ¡°Disarming strike,¡± Quinn said. Her sword was knocked from her hands and Quinn dove past her guard driving his daggers up towards her chin and the lower half of her face that her helmet didn¡¯t cover. Guinevere swept her legs forward scissoring out his legs as she brought him to the ground. Rolling across the muddy ground she grabbed her sword and drove it up through his gut. He rolled back to his feet and tried to down another potion. ¡°Void Beam,¡± Guinevere said, and the blast of magic struck him and the bottle slamming both against the wall. Quinn screamed and rolled away hiding in the shadows again. Guinevere moved forward after a moment of silence. Analyzing the ground, she saw blood and footprints leading away. Her specters finally caught up again. ¡°Follow,¡± Guinevere commanded them. Racing after the thief she came to a rise in the tunnel. The mouth of the tunnel was lite by moonlight and the Thief stood there his hand on a lever as he looked down on her. ¡°Better luck next time missy,¡± he said pulling down on it. Guinevere stumbled backwards as a blinding inferno of green flames engulfed Quinn. The Thief screamed for only a second before falling to the ground as a smoldering pile of ash. Guinevere felt the itch as the blighted energy from the fire tickled her senses even from where she was.
16 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors to the fight.
Exar¡¯kun landed and turned his head to look down the tunnel at her. ¡°Took you long enough to flush out the rat,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m not a terrier,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Good girl,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°Want a treat.¡± ¡°Very funny,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Did you get an ability out of that? All I got was rank points.¡± ¡°I did,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°But it¡¯s just a stupid one that would let me turn into a human.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Next time you can be the one to go down in the tunnels.¡± --- Guinevere slid off Exar¡¯kun¡¯s back as they returned to the tower. I was tossing the bodies of all the ghouls and other dead players into the chasm around the tower. ¡°Don¡¯t want these getting used again,¡± I said. ¡°I see you got our standard; did you kill the thief?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Exar¡¯kun grunted. ¡°What¡¯s our plan now?¡± ¡°Well one of us will always have to hang back and guard our standard at all times,¡± I said. Not necessarily, Ares interjected in my head. If you recall the rules nothing states where you must keep your own standard only where you need to keep enemy standards. ¡°On second thought,¡± I said pivoting thanks to the advice of my military expert. ¡°None of us need to stay behind. Did either of you get any abilities that would be useful to us?¡± I asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t get any,¡± Guinevere said watching me. I could tell she was able to read the change in my line of thought and she likely knew the cause. ¡°I got a dumb one that will let me turn into a human,¡± Exar¡¯kun grumbled. ¡°So, it will be of no help to anyone.¡± ¡°Not necessarily,¡± I said. ¡°You mentioned that one of the reason you were stuck at your rank for so long was because you couldn¡¯t fit inside dungeons.¡± Exar¡¯kun tilted his head to the side as he considered my words. ¡°True,¡± he admitted. ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered that.¡± ¡°None of that changes my plan though,¡± I said. ¡°Just how destructive is your breath attack?¡± ¡°Very,¡± Exar¡¯kun said flashing his teeth in what might have been a smile, it was so hard to tell with him. ¡°Can it melt stone?¡± I asked. ¡°It can destroy enchanted armor,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. That told me a lot, just enchanting something made it more durable usually so being able to melt through magical armor meant his breath was likely as powerful as a localized nuke. ¡°Good,¡± I said. ¡°There are only a few capture points left that we don¡¯t control. We¡¯re going to change that; they¡¯ll be expecting me or other champions to come and assault them and have likely reinforced and fortified them. They won¡¯t be expecting a radioactive dragon however, so you hit them and destroy the six remaining capture points.¡± ¡°And what will we be doing?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°We¡¯re going to take both factions standards,¡± I said. ¡°Numbers don¡¯t matter when you control the only way of getting points other than just killing other players.¡± Chapter 110: Whose a Good Boy I hovered five-hundred feet in the air as I looked down on the Eastern Spawn Point. There were stone walls, towers and other structures created, and none of that mattered. I looked at the largest building and could only guess that was their headquarters and where the standard would be stored. I was hitting this side alone. We¡¯d strapped our standard to the underside of Exar¡¯kun and Guinevere was taking the standard from the Western Spawn Point since she was already familiar with its location and layout. Reaching into my storage pouch I pulled out the two vials of ambrosia I had stored there. What resources are you going to use them on? Voidra asked. I¡¯m going to try something, I said. Please don¡¯t, every time you do that, we all almost die, Karnen said. Relax, it¡¯s not that bad, I said. Upon reviewing your memories, Ares said. Yes, it is. I don¡¯t appreciate you guys¡¯ tag teaming me, I said. I didn¡¯t say anything, Voidra said. That¡¯s because you always approve of his suicidal tendencies because you lack a basic survival instinct, Karnen said. All of you shut up, I¡¯m concentrating, I snapped at them. I tossed back the first vial like a shot of whiskey. It was sweet as honey but burned like tequila and left me dizzy for a moment.
Congratulations! You can raise one of your resource regeneration amounts by +10 per second. Which resource would you like to apply this boon to?
¡°Can I increase the regen rate of my Ethereal energy?¡± I asked. There was no response for a moment.
While not forbidden, this resource type was not what this ambrosia was intended for. You may do so but the regen rate increase will be reduced from +10 per second to +1 per second. Do you still wish to continue?
¡°Yes,¡± I said without hesitation. My current regen rate for my Ethereal was about twenty per minute, which when converted to per second was less than point zero, zero, one per second. Going to even a minor plus one per second was multiply my current regen rate for this resource by a thousand.
You Ethereal regen rate has increase to 1.00083333333 per second.
I thought you said you didn¡¯t want to use that ability against Arthur, Karnen said. Why are you increasing it instead of your mana or stamina? This is about the long game, I said. Yes, I want to win here but it literally won¡¯t kill me to lose here. The Dragon Tourney is what I¡¯m saving myself for. You really want to risk your life for some duel? Voidra asked. No, I said. I want to risk myself for Guinevere. Use the other vial on your stamina, Ares advised me. If you don¡¯t do well in this Event Arthur will come out of it stronger than you, defeating any purpose for hiding your strength here. Why stamina over mana? I asked. Your mana pool is massive! Karnen said. That ability is seriously overpowered, there are emperors who would give you kingdoms, so you¡¯d sire children with their daughters for a chance of passing on that ability. While I wouldn¡¯t phrase it exactly like that, Karnen is correct, Ares said. If you somehow manage to go through all that mana in a fight and are losing a slightly higher mana regen rate is going to help. Your stamina is where you are weakest right now. If you go against Arthur in a duel again you won¡¯t be able to regenerate resources by wounding and killing other creatures, so you¡¯ll be stuck with whatever your current regen rate is. Solid reasoning, I agreed. I downed the vial of ambrosia and assigned the increase to my stamina. I took out the Celestial Orange and peeled it. ¡°I¡¯ll increase my Speed Attribute,¡± I said. ¡°I know I get a bonus from my boots, but I haven¡¯t gotten an ability for my Speed in a while, and I need to move faster against Arthur.¡± The juice of the orange ran down my chin. Its flavor was like a mix of citrus, cinnamon and nutmeg but enhanced and sweetened with a spicy tang that made it somehow comfortable and familiar while also utterly foreign. It was probably the best thing I¡¯d ever eaten, and I let out a belch as I licked the juice off my fingers. ¡°One last thing to do,¡± I said. ¡°System, raise Wild Hunt to rank twenty.¡±
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank five, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Doubles the number of summons you create with this ability.
¡¤ Your hounds gain the ability to fly.
¡¤ Hounds are equipped with armor when summoned.
Looking over my options, the third was the most tempting, armored war hounds sounded badass. However, Flight was something I hadn¡¯t had access to until just recently and it was an advantage that couldn¡¯t be overlooked. You couldn¡¯t escape hounds that wouldn¡¯t be slowed down by the terrain. The first option also had some merit, but I was a firm believer in quality over quantity. I selected the second choice and finalized it.
Wild Hunt (Rank 5): You summon a twisted horn into your hands, blowing on it lets out a piercing call that summons 5 hounds that will act as extensions of you, their rank will be equal to your rank. They will last for 10 minutes and have a cooldown of 1 hour before they can be summoned again.
Like leaves on the wind or flock of falcons your hounds are unconstrained by the laws of gravity capable of running through the air.
Cost: 40 mana Cast Time: 40 seconds
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of hounds, how powerful they are and the duration for which they will remain. Each rank up increases your Spirit by 1.
The number of hounds hadn¡¯t gone up as much as I thought it would have, maybe I should have picked the option to double my summons. The choice was past now so no sense worrying about it. I dismissed the description as well as the following four notifications. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank ten, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Doubles the Speed of your hounds.
¡¤ Grants your hounds a ranged Sonic attack.
¡¤ Your hounds will deal Soul damage and inflict Soul Rend.
Moving fast was good but the third option removed the first two as contenders. Both from experiencing and dealing it I knew Soul damage was one of the best damage types to deal. Provided the creature had a spirit of some kind, the agony of having your soul damaged was indescribable. If it had existed in my world dealing that kind of damage would have been a war crime.
Wild Hunt (Rank 10): You summon a twisted horn into your hands, blowing on it lets out a piercing call that summons 8 hounds that will act as extensions of you, their rank will be equal to your rank. They will last for 10 minutes and have a cooldown of 1 hour before they can be summoned again.
Like leaves on the wind or flock of falcons your hounds are unconstrained by the laws of gravity capable of running through the air.
Connected to the void by your being, you summons bite inflicts the Soul Rend* condition dealing a minor amount of extra soul damage with each attack.
*Soul Rend: On a failed Spirit check causes permanent Soul Damage that will last until healed by soul healing.
Cost: 80 mana Cast Time: 30 seconds
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of hounds, how powerful they are and the duration for which they will remain. Each rank up increases your Spirit by 1.
Permanent Soul damage? That was fucked up, it made me sort of uneasy. The soul damage I dealt was painful sure, but it didn¡¯t fuck with their souls. I was suddenly less comfortable with my choice, as someone who had experienced permanent soul damage, that kind of trauma was on another level. The choice couldn¡¯t be taken back though so I pushed aside my unease. Skipping past the next few notifications I got to the next upgrade.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank fifteen, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Hounds gain an extra head for increased attack speed.
¡¤ Your hounds deal extra Lightning damage.
¡¤ Doubles the Toughness and Might of your hounds.
The first option was already a top contender, for one just having an extra head was some mythological nightmare stuff right there and increased attack speed was always good. While I liked Lightning damage, I didn¡¯t need an extra source of damage for it. Being extra durable and strong was a big win but I had do decide. Did I want my hounds to be dps or tanks. Looking back on the choices I¡¯d made so far nothing about them was in line with being a tank. While the higher Might would increase their damage it wouldn¡¯t increase how fast they dealt that damage. I chose the first option and moved on dismissing the next four notifications.
Wild Hunt (Rank 15): You summon a twisted horn into your hands, blowing on it lets out a piercing call that summons 12 hounds that will act as extensions of you, their rank will be equal to your rank. They will last for 10 minutes and have a cooldown of 1 hour before they can be summoned again.
Like leaves on the wind or flock of falcons your hounds are unconstrained by the laws of gravity capable of running through the air.
Connected to the void by your being, you summons bite inflicts the Soul Rend* condition dealing a minor amount of extra soul damage with each attack.
The hounds you summon have an extra head, doubling their attack speed and damage per second.
*Soul Rend: On a failed Spirit check causes permanent Soul Damage that will last until healed by soul healing.
Cost: 160 mana Cast Time: 20 seconds
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of hounds, how powerful they are and the duration for which they will remain. Each rank up increases your Spirit by 1.
I could only summon twelve hounds but each of them so far seemed like an absolutely elite unit. I dismissed the ability description and the next few notifications until I came to the last upgrade menu.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank twenty, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your hounds become rabid greatly increasing their damage but losing some control.
¡¤ Your hounds deal extra Curse damage.
¡¤ You gain the ability to cast Hell¡¯s Mark to increase you hounds damage.
I already had enough trouble controlling myself when I went berserk, I couldn¡¯t be worrying about watching out to make sure my hounds didn¡¯t savage one of my allies. That removed the first option as a choice, so I moved onto the second. Curse damage was another good damage type, it was a damage over time that was much harder to heal than other damage types and significantly debuffed the target while they were suffering it. Guinevere had explained it once to me when we were below ground. It reduced all attributes by ten percent while the target was burning in the cursed flames. The third ability was less clear, Hell¡¯s Mark was one of those buffs or debuffs that the System already expected me to know about. If I was a native or had access to some encyclopedia, I might know what it did but I was shooting in the dark now. Deciding to take the gamble I selected the third option. Whatever it was it would increase the damage and that was all that mattered.
Wild Hunt (Rank 20, Max Rank): You summon a twisted horn into your hands, blowing on it lets out a piercing call that summons 13 hounds that will act as extensions of you, their rank will be equal to your rank. They will last for 30 minutes and have a cooldown of 20 minutes before they can be summoned again. The thirteenth hound will be larger and stronger than the rest of the pack.
Like leaves on the wind or flock of falcons your hounds are unconstrained by the laws of gravity capable of running through the air.
Connected to the void by your being, you summons bite inflicts the Soul Rend* condition dealing a Major amount of extra soul damage with each attack.
The hounds you summon have three extra heads, tripling their attack speed and damage per second.
You can select one target placing a Hell¡¯s Mark on them doubling your hounds damage against that target.
*Soul Rend: On a failed Spirit check causes permanent Soul Damage that will last until healed by soul healing.
Max Rank Bonus: Merely an extension of you, your hounds benefit from all your, titles, passive abilities and any buffs you are currently experiencing.
Cost: 320 mana Cast Time: 10 seconds
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of hounds, how powerful they are and the duration for which they will remain. Each rank up increases your Spirit by 1.
¡°Let¡¯s see how these puppies like to play,¡± I said dropping out from the sky as I called a black twisted horn into my hands. It was lined with thorns that cut into my hands. My feet smashed through the roof of a cottage as I spent over three hundred mana to reduce my fall damage to zero, my impact utterly obliterating the building I landed on. Raising the horn to my lips I let out a long blast over the next ten seconds. Its sound was reminiscent of Helheim¡¯s scream without the damage and debuffs. It was still other worldly and disturbing and painful to hear, like nails on chalkboard as it grated against the senses. As I blew out black fog rose up around me, when I was done it whisked away revealing thirteen hounds. These were not fuzzy cuddly dogs, their hide looked like it was made from the jagged outcrop of obsidian. Their body was intercrossed with red and orange molten lines, the only thing the broke up the glossy black stone fur. Their necks were long and each of their three heads twisted around sniffing at the air as they snarled and snapped at each other. They were thick and stocky like rottweilers, each came up to my chest putting their shoulders at around five feet. Except for one, he was the size of draft horse, his crimson eyes glinting with an alien intelligence as he stared at me as if waiting for orders. All around me there was shouting and yelling as people tried to adjust to what had just happened. Some of them had already organized and were charging my location. I raised my right hand and pointed at them. ¡°Fetch me their souls,¡± I said. Chapter 111: The Assassin and the Shadow Clarent swung through the air as I teleported around the man guarding the entrance to the newly constructed castle. Behind me I could hear the savage snarls and mauling of my hounds as they met the charging champions in battle. Black smoke billowed off all of us as Black Rage took effect the passive ability buffing not just me but my summons as well.
26 rank points gained.
More and more notifications came in as my hounds, which didn¡¯t count as separate creatures but more like living weapons took down champions earning me rank points.
19 rank points gained.
Voice of the Chasm shattered the doors in the castle as I strode through. I found room with a round table with a map of the battleground carved into its surface. Hanging from the center of the table was their standard. I grabbed it and turned around. Helen stood there her knuckles tight on the shaft of her staff. ¡°You,¡± was all she could say. ¡°Me,¡± I agreed, I waited but she did nothing just stood there frozen. I pushed past her leaving her there standing and shaking. Using Storm Fall I shot out of the castle into the air. Immediately I was bombarded by ranged attacks of every time. Arrows, bullets, and spells hit me spinning me through the air like a top. It appeared an aerial escape was not viable for an exit. I dropped from the air and teleported the remaining way to the ground. Looking around I spotted what I was looking for as champions came pouring out of their fortress. My hounds were going down but they¡¯d already taken down a score of champions at this point and had served their purpose well.
321 rank points gained from assorted kills.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 4,493 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Running forward I dove headfirst down the hole in the ground disappearing into the battleground¡¯s undercroft. The tunnels were around twenty feet wide and arched like that of a catacombs. The wet slimy walls glistened like the inside of some massive beast as I ran forward. I only had a general direction to go in but it would be easy to get lost down here. Behind me the sounds of more and more people entering the undercroft. I ran forwards back tracking several times as I hit dead ends. It reminded me of my time in my first Event. This was just another maze to solve. The sounds of my pursuers faded, and I started to relax. Pain hit me in the side, and I collapsed to the ground unable to move as agony coursed through me. I tried activating Wrathful Meditation, but it had no effect. Why isn¡¯t that working? I screamed in my head. Your taking massive Soul damage, Voidra said. We¡¯re doing our best to mitigate it but you¡¯re trying to use something for resisting physical pain to ignore damage being done to your spirit. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure if that would work,¡± a soft feminine voice said behind me. Another stab in my back and my mind went white and I couldn¡¯t even think anymore past the pain. ¡°I have to thank you, Mordred,¡± Ammerila said. ¡°You showed me my weak points, once I realized how you were able to counter my poisons and stealth attacks, I hunted down the ingredients to absorb and the dungeons to me a set of skills to take down people like you.¡± Ammerila was clearly enjoying herself as she monologued at me. ¡°The ability to see the future around you, its powerful but there are ways to counter it. I also made sure not to touch the ground in case you had some other way of detecting people. Chronos Cloak is an amazing ability, I¡¯m not sure if you can appreciate it right now though.¡± Her voice faded as my mind went black and something deep within my soul rose up. --- ¡°I¡¯ve been preparing to take you down since we last fought,¡± Ammerila said as she stood over Mordred¡¯s crumpled body. ¡°I must say you¡¯ve grown much weaker since we last fought.¡± ¡°I agree,¡± the raspy voice of a corpse replied. ¡°His weakness is evident, but let me show you, my strength.¡± ¡°What are you playing at Mordred?¡± she asked, taking a step back, a look of concern flickering across her face as the man who should have been paralyzed and helpless on the ground jerked shakily to his feet his movements off kilter, moving too fast or slow at times. ¡°Mordred¡¯s not here right now,¡± the corpse voice said. ¡°You can call me, the Shadow.¡± A savage roar tore from his throat as he launched himself at the Assassin. She stabbed him in the chest three times, but he gave no signs of even noticing the damage. ¡°Fade,¡± Ammerila said turning to smoke she appeared behind Mordred¡¯s body again driving two daggers past his cloak into his abdomen. The Shadow only reacted by slashing her across the face with his claws knocking her mask of her face and leaving long bloody scars. The wounds slowly closed but the Shadow had only started. He pounced on her, his massive hands wrapping around her slender throat as his other hand grabbed her right wrist. She stabbed him with her free hand, but he snapped the wrist of her right hand. She dropped the knife in that hand the grabbed the hand of her left as she tried to stab him through the visor of his helmet. Squeezing the bones of her wrist ground together and she screamed in agony as she dropped the dagger. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°How are you doing this Mordred?¡± Ammerila asked her vision blurred by tears of pain. ¡°I¡¯m not Mordred,¡± the Shadow said. ¡°he isn¡¯t willing to go far as he needs to win. I¡¯m better than him, all of his strength, none of his weakness!¡± He slammed Ammerila against the wall with his chokehold on her neck. His other hand went out the claws slashing down her legs ripping open her leather pants and spilling the contents of her belt across the ground. Burning purple flames faded but they are left behind nasty wounds that only slowly regenerated. ¡°I know I can¡¯t kill you here permanently,¡± the Shadow growled. ¡°But when I¡¯m done, you¡¯ll be broken.¡± He slammed her against the wall again the sound of her spine cracking audible over her whimpers. ¡°Body!¡± he snarled. His claws sliced down again ripping off the leather tunic and the linen blouse she was wearing leaving her covered only in blood. ¡°Mind!¡± He dropped her to the ground and kicked spreading her legs apart. ¡°And soul!¡± --- Mordred, wake up! Karnen shouted. What¡¯s going on? I asked, coming out of pain induced haze. Your shadow¡¯s gone nuts, Karnen said. You need to stop it. I suddenly realized I was paralyzed. No that wasn¡¯t right, I could feel my body moving and see through my eyes, but I had no control over my actions. How is this even happening, I snarled as I flailed about in my own head. Have you always been able to possess me like this? We would have to destroy your mind if we wanted to do this, Ares said. But your shadow¡­ it isn¡¯t a separate spirit, it¡¯s your own spirit just separated from the main whole. How do I take control back? I asked. The same way you beat it before, Karen said. Spirit against spirit. I mentally closed my eyes as I reached out. I felt the shadow pull back, but I grabbed hold of it. It tried to wriggle free, but I wasn¡¯t the only one fighting it. Ares, Voidra and Karnen all grabbed hold. The Shadow thrashed in our grasp, but we dragged it back pulling it from the controls. I envisioned a prison, and we locked it away. The Shadow howled a wordless rage that tore through my spirit, but I wouldn¡¯t heed its desires. My eyes snapped open, and I looked down at Ammerila who stared at me with the fear reserved for the worst kinds of monsters. A shoulder slammed into me, and I was flung into the wall of the tunnel cracking my bones. Arthur stood protectively over Ammerila his sword raise in a low guard. The massive greatsword was ill suited for this close quarters tunnel fighting. ¡°Face me,¡± Arthur said challenging me like last time.
You have been given a Challenge, refusing the challenge will increase the damage dealt to you by the challenger by x10 for the next hour, reduce your Toughness Attribute by 25% and give you vulnerability to Holy damage. If you accept the challenge, you can only attack the target. Any attack that you make that strikes another target will break the challenge resulting in the above penalties occurring. If any allied creature that jumps into assist you will break the challenge resulting in you being penalized, any rival creature that assist the challenger will break the Challenge with no ill effect towards you; third party interference will have no effect. Accept Challenge? Yes/No
¡°Yes,¡± I said rising to my feet. Arthur didn¡¯t move, while attacking Ammerila would make me vulnerable I could easily finish her off with a croup de grace and flee into the tunnels. The standard I had captured lay on the ground between us, my real goal in this whole encounter. I teleported to the right of him spinning low. My Hell¡¯s Talons scrapped off the back of his legs as he raised his leg to block as I went for unarmored section behind his knee. The leg armor was also an artifact now I was sure of it. ¡°Did you have to earn even a single piece of your armor?¡± I asked. ¡°Or was it just given to you? Like everything else you take for granted.¡± ¡°What do I take for granted?¡± Arthur snapped back at me slashing out in a rapid series of figure eight cuts. He didn¡¯t move to far from Ammerila, he seemed happy to talk and drag out the fight. His strength would only rise the longer this took. ¡°Guinevere,¡± I said. ¡°Forcing the princess to marry you isn¡¯t exactly the actions of a hero.¡± ¡°So, I should just give her over to you? You¡¯re nothing more than a beast,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Not even human. You have no place with Guinevere.¡± ¡°I think she¡¯s the one to decide that¡± I said coughing blood. ¡°No,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Sometimes, the people we love need protection from themselves the most, if your really cared for Guinevere you¡¯d see that your poison.¡± I didn¡¯t have response to that. I looked down on the naked, quivering broken and bleeding form of Ammerila and it was hard to deny Arthur¡¯s words. Mordred god of Blood and Slaughter, the prophesied fate that awaited me looked a lot closer right now. ¡°You don¡¯t deny it?¡± Arthur asked emboldened by the verbal point he had scored. ¡°Do you know what monsters are afraid of?¡± I asked. ¡°What?¡± Arthur asked thrown by the change of subject. ¡°A bigger monster,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re right that I¡¯m a beast, but you¡¯re wrong that it¡¯s all that I am. I¡¯m the monster that people like her,¡± I said gesturing to Ammerila. ¡°are afraid of. Maybe I went too far but she prepared herself to go after me, not you, even though supposedly we should be allies. I¡¯m the monster that keeps the others in check.¡± ¡°Heros are the ones who save others from monsters,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Then I guess you¡¯re no hero,¡± I said as an arrow flew out from the darkness of the tunnel behind him. ¡°No!¡± Arthur shouted. I didn¡¯t move as the arrow blasted a fist sized hole through my side under my right lung. The damage was extreme, but the effect was worth it.
Duel ended due to outside interference on behalf of the challenger, no penalties incurred.
Teleporting behind Arthur I stabbed up towards his neck with Clarent. He blocked it only to realize to late it wasn¡¯t my true target as the claws of my left hand slashed across Ammerila¡¯s neck.
34 rank points gained
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 4,494 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Ability Gained, Shadow Allias (Rank 1): Not everything you can see is real, trust no one. You can change your description to appear as another person.
Cost: 10 mana Cast Time: 60 seconds.
Upgrade this ability to increase the difficulty in piercing your false description. Each rank up increases your Perception by 1.
Excalibur swung around but I skidded back. Arthur didn¡¯t reissue the challenge which implied he couldn¡¯t; it likely had a cooldown. This would be the perfect time to test myself against him again but as much as I would like to take the time to kill Arthur with my real power that wasn¡¯t my job. Killing other players was a bonus here, not the goal, he would just respawn anyway. I scooped up the standard rolling under the azure edge of Excalibur and teleported down the tunnel. Heading west down the tunnel towards the Tower I started to run again, keeping a warry eye out for more ambushes, my paranoia on high alert. I found an exit and left the undercroft. The sun was at about midday by now. I returned to the tower, exhausted from my battles both physical and spiritual. Chapter 112: Double Standards A torrent of emerald fire engulfed the top of the hill. Tilting his wings Exar¡¯kun angled to the last two remaining capture points. Arrows pinged off his scales, but he didn¡¯t even turn to look at meager ants that tried to distract him. A defiant roar tore from his throat shaking the land around him as he dove towards the second to last fortification. The champions stationed their foolishly tried to defend it instead of running. They thought themselves special, better because some god had given them a blessing and a few abilities and trinkets. They all burned in the end, the shield domes, warding spells, and other effects ended, and they screamed as his breath ravaged them, stealing the air from their lungs. When it was done only charred skeletons would remain, if even that. His mother had died to protect her nest. Of all his siblings only, he had survived the blighted energy that had poisoned their nest. And he had not only survived the poison, he had taken it, made it his own. The monsters changed by the fallen star had tried to kill him as a weak hatching as he struggled to survive but he had bested them too. He had been given a chance to serve a god but had rejected it, he would never be the slave of any creature. The Warlord had his respect, his loyalty too perhaps, but not his obedience. He would do as was necessary to thrive and gain power. --- Mira watched the dragon approaching. She knew that dragon, she had studied how to take it down for over a year only to have the chance taken away from her by the Warlord. He must have dominated it somehow and now it was here, which meant so was he. Pushing aside thoughts of revenge she yanked Lancelot off the wall. ¡°We need to run,¡± she said. ¡°But we need to defend the capture point,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°We¡¯ve already lost it,¡± Mira replied pulling him after her. She yelled for the other champions on guard to follow her, but they didn¡¯t listen. She didn¡¯t waste any more breath on them. There was nothing she could do for them, she needed to gather a full party to hunt down the Warlord and remove him from the Event. ¡°Where are we going?¡± Lancelot asked, running beside her. ¡°Back to the spawn point to get Torvin and some more people,¡± Mira said. ¡°The Warlord is out there somewhere, and I mean to find him.¡± --- Guinevere approached the Eastern Spawn point on foot. The defenses had been reinforced since she last visited but not by much. Walls weren¡¯t that effective against gifted who could jump over fifty feet into the air or had access to abilities like flight or teleportation. She raced forward, she would have to rely on being a higher-ranking tier than her enemies and trust in her attributes and abilities. Mordred was doing the same thing on the other side of the battle-grounds, she had argued against him going there and risking running into Arthur again, but he had insisted. She had agreed after he convinced her she knew the layout of this side already. She still wasn¡¯t fully convinced. There were many on that side who hated Mordred and hatred was a powerful motivator. She couldn¡¯t worry about him now, but she also couldn¡¯t stop worrying. She knew it was pointless and illogical, he couldn¡¯t even die permanently here. But when she¡¯d watched him die and looked down at his lifeless body it had felt like her world had ended. ¡°I won¡¯t let it happen again,¡± she promised herself, knowing she couldn¡¯t stop it if it did. Leaping to the top of the wall she gripped the edge with her fingers, summersaulting, and landing on her feet on the parapet. Her sword flashed out parrying a spear to the face and reposting opening him up from neck to sternum. She needed to be fast, there was no time for drawn out fights, no room for error. ¡°Curse Crown,¡± Guinevere said summoning the flaming halo above her as well as the specters under her command. ¡°Kill as many as you can,¡± she commanded them. Guinevere focused on a large central building, heavily fortified, it was the most likely place they would have their standard. Dropping to the ground she held out her hands. ¡°Void Beam,¡± she said.
Void Beam (Rank 20, Max Rank): Channeling the utter oblivion of the void you create a beam from your hand 15ft wide and 120ft long dealing Extreme Void damage and Major Curse damage to any creature struck by it. The void beam persists for as long as you continue to channel it and will follow the direction of your hand.
Your void beam pierces through three layers of damage reduction before calculating its damage.
Max Rank Bonus: Creatures killed by this ability create a void vortex pulling in other creatures in a twenty-foot radius around them.
Cost: 3 mana per second. Cast Time: Instantaneous If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range, width, and damage of the beam. Each rank of this ability increases your Mind attribute by 1.
She had spent a few hours last night in a haze as she took the pain suppressors necessary to upgrade abilities. Mordred might be able to do it sober, but she couldn¡¯t. She had focused on increasing its range as well as reducing the mana cost necessary to maintain it. Sweeping her hand back and forth she engulfed emerging Champions in the black energy as she strode forward. Reaching the castle doors, she was knocked back as tall woman emerged. Standing nearly eight feet tall the woman wore plate armor made of wood with freshly growing leaves like fur trim. Antlers swept back from her forehead and long fiery orange hair swept back in wild tangle.
Shasmi, Champion of Ontera, Gifted- humanoid/ruminn, Hero, Rank: 410
Ontera was the god of Beasts and Nature. Guinevere took a step back surveying her opponent, while she was hero rank it was barely. The minimum rank you could reach Hero at was four-hundred-and-eight. Shasmi carried a one-handed axe and shield. ¡°I have heard of you Inara,¡± Shasmi said. It took Guinevere a minute to remember that was the false name her description showed. ¡°I can¡¯t say the same for you,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°My apologies.¡± ¡°They are not needed,¡± the woman said she had a thick accent to her words. ¡°I roam the wilds alone pushing back the excess of man and chaos my name will not be one many have heard.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ll let me pass without a fight?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°No,¡± Shasmi said. ¡°So be it,¡± Guinevere said. The two woman clashed. The champion was powerful, but it quickly became evident she didn¡¯t have the years of training as Guinevere. ¡°Twisting thorns,¡± Shasmi said realizing she wouldn¡¯t win with her weapons alone. Guinevere leapt clear of the ground kicking off Shasmi¡¯s shield to propel herself higher into the air. ¡°Winter¡¯s Touch,¡± she said. When her sword hit fire burst forth clinging to the woman¡¯s wooden armor. While Guinevere¡¯s ice abilities might have been ineffective against this type of armor the enchantments switching it to fire made a huge difference. Shasmi stumbled backwards off balance as she tried to put out the fire across her chest. Guinevere waded through the thorns ripping into her skin and dealt the final blow driving her sword up to the hilt through her chest. Yanking it out she was greeted by the notification for rank points.
205 rank points gained.
Dismissing the notification Guinevere received another.
Titania¡¯s Wings (Rank 1): Glorious like a stained-glass window, the wings of the Summer Queen on the Lady of Winter. While this ability is active a pair of ethereal wings appear on your back granting you a fly speed equal to your movement speed. The wings are made of light and are invulnerable to all damage types.
Cost: 2 mana per second. Cast Time: Instantaneous
Upgrade this ability to increase the utility of your wings. Each rank up increases your Spirit and Speed by one.
The thorns disappeared with Shasmi¡¯s death and Guinevere rushed into the fortress. She had even less time now, running past all the room she did a quick search finding the Standard chained to the wall in the armory. Her sword slashed out as she used Winter¡¯s Touch to weaken the chains and rip it free. Turning, she rushed to the fort¡¯s entrance. ¡°Titania¡¯s Wings,¡± she said taking to the air. Guinevere flew over the walls and out onto the plains. An arrow hit her in the back sending her careening through the air. Another arrow hit her, and she dove low to the ground. She smacked against a wall that appeared in front of her. A massive crystal dome had formed around them, it was around two-hundred yards in diameter. Another arrow buzzed towards her, but Guinevere deflected it with her sword turning to meet her captors. --- Mira crested the hill and loosed another arrow at the woman who had stolen her faction¡¯s standard. She deflected her arrow and turned to face her. She had scarlet hair and eyes that narrowed when they focused on her. Mira analyzed her with one of her abilities that let her telescope her vision. She never stopped moving rushing closer to the woman as she loosed arrow after arrow.
Inara the Dark Valkyrie, Gifted; Humanoid/human*, Hero, Rank: 465
¡°So, you¡¯re here,¡± Inara said when there was only a few dozen yards between them. Lancelot slid into position in front of Mira, his shield raised to guard her. ¡°Do I know you?¡± Mira asked. ¡°No,¡± the woman said. ¡°No, I don¡¯t suppose you do.¡± She shot forward fiery wings like a butterfly emerging from her back letting her glide across the ground. Lancelot blocked the first and second attack with his shield but was quickly falling back under the fury of her assault. She muttered some activation phrase for an ability and her sword cut a thin line on the back of his knee as she slid past. Lancelot spasmed and fell despite the minor cut, his body contorted in pain. Mira loosed another arrow that split into a hundred more. Raising her arms, Inara protected the lower half of her face as the arrows pinged off her armor leaving barely a scratch. She surged forward again, and Mira prepared a heavy shot. The woman disappeared a fiery explosion knocking Lancelot back as he tried to interpose himself between her. The woman appeared next to another champion wielding a heavy maul. Her sword came out from his chest as she stabbed him in the back and jerked her sword free. For a minute the stranger¡¯s face was replaced with that of Jamis¡¯. Mira screamed loosing arrow after arrow at the woman. A swarm of falcons descended from the air swooping at the woman¡¯s head. She rolled and ducked a feathery shower following her as she slashed at the never-ending swarm of hawks and falcons. Lancelot lunged forward tackling the woman to the ground. He smashed the hilt of his sword down towards her face like a hammer, but the woman twisted and threw him off her. She sprang to her feet muttering a new ability, she opened her mouth, and a torrent of fire escaped her lips like the breath of a dragon. The swarm of hawks was incinerated. She disappeared again, appearing next to the mage of the group this time. He did a better job surviving, managing to block her first stab to his back, but she caught him with a backhand and drove her sword through his chest. The mirror dome trapping her ended, unwilling to let her escape Mira dove forward dropping her bow pulling one of her arrows free. She jumped onto the other woman¡¯s back using the arrow like a punch dagger to stab into the woman¡¯s neck. The woman¡¯s skin was like marble and though Mira cut into her skin it wasn¡¯t deep enough to be mortal wounds. The woman threw her off, but Mira rushed in again. The sword flashed out faster than she could even follow. Looking down Mira saw where the sword had carved through the leather of her armor from shoulder to sternum. She collapsed as her lifeblood pumped out onto the ground watching as Inara fled to the east before her vision turned black. Chapter 113: Who you Choose to Be I landed on the bridge spawning the chasm to the tower. A moment later a flash of fire alighted next to me butterfly wings made of flames disappearing from her back. ¡°New ability?¡± I asked. ¡°yeah, I got it just a bit ago,¡± she said she looked me over able to see through my grim fa?ade as we stepped past the threshold into the tower. ¡°Are you alright?¡± I didn¡¯t answer right away. We kept walking and sat down on a bench on one of the balconies overlooking the chasm and battleground. ¡°Today¡­ today¡­ I lost control,¡± I told Guinevere. ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked. ¡°While we were separated, I met the Lion Clan,¡± I said. ¡°They had me do a trial to face my shadow, the evil or darkness within me, I beat it and thought I was done with it but¡­ today the shadow took control. I got blindsided and in a moment of weakness it took over. It used my body like a puppet to¡­ well it¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t finish the sentence. ¡°It wasn¡¯t you,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Yes, it was,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking of the Shadow as some separate part of me but its as much a part of me as my arm or leg.¡± ¡°What did it¡­ you try to do?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Force myself upon Ammerila,¡± I said the words like acid in my throat, but I refused to lie to her. ¡°I want to think that darkness isn¡¯t inside me, that I don¡¯t have that kind of evil lurking within, but I do.¡± ¡°Today I killed Mira,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°She a friend, we grew very close during the siege, she didn¡¯t give a choice about it but if I¡¯m honest, I enjoyed it and I know I shouldn¡¯t. Evil isn¡¯t unique to you Mordred, and we¡¯re never free of it, we have to choose who to be every day. Its not our greatest victories or defeats that will define us, but the choices we made every day to get there.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve made very good choices so far,¡± I admitted. ¡°Sometimes I¡¯ve felt as if I¡¯ve had no choice.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t always get to set out all the options,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But we always have choices.¡± ¡°Maybe in our response, but not always in what happens. I didn¡¯t choose to be hated by my father, but I did choose to try and kill him. You didn¡¯t choose to be thrown in that cave or be your father¡¯s sword.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the hand we were dealt,¡± Guinevere sighed leaning against me. ¡°If you had a choice, would you have chosen to be a warrior?¡± I asked. Guinevere was silent. ¡°No,¡± she finally said. ¡°It was what my father wanted, what he pushed me to become.¡± ¡°What would you have chosen?¡± ¡°I think I would have chosen to be a healer or a druid,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to give life instead of just taking it, but I¡¯m different now than who I might have been. I enjoy battle, I crave violence, I don¡¯t know if I could do without it.¡± ¡°Are we destined to be defined by our fathers¡¯ failures? Me a god of blood and slaughter and you your father¡¯s weapon?¡± I asked my fears welling up inside me. ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said firmly. ¡°We aren¡¯t what we¡¯ve been made, we are who we choose to be.¡± ¡°What about Arthur?¡± I asked. ¡°His father or him,¡± Guinevere said pointing out to the east. ¡°Either one,¡± I said putting an arm around her. ¡°They¡¯re taking your choices away from you.¡± Guinevere didn¡¯t answer immediately. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what all my choices are yet.¡± The flapping of massive wings interrupted our conversation as Exar¡¯kun landed on the top of the tower. He descended down into the throne room depositing our standard on the ground beside the two others. ¡°We have an army approaching the tower,¡± he informed us. ¡°How many of them?¡± I asked. ¡°As far as I can tell,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°Every single one that¡¯s left.¡± -- I sat behind Exar¡¯kun¡¯s horns as he perched atop the tower. My eyes narrowed as I watched the swarm of champions approach the tower. The reason for their attack was obvious, we had the only remaining capture point, we had both of their standards, and we¡¯d majorly pissed them off. Exactly as I¡¯d planned. Pushing off with his legs Exar¡¯kun dove down into the chasm. His wings snapped out and we rose shooting like a rocket into the sky. Arrows and ranged projectiles of every king flew towards us. Raising my hand, I closed my eyes as I focused grabbing every single projectile whether it was made of mana or physical. The attack hung suspended in the air than I flicked my hand, and they were returned back to sender.
234 rank points gained from assorted kills.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 4,522 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
His wings flapping then tucking in for a roll Exar¡¯kun swept over the battlefield his breath scouring the ground of life leaving behind irradiated flames. Champions still tried to push past the flames rushing down the bridge to the tower. Guinevere met them on the bridge, her scarlet blade held them back as they were only able to attack her three at a time. A few tried flying past her; leaping into the air her butterfly wings appeared and she chased them down sending them spiraling down into chasm. I deflected projectiles going for Exar¡¯kun¡¯s head with my sword. Extending my left hand, I pointed down as we did another sweep over the battlefield. Crimson lightning flashed out sparking from opponent to opponent as it branched out.
258 rank points gained from assorted kills.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 4,582 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Exar swept low his talons snatching up two champions. I let loose a combination of Helheim¡¯s Scream and Voice of the Chasm. The thunderous scream scent people flying as well as inflicting massive debuffs in a wide area as well as doing some soul damage. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
217 rank points gained from assorted kills, split between surviving contributors.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 4,658 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Taking to the sky again Exar¡¯kun dropped the screaming champions. The swarm of players was beginning to retreat, they were no true army just a disorganized mob that had thought to overrun out position with their numbers. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure how many of them we¡¯d killed but it had to be at least half the total players in the Event. Exar¡¯kun had gotten the majority of the kills but that was fine since he¡¯d been forced to wait out the first day without doing anything. I¡¯d like to think we¡¯d gotten Arthur somewhere in there but if I had to bet on it, he¡¯d survived. Exar¡¯kun swung back towards the tower, our job done. His feet landed heavily on the roof of the tower, his tail swinging out to counterbalance his landing. I slid off his neck as he sagged. He¡¯d been using abilities almost nonstop all day and was probably drained of stamina and mana not to mention just physically exhausted. We descended the stairs down to the throne room of the tower. The standards were planted into the ground in a circle. I¡¯d used Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory to bind there bases into the stone. When we were all gathered around, we received the expected notification from the System. Another blaring horn echoed across the battleground was the results for the day were tallied.
This is the end of the second day of the event, rewards will be distributed, and points gathered so far will be tallied and shown.
Points For: Western Side: 2rd Place Eastern Side: 3rd Place The Warlord: 1st Place
Contestants Killed: 48 29 172
Standard Captures: 0 0 2
Standard Rescued: 0 0 0
Standards Held: 0 0 2
Strategic Points Captured: 0 0 1
Strategic Points Defended: 0 0 15
The numbers made me smile, there was nothing quite like total victory. The few points the enemy had gotten likely came from killing eachother since no one on my side had died today. I pushed aside the score board eager to see the rewards for coming in first.
Distributing first round of rewards based on current points gathered.
3 Celestial Oranges (gains +10 permanent attribute points for each one consumed)
3 Ambrosia (boosts regen speed by +10 per second for one resource type.
3 Manna Wafers (boost your maximum for one resource by 50)
3 Ability Tokens (Boost the max rank for a standard ability by 10 ranks)
Twelve items in total each worth a fortune but the last three had to be priceless. I picked up one of the tokens, It was about the size of my palm and set with a glowing azure gem in its center. It was surprisingly heavy, I doubted anyone nongifted would even be able to hold it in just one hand.
Ability Token; Type: Consumable, Rarity: Mythic, Only given out by the system every five hundred years to contestants who perform exceptionally in the Events this is one of the necessary steps for godhood. Choose well which ability you choose to apply this ability to. Once chosen tokens cannot be used on any other ability until the first ability is raised to rank 50 with other tokens. This ability will set the path for you and determine your domain if you ascend to godhood. Fight well Champion.
Quantity: 1 Weight: 120 lbs.
¡°How are we distributing the loot this time?¡± Exar¡¯kun asked. ¡°Everyone gets one of each item,¡± I said pocketing the token. ¡°I know I need to survive but you are both here to get stronger as well.¡± Guinevere picked up her token reverently cradling it to her chest as if it were an infant. Exar¡¯kun flicked out his tongue swallowing the token, I wasn¡¯t sure if he was just holding it in his stomach or had already chosen an ability to apply it to. Picking up the vial of ambrosia, the wafer of manna and the celestial orange I went to the top of the tower to decompress and think. My thoughts were jumbled as I thought through all the implications of this token and what it meant. Guinevere found me still in thought about half an hour later. She sat beside me as I hung my legs over the side of the top of the tower. I looked to the west as the sun set over the edge of the battleground. My ability token spun through my fingers as I fiddled with it, my mind lost to my thoughts. ¡°You haven¡¯t spent that yet?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Have you?¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± she admitted. ¡°I never thought I¡¯d have this chance, there are so many choices, what are you picking?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m not sure about,¡± I said. ¡°What kind of god do I want to be? What kind should I be? I have powerful abilities like Black Rage but is that what I want to define me? Its defined me all my life and look what its gotten me.¡± ¡°It got you me,¡± Guinevere said resting her head on my shoulder. ¡°My anger isn¡¯t what won your heart,¡± I said with a snort of laughter remembering when I¡¯d first revealed my real name to her and the subsequent months with her. ¡°Yes and no,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I love how much you feel, you pretend to care about no one but that¡¯s not who you really are. There is nothing inherently wrong with anger, if that¡¯s what you choose, I won¡¯t judge you for it.¡± Standing up I descended to the part of the tower I had made for our living quarters. I stripped out of my armor wiping it clean with my cleansing cloth. I wiped my face cleansing my body of the day¡¯s grit and sweat. I handed it to Guinevere as she unbuckled her plate armor, she cleaned the black metal of the dried blood, soot and dirt marring it and wiped her face, her hair was back to its pure white color the armor no longer disguising her. The room was bare except for a pile of furs and fire I set up to provide light to the windowless room. I could see in the dark, but Guinevere needed a little bit of light even with her level of Perception. Also, I¡¯d noticed her shivering, she hadn¡¯t said anything, but I¡¯d still noticed. My immunity to exposure meant I never thought about things like that usually. There was a risk someone like the Thief could sneak up on us here but the door to this room was around three feet thick and welded into the surrounding stone, so I doubted it. Sleeping in your armor was do able for me but Guinevere lacked my immunity to exposure and needed proper rest. Laying back on a bed of furs Guinevere curled up beside me her hair spread out across my bare chest. Her hands slid across my abdomen tracing the lines of my many scars. My hand traced the line of her spine feeling the silk smooth texture of her skin. Guinevere slid her leg up and rolled on top of me her legs straddling my hips. Her hair fell like a curtain around my face as she leaned in, her lips pressing against mine lightly, like the whisper of the wind. Our kiss grew deeper, hungrier, desperate like two starving wolves. My hands ran through her hair and down the bare skin of her back. I felt a shudder pass through her and her hands slid down my chest and abbs to my waist. ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked her my voice rough and heavy. ¡°Yes,¡± Guinevere said. Her breath was hot in my ear as I ran down kisses down her neck. Her fingers twisted through my hair as she let out a soft moan, her cries rising with intensity. The exhaustion I¡¯d been feeling minutes ago was gone and a burning energy and desire fueled me. My hands traveled down her spine to her waist pulling her closer as I rolled careful not to crush her with my weight. Her skin against mine and the sweet ecstasy of our lovemaking filled my senses driving away the demons haunting my thoughts. Our lips met again my tongue exploring her mouth, she tasted like peppermint as she returned the kiss her eyes closed. I pulled back and her eyes opened looking almost black. ¡°Don¡¯t stop,¡± she said her voice breathy. My lips pressed back against hers and she wrapped her arms around my neck. One hand against the ground to support me, the other slid around her waist pulling her tight against me. A gasp escaped her lips as her legs entangled themselves with mine. Chapter 114: Love and War Arthur stepped into his room his shoulders sagging as he allowed himself to relax. His gold-colored armor was stained with soot from the ash and smoke of the dragon¡¯s breath. Kay and he had barely made it out and Kay was in the hospital ward recovering from the flames and strange energy carried within them. Arthur slowly pulled off his armor, setting it on the stand next to his bed. A sound behind him made him turn a long dagger in hand to defend himself. Ammerila stood there in a long white shift. She shivered, looking up at him, a look of fear in her eyes. She crossed her arms seeming to shrink into herself. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be here,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for disturbing you,¡± she said. ¡°Its just¡­ since the Warlord¡­ I haven¡¯t felt safe.¡± Arthur lowered the dagger. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to scare you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t,¡± Ammerila said taking a step forward. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t saved me then¡­ I don¡¯t know what would have happened. I wanted to say thank you.¡± ¡°Your welcome,¡± Arthur said suddenly self-conscious of the distance, or lack of, between them. Ammerila took another step forward and Arthur took a step back his back going up against the stone wall. She stepped in close enough for him to feel her breath against his chest as she looked up at him. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be here,¡± Arthur said. She gave him a slight smile her hand sliding up his chest. ¡°Do you want me to leave?¡± ¡°You should,¡± he said his body stiffening under her touch. ¡°That¡¯s not a yes,¡± Ammerila said leaning forward and kissing his neck. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t,¡± he said his voice heavy as he felt his hands clench. ¡°Tell me to stop,¡± Ammerila said running kisses up his neck. Arthur opened his mouth and her tongue slid into his mouth. Losing control his hands slid around her waist lifting her up as her legs slid around his hips. He shoved her up against the wall their breath coming faster and faster. His hands wound around her hair pulling her head back. Their sweat mingled as she let out a cry of pleasure. They collapsed back onto the bed. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have done that,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I don¡¯t regret it,¡± Ammerila said running a finger down his chest. ¡°We¡¯re enemies,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Are we?¡± Ammerila asked. ¡°We should be,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I¡¯m on the side of Law you¡¯re on the side of Chaos, this doesn¡¯t end well for either of us.¡± ¡°The chances of either of us winning this competition are small,¡± Ammerila said. ¡°I¡¯m not going to deny myself to appease my goddess ideology. You need to decide if you¡¯re her servant or if you¡¯re a champion.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a champion,¡± Arthur said instantly with heat in his voice. ¡°Then prove it,¡± Ammerila said.
Slowly stirring I opened my eyes, the fire beside us had died down but still had a few goaling coals providing light. Guinevere was still sleeping, her steady breathing like the crashing of waves. Her back was pressed against me, the feeling of her skin against mine still sending an electric current through my body. I traced the lines of her body with a finger pushing back her hair and kissing the skin of her neck. Guinevere stirred pushing back against me as she shifted in her sleep. ¡°It¡¯s time to get up,¡± I whispered in her ear. Her eyes fluttered open. Rolling, she turned to look at me face to face. My eyes traveled down her body and a rose flush crept into her cheeks. ¡°Did we do the right thing?¡± she asked. ¡°I certainly don¡¯t regret it,¡± I said. ¡°Do you?¡± ¡°No but¡­¡± Guinevere said. I pressed my lips against hers. ¡°No buts,¡± I said. ¡°I love you Guinevere, I will never regret a moment I spend with you.¡± Rolling to the side I reached for my stuff and grabbed my storage pouch. Reaching inside I lifted something out. ¡°It¡¯s a bit wilted now,¡± I said with some disappointment. My fingers ran along the silver stalk and leaves pushing mana into the plant. Its stalk straightened out and the violet and amaranth petals flared out spreading wide. Guinevere¡¯s face split in smile as she looked down at the flower. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± she said. ¡°This is mythic rarity?¡± she asked disbelievingly. ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t have any purpose besides looking beautiful,¡± I said. ¡°Thank you,¡± Guinevere said her smile like the rays of the sun. ¡°But where am I going to keep this?¡± I thought about it for a second before grabbing some materials from my storage pouch. ¡°Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said. A crystal dome appeared around the flower with a chain extended from the top. The flower wasn¡¯t that big and the whole thing could hang off Guinevere¡¯s belt. She took it and leaned up her lips meeting mine I returned the kiss but pulled back before we could go farther. ¡°Our enemies are going to be here any minute,¡± I said. ¡°We need to get ready.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Guinevere agreed reluctantly.
Mira stood in a tent erected outside the Tower far enough from it they would all have warning if the dragon emerged from it. More and more champions were gathering from both sides. The air was filled with uneasy tension as they eyed each other warily. While they had a common enemy it would be just as easy, if not easier, to get rank points from killing members of the opposite faction. People had already been killed over what loot they had gotten yesterday and the griefing on both sides was getting out of hand. One third of the champions that had entered the Battlegrounds had already been removed permanently after losing all three of their lives. Around half of those who remained now were down to their last life. Mira had two lives remaining, but she knew how easy it would be to lose the other two as well. Lancelot stood beside her, his head turning as he scanned the crowd. He suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her forward. Mira suppressed a flush to her cheeks as she followed him. Lancelot clasped hands with another man in intricate gold colored armor. ¡°Arthur,¡± he said his voice seeming to relax while speaking with the man. ¡°Lancelot, good to see you¡¯re still alive,¡± Arthur said clasping his wrist. ¡°Who is this?¡± ¡°This is Mira,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°She¡¯s been my companion throughout the last three Events.¡± ¡°If Lancelot trusts you with his back than I trust you with mine,¡± Arthur said taking her hand and bowing low to her. He was a gorgeous man Mira had to admit but she recalled he was engaged to Guinevere and pushed such thoughts from her mind. ¡°I¡¯m putting together a group to tackle the Warlord with,¡± Arthur said to Lancelot. ¡°Are you in.¡± ¡°I am,¡± Mira said. ¡°I have unfinished business with him.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve met him?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°Wait, your one of the Champions who went after him in the Cursed Forest aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Mira said. ¡°He killed one of my party members there.¡± ¡°Anyone who has a personal grudge against the Warlord is welcome,¡± Arthur said nodding in acceptance of her. Mira analyzed the team already around Arthur. She spotted one woman with light grey skin and snow-white hairs like Guinevere¡¯s, reading the woman¡¯s description she was a little surprised. Arthur must have seen where she was looking and read her facial expression. ¡°I trust Ammerila to fight beside us,¡± he said. ¡°She has just as much reason to hate the Warlord as the rest of us. You may not like the god that sponsors her, but she is a powerful ally to have against the Warlord.¡± Mira and Lancelot looked at each other, each of them suddenly less sure about this whole plan. ¡°If your sure about her,¡± Lancelot finally said. ¡°I¡¯d like to join,¡± another person said. Mira turned to analyze this new person.
Vone, Champion of Laveran, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 435
She had short blonde hair that ended at the end of her chin. She wore light metal armor made of a combination of scales and chainmail set over leather. A silver glaive was slung over her back, and she carried a small buckler shield no wider than her forearms strapped in place to her vambrace. ¡°Do you have a grudge against the Warlord as well?¡± Lancelot asked. ¡°Only on principle,¡± Vone said. ¡°I am the Liberator; Laveran stands directly opposed to Kelesa.¡± ¡°The god of Freedom and Choice has always been the greatest weapon against the Warlord,¡± Arthur said taking her hand and shaking it. ¡°Why are you best counter to the Warlord?¡± Ammerila asked tilting her head and running her eyes over the rival champion. ¡°My divine ability lets me remove the effects of all mind control, enslavement and domination abilities and spells as well as making me directly immune to them,¡± Vone said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve faced her yet but the Warlord has an extremely powerful vassal,¡± Mira said. ¡°Would you be able to remove her?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remove people,¡± Vone said. ¡°I simply give them there free will back.¡± ¡°Do you still have room for one more?¡± another woman¡¯s voice asked. They turned to see a lithe woman wearing only a few scrabs of armor and cloth walking towards them. Her bare tawny brown skin was smooth and lustrous and long black hair flowed down her back in ringlets. Her beauty was stunning nearly distracting them from the pair of dark red horns like an antelopes that rose from her head.
Lillyn, the Champion of Ennira, Gifted- fiend/succubus, Hero, Rank: 560
¡°Not for you,¡± Mira said, her fingers reaching for her bow. Lancelot put a hand on her shoulder gesturing to the people around them. ¡°Let¡¯s not be the ones to break the truce,¡± he said. ¡°Agreed,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Why do you want to join us, I don¡¯t recall the goddess of Seduction and Lust having anything against the Warlord, what¡¯s your interest?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here for the same reason as everyone else,¡± Lillyn said shrugging. ¡°To get stronger, the Warlord has been a thorn in all our sides but someone that powerful is likely to provide an excellent ability to the group that kills him.¡± ¡°So, your just here for power?¡± Mira asked snidely. ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re all here for honey,¡± Lillyn said dismissively focusing her attention on Arthur. ¡°I can be useful, I¡¯ve got powerful debuffing abilities you¡¯ll need if you want to go against Hero ranked opponents, I¡¯m the only Hero here whose offered to join.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not allowed to ascend to Hero rank yet,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I¡¯ve got the abilities and rank points but the Dragon Tourney.¡± ¡°Same here,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°The Dragon Tourney?¡± Vone asked. ¡°It¡¯s a tradition for the crown prince to remember the founder of our Kingdom,¡± Kay explained. ¡°I¡¯m fine with her joining, I don¡¯t trust her but she¡¯s right that we need more power.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I can¡¯t let Ammerila join us and deny you the chance to prove yourself. As long as you don¡¯t try to stab any of us in the back your free to join us.¡± ¡°What about everyone else here?¡± Mira asked still looking at the succubus with distrust. ¡°We need someone to kill the dragon,¡± Arthur said. ¡°And chances are most of these people won¡¯t even make it to the tower.¡± Chapter 115: They Dont Know Me I watched from the top of the tower as the champions approached. Exar¡¯kun flapped his wings as he dived off the side of the tower the blast of wind sending my cape flying back as I steadied myself. The burst of wind subsided, and I watched as a line of green fire spread across the plains behind the line of heroes cutting off their path of escape. They were committed now whether they wanted to be or not. They charged towards the tower. I raised my hand and hundreds of stones I compressed into baseball sized cannon shot rose into the air. With a flick of my fingers the area was bombarded by harder than diamond fist sized grapeshot.
372 rank points gained from assorted kills
Even with reduced amount of points given for kills in the Event the sheer number of gifted targets made up for it. Those numbers were going to go down soon, we only had three lives available here and most of these people had already died at least once. My eyes narrowed as I spotted a group pushing through the flames. A shield extended out in a thirty feet around them pushing back the flames as they charged past the fire coordain Exar¡¯kun had created. Closing my eyes I focused on using the telepathic effects of my helmet. I hadn¡¯t really ever seen the need for it before but I really needed to start using the effects of all my artifacts. Exar¡¯kun, this is Mordred, I said. A group of eight champions has pushed past you and are on the bridge for the tower. Guinevere and I will be defending the standards and can¡¯t support you out here. Go, Exar¡¯kun said. These weak soft skins aren¡¯t a threat to me. Even a mammoth can get taken down by a pack of wolves, I warned him. What¡¯s a mammoth? Exar¡¯kun asked. I sighed. Never mind, just try not to die. I stepped forward, falling off the edge of the tower. Activating Storm Fall I stopped midair and flew through a balcony doors and dropped down the remaining way to the throne room below. Guinevere was guarding the standards, but I¡¯d seen who was in that group and knew she couldn¡¯t protect it alone. ¡°Arthur¡¯s coming,¡± I said. ¡°And he¡¯s brought some friends of his.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Eight total,¡± I said. ¡°Ready to do what we talked about?¡± Guinevere smiled viciously. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see the look on his face.¡± A flaming halo appeared over her head as she summoned her specters. I raised my hand and a black twisted thorn covered horn appearing in it. Raising it to my lips I blew it the otherworldly sound reverberating through the tower amplifying it tenfold. Black mist rose around me then swept away as the thirteen hounds appeared. I can take control of them for you, Ares said. How? I asked. Remnants of my old abilities still remain, Ares said. I chose options for Dominion that allowed me to see through my vassal¡¯s eyes. I can¡¯t use the other effects I chose but since I¡¯m residing in your spirit, I do have access to your armors effects and can command them telepathically. Do it, I said giving my permission. This would free me up to focus more on my own fight and Ares actually had military training. Voidra keep an eye out for Ammerila if you sense her heading my way let me know, I don¡¯t want to be sneak attacked again like last time. Karnen keep monitoring Foresight and highlight the greatest threats to me. My spiritual advisors given their tasks I suspended myself midair with Telekinesis and closed my eyes. This wasn¡¯t necessary but every good boss battle needed a good opening cinematic. The doors to the Tower ground on their stone hinges as the assault force shoved them open. Arthur strode forward raising his hand to point at me. Before he could say a word a specter rose out of the ground before him, it had spectral armor nearly identical to him and carried a greatsword with a vibrant purple fire burning along its edge. ¡°Face me,¡± The specter growled out its voice rough and twisted. Arthur stepped back as his own divine ability was used against him by his specter. He¡¯d be able to take it out in time, but it would give me and Guinevere time to work without me being singled out for a duel. Two knights in heavy armor strode forward to meet me while Guinevere disappeared in a flash of fire to appear behind the party. The two knights circled around me moving to flank. I didn¡¯t move, letting them take their positions as I lowered myself from my cross-legged position, my feet touching the ground again as I held Clarent in one hand. My eyes flicked over each of them as I did a quick analysis of their description.
Sir Lancelot, Champion of Orella, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran: 524
Sir Kay, Champion of Handar, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran: 499
¡°So, the knights of Camelot go to fight Mordred at the bidding of Arthur,¡± I said. ¡°Its like a story come alive.¡± Lancelot dived forward his longsword slicing down towards my neck his shield in the other hand raised in front of him. I blocked the strike and kicked out knocking him back a step. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Lancelot said pressing forward again as Kay stabbed with his spear behind me. Twisting to the side, I let the spear pass. Clarent slashed down lighting coursing down the haft of the spear. The weapon was undamaged, proving my suspicion that it was an artifact. Teleporting behind Lancelot I slashed out again, but a shield of golden light appeared behind him blocking the back stab. ¡°Are the stories about Lancelot the same here as in my world?¡± I asked. ¡°The greatest knight of the roundtable who betrayed his king by sleeping with his wife?¡± Lancelot slammed forward with his shield, he moved with the speed of a lightning bolt I saw the attack coming but wasn¡¯t fast enough to dodge it. The shield charge hit me and sent me flying but I spun midair, my feet touching the ground and skidding before I slid to a stop. ¡°I don¡¯t know what stories you¡¯re talking about,¡± Lancelot said advancing on me again. ¡°I thought you wouldn¡¯t,¡± I said dodging a deflecting seven spears that flew towards me exploding into metal shrapnel when they hit the ground. ¡°Your ancestor seems to have whitewashed the legend of his namesake.¡± Activating Storm-Fall I shot back at Lancelot tackling across the width of the Tower and slamming him into the wall on the opposite side. A scream tore from my throat as I activated Helheim¡¯s scream. Lancelot flinched as the ability hit him point blank. Clarent swung in my right hand as I used Hell¡¯s Talons on my left hand. The claws passed through the metal of his breastplate using the effect of the ability to bypass one inch of material. Lancelot screamed in pain as purple cursed flames bust to life beneath his breastplate. Black mist spread out from my skin as I inflicted dozen wounds across his torso and Black Rage began stacking up. Mordred behind you! Voidra warned me. I spun expecting to block the daggers of Ammerila, but she was locked in combat with Guinevere and my hounds. A stunning woman with tawny brown skin slid past Clarent moving like water. I slashed at her with my claws, but she grabbed my hand twisting like a judo throw. She didn¡¯t try to hurl me against the wall instead she slid up to me pressing herself tight against me the feeling of her skin electric against me. Her lips pressed to mine, and I staggered back.
Toughness check failed, you have been inflicted with *Enthralling Gaze.
Enthralling Gaze: You are unable to attack the source of this debuff and are drawn to her, to serve her is the greatest pleasure you can imagine. Effect ends if you take damage from any of your seducer¡¯s allies.
I tried to shake off the effect, but the woman shoved me back against the wall with surprising strength for a woman of her size. Lancelot stepped forward but she pushed him back. ¡°Don¡¯t attack him, you¡¯ll break the enthrall,¡± she said. Stepping forward she slid her hands up my neck removing my helmet and tossing it to the side. My skin still emitted black mist hiding my features, but her lips traveled up my neck and chin to my mouth. Her lips were hot as they met mine, her tongue sliding into my mouth. Burning passed through my body but instead of feeling the agony I should have I was filled with a feeling of bliss.
You are being inflicted with Succubus¡¯ Kiss; you are taking Severe fire damage per second.
My resistance to fire damage reduced the damage by three stages but I wasn¡¯t immune to it. Unable to move her body rubbed against me provocatively as her kiss deepened.
Guinevere caught sight of the succubus as she attacked Mordred. When she saw her kiss him and push him against the wall she felt something snap inside her. An arrow hit her in the shoulder through a gap in the plates. She didn¡¯t feel the pain as her vision went red. She shoved past the assassin a blast of fire tossing her and Torvin back as she teleported away. Lancelot slashed at her as she appeared. She blocked the strike and hit him with her palm tossing him across the room with strength she shouldn¡¯t have had. Her hand clamped down on the back of the woman¡¯s neck as she yanked her off of Mordred. The woman twisted in her grip grabbing her by the neck and pulling her close her lips touching hers.
Toughness check failed, you have been inflicted with *Enthralling Gaze. Enthralling Gaze cannot be inflicted on you do to immunity.
Her sword slammed up into Lillyn¡¯s stomach. The succubus released her stumbling back as Guinevere shoved her to the ground. Kay¡¯s spear slammed forward but skidded off the breastplate Mordred had made for her. Guinevere leaned in, her lips brushing against Lillyn¡¯s ear ash she shoved her blade deeper into her stomach. ¡°Keep your hands off my man,¡± she threatened twisting the blade eliciting a whimper of pain form Lillyn. Guinevere yanked her sword free, spilling out her entrails across the ground.
48 rank points gained. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Aphrodite¡¯s Beauty (Rank 1): Your beauty surpasses mortal understanding; none can look upon you without falling for your beauty. You regenerate & heal from all wounds, restoring a Minor amount of damage per minute, returning to physical perfection. You body can never scar, you are immune to effects of aging, your physical perfection gives you advantage on resisting debuffs and reduces their duration by ?.
Cost: 1 mana & 1 stamina per second Cast Time: Passive Ability
Upgrade this ability to increase regeneration speed and the reduction of debuff duration. Each rank up increases your Speed, Might, Toughness & Endurance by two.
Guinevere blinked away the notification. Lancelot froze as he was about to slash at her, Kay brought back his spear and froze as well. Guinevere did not freeze the red rage hadn¡¯t faded. Her sword left burning spots that glowed white hot on their armor. Kay fell back screaming as she slashed him across the thigh activating Agonizing strike. The howl of the hounds was a backdrop to the thudding of blood in her ears. Anger she had suppressed for years spilled forth in single minded desire to destroy.
I was still dazed from the kiss, but the burning had stopped. My thoughts slowly cleared my body acting on autopilot now. Assassin, Voidra warned me. Clarent blocked the two daggers going for my hearts. My left hand reached out and my helmet slapped back into my hand. I used it to block one dagger coming for my left side as Clarent blocked the other one heading for my right. Swinging the helmet up the spikes atop it ripped a gash up Ammerila neck and cheek as it knocked the mask off her face. ¡°You think you¡¯d learn your lesson from the last time you fought me,¡± I growled sliding my helmet back on. Ammerila met the burning red of my eyes and shivered jumping back and turning invisible. I felt her steps through the soles of my feet as she ran away. Lancelot and Kay were attacking Guinevere as she fought in a blind frenzy. I recognized that rage, it was powerful, but it wasn¡¯t how Guinevere fought and it showed. She was dealing damage but was taking one wound for every two she dealt her perfect defense abandoned in an all-out assault. An arrow blasted through my side, but I ignored Mira¡¯s attack. I could see Arthur still battling with his specter, but that distraction would be done soon. With a roar I launched myself at Kay an answering howl came as my hounds abandoned their other targets and charged the two knights. One of the hounds went down as soon as it put its back to Mira and Torvin, but the others flew through the air. The alpha of the pack hit Kay from behind. It had the same stacks of Black Rage as I did, and its central head latched onto his thigh shacking him like a ragdoll as the other two heads snapped at his extremities. I teleported beside them and slashed down with Clarent. My attack severed Kay¡¯s left arm his spear flying away. Two more hounds joined the alpha grabbing onto his remaining arm and leg as they began to rip his limbs off.
22 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 4,659 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Lancelot hit Guinevere with his shield bash. She rolled on the ground dazed but still mad with rage, Lancelot sped forward his sword raised to come down on the back of her neck. Clarent blocked the strike as I stood over her. ¡°Calm yourself princess,¡± I said. ¡°Go deal with the others, I¡¯ve got this.¡± Lancelot blocked Clarent as I slashed at him again, but he stumbled back a step. Black Rage had a considerable number of stacks now and my Might was quickly reaching the level an Exarch would have. I drove him backwards. I felt my own anger rising but I was its master; the blade of Clarent extended into its greatsword from as I hammered down on Lancelot. Damage shields appeared blocking my strikes but shattering as soon as they did. I kept moving stepping forward forcing him back as I slashed at him from all directions. He blocked with his shield trying to counterattack with his sword, but I twisted to the side or used my armor to block the attacks. Assassin again, Voidra warned me. ¡°Some people just don¡¯t learn,¡± I snarled twisting to the side letting the lunge intended for me go for Ammerila. Lancelot pulled back as he realized he was about to impale his ally, but the movement cost him. Clarent swung down hitting his leg at the thigh. My sword passed through the chainmail and leather there carving off his leg. Lancelot screamed; an arrow exploded against my back a second later, but he was out of the fight. They hadn¡¯t brought any healers with them and his capacity to be a threat was gone. My hounds pilled on his body their jaws ripping at his armor tearing it off as they dug through his metal shell for the flesh beneath.
31 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 4,660 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I blocked the strike of Ammerila¡¯s daggers and pushed sending her stumbling backwards. ¡°So, you found your spine after all,¡± I said stepping forward Clarent shifting to its single bladed form again. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of you,¡± Ammerila said. ¡°I can hear the beating of your heart,¡± I said slashing at her and then spinning and blocking with my vambrace as she appeared behind me. ¡°It tells a different story.¡± Red lighting blasted her point blank spreading out from that point. She screamed and fell to the ground as she failed her Toughness check to resist the stun. I raised Clarent to finish her off it slashed down and was blocked the armored form of man. A greatsword slashed down on me and I sidestepped letting Excalibur slice down between me and Ammerila. ¡°Face me, Mordred,¡± Arthur said.
You have been given a Challenge, refusing the challenge will increase the damage dealt to you by the challenger by x10 for the next hour, reduce your Toughness Attribute by 25% and give you vulnerability to Holy damage. If you accept the challenge, you can only attack the target. Any attack that you make that strikes another target will break the challenge resulting in the above penalties occurring. If any allied creature that jumps into assist you will break the challenge resulting in you being penalized, any rival creature that assist the challenger will break the Challenge with no ill effect towards you; third party interference will have no effect. Accept Challenge? Yes/No
I mentally accepted the challenge sidestepping the swing of Excalibur as Arthur advanced on me. His face was twisted in pain, but he was getting better at resisting the agony of suddenly increasing his Spirit to my level. ¡°I¡¯d have thought you¡¯d be happy for me to remove a Chaos spawn from the Event,¡± I said blocking a strike and shoving him backwards. ¡°You won¡¯t touch her again,¡± Arthur promised me his voice filled with passion that surprised me. I took another step back and sniffed, my senses were vastly expanded by Bestial Senses, and I could smell the faint scent of Ammerila and Arthur on eachother. ¡°Oh, come on, did you fall for her?¡± I asked exasperated. ¡°Is there anyone you won¡¯t fuck? I¡¯m beginning to think I¡¯d have beaten you already if I just had a pair of tits.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Arthur said, his cheeks flushing. ¡°Please,¡± I scoffed. ¡°Anyone with a Perception over twenty could smell the scent of sex on the two of you.¡± This wasn¡¯t true, I could only smell it because of Bestial Sense but that wasn¡¯t something he needed to know. ¡°I¡¯d say you got lucky last night if she weren¡¯t going to stab you in the back.¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± Arthur said slashing at me trying to push me back. ¡°What?¡± I asked with a laugh redirection his force and momentum to the side. ¡°Did you think she loved you? That you swept her off her feet with your noble nature after rescuing her from the dark lord? My poor, sweet prince, at best you were a passing fling, at worst you¡¯re just a pawn. Did you think you could fix her, change her?¡± ¡°Most people try to change for the better,¡± Arthur said. ¡°You should consider it.¡± ¡°Most people never change at all,¡± I said. ¡°And I have changed a great deal since coming to this world, its why I know she won¡¯t. Change only occurs when we have no choice but to change; she wants to be a goddess not some housewife, you aren¡¯t worth the change.¡± Arthur didn¡¯t respond, just went on the attack.
Vone dodged the snapping jaws of the hounds as she sped towards the crimson haired warrior. Her glaive swung out taking off one of its legs. She spun the glaive in her hands taking off one of its heads next. The hound howled in pain, and she finished it off with a blow to the base of its spine. She slid under she slash of ruby bladed sword. The crimson haired woman looked at her with angry red eyes blocking an arrow from Mira as if it were just some annoying fly. Blocking the next strike of her sword Vone reached forward placing a hand on Inara¡¯s chest. ¡°Liberation,¡± she said.
Subject is not under the effects of any mind control, domination, or enslavement spell.
¡°Void Beam,¡± Inara said. Black energy blasted from her hands and flung Vone back as the damage type she had never experienced before hit her. ¡°Why didn¡¯t that work?¡± Vone asked, blocking another sword strike with her glaive. ¡°It worked just fine,¡± Inara said. ¡°Didn¡¯t you read your notification.¡± ¡°But it didn¡¯t do anything,¡± Vone said. ¡°Exactly,¡± Inara said sliding past her guard slamming a shoulder into her chest and knocking her down. Vone rolled to the side avoiding the slash of the ruby sword. ¡°But that means you serve the Warlord willingly? How could you fight alongside someone like him?¡± ¡°You know nothing of Mordred,¡± Inara said driving her sword down towards Vone¡¯s chest with both hands. Blocking the strike with both hands on her glaive. An arrow hit the ground next to Inara¡¯s feet vines spreading from the point of impact. The vines twisted along Inara¡¯s legs rooting her in place. The thunder of hooves against stone rang out as Torvin charged on a steed of golden light a lance aimed directly for Inara¡¯s heart. A ragged figure of black smoke appeared in front of her, crossing his arms he blocked the lance with his arms but was still flung backwards hitting Inara the two rolling across the ground in a tangle of limbs.
Duel ended due to outside interference on behalf of the challenger, no penalties incurred.
Jumping to my feet I blocked the swing of a silver glaive as it swung for my neck. The silver edge of the glaive met Clarent red lighting coursing down the haft. The woman took a step back unlocking our two weapons. ¡°Is that a lightsaber?¡± she asked. ¡°How do you know what a lightsaber is?¡± I asked. ¡°Wait, are you from earth?¡± ¡°You¡¯re from earth too? But you¡¯re the Warlord!¡± Vone said. Blocking another barrage of arrows. I checked behind me to see Arthur staggering from the sudden loss of the strength he¡¯d been building in the duel. I¡¯d taken a lot of damage fighting him, but I knew what backlash from sudden drop in attributes looked like and he was experiencing it hard. ¡°Are those two things somehow exclusive?¡± I asked Vone as I stepped forward and slashed down at her than twisted as she fell for the feint, and I struck her left thigh. She barely got the end of her glaive around to keep her leg from being taken off. ¡°You chose the evil side.¡± I scoffed at that. ¡°You¡¯ve been in this world at least a year, you still have that simplistic mindset. Power is power, there is nothing inherently evil about it.¡± ¡°There is depending around where it comes from and what I does. I know what the ability of the Warlord does; you¡¯re my nemesis,¡± Vone said. ¡°Everything you stand for is against what I stand for.¡± ¡°I¡¯m full up on nemesis right now,¡± I said side stepping a thrust and ducking under her slash. ¡°Check back with me later to see if any openings come up.¡± Torvin rushed forward on his mount again, crimson lighting from my hand blasted the summoned mount to dust and sent him flying. Mira spasmed stunned by the lightning, Vone grimaced but resisted being stunned as she lunged forward. ¡°You go around enslaving people, you take away their free will so you can do whatever you want with them,¡± she said her attacks coming faster and faster. ¡°You¡¯ve been listening to Arthur too much,¡± I said blocking the swing of her glaive. ¡°I¡¯d be careful of him he¡¯s probably just trying to get into your pants.¡± Guinevere teleported behind Vone her sword going for her spine. Arthur interrupted her attack by slamming into her with his shoulder. Guinevere threw him off her, but Vone had retreated. Arthur looked around at his remaining party members. Mira looked drained, she¡¯d been using abilities almost nonstop and must have bottomed out of both of her resources. Arthur sped forward Excalibur swinging out. The blade cut through the base of the three standards at the center of the room. I was beside him again as he tried to swoop all three up. Arthur blocked Clarent but doing so dropped his loose grip on the other two standards. He retreated with the single standard he¡¯d managed to rescue, fleeing for the Tower¡¯s exit. I followed him but Torvin blocked my path standing in the doorway, his lance in hand. ¡°Get out of here,¡± Torvin said I¡¯ll hold them off. Mira, Vone and Ammerila followed Arthur. They looked over their shoulders as I raised my hand crimson lightning racing after them. Torvin slammed his lance into the ground, it acted like a lighting rod drawing all the lightning into it. Guinevere appeared behind him, her sword swinging out and cutting off his head.
26 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 4,661 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Arthur had reached the other side of the bridge already. We stared at each other for a moment before he turned his back to me. Our business together was far from finished. Chapter 116: Stairway to Heaven I tossed the bodies of the three fallen champions out of the tower into the chasm. When we died here our equipment disappeared off the bodies, but the features still remained. It would be pretty earie looking at your own corpse. Exar¡¯kun respawned about an hour later. It had taken every last champion on the field to take him down. ¡°How did that party take you down the first time we met?¡± I asked him as he shook his body as if coming out of a deep sleep. ¡°They had prepared to fight me,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°They had potions and enchantments designed specifically to combat my abilities. These are just a large group of people with a bunch of abilities, they could easily handle most creatures; just not me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re so humble,¡± I said drily. ¡°Just remember that they did kill you.¡± ¡°Oh, I will,¡± Exar¡¯kun growled. I suspected he hadn¡¯t taken the right meaning from my words. The horn blew out across the plains as the day was called to an end by the System.
This is the end of the second day of the event, rewards will be distributed, and points gathered so far will be tallied and shown.
Points For: Western Side: 2nd Place Eastern Side: 3rd Place The Warlord: 1st Place
Contestants Killed: 23 13 126
Standard Captured: 0 0 0
Standard Rescued: 0 15 0
Standards Held: 0 0 1
Strategic Points Captured: 0 0 10
Strategic Points Defended: 0 0 30
Arthur¡¯s faction had finally gotten into second place, even so, my team was leagues ahead of everyone. With the only capture point on the field and still holding a flag and defending our capture point we had gotten more than enough to earn first place; that didn¡¯t even consider the sheer number of kill points we¡¯d gotten thanks to Exar¡¯kun. Pushing aside the rankings I looked for the rewards.
Distributing first round of rewards based on current points gathered.
3 (+3 for win streak) = 6 Ambrosia (boosts regen speed by +10 per second for one resource type.
3 Manna Wafers (boost your maximum for one resource by 50)
3 Ability Tokens (Boost the max rank for a standard ability by 10 ranks)
Guinevere came down from the top of the tower, she hadn¡¯t spoken to me since the fight, and I got the sense she was avoiding me. While I wasn¡¯t good at this sort of stuff, I knew I needed to talk to her about the fight. ¡°We¡¯ll split the rewards the same way again,¡± I said taking two vials of ambrosia and one manna wafer and ability token. Guinevere took her rewards and turned to leave but I caught her hand pulling her back. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked her concerned. ¡°Is this about that kiss?¡± ¡°No, well yes,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I don¡¯t blame you for it but when I saw her touch you like that¡­I lost it. Its like you told me once, I¡¯ve suppressed my anger for so long I¡¯ve never learned how to handle it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with anger in itself,¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t have any control,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°How do you rein in that anger?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really,¡± I said shrugging. ¡°I let it flow like water, I just guide its path to useful targets.¡± ¡°I¡­ I just need to think,¡± Guinevere said letting go of my hand. I wanted to go after but stopped myself. She needed space, I knew from myself that some issues you needed help with and sometimes you just needed time to come to the answer yourself. I looked down at the vials of ambrosia and ability token. I had some of my own introspection to do. Sitting down on my throne I closed my eyes. The System was an interesting thing, it responded to verbal commands mostly but could provide mental screens as well with a bit of probing I could bring up the screens in my mind. Going through my abilities I began searching for the one I wanted to be something that could define me. Black Rage was probably my most powerful combat ability, the ability to just scale up Might with every wound I inflicted could not be underestimated but I didn¡¯t want rage to define me more than it already did. Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory was a powerful ability that was the fusion of two abilities, but I had no interest in being some crafting god. Foresight had saved my life countless times and upgrading it could remove the blind spots created by counter abilities, but it wasn¡¯t something that fascinated me. My thoughts turned on a whim and I selected the only ability I had gained through my own effort and creation not just by slaying some creature or selecting it when I came to this world.
Ability Gained, Spirit Collective, (Rank: Error): You have created a symbiotic instead of parasitic relationship with the spirits inhabiting you. Through manipulation of your mana and stamina, they have created a third type of energy and can use it to manifest through your body and interact with the world.
Cost: 1 Ethereal point per second of use.
This ability should not exist and cannot be upgraded. As punishment for bypassing the system to gain abilities, all current unspent Rank points will be spent to purchase this ability.
¡°Can I apply an Ability Token to this ability?¡± I asked the System. After twenty seconds I got an answer as if the System were reluctant to tell me.
While technically possible it is not advisable, the Void is outside my influence, and you will be given no options every five ranks and will be given a random mutation that the ability develops itself with no guidance from me or you. The ability will also only gain five possible ranks per ability token vastly slowing down how fast you can increase it. Since you will need to increase it from rank 0 all the way to rank 50 you will fall behind your peers and their own chosen abilities. Also do to the incompatibility of the void it will take 10x the rank points for each rank up of this ability.
¡°You¡¯ve got a lot to say all of the sudden,¡± I said. Sitting back I gave the system¡¯s message some consideration. Based on that cost it would take twelve-thousand-seven-hundred-and-fifty rank points to rank the ability up from zero to fifty. I only had two Ability Tokens so that would only get me to rank ten, I would need eight more ability tokens to get it to so I could upgrade it to fifty. Right now I only had two-thousand-three-hundred-and-seventy-six rank points free to spend. A regular ability cost two-hundred-and-ten rank points to max out at twenty. Selecting this ability would cost me five-hundred-and-fifty-five points just to get it to rank ten. The cost aside I had to consider the other issue. No choice, I would be really on luck or fate to get abilities that synergized well with me. With all the issues this was not the greatest choice and system was right to advise me against it. However, typically you get what you paid for. Ultimately I went with the phrase that had let to a lot of bad and good things happening to me. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Fuck it,¡± I said. ¡°Assign my Ability Tokens to Spirit Collective.¡±
Ability will change slightly to become compatible with the System.
Void Asura, (Rank: 1): You have created a symbiotic instead of parasitic relationship with the spirits inhabiting you, with the use of an ability token you have changed this ability to make it somewhat compatible with the System. Through manipulation of your mana and stamina, they have created a third type of energy and can use it to manifest through your body and interact with the world.
Cost: 1 Ethereal per second Cast Time: Instantaneous
This ability should not exist, it will take 10x the normal amount of rank points for each rank up of this ability. Ranking up this ability does not advance any of your attributes. Current Max Rank is 10.
I had no idea what an asura was but the die was cast now; there was no point looking back, it was time to press forward. ¡°Rank Void Asura up to rank ten,¡± I told the System. There were no notifications to blink away this time. A burning sensation passed through my Spirit. I felt pain like when Ammerila had sneak attacked me. My hands gripped the arm rest of the throne as my back slammed violently against the stone backrest. The pain went on for what felt like forever but what could only have been about three or five minutes when I got the first notification.
Void Asura, (Rank: 5): You have created a symbiotic instead of parasitic relationship with the spirits inhabiting you, with the use of an ability token you have changed this ability to make it somewhat compatible with the System. Through manipulation of your mana and stamina, they have created a third type of energy and can use it to manifest through your body and interact with the world.
Void Armor: You gain a passive resistance to Soul & Void damage reducing the damage taken by 1 stage. The spectral arms created by the spirits residing in your soul when manifested appear with armor, the armor has hardness 5 with an additional 1 hardness per twenty points of Spirit you have. Current hardness 13.
Cost: 3 Ethereal per second Cast Time: Instantaneous
This ability should not exist, it will take 10x the normal amount of rank points for each rank up of this ability. Ranking up this ability does not advance any of your attributes. Current Max Rank is 10.
My jaw was locked as my teeth grit together. Time seemed to pass even slower but eventually I got to the next notification.
Void Asura, (Rank: 10): You have created a symbiotic instead of parasitic relationship with the spirits inhabiting you, with the use of an ability token you have changed this ability to make it somewhat compatible with the System. Through manipulation of your mana and stamina, they have created a third type of energy and can use it to manifest through your body and interact with the world.
Void Armor: You gain a passive resistance to Soul & Void damage reducing the damage taken by 2 stage. The spectral arms created by the spirits residing in your soul when manifested appear armored, the armor has hardness 10 with an additional 1 hardness per twenty points of Spirit you have. Current hardness 18.
Void Edge: Your attacks while this ability is active deal Minor Void damage and bypass 1 level of hardness.
Cost: 5 Ethereal per second Cast Time: Instantaneous
This ability should not exist, it will take 10x the normal amount of rank points for each rank up of this ability. Ranking up this ability does not advance any of your attributes. Current Max Rank is 10.
The ability had become more powerful, but its cost had also gone up by a lot. Right now, I could use ability for forty seconds before I¡¯d run out of Ethereal. Luckily, the System had provided a way to help solve this. Drinking the ambrosia, I assigned them to increase my Ethereal regeneration, this still was only plus three Ethereal per second, but it was a start. Chewing the Manna Wafers, they melted on my tongue tasting like honey and caramel, I assigned them to my Ethereal as well to increase the time I¡¯d have with this ability active.
You will only get an additional +25 to this type of resources instead of the usual +50. Do you still wish to continue.
I gave the go ahead and pulled up my status.
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 445
Available Rank Points: 2,376
Might: 73 (+43) = 117 Mind: 68
Speed: 62 (+40) = 92 Perception: 67
Toughness: 46 Spirit: 161
Endurance: 41 Power: 51
Maximum Stamina: 352 Maximum Mana: 4,948
Stamina Regen: 87.4 per second Mana Regen: 111.6 per second
Ethereal Regen: 3.00083333333 per second Maximum Ethereal: 250
Abilities
Dominion (Rank 50), Telekinesis (Rank 20), Heightened Speed (Rank 20), Foresight (Rank 20), Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory (Rank 20), Bestial Senses: (Rank 20), Phantom Form (Rank 20), Storm Soul (Rank 20), Magma Heart(s) (Rank 20), Troll Hide (Rank 20), Black-rage (Rank 20), Hell¡¯s Talons (Rank 20), Helheim¡¯s Scream (Rank 20), Chain Lightning (Rank 20), Voice of the Chasm (Rank 20), Setules Palms (Rank 20), Tremor Soles (Rank 20), Dark Guardian (Rank 15), Brutal Spite (Rank 10), Blood Renewal (Rank 20), Wild Hunt (Rank 20) Void Assura (Rank 10)
Blessings:
Blessing of War (Veteran), Blessing of Tadris
Titles
Mark of Cain, Bloody Pugilist, Exorcist, Survivor III, Feral Barbarian, Field Alchemist III, Berserker, Beast Slayer III, War Chief, Venom Resistant III, Keytaro¡¯s Guardian III, Wrathful Meditation, Fireproof III, Superhuman, Bearer of Death, Lightning Resistance, the Fate Breaker, Apprentice Bludgeoner, Master Deflector, Apprentice Spearman, Divine Smith, Master Enchanter, Knight of Camelot, Challenger, Artifact Breaker, Abomination Slayer, Spell Carver, Master Swordsman, the Possessed
I had stepped onto the path of the void, only time would tell if I had made the right decision. --- Guinevere sat at the top of the tower her mind dazed from the anesthetic drug she had taken. She had finished upgrading her latest ability, she wasn¡¯t sure about it. The ability was powerful but part of it seemed as much a curse as a blessing.
Aphrodite¡¯s Beauty (Rank 20, Max Rank): Your beauty surpasses mortal understanding; none can look upon you without falling for your beauty. You regenerate & heal from all wounds, restoring a Minor amount of damage per minute, returning to physical perfection. Your body can never scar, you are immune to effects of aging, your physical perfection gives you advantage on resisting debuffs and reduces their duration by ?.
As an active effect you can cause enemies who look upon you to be inflicted with *Fatal Attraction for 1 minute on a failed Spirit check.
You may grant one member of the opposite sex the boon *Lady¡¯s Favor lasting for 1 hour. This manifest as a handkerchief wrapped around their arm.
Your kiss heals Major damage and cleanses all types of poisons, diseases, curses and debuffs from the target.
The embodiment of physical perfection you are exempt from death by aging, sickness, or disease.
*Fatal Attraction: Damage dealt to the source of this debuff is halved.
*Lady¡¯s Favor: The target gains a bonus to their attributes equal to 10% of your highest Attribute.
Max Rank Bonus: To be loved by you is to know love itself, you may choose one creature to receive your blessing granting them a damage shield, reducing all damage taken by one stage. This blessing cannot be removed or given to another creature until this creature dies.
Cost: 4 mana & 4 stamina per second Cast Time: Passive Ability
Upgrade this ability to increase regeneration speed and the reduction of debuff duration. Each rank up increases your Speed, Might, Toughness & Endurance by two.
All her life she had been noticed by men, her own power and that of her father¡¯s had kept them from ever acting on it but she had felt their gazes following her. Of course, some of the attention was flattering but it was also draining. The fact this ability raised four attributes by two each at a time would have made it a superb ability all in its own, but its effects were also incredibly powerful. It was very different than most of her other abilities, Guinevere didn¡¯t have any support abilities, among the nobility focusing on support was reserved for their vassals typically allowing them to focus on direct combat abilities. Only people like Helen who came from a line of priestess were focused on support. Despite the ability¡¯s power she knew her father would consider it a weak ability. Her fists clenched at that thought tightening around the Ability Token in her hand. Her father would tell her to raise one of her combat abilities like Battle Insight, Oracle¡¯s Ghost or Grace-of-the-Fey, that was if he even let her keep the Ability Tokens. He¡¯d tell her such things weren¡¯t for the likes of her. ¡°Use my Ability Tokens on Aphrodite¡¯s Beauty,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°There are enough gods dedicated to war and swords.¡± ¡°So you plan on becoming a god?¡± Exar¡¯kun asked. Guinevere jumped up before her heart stilled. ¡°How are you that stealthy?¡± she asked. ¡°I weight over a ton,¡± Exar¡¯kun said opening one eye to look at her from where he was curled up at the center of the tower. ¡°I am in no sense of the word stealthy, your drugs just addle your senses. But back to my question you¡¯ve finally decided?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯ve been watching you,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°You¡¯ve latched onto Mordred because you love him, I can smell that on the both of you. But also because you thought he was better than you, a part of you still thought of the champions as better than yourself. It wasn¡¯t until you got the option to ascend like them that you even thought of the ultimate goal.¡± ¡°The ultimate goal?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Godhood,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°The best creatures like you and I could ever hope for would be to reach Demigod rank. Everyone says that you have to just raise all your attributes to five-hundred but that¡¯s not possible for anyone but champions.¡± ¡°I suppose¡­ I did think they were better than me,¡± Guinevere admitted. ¡°Now that you have realized that I wonder if you have considered the next question,¡± Exar¡¯kun asked. ¡°What is that?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Which of you will become a god?¡± he asked. ¡°You or Mordred, the System only allows one to ascend every five-hundred years. You have the chance to reach godhood, but you also have the choice.¡± Guinevere was silent as the full weight of Exar¡¯kun¡¯s words hit her. If Mordred one he would ascend to godhood and be limited from acting in the mortal world and by extension being with her, and if she ascended the same would also apply. Only one could ever win the game of the gods. Chapter 117: No Cost to Great I sealed the standards under several feet of stone this time. You would have to be able to carve through ten feet of hardness sixteen stone to get to them this time. I went up to our living area took off my armor and started a fire, Guinevere came down a bit later and I sealed the door behind us. She was silent and I wasn¡¯t sure if she had resolved whatever issue had been bothering her. ¡°You all right?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Guinevere said. While I wasn¡¯t an expert on women, I knew ¡°I¡¯m fine¡± usually meant they were anything but. I also knew you couldn¡¯t just come out and ask what¡¯s wrong either. Turning to look at her, I studied her as she took off her armor. My jaw dropped as she removed her helmet, her hair returning to its silver white. Guinevere took the cleansing cloth I had left on a stone table for her next to the armor stand. She rubbed her face with it her body instantly cleanses of every spec of dirt. Turning around she caught me staring at her. ¡°What?¡± she asked self-consciously. ¡°You¡¯re beautiful,¡± I said. ¡°I mean you were beautiful before but¡­wow.¡± The last word came out with breathless awe as I beheld her. She had been a striking woman before but now. Her appearance hadn¡¯t changed either, it had just enhanced. Every curve of her body was somehow accentuated, her skin had luminous glow to it and her eyes were like a sea of sapphire stars. She glided across the room sitting beside me leaning into me her hair like a curtain of silk spreading across my chest. ¡°Have you thought about what happens if you win?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°We¡¯re not talking about this Event, are we?¡± I asked, my hand running down her spine as I still marveled at her beauty. ¡°You mean the game of the gods? I¡¯ve thought about what kind of god I¡¯d want to be, but no, I haven¡¯t really thought about what I¡¯d do after.¡± ¡°Gods are restricted from interacting with none-gods,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Exar¡¯kun reminded me of that today, I was so excited at the thought of raising one my abilities and reaching that height I didn¡¯t think what would it mean once I reached it.¡± ¡°Nothing will stop me from being with you,¡± I said. ¡°Not the System, not the gods, not Arthur.¡± ¡°I know you believe that but there are things we just can¡¯t go against,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Even Arthur, he¡¯s a better fighter than you Mordred. You¡¯re good, as good as me, but he¡¯s better. I¡¯ve been called a sword prodigy all my life but if I¡¯m a prodigy than he¡¯s the master. That¡¯s not even considering his divine ability, one on one he will always win.¡± ¡°Do you trust me?¡± I asked. ¡°I want to,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But this isn¡¯t an issue of whether I believe your word, I¡¯m afraid if you come after me, you¡¯ll die. I¡­ I can¡¯t bear being the reason your killed.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather die for you than go on forever without ever having tried,¡± I said. My hands clasped around Guinevere¡¯s as I pushed her off my chest and knelt down in front of her forcing her to meet my eyes. ¡°No cost is too great to be with you,¡± I said. Guinevere¡¯s eyes darkened as she pushed me back onto the bed of furs. Her clothes slid off piling up on the floor. Her skin as soft as satin touched mine sending a racing feeling of electricity through me, my hearts beating faster. Her legs straddled me as her lips met mine, her hair forming a curtain around our faces.
Arthur stood with the remaining champions, of the nearly four-hundred total that had entered the Event only eighty-nine remained. They had killed the dragon but at great cost. People were blaming each other and there was enough guilt to go around. Arthur felt his own hands clench in anger as he remembered how he¡¯d failed to kill the Warlord. ¡°I have a plan,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Is it better than your last one?¡± someone called out. There was some laughter, grumbling and jeers and other people shouting at the dissenter. ¡°He did get back our standard,¡± Kay said. ¡°Yeah, but not ours,¡± someone from the opposing faction yelled. ¡°And three of you died and you couldn¡¯t even kill him.¡± ¡°Last time the Warlord was able to break free from my duel,¡± Arthur said. ¡°This time that won¡¯t happen, we aren¡¯t going to fight him in his tower. I will face the Warlord alone, the rest of you will kill the dragon and the dark Valkyrie.¡± ¡°How are you going to beat him this time?¡± Lancelot asked. ¡°I¡¯m not saying you can¡¯t, but he¡¯s slipped out of your duel twice now.¡± ¡°I need the help of one of you,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Which one of you cast the Mirror Dome on the Dark Valkyrie.¡± A slim man in light cloth and leather robes raised his hand. ¡°I did but I¡¯m down to my last life if he kills me¡­¡± ¡°If he attacks you the duel ends and he will become vulnerable to all our attacks,¡± Arthur said. ¡°He won¡¯t risk it, he¡¯s arrogant enough to think he can take me in a duel.¡± There was silence for a moment. ¡°What about the dragon?¡± a woman asked. ¡°I have three extra amulets designed for resisting his breath,¡± Mira said. ¡°And a few potions, we need to ground him to have a chance of beating him. Who here has abilities that could pull him down?¡± The champions began to plan and strategize. This day would not end in overwhelming victory for the Warlord.
I stood atop the tower again looking down on the Battlegrounds. The champions could be seen in the distance approaching. Unlike yesterday though they stopped, I could still reach them with my cannon shot but I would have to arc it to land that far and they would have plenty of time to counter or take cover. A blur crossed the horizon, my vision focused as Arthur shot through the air. Clarent snapped into my hand blocking Excalibur as it came for my head. Arthur rolled across the top of the tower. ¡°Face me,¡± he snapped issuing the challenge.
You have been given a Challenge, refusing the challenge will increase the damage dealt to you by the challenger by x10 for the next hour, reduce your Toughness Attribute by 25% and give you vulnerability to Holy damage. If you accept the challenge, you can only attack the target. Any attack that you make that strikes another target will break the challenge resulting in the above penalties occurring. If any allied creature that jumps into assist you will break the challenge resulting in you being penalized, any rival creature that assist the challenger will break the Challenge with no ill effect towards you; third party interference will have no effect. Accept Challenge? Yes/No
¡°Yes,¡± I responded. Clarent snapped up again blocking Arthur¡¯s slash as he lunged forward. His hand wrapped around the gorget of my pauldrons, and he launched us both off the side of the tower. Clarent was much shorter that Excalibur allowing me to wield it one handed as we spun through the air. I slashed out at Arthur as he shrunk his head down to protect his neck. We hit the ground sending up dirt and clots of grass. I expended the necessary mana to negate the fall damage and Arthur looked undamaged by it as well. About twenty yards away was a man in cloth and leather robes, he slammed a staff into the ground a crystal dome appeared around us its sides reflective, blocking sight to the outside world. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ve got you alone now,¡± Arthur said. ¡°You could at least buy me dinner first,¡± I said teleporting behind him. He spun blocking my strike to the back of his knees. We traded attempts to penetrate the other¡¯s defenses. Arthur did much better than me Excalibur acting as an extension of his body. Guinevere said he was better than me when it came to fighting, I¡¯d yet to beat him yet but there was always a first. You sure you don¡¯t want our help with this? Karnen asked. Yes, I said. I need to find out what the both of us are capable of before I pull out that trump card. Ducking under Excalibur I drove Clarent forward lighting traveling along Arthur¡¯s armor but having little noticeable effect on him.
As soon as the Mirror Dome popped up the rest of the champions moved forwards. Lancelot, Kay and Torvin led the charge while Mira directed the ranged support. The black form of the Hell Dragon was soon silhouetted against the sky the smaller form of humanoid beside him, like a sparrow flying alongside a hawk. A torrent of fire fell from the sky and the charging heroes jerked to a stop. A dome of earth rose up over them as they hunkered down under it. The fire stopped and they moved forwards again, the two opposing forces growing closer and closer. The dragon passed overhead while the woman dropped down in front of the warriors. Her wings didn¡¯t disappear as she hung suspended above them her blade a crimson dervish. Black energy shot from her hand as she spun in a circle one man didn¡¯t move fast enough and the beam passed over him leaving a pile of ash where he had stood. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Turning from the fight Mira focused on the dragon as it turned around for another pass over them. Pulling back her bow she released an arrow her attack followed by dozens of others as more and more projectiles and abilities were blasted into the sky. The dragon rolled in the air dodging some, but he was so big he couldn¡¯t dodge them all. Vines and thorns grew across his scales entangling his wings. Ices formed along his underside dragging him down. A vortex of purple energy increased his weight pulling him down further. A few effects Exar¡¯kun could had dealt with but not the score he was hit with. He slammed down into the ground the earth shaking under the force of his impact. The warriors engaged with the Dark Valkyrie turned to rush the dragon. They needed to kill it before he broke free and took to the air again two were cut down from behind as they turned their eyes on the Warlord¡¯s handmaiden, but they kept to the plan. Torvin charged the dragon his lance glowing with power as he built up the charge on it with every step of his mount. The dragon reared its head even as vines, ropes and chains pulled down its neck. A torrent of emerald flames spewed from his mouth, but Lancelot rushed to the front, his shield creating a dome that split the fire. Protected by Lancelot¡¯s shield those behind him continued to rush forwards. Torvin struck Exar¡¯kun in the neck blasting a wide hole through his scales. Snapping the vines holding his neck Exar jerked his head and snapped down on Torvin bisecting him at the torso. Blood spurted from his neck as the martial champions began to scale his back attacking him with their Artifact weapons. It was like a pack of wolves taking down a grizzly bear as they held him down and began hacking into him, however this bear had a wolf of its own. The Dark Valkyrie flew from opponent to opponent, wounding, killing, and driving them back. She was making progress witling down their numbers just not fast enough. ¡°Seeking Spines,¡± the dragon growled. The spines along his back detached and shot out homing in on the champions crawling over him. Some managed to defend themselves and dodge or block the spines, many did not. The battle continued, the dragon slowly dying but exacting a price for every wound inflicted on it. The Dark Valkyrie harried his attackers, they did their best to only defend themselves and focus on killing the dragon first but it was difficult to ignore her ferocity.
I went skidding across the ground as Arthur slammed into me. Rolling to my feet I blocked with Clarent and stepped into his guard headbutting him. Arthur didn¡¯t shift an inch as I collided with him, his Might and Toughness were growing to the point it was getting hard to damage him. Cutting to the right I slashed then teleported behind and stabbed. Arthur didn¡¯t move his feet an inch as he blocked, parried, and reposted every single attack I tried. Finally turning Excalibur swung at me so fast I barely moved before it cut me in half. Shooting into the air I opened my storage pouch. A rain of stone spearheads fell onto the ground rising like a flock of birds and shooting towards Arthur. Arthur deflected one or two, but they moved faster than bullets and there were just more than was possible for one person to block. They slammed into him sparking off his armor as I tried to pry into the cracks. Those with lightning enchantments did minor damage but Arthur shot into the air after me. I blocked and we went flying and slashing at each other. I grabbed him by the shoulder to anchor myself as I swung Clarent around his neck. He kicked out, hitting me in the chest cracking several ribs and knocking us apart. We went flying hitting the dirt than rushed towards each other again. My body was stained red with blood from the wounds Arthur had inflicted on me, but his armor was only dirty, I had yet to inflict a single cut on him. ¡°Running out of tricks now,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Not at all,¡± I said. ¡°I just do better against vast numbers, the opposite of you in fact.¡± ¡°So, you have the capacity for slaughter,¡± Arthur scoffed. ¡°I¡¯m not surprised.¡± ¡°I also have the capacity to protect my people from ravaging armies, I¡¯ve seen the lands you¡¯ve conquered prince. I have yet to start a war, if people were to look at our deeds alone most people would assume you¡¯re the Warlord. You talk like some righteous paladin but your no better than the rest of us, you might even be worse because of your hypocrisy.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know what it means to be righteous,¡± Arthur said lunging forward. I twisted to the side avoiding the tip of Excalibur and clashed across his arm crimson lightning traveling along his armor. ¡°And you only know what it means to be self-righteous,¡± I shot back. ¡°But don¡¯t worry you¡¯ll find out the difference when I rapture your ass.¡± I lunged forward dropping Clarent. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talons.¡± My nails extended to claws as I slashed at him, my sword and spearheads couldn¡¯t bypass his armor, but my talons allowed me to phase through one inch of material. My claws raked his arm and I smiled. Than Arthur spun knocked me aside Excalibur slicing out and hitting me at the shoulder. I managed to move enough so he couldn¡¯t¡¯ carve through to my heart but my left arm dropped to the ground. ¡°I think not,¡± Arthur said kicking me in the chest and driving me to the ground. Excalibur plunged down going straight through my sternum. Cutting to the side half my torso fell away as my blood poured out onto the ground and my vision began to darken. ¡°Let¡¯s face it Mordred,¡± Arthur said as he looked down on me with a mixture of disdain, hatred, and self-satisfaction. ¡°I¡¯m just better than you.¡±
Guinevere blocked the stab of a spear pushing it aside she used Blizzard Breath unleashing a torrent of fire. Spinning she ducked under the swing of an axe and ripped open the belly of the woman who had just attacked her. Golden healing light began to infuse her woman, but Guinevere didn¡¯t let it finish removing her head. Exar¡¯kun let out one last defiant roar and torrent of fire before his body went limp. He¡¯d taken out over half his attackers with her help, but he was in respawn now and wouldn¡¯t be able to help for a few hours. Guinevere caught sight of a tawny skinned woman and felt her vision go red. Teleporting she appeared next to the Seductress she didn¡¯t even see or feel the attacks that hit her as a knife slid past her armor into her stomach spreading poison through her body. A burning agony spread through it but the rage that suffused her blocked it out. Her sword slit open Lillyn¡¯s belly, that wasn¡¯t enough on its own to kill a gifted of her rank, however. Guinevere dropped the sword, her hands reaching into opening she had cut and grabbing a strand of intestine. She ripped it out eliciting a scream of pain, wrapping it around Lillyn¡¯s neck she dragged her behind her as she picked up her sword again. The Assassin appeared behind her stabbing towards her back again. Guinevere blocked and pointed her sword at her. ¡°Void Beam,¡± she snarled the black energy engulfed the assassin but didn¡¯t kill her merely leaving her at death¡¯s door. Another warrior swung at her with a halberd, she blocked his attack and slashed him across the leg activating Agonizing Wounds making him fall back in pain. Driving her sword through his chest she continued forward as she dragged the succubus behind her as she gasped and clawed at her throat.
21 rank points gained
The ghastly sight made even these warriors turn away. An arrow exploded against Guinevere¡¯s armor staggering her, she gave one last yank on the stand of intestine and the succubus went limp.
27 rank points gained.
An arrow hit her back and exploded, staggering her and sending her stumbling. Only four opponents remained now, Guinevere was beaten and battered her body slowly succumbing to the Soul Poison that coursed through her body. Lancelot and Kay stood providing defense for Mirra as Ammerila acted as their skirmisher. ¡°I might not be able to kill the Warlord to avenge Jamis,¡± Mira said. ¡°But I¡¯ll settle with you for now.¡± ¡°It was your choice to attack the Warlord,¡± Guinevere spat. ¡°He gave you the chance to leave before you started the fight, and spared the rest of you when it was done.¡± Mirra released the arrow, but Guinevere teleported behind her driving her sword forward. Mira rolled under the attack, but Guinevere just moved forward hacking and slashing relentlessly. Kay stepped in but Guinevere ducked under his spear strike and drove her sword into his gut. The pain of Agonizing Strike sent him to his knees, and she raised her hand again. ¡°Void Beam,¡± she snarled sweeping it across the battlefield hitting all four of them. Ammerila already hit by this went down immediately her body crumbling to ash. Mira only took a glancing hit from it rolling to the side, she drew back her bow but the specter of a champion stabbed her through the back. Kay gasped as the energy ravaged his body, Guinevere stepped forward and decapitated him, his head rolling across the ground.
72 rank points gained from assorted kills.
Only Lancelot had been able to defend himself thanks to his shield. He rushed forward hitting her with a shield back sending her rolling across the blood stained, scorched battlefield. He charged forward but she pushed up jumping back to her feet. His sword grazed her neck, and she could feel her vision growing feint. Stepping forward she tackled Lancelot to the ground he got his shield in-between them blocking her sword from coming down on him. Dropping the sword, she pulled a dagger from her belt and stabbed down around his shield. Over and over, she stabbed until Lancelot went limp.
23 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 4,662 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Guinevere rolled back heaving for breath she reached a trembling hand to her belt for a healing potion. Her arm stilled and collapsed as the poison, blood loss and exhaustion finally took its hold and she died.
Get up, Voidra said. You aren¡¯t going to let us help, so the least you can do is put on a good show. Arthur turned around and began to walk away, his feet sounding like thunder in my ears. My eyes snapped open. With my one remaining arm I pushed myself back to my feet and removed a healing potion from my storage pouch popping the cork and swigging it back. Arthur heard me, stopped, and turned around. ¡°How?¡± Arthur asked, looking at me with a mixture of awe and horror. ¡°You can¡¯t beat me Arthur,¡± I said blood pooling around me as my body bled out from the gaping hole where half my torso missing, and the stump of my arm. ¡°No matter what you do, I¡¯ll always get back up, even death doesn¡¯t have a claim on me.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that,¡± Arthur said lunging forward. Foresight let me predict his attack and I teleported away. It was time for a new strategy; I appeared next to the man who was responsible for the Mirror Dome we were in. he flinched but I made no move to attack him. Arthur skidded to a halt next to us, the man tried to run away from us but I easily kept pace with him. I constantly moved to keep the man in-between me and Arthur preventing him from fully using his greatsword. Arthur was fast but the effect of my boots couldn¡¯t be copied by his ability, so I was still faster. He was growing frustrated as each attack failed to hit, and he had to pull his attacks or risk killing his allies. Finally, he stopped chasing me. Seeming to have made up his mind about something. A shockwave blasted out from him surprising me and the mage as it sent us both flying. Arthur approached me his steps unhurried and confident. ¡°I got an ability for killing you,¡± Arthur said. ¡°It¡¯s surprisingly powerful, it¡¯s called Gravitational forces.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fitting,¡± I said pushing myself up from the ground blood spitting out of the black mist surround me to splatter on the ground. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°Well, you know what makes gravity right?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s caused by the incredible size and weight of planets¡­ What I¡¯m trying to say is¡­ you¡¯re a massive piece of shit.¡± ¡°Your all biting words,¡± Arthur said. ¡°But let¡¯s see how you handle your own medicine, Gravitational Forces.¡± I tried to move away but my body was suddenly lethargic, slow, and unresponsive. I sagged to the ground as I strained against the weight pressing down on me. The weight increased more and more until I felt my bones began to crack. If I was suffering the mage was dying, sure enough the mirror dome broke above us as his body gave way to the massive pressure. In the distance I could see the body of Exar¡¯kun there was no other movement, whatever had happened it didn¡¯t look like anyone had survived. Arthur stepped forward slamming his foot onto my chest and pinning me to the ground. I tried to raise my hand to attack but didn¡¯t¡¯ even have the strength to do that. ¡°And now you lose,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Do I really?¡± I asked blood foaming at my mouth as I spat it out. ¡°Look around, you¡¯re the only one that¡¯s left; is this your great victory?¡± ¡°There is no cost to great to kill you,¡± Arthur snarled and brought Excalibur down on my neck. Chapter 118: Lose the Battle to Win the War My body jerked as I sat up, my hearts racing. I¡¯d only done it the one other time, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯d ever get used to respawning after death. Guinevere was sitting up nearby having just respawned herself. Exar¡¯kun landed on the ground from above. ¡°Took you long enough,¡± he said. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Arthur and I had a long fight.¡± ¡°You lasted a long while against him,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°We got the rest of them, how many of them are left you think?¡± ¡°Not many, but¡­¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m down to my last life. Arthur has two left; I die one more time and we lose. We technically lost this battle too; Arthur was the only one left alive then.¡± It doesn¡¯t matter if you lose the battle, Ares said. So long as you win the war. What did you learn from this? ¡°We keep waiting for them to attack us,¡± I said, answering the question only I could hear. ¡°That gives them the advantage to pick how they want to handle us. We stay here defending this spot because its our capture point and holds our standard and the captured one.¡± And what will your enemy do now? Ares asked. ¡°Everyone but Arthur needed to respawn, if the time is the same for them as it is for us the last of them should have just respawned.¡± I reasoned. ¡°They¡¯ll need to regroup, they¡¯re missing most of their numbers, so they¡¯ll need to make a new plan, that means they won¡¯t be planning on attacking us anytime soon.¡± ¡°What does that mean for us?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Give me a minute,¡± I said thinking. My thoughts were interrupted by a blaring horn that echoed across the Proving-Grounds.
This is the end of the third day of the event, rewards will be distributed, and points gathered so far will be tallied and shown.
Points For: Western Side: 2nd Place Eastern Side: 3rd Place The Warlord: 1st Place
Contestants Killed: 14 25 This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. 98
Standard Captured: 0 0 0
Standard Rescued: 0 0 0
Standards Held: 0 0 20
Strategic Points Captured: 0 0 0
Strategic Points Defended: 0 0 0
They hadn¡¯t attacked our base, so we got no points for defending. That didn¡¯t matter though, even with everyone on our side dying the sheer number of kills Guinevere and Exar¡¯kun got made up for it at the rate we were going we¡¯d run out of people before we ran out days left in the Event. Dismissing the score board, I looked at the rewards we got for coming in first place again.
Distributing first round of rewards based on current points gathered.
3 (+3 for win streak) = 6 Ambrosia (boosts regen speed by +10 per second for one resource type.
3 Manna Wafers (boost your maximum for one resource by 50)
3 (+3 for win streak) = 6 Ability Tokens (Boost the max rank for a standard ability by 10 ranks)
1 (Bonus Loot Celestial Gold Ingot (boots enchantments with buffs)
We were getting more rewards with each round of the event. I could only imagine what the rewards for getting to day seven with a straight win streak would be. First, I would have to win, one more death and I was out, and Arthur was ahead of me, at least in lives. ¡°What¡¯s our plan?¡± Exar¡¯kun asked. ¡°There was a man on my world who wrote a book called the art of war,¡± I said thinking over what Ares had been prompting me with. ¡°He said to not repeat the tactics that gained you one victory but to let your methods be infinite. Today we did the same thing as the past two days, and it cost us all one of our lives. They expect us to defend, to wait for them to come again, so we go on the attack right now while they¡¯re still recovering from respawning.¡± I grabbed two vials of ambrosia, one manna wafer and two ability tokens. The tokens melted into my skin as soon as I made contact with them. There was no time to upgrade any abilities we needed to strike within the hour while they still had the illusion of safety and had yet to make any plans. Guinevere and Exar¡¯kun grabbed their share of the loot, and I tossed the gold ingot into my storage for now. ¡°What your plan for Arthur?¡± Guinevere asked me. ¡°You can¡¯t get locked in another duel with him.¡± ¡°Without that mirror dome around him I¡¯ll be able to use his allies against him,¡± I said. ¡°But I¡¯m going to need you or Exar¡¯kun to help me put him down. We need to cut down on his lives.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I killed him last time, but he was suffering backlash that time.¡± ¡°Try to use the Assassin against him,¡± I said. ¡°They¡¯re sleeping with eachother use his emotions against him.¡± ¡°Of course, he is,¡± Guinevere growled out. ¡°I¡¯d be happy to.¡± Chapter 119: Night Raid Arthur jerked out of his bed as screams surrounded him a blinding eldritch green light shone through the windows. Thunder rattled the building as something struck the ground. A long unearthly screaming howl rang out for ten seconds ending only to be filled with more of the same. ¡°Instant Armory,¡± Arthur said his armor flying across the room as he sat up pushing Ammerila off the narrow bed out of the way of the flying metal. Bursting out of the stone building he ducked under the snapping jaws of a three-headed hound. Crimson lightning snaked around the corner of the building hitting him. He gritted his teeth and pushed passed the pain, he had Lightning Resistance II and his ability Inner Wellspring reduced all damage he took by one stage. Looking around he spotted Mordred as he stabbed his lightning blade through the back of a man as he stumbled out a barracks. Specters and hounds ran throughout their camp disappearing inside the buildings and filling them with screams as they attacked unarmored champions not prepared for the assault. ¡°Mordred!¡± Arthur shouted his voice ringing across the battlefield. ¡°Face me!¡±
You have been given a Challenge, refusing the challenge will increase the damage dealt to you by the challenger by x10 for the next hour, reduce your Toughness Attribute by 25% and give you vulnerability to Holy damage. If you accept the challenge, you can only attack the target. Any attack that you make that strikes another target will break the challenge resulting in the above penalties occurring. If any allied creature that jumps into assist you will break the challenge resulting in you being penalized, any rival creature that assist the challenger will break the Challenge with no ill effect towards you; third party interference will have no effect. Accept Challenge? Yes/No
¡°Yes,¡± Mordred said. Arthur shot forward using Gryphon¡¯s Flight, Excalibur swung down but cut through empty air as Mordred teleported away. He stepped in the path of a blast of fire aimed at one of the hounds. The fire struck him, but Arthur couldn¡¯t even see if he was damaged with the black mist surrounding his body.
Duel ended due to outside interference by one of your allies, target incurs no penalties.
Gritting his teeth in frustration Arthur burst into motion again, charging Mordred. He¡¯d have to rely on his skill alone to end the fight. Mordred blocked Excalibur and advanced forward testing Arthur¡¯s defenses. Arthur stopped giving ground Excalibur shone with golden light as he began activating all his abilities that boosted the sword¡¯s damage. Mordred teleported behind him but at this point Arthur was used to that trick and easily deflected it pushing forward and cutting Mordred¡¯s torso just missing impaling him. He kept the pressure on Mordred as the barbarian tried new tricks, some impressively inventive, but Arthur had been trained with the sword since he was old enough to walk. He had been groomed for his position as a champion his whole life and no off-world barbarian would ever match him in skill.
Why are you trying to beat him in a sword fight again? Karnen asked. We both already know the outcome of this, you have one life left. It¡¯s like Ares said, I¡¯m fine with losing the battle if I win the war, I said. Guinevere is the prize not these tokens or ambrosia. I need to know every trick he has for when I have to fight him in the real world. You¡¯re going to get yourself killed, Karnen said. His mind is already made up, Ares said. Stop distracting him. Clarent and Excalibur hit again and again lightning coursing down one blade as a blinding flash of light erupted from Excalibur. I wasn¡¯t making any progress it was time to try an ability I hadn¡¯t used on Arthur yet and arguably one my most powerful abilities. Sliding past his guard I rolled across the ground, my hands touching the earth. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said. Liquid stone flowed up Arthur¡¯s legs. He jerked to a stop as I hardened a layer around his shins. The stone flowed farther and farther up his torso going up to his neck. I was jubilant at having found a weakness to explode. Arthur¡¯s body shone with light. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Break Point,¡± Arthur said. The stone shattered and he spun forward at ten times his normal speed. Excalibur slashed out as I was still kneeling on the ground. I moved but not fast enough as it carved through my flesh and bone just over my knees were I was unarmored. Lying on the ground I watched as Arthur raised his sword high to finish me off. Guinevere stepped in-between us her sword blocking his. Excalibur cut through the sword I had made for her; it was slowed allowing me escape as I levitated into the air with Storm-Fall. I grabbed the stumps of my legs with Telekinesis and pressed them against my stumps. Troll Hide would reconnect them, but it would take time. Guinevere blocked attack after attack but Arthur pushed her back tearing apart her defenses bit by bit. Ammerila appeared behind her moving in for a sneak attack. Lighting shot from my hand hitting her and Arthur and chaining off into the distance. Arthur resisted the stun, she didn¡¯t, and a few other people were outright killed by it.
34 rank points gained.
An arrow came in from behind, I foresaw and tried to dodge it, but it exploded against my shoulder sending me spinning through the air. A shield hit me as I was spinning, and I was launched into the side of a building. Rubble and dust rained down around me, and I jerked my head to the side as another arrow whizzed past exploding in the room behind me. Lancelot charged forwards hitting me with his shield ringing my skull.
You have been stunned for 15 seconds, reduced by Troll Hide to 1 second.
Mira was in front of me her bow drawn my book as she released the arrow point blank into my face. My body shifted, turning incorporeal the arrow phasing through me. I surged forwards the spectral version of Clarent driving through Mira¡¯s chest. She screamed and went limp as Soul damage overwhelmed her. Dropping her body, I dodged a glowing blade sliding past Lancelot and driving Clarent up under his armpit into his heart. It did seem to matter even with spectral weapons where you hit them. A blast of golden light hit me, and I felt fire burning through my being as Arthur hit me with holy aura. I was knocked out of Phantom Form and rolled across the ground turning to face Arthur. I saw the lifeless body of Guinevere on the ground. My vision already red from rage went nearly white as I went ballistic. I don¡¯t think Arthur was prepared when I smashed into him, my attack wasn¡¯t thought out and possessed no skill hitting him merely for how surprising it was due to its recklessness. He recovered countering my next series of strikes. He struck me Excalibur going through my spine, he flung me off him my body rolling to the ground as I struggled to recover from the paralysis. ¡°And for the last time, you die,¡± Arthur said striding forwards. A dragon tail hit him in the back sending him careening into the side of a building reducing it to rubble. Exar¡¯kun pounced on Arthur. The man rolled under the dragon his sword slicing up cutting off half of Exar¡¯kun¡¯s tail. He charged forward and Exar¡¯kun snarled in pain, fury and defiance, his jaws extending and unleashing a point black shot of fire. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said as I lay in the mud and blood. Arthur tried to dodge but the hardened earth around his feet kept him in place. I could feel the heat from where I was a dozen paces away. Arthur¡¯s armor was all artifact level meaning it couldn¡¯t be destroyed, but it still conducted heat. Exar¡¯kun roasted the Duelist in his armor, his breath not stopping for a solid minute until he finally ran out of juice to power it.
17 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 4,698 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Arthur¡¯s charred corpse fell to the ground, still burning and smoking.
Ability Gained, Unending Flow (Rank 1): No receding of the tide, no end to destruction, only a tithe of blood. Every notch on your sword is a mark of power, for every humanoid you kill your mana regeneration increases by .001% to a max of 10%.
Cost: N/A
Each upgrade increases the regeneration amount gained per kill and the max percentage possible. Each rank of this ability increases your Power by 1.
Exar¡¯kun lifted up the bleeding stump of his tail. ¡°That¡¯ll take about a week to regrow,¡± he grumbled. ¡°Relax, when we return to the real world it will reappear,¡± I said my spine reattaching itself as I pushed myself to my feet. ¡°Did we get everyone?¡± ¡°Every last one of them,¡± Exar¡¯kun said his teeth flashing in what I was sure this time was a smile. ¡°They got Guinevere,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone is left in the game who isn¡¯t down to their last life at this point.¡± ¡°Then this Event will likely be decided in the next battle,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°You had best make your preparations, not just for the battle but with your mate. It is likely after the next battle that you will not see her again for some time.¡± I was silent. He was right, win or lose this was going to be decided very soon. There were things I needed to do and say before then. I needed to collect a reward from the System first, one I had been putting off for a long while. Chapter 120: Put a Ring on It Returning to the tower, I sat on the steps alone as I watched the sun rise. No sound could be heard over the Battlegrounds, there were no animals, insects, monsters and now no people either. Lightning crackled from my fingers as I compressed a lightning crystal to pass the time. I compressed it more and more until it had enough energy to level a city to ashes. Putting aside the distraction I brought out the ingot of Celestial Gold tossing it from hand to hand as I thought. Finally, I bit the bullet, my indecision had gone on long enough, there was nothing to it but to do it. ¡°System,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯d like to create a custom artifact as my reward now.¡± Time froze, it was the only way I could describe it as every blade of grass seemed to pause in motion from the wind and the already eerily silent plains grew utterly void of sound.
As your reward for restoring cut off areas back to the System you are rewarded with a custom Artifact of IV, what the specifications you desire for your artifact.
¡°I want two items that work in tandem with each other¡­¡± I began describing the system exactly what I wanted it to create for me.
Guinevere jerked up as she respawned. I held out my hand helping her to her feet. ¡°Did we win?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°Arthur and everyone else died in the raid. They¡¯ll have respawned about this same time as you so they¡¯re probably going to regroup soon.¡± ¡°So, what do we do now?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Should be time for the rewards for today soon,¡± I said. ¡°It seems the respawn time is taking longer and longer; you¡¯ve been gone for nearly twelve hours the sun going to be setting again soon.¡± My hand fiddled in my pocket with the Artifacts I had chosen. Exar¡¯kun descended from the top of the tower. He landed awkwardly thrown off by the loss of his tail. He¡¯d be at a disadvantage in the next fight without it but there was nothing I could do to restore it and the only way to get it back would be for him to die. With only one life left in the game that wasn¡¯t an option for any of us. A horn blew out across the Battlegrounds signaling the end of the day.
This is the end of the third day of the event, rewards will be distributed, and points gathered so far will be tallied and shown.
Points For: Western Side: 3rd Place Eastern Side: 2nd Place The Warlord: 1st Place
Contestants Killed: 0 8 67
Standard Captured: 0 0 40
Standard Rescued: 0 0 0
Standards Held: 0 0 40
Strategic Points Captured: 0 0 0
Strategic Points Defended: 0 0 0
Only Guinevere had died giving Arthur second place with mere eight points he¡¯d collected. I¡¯d retaken his standard and held onto it giving me even more rank points but even without the standards we would have easily won this round. I blinked away the scoreboard and looked at the rewards as they spawned in front of us in a wooden box lined with soft satin. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Distributing first round of rewards based on current points gathered.
3 (+3 for win streak) = 6 Ambrosia (boosts regen speed by +10 per second for one resource type.
3 (+3 for win streak) = 6 Manna Wafers (boost your maximum for one resource by 50)
3 (+3 for win streak) = 6 Ability Tokens (Boost the max rank for a standard ability by 10 ranks)
1 (Bonus Loot Void Stone (effects unknown)
I picked up the void stone, something about it was magnetic my compulsion to reach out and take it unavoidable. It hummed louder and louder as I took hold of it. I expected it to do something explode, burst into light, pull in the surrounding energy but it merely continued to hum vibrantly in my hand.
Void Stone; Type: Magical Stone, Rarity: Mythic, Hardness: 9; Rarely objects will enter the void, even rarer will they return. How this stone entered the void and returned is not known but it has been drenched in its essences giving it unknown properties.
Quantity: 1 Weight: 2.4
I forced myself to drop it into my storage pouch pushing aside the alien compulsion to keep hold of it. ¡°Split the rest same as before,¡± I said taking two of each of the other rewards. As soon as I touched the ability tokens they melted into my hands, apparently, they would just be automatically used up now that I had selected my path. I tossed back the vials of elixir, and the manna wafers assigning them all to my Ethereal. ¡°What now?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Now, I need to talk with you; in private,¡± I said looking towards Exar¡¯kun. ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye out from the top of the tower,¡± he said his tongue darting out grabbing his rewards before he climbed back up the stairs. ¡°What¡¯s this all about?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°We¡¯re down to our last lives here in the Event,¡± I said. ¡°So regardless of what happens next this might be my last time talking to you. After that we¡¯re going back to the real world where I could die for real against any of the other champions or some monster created by the System. If this is my last time talking to you there are things I need to say and do before then.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like it when you talk like that,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be so indifferent about your own death.¡± ¡°He who tries to keep his life will lose it, but he who loses it will keep it,¡± I said quoting what little I remembered from my times attending church. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Sure, it does,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not going to give up the chance to truly live and experience what this world has to offer out of fear of losing my life. I¡¯m not going to backdown from Arthur and give you up to him without a fight.¡± My hand reached into the storage pouch taking out a silver scrying mirror and I held it out to her. ¡°I want you to have this, If you need, you can use this to check on me and remember I¡¯m coming for you.¡± ¡°And what are you going to do Mordred?¡± Guinevere asked exasperated. ¡°Go to war with all of Camelot, that¡¯s a fight even the Warlord can¡¯t win, much less you alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to start a war, I¡¯m going to fight in the tourney,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ve already given me the key to freeing you.¡± Guinevere looked above my head as my description changed.
Sir Mordred, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 445
¡°Just because you¡¯re technically a knight of Camelot doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯ll actually let you fight in the tourney,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°The rest of your description marks you as an enemy of the state.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got ways to change that,¡± I said. ¡°Even if you get in you will still have to beat Arthur,¡± Guinevere said meeting my eyes. ¡°In a one-on-one duel, that¡¯s a fight you can¡¯t win. You¡¯re the Warlord, he¡¯s the Duelist he has all the cards on his side, he¡¯s beaten you every time you¡¯ve fought.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been holding back,¡± I said. ¡°Why would you do a thing like that?¡± Guinevere asked sighing. ¡°why would you let him keep beating you?¡± ¡°Because this fight doesn¡¯t matter, not to me,¡± I said. ¡°You asked me what happens if I win the gods game, if it means being separated from you, I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°You¡¯d give up godhood?¡± Guinevere asked her breath catching. ¡°That¡¯s blasphemy if your goddess heard you.¡± ¡°Only you matter,¡± I said. ¡°I started to fall in love with you the first time we fought, you are unlike anyone else in this world. There are hundreds of gods and goddesses, there is only one you.¡± Setting down the mirror I removed the artifacts from my pocket as I took her left hand in mine. ¡°This is a tradition from my world,¡± I said my right hand held up the ring. ¡°It signifies my love and commitment to you, by taking this you agree to be mine and I agree to be yours. In your world it would signify our betrothal.¡± Guinevere ran her left hand over the ring her eyes widening in amazement as she read the description.
Ring(s) of Devoted Love, Type: Jewelry (ring slot) (Artifact IV) A bound pair of rings that link the wearers together if they trust eachother. If the wearers harbor ill fillings, mistrust, or animosity the effects of this ring cannot be used.
As long as the wearers are in the same universe, they can summon the other to their side for 150 mana, cooldown 24 hours. (cost goes down by 5 mana per rank and cooldown by 5 minutes per rank to minimum cost of 50 mana and a cooldown of 1 hour).
While within 20ft of eachother the damage of the wearers is increased by a Major amount.
The wearers can draw on the other¡¯s resources to fuel their abilities while within range of the other.
Made from celestial gold and enchanted by the System itself. The ring can only be removed willingly by its wearer.
Weight: < .5 lbs.
¡°You used your artifact from the System on this?¡± she asked. ¡°But what if we didn¡¯t really love eachother what if I wasn¡¯t near you, you¡¯ll have wasted it.¡± ¡°This is not a waste,¡± I said. ¡°This is me showing that I trust you. I believe in us now I need you to believe in me, believe that I won¡¯t even let death stop me from getting back to you.¡± I said. ¡°I do,¡± Guinevere said tears running down her face. ¡°I¡¯m just afraid for you.¡± ¡°Guinevere, will you marry me?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes,¡± she said. I slid the ring onto her finger and slid its twin onto mine. A shout echoed across the plains. There was no time to rejoice. Standing I swept Guinevere into my arms pressing my lips against hers. She returned the kiss, her hands running through my hair. We broke away gasping for air both of us smiling. Turning to the doors of the tower, we raised our helms and slid them down over our faces buckling them in place. It was time for me to face Arthur again one last time in this Event, he¡¯d probably beat me, but today that didn¡¯t matter. Chapter 121: Battle not with Monsters ¡°This is it,¡± Arthur said. ¡°He¡¯s down to his last life, kill him now and it doesn¡¯t matter how many more points than us he¡¯s gotten, he still loses.¡± ¡°We¡¯re all down to our last life too,¡± Lancelot said. Of the hundreds of champions at the start and the eighty or so the day before, now only seven remained. Arthur looked at his six companions, Lancelot and Kay were still with him. Ammerila was gone now but the Seductress was still there and had taken her place in the party. Mira, Torvin and Vone made up the last three, they had stood by him before, but he wasn¡¯t sure if they would be enough to take on the Warlord has his two enforcers. ¡°We have no other choice,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Even if we die, we at least need to be able to say we tried. I¡¯ll challenge him again; he¡¯ll try to use your attacks to break the duel so use as few AOE attacks as possible. Mira keep your shots short so he can¡¯t intercept them. Mira gave each of us the last of her protection charms for the dragon¡¯s breath. We can do this.¡± Heartened by his words they rushed down the bridge of the tower. The dragon didn¡¯t fly out to meet them this time. With a shout Arthur slammed his shoulder into the doors. They rattled but held, slashing Excalibur down the middle of them the beam holding them fell in two pieces to the ground. Shoving them open again he saw the Warlord and his Valkyrie waiting for them, their weapons in hand as they stood unmoving. Arthur shot forward with Gryphon¡¯s Flight, Mordred blocked with his own sword and the two flew across the room slamming into the wall opposite. ¡°Face me,¡± Arthur snarled. --- ¡°Yes,¡± I responded pushing aside the notification. Arthur slashed for my throat and I barely pulled back in time its tip just brushing my Adam¡¯s apple drawing a line of blood. His attacks were especially violent and aggressive and I could recognize the anger in him as he tried to batter me into defeat with sheer speed and power. ¡°I take it you weren¡¯t a fan our little get to gather last night,¡± I said. ¡°Your attack was dishonorable,¡± Arthur said slashing my thigh drawing another line of blood. My leg moved back as I twisted to the side using the momentum to drive Clarent into his chest. It couldn¡¯t pierce his armor, but it did send out a coursing wave of lighting through his body. ¡°Oh please,¡± I said rolling my eyes. ¡°You¡¯re just mad because it worked. Lets not pretend there are limits as to what you would do to kill me, no cost to great remember. When the bodies of your own men lie at your feet and the orphans on your streets look at you remember those were your words.¡± ¡°How could someone end up like you?¡± Arthur asked in disgust. ¡°You¡¯re already down the path to become me,¡± I answered him. ¡°I was raised by a monster who despised me, I grew up surrounded by broken and violent souls. I¡¯ve seen evil, heart break and all the monsters that man creates.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re just a product of your environment,¡± Arthur said derisively. ¡°There¡¯s an expression a philosopher on my world created,¡± I said. ¡°Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.¡± ¡°You think fighting evil will inevitably corrupt me like it did you?¡± Arthur said. ¡°I¡¯m not like you Mordred, I fight for my people to defend them from people like you. Not to conquer land in the pursuit of power.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been to Dracon,¡± I reminded him. ¡°That was my father¡¯s idea,¡± he admitted seemingly legitimately ashamed of his actions for the first time that I¡¯d ever seen. ¡°But you still did it, which makes it your sins,¡± I said. Our swords continued to clash back and forth. I¡¯d let this play out for as long as I could, the longer I could keep Arthur in the duel the worse his backlash would be when it ended. -- Guinevere blocked another arrow from Mira as she spun under Vone¡¯s glaive. Lancelot hit her in the face with his shield, but her Attributes were higher, and she shoved him back. A crack from above made all but Guinevere freeze as they looked up. Exar¡¯kun clung to the wall like a bat. A torrent of fire blasted out, but Lancelot intercepted it, his shield blocking it. He should have still died from the heat but other than heavy sweat pouring down his face he was unaffected. Mira shot an arrow and it hit the dragon in the neck thorny vines exploding out from it to bind it in place. Vone shot forward a blast of air from her feet propelling her into the air. She landed on Exar¡¯kun¡¯s neck her Glaive shining with the light of a star making everyone look away for an instant. She hacked down her glaive cutting through several layers of scales. She hacked down again and went through his spine. The dragon¡¯s body fell from the wall crashing to the ground sending out a shockwave that made everyone stumble for a moment. He writhed in place still not dead but Vone¡¯s feet remained in place as if she were glued there. She hacked down with her glaive one last time and Exar¡¯kun went still. Lillyn stepped in front of her a vicious look on her face. ¡°You¡¯ll pay bitch,¡± she snarled. ¡°Some people just can¡¯t learn,¡± Guinevere said slashing out. The Seductress spun under the slash a punch dagger in both hands as she lashed out. Guinevere blocked the attack on her vambrace stepping forward and slashing out with the spiked tips of her left gauntlet drawing four red lines down Lillyn¡¯s face. ¡°There now your face matches what¡¯s inside,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of you,¡± Lillyn said. ¡°Your just some girl whose latched onto the strongest man you can find, you think he loves you, but he¡¯ll abandoned you as soon as he¡¯s done with you.¡± Guinevere laughed. ¡°You don¡¯t know Mordred at all, I think those words are just your own fears.¡± She drove her sword forwards knocking aside the other woman¡¯s attempts to block and following her as she tried to dodge. The sword impaled her to the wall, Lillyn looked up with pain filled hateful eyes. ¡°I¡¯m going to find your man in the real world,¡± she promised her. ¡°And when I¡¯m done sating all his darkest desires, he won¡¯t even remember your name.¡± Guinevere ripped out her sword spilling out the woman¡¯s intestines. A sharp slash of her throat decapitated the woman finishing her off. ¡°I doubt that,¡± Guinevere told the corpse. She blocked an arrow going for the back of her neck and rolled under the hooves of Torvin¡¯s steed as he attempted to hit her with his lance than ride her down. She slashed up killing his summoned mount and sending him crashing into the wall. Another arrow came for her, but Mordred grabbed her lifting her back to her feet as he spun letting it hit him in the back. -- ¡°Damn it!¡± I heard Mira swear as I let go of Guinevere and spun around again. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°I¡¯ll take Arthur for a bit,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°You take these ones for a bit.¡± Nodding I blocked a strike from Lancelot as I raised my hand hundreds of spearheads rising into the air and shooting forward. Lancelot stepped forward slamming his sword into his shield, another force equal to my own grabbed and dragged the spearheads towards his shield. They hit, the shield held but the force sent Lancelot flying back into the wall and I heard bones in his forearm cracking even from where I stood. A roar ripped from my throat as I blasted Torvin back as he stood up. The debuffs from Helheim¡¯s Scream began taking effect but they all managed to resist the fear effects. I summoned twisted horn into my hand and blew, Arthur ran Excalibur through my chest, but I had foreseen that and already calculated the risk. My hounds appeared all around us and I twisted to the side ripping Arthur¡¯s sword out as I retaliated. Blood poured down my side but the severe wound while damaging me healed Guinevere of all the damage she had taken so far. Kay rushed in to assist Arthur who was being beset on all sides by my hounds. I intercepted him dodging the thrust of his spear. Kay¡¯s body blurred and a phalanx of spears stabbed forward, I tried teleporting away, but the effect wouldn¡¯t work and the air felt like molasses. There was no way to dodge even half of the spears and they punched through my skin like armor piercing rounds blood falling like rain to the ground.
Mortal wound taken, reduced from instant death by Survivor III, time until death 12 seconds.
Kay stepped forward ready to finish the job until one my hounds hit him from behind staggering him for only a moment. Teleporting inside his guard I rammed Clarent up under the jaw of his helmet where he was unprotected. Sir Kay fell in single blow his body crumpling to the floor.
24 rank points gained.
Arthur screamed in rage behind me, bodies of Hounds lay all around him as he charged towards me. Killing Kay had restored me and I wasn¡¯t at risk of dying from my wounds in the next few seconds; now I was just at risk of dying from Arthur. Using Storm Fall I flashed across the room appearing next to Guinevere blocking the swing of Vone¡¯s glaive intending to hit her in the back of the neck. ¡°You,¡± Vone spat. ¡°That would be me,¡± I said. ¡°You think you¡¯d be a bit more friendly with the only other earthling since you¡¯ve gotten here.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an embarrassment to our world,¡± she said. ¡°I came here to be a hero you came her to conquer, your just a nazi expanding your empire.¡± ¡°Ah yes, the classic my opponent is a nazi argument,¡± I said with a sigh as I blocked a series of strikes from her as I advanced pushing her back. ¡°Now I really know you¡¯re from Earth.¡± Arthur rushed in and we collided like two comets. ¡°He¡¯s mine,¡± Arthur snarled. ¡°Deal with the woman.¡± Arthur slashed at me, and I ducked under his strike. He was still suffering backlash and was slower than he normally was. --- Arthur and Mordred began to circle and lunge in and out like a pair of wolves. Guinevere tore her gaze away from them as a glave cut for her neck. She slid backwards and reposted the other woman blocking the sword on the haft of her weapon. Gliding to the side an arrow skidded off her breastplate as Guinevere pressed in pushing Vone back. Lancelot joined in his wounds, having mostly healed. He flanked Guinevere, she dodged a stab from his sword going for her lower back. ¡°Sundering Edge,¡± Vone said swinging her glaive. Unable to move backwards Guinevere blocked the glaive as best she could with her sword, but Lancelot took this time to slam into her with her shield knocking her off her feet. She rolled across the ground dodging the gleaming edge of Vone¡¯s glaive. She couldn¡¯t dodge the barrage of arrows, feeling several punch through the cracks in her armor. Her foot spun out taking out Vone¡¯s legs from under her and dropping her to the ground. She rolled over her lifting her up and using her as a shield to block the next arrow from Mira. The arrow struck and exploded, blasting a chunk out of Vone¡¯s torso. Tossing her to the ground Guinevere staggered, feeling incredible pain coursing through not her body but her soul. ¡°That¡¯s a little gift the Assassin gave us to deal with the Warlord,¡± Mira said. ¡°But I figured it would work just as good on you.¡± Guinevere bit back a scream as she fought through the pain barely blocking an attack from Lancelot. ¡°When we get back to the real world, I¡¯m going to hunt you and the Warlord down,¡± Mira promised as she loosed a dozen more arrows. Three found their mark as Guinevere moved stiffly her body unable to move as she normally would, Lancelot raised his sword high as he charged her. Teleporting behind his shield charge Guinevere raised her hand pointing it at Mira. ¡°Void Beam,¡± she said. The blast took Mira point blank in the chest and slammed her into the stone throne of the room. ¡°You can really be a bitch sometimes,¡± Guinevere said as Mira disintegrated to a pile of ash under the relentless onslaught of the ability.
14 rank points gained
Lancelot charged her again from behind. She turned her body moving slower with each passing second. ¡°Frigid Thorns,¡± she whispered. Burning vines grew around Lancelot ensnaring his legs and holding him in place. She slammed forward driving him to the ground, putting a knee on his shield she pinned his left arm to the ground. He tried to block her sword with his other arm, but she knocked it aside and drove it through his neck.
16 rank points gained
She staggered to her feet swaying in place, her head spinning. Guinevere turned to help Mordred and her legs collapsed out from under her. The red from her vision began to fade overcome by darkness. The last thing she saw was Mordred blocking the heavy strikes of Arthur unwilling to back down even as his body began to break from the force unleashed upon him. --- Blocking Excalibur again I was once again hurled against the wall. Bones cracked as I hit the stone and Arthur drove his sword through the stone by my head as I barely moved my head to the side in time. Lightning wreathed my body as I shot forward. My fist caught Arthur up under the chin shoving his helmet up blocking his vision. He stumbled backwards blindly as I stabbed forwards with my left hand the claws of my hand passing through his breastplate over and over again. Leaping backwards Arthur ripped off his helmet clearing his vision and blocked the swing of Clarent as it came down for his head. He pushed back and I slid under his guard. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said. Stone began to flow up his legs locking him in place as I spun around him attack from behind. ¡°Break Point,¡± Arthur said the blast wave radiated out from him. I had already teleported a hundred feet above him and descended on him like a meteor. My feet connecting with his back and sending him skidding across the blood-stained stone. Keeping up with the momentum I followed after Driving Clarent down towards his unarmored head. Arthur rolled to his feet blocking the strike and throwing me back with his greater strength. ¡°Why do you fight as if you can win?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°We¡¯ve fought three times and never have you come close to beating me. Why do you act as if the outcome will ever be different?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a one trick pony, Arthur,¡± I spat at him. ¡°Sure, your ability is powerful, but you¡¯ve got no spirit! Where is your desire to push yourself? To experiment? To put your life on the line and prove yourself? You don¡¯t have it, that¡¯s why no matter how many times you beat me, you¡¯ll never win. You smack me down today, but I adapt, and you stay the same, soon I¡¯ll evolve, and you¡¯ll still be a neanderthal.¡± Even if Arthur didn¡¯t understand the reference the insult was clear, I felt a little bad I was at least six or seven years older than him but at the same time I didn¡¯t feel bad at all. This was a boy barely out of puberty who had never been humbled or had to suffer. He¡¯d been given whatever he wanted his whole life without ever having to sweat and bleed for it. It wasn¡¯t his fault that he¡¯d never been tested but he was like the smart kid in class, he was so used to his talent and innate abilities, winning the day he¡¯d never learned how to study. I¡¯d had to kill monsters with my bare hands and teeth to survive, at every turn I¡¯d been tested and forced to grow and change. ¡°Maybe I¡¯d adapt if you required me to actually extend myself,¡± Arthur retorted. ¡°Gravitation Forces.¡± He struck forward his sword coming down on my shoulder severing my right arm. He kicked out at me, I tried to dodge but my movements were slow, as if I was wading through molasses. His foot connected with my chest as he knocked me down on my back half a dozen feet away. My body stained against the force of gravity as I tried to get up. I was pinned as if I had a mountain on top of me and I could barely move a finger. I gave up on moving my body for now. Straining with Telekinesis I summoned the blue crystal I¡¯d worked on this morning into my hand. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I croaked out. ¡°And now,¡± Arthur said limping towards me panting as he lifted Excalibur up. ¡°You die.¡± ¡°You first,¡± I spat straining against the gravitational forces. I raised my remaining working hand holding the blue crystal as rune lines spread across it. Arthur¡¯s eyes narrowed in confusion than he saw the expanding runic lines with slashes running through them that spread across the crystal. His eyes widened and he slashed down. Excalibur sliced through my neck just as the crystal exploded as the deliberately made improper enchantment destabilized. I¡¯d been told once that experimenting making enchantments was a good way to kill yourself, luckily it was also a good way to kill someone else. The shards of crystal smaller than grains of sand shot out faster than the speed of sound and vaporized Arthur¡¯s head from his torso. We died simultaneously both our visions going dark as the Event ended. Chapter 122: And to the Victor Guinevere reappeared in the forest. Leaves crunched under feet as she took a step to catch her balance. Her heart raced as she pushed back the memory of death. She stood there for a minute before a notification filled her vision.
Due to there being no survivors left in the Event and the last two combatants having died at the same time it is being called as a draw between the Champions Mordred and Arthur. All creatures that were alive in the last day of the Event will receive the rewards for their faction based on their standing and points earned.
It was a tie between Arthur and Mordred. She didn¡¯t know how that was possible but it didn¡¯t matter now.
Distributing first round of rewards based on current points gathered. Rewards will be evenly split between the members of your faction.
3 (+3 for win streak) = 6 Ambrosia (boosts regen speed by +10 per second for one resource type.
3 (+3 for win streak) = 6 Manna Wafers (boost your maximum for one resource by 50)
3 (+3 for win streak) = 6 Ability Tokens (Boost the max rank for a standard ability by 10 ranks)
1 Random Tier III Artifact Each of your faction members will also receive a random artifact.
Two vials, wafers and tokens appeared on top of a thin silver chest. She scooped the tokens up she didn¡¯t absorb them since she¡¯d already used three on her ability Aphrodite¡¯s Beauty. She needed to pick another ability to devote her remaining ability tokens too. She quickly drank the vials, splitting them between mana and stamina doing the same with the wafers. The chest was small, and she opened it looking at the diadem resting inside the black velvet lining. It was made from a pale silver twisting around with hanging pale blue and white gems set in silver disks.
Diadem of Gwenfer, Type: Headwear (crown), Rarity: Artifact III: This diadem can only be destroyed by a god.
Increases your Perception by 1 for every thirty ranks you have.
Increases your mana regeneration by 1 for every thirty ranks you have.
Passively cleanses your skin and hair of dirt and sweat.
Made by Viviane, Goddess of Duelist¡¯s & Honor for her champion Arthur as a gift to his wife Gwenfer on the day of their wedding. Its is forged from moon silver and set with star sapphires both materials representing the purity of their marriage.
Durability: N/A Weight: 1.4 lbs.
As soon as she had finished reading description another notification popped up.
The goddess Viviane specifically requested and spent influence to ensure you were given this artifact.
Guinevere¡¯s face twisted as she read that. Even the gods apparently wanted her to marry Arthur. Her fists tightened but she forced herself to relax. Lifting the diadem out of the chest she set it on her head. This was a relic of her ancestors that had been lost centuries ago, it may have been the symbol of Arthur and Gwenfer before, but it was just a piece of equipment now. She settled the diadem on her head the silver and gem resting against the crown of her forehead. It remained cool against her skin, not warming with her body temperature. She could hear the baying of hounds in the distance. She quickly stripped out of the armor Mordred had made for her, tossing it under a log as stepped back into the dress she had been wearing. A large hound burst into the clearing and began circling her baying loudly its tail wagging enthusiastically. The huntsman following his hound rushed into the clearing nearly tripping when he saw her. His jaw fell open, and he just stared at her. ¡°Can I help you huntsman?¡± Guinevere said after waiting for him to speak. ¡°Yes, yes, forgive me my lady,¡± the huntsman said kneeling and averting his gaze. ¡°We¡¯ve been searching for you for days.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been out hunting,¡± Guinevere said dismissively. ¡°Your father has put out a reward for your safe return,¡± he said. ¡°Fine,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°You may walk me home and claim your reward.¡± The huntsman walked beside her; she could feel him sneaking glances at her whenever he thought she wasn¡¯t looking. They reached her father¡¯s castle, and she looked up at the towering grey stone walls. Her steps felt heavy as she walked through the outer gate into the courtyard. Every man who saw her stopped what they were doing their jaws hanging wide, one man even drooled looking away his faced reddening when she caught his lecherous stare. She felt uncomfortable, she was no stranger to the male gaze. Now it was different though, before men had simply looked covertly but now, they stared like starving hounds transfixed by a hunk of raw meat. Two of her fathers knights were sparring in the courtyard when the one facing her saw her he froze and was hit full in the head as he totally failed to defend himself. Servants rushed towards her, she had to force down the instinct to strike out at the hands reaching for her as handmaids began brushing down her clothes and pulling her away. She let them glad to be free of the hungry gaze of all the men. An hour later she stood before her father. ¡°Where have you been?¡± Merlin asked, his voice flat and emotionless. ¡°I was out killing things,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Why?¡± Merlin asked in that same calm voice. ¡°Because I wanted to,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I gave you orders to remain home,¡± he said turning to face her only his eyes showing the shimmering rage behind them. ¡°I know,¡± Guinevere said her voice just as cold and dispassionate as her own anger gazed back at his. ¡°You are to go to Camelot today, your belongings have already been packed,¡± her father said. ¡°Perhaps you will find less time to embarrass me in the city. Do your duty Guinevere, these outbursts do not become you.¡± ¡°Yes father,¡± Guinevere said turning and gliding out of the room. --- My eyes snapped open as I gasped reaching for my neck. I calmed myself, that death wasn¡¯t real I was back in the cave, everything was alright. My inner thoughts weren¡¯t enough to calm the racing of my hearts as the feeling of Excalibur cutting through my neck was still fresh in my mind. A notification popped into my vision, and I read it.
Due to there being no survivors left in the Event and having died at the same time it is being called as a draw between you and the Champion Arthur. All creatures that were alive in the last day of the Event will receive the rewards for their faction based on their standing and points earned.
It appeared the System was calling it a tie between me and Arthur. If I wanted to have a victory over him, I¡¯d have to see to it here in the real world.
Distributing first round of rewards based on current points gathered. Rewards will be evenly split between the members of your faction.
3 (+3 for win streak) = 6 Ambrosia (boosts regen speed by +10 per second for one resource type.
3 (+3 for win streak) = 6 Manna Wafers (boost your maximum for one resource by 50)
3 (+3 for win streak) = 6 Ability Tokens (Boost the max rank for a standard ability by 10 ranks)
1 Random Tier III Artifact Each of your faction members will also receive a random artifact.
Two vials of the marbled gold and silver ambrosia appeared before me as well as two wafers resting atop a cotton square and next to them were two large gold coins and long thin silver metal chest. Reaching out I absorbed the tokens, my max rank for Void Asura was now rank forty, of course I had no where near the needed rank points. The System really hated that ability. I opened the silver chest and looked down on the sword inside.
Thorn, Type: Sword (Gauntlet-sword), Rarity: Artifact III: This weapon can only be destroyed by a god.
Each wound with this weapon inflicts the *Lacerate condition.
The bleed damage caused by this sword is doubled.
Deals a Moderate amount of additional damage against those with Royal titles in their description.
Created by Imhotep, Champion of Selsera Goddess of Massacres & Carnage to be gifted to one of his companions. It was made from the enchanted sundered armor of a king who died against Imhotep. When the sword was forged it was quenched in the king¡¯s own blood.
Durability: N/A Weight: 4.2 lbs.
It was about four feet in length the gauntlet that served as its hilt covered in spikes. It was a dark grey only the edge of its blade having any glint to it. Green runes ran down the length of its fuller glowing with power. I didn¡¯t really have a need for it so I just put it in my storage. I heard the shifting of massive weight and turned to see Exar¡¯kun sticking his head through the mouth of the cave. ¡°How did it end?¡± he asked. ¡°Guinevere killed the other champions after you died, I got Kay she got the rest. Arthur had me down and I used an exploit to kill him just as he killed me,¡± I said. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have used the exploit before than and still survived?¡± he asked. ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t think there was a way for me to survive that one,¡± I said thinking of the power contained within that crystal. ¡°So, what now?¡± Exar¡¯kun asked me as he settled down on the ground. ¡°I need to upgrade some abilities,¡± I said. ¡°Than we head back to Dragonhold and I get ready to go to Camelot. You probably have some abilities to upgrade, you killed a lot more gifted than me.¡± ¡°I got a few, but not to many,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°Lower rank creatures rarely grant new abilities, apparently even if they¡¯re champions but my time wasn¡¯t wasted.¡± ¡°Good to hear, do you need to use any of those pain reliever drugs?¡± I asked. Exar¡¯kun snorted in distain. ¡°I¡¯m a dragon, my pain resistance is naturally higher than yours; I don¡¯t need those sorts of potions.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m just going to do my upgrades here,¡± I said. ¡°I can fly on my own so if you want to head back to Dragonhold now, you can.¡± ¡°I need to do some hunting,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°I don¡¯t think the contents of my stomach made it back with me.¡± Settling back into a cross legged position I closed my eyes falling into my Wrathful Meditation. ¡°Raise Unending Flow to rank twenty,¡± I told the System. Skipping past the first few notifications I got to the first upgrade options.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank five, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ When your mana is emptied it immediately refills by one quarter, cooldown on this effect.
¡¤ Gain significant mana increased regen after killing an enemy.
¡¤ Reduces the cost of your mana abilities.
The first ability was useless to me, I had so much mana that running out of it was never an issue. The second one was a good option; I probably would have taken it in the past but my battles with Arthur had taught me where I was weakest. In massive battles my AOE abilities let me devastate my enemies and just keep going as Magma Hearts fueled me. That all ended when I was in one-on-one fights with people like Arthur or boss monsters. That left the third ability, it was simple, but it seemed like the best out of my three option. Plus, it would make my massive mana pool even more efficient. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Unending Flow (Rank 5): No receding of the tide, no end to destruction, only a tithe of blood. Every notch on your sword is a mark of power, for every humanoid you kill your mana regeneration increases by .005% to a max of 20%.
Reduces the cost of your mana abilities by an amount equal to your bonus to your mana regeneration.
Cost: N/A Cast Time: Passive ability
Each upgrade increases the regeneration amount gained per kill and the max percentage possible. Each rank of this ability increases your Power by 1.
Looking at it I was confident I had made the right choice, a percentage reduction that would go up permanently overtime the more I fought. I had to kill humanoids to do so but they always seemed eager to start fights with me so that wouldn¡¯t¡¯ be a problem. Skipping past the next four notifications I got to the next upgrade selection.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank ten, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Marginally increases the strength of your mana abilities.
¡¤ Increases the duration of your mana abilities.
¡¤ Increases your maximum mana.
If I didn¡¯t have Storm Soul, the third option would have been the best choice to pick out of the three options. I did have though so I didn¡¯t need to increase the amount of mana I had at all. That left the first two options to compare. The first one would increase the strength of my mana abilities; I didn¡¯t know exactly what that meant but it was probably useful. The second would increase their duration, I had lots of duration effects such as the debuffs and buffs I could grant as well as my damage over time effects. Since I was uncertain of what increasing the strength would do, so I went with increasing their duration.
Unending Flow (Rank 10): No receding of the tide, no end to destruction, only a tithe of blood. Every notch on your sword is a mark of power, for every humanoid you kill your mana regeneration increases by .01% to a max of 30%.
Reduces the cost of your mana abilities by an amount equal to your bonus to your mana regeneration.
Increases the duration of your abilities by an amount equal to your bonus to your mana regeneration.
Cost: N/A Cast Time: Passive Ability
Each upgrade increases the regeneration amount gained per kill and the max percentage possible. Each rank of this ability increases your Power by 1.
It would seem the System really wanted me to go on a murder spree. I skipped past the next few notifications until I got to the upgrade selection.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank fifteen, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ The percentage gain per kill is doubled.
¡¤ Killing any creatures will gain you a fraction of the increase that killing humanoids would.
¡¤ Killing elite creatures and monsters will gain you triple that of killing humanoids.
All my options here were variants of the same. They would increase the percentage gain in some way. The second would always increase the gain regardless of what I killed allowing me to focus just on monsters or beasts if I wanted the third would make hunting elites like powerful monsters or bosses more profitable. I went with the first option; people were going to come after me and if they were I was going to farm them for all they were worth.
Unending Flow (Rank 15): No receding of the tide, no end to destruction, only a tithe of blood. Every notch on your sword is a mark of power, for every humanoid you kill your mana regeneration increases by .02% to a max of 40%.
Reduces the cost of your mana abilities by an amount equal to your bonus to your mana regeneration.
Increases the duration of your abilities by an amount equal to your bonus to your mana regeneration.
Doubles the percentage gain for each kill.
Cost: N/A Cast Time: Passive Ability
Each upgrade increases the regeneration amount gained per kill and the max percentage possible. Each rank of this ability increases your Power by 1.
I skipped past the next few notifications getting to the next upgrade.
Congratulations you have raised an ability to rank twenty, please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Increases damage dealt on next attack based on the amount of mana spent on last ability.
¡¤ When out of mana you can still cast mana abilities but doing so damages yourself.
¡¤ Killing enemies has a chance of leaving behind resources that will heal you and restore mana.
The first ability was good, but it would only be good in battles where I was spamming my abilities, I wasn¡¯t a mage and most of my kills were actually done with my weapons with the exception of Chain Lightning which rarely killed most gifted creatures unless they were low rank or already heavily damaged. I used my abilities to soften up my opponents than dove into the fight and made sure they were dead. The second option was just bad, I wouldn¡¯t be running out of mana and while I could recognize my self-destructive tendencies going further down that path wouldn¡¯t lead anywhere good. That left the third choice which was¡­ weird. ¡°Why are you putting video game mechanics into my abilities?¡± I asked the System. There was no reply, but I chose the ability anyway. Getting loot drops from my enemies would be an interesting experience.
Unending Flow (Rank 20, Max Rank): No receding of the tide, no end to destruction, only a tithe of blood. Every notch on your sword is a mark of power, for every humanoid you kill your mana regeneration increases by .06% to a max of 50%.
Reduces the cost of your mana abilities by an amount equal to your bonus to your mana regeneration.
Increases the duration of your abilities by an amount equal to your bonus to your mana regeneration.
Triples the percentage gain for each kill.
When killing an enemy, they have a 25% chance to evaporate into mist leaving behind a crystal, smashing the crystal will restore a major amount of damage taken and 10% of your mana.
Max Rank Bonus: Your spells also benefit from this ability costing 50% less to cast.
Cost: N/A Cast Time: Passive Ability
Each upgrade increases the regeneration amount gained per kill and the max percentage possible. Each rank of this ability increases your Power by 1.
Doing the math, I would have to kill a total of eight-hundred-and-forty people to raise this ability to its max. While that was a lot it also wasn¡¯t that many, and I was glad I wouldn¡¯t have to kill the population of a city to raise the percentage to its max. ¡°With the regular ability taken care of,¡± I said to myself. ¡°That leaves, Void Asura, I¡¯ve got nowhere near the points to raise this to its limit.¡± I only had the rank points to raise it to a little past rank twenty, but I decided to save those points and just raise the ability to twenty flat and save the others until I was able to upgrade it twenty-five or thirty. ¡°Raise Void Asura to rank twenty,¡± I told the System. My soul began to burn, there was no blocking out this pain, I was changed on a spiritual level not a biological. Even raising my Spirit didn¡¯t feel like this, Guinevere had explained to me once that the Spirit Attribute represented how connected we were to our soul and was not actually affecting our soul. It was just strengthening the signal between the body and soul bringing them closer together. This ability was not that and was directly affecting the hardware of my soul. The pain coalesced and brightened as I received a notification from the system.
Void Asura, (Rank: 15): You have created a symbiotic instead of parasitic relationship with the spirits inhabiting you, through the use of an ability token you have changed this ability to make it somewhat compatible with the System. Through manipulation of your mana and stamina, they have created a third type of energy and can use it to manifest through your body and interact with the world.
Void Armor: You gain a passive resistance to Soul & Void damage reducing the damage taken by 3 stages. The spectral arms created by the spirits residing in your soul when manifested appear armored, the armor has hardness 15 with an additional 1 hardness per twenty points of Spirit you have. Current hardness 23.
Void Edge: Your attacks while this ability is active deal Moderate Void damage and bypass 6 levels of hardness.
Void Soul: Like the beings of the void, you feed on the souls of others to grow in power; your Ethereal regeneration is increased by .01 and your max Ethereal is increased by 1 for every creature with a soul that you kill permanently.
Cost: 7 Ethereal per second Cast Time: Instantaneous
This ability should not exist, it will take 10x the normal amount of rank points for each rank up of this ability. Ranking up this ability does not advance any of your attributes. Current max rank 35
There were no choices for me with this ability; it would grow and change as it chose or as my soul mutated. I wasn¡¯t actually sure what was the determining factor and with the fresh spike of pain I was in no state to think of it either. I was dimly aware that I was screaming but I blocked out the sensations of my body as the agony of my soul tried to overwhelm me.
Void Asura, (Rank: 20): You have created a symbiotic instead of parasitic relationship with the spirits inhabiting you, through the use of an ability token you have changed this ability to make it somewhat compatible with the System. Through manipulation of your mana and stamina, they have created a third type of energy and can use it to manifest through your body and interact with the world.
Void Armor: You gain a passive resistance to Soul & Void damage reducing the damage taken by 4 stages. The spectral arms created by the spirits residing in your soul when manifested appear armored, the armor has hardness 20 with an additional 1 hardness per twenty points of Spirit you have. Current hardness 28.
Void Edge: Your attacks while this ability is active deal Major Void damage and bypass 11 levels of hardness.
Void Soul: Like the beings of the void, you feed on the souls of others to grow in power; you Ethereal regeneration is increased by .02 and your max Ethereal is increased by 2 for every creature with a soul that you kill permanently.
Void Arsenal: You are able to bind 2 weapons to your soul letting you store them there and summon them and dismiss them at will. If you lose your weapons, they are transported back into your soul vault to be resummoned later.
Cost: 9 Ethereal per second Cast Time: Instantaneous
This ability should not exist, it will take 10x the normal amount of rank points for each rank up of this ability. Ranking up this ability does not advance any of your attributes. Current max rank 35.
I was actually glad I didn¡¯t have the rank points to increase this ability any farther, that was hell and wasn¡¯t something I wanted to go through anymore. Sadly, for me I would have to eventually as I still had twenty more ranks to go and another ten after that once I increases its max rank. ¡°Pull up my current status,¡± I told the System.
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 475
Available Rank Points: 1,714
Might: 73 (+47) = 120 Mind: 68
Speed: 62 (+47) = 109 Perception: 67
Toughness: 46 Spirit: 161
Endurance: 41 Power: 71
Maximum Stamina: 362 Maximum Mana: 13,113
Stamina Regen: 91.4 per second Mana Regen: 115.6 per second
Ethereal Regen: 7.01083333333 per second Maximum Ethereal: 325
Abilities
Dominion (Rank 50), Telekinesis (Rank 20), Heightened Speed (Rank 20), Foresight (Rank 20), Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory (Rank 20), Bestial Senses: (Rank 20), Phantom Form (Rank 20), Storm Soul (Rank 20), Magma Heart(s) (Rank 20), Troll Hide (Rank 20), Black-rage (Rank 20), Hell¡¯s Talons (Rank 20), Helheim¡¯s Scream (Rank 20), Chain Lightning (Rank 20), Voice of the Chasm (Rank 20), Setules Palms (Rank 20), Tremor Soles (Rank 20), Dark Guardian (Rank 15), Brutal Spite (Rank 10), Blood Renewal (Rank 20), Wild Hunt (Rank 20) Void Assura (Rank 20), Shadow Allias (Rank 1), Unending Flow (Rank 20)
Blessings:
Blessing of War (Veteran), Blessing of Tadris
Titles
Mark of Cain, Bloody Pugilist, Exorcist, Survivor III, Feral Barbarian, Field Alchemist III, Berserker, Beast Slayer III, War Chief, Venom Resistant III, Keytaro¡¯s Guardian III, Wrathful Meditation, Fireproof III, Superhuman, Bearer of Death, Lightning Resistance, the Fate Breaker, Apprentice Bludgeoner, Master Deflector, Apprentice Spearman, Divine Smith, Master Enchanter, Knight of Camelot, Challenger, Artifact Breaker, Abomination Slayer, Spell Carver, Master Swordsman, the Possessed
I stood up, my body shaking not from physical pain but the after effects of my soul altering. My body was drenched in sweat, and I wiped it off with my Cleansing Cloth. Stepping out of the cave I looked up, I couldn¡¯t see Exar¡¯kun anywhere, but I didn¡¯t need him to fly me around everywhere anymore. Lightning enveloped my body as I rocketed into the air blasting towards Dragonhold. --- Arthur bolted upright his body heaving as his hand reached for his face.
Due to there being no survivors left in the Event and having died at the same time it is being called as a draw between you and the Champion Arthur. All creatures that were alive in the last day of the Event will receive the rewards for their faction based on their standing and points earned.
His breath began to heave again this time with anger instead of panic.
Distributing first round of rewards based on current points gathered. Rewards will be evenly split between the members of your faction.
4 Ambrosia (boosts regen speed by +10 per second for one resource type.
4 Manna Wafers (boost your maximum for one resource by 50)
4 Ability Tokens (Boost the max rank for a standard ability by 10 ranks)
A single vial, wafer and token appeared before him on the ground. His fist slammed into the wall again and again the stone cracking under the strikes of his armored hand. ¡°Calm yourself my champion,¡± a hard female voice said. Arthur froze, turning to see his goddess. He dropped to one knee before her. ¡°I am sorry for my outburst my lady,¡± he said. Viviane stared down at him for a few moments. ¡°I can see your memories of the Event; you have not failed me my champion.¡± ¡°But the Warlord¡­¡± Arthur said. ¡°Is being dealt with,¡± Viviane said. ¡°Even as we speak his retribution is coming. He has grown too powerful and angered too many other gods. We may limit ourselves when interfering with another champion for fear of backlash from other deities, but this is an exception. All the other pantheons, even the Mendactheon and Vastitatheon have sided with us. The Warlord will be tested, and even if he survives his vassals will not. ¡°He will learn what the price of his victory is soon.¡± she said her voice as hard and cold as steel. ¡°Without an army, the Warlord is nothing.¡± Chapter 123: The Price of Victory My boots landed atop the palace steps the lighting wreathing my body ending as I dropped down. Jeriah lowered his sword as he realized it was me. ¡°That¡¯s a neat ability,¡± he said. ¡°Had to kill the champion of the storm god to get it,¡± I said. ¡°You killed the Storm?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°Impressive.¡± ¡°What is it with you people and giving champions these titles, THE Warlord, THE Duelist, THE Assassin,¡± I said emphasizing each the. ¡°It¡¯s because that is what you represent to us,¡± Jeriah said shrugging. ¡°No one else on this planet can match your abilities to field armies, no can fight in one-on-one combat like the duelist, and no can raise as many minions from the dead like the Necromancer.¡± ¡°Anything happen while I was gone?¡± I asked. ¡°No, but I thought you were going to be gone longer. What happened?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°There was no one left to continue the Event for the whole seven days,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m going to be¡­.¡± A horn blared across the skies, I could feel resonating it in my bones. A light flashed in the sky and a meteor crashed to the ground outside the city. I jumped into the air and focused my vision on it. I wasn¡¯t a meteor but a giant hourglass with sand slowly trickling down.
Every other Pantheon have agreed to pool their collective influence and resources to send you a Challenge to prove your worth as a champion. In thirty minutes, a Raid will begin on your forces and will continue for the next twenty-four hours led by a boss. If the boss is not defeated than all the forces of that raid will be added to the next and will double its difficulty. Each of the four waves will represent one of the Pantheons and will be accompanied by a representing World Boss. These bosses will provide the same amount of rank points to anyone who contributes at least 1% of damage to their destruction and survives the battle. Prepare yourself champion.
Well, that couldn¡¯t be good. One raid had been bad with a Hero ranked boss showing up, four waves of raids non-stop had to be a lot worse.
As these actions by the gods have gone against the spirit of non-intervention by them with other champions you are being given a list of blessings to pick from to permanently alter your status.
Ghost Path: Just like in an event, gods will be unable to scry or view you at any time and you will appear as just a normal mortal to them.
Steel Path: Your ability to craft has been taken note of; any weapons you create will deal damage two stages higher than normal, armor you create will grant one stage of damage resistance.
War Path: Your capacity for slaughter and the number of your enemies has been noted by your patron and they have spent influence to give you this option, your abilities will deal damage two stages higher.
At least I would get something out of this. The System didn¡¯t like anyone interfering with the game and its rules whether that be me or the other gods. Kalesa had spent influence to give me the third ability and it looked good I had to admit. My abilities like Chain Lighting, Voice of the Chasm, Hell¡¯s Talons, and Phantom Form would all do higher damage. However, my goal was always in my mind, and I selected the first option.
You have been granted the blessing, Ghost Path.
I couldn¡¯t have gods tattling to their champion on where I was or giving them hints about what I was up too. Plus, information was a powerful weapon and denying it to your enemy was always worth it. I dropped down to the ground. ¡°I saw the notification,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°We should pull everyone back to the palace to defend against these waves.¡± ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°That would sacrifice the entire city, have everyone move out onto the plains.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have any defenses there,¡± Jeriah argued. ¡°I¡¯ll make some,¡± I growled. ¡°We only have thirty minutes,¡± Jeriah said, and I could tell he was starting to panic. ¡°Have I ever let you down?¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± Jeriah said taking a deep breath. ¡°Than do as I said, we will make it through this,¡± I promised him. ¡°Get anyone who¡¯s my vassal, no matter their age or gender out there. Anyone who is under my dominion will be a target and will draw monsters towards them.¡± He nodded and turned around, beginning to shout orders. I shot into the air and hit the plains next to the hourglass. A dark shape on the horizon took form as I heard a sonic boom in the distance. Exar¡¯kun came closer and closer traveling at the speed of a bullet. He hit the ground tearing a trench into the ground as his talons dug in as he came to a stop. ¡°I¡¯m gone for a few hours, and it all goes to shit,¡± he growled. ¡°What do you need from me?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to be hit by a bunch of massive raids, so just do your thing,¡± I said kneeling on the ground placing both hands on the dirt. ¡°Hell-dragons Armory.¡± The dirt began to compress hardening into flat dark stone and spreading out as I constructed a massive fallout shelter under the ground. What¡¯s your plan? Ares asked me. I¡¯m going to construct a multi-tiered fortress here, I said. We¡¯ll put the non-combatants underground. They¡¯ll defend themselves here while I take on the bosses. The stone continued to harden and compress in a widening radius around us as we talked. You can¡¯t fight a World Boss by yourself, Ares said. You doubt my capabilities? I asked as the ground began to rise around us as I raised the structure slowly. You are powerful, Ares said. More powerful than I was at your rank, but you¡¯ve never faced a World Boss; I have. Just one challenged me and my army, only a quarter of them survived that fight and they numbered ten-thousand strong, and we had favorable ground. Are they really that powerful? I asked. Picture Exar¡¯kun in your mind, Ares said. How comfortable do you feel about fighting him a straight up fight? That gave me some pause, I wasn¡¯t sure my chances against Exar¡¯kun were in a straight-out fight, he was a lot like me in his abilities and he didn¡¯t need any party to support in me. Maybe I could kill him, but it would definitely be one of those fights that ended with me almost dead. So, they¡¯re as bad as Exar¡¯kun? I asked. No, multiply Exar¡¯kun by ten and now you¡¯ve got an idea of what a World Boss is like, Ares said. You¡¯re going to need your heaviest hitters to even have a chance against them. Gather all your strongest vassals into a team, you¡¯re going to need them all. I thought about his words, it galled my pride. I¡¯d just come back from an Event victorious over every other Champion in it, but¡­ If dying to Arthur again and again had taught me anything it was that I wasn¡¯t invincible, there were abilities out there that were so strong that clever tricks didn¡¯t matter, there were abilities that perfectly countered my own. ¡°Fine,¡± I said aloud. Closing my eyes, I contacted Jeriah with the use of the Helm of Ares. ¡°Jeriah, gather all your brothers, I¡¯m putting together a strike force for the World Boss and you¡¯re all on it,¡± I said, I cut the connection with him before he could respond and opened up a line with Korsis, leader of the Wolf Clan. ¡°Korsis meet me at the fortress outside the city, your part of the strike force I¡¯m putting together, if you have any other Hero¡¯s in your clan bring them as well,¡± I told him then cut the communication line again. ¡°Kas¡¯tu,¡± I said talking to the leader of the Ursine Clan now. ¡°Meet me in the fortress outside the city, bring any Hero rank gifted in your clan I¡¯m putting together a task force.¡± Dropping the line, I called up Remara, the Dragon Clan¡¯s shaman and the closest thing they had to a chief right now. ¡°Remara, your Hero rank I take it that means you can fight correct, or are you to old or just some healer?¡± I asked, I had no time for polite beating around the bush. ¡°I can fight,¡± she said dryly. ¡°You haven¡¯t spoken to me a while we really should¡­¡± ¡°No time for that right now,¡± I said. ¡°Putting together a strike force to take on the World Bosses your on it now, if any of your Clan have made it to Hero rank bring them with you and meet me outside the city.¡± My next contact was a bit different. ¡°Tigris are you here?¡± I asked. Yes, Was the giant Etter Queen¡¯s response like hissing whisper in my head. ¡°I forgot how creepy that was and why I don¡¯t talk to you,¡± I said. ¡°Bring all your offspring and meet me outside the city, what rank are you?¡± Hero Rank, the giant spider said her words short and clipped. I considered adding her to my squad but stopped, spiders were more about luring things in than going out and running things down. Tigris would be better suited defending the base instead of rushing out onto the battlefield. Euphrates could still be used for that role if I needed it. ¡°Start building a massive web around the fortress I¡¯m constructing,¡± I told her. ¡°Work as fast as you can, I don¡¯t know what we¡¯ll be facing but if there are an aerial attackers, I want them wrapped up like flies.¡± The whole time I had been contacting my vassals the fortress continued to grow wider and taller. My vassals began pouring out of the city gates arriving. At the fortress, the bunker was complete even if the fortification wasn¡¯t and the women and children began filing inside it. I looked at the giant hourglass, the sand quickly reaching the first mark on it. The fort wasn¡¯t going to be complete in time and the noncombatants wouldn¡¯t all be inside when this started. Ares, I need you to do your thing with Dominion, I said. You were like a military genius start directing troops, we need to protect those women and children until they get underground, and I finish building this fortress. Got it, Ares said. The change in my troops was practically instantaneous, their heads snapped up, suddenly alert. They filed into perfect rows creating a funnel. My strike force arrived standing on the stone platform beside me as we rose into the air as the walls of the tower grew. This wouldn¡¯t be as large as the one I had built in the Event, I didn¡¯t have the time for that, but it would be big enough for archers and Gifted with ranged abilities to get a good line of sight for their attacks. Everything stopped for moment as a horn blew out across the skies very similar to the one that would signal the end of the day in the Event. The ground rumbled in distance the tremors felt all the way from where we were. The ground of the plains burst apart as a massive figure pushed itself out of the dirt. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
The World Boss Forge has spawned
Forge is the World Boss of this raid and represents the Skafotheon. As long as the boss is alive every one of its minions on the field will be stronger and will spawn in greater numbers, kill the boss to reduce the difficulty of this wave.
My six pupils narrowed as I telescoped my vision on the figure. It was built like a humanoid, and it stood at least a hundred feet tall and was made of dark metal plates, gears, wires, and tubing. In-between its articulated plated joints a red glow like magma glowed reminding me of the Fire Knight I had fought in my first Event. Long metal tubes rose from its back like smokestacks. One hand carried a long, massive hammer, its ends glowing red hot and the other carried a massive six-cylinder barreled machine that I assumed was some sort of gatling gun. I studied the creature until a notification popped up in my vision.
Forge, Gifted- Hero, Iron-golem/Construct (World Boss), Rank: 500
¡°Well, that doesn¡¯t seem so bad,¡± I said relaxing when I saw its ranks wasn¡¯t that higher than my own and even lower than Exar¡¯kun¡¯s. The golem bent over the barrels on its back facing towards us. There was a sound like thunder and six missiles shot out arcing towards us. ¡°Perhaps I spoke to soon,¡± I amended my previous statement. ¡°That seems pretty bad.¡± Other creatures began crawling out of the hole it had emerged from; they were more automatons by the looks of them; beasts and humanoids all made of metal. Exar¡¯kun darted out the sky, his breath hitting the missiles causing them to explode midair before they reached us. The blast wave from the explosions hit the dragon sending him into a tail-spin. The golem raised its gatling gun training it on the dragon before it corrected its flight and letting rip with a thunderous salvo, the bullets each had to be size of a mini-fridge and Exar¡¯kun dropped out of the air. I didn¡¯t think he was dead just yet, but he couldn¡¯t be doing good. ¡°Go help him!¡± I shouted at the shocked group of Heroes around me. ¡°I can¡¯t deal with that and finish this fortress, so you need to hold it off until I¡¯m done.¡± ¡°Ha,¡± Jeriah said summoning his bravado. ¡°You hurry up or we might have it finished before you get there.¡± Turning to face the World Boss, he slammed a gauntlet against his fist. ¡°Iron Man,¡± he said. I glanced at him from the corner of his eyes to see if his armor would change to some sort of power armor but it had just gained a brilliant silver gleam. Redoubling my focus on the fortress I poured mana into the stone. The area was staggered like a massive ziggurat but with parapets and a stone canopy to protect from ranged and areal attacks. I continued to raise the tower and ziggurat, I only had room for about half my army to take up position right now. Those who could were already taking up positions on the walls. Drums began to beat in time like the beating heart of a massive beast. Spells, abilities, and arrows shot out striking the much faster smaller automatons that raced across the field. More and more were digging themselves out of the dirt rushing towards us. They used different strategies depending on what type of automaton they were, the ones like beasts just raced towards us as fast as they could while the humanoid ones formed into lines raising shields and moving towards us in a steadily growing formation. The minutes ticked by, and I could hear the thunderous boom, boom, boom of the golem¡¯s heavy cannons and gatling gun. By now it was surrounded in battle haze of smoke and dust kicked up blocking a clear vision of anything that was happening. I gave one last push with my ability and stood up from where I had been kneeling with my hands on the ground. It was finished. There was a spiked trench around the fortress and five tiers of defense all surrounding a high tower. My soldiers moved with purpose under the orders of Ares, while I wouldn¡¯t want some ancient ghost shouting orders in my head at me, the clear instruction seemed to give them some calm. Lighting wreathed my body as I shot out of the tower towards the golem. I cleared the cloud of dirt and smoke and got a good view of the battle. Exar¡¯kun had been healed, by himself or someone else I didn¡¯t know, point was he was back in the fight. With over thirty Hero ranked gifted attacking it you would expect the Golem to be going down pretty quick, but I couldn¡¯t even tell if it had taken damage. One of Jeriah¡¯s brothers rolled to the side as the massive blade of the golem swept through them the ground trembled under the force of the strike. One of the fighters, a Hero from the Wolf Clan, didn¡¯t move fast enough. There wasn¡¯t even a body to try and heal when the golem raised its sword back up. Exar¡¯kun zipped around the golem as it spun its gatling gun emitting a never-ending stream of bullets as it tried to track the dragon¡¯s erratic maneuvers. Forge caught sight of me and swiveled its body to aim at me instead of the dragon. The bullets whizzed my way, and I was suddenly in a flight for my life zigzagging between the bullets as I made a straight line for its head. I struck the golem and dove in through the slit of its visor into the mesh of gears, wires and pipes that made up its interior. I slashed out with Clarent severing a pipe and blasting myself with steam, if I wasn¡¯t resistant to fire damage, I probably would have been cooked by it. I kept going but no matter how much I destroyed nothing seemed to slow down the golem. Little drone machines swarmed behind me in my wake repairing the damage I caused as quickly as I made it. A whirring sound grew louder and louder withing the machine. A force gripped me and a hatch in the side of the golem opened up. Like the seal of an airplane or spaceship being opened I was violently ejected from inside the golem. I tumbled end over end, my body moving so fast if felt as if I¡¯d been shot by a cannon. I hit the ground so hard I made a crater as I sunk into the ground weakened by the network of tunnels that had been made under it by the spawning raid creatures. The rubble collapsed in around me trapping me a pitch-black suffocating hole. -- Exar¡¯kun dodged the constant stream of projectiles from the golem¡¯s gun. His Speed Attribute and his ability, Shooting Star were the only things letting him stay ahead of the boulder sized bullets. He wasn¡¯t able to attack but he was able to keep fire off the rest of the strike force. He watched as Mordred got launched out of the golem hitting the ground and disappearing. He couldn¡¯t spare a second to worry about him as he rolled and dropped before shooting forward as more bullets followed after him. He darted into the sky up into atmosphere where clouds were starting gather and darken above the battlefield. The bullets continued to chase him even up here punching holes through the gathered water vapor. The attacks of his allies on the ground were doing basically nothing against the colossal golem. The damage they did inflict repaired itself. If only he could get a few seconds. When he had been given the Ability Tokens as part of his rewards for ranking up he had known exactly the ability to pick, it was one he had from his birth and the one that given him his infamy.
Wrath of the Stars, (Rank 50, Max Rank): Your breath weapon deals Divine Fire and Curse damage in a 2,500ft cone and inflicts the condition *Star Plague.
Reduces the hardness of uncommon, rare, epic & mythical armor enchanted or otherwise except for Artifact, by 1 for every 5 seconds it is damaged by your breath weapon.
Enemies hit by your fire have a chance of being inflicted with *Star Curse.
Reduces damage resistances by 1 for every 5 seconds a creature is in the effect of your breath weapon.
Targets hit by your fire are outlined shining light taking 25% more damage from all sources for the next 15 minutes.
Ground hit by the fire become irradiated dealing Moderate Radiation damage for the next ten minutes to any creature that walks over it.
You can exclude a creature from your breath weapon even if they are in its effect for the cost of 50 mana for each creature.
*Star Plague: Body begins to break down taking Major Radiation damage per second.
*Star Curse: Damage reduction abilities and titles of the afflicted reduced by 3, lasts for 1 minute, if affliction remains for 1 minute target gains another consecutive stack of star curse.
Max Rank Bonus: Enemies killed by your fire will come back as a Star-fire Elemental, lasting for 5 minutes and attacking anything you designate.
Cost: 35 stamina & mana per second Cast Time: 10 second build up
Every rank up increases range and damage of your breath weapon. Every rank of this ability increases your Power & Spirit by 2.
Being able to deal Divine stage damage was basically unheard of without half a dozen titles and enchantments boosting that specific weapon type or element. Finally, the golem tired of trying to hit him and turned its weapon towards the ground. Not missing his chance Exar¡¯kun turned hovering in the air as his head curled back. A deep electric humming grew inside him as he built up the fire in his throat. It exploded out striking the creatures rotating artillery projector, he held the breath, one second, two, five, ten, fifteen, twenty! The weapon began glowing a white-hot parts of it sagging and the barrels stopped spinning. The golem turned back to him leaning forward the barrels on its back firing. He rolled as the explosive shells whizzed past him. He didn¡¯t make the mistake of trying to destroy them midair again. The weapon was destroyed, and triumphant roar sounded from Exar¡¯kun¡¯s throat. The golem raised the barrels before it. Exar¡¯kun¡¯s triumph faded as he watched the barrels cool and begin to straighten once again. Even his rank fifty ability wouldn¡¯t be able to keep down this World Boss for long. -- I burst from the ground as I compressed a tunnel back to the surface. The golem was still up no surprise, but its gun had stopped shooting. I could see it repairing itself now from whatever damage it had taken. ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea,¡± I said. ¡°But its probably a bad one, remember when you helped me destroy that Artifact?¡± You want to try using Hell-dragon Armory on that? Karnen asked not disdainfully, but I could hear the doubt in his voice. I don¡¯t think it will work on an operational construct. ¡°What if you help me?¡± I asked. ¡°If we use Ethereal on it¡­¡± I let the implication of my words hang in the air. We might as well try, Voidra said. None of us can say for sure if it will even work, but just be warned, the System might get mad again. ¡°What else is new,¡± I said launching myself back into the air towards the golem. The golem had never stopped moving, and though we had slowed it it was much too close to the fortress for my liking. Time to put a stop to that. I didn¡¯t aim for its face this time but its left knee, I hit the metal and latched on. ¡°Hell-dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said. The metal of the golem resisted me, it was just like when I had tried this on an Artifact. I didn¡¯t have the desperation of trying to save Guinevere¡¯s life this time, but I still had my anger, and I had something else too. I pushed with the Ethereal energy that remained unused inside me, it resisted but Voidra and Karnen were there to help it along its way. The energy flowed through my palm hitting the wall of resistance, like a caustic acid it eroded the resistance. My will and intent continued to press in against it as I poured mana into the ability, with a sudden pop the effect took hold The metal began to flow and compress together. The golem staggered suddenly, nearly throwing me off it as it stumbled. I kept my grip and continued to alter and shape the metal, their was a grinding as the golem tried to take another step but its knee locked in place. Drones were trying to repair the damage I caused but this was very different that patching a hole or reconnecting pipes wires or replacing a gear. Those wires, pipes and gears were all one singular mass now. The golem¡¯s head turned as it looked down to see me and realized the source of its predicament. Its sword sliced at me, but I rolled swinging behind its knee cap. It swung again but was thrown off by the lack of use from its left knee. It stumbled backwards trying to catch its balance. I wasn¡¯t alone in this fight, Exar¡¯kun hit it in the head like the stone from David¡¯s sling felling the giant Goliath. The golem¡¯s arms pinwheeled but by allies on the ground though small had abilities of their own and yanked the one remaining leg out from under it. With a crash that caused a localized earthquake the golem crashed to the ground spending up a cloud of dust. Try to get as many of your vassals to attack it as possible now, Ares told me. Many are still Mortal; the they get credit for its death they¡¯ll get the full five-hundred points for killing an enemy so high above their rank. ¡°They¡¯re kind of busy,¡± I said looking back at the fortress under siege by hundreds or robotic automatons. This raid is going to last for the next twenty-three hours, its only going to get harder from here, Ares said. They will need all the strength they can get. ¡°Fine, you can see them better than I can, any you think can survive sallying out of the fort have them meet us here,¡± I said. Forge was trying to push itself back up with its arms. Oh no you don¡¯t, I thought blasting towards it. I landed beside its neck and a massive thump sounded behind me as Exar¡¯kun landed as well. ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± he asked. ¡°We need to do more damage than it can repair,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m trying to think of a way to take its head off.¡± ¡°I can soften its armor and damage resistances,¡± Exar¡¯kun offered. ¡°But I don¡¯t have anything to take its head off in one strike.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have anything either,¡± I admitted. Then I spotted the golem¡¯s sword where it had dropped it during its fall. ¡°But it does.¡± - Moments later I was flying above the fallen golem as lifted up its sword which was just on the limit of what I could levitate at a time, and it was a strain just to keep it in the air. Jeriah, and his brothers were using various abilities to chain the Golem down. More and more of my vassals were swarming over it crawling over its surface fighting off the army of automatons and the golem¡¯s drones as they drove their weapons into the cracks of its armored plating prying open holes. Exar¡¯kun was beside its neck blasting a non-stop stream of fire over it. Remara was using her own abilities to channel her own mana and stamina into the dragon to supply him with the fuel for his ability. I raised the sword higher and higher than let it drop. It plummeted down six-hundred feet, Exar¡¯kun jumped out of the way as everyone got clear. The golem made one final attempt to break free but couldn¡¯t move faster than the falling sword. With a crunch its edge went through the weakened armor of its neck, its edge slicing through the metal and then into the dirt. The head rolled away, and the body of the golem went still along; it began to glow brighter and brighter with a brilliant heat. Everyone ran for cover as a wave of fire burst from the fallen World Boss like one last fuck you. I don¡¯t know how many people it killed with that, but it was dead now.
250 rank points gained.
You have defeated the World Boss, Forge, reducing the number of spawns for the rest of this wave.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 4,700 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
A cheer ran through my army, but the battle wasn¡¯t over yet, we may have defeated the general, but his army still remained, and we still had five more to fight after this. No rest for the wicked. Chapter 124: The Army of the Bloodsworn Guinevere stepped out of the carriage; every eye turned to face her. Even with the veil covering her face she still felt her body draw the eye of every man within view. King and Prince Arthur waited for her, she noticed their eyes both widen, and their jaws slacken. She gave no sign she noticed any of the attention she was receiving, her hands clasping before her. ¡°My liege,¡± she said curtseying to the King. ¡°Your highness,¡± she said curtsying to Arthur. ¡°Lady Guinevere,¡± King Arthur said collecting himself first. ¡°Your father informs us you¡¯ve been out hunting; I see that has come with some changes to you.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± was all she said. ¡°The tourney will start in four weeks,¡± the King said. ¡°As the betrothed of the Prince you will be required to start making public appearances, so as to familiarize yourself with the people when you are princess.¡± ¡°As you say my King,¡± she said her voice perfectly polite. ¡°May I speak with you,¡± Arthur said then looked at his father. ¡°In private.¡± King Arthur nodded, turning, and gesturing for everyone to give them space. Arthur held out his hand for Guinevere to take; she walked alongside him but did not give him her hand. His hand dropped by his side, and they walked side by side entering the palace gardens, the sweet smell of flowers filling the air. ¡°What do you want?¡± Guinevere asked, finally breaking the silence. ¡°I wanted to see how you¡¯ve been doing,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯ve met the Warlord,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Met or fought?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°There is no difference with him,¡± Arthur said. ¡°When he fights you can feel the joy he gets from it, the hunger for destruction. He¡¯s more beast than man.¡± ¡°But he¡¯s still a man,¡± she pointed out. ¡°I am going to save you from him,¡± Arthur said ignoring her rebuttal. Guinevere glared at him. ¡°I don¡¯t need saving.¡± ¡°I know you think that, I¡¯ve seen who he really is. If protecting, you from him means protecting you form yourself that¡¯s what I¡¯m going to do.¡± ¡°Do you think you can win my heart like this?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°You¡¯ve betrayed everything I thought we stood for. You destroyed that, not Mordred, you.¡± ¡°So, because I was unfaithful to you once you¡¯re going to jump into the arms of a madman?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°Once,¡± Guinevere scoffed. ¡°Tell me honestly you haven¡¯t slept with anyone else besides Lionor.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Arthur opened his mouth than closed it as Guinevere fixed him with a stare her eyes glowing as Confessor¡¯s Sight activated. ¡°There was another,¡± he admitted unable to lie. ¡°Who?¡± she asked. ¡°Her name is Ammerila, it was just happened between us,¡± Arthur said. ¡°That¡¯s the problem with you Arthur,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°It keeps happening. Who is she, what god does she serve?¡± ¡°She is the champion of Salrilla,¡± Arthur said. ¡°So, you slept with the Assassin but want to lecture me about the Warlord,¡± she said. ¡°You can¡¯t even see your own hypocrisy.¡± ¡°She is not like the Warlord,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I know she can change if we give her a chance.¡± ¡°And will you give Mordred a chance?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°No,¡± Arthur said his voice hardening. ¡°I saw him willing to rape Ammerila when he had her at his mercy¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you think you saw but I think anything Mordred says or does will be twisted by you to mean something else.¡± ¡°He is not the man you think he is,¡± Arthur insisted. ¡°If you think this is a choice between me and him than for your own sake he has to die.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just Mordred,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯ll pick anyone over you, this isn¡¯t some story. You¡¯re not my knight in shining armor, you aren¡¯t my hero, you¡¯re the villain.¡± ¡°You can say what you want Guinevere,¡± Arthur said. ¡°But I¡¯m not going to let you destroy yourself.¡± ¡°I hope Mordred kills you,¡± Guinevere said her voice hard as steel as she glared at him. ¡°Mordred won¡¯t be a problem soon,¡± Arthur said his own voice hardening. ¡°All the gods have sent him a challenge, by this time tomorrow he will just be a memory.¡± Guinevere stiffened. ¡°You¡¯re lying,¡± she said in denial. ¡°He beat us all in the Event, he destroyed how it was meant to be played so this is his retribution,¡± Arthur said. ¡°He¡¯s a mad dog and has to be put down.¡± She turned on her heel and walked away. ¡°You¡¯ll see this was for the best in time,¡± Arthur said to her retreating form. --- My sword cut through the last of the automatons. Piles of metal scrap were scattered across the battlefield some still smoking or burning as the combustible parts of their insides finished burning after their destruction. I could feel their materials the fortune of uncommon and rare metals and stones contained in the wreckage enough to outfit a dozen armies in full armor and weapons. A horn blew across the land. The few dozen automatons that still stood collapsed to the ground like marionets with their strings cut. I looked around but no new massive figure or beast presented itself, there was no sign to show the next World Boss had appeared, but I got the notification telling me that it had.
The World Boss Avarice has spawned
Averice is the World Boss of this raid and represents the Mendactheon. As long as the boss is alive every one of its minions on the field will be stronger and will spawn in greater numbers, kill the boss to reduce the difficulty of this wave.
An arrow buzzed towards my head, and I twisted my neck to the side letting it buzz past as I traced it back to its source. A creature like a goblin ducked behind a pile of broken automatons, another popping out a dozen paces away and losing anther arrow at me. More and more small humanoid figures began appearing. I did a quick analysis of the creature pulling up its description.
Trickster, Raid Monster- humanoid/goblin (dungeon creature), Veteran, Power Level: 445
Raising my hand, I caught over a dozen arrows with Telekinesis and hurled them back at my attackers. They squealed in pain as they were skewered and pinned to the ground. I kept my head on a swivel turning around as I searched for the World Boss. Ares, you can see through my vassals¡¯ eyes; do you got eyes on this thing? I asked. No. but that is to be expected, Ares said. The Mendactheon is the Pantheon of Deception, its representative will not be some towering figure of destruction. It will be illusive, full of tricks and abilities to hide and cloak itself. It will strike from the shadows and try to destroy you from within. Any thoughts on how to find it? I asked. I think it will start making itself known soon, Ares said. You need to be ready to try and counter whatever scheme it has in mind. It will¡­ wait one of your vassals just died inside the Fortress. While a number of my vassals had died since the start of the battle one of them dying inside the fortress where they had access to healers and the defenses protection wasn¡¯t something that had happened. Lighting wreathed my body as I blasted back to the fortress teleporting inside. I dropped down into a group of disoriented men and women surrounding a corpse. The body was unrecognizable as man or women its face and body partially melted by some sort of acid. ¡°Who was this?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± one of the men beside me asked. ¡°I think it was a woman but¡­¡± his voice was unsure as he his sentence trailed off. Shapeshifter, Karnen said. It has to be, it¡¯s trying to infiltrate your ranks. At least it¡¯s not the Thing and infecting them from the inside, I said crouching down and running a finger down the body of the corpse. The acid attacked my skin burning through it to the flesh. I flicked it off, even now that acid was still incredibly potent. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. We¡¯re being watched, Voidra said. We¡¯re surrounded by people, I pointed out. Or do you mean the shape-changer? No, this is different, Voidra said. There emotions are feint but it¡¯s like they¡¯re here but not here, all around us but nowhere at the same time. Scrying, Ares said. Someone is watching us right now. I thought I got a blessing to stop that, I said. Stop gods, Karnen said emphasizing the last word. Nothing¡¯s stopping anyone with a spell or ability from peeking in on you. That means we can¡¯t use Void Asura, I said. If you want to live, we may not have a choice, Ares pointed out. I felt the death of another of my vassals nearby and teleported over to it my conversation put on hold for now. I was deep below the fortress the air lit by a few glowing orbs. Women, children, and the elderly were crowded all around us. I didn¡¯t see anyone out of place and only a dissolving corpse on the ground. Thanks for letting me into this little feeding ground little pig, a voice spoke into my head. ¡°Not by the hair of my chinny chin-chin,¡± I said. I activated Bestial Senses and took a deep breath of the air letting the various scents assault my sinuses my vision scanning the people around me. The bodies of all the people around me where lit up by my infrared vision as I scanned them following the scent, I had gathered from both crime scenes. My head swiveled to the side as I dodged a shot from the darkness. There was no visible sign of who had shot at me, everyone starting to panic but I could smell the shapeshifter even if I couldn¡¯t see them. Teleporting forward I stabbed forward with Clarent, the old woman huddling before me immediately exploded with violence as she blocked my attack her visage changing.
Avarice, Gifted- Shape-changer/Doppelganger (World Boss), Hero, Rank: 600
¡°Well done,¡± Avarice said, ¡°It appears your more than just a brute.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a regular sherlock homes,¡± IU agreed pressing my attack. Ares, get these people out of here. ¡°Let¡¯s see if your skill with your weapon matches your nose,¡± the doppelganger said blades of bone extending from her forearms. --- Guinevere hurried to her chambers and locked the door behind her. She dove into her bags tossing the items out across the floor until she came to the hand mirror Mordred had given her. She held it up her face looking back at her eyes wide and wild. ¡°Show me Mordred,¡± she commanded the mirror injecting the mana into it to activate it. The surface of the mirror darkened with shadow, a gleaming line of red appearing lighting up a dark stone chamber. The light of Clarent was the only source of illumination casting Mordred in blood red hues as he battled with some beast armored and armed with bone white armor and weapons. It pressed him back obviously having higher Attributes. Mordred gave ground slowly his Might able to counter most of its strikes his body wreathed in black mist with crimson bolts of lightning flashing through it like a storm taking on the form of man. He shot forward spinning around the creature as the battled back and forth. Guinevere sagged to the ground, the relief that he was still alive felt like a mountain being lifted off of her. ¡°Stay alive,¡± she whispered. --- Pushing open the doors to the War Room Arthur stepped inside nodding to his father and the gathered generals. ¡°We have eyes on the battle?¡± he asked. ¡°We do,¡± his father said. ¡°It¡¯s difficult to keep track of the Warlord since we have to scry just the area around him, none of us have seen his face so getting a solid trace on him is impossible.¡± ¡°I wish I could help,¡± Arthur said. ¡°But he always wore a helmet or was shrouded in black smoke. I never even got a good look at his eyes.¡± ¡°Those with the darkest intentions rarely like the world seeing them for who they really are,¡± King Arthur said the men around him nodding in agreement. Mordred looked at the screen showing a fortress under siege outside the city of Dragonhold. The city was only a fraction of the size of Camelot, but he still feared for its thousands of inhabitants. Luckly the Warlord hadn¡¯t taken up position inside the city so hopefully its residents would mostly escape the effects of the Raid. Across the battlefield little creatures swarmed around metal wreckage. They disappeared from sight only to appear behind one of the Warlord¡¯s vassals performing a sneak attack. The battle was fast and chaotic and while there was an order and method to the Warlord¡¯s army it was very different than the neat rows and lines of traditional armies. ¡°Where is he?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°He went inside that fortress a bit ago,¡± one of the generals said. ¡°We¡¯re working to try and maneuver the scrying inside it but it¡¯s difficult.¡± ¡°What do you think his odds are?¡± King Arthur asked them. ¡°His trick against the iron golem was interesting, one of them mused studying the events on the floating projection. ¡°I¡¯m still not sure how he was able to trip it but that trick with using its own weapon to kill it was genius. However, we¡¯ve gauged this wave is about ten percent more powerful than the last. If that keeps up there¡¯s no way, he or his army will survive this.¡± --- I skid back as the doppelganger¡¯s bone swords slashed forward at me from every direction. It moved like the wind and I could barely keep track of it as it turned invisible, camouflaged itself against the stone or teleported through the shadows. Despite its greater Attributes it wasn¡¯t able to bypass my own defenses, Temor Soles, Bestial Senses and Foresight all worked together to let me know where it was at all times never allowing it a moment to get a sneak attack in on me. The attacks stopped and I turned slowly in place keeping track of the shape-shifter even though I couldn¡¯t see it. ¡°Your trickier than I thought you would be,¡± Averice said. ¡°Its not like you¡¯ve had much experience,¡± I said. ¡°How long have you been alive at this point, thirty minutes?¡± ¡°I am a creation of the System,¡± Averice said. ¡°I am immortal, I lived countless lives and fought in more battles than you have years to your name.¡± ¡°That only adds up to only twenty-six battles,¡± I said. ¡°So¡­ not very impressive.¡± ¡°The point is I¡¯ve found many ways to deal with people like you,¡± it said stepping out of the shadows its body now in a black dress silver hair hanging down to its waist. ¡°Do you like it?¡± the doppelganger said in Guinevere¡¯s voice. ¡°I can see glimpses of your thoughts; they are hard to read chaotic with multiple voices, but this woman is clear.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have the right to wear that face,¡± I said my voice turning flat and hard. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it make your heart skip though?¡± the doppelganger said. ¡°Come now, we can have a bit of fun together before we continue this battle.¡± I blasted forward and slammed it into the wall. The doppelganger was stunned for a moment by my reckless aggression as I began to savage it with my claws and sword. It broke free and slashed a long cut along my abdomen. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you were willing to hurt the visage of this woman,¡± the doppelganger said. ¡°I mean you didn¡¯t even hesitate to start ripping her to pieces.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not her,¡± I said. ¡°You may have her features, but you don¡¯t move like her, you can¡¯t capture her scent, you can¡¯t even capture her beauty. Your just a poor copy.¡± My criticism of its ability to imitate seemed to infuriate it more than anything else I had done. Averice lunged forward going on its own relentless attack. My flesh shredded under its attack but regenerated at almost the same speed. I threw it off for a second teleporting a dozen feet away. It¡¯s vain, Ares said. Exploit that weakness. ¡°Was there an error in your spawning this time?¡± I asked. ¡°I was told World Bosses were legendary creatures that took entire armies to fight, but you¡­ well it¡¯s a bit of a letdown.¡± The doppelganger lunged for me its eyes filled with rage. I teleported away knowing the exact route I had to take. Ares cleared the area around us of any of my vassals. ¡°I mean the iron golem we just fought, now that was a proper World Boss, but you seem a little defective,¡± I said teleporting away as it tried to impale me with bone spikes spraying from it body. ¡°I mean it was cool, had massive gun and missile array,¡± I said. ¡°What do you have some bone weapons and the ability to look like other people, I¡¯m pretty sure the Assassin can do the same thing and I¡¯ve killed her like twice already.¡± Flying backwards I emerged back into sunlight my eyes going blind for second. The doppelganger pounced and I rolled under its attack. ¡°Now!¡± I shouted. Ares had been gathering my vassals while I kept the boss busy, and my strike force struck. Remara slammed her staff into the ground a rope of energy tethering the boss to the ground. It tried to flee but was yanked back by the ability. Jeriah swung his sword barely missing but Tobias hit it with his Maul tossing it to the end of the tether before it came snapping back like a paddle ball toy. Exar¡¯kun breathed out his fire freaking us all out for a second until the fire passed over us all harmlessly only dealing damage to the boss. It screamed as the flames consumed it. Bone spikes began shooting out punching through armor like high powered crossbow bolts. I walked through the barrage of missiles as they pierced my flesh drenching the ground in my blood. Jeriah took a bolt to his thigh, one of his brother taking one to the chest and one of Korsis¡¯ elites being unlucky enough to take one in the face dying instantly as it exploded on impact filling his skull with bone shrapnel. You¡¯re going to need to use Void Asura, Karnen said. There is no way you survive without it. Not while we¡¯re being scryed on, I replied and went on the attack against the World Boss. The doppelganger fixated on me slashing down with its swords. I was able to block but my stacks of Black Rage had all faded off a while ago. Her attacks drove me into the ground as I narrowly avoided death with every swing of its swords. ¡°Where is your strength now?¡± Averice asked. ¡°I¡¯m the Warlord,¡± I said. ¡°My strength is all around me.¡± Tobias smashed down with the maul I had crafted for him. The doppelganger was driven into the ground. Jeriah jumped forward staggering as he landed due to his wounded leg, but his sword swung down slashing through one if legs. Blood sprayed out and the two brothers fell back screaming as it burned them on contact. ¡°I am not some common beast that easy to slay,¡± the doppelganger spat the spewed a spray of vomit at me and my Foresight warned me of the nasty outcome if that acid were to hit me. ¡°Phantom Form,¡± I said stepping through the acid unharmed and driving the spectral form of Clarent through its chest. It screamed in agony but wasn¡¯t dead yet. Exar¡¯kun bit down with his jaws, his teeth sheering through her lower half, he spat out her torso blood coming out of his jaws as the acid burned him, but it had only a marginal effect on him. ¡°Acid Resistance III,¡± Exar¡¯kun explained as I looked at his bleeding gums. ¡°Lots of acid related monsters spawn in a swamp.¡± The doppelganger was still alive crawling towards me as its entrails and acid blood drained out behind it. I stepped forward and lunged down onto one knee driving Clarent through its back. I let it stick in her for a minute, the lightning from the blade roasting it from the inside.
300 rank points gained.
You have defeated the World Boss, Averice, reducing the number of spawns for the rest of this wave.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 7,256 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Still no new abilities but that was just the luck of the draw, I could go through this entire raid without getting one, that was if I survived. ¡°We are being scryed on right now,¡± I said to my strike force. ¡°I have to hold back my full strength to keep the enemy from learning exactly what I¡¯m capable of. Does anyone here have a way to keep me from being scryed on?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a way to keep just you from being scryed on,¡± Remara said. ¡°But I can create an area of anti-scrying.¡± ¡°how big can you make it?¡± I asked. ¡°The biggest I can do is a six-mile radius,¡± Remara said. ¡°This is a spell not an ability so it will drain me of all my mana for a couple hours.¡± ¡°Do it,¡± I said nodding to her. ¡°I will take at least four hours to cast if I¡¯m doing it at its maximum size,¡± she said. The screams of the wounded and dying reached me reminding me the battle was still on going. ¡°Blood Renewal,¡± I said. My blood and all the blood spilled around me consumed to power the ability dark mist rising about three feet off the ground all around us. The wounds in my vassals began to close and heal as the healing took hold my own wounds closed as I turned my attention to the battlefield. I had work to do. Chapter 125: A Broken Soul Clarent rammed through the back of one of the invisible goblins and it fell to the ground. I flashed forwards into another group of them spin about to send heads and limbs flying. They thought themselves hidden with their invisibility and camouflage, but I could tell where everything was thanks to Tremor Soles and Voidra. Unending Flow was going up in effectiveness with each of the goblins I slew, they were humanoids even if they were just dungeon creatures created by the System. The grass was basically gone at this point, trampled, burned, blasted apart, and drowned in blood the battlefield was mess of metal wrecks, corpses, and maroon mud. I had sent the rest of my men to wait in the fortress and get what rest they could. I was the only one who would get any benefit from killing these creatures, they might have a few magical abilities, but they weren¡¯t gifted and so would offer no abilities or rank points on death.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 9,869 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
A horn blew out across the sky as any remaining goblins, redcaps, or the other minions of Averice collapsed. With their World Boss slain and their raid over there was nothing left to power them anymore.
The World Boss Balance has spawned
Balance is the World Boss of this raid and represents the Dikastheon. As long as the boss is alive every one of its minions on the field will be stronger and will spawn in greater numbers, kill the boss to reduce the difficulty of this wave.
It was not the ground that spawned the new wave but the sky, horns blared across the sky again, not the earth trembling horn of the System but smaller clearer horns sounding. A humming filled the air accompanied by a choir as winged figures emerged from rifts of golden light. They emerged by the dozen more and more filling the air with a legion of angels. One stood apart from the rest, it would have stood fifteen feet tall and had metallic silver skin with white feathered wings death feather had a luminous golden eye on it that searched the battlefield below it.
Balance, Gifted- Celestial/Arch-Angel (World Boss), Hero, Rank: 700
Balance carried an ornate two-handed scythe in its hands. Its chest was bare and hairless, and it only wore a white toga. It turned its gaze to look down on me, its eyes were brilliant balls of white light with no discernable iris or pupil. ¡°So, you are who I have been sent to slay,¡± Balance said. ¡°I expected more.¡± ¡°I¡¯m like an iceberg,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Your just seeing the tip but if you like I could put the whole thing in.¡± The blank expression on Balance¡¯s face turned to a frown, it gestured with its arm and its army flew forwards towards me and the fortress. I held my ground only stepping to the side as a lance of golden light hit the ground beside me. I rolled to the side as it exploded then I jumped into the sky taking to the air as Clarent began sending winged angels down to the ground below. Their wings burned and spiraled down like leaves as I cut them off their backs.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 9,882 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
The thudding of wings sounded as Exar¡¯kun dove into the fight aa gout of green fire incinerating a score of the winged angels. They were hurling spears down at the fortress as volley fire rose up to answer them. I shot towards the World Boss and he deflected Clarent with his scythe in a casual dismissal of my attack. Scarlet lightning shot out arcing across the sky. Many angles fell out of the air as they failed to resist its stun effect. Balance retaliated I turned incorporeal which was the only thing that saved me as the scythe struck with the speed of sound a boom sounding out over the battlefield. It burned my incorporeal form but not as badly as it would have had it hit my physical body. I retreated away and summoned a twisted horn into my hands. Blowing the horn, a dark cloud surrounded me for a moment before blowing apart thirteen hounds appearing where it had been. I howled releasing Helheim¡¯s Scream, and the hounds took up my call. The pack and I flew forwards activating the speed boost from my boots. The archangel swung again at me, and I just managed to roll under his swing scoring a hit across his thigh. It dashed into the midst of my hounds, they tried encircling it but it slashed around itself and they fell to the ground in rain of blood that evaporated into mist before it hit the ground. It rushed me again slashing at me and I flipped over its back narrowly avoiding having my legs cut off as I tried to cut off its wings from its back. Clarent did only a minor wound as the silver skin resisted being sliced through. The Archangel didn¡¯t howl, shout or rage, instead it just relentlessly began pursuing me across the skies turning from defender to aggressor. I began ducking, weaving teleporting as it tossed out all manner of new attacks. Golden spinning disks, exploding javelins, even a whip made of light. I needed a way to get this thing down on the ground so my strike force could help me kill it because there was no way I could take this thing on my own. I dodged another attack and surged forward activating Hell¡¯s Talons. I slashed its back, cutting a deep wound across the ligaments connecting its wings to its spine. The Arch-Angel did scream now as purple cursed flames spread from its wound. I smiled in triumph than the fires winked out as a globe of translucent energy appeared around the World Boss. I struck out at the barrier with Clarent and my claws but was shoved back by a violent retaliatory wave of energy.
The object you have struck at is immune to Physical Damage, Lightning, Fire, Cold, Necrotic, Poison, Acid, Psychic, Sonic, Curse, Holy & Soul damage
Any attacks against the barrier will deal a moderate amount of retaliatory damage.
The eyes along the arch-angel¡¯s wings glowed and I barely spun out of the way as a barrage of laser beams shot from each of its eyes. The beams of light tracked me through the air, and I teleported behind the arch-angel to escape them. Exar¡¯kun swooped in breathing fire, but it was completely repelled by the barrier around the World Boss. The beams of light hit him, and he roared in pain as holes were bored through his left wing. He went into a tailspin down to the ground and the arch-angel whirled to face me again. ¡°Your allies will not avail you,¡± it said its eyes flaring even brighter.
You have been stunned for 10 seconds, reduced by Troll Hide to 1 second.
Even with Troll Hide reducing the duration of the stun to only one second it was enough time for the beams of light to hit me. It was like being hit by a truck as it knocked me out of the sky and slammed me to the ground. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
You are taking Extreme Holy and Major Soul damage per second, move out the area of damage or death will occur in 30 seconds.
Even with all my damage reduction and the toughness of my flesh this attack was killing me body and soul. I tried to push up but couldn¡¯t move past the strength of the beams continuously pressing me to the ground. I tried teleporting but the effect wouldn¡¯t work. Turning incorporeal would just get me killed faster. I had to admit I was out of tricks and with the globe of invulnerability around the world boss there was no way for my vassals to do anything to it either. I wasn¡¯t going to go peacefully; I continued to strain and push against the attack but it was like trying push against the tide. The golden light burned into my flesh and a I screamed as the Holy and Soul damage ravaged my body and spirit. My skin and muscle began to burn away the bones of my ribs becoming exposed and blackened by the bombardment from the archangel above. My mind went dark, and I fell into a dark abyss. -- My soul hung out over the void. I could still feel the archangel¡¯s attack shredding my soul, but I wasn¡¯t out of the fight yet. On the ledge above me stood a feminine figure of pure darkness, a man made of angry red energy and a silver ghost of a man in my armor. Behind them was another figure bound in chains of while light it was made of dark greys, and blacks and it snarled and thrashed in its bindings. So, this is the Void, Ares said turning his head to look out over the empty expanse of darkness. We need to get out of here! Voidra shouted at me as I hung at the edge of the Void. Why are we here again, I growled trying to drag my soul up from the edge. I thought I fixed the trauma in my soul. Hardly, Karnen said. You may have fixed the hatred you have for yourself, but you¡¯re still damaged from the pain in your past, until you resolve that we¡¯re going to keep ending up here. I could feel the hunger of the entities in the void drawing closer. Not today, I thought as I pulled myself up over the edge Karnen, Ares and Voidra pulling me out and back into the world of the living. Whether I would end up right back where I was in a moment remained to be seen. --- Guinevere¡¯s hand was tight around her mouth holding back her scream as she watched the angelic creature slowly kill Mordred the light attack melting the flesh from his body. Get up! Get up! She screamed at him in her mind. His head jerked up, his limbs spasming. Her heart raced as he pushed himself up, but his strength gave out and he fell back, his skeleton becoming visible as it began to be burned away by the holy fire. The mirror went black. Guinevere felt her heart fall. She shook the mirror. ¡°Show me Mordred,¡± she said but it remained dark. ¡°Show me Mordred!¡± she shouted at it trying to shove her entire mana pool into it, but its surface only showed her own face now. She tossed it on the bed, tears running down her face as she drew her knees to her chest hugging them close. ---
All Scrying effects have been blocked in the area for the next seven days.
¡°About time,¡± I tried to say but my lack of working vocal cords made my words unrecognizable as anything that sounded like human speech. Luckily Void Asura did not require an activation phrase. Three sets of extra limbs emerged from my torso. They were all identical clad in a black armor marbled with silver and white shifting lines of ethereal energy. The soul damage I was taking was reduced to almost nothing and the burning of my flesh was slowed to a crawl. I pushed back and like a salmon flew against the current of golden light heading straight for the source. I grew the gauntlet sword I had received as well as my double-bladed spear and wielding them alongside Clarent stabbed forwards. The weapons pierced through the globe of invulnerability. The bombardment stopped as the arch-angel flew back his shield disappearing from around him. ¡°How!¡± Balance spat. ¡°That ability is immune to all forms of damage.¡± ¡°Not Void damage it would seem,¡± I said teleporting in front of him. I blocked the swing of his scythe with my spear as both my swords slashed at him, and my unarmed hands slashed at it with Hell¡¯s Talons. My body was barely holding together but I pushed past the weakness of my flesh to continue the fight. I grabbed hold of its scythe spinning as it tried to fling me off me as my free hands stabbed into it. I sliced through the tendons connecting to its right wing and we began to spin as its remaining wing tried to keep us aloft. Silver blood sprayed out over me as the world became a blur around us. Mud and blood sprayed out as we hit the ground creating a small crater. I rolled away with the last of my strength dodging a swing from its scythe as I made some space between us. ¡°Blood Renewal,¡± I said.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title> Objective, survive lethal Extreme Holy damage and come back from multiple mortal wounds. Your body has adapted to the radiance of the heavens and is becoming resistant to the damage of gods of Order.
Reward: Holy Resistance III
*Holy Resistance III: You now take three less stages of damage from Holy attacks, spells and abilities.
Mist rose up around us and my body, which was only partially recovered, slowly regained some of its muscle and skin as we stood and faced each other again. My void limbs disappeared as I ran out Ethereal; we were on the ground, but we were far from being on even footing, I was wounded and naked my enchanted cloak which had survived so many battles now burned to ash. The eyes along its wings began to glow as it prepared to unleash is laser attack on me again. The arch-angle spun blocking the heavy wing of Tobias¡¯ maul then fell back as Jeriah swung at him with his sword. The sons of Dragonbreaker swarmed the World boss. It scythe slashed out in a sonic boom sounding off as it moved faster than sound. Its edges bypassed the armor I had made for them cutting Rejiah in two. Jeriah screamed in rage tackling the arch-angel into the mud. The arch-angle headbutted him and twisted free push to its feet and raising its scythe to give Jeriah a death blow. A bear hit the arch-angel rolling him through the mud staining his pristine toga and coating his silver skin in the maroon mud. The bear roared as its rider charged forward. The arch-angle slid forward gutting the bear and sending Kas¡¯tu flying off its back. The chief of the Ursine clan rolled to his feet and Tobias blocked another swing from the World Boss¡¯ scythe. A spear slid forward stabbing Balance through the abdomen as Korsis moved in. The arch-angle unleashed a scream that lifted up everyone around it and threw them to the side. The transparent globe appeared around it and the eyes on its wings lit up as it began passing the laser beam back and forth hitting everyone with it. I teleported behind it reactivating Void Asura and slashing through its bubble popping it and disrupting its attack. Balance whirled to face me, but a torrent of fire hit it full in the face as Exar¡¯kun unleashed his breath weapon from behind me. I strode through the flames unharmed and drove Clarent, Janus and Thorn forwards. Balance deflected Clarent and Janus, but Thorn got past his guard the gauntlet sword stabbing through his shoulder. I twisted and yanked shredding the muscle tendons and releasing a flood of silver blood. The scythe swung at me again but without full use of its right shoulder the World Boss¡¯ attack was much slower. I ducked under the slash getting inside its guard. A burst of laser fire hit where I would have stood but I teleported behind it slashing out with Clarent and hamstringed it. Jeriah came down from above his heavy two-handed sword hitting with the force of a meteor as he removed its wings. Tobias swung with his maul caving in one side of its face. Their brother Normen drove a spear forward into its chest. Balance fell to the ground its silver blood the cleanest thing on the battlefield right now. It was still alive, its body slowly stitching itself back together. I stepped forward and drove all three of my artifact weapons, still empowered by the black and silver energy of the void through its chest, neck and head.
350 rank points gained.
With its death my body was fully restored.
You have defeated the World Boss, Balance, reducing the number of spawns for the rest of this wave.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 9,883 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I stood and looked at the fallen body of Rejiah as his brothers knelt around him. ¡°That¡¯s twice that one of my brothers has died for you,¡± Jeriah said to me his voice low enough that only I could here. ¡°I will not forget him,¡± I said. ¡°There may not be any of us left to remember when this day is done,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°What did you do to make the gods so angry?¡± ¡°I was better than all their prodigies,¡± I said shrugging. ¡°I showed them that their way of thinking and operating were flawed. People don¡¯t like being proven wrong, apparently, neither do gods.¡± Chapter 126: What is Mine My weapons snapped out as I spun about me in in the air cutting down the angels as quickly as they spawned. Below me the webs covering the fortress were thick with the things some still thrashing before being stilled by spears to the heart or fangs to their necks. I had killed over a thousand of the angelic humanoids with Void Asura active. Unending Flow had reached its max percentage bonus and I had gained a little over twenty-seven Ethereal per second to my regen rate as well as nearly three-thousand to my max Ethereal.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 11,246 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
The horn finally blew out across the sky, the remaining angels falling to the ground below as they lost their animating life force.
The World Boss Decay has spawned
Decay is the World Boss of this raid and represents the Vastitatheon. As long as the boss is alive every one of its minions on the field will be stronger and will spawn in greater numbers, kill the boss to reduce the difficulty of this wave.
The ground rumbled once again as creatures crawled out of the earth. At first I thought they were wearing armor made of bone but then I realized that they were all just made of bones. A large skeleton serpent with a humanoid torso instead of a head and multiple arms pushed itself out of the dirt its tail dragging a massive cauldron behind it.
Decay, Gifted- Undead/Naga-Queen (World Boss), Hero, Rank: 700
Close to three dozen nearly identical naga creatures in bone armor surrounded the World Boss forming a defensive perimeter around her.
Naga Death-Knight, Elite Raid Monster- undead/death-knight (Dungeon Creature), Hero, Power Level: 550
Decay began waving her hands and the thousands of corpses across the battlefield crawled back to their feet a pale green glow to their eyes as they began rushing towards the fortress. Angelic ghouls took to the skies as renewed the goal they had in their past life. A dark mist crept up from the ground approaching the fortress. One of my vassals still outside the walls fell to the ground coughing and choking as the mist swirled up his body and flowing into his lungs. Swooping down I snatched him up smacking his chest driving the mist out of his chest. I tossed him back inside the fortress. The mist traveled up my legs and went down my throat. I could feel the poison try to eat into my lungs, but I had Venom Resistance III and blew it out like a smoke ring meeting the eyes of the World Boss as I did so. She stared me down from across the battlefield, her hands never stop there gestures as she waved them above the cauldron. ¡°Ready?¡± I asked my strike force through my helmet. ¡°The monsters are getting to be on the same level as the first World Boss,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°They don¡¯t have the abilities, but their Attributes are outstripping all of ours.¡± ¡°There is nothing for it but to continue,¡± Korsis said. I shot into the air towards the World Boss, the heavy wingbeats of Exar¡¯kun drawing closer. Bolts of green light shot up from the death knights around cauldron and I spun around them teleporting down to the ground. I rolled under the crack of skeleton snake tail that struck at me like a whip. A bone spear stabbed down at me, and a flail swept down towards me. I turned incorporeal and phased through the weapons as I assaulted one of the death knights. They were not quick or easy to take down; my body was a blur as I attacked ripping through its bone armor and taking apart its skeleton. More and more of the undead veered off from heading to the fortress and sprinted towards me. Phantom Form ended and it had a five second cooldown before I could activate it again. A bone sword slid off my skin as I turned to the side letting my armored skin take the hit as I blasted everything in range with Chain Lightning. My strike force cut through the horde of undead and began pushing past the World Bosses bodyguards. I shot through the air twisting around their weapons as I took on the World Boss by myself. It was forced to stop conjuring more undead and drew four bone sickles. Our weapons hit as we blocked, parried reposted trying to break past the other¡¯s guard. Despite its power the System either couldn¡¯t or hadn¡¯t given it a real mastery of swordsmanship. I was better with my weapons, but it had the advantage of higher attributes. I used my spear to vault through its guard hitting it in the chest with both of my feet. Flames engulfed us both as Exar¡¯kun hit the ground like a comet and unleashed his breath attack over the World Boss. Her defenses began to weaken as the flames continued non-stop. My claws and sword slashed out in a blitz attack as I activated the boost from my boots and ran circled around it vaulting her tail with each pass. I brought all of my weapons down on the vertebrae of its spine, nearly disconnecting its tail from its body. She reeled back slashing at me with her sickles, but it was like trying to swat a fly with your hand as I easily ducked and weaved in-between her strikes with superior speed. The fire had not stopped, and my strike force began peppering her with attacks engaging with her as she struck at them with her tail. My own blitz attacks and those of my vassals were too much for her with her weakened defenses and she was quickly crumbling under the strikes. It also didn¡¯t help her that I had a title especially for fighting undead creatures just like her. Rolling under the swing of her bone sickle I drove my spear through her chest and both my swords into her skull. The bones all across the World Boss¡¯ body shattered and fell to ground in patch of white and grey mulch.
350 rank points gained.
I stood breathing heavily ending the speed bonus on my boots and enduring the backlash as my Speed attribute dropped.
You have defeated the World Boss, Decay, reducing the number of spawns for the rest of this wave.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 9,885 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Still no new abilities, it was disappointing, but the rank points would have to suffice for a reward. ¡°Get back to the fortress and rest up,¡± I said to my strike force. ¡°This was a good match up for us be we can¡¯t expect any more like this so prepare yourself for the next wave. I¡¯ll handle the rest of these.¡± I gestured out to the horde of undead bearing down on us. ¡°Don¡¯t you need to rest?¡± Jeriah asked, looking me over with concern. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°The more I kill the stronger I get,¡± I said waving him off. ¡°As long as I have enemies to slay, I can go for days without sleeping.¡± Lightning and flying spearheads and weapons surrounded me in a storm of violence as I plunged into the swarming ghouls. I was briefly filled with feeling of nostalgia for when I¡¯d first come to this world and my early days of doing this exact same thing. Teeth and claws broke against my skin as I they tried to bring me down with sheer numbers, but numbers was what I excelled against. People like Arthur were perfect against creatures like World Bosses, he probably could have soloed one if the backlash for doing so wouldn¡¯t kill him afterwords, but he couldn¡¯t do what I did, his kit just wasn¡¯t built for it just I as I wasn¡¯t really built for one-on-one duels. Ghouls practically exploded on contact when I hit them with my weapons. With Voidra and Karnen fighting with me none of the undead could lay their claws, bone weapons or swords on me as they shattered on the void armor over the black spectral limbs. Claws shot out as I crushed a ghoul¡¯s head my spear, and two swords spinning in my hands as I blazed through the continuously spawning army. Clarent left my enemies burning while Thorn let their black ichor spill out onto the blood marsh of the battlefield. The dead were so many they lay like a carpet stacked one atop the other. The attacks against me stopped and I looked about my vision sharp and focused without its usual blood red tinge.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 13,553 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
As my battle ended for the moment the System took the opportunity to tally up my current quest progress showing just how many undead, I¡¯d been killing for the past three hours. The horn blew out and the few remaining undead collapsed to the earth as this raid ended.
The World Boss Warden has spawned
Warden is the World Boss of this raid and represents the Fysitheon. As long as the boss is alive every one of its minions on the field will be stronger and will spawn in greater numbers, kill the boss to reduce the difficulty of this wave.
A roar shook the earth and dark storm clouds above. I realized they¡¯d been forming for some time, and I was soon going to be receiving my typical electrical treatment, those choices I¡¯d made with that ability seemed to make less sense with every storm I drew my way. My head snapped towards the forest ten miles to the south. My vision narrowed as my many pupils contracted telescoping my vision out across the battlefield to see the distant trees of the forest. A massive creature the size of an elephant stepped out of the forest, its stripped fur and massive dark red mane making it stand apart from the brown and green behind it. It was something I had seen before, if a much smaller version of it.
Warden, Gifted- Mage-beast/Nemean Lion (World Boss), Hero, Rank: 800
¡°Well¡­ fuck,¡± I said as the World Boss came sprinting towards us. More creatures emerged from the forest, giant cats, deer, moose, wolves, and bears, some normal, others fantastical in their appearance. There were also some humanoids looking creatures, chimera, human and animal hybrids.
Satyr Archer, Raid Monster- humanoid/satyr (Dungeon Creature), Hero: 650
An arrow sped towards me, but Karnen deflected it with Thorn as I focused on the rapidly approaching World Boss readying myself to face it. You nearly died the last time you fought this, Voidra said. ¡°But I didn¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°Besides, I need a new cape.¡± The nemean lion pounced while it was still a hundred yards away, its body blurring through the air. I disappeared teleporting above it and landing on its back. I drove Clarent down on its spine, but it skidded off only a bit of its fur smoldering as a response to my attack. Exar¡¯kun did a pass by his fire flickering around me as he breathed out over the lion. Its fur smoked on it but it gave no other response to being attacked as it bucked flinging me off into the sky. I stopped midair lighting flickering around me as I activated Storm Fall and shot back towards the earth to strike it full force with my spear. I rebounded off the lion and its paw snapped out its claws ripping through my skin only my void arms curling into to protect me keeping me from being eviscerated. I hit the ground rolling for few yards before springing back to my feet. A wolf-like humanoid pounced on me knocking me back down to earth as we tussled.
Lycan Warrior, Raid Monster- humanoid/Lycan (Dungeon Creature), Hero: 650
Clarent appeared through the creature¡¯s back, and I pushed if off of me stepping to my feet and shooting back into the air. I hung Clarent at my belt Janus and Thorn disappearing as I pulled out my remaining nemean Club. Exar¡¯kun was on the ground, one of his wings bent at an odd angle more of my strike force moving into support him. My body a blur of scarlet lightning I rocketed out under the nemean lion. My club slashed up as I dragged it along its under belly ripping through its skin and pouring out a torrent of blood across the ground. It howled in pain and dropped low spinning and lunging forward. Its teeth just missed my toes as I pulled myself into a roar and dropped down to the ground. ¡°Blood Renewal,¡± I said mist rising up to rapidly heal myself and Exar¡¯kun of our wounds. Warden rose back to its feet the gash on its underside already rapidly healing. ¡°Stop,¡± I commanded my strike force through my helmet. ¡°I have the only weapon that can hurt this thing.¡± ¡°What do you need of us?¡± Exar¡¯kun growled. ¡°Stand back for now, I¡¯ll need you in a second,¡± I told them. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory.¡± The earth under the lion grew soft as I tried to swallow it up, but it was too quick for that leaping free and landing a hundred yards away. I had expected this, so I wasn¡¯t to disappointed as I stood with the links of a long chain in my hand. The lion was racing towards me again as I spun the links in my hand. It pounced and I teleported appearing just under it as threw the chain like as lasso letting it wrap around its neck. I grabbed hold and dropped to the ground. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said again. ¡°Now! Hold it down.¡± Stone flowed up my leg¡¯s thighs, and torso as the hardened earth formed itself around me and deep into ground as I anchored myself. The lion still flying through the air hit the end of its chain and flipped its back hitting the ground. It clawed at its neck, but the chain had dug deep into its fur and skin. Despite its near indestructability the claws of the nemean lion could not cut through any material and scratched against the hardness sixteen links of the chain uselessly. This did not mean I was having an easy time of it as the chains dug into the skin of my back pressing down on my collar bone through my pauldrons. I grabbed and pulled as the lion tried to put some slack in the chain. My vassals began piling onto it using abilities or their bare hands to grab its limbs and tail and hold them fast. Jeriah was sent flying as it kicked out with its leg. I couldn¡¯t worry about him now as I strained against the strength of the World Boss pulling the chain tighter and tighter around its neck cutting off its airflow. I could feel the ground straining under me as the lion tried to pull me from the stone encasing me. Blood dripped from my hands, but I couldn¡¯t even feel the pain. I pulled the chain tight the earth around me straining as the nemean lion tried to break free. I didn¡¯t relent pulling the chain tighter and tighter, the links of it digging into the skin of my hands and I felt my own bones cracking from the strain of it. Finally, the World Boss went still as the last of its breath was used up and it gave into the suffocation.
400 rank points gained.
You have defeated the World Boss, Warden, reducing the number of spawns for the rest of this wave.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 13,555 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I let the stone encasing me drop away the bruising around my shoulders and back fading in a few seconds. Some of my vassals were wounded, several near death. ¡°Blood Renewal,¡± I said letting the mist rise up to heal everyone. ¡°Return to the fortress,¡± I commanded them as I blocked an incoming arrow. ¡°Get the troops into formation to and ready, don¡¯t overexert yourself we have eight hours left of this thing before it¡¯s all over.¡± Jeriah limped forward, his gait slowly steadying. ¡°That last boss was rank eight hundred, they¡¯ve each been going up by two hundred points, you know what that means right?¡± he asked. I breathed out a sigh. ¡°It means this next one is probably going to be Exarch Rank.¡± ¡°There is only one Pantheon left for it to come from as well,¡± Tobias said. ¡°The Kataktheon, it will represent your own Pantheon.¡± ¡°We shall adapt as we must,¡± I said. ¡°And how many of us will have to die for you?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°Have I ever asked for you to stand in my place?¡± I asked him sharply, staring him down. ¡°When the time comes and there must be a sacrifice made, I will make it myself. You are not my countrymen, I have no love for any of you, but you are mine. I always protect what is mine.¡± Chapter 127: A Giant Middle Finger I had fought for a time but had taken the last hour of the raid to sit and rest in meditation. Blood pounded in my ears as a dark wrath built inside me as I awaited the arrival of the next World Boss. The horn sounded out at last, and my eyes snapped open.
The World Boss Conqueror has spawned
Conqueror is the World Boss of this raid and represents the Kataktheon. As long as the boss is alive every one of its minions on the field will be stronger and will spawn in greater numbers, kill the boss to reduce the difficulty of this wave.
My hands opened blood dripping out where my nails had dug in a black mist rising up from my skin obscuring me in a dark shroud. I slid my helmet on the only features visible, the scarlet glow of the blood vessels in my eyes from Magma Hearts. I shot into the air and scanned the area. A deep hum filled the air. I rose higher and higher looking to the plains to the east and west, the forest to the sound and the ocean to the north. My eyes went back to the water as it swelled like the arrival of a tsunami. A massive, scaled head broke the surface as a serpentine neck rose into the air. It rose higher and higher, the end of its tail finally emerging from the water as it hung suspended in the air. It was at least two thousand feet in length, each of its scales as big as a shield.
Conqueror, Gifted- Dragon/Leviathan (World Boss), Exarch, Rank: 1000
Rifts appeared in the sky as creatures fell from it. They here humanoid in shape but thick as oaks and nearly as tall. They grouped up and began to march in formation splitting into squads based on their type from what I could see. ¡°Ares your going to need to handle these giants,¡± I said as I examined a group of them with blue skin and white and light blue armor made of ice.
Frost Giant, Raid Monster- humanoid/giant (Frost), Hero, Rank: 800
They carried thick shields and moved in tight marching order blocking the arrows and ranged attacks of my vassals. Behind them were loosely grouped red skinned giants with flaming hair, they gathered balls of fire in their hands and flung them at the fortress walls.
Fire Giant, Raid Monster- humanoid/giant (Fire), Hero, Rank: 800
The giants aerial force was wreathed in lightning like me flinging bolts of it from the air as they spun around the fortress.
Storm Giant, Raid Monster- humanoid/giant (Storm), Hero, Rank: 800
The Leviathan rose and turned towards me. I waited for it to make its move but it did not make its way to face me and or my forces instead it turned its eye on the city. ¡°What¡¯s it doing?¡± I asked. ¡°None of its targets are in there.¡± ¡°Each of these forces will act according to the nature of the pantheon they represent, the Kataktheon is the pantheon of Conquerors, killing your army will be one of its goals yes but so will taking your territory and subjects from you.¡± ¡°Not if I can help it,¡± I said dropping from the air. My feet landed on the metal corpse of the iron golem as I extended my power through it. ¡°Hell-dragon¡¯s Armory.¡± The rare metal that made up the golem flowed like water as I shaped it lifting the spearheads into the air. Each was the length of a bus and as thick as a man. Hurling them like missiles I launched them at the leviathan as I made more and more. My boots touched mud as the metal was all used up. I shot off into the air again straight towards the World Boss. Stopping in midair I gripped the spearheads which were losing speed and altitude and shot them towards the Leviathan. It twisted in the air avoiding the projectiles, but they arced through the air under my guidance like homing missiles. Sparks flew as the spearheads connected with its scales and they resisted the piercing tips. The Leviathan turned towards me opening its mouth and unleashing a hurricane towards me. I flew into the rushing gale as it tried to peel my skin off, but my speed and strength were enough to push through the wind. My boots connected with its hide as I ran down its spine slashing down with Clarent cutting through its scales and opening up weak points. My left hand gestured as I stabbed into the weak points I had created. The rushing of wings announced Exar¡¯kun¡¯s arrival to the fight he flew past me Jeriah and Tobias dropping off his back landing on the Leviathan. Conqueror bucked beneath us I landed back down but Jeriah and Tobias hand remained on its back using some ability to keep their footing. A spearhead plunged into a gap I had created but it only managed to get a quarter of the way through before being stopped by the creature¡¯s bones. ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± Jeriah asked swaying as the World Boss twisted under our feet. ¡°Kill it fast before it reaches the city,¡± I said. ¡°Look out!¡± Tobias said jumping forward to tackle me out of the way. My foresight told me exactly what would happen and gripped him midair tossing him backwards as the Leviathan¡¯s jaws closed around me. Acid burned into my skin peeling it off my flesh as I fell back into the World Boss¡¯ maw. It tongued knocked me down its throat. My arms and legs felt tired and slow as my muscle began burning away my lungs began to heave for air as I sucked in the poisonous gases inside the monster. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. My weapons spun around me, Clarent the only source of light. Slashing down blood sprayed in geyser over me burning away more of my flesh even as the damage I dealt partially healed me. Again and again, I cut, burying myself in blood and gore that burned away every part of me. I couldn¡¯t see but only felt the rush of wind as I burst out the side of Conqueror¡¯s neck. My regeneration began repairing the ravages to my body as light hit my new retinas.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective, survive lethal Extreme Acid damage and come back from multiple mortal wounds. Your body has adapted to the caustic effects it was subjected to and is becoming more resilient with each battle.
Reward: Acid Resistance III
*Acid Resistance III: You now take three less stages of damage from acid attacks, spells and abilities.
I teleported up above as the leviathan tried to swallow me again. I pushed forward with my will driving the spearheads I¡¯d stuck into its body even deeper. It roared in agony, and I blasted towards its face hitting the eye on its left side blinding it in a spray of green ichor. It roared in pain again, twisting to snap at me, I barely got to the side in time as it moved quick as a viper. We were losing altitude fast as I continued to drive more spearheads into the World Boss. Jeriah and Tobias were ripping off scales opening up more weak points. The ground came up faster and faster and it hit a cloud of dirt rising into the air. ¡°Have the army push forward to meet us here,¡± I told Ares. ¡°Leave only enough to defend the fortress.¡± Conqueror slithered into a coil its scales glowing and a poisonous miasma spreading out from it. I raised my hand and blanketed it in bolts of lightning. It hissed and snapped at me. Teleporting under its head I stabbed up with Clarent as I pushed down on the spearheads in its body shoving them through into the ground below. ¡°Hell-dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said merging the earth with the spearheads. The Leviathan tried to twist around but it was suddenly caught by the dozens of spears all along its body pinning it to the ground like tent stakes. It began thrashing but I wouldn¡¯t let it break free in peace. Exar¡¯kun landed on its neck just behind its head and began breathing his fire out over it his talons digging into and ripping off scales. I closed my eyes grabbing Conqueror around the neck and pinning him down. His will strained against my mine but Karnen, Voidra and Ares added their efforts to mine. The shadow stilled within my soul as I pushed my will against the World Boss. ¡°Dominion,¡± I growled.
Error, subject is immune to domination effects.
¡°Dominion,¡± I growled again pushing Ethereal energy through the link. The World Boss thrashing stopped as a brand of chains appeared around its neck. The brand sparked then shattered than reappeared before sparking and shattering again continuing the loop. I held it in place blood dripping from my eyes from the strain of holding it. The heavy tread of boots reached me as well as the clash of weapons and screams of the dying reached me. I risked a quick look and saw my vassals pushing through the giants climbing and marching over their bodies as they fought their way to our position. Euphrates led the charge, his body a flashing blur as his fangs dug in deep and left giants behind him gasping on the ground as the poison took them. My right hand pointed behind me the tip of Clarent aimed at the giants holding my vassals back. Red lighting jumped from target to target opening a path. They marched up and began clambering over the leviathan as they set to work of butchering it. The spears and sword of over a thousand men drained the leviathan serpent of its blood. I strained in place as I gripped it with telekinesis as it tried to wriggle free of my grasp desperate to live just as we were desperate to kill it. Its scales each the size of shields were peeled off and blood sprayed out the burns it caused quickly healed by Blood Renewal as we continued to slay the colossal beast. Its death was imminent, and victory was soon at hand. A portal opened behind me, and a sword rammed through my chest. I couldn¡¯t move or the leviathan would break free. More and more portals opened everywhere robbed men stepped out their hands aglow with arcane spells. I activated Void Asura and Karnen and Voidra blocked the next attack on my rear. They were barely holding off the attack, but I only needed to do so for a little longer. Spells shot out as my army was engaged with a second army while still dealing with the continuously spawning giants. The only saving grace was that the two armies weren¡¯t allied and were fighting each other as well as us but we were still the main target of both. Exar¡¯kun finally got his jaws around the base of Conqueror¡¯s spine, flames licked out between his teeth as he shook his head like a dog and finally the World Boss died.
400 rank points gained.
Ability Gained, Jotun Slayer (Rank 1): The slayer of giants becomes the giant. Upon activation your size increases by 1¡¯ and your weight by 20lbs. Increases your physical attributes by 2.5% while active.
Cost: 6 stamina per second.
Upgrade this ability to increase the size, weight and your attribute percentage gain. Each upgrade increases your Might, Speed, Toughness and Endurance by 1.
You have defeated the World Boss, Conqueror, reducing the number of spawns for the rest of this wave.
I whirled around blocking the next sword strike and stabbing forward with my spear. My attack was blocked easily. Scarlet lighting arced from my fingers hitting the target burning away their robes to reveal silver plate and mail beneath intricately engraved with thousands of interlocking enchantments all glowing with a pulsing violet light. Unlike almost everyone on the field this fighter did have a description.
Silas, the Silver Magi, Gifted- humanoid/human, Exarch, Rank: 1242
¡°I just can¡¯t catch a break,¡± I said looking at his rank. ¡°This isn¡¯t anything against you personally,¡± Silas said blocking my attacks with ease with a skill from decades of fighting and complete mastery of his craft. ¡°It never is,¡± I said blocking his own sword strike by reflex more than tracking his blade. ¡°We cannot allow any champion to grow in power so quickly before we¡¯re ready,¡± Silas said with a shrug. Silver light exploded out from Silas knocking me a dozen yards back. I rolled to the side as his sword came down to skewer me to the blood-soaked earth. Shooting to my feet I let loose a howl unleashing Helheim¡¯s Scream and Voice of the Chasm. Silas slid back only a few feet but the debuffs from Helheim¡¯s Scream spread out over the other magi. ¡°I made a deal with your order,¡± I said stepping forward Void Asura letting me block and attack simultaneously. ¡°You could do whatever you wanted as long as you didn¡¯t interfere with me, it appears we need to revisit those terms.¡± Chapter 128: Against the Very Heavens Silas blocked the swing of Thorn and parried a thrust from Janus, but Clarent cut around and slashed across his wrist. The armor held there but grew bright orange with heat. I pressed forward and he took a step back. He had greater strength, speed, and endurance but he was also only one man while I had the capacity to fight like three. A spell shot towards me from one of the magi and my left hand went up holding Mab aloft the spell absorbed into its pages. ¡°You think your people might have learned from the last time,¡± I said. ¡°Your magics no good on me.¡± ¡°That is why I was chosen to face you,¡± Silas said blurring forward. I disappeared having foreseen his ability in use and slashed out. He blocked as I knew he would, and we slid into a rhythm. Block, parry, riposte step back reengage. Silas tried all manner of tricks on me, but it appeared he¡¯d taught Guinevere all he knew and she in turn me. Despite his advantage in strength, speed and even skill didn¡¯t do any good when I knew every move he¡¯d make and could feel the pattern in his blade. ¡°You don¡¯t seem up to the job,¡± I said. ¡°Who was it who sent you, anyway? I thought you were one of the top dogs.¡± ¡°We have no singular leader,¡± Silas said parrying Janus and Clarent and letting Thorn slide off his breastplate. ¡°We are governed by a triumvirate; I am but one of three.¡± ¡°Top three, huh,¡± I said blocking six of his attacks letting two glance of my armor on my wrists while the rest were deflected by Manica and pauldrons as I let them glance off me even if they did rattle my bones. ¡°What was the plan if you didn¡¯t work out, or did you not consider it?¡± I asked as I slid inside his guard Clarent melting through his armor on his right wrist forcing him to drop his sword. Silas jumped back his sword flying into his other hand as he looked down on the ruined enchanted vambrace. ¡°We did have a backup plan, although I would prefer not to have revealed her.¡± The hair along my entire body stood up. I teleported to the side just in time to avoid a meteor blasting me. My vassals were retreating back to the fortress as Ares organized them keeping our casualties to a minimum as they thought the giants and magi. Out of the smoke emerged a woman in robes a dark midnight blue trimmed with azure velvet she didn¡¯t carry as a staff or wand, but I could tell she was a wizard just by looking at her. Her eyes were a brilliant violet-blue, her skin a deathly pale and black hair flowed back behind her going down to her waist.
Errila the Immortal Enchantress, Abomination- humanoid/mana-vampire, Hierophant*, Rank: Error
A rage and longing swelled up in me as I looked at her coming not from me but from inside me. Errila, Karnen growled his voice filled with violence and also grief, pain and something else. ¡°Deal with his lieutenants,¡± Errila said to Silas. ¡°I¡¯ve got this.¡± She faced me, her hands glowing with mana. Each of us stood still for a moment like gunslingers¡¯ moments before a draw. She extended her hand a blast of raw mana blasted out. I bent and swayed under the blast, my own hand extending out and crimson lightning forking out towards her. Her hands spun in circles as blue domes of mana appeared around her blocking the lightning. The domes shattered as razor sharp shards of mana shot towards me. Mab sucked them in, and we stopped again for a moment circling each other. ¡°Your not what I expected from the Warlord,¡± Errila said. ¡°I get that a lot,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Your very cavalier about facing your death,¡± she said looking me over. ¡°You did well against Sazu but I¡¯m way outside your rank.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve faced an abomination way more powerful than me,¡± I said. Her face scowled. ¡°The system may have classified me as that, but I am far from an abomination, just because I¡¯ve found an alternative to power and immortality does not make me any less human than anyone else.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°You and I are far from human,¡± I said. ¡°True enough,¡± she agreed and blurred forward. It wasn¡¯t an ability she was just way faster than me her attributes were all at a minimum two-hundred-and-fifty for her to have reached hierophant. Void Asura, Foresight and my teleportation let me stay just ahead of her but it was a losing fight as she got closer and closer to hitting me her hands blazing with azure light. It didn¡¯t help that Karnen¡¯s emotions were roiling up inside me and getting tangled up with my own. ¡°Pull yourself together,¡± I snapped at him. ¡°Excuse me?¡± Errila asked as she chopped at my neck with her hand. I slid back, I couldn¡¯t block with body even my artifact armor. The armor might be fine but the kinetic force behind the strike would still shatter all the bones under it. ¡°Wasn¡¯t talking to you,¡± I said. ¡°Then who were you talking to?¡± Errila asked looking around. ¡°Oh that right your helmet give you telepathy with your vassals.¡± ¡°Sure, lets go with that,¡± I agreed trying to strike at her back with Clarent. She easily spun about blocked the strike of my sword. Her dress burned were it touched but her skin hit Clarent and tattooed enchantments along her skin lit up and the blade went no farther. She struck forwards with her other hand hitting me palm first and sending me flying. I righted myself midair and dodged her follow ups strike as I gasped for breath my lungs impaled by my shattered ribcage. Her hand came around again and I managed to only get clipped this time. I hit the side of the body of leviathan bouncing off its scales. Errila approached me calmly as I tried up push myself back to my feet. ¡°You must have an impressive collection of titles to still be alive and able to move,¡± she said. ¡°If circumstances were different, I¡¯d have you captured so we could learn to unlock those titles ourselves. But time doesn¡¯t allow for that sadly. This has to be done Warlord, goodbye.¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty much word for word what you said to me,¡± a stern male voice said and Errila froze. The specter of Karen stepped out of my body his form armored in black, white and silver void armor a silver fire wreathing his body. ¡°Karnen,¡± Errila said her voice barely a whisper. ¡°how are you¡­you¡­you died.¡± ¡°An interesting way to say you killed me,¡± Karnen said. ¡°So you were a member of the order? Is that why you got close to me, to take the spells and research my ancestors had collected? And what? Once it was done you couldn¡¯t leave any witnesses?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Errila said collecting herself somewhat. ¡°You were just a mission.¡± ¡°We both know we were more than that,¡± Karnen said. ¡°I loved you more than anything, but when you left me to die, well it turned to hatred so strong I couldn¡¯t pass on. The worst thing is if you had asked¡­ I would have gone with you.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter now,¡± Errila said collecting herself. ¡°You may have found this host be must die, and with him you.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t let you do that,¡± Karnen said. ¡°I thought I would try and kill you when I saw you again but I¡¯ve watched Mordred, he has a real chance to win this game of the gods, and I think he will create something new.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what you think,¡± Errila said her hands glowing with pure mana once again. ¡°You can¡¯t stop me.¡± ¡°Try me,¡± Karnen said. She moved to slash down but froze her body surrounded in spectral light as Karnen held out his hand. I felt my Ethereal drain as she tried to break free from Karnen¡¯s trap.
The spirit of vengeance inhabiting you has changed into a Guardian Spirit with the aid of your ethereal energy. You lose the bonus to your rage and instead gain an enhanced damage resistance and vitality.
I sucked in a breath as my body began pulling itself together even faster. Karnen¡¯s apparition disappeared his audible voice once more only in my head. If you attack her, she¡¯ll break free, he said. So, I¡¯d advice not doing that. How did you do that? I asked him. Just a spell, Karnen said. One that she showed me once in fact, but I cast it with Ethereal instead of mana you don¡¯t understand just how much more powerful that energy type is. I could feel my vassals under threat and the occasional extinguishing as one of them died and disappeared from my senses. Activating Storm-fall I blasted into the air and towards my army and the fortress. The giants and magi were outside its walls besieging my soldiers as they fought to hold the line. Magi teleported in behind my lines taking a few pot shots before disappearing again. I could see Jeriah and Tobias fighting alongside their brothers against Sazu. Unlike me they had no protection against his magic, and he summoned silver clones to fight beside him his sword glowing with silver light. I flew over the army a howl escaping my throat as I unleashed Helheim¡¯s Scream debuffing the giant¡¯s and magi. A never-ending torrent of crimson lighting shot out from all six of my hands blanketing the field below me. I dropped down in front of Sazu blocking his sword strike with Mab the grimoire absorbing the spell augmenting his sword. Another magi opened a portal behind me in attempt to sneak attack me. I rammed Mab through the portal, and it was absorbed disappearing and cutting the man in half before he¡¯d even full stepped through his other half left somewhere out on the battlefield. Sazu looked me over apprehensively. ¡°How did you get away from Errila?¡± he asked warily. ¡°Lets just say she¡¯s busy,¡± I said. ¡°Besides you and I never finished what we started.¡± Jeriah stepped forward but I waved him back. ¡°This is between me and him,¡± I said. ¡°Oddly courteous of you,¡± Sazu said saluting me with his sword. ¡°It is the honor due you,¡± I said with a shrug of one shoulder. ¡°Think of it as thanks for your treatment of Guinevere.¡± Sazu frowned. ¡°What do you know of Guinevere?¡± he asked, his voice filled with a menace that hadn¡¯t been there a moment before. ¡°I know Guinevere better than anyone,¡± I said. ¡°Then you are a threat to her,¡± Sazu said and took his sword in a two-handed grip. Chapter 129: The Most Important Thing Sazu¡¯s attacks had a furry and viciousness they had lacked before. If our fight hadn¡¯t been personal before, it was now. I blocked his strikes and ducked inside his guard headbutting him blood spurting down his face. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you and Guinevere had that kind of relationship,¡± I said turning my head to keep his sword from going through my visor. ¡°She¡¯s the closest thing I have to a daughter,¡± he snarled. ¡°Which is why she should have had the sense to stay away from you. I don¡¯t know what games you¡¯ve played with her head¡­.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a lot in common with Prince Arthur,¡± I snapped cutting him off as I blocked his sword. ¡°You make assumptions about who I am without every bother even trying to know me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a champion that tells me everything I need to know,¡± Sazu said sliding his sword free of my block and attacking again. I blocked his attack by catching his sword and using the strength of Black Rage to throw him back. ¡°You don¡¯t know me at all, and if you don¡¯t trust Guinevere than you don¡¯t know her either,¡± I said. ¡°And you do?¡± Sazu asked. ¡°Better than anyone,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the worst parts of her life and the best, and she¡¯s seen mine.¡± ¡°And still she chose to train you,¡± Sazu said disbelievingly. ¡°I thought I taught her better than that.¡± ¡°You did,¡± I said. ¡°Did you know she had the option to become a champion but refused, I think your teachings had something to do with that.¡± ¡°But then she chose to train you,¡± Sazu said. ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°Because she loves me,¡± I said. ¡°No,¡± Sazu denied. ¡°Her entire life she has been taught to hate people like you, you¡¯re a chaos spawn, to her you¡¯re not even human.¡± ¡°None of us are really human,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve told you the truth you can believe me or not.¡± I blocked a series of his sword strikes slamming Clarent into his stomach melting away a part of his armor there creating a hole in his breastplate the size of a pinky nail. ¡°You¡¯re not lying,¡± Sazu said shaking his head. ¡°Than I have to protect Guinevere from herself.¡± I blocked his sword strike slashed Clarent across his stomach again. ¡°Arthur said the exact same thing,¡± I said. ¡°Funny how similar you are to your enemies.¡± He slashed down at my unarmored section of my leg, but I had foreseen and predicted the move and blocked it. Janus stabbed through the gap in his breastplate as I rammed it through and flung Sazu to the ground. He slashed out at me, but I caught his sword with Thorn. Clarent slashed along his wrist burning through the tendons in his hand. I kicked away his sword raising Clarent to his throat. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Sazu lay on the ground wheezing with pain and exhaustion and the magi around us quieted as I held their leader at my mercy. Clarent hung at his throat as Janus stuck in his gut pinning him to the ground. I pulled out my spear and retracted Clarent¡¯s blade turning my back on him. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sazu asked. ¡°Sparing your life,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Why? I am your enemy and enemy to your goddess,¡± Sazu reminded me. I shrugged again. ¡°She¡¯s a big girl she can handle herself.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Sazu asked again. ¡°Call it thanks for everything you did for Guinevere,¡± I said. ¡°She was the closest thing you¡¯ve ever had to a daughter, but you were the only real father she¡¯s ever had. You did good with her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it? Because I trained Guinevere?¡± Sazu asked. ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°Somone cares for you who means more to me than anything; that enough.¡± ¡°What about godhood?¡± Sazu challenged me. ¡°Does she mean more to you than that?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I said with no hesitation. ¡°Go, take your people and leave. If you attack me again, I will kill you; Guinevere can¡¯t be your shield against me forever.¡± I turned around froze and ducked as a sword passed overhead, the attack had blindsided me my Foresight giving no warning of its approach. A brown robbed man slashed at me with a long thin blade. He was faster and quicker than Sazu, his hands blurred as he muttered too low for even my super hearing to pick up. Spikes shot out of the ground all around me piercing my body from all directions. The ground opened up around me dropping me into a pit of pure mana, it burned into my skin like an acid but my newly acquired resistance to that damage did nothing. The ground closed over me as pure mana began burning into my body and I felt it begin ravaging my spirit and soul as well. --- Sazu and Pierce stood over the section of ground the Warlord had disappeared down. ¡°Is he still alive?¡± Sazu asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Pierce said distractedly. ¡°He¡¯s trying to push his way out; he¡¯s got a strong ability but eventually he¡¯ll crack.¡± ¡°Let him live,¡± Sazu said. ¡°What?¡± Pierce asked disbelievingly, his head turning to look at his best friend. ¡°He is a champion! What reason could you have to spare him?¡± ¡°Call it gut instinct,¡± Silas said. ¡°Today he might be our enemy but tomorrow¡­ I could see him becoming our greatest ally.¡± ¡°He is a threat to us,¡± Errila said joining the two of them looking oddly distressed and frazzled a state the two men had never seen her in. ¡°He has that cursed tome and I¡¯ve never encountered or heard of anything like that energy before, not a spell or an ability. He could be our greatest ally or he could be our greatest enemy; we can¡¯t take that chance.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Pierce said. Silas let out a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m using my veto.¡± ¡°Your serious?¡± Pierce asked. ¡°We each have only one those and your using it to save him?¡± ¡°I have no children,¡± Silas said. ¡°That was denied me by the gods. Guinevere was just an assignment to let me steal back our spells from Merlin but in that time, she came became like the daughter I never had. She cares for this man, enough to look past years of indoctrination and train him as I trained her.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t be basing all of this on one girl,¡± Pierce said. ¡°She isn¡¯t one of us.¡± ¡°You made me leave her behind,¡± Silas said glaring at Pierce who flinched for a moment before turning back to his best friend. ¡°You know why we had to do that, despite all your training she was still a tool of our enemy,¡± Pierce said. ¡°She refused to be the gods servant,¡± Silas said. ¡°I could never formally or openly teach her our ways, but she still took the lessons I gave her to heart. ¡°What does this have to do with anything?¡± Errila said. ¡°I believe in Guinevere,¡± Silas said. ¡°In time I think she will draw him to our cause.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to let this champion live just because your old student loves him?¡± Errila asked. ¡°Someone cares for him,¡± Silas said shrugging his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯ve used my veto so unless you plan on breaking our pact the matter is decided.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Pierce said. ¡°He probably won¡¯t even survive the mana burn.¡± ¡°I think he will surprise us all,¡± Sazu said. They opened a portal and stepped through disappearing from all across the battlefield. Epilogue Act IV Guinevere sat across from Arthur at another restaurant. It had been over a week since she had accepted that Mordred was dead. She hadn¡¯t said a word to Arthur since that day, she continued to be seen in public with him as the King commanded but she wouldn¡¯t respond to anything he said. Her black dress and mourning veil had everyone talking but she refused to change for them. He had taken her from restaurant to restaurant but the more exotic the food the more her stomach roiled. She took a bite of the soup prepared by the chef and vomited to the side. A servant rushed forward to clean it up. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Arthur asked. Guinevere didn¡¯t answer him, pushing herself up from the table she stumbled to the door. She vomited into a planter outside and climbed into the carriage. ¡°Take me to the palace I need to rest,¡± Guinevere said. She stepped out of the carriage and wandered the palace halls until she arrived at the healer¡¯s room. She stepped in and was embarrassed by an elderly woman there. ¡°Hello mistress Talsbrand,¡± Guinevere said hugging the portly woman back. ¡°What brings you to me dear?¡± the woman askes stepping back and looking Guinevere over. ¡°You look well, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I just¡­I haven¡¯t been feeling well since¡­ for a while now,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Come now dear you can talk to me,¡± Mistress Talsbrand said. ¡°This room is shielded against scrying and not even the king can compel me to speak, I am sworn to keep all the matters of my patients secret there is nothing you can¡¯t tell me.¡± ¡°Someone I cared a lot about died two weeks ago,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°and I haven¡¯t been feeling well since, I¡¯ve been tired, nauseous and vomiting recently.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Well let me do some tests,¡± Mistress Talsbrand said. Guinevere sat down as the healer buzzed around her prodding her and feeling her with her fingers her eyes closed as she breathed in smelling her with enhanced senses and listening to the sound of her heartbeat and feeling her pulse. She took several blood samples and a urine sample as well. Mistress Talsbrand sighed. ¡°Well child it¡¯s not good, you¡¯re lucky the tourney is so close,¡± she said. ¡°Why is that?¡± Guinevere asked with impending dread. ¡°Your marriage to Arthur will take place after, any later and people would talk about your child,¡± she said. Guinevere¡¯s hand went to her stomach. ¡°You mean¡­?¡± ¡°You are with child, I can hear its heart beating small within you, its barely perceptible so far, but it¡¯s there.¡± Mistress Talsbrand confirmed. ¡°I expected this from Arthur, but I thought you had more sense than that. Luckily you will marry him, and we can just say it¡¯s an early pregnancy, he will accept his child¡­¡± ¡°It is not his child!¡± Guinevere snapped. Mistress Talsbrand snapped around looking about her. ¡°You mean the child is¡­¡± ¡°it¡¯s not his child,¡± Guinevere repeated. ¡°Who is the father?¡± Mistress Talsbrand asked. ¡°The father¡­the father is Mordred,¡± Guinevere said the words chocking in her throat. Mistress Talsbrand¡¯s face softened with sympathy, and she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m sorry child to have endured keeping that secret for so long¡­.¡± Guinevere shrugged her hand off. ¡°He didn¡¯t rape me!¡± she practically screamed. ¡°Why does everyone keep thinking that? He¡­he was¡­¡± her voice breaking as she held back her grief. ¡°You cannot keep this child,¡± Mistress Talsbrand said. ¡°What?¡± Guinevere asked her head spinning to meet the wise woman¡¯s eyes. ¡°Guinevere,¡± Mistress Talsbrand said her voice soft and full of sympathy. ¡°You are to marry Arthur, if he were to find you betrayed your marriage bed¡­¡± ¡°I betrayed nothing!¡± Guinevere snapped. ¡°That is not how others will see it,¡± Mistress Talsbrand said. ¡°In the eyes of the law he would have every right to execute you.¡± She pressed a glass vial into her hand. ¡°this is the oil of the black lotus, their won¡¯t be any pain for it and you won¡¯t suffer any ill effects.¡± Guinevere took the vial in her hand. ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t make this decision right now.¡± ¡°Do the right thing,¡± Talsbrand said. ¡°Don¡¯t throw away your entire life to spite Arthur.¡± Guinevere didn¡¯t respond, she just got up and left the room returning to her chambers. Chapter 130: On the Shores of Destiny I walked up the stairs of the bunker. I felt reborn, my legs both unsteady and filled with limitless power the result of ethereal energy flowing through every cell of my body as my passive abilities used it. That was both a blessing and a curse; it made those abilities more powerful but at the cost of cutting into my already limited regen amount for that resource. Pushing open a heavy stone door, I entered into the central chamber of the tower. Remara looked up from a sitting chair next to a boiling cauldron. ¡°Your up,¡± she said pushing herself to her feet. ¡°You stopped screaming a few days ago but I wasn¡¯t sure if that was a good sign or not. I was able to make contact with the spirits inside of you and they explained to me what was going on.¡± You guys talked to her? I asked. Only briefly, Voidra said. Her connection wasn¡¯t very stable we didn¡¯t feel it was important to bring up with you. ¡°Where is everyone?¡± I asked. ¡°They headed southeast to the border of Camelot,¡± Remara said. ¡°Jeriah felt that it would be best to draw attention away from your location, they disappeared into the forest to travel through it unseen. I sent some Totems I carved to keep them from being scryed on. I should have thought to make them long ago, but I didn¡¯t think of it until you brought it up.¡± ¡°What were our casualties?¡± I asked. ¡°Surprisingly few considering,¡± Remara said stirring the contents of her cauldron. ¡°We lost around two thousand-five hundred during the entire battle, a miracle some might say. The spirit of Ares was instrumental in that, your own actions not withstanding of course.¡± ¡°I just did what had to be done,¡± I said shrugging settling the new cloak on my shoulders it hung much longer than my last one going to my ankles instead of ending at my hips. The maroon striped lion pelt had a different look than the dark grey of the Cloak of the Forest Lord.
Cloak of the Berserker King; (Legendary); Crafted from the hide of the World Boss Warden this cloak is both a symbol of its wearers power and prowess as well as protecting them from nearly attack from behind. Made from the hide of an elite nemean lion and enchanted by a master enchanter this cloak is at the pinnacle of what a mortal can create. While wearing this cape any time the wearer inflicts a wound, they gain an instance of Red Frenzy that last for three minutes and stack up to six times. You have the Beast Lord status while wearing this cloak.
Nemean Pelt: This cloak cannot be damaged except by a weapon made from another nemean lion. It will take no durability damage even from Artifact weapons and Divine damage attacks.
Red Frenzy: Your attacks deal an additional amount of minor damage to a target suffering the bleed condition turning your vision red and filling you with a deep hatred for your opponent.
Beast Lord: Your prowess at killing beasts has been noted and beast type creatures will not attack you unless compelled by outside forces.
Weight: 65 lbs. Hardness: 16
I had made some changes to the enchantment of my last cloak removing the negative parts as best I could allowing me to keep a clearer head while in combat. The Beast Lord status hadn¡¯t been something I had added but given to the item by the System. Of course, the main benefit was it being made from a Nemean lion, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the durability damage destroying it like my last cloak. ¡°Did they leave any messages for me?¡± I asked Remara. ¡°I need to do some stuff before I leave for Camelot, but I can try to solve any immediate problems before I have to go.¡± ¡°No,¡± Remera said waving me off. ¡°Your army has taken after you, solving our problems on our own is something we do naturally.¡± ¡°Good,¡± I said nodding and sitting down cross legged. I¡¯d gotten a lot of rank points over the course of the battle and a new ability. I couldn¡¯t rank it up without pushing me into Hero rank but that was fine. All my rank points would be going to Void Asura for a while anyway until I got it rank thirty-five. ¡°There might be some more screaming,¡± I told Remara. ¡°Don¡¯t worry its normal and I probably won¡¯t have any permanent damage from it.¡± ¡°Probably?¡± she asked. I ignored the question. ¡°Raise Void Asura to rank twenty-five,¡± I told the system. The burning as my soul was altered hit me but I¡¯d been experiencing it for the last week, so it was nothing new. I wasn¡¯t immune to this pain like I was to physical pain, but enduring agony was something I had long since grown used to. Dismissing the minor notifications as it ranked up one rank at a time, I finally got to the notification for rank twenty-five.
Void Asura, (Rank: 25): You have created a symbiotic instead of parasitic relationship with the spirits inhabiting you, through the use of an ability token you have changed this ability to make it somewhat compatible with the System. Through manipulation of your mana and stamina, they have created a third type of energy and can use it to manifest through your body and interact with the world.
Void Armor: You gain a passive resistance to Soul & Void damage reducing the damage taken by 5 stages. The spectral arms created by the spirits residing in your soul when manifested appear armored, the armor has hardness 25 with an additional 1 hardness per twenty points of Spirit you have. Current hardness 33.
Void Edge: Your attacks while this ability is active deal Severe Void damage and bypass 17 levels of hardness.
Void Soul: Like the beings of the void, you feed on the souls of others to grow in power; your Ethereal regeneration is increased by .03 and your max Ethereal is increased by 3 for every creature with a soul that you kill permanently.
Void Arsenal: You are able to bind 3 weapons to your soul letting you store them there and summon them and dismiss them at will. If you lose your weapons, they are transported back into your soul vault to be resummoned later.
Void Matter: You are linked to Void body and soul and are able to make the void manifest physically. For the cost of 10 ethereal , you can create 1 pound of Void matter, the matter will degrade overtime while outside of the void.
Cost: 11 Ethereal per second Cast Time: Instantaneous
This ability should not exist, it will take 10x the normal amount of rank points for each rank up of this ability. Ranking up this ability does not advance any of your attributes. Current Max Rank 35.
Breathing out heavily I read over the changes. The armor my void limbs would have was an absurd thirty-three hardness, I doubted the heart of most planets was even that hard. I would deal more void damage and bypass seventeen levels of hardness. The hardest I could make something was hardness sixteen so even my best armor would be unable to do anything against these attacks. My regeneration for each kill I made had gone up and I wished I¡¯d been able to upgrade it more before the raids but if wishes were fishes¡­ I could bind one more weapon to my arsenal, I had Janus and Clarent bound to it so I bound Thorn to as well with a thought. My new ability was strange, I didn¡¯t see how if fit the rest of the ability yet and it seemed to have more in common with Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory. I spend the mana and held a black oddly shaped stone in my hand marbled with silver light. I could feel it slowly melt but it would take hours for it to disappear entirely.
Void Matter (Rarity Legendary); The Void rarely manifest anything physically and getting matter out of it has happened can be counted on one hand. The uses in crafting for this type of material are unknown.
I dropped the rock. I was a mystery best solved at another time. I still had more rank points to spend I wouldn¡¯t reach rank thirty five in the ability today but I¡¯d be close. ¡°Raise Void Asura to rank thirty,¡± I told the system my voice rough from screaming. The agony hit me again but I endured. I dismissed the notifications for the minor rank ups. Every moment was pain but I embraced it rather than flee from it. The moments passed and the pain ended as I hit rank thirty.
Void Asura, (Rank: 30): You have created a symbiotic instead of parasitic relationship with the spirits inhabiting you, through the use of an ability token you have changed this ability to make it somewhat compatible with the System. Through manipulation of your mana and stamina, they have created a third type of energy and can use it to manifest through your body and interact with the world. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Void Armor: You gain immunity to Void & Soul damage. The spectral arms created by the spirits residing in your soul when manifested appear armored, the armor has hardness 30 with an additional 1 hardness per twenty points of Spirit you have. Current hardness 38.
Void Edge: Your attacks while this ability is active deal Extreme Void damage and bypass 23 levels of hardness.
Void Soul: Like the beings of the void, you feed on the souls of others to grow in power; you Ethereal regeneration is increased by .04 and your max Ethereal is increased by 4 for every creature with a soul that you kill permanently.
Void Arsenal: You are able to bind 4 weapons to your soul letting you store them there and summon them and dismiss them at will. If you lose your weapons, they are transported back into your soul vault to be resummoned later.
Void Matter: You are linked to Void body and soul and are able to make the void manifest physically. For the cost of 10 ethereal, you can create 2 pound of Void matter, the matter will degrade overtime while outside of the void.
Void Shield: Time, space, and reality are not constant laws in the Void; when you take damage you can expend 100 ethereal to change the outcome of time and reality to negate all the damage taken in the past 5 seconds. Cooldown 1 minute.
Cost: 13 Ethereal per second Cast Time: Instantaneous
This ability should not exist, it will take 10x the normal amount of rank points for each rank up of this ability. Ranking up this ability does not advance any of your attributes. Current Max Rank 35.
The new ability was game breaking. Sure, it was massively expensive with a massive cooldown but the ability to just nah-uh damage taken was incredible presumably the length of time and the cooldown would be adjusted to make it even more powerful as it went up in rank. I didn¡¯t have the rank points to get all the way to thirty-five, but I could get to thirty-three. ¡°Raise Void Asura to rank thirty-three,¡± I told the system. The pain of my soul being altered was brief. I looked at the ability but there was no changes to it between its five rank intervals. I stood up wiping my face with my cleansing cloth removing the sweat from my body. I could feel the direction of my vassals, I needed to visit them before I went to Camelot. I lifted off the ground, my body surrounded by crimson lightning as I shot into the sky towards the Ancient Forest.
It took around eight hours of none stop flight before I spotted my vassals. I dropped down out of the air hitting the ground with an impact that caused a small localized earthquake. Weapons were drawn in a moment of panic before I was recognized. Jeriah, Tobias Juruk, Korsis and Kas¡¯tu all moved forward to greet me. ¡°I see you survived,¡± Korsis said bowing his head to me. ¡°As if there was any doubt of that,¡± Jeriah said clapping me on the shoulder. ¡°Ready to take the fight to the enemy now on our own terms?¡± ¡°In a way,¡± I said shrugging. ¡°I am going to be entering the Dragon Tourney in disguise, but before I did that, I thought I¡¯d make sure all of you were all right. Where is Exar¡¯kun?¡± ¡°He flew off a couple days ago and we haven¡¯t seen him since,¡± Tobias said with a shrug. ¡°He said he¡¯d be back, but we have no idea when.¡± ¡°He is his own to command,¡± I said dismissively. ¡°I¡¯m here to make sure you¡¯re all well-equipped. Jaruk, I meant to give you these awhile back.¡± I tossed him the set of clawed gauntlets I¡¯d taken from Jamis. The massive goblin¡¯s eyes widened as he read the description. ¡°These are a mighty gift Warlord,¡± he said bowing to me the braids of his hair rattling with the bits of bone and metal woven into them. ¡°I will wield them proudly against your enemies as we proclaim the greatness of your teachings.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware I had teachings,¡± I said mildly, finding his antics amusing. ¡°Jeriah bring all your weapons and armor to me; I have improvements to make. I saw you guys didn¡¯t properly harvest the battlefield, so I collected the scales of the Leviathan and the metal from the iron golem.¡± ¡°It will be done,¡± Jeriah said bowing his head to me. There was a distinct difference in how I was treated now. I had always been respected before, but that respect had changed to reverence now and I wasn¡¯t sure how I felt about it. What¡¯s up with everyone? I asked Voidra. You fought six World Bosses in a row facing each one head on by yourself sometimes, Voidra explained. You basically died multiple times in front of everyone and stood up each time. Your more than human, more than mortal in their eyes now. I can feel the emotions off of them, the closest I can describe it is when you flew past a temple back in Dragonhold. Not sure how I feel about that, I said. This is the goal, Ares said. What do you think will happen when you reach God rank? This is just a taste of what is to come. Letting there words settle in I used Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory to create a stonework bench and table and set Mab down. I started taking the scales of Conqueror out of my storage pouch. Each was already the size of a round shield so I decided that¡¯s what they should be. I started morphing them on mass adding metal from the metal constructs I¡¯d harvested and condensed from across the battlefield. I created five masterwork shields about every ten seconds stacking them to the side. It took about three hours to complete all of them. In the meantime, the weapons of my armor were stacked before me. I experimented with the multi focus my spirit symbiosis gave me. I let Ares take over creation of the shields while I started work on enchanting. Voidra and Karnen started compressing metal into the weapons modifying them to give them more strength. Since I could just focus on enchanting, I was able to start mass producing enchantments Mab¡¯s pages flipped before me as the tome suggest enchantments for each weapon and piece of armor set before me. Since I didn¡¯t need to use tools to carve the runes it took only seconds then a quick infusion of powered mana infused gemstone, I set it to the side. The process of enchanting and infusing was so relaxing that I only noticed anything had changed when the sun broke the horizon and I didn¡¯t have anything else left before me. I sat back, my mana pool was close to empty but even with all the work I¡¯d been doing I had so much of the stuff I could have gone for another six hours without draining it. My army had assembled before me. Their armor all the same glossy black obsidian of my own armor. Every soldier carried a round shield made from the scales of the leviathan and carried a long spear with another weapon strapped to their hip for close quarters fighting. Juruk as armored in full body scale armor atop his raptor his followers sitting atop their own feathered reptile behind him. I felt the need to say something to commemorate this moment. The ground morphed before me as I mounted the steps to look over my army and let them all see me as I spoke. I activated Void Asura spreading my many arms. ¡°Vassals!¡± I said, my voice echoing through the forest. ¡°We have fought a great battle together, the gods banded together to strike us down, but we are still here!¡± A roar rose up from the army and they shook their spears and banged their shields I let them do this more a moment before continuing. ¡°They thought that they could send some monsters to do their work for them and wipe their hands of us, but they forgot something, challenges are only a problem for the weak. For the strong a challenge is just an opportunity to grow stronger. They sent machines alongside the Forge, and we smote him down! Shapeshifters and assassins came with Averice, and we ripped them to pieces! They sent angels from the sky and Balance, but we plucked them out of the sky like sparrows! The corpses of the slain rose up at the word of Decay but we crushed them back into paste! The beasts of the forest came with the Warden, and we strangled it as our arrows bled out their beasts into a river of blood! Then they sent what should have been a death blow an Exarch rank World Boss, but we took it down like a hive of wasps!¡± Another roar echoed up through the forest, the slamming of weapons against shields resounding like the beating of drums. ¡°And when that was done it was still not enough, the order of the Magi tried to strike us down, but we lived through that too. Those that follow me cannot be beaten because you are strong as an individual first before working together. Go forth now, take the war to the doors of Camelot and drive them from our lands! Bring others to our cause, we are here to reenergize this world to remind them what it is to be strong and to purge the weakness from themselves!¡± ¡°Warlord!¡± the cry went up as spears clashed against shield. ¡°Warlord!¡± Again, and again the cry went out. I decided this was probably the best exit I would get and lifted off into the air crimson lightning rumbling as I shot into the sky.
I dropped out of the sky about ten miles outside of the town. I needed a record of me arriving in Camelot and I couldn¡¯t risk people asking to many questions about me. I had used the last of rank points to rank up Shadow Allias to rank twenty.
Shadow Allias (Rank 20, Max Rank): Not everything you can see is real, trust no one. You can change your description to appear as another person.
You can alter how your Rank appears.
Creatures must make physical contact with you to use true telling abilities or spells on you to read your true description.
You can use the titles of creatures you have slain in your alias.
You can make an aura around yourself that will make you more forgettable and people will have greater difficulty remembering your features.
Max Rank Bonus: Perception checks and abilities made against you slide off unable to pierce your false disguise without overwhelming power over you.
Cost: 50 mana Cast Time: 20 seconds
Upgrade this ability to increase the difficulty in piercing your false description. Each rank up increases your Perception by 1.
I had put away my regular armor and equipment, making myself a full set of plate armor. It was one of the most heavily enchanted pieces I had ever created, a dark flat grey it didn¡¯t look impressive from the outside. I had completed it with a black cape, I might have to play the roll of knight but that didn¡¯t mean I had to leave the aesthetics of the Warlord entirely behind. Thorn was strapped to my hip, none of my enemies had ever seen me use the gauntlet sword so it wouldn¡¯t link my alias to my real identity. I pulled up my alias to reassure myself it was still there.
Sir Ismail the Storm Knight, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 356
I had lowered my rank to help myself blend in with the rest of the contestants. Taking a breath, I walked down the dirt road into the fishing village. The sun had risen fully by the time I had entered the village. I found my way to the docks where a number of ships were being loaded. ¡°Where can I find a ship headed to Camelot?¡± I asked a passing sailor. ¡°Captain Marrin has a merchant ship headed there,¡± he said pointing to a large ship with blue sails. ¡°You can try to buy passage.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I said and moved towards the ship. Stopping before the gangplank I looked the ship over. An elderly woman walked down the gangplank to stand before me. ¡°Can I help you?¡± she asked her tone not rude but implied she wasn¡¯t here to waste her time. ¡°I¡¯m looking to buy passage to Camelot,¡± I said. ¡°I was told your headed there, what sort of fee would you charge for taking me on?¡± ¡°Ten gold coins,¡± she said. I didn¡¯t bother haggling. I¡¯d collected lots of money over the course of my battles and minted the golden jewelry I¡¯d gotten into coins. I tossed her ten of the ones I thought came from Camelot. She raised an eyebrow at my casual display of wealth but moved aside. ¡°Welcome aboard Sir¡­¡± she said pausing. ¡°Ismael,¡± I said realizing she wasn¡¯t gifted and couldn¡¯t read my description. ¡°My name is Sir Ismael.¡± Chapter 131: If You Want to Win He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, And everyone¡¯s hand will be against him; And he will live in hostility toward all his brothers. (Genesis 16:12) I stepped off the boat paying the captain as I walked down the dock. I looked at the towering buildings of glass, wood, metal, and stone. ¡°I¡¯ve got to admit this isn¡¯t what I expected,¡± I said. What did you expect? Ares asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know a little something more medieval and a little less fantasy New York,¡± I said looking at the skyscrapers towering around me. ¡°Based on the level of weaponry everyone uses I assumed this city would be a lot more like Dragon-hold.¡± That city was just a backwater, Karnen said. You¡¯ve never really comprehended how powerful your enemies are. Camelot is the largest kingdom in the world, they¡¯ve been limited by treaties on how many troops they can send out. ¡°Not important,¡± I said shrugging. I was getting weird looks from the people around me so I continued down the docks into the city. Venders hawked their wares around me but I ignored them push through, people made way for me. The heavy armor and my massive frame making people step aside as I approached. I wore no helm my face clean shaven apart from a few days of stubble my hair tied back. People flinched when they met y eyes, I don¡¯t know what they saw there, but it frightened them. I looked at the massive building towards the center of the city its golden roofs marking it as the palace. ¡°Which way to the Dragon Tourney?¡± I asked a street vender selling meat pies tossing him a silver coin. ¡°Its being held on the proving grounds next to the palace,¡± the merchant said handing me a hot pie. ¡°You can¡¯t miss it.¡± Thanking him I moved on. I reached the edge of the place grounds and men busied themselves and horses maneuvered through the crowds of armored. Men I looked around noticing a booth with a small line in front of it. I got in line waiting my turn. ¡°You¡¯re here to show off your skills in the tourney?¡± the man at the desk asked. ¡°I¡¯m here to win,¡± I corrected him. ¡°Sure you are,¡± he laughed looking up, his eyes squinted for a minute as he analyzed me. ¡°Sir Ismail the Storm Knight, well that¡¯s a new title.¡± He filled through a book by his side. ¡°I don¡¯t have you registered in the kingdom¡¯s log, who knighted you?¡± ¡°Duchess Guinevere,¡± I said. ¡°You lie,¡± the man accused me. I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m a knight of Camelot, who you believe knighted me doesn¡¯t matter; am I signed up?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the man said scratching a line next to my name. ¡°Your scheduled to fight tomorrow.¡± I stepped away and one of the people in line shook their head at me. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have done that, he would have given you an easy fight if you hadn¡¯t antagonized him.¡± ¡°Good, I don¡¯t like easy fights,¡± I said stepping away. A young boy ran out from behind the booth handing me a rolled up sheet of paper. ¡°This is the location of your tent and your personal attendant,¡± the boy said running off. I opened up the scroll reading the contents. I stuffed it in my belt and moved through the crowd arriving at a black and red tent. I stepped inside, the space was about twenty feet wide in diameter It was empty apart from a small cot that looked like it would shatter if I sat on it. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Footsteps sounded outside as the tent flapped moved behind me. I turned around and looked seeing a young woman with chestnut brown hair and fair skin. She wore a dress of white and blue cotton and carried a clipboard in her hand. ¡°Are you Sir Ismail?¡± she asked. I looked her over but no description came up when I analyzed her, she was just a regular woman than not a gifted. ¡°I am, and you are?¡± I asked. ¡°I am Aisha,¡± she said curtsying to me. ¡°I will be your attendant for the tourney, its my responsibility to prepare you for your fights and let you know their schedule.¡± ¡°Thank you for your help then,¡± I said. ¡°When is my first fight?¡± ¡°Tomorrow at dawn,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve been instructed to tell you to lose the fight, your opponent is the son of a baron, you will be rewarded for letting him win.¡± I snorted. ¡°You can tell them if he wants to win, than he can win. Victory is earned, never given.¡± Aisha looked nervous. ¡°They won¡¯t like that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not here to make people happy, I¡¯m here to win the hand of a princess,¡± I said I stepped over to the cot and bent down whispering the activation phrase for Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory strengthening it to hold my weight with dirt from the ground underneath us. ¡°Your going to try and win the hand of Guinevere?¡± she asked. ¡°Or die trying,¡± I said. ¡°Go and tell them my answer, I will see them at dawn.¡± I didn¡¯t lie down on my cot instead I knelt in the center of my tent and meditated. My pulse pounded in my temple as I focused on my anger. My hearing expanded the shouts and conversations all around me drowned out by the pounding in my head. Hours passed and the noise settled as night fell. Footsteps entered my tent and I opened my eyes. ¡°Is it time?¡± I asked Aisha. ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m too show you the way, I have to warn you they weren¡¯t happy with your answer.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about making people happy,¡± I told her. ¡°People have their interests at heart not yours.¡± I followed Aisha to a wooden tunnel where a portcullis blocked passage into a small arena. There weren¡¯t many people in the stands, and I waited in silence as Aisha shifted nervously beside me. Brass trumpets blared and the portcullis rolled up and I walked inside my opponent entering on the opposite side. An announcers voice amplified over the arena. ¡°For the next match Sir Ismael the Storm Knight against Lord Tarence of House Darsell. The rules are the standard, no active abilities or the use of spells, the fight will continue until one of you is unconscious, incapacitated or surrenders. Killing your opponent will result in disqualification, you will begin when the horns blare.¡± I stood still my gauntlet sword equipped on my right hand. I stared down my opponent on the other side of the ring. The horns blew and he flew towards me, and I didn¡¯t move, his sword slashed down, and I blocked side stepped and hit him with my left hand. The clang of metal on metal sounded as my fist collided with the side of his head. He dropped down to the ground and I kicked him in the head. He didn¡¯t move again his sword falling from limp fingers. I could hear his heart beating, so he was still alive and looked up to the stands where the announcer stood staring at me his mouth hanging open in shock, he was the same man as the one who had signed me into the tournament. ¡°Send me someone better next time,¡± I said turning and exiting the arena. Aisha waited for me in the tunnel watching as attendants rushed onto the sand to drag away my opponent. ¡°That was¡­ fast.¡± ¡°Taking out the trash never takes long,¡± I said. ¡°When¡¯s my next match?¡± ¡°Um, well,¡± she said flipping through her papers. ¡°If you did win this match you were scheduled to fight Sir Cedrick in three hours. Do you¡­need a healer or to rest?¡± I smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, will the next match be here or somewhere else?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be here,¡± she said. I tossed her a small purse of coins. ¡°Then go get yourself something to eat, we¡¯re going to be here all day I feel.¡±
Guinevere looked out over the lake that surrounded the palace the vial of poison resting in her palms as she felt it smooth contours as she rubbed the glass. Her other hand rested on her stomach trying to feel the growing life within her. ¡°Mordred,¡± she said looking out over the city. ¡°I wish you were here.¡± She popped the cork of the vial and held it up to her lips but paused. There would be no going back after this she lowered her hand the glint of the ring Mordred had given her catching the light. That had been the last gift Mordred had given her, he had spent a priceless gift from the system just to prove his devotion to her. ¡°I can¡¯t do this alone,¡± she said to his ghost. Arthur would have grounds to have her stoned for adultery despite his own child born out of wedlock. She also knew the fate of the baby if it was born would be tenuous, there was no protections in the law for bastards. The King could and would probably have it ripped from her arms and left in the woods to die as punishment. ¡°It¡¯s better this way,¡± she said. ¡°Quick and painless.¡± She raised the vial to her lips again. She couldn¡¯t do it; the ring hadn¡¯t been Mordred¡¯s last gift to her, and her hand went to her belly again. ¡°I chose to reach for the path of godhood, but I also chose to go down a path that represented beauty and life instead of death and war,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m not taking a step back the way I¡¯ve come.¡± She dropped the vial over the edge of the wall to shatter on the rocks below. ¡°I¡¯ll find you a father,¡± Guinevere said to her baby. ¡°And it won¡¯t be Arthur, I¡¯ll find someone to help me raise you and give you the protection and love you deserve.¡± Chapter 132: Ismael a Rat My foot hooked my opponent¡¯s leg and yanked it out from under him. He blocked my sword, but my fist came up under his chin and he went down. I slammed my foot down on his wrist, pinning his weapon to the ground and held my sword to his neck. ¡°I surrender,¡± the knight said, and I stepped off of him. That had been my sixth opponent of the day. The adjudicator had sent them at me with less and less time between each match, if he thought he could wear me out he was mistaken. The stands that had been mostly empty during my first duel were now packed with people placing bets. I didn¡¯t leave the arena this time as my opponent walked out of the room. ¡°Is there anyone else?¡± I called up to the duel adjudicator. He scowled down at me flipping through some papers. ¡°No,¡± he said finally. ¡°Everyone else is already scheduled with duels for the day.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll see you all tomorrow,¡± I said saluting the crowd with my sword. I exited the arena to go back to my tent. Aisha met me walking by my side, she looked at me with a sense of awe and wariness. ¡°Who taught you to fight like that?¡± she asked. ¡°You probably wouldn¡¯t believe me if I told you,¡± I said avoiding answering the question. ¡°So how many more fights like this should I expect?¡± ¡°These were all minor nobles,¡± Aisha said. ¡°They came here to prove their skill and raise their family¡¯s name. They pay the adjudicators a lot of money to get favorable matches, after today you can expect him to start throwing much better fighters at you.¡± ¡°Thank goodness,¡± I said. ¡°A few days of this and I¡¯d probably off myself out of boredom.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really going to try and win?¡± Aisha asked. ¡°To win the hand of Dutchess Guinevere?¡± ¡°Of course. I don¡¯t play rigged games, well, I don¡¯t let them stay rigged,¡± I amended my statement. ¡°Why?¡± Aisha asked. ¡°If you¡¯d ever been in love you wouldn¡¯t have to ask that question,¡± I said. ¡°Do you need me to do anything else today?¡± ¡°Well, you should try to attract a sponsor,¡± Aisha asked. ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°To get you enchanted equipment and master forged gear,¡± Aisha said. ¡°You¡¯ll need that to¡­¡± she stopped as my laughter cut her off. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said once I stopped laughing. ¡°But that¡¯s not something I need; I don¡¯t think there is a man in this city who could make armor better than what I¡¯m wearing.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t look that impressive,¡± Aisha said looking it over. ¡°That¡¯s part of its charm,¡± I said. ¡°So other people have to rely on sponsors? Who sponsors them anyway?¡± ¡°Nobles houses or the guilds,¡± Aisha said. ¡°They could also get you into meetings with visiting dignitaries and the other nobles.¡± ¡°Again, that¡¯s not something I¡¯m looking for,¡± I said. ¡°How do people normally attract a sponsor anyway?¡± ¡°They go to the training yards to do practice bouts,¡± Aisha said. ¡°Similar to duels but with less regulation and usually more violent. They¡¯re more popular for betting, if you impress people with your skill, you could also get a master to train you in their fighting style and help you acquire more titles.¡± ¡°Now that actually sounds interesting,¡± I said. ¡°Alright you¡¯ve convinced me to at least have a look at this place, lead the way.¡± Aisha led me through the crowds to grassy field set with tents around its edges as well as wooden stands built in squares around the fields where knights fought by themselves, in pairs or in groups. I watched it with some interest. I felt a presence behind me and turned catching a hand reaching for my shoulder an angry young man stood there. ¡°I have come to challenge you to a proper duel,¡± the young man spat. ¡°Your treatment of me in the arena was unbecoming of a knight, resulting to fists instead of a proper blade or weapon is no way to duel.¡± I looked up at his description over his head.
Lord Tarence of House Darsell, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 346
¡°Which one was he?¡± I asked Aisha. ¡°Lord Tarence was your first match yesterday,¡± Aisha said to me. ¡°Oh you,¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t be a sore loser, you lost and would have lost even if I just used a sword.¡± ¡°I demand satisfaction,¡± he insisted. ¡°Unless you are a coward you will duel me three days from now to first blood use of abilities will be¡­¡± ¡°No,¡± I interrupted him. ¡°Ha!¡± he laughed with triumph. ¡°So you are a coward¡­.¡± ¡°To the death,¡± I interrupted him again. ¡°What?¡± he asked in shock. ¡°Don¡¯t be absurd that¡¯s barbaric.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who wants to duel me, not the other way around,¡± I said shrugging. ¡°Either put your life on the line or fuck off, I don¡¯t waste my time on pointless distractions.¡± ¡°A duel to the death would have to be sanctioned by¡­¡± he protested. ¡°Then get it sanctioned or run off,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not compromising with you if you want to commit suicide that up to you, I¡¯ve beaten you once and I¡¯ll do it again.¡± He took a step back and turned on his heel leaving me behind. I turned back to the crowd which had parted around us, and everyone was looking at me. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°You people never seen someone challenge someone to a duel to the death before?¡± ¡°No,¡± a man in full plate said uncomfortably. ¡°Those kind of duels are frowned upon you have to get special dispensation to get one approved. You speak like you¡¯ve done one before.¡± ¡°Just two real duels but I¡¯ve had plenty of one-on-one fights to the death,¡± I said. ¡°So, I hear this is where you test yourself, where do I sign up?¡± ¡°Is it true you punched him in your duel?¡± another man asked me. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Yeah, so?¡± I asked. ¡°That considered dishonorable what house trained you?¡± he asked. ¡°How many of you have actually been in real battles, not just against monsters but people?¡± I asked. Only three hands went up everyone else looking nervous or ashamed. It¡¯s like being a wolf among sheep, I thought. Unfortunately for the sheep they think they¡¯re one of the wolves. ¡°When you¡¯ve been in a real fight, you¡¯ll understand that the only honor there is, is being the one still standing at the end,¡± I said. ¡°You talk a big talk,¡± one man said he didn¡¯t wear armor like all the other nights and was to old to be a contestant and his rank to high. ¡°But I wonder just how good at fighting you are, tell me can you fight with your fists or just a punch here and there?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got some training in unarmed combat,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯d like to see that,¡± the man said. ¡°Let¡¯s see what your made of under all that armor.¡± I tapped my chest and stepped out of my armor to the shock of everyone around me. The armor closed up behind me remaining standing without me inside it. People gaped but I wasn¡¯t worried about people trying to steal it the enchantments on it made it as immovable as a mountain when I wasn¡¯t inside it. I stood in black and grey clothes that were very different in style to those around me. I found the style of Earth a lot more comfortable than the clothing people wore around me. I stepped into the ring and looked over my opponent.
Helgeth the Barbarian, Gifted- humanoid/human, Hero, Rank: 652
I¡¯d fought people a lot higher rank than him, but this wasn¡¯t a fight to the death and was instead a show of skill. He cracked his knuckles and his hands were as big as dinner plates. We circled each other for a moment than I rushed in, I ducked under his fist which came in as fast as lightning. I punched for his kidneys, but he brought his leg blocking the strike and grabbed my arm and tried to put me in a lock. I twisted and rolled yanking my arm free and landing a kick on his knee. He grunted but didn¡¯t go down sweeping my legs out from under me with his foot he brought down his fist towards my head. I barely rolled out of the way in time as his fist cratered the sand where my head had been. Our fight went back and forth as I mostly lost ground. I wasn¡¯t using any abilities and there wasn¡¯t the same desperate pumping of adrenaline that fueled most of my fights. This wasn¡¯t a duel to the death, so I didn¡¯t feel the same sense of urgency I usually did. Despite the lack of real stakes or maybe because of them I was enjoying the fight. I blocked out the crowd focusing only on my opponent and was reminded of all the days training with Guinevere. I blocked a two-handed strike with my arms sliding back in the sand before counter attacking with my knee. I was doing all right, but I wasn¡¯t winning and that excited me more than anything; Guinevere had made me a master with the sword, but I still wasn¡¯t as good as Arthur. I needed to master more forms of combat and get more titles to surpass him. --- Vone walked through the tourney grounds. She¡¯d found a lot of the fights exciting; Camelot had been very different than the other places she¡¯d seen since coming to this world. It reminded her a lot of New York or Los Angeles and made her a bit home sick. She felt the strength in her legs and remembered why she had decided to come here, the chance to walk again after the car accident that had paralyzed her. He heard shouting a more intense than she had heard before. She pushed through a group of people to get a view of the fight. Two massive men bare chested were pummeling eachother across the sand. The fight was more violent than anything she had seen before today. The younger man was bruised and bloody and she saw he was a much lower rank than his opponent.
Sir Ismael the Storm Knight, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 376
She thought about stepping in but decided against it and kept watching. The man was scarred in a way she hadn¡¯t seen on anyone else and despite his many wounds he gave no sign he even noticed them. Every move he made was powerful and primal like a tiger that slipped into the skin of man. She wouldn¡¯t call him beautiful, but he had a rugged handsome appearance that combined with his scars gave him a savage masculine vibe very different than the proper knights surrounding him. She watched as the man finally got him in a pin and began choking him out. He slapped the ground, and the older man released him. Vone analyzed the man more thoroughly now. He pulled a healing potion out of somewhere and drank it his bruises disappearing the two men exchanged some words and shook hands. He exited the ring, his eyes always sliding from side to side though his head never moved. It gave him a warry on-edge look, not that he was nervous but that he was constantly expecting an attack from somewhere. His eyes passed over the crowd landing on her and freezing. Vone felt a shiver run up her spine noticing his odd eyes for the first time with their multiple iris and pupils. His gaze slid off of her, but one set of pupils remained trained on her. He pulled a shirt on and then moved through the crowd and stepped inside a suit of armor like he was iron man. A pretty young woman stood next to him a clipboard and stack of papers clutched to her chest. He spoke with her and they started to move through the crowd. Curious Vone pushed through the crowd and stepped in front of the man. ¡°That was quite a fight,¡± she said. --- Oh fuck, I thought. I¡¯d hoped to avoid contact with other champions and people I¡¯d met before as much as possible, still there was no better time than now to test my disguise. ¡°Thank you,¡± I said and looked above her head to read her description. ¡°It reminded me a lot of karate back from my world,¡± she said extending her hand. ¡°What¡¯s karate?¡± I asked playing to what a local from this world would know. All my time spent with Guinevere was paying off as I remembered all the ways she¡¯d reacted to things I¡¯d said. ¡°A form of martial arts,¡± Vone said. ¡°Although yours is a lot more aggressive than stuff I¡¯ve seen before.¡± ¡°Well pleased to meet you,¡± I said hoping to get out of this conversation as quickly as possible. Yeah, not going to work, Voidra told me. She is very interested in you. That¡¯s sort of the problem, I said. I really don¡¯t want to get her to know me. Not the kind of interest I was talking about, Voidra said. ¡°What are you doing this evening?¡± Vone asked me. She¡¯s about to ask me on a date now, isn¡¯t she? I said to my spirit collective. ¡°I¡¯ve got some training I need to do,¡± I said. ¡°Really?¡± Vone asked seeming more interested instead of less. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for a good sparring partner maybe I could join you and teach you some things while you teach me some things.¡± I think she might have a different kind of sparring in mind, Karnen sniggered in my head. Not helping, I snapped at him. ¡°I already have a sparring partner,¡± I lied. ¡°You do?¡± Aisha asked not in on the conversation. I shot her a glare and her mouth opened realizing her error and she blushed in embarrassment. ¡°He does,¡± a deep baritone voice agreed. I turned as a man in dark black robes with luminous green eyes clapped his hand on my shoulder.
Exar the Dragon-warrior, Gifted- humanoid/human*, Exarch, Rank: 1031
He shot me a wink and even though I¡¯d never seen him before I instantly recognized him. Is that Exar¡¯kun? Ares asked. Yep, I responded mentally. ¡°You found an Exarch rank sparring partner?¡± Vone asked, shocked. ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­dangerous.¡± ¡°You only get stronger by fighting those stronger than you,¡± I said. Vone held her hound out and shook Exar¡¯kun¡¯s. ¡°Its not often you get the chance to meet someone of your rank, I hope I¡¯m not imposing but I¡¯d like to join your sparring sessions as well.¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± Exar said a malicious gleam in his eyes. ¡°I would be delighted if you would join us.¡± He might still be holding a grudge over her killing him in the Event, I thought. Oh well, hopefully with him there I can deflect any suspicion off of me. ---- Guinevere walked through the crowd to the Office of the Adjudicators the gave of every man around her followed her even with the veil covering her face. She once again wondered if she had made the right decision to choose Aphrodite¡¯s Beauty as her divine ability. Sometimes if felt like she were a lamb being eyed by a pack of wolves. The guards on duty snapped to attention as she entered the Office of the Adjudicator. The attendant at the front desk looked up at their jaw opening in shock as she entered. ¡°Lady Guinevere what brings you here?¡± they asked, shuffling through the papers on their best hurriedly as if searching for some explanation. ¡°I want to see your combatants,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a list of your best fighters, the ones most likely to reach the final rankings.¡± ¡°Of course, my lady,¡± the attendant said. ¡°We have a list like that right here.¡± He seemed relived to be able to do something, giving him a feeling of being back in control. ¡°So, you¡¯ve come to watch the Tourney?¡± ¡°Something like that,¡± Guinevere said taking the list from him. She recognized many of the names on the list by reputation although she hadn¡¯t met them personally. ¡°I¡¯ll also need a schedule of their next duels,¡± she said. ¡°Not a problem, I will arrange a guide as well to escort you to the matches,¡± the attendant said. Guinevere nodded. She had to find someone capable of beating Arthur and who would also be a good father for her child, she did not have high hopes that such a person existed. Chapter 133: The Hedge Knight I blocked the strike of Vone¡¯s glaive and swayed to the side slashing out with my gauntlet sword slashing her across the thigh. She was sweating and panting as I hooked her leg with my foot and yanked it out from under her sending her down to the sand. She was a good fighter but I¡¯d been trained by one of the best and Vone lacked the necessary speed, strength and aggressiveness to take me down. Holding out a hand I helped Vone to her feet. ¡°Better,¡± I said emotionlessly. I stepped over to the corner where Exar¡¯kun stood in his human form smoking a pipe. Vone brushed the sand off of herself and came over to us. She looked me over and smiled. ¡°I have to say you¡¯re really good, do you have a party?¡± she asked. ¡°I fight alone,¡± I said trying to stop this before it went any further. ¡°Really?¡± she asked. ¡°That¡¯s a bit unusual.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just not a social person,¡± I said trying to extricate myself around her I didn¡¯t want her bringing me in contact with even more champions. ¡°You seem nervous,¡± she said with a tinkling bell laugh. ¡°Do I scare you?¡± ¡°You should,¡± I said. ¡°Your dangerous.¡± ¡°And why is that?¡± Vone asked. ¡°You¡¯re a champion,¡± I said playing to my cover as just another knight. ¡°You¡¯re all dangerous, you literally spawn monsters all around you, you shouldn¡¯t even be allowed in a city. You¡¯re a threat to every non-gifted here even many of those with the gift wouldn¡¯t survive if a raid spawned to challenge you.¡± ¡°You mean like when the Warlord got killed?¡± she asked. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked confused now. ¡°You didn¡¯t hear?¡± Vone asked. ¡°The Warlord got hit by series of raids and World Bosses and was killed in the fighting.¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t hear that,¡± I said. Although not having people on the lookout for me will be useful for as long as that rumor keeps going. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you had such a low opinion of Champions,¡± Vone said her hands on her hips. ¡°Its not something I get from most people.¡± ¡°That because most people are trying to use you to advance their agenda¡¯s, are too afraid of you or are trying to get into your pants,¡± I said. ¡°And your not?¡± she asked raising an eyebrow. ¡°No,¡± I said firmly. ¡°I¡¯m here to win this Tourney and the hand of Guinevere.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a little barbaric,¡± Vone said. ¡°Taking a women as a prize, I didn¡¯t realize you were that sort of person.¡± Now she seemed a little angry which actually made me like her a bit. ¡°I agree, but I didn¡¯t make the rules if it were up to me, I¡¯d let Guinevere choose as she wants,¡± I said. ¡°If you want to get mad at someone point your ire towards Prince Arthur and his father, they are the ones who benefit from and support the traditions of this society.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem like the people around here,¡± Vone said, and I realized I may have said to much. ¡°Where are you from?¡± ¡°A long way from here,¡± I said. ¡°Your up again, Exar, run her through her paces.¡± Vone and Exar squared off against each other, she held her glaive, but he didn¡¯t wield any weapon. She swung at him, and he bent under her attack than grabbed her weapon by its shaft and swung it with her still holding on and spun her like a frisbee into the wall. Vone slid to the ground and for a moment I was worried Exar had just murdered her, but she pushed herself back to her feet groaning. ¡°What was that supposed to teach me?¡± she asked, rubbing her backside where she had hit the wall. ¡°To not try and out muscle someone a higher rank than you,¡± Exar said. ¡°There are two rank gaps between us when I grabbed your weapon you should have let go and pulled a different weapon.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t carry another weapon,¡± Vone said. ¡°Than you should start,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t see you carrying anything beside that gauntlet sword,¡± Vone pointed out. ¡°You don¡¯t see,¡± I agreed. Vone looked at me sideways before shrugging. ¡°Well, I think I need to put some ice on this, I¡¯ll keep an eye out for another weapon in the meantime. Are you training tomorrow?¡± I wanted to say no but then she might come seeking me out later, better to control when we interacted. ¡°Yes,¡± I agreed. ¡°After my lessons tomorrow, I¡¯ll come here to practice.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow then,¡± she said flashing me a smile and turning to sashey away. I turned my back on her to talk to Exar¡¯kun. ¡°So you decided to use the shapeshifting power I see.¡± ¡°It took some getting used to,¡± he said with a nod. ¡°There were some¡­ problems at first.¡± My eyes narrowed. ¡°You forgot you had to wear clothes didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he admitted. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize your species was so insistent on that.¡± ¡°It depends on the culture,¡± I said. ¡°So how is everyone else?¡± ¡°They¡¯re moving through the Ancient Forest to launch a surprise attack against the forces of Camelot still in Dracon,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°They¡¯re much stronger now than before the raid, they were a lot of materials they harvested from the monsters there.¡± ¡°How long do I have before they attack?¡± I asked. ¡°It could happen any day now,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°Well I guess I¡¯ll have to take advantage of being a dead man for as long as I can,¡± I said. ¡°Why are you here though?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not one of your vassals,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°I¡¯m your ally I¡¯m here to support you directly not your army, plus I think when things kick off most of the action will be here.¡± Aisha ran into the training area panting and out of breath. I let out a sigh. ¡°They did it again?¡± I asked. She was so out of breath she couldn¡¯t speak but just nodded. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Same place?¡± I asked and she nodded again. I opened up a portal and pulled her in after me. Stepping into the arena the adjudicator looked at me in shock having just stood up. ¡°There a problem with your schedule?¡± I asked him. ¡°No,¡± he said recovering himself. ¡°Really? Because you seem to have double booked me,¡± I said. ¡°I already fought today.¡± ¡°Yes well¡­ we had to arrange some other fights and¡­¡± he said trying to find a good excuse as the crowd stared at him. ¡°Whatever,¡± I said waving his words again. ¡°Lets get this over with though in the future if you don¡¯t clear things with my assistant an hour in advance, I¡¯ll break one of your fingers.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t threaten me,¡± the adjudicator said rising back to his seat after halfway sitting down. ¡°Aisha,¡± I said calling back behind me. ¡°Is there anything in the rules that would disqualify me for breaking this man¡¯s fingers?¡± ¡°No,¡± Aisha admitted. ¡°But he could fine you for¡­¡± ¡°There you have it,¡± I said to Adjudicator. ¡°I can in fact break your fingers.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear about the fine?¡± he asked his jaw dropping at my audacity. I shrugged. ¡°A crime you can get out of by paying money is only a crime to the poor. So, I guess you have to ask yourself which will run out first, my money, or your fingers?¡± I turned to my opponent and pulled my helmet on. Snapping my sword up in a salute he did likewise. --- Guinevere looked down at the knight as he fought. He was good, very good maybe in the top ten percent of fighters in the world but he wouldn¡¯t be able to beat Arthur. She let out a sigh, this had been the tenth fight she¡¯d seen today, fighter after fighter had competed before her. The crowd cheered but she found the fights boring after all the battles she¡¯d experienced with Mordred. The only thing exciting about them she found was that her future hung in the balance of who wone. ¡°Is this really the best you have?¡± She asked. ¡°This is but a sample of the fights we have in store,¡± her attendant said. Guinevere¡¯s ladies in waiting hung over the railing fanning themselves as they watched the fight. Some blew kisses to knights they knew personally one throwing a handkerchief as a sign of her favor to one of the fighters. It¡¯s all well for them to get excited, Guinevere thought sourly. They aren¡¯t being married off to their cousin. She found herself unconsciously putting a hand on her belly reminding herself why she was doing this. She considered just running away but the blood oaths she had sworn would make her drag herself back. There was only one way out of this for her. ¡°I need to see the best of the best,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter their rank or standing show me someone with promise to make it the final ten of the Tourney.¡± ¡°Of course my lady,¡± he attendant said. --- Night was falling by the time my final fight was done. I had fought in over twenty-five matches that day and the crowd was growing larger and larger. I stepped into the darkness of the prep tunnel and found Aisha there. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you have headed home already?¡± I asked. ¡°We¡¯re not allowed to leave until our assigned fighter is done for the day,¡± she said. She¡¯s nervous about something, Voidra told me. ¡°Everything alright?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s just not safe on the streets at night,¡± Aisha said. ¡°Come on,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you get home safe.¡± We walked down the streets. The massive medieval skyscrapers began to look more run down and got less tall. I could feel the air of menace from every alley but it made me more comfortable instead of less. It reminded me of the Ancient Forest or the maze of tunnels under it putting me back in my element. Aisha on the other hand did not look comfortable looking this way and that. ¡°Stop that,¡± I told her. ¡°Stop what?¡± she asked. ¡°Looking like prey,¡± I said glaring at a group of men hanging outside of a rundown building they met my eyes and faded into the shadows. ¡°If you act like prey than that¡¯s how your going to get treated.¡± ¡°Speaking from experience?¡± Aisha asked me skeptically. ¡°Only secondhand,¡± I said. ¡°My mother acted that way and its how she was treated.¡± My head jerked to the side as I heard a sound, a scream. Aisha didn¡¯t even react, and I realized she couldn¡¯t hear it with her normal Perception. I was left with a dilemma I could investigate the sound but doing so would put Aisha in danger. The scream came again, a child¡¯s scream and my jaw clenched. A horn appeared in my hands, and I blew dark mist surrounding us and disappearing to be replaced by thirteen three-headed hounds. ¡°Protect her,¡± I told them. ¡°I need to check something out.¡± I teleported away before Aisha could say anything. My foot crashed in a door of a rundown warehouse and I stepped inside a group of children stood huddled in a corner. One of them a young boy was pinned under a large man his pants around his waist as he knelt over the young boy he had pinned to the ground. He turned and saw me but didn¡¯t stop what he was doing. ¡°Get lost,¡± he snarled at me.
Maris Quick-Knife, Gifted- humanoid/human, Mortal, Rank: 47
His eyes widened as he finally bothered to analyze me and see my description. Rage filled me and a dark mist surrounded me as a drop of blood fell from nose. I twisted my fingers and he rose into the air as gripped his body with telekinesis; I had to fight the urge to make a fist and just crush him into paste. He tried to struggle against me but the difference between my strength and his was night and day. Just like the boy he¡¯d been raping hadn¡¯t been able to escape, neither could he. ¡°I should kill you,¡± I said finding my voice surprisingly calm. ¡°But you haven¡¯t¡¯ done anything to me personally even if you are scum.¡± I looked at the boy as he pulled up his pants his face bloody and wet. ¡°These kids are mine, I protect them without me they¡¯d all be dead,¡± the man said. ¡°That enough out of you,¡± I said pinching my fingers and he gasped for breath. ¡°Has this happened before?¡± I asked the boy he had no description above his head. ¡°Yes,¡± he said looking at me with just as much fear as he had the other man. I could understand why, if you were afraid of one monster how would you view the thing that was infinitely more powerful than it. I pulled one of my spearheads out of my storage pouch and handed it over to the boy. ¡°Take this,¡± I said. He did as he was told, looking at the spike uncertainly. ¡°What¡­¡± ¡°Kill him,¡± I said. The man¡¯s and boys¡¯ eyes widened in shock at my words. ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± the boy said. I knelt before the boy and removed my helmet. ¡°If you don¡¯t kill him I will let him go, this will happen again. Even if I were to kill him someone else would take his place,¡± I said my voice gentle. ¡°You are weak, he is strong until you are strong you will always be at the mercy of people like me and him and there is little mercy to be found.¡± The boy looked at the stone dagger uncertainly. ¡°I¡¯ve never¡­I¡¯ve never killed nobody.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t take power now you will always be powerless,¡± I said looking at the other children huddled in the back of grungy warehouse. ¡°If not for yourself, do it for them, they need someone to protect them; become the protector.¡± The boy steeled himself, his hand trembling, I brough the man¡¯s neck lower and he struggled against my grasp. ¡°Do it,¡± I said pointing to the spot on his neck where his vein was. ¡°Right there.¡± The stone dagger plunged down and scarlet blood sprayed across the boy¡¯s face, and he stumbled back. The transformation was immediate as a description immediately popped over his head.
Kalin, Gifted- humanoid/human*, Mortal, Rank: 1
¡°Well done,¡± I said laying a hand on his shoulder and he flinched but didn¡¯t pull away. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked me. ¡°I am Mordred,¡± I said. --- Arthur spun to the side dodging the holy spear as it thrust past his head. The angelic warriors in the dungeon dived in and out of combat. Lancelot and Kay were behind him watching his back sweat and blood dripped down their skin and armor as they faced off against the creatures of the Hero rank dungeon. ¡°We¡­really¡­shouldn¡¯t¡­.be¡­.doing¡­.this,¡± Kay said through labored breaths as he unleashed his spear skills to rain down spears from the heaven. ¡°We have to,¡± Arthur said. ¡°You saw the Warlord, he¡¯s way more powerful than his rank accounts for. I killed him again and again, but we were still the ones who lost.¡± Arthur dodged the next angel and drove his sword through its back his blade ignoring their armor as if were just a hard cheese. Lancelot let loose one of his abilities, a glow surrounding him, Kay and Arthur boosting their defenses. They stopped to pant and rest as the bodies of the angelic beings around them bleed golden ichor into the stone of the marble halls around them. ¡°I¡¯m surprised your father let you do this,¡± Kay said. ¡°Even with all of us being Champions this is a bit suicidal.¡± ¡°There are benefits to being the crown prince and a Champion,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I love my father but sometimes even he must bow to the will of someone else. Viviane herself gave me permission to do whatever I have to win.¡± ¡°But the Warlord¡¯s dead now,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°Yes,¡± Arthur agreed though his words lacked conviction. Everyone was so sure Mordred was dead, but he harbored doubts that wouldn¡¯t be stilled until he saw his body. ¡°Then why go through with it?¡± Kay asked. ¡°Mordred isn¡¯t the only threat to our Kingdom, he¡¯s not the only Chaos Champion,¡± Arthur said. ¡°And his army is still out there, that dragon and women who fought with him. Mordred did teach me one thing; I need to be stronger if I¡¯m going to save others.¡± Chapter 134: The Apprentice I sucked the remains of the man underground so the kids wouldn¡¯t have to keep looking at it. I reinforced the walls of the warehouse and sat down at bench and table I created. I pulled out some rations from my storage pouch. The sight of food overcame the fear holding the other children back and they fell on the food. The sight of them moved me, I hadn¡¯t had the easiest childhood but compared to their lives nothing I had experienced growing up in the foster system was as bad as what they had to endure. ¡°How old are you?¡± I asked. ¡°Twelve,¡± Kalin said uncertainly. I considered the ethical implications of turning a twelve-year-old boy into a killer but pushed it aside. This world would have done far worse to this boy without me ever having met him; in a world divided into prey and predators seek to be the predator. A howl from outside reminded me of my charge. ¡°Wait here,¡± I told Kalin. ¡°I will return soon but I have to deal with someone else.¡± I walked out of the warehouse and found Aisha standing nervously in the pack of thirteen hounds which all faced outwards circling around her and growling. Guard this building, I ordered them telepathically. Anyone older than a child isn¡¯t allowed inside. ¡°Lets go,¡± I said to Aisha. ¡°What was it?¡± Aisha asked. ¡°Just a cat,¡± I lied. I could tell Aisha didn¡¯t believe me but she didn¡¯t press any farther. I escorted her to row of narrow houses all connected one to another in what was a serious fire hazard. The houses weren¡¯t wealthy, but they at least looked maintained unlike most of the other buildings in this district. ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow,¡± I said to Aisha. ¡°Do you want to come in for some tea?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯m sure my family would love to¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to get to close to me,¡± I cut her off. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you anything except that I¡¯m more than what I seem. The closer you are to me, the more you know the more danger you will put yourself in.¡± ¡°I can take care of myself,¡± Aisha said with a bit of fire and defiance that surprised me. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you do have a spine, but you are incorrect,¡± I said. ¡°Against the things I face you are just an ant they won¡¯t even notice when they squash you.¡± I turned my back on her and disappeared into the darkness of the street. Now that I was alone I could move much faster, I wasn¡¯t wearing my boots but I still had a superhuman speed Attribute and took off running. In less than a minute I was back in front of the warehouse, my hounds only had a few minutes left on their duration. I stepped into the warehouse looking at the scrawny children. Reaching into my storage pouch I pulled out my stack of dried rations. The children still looked terrified of me but hunger overcame their fear as they began stuffing their mouths like starving wolves. ¡°Is this where you live?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Kalin said in between mouthfuls of food. ¡°Where are your parents?¡± I asked. ¡°Mum died last year,¡± he said. ¡°And your father?¡± I questioned him, pulling out more food for them to eat. Kalin looked a bit ashamed. ¡°Ran off when my mum was pregnant,¡± he said. I was silent for awhile letting them finish eating as I sat in thought. What was I going to do with these kids? Should I do anything at all? The moral answer to that last question was obviously yes but I hadn¡¯t made a habit of just doing things based on morality, but I also hadn¡¯t gone out of my way to go against it either. What could I do? My position in this world was tenuous, I was the Warlord and war was pretty much the only thing I had to offer anyone. Would doing anything more for these children actually help them or would I just drag them into even more suffering? I didn¡¯t have an answer to these questions. My actions had almost always been reactionary and in the moment with little thought of consequences or the future; thinking of the lives of these children and holding responsibility for them was¡­overwhelming. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked Kalin as he finished eating. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Kalin said. ¡°I want¡­to be safe.¡± ¡°Well, I can¡¯t give you that,¡± I said with a wry smile. ¡°No one can, you are one of the Gifted now, your life will be defined by either how well you can kill or whoever kills you to try and take your power for themselves.¡± Kalin looked suddenly worried. ¡°What do I do?¡± he asked. ¡°Kill them first,¡± I said. I looked at the other children, I could give them food and maybe shelter, but they weren¡¯t fighters, I could see it in their eyes. Kalin was different than them, he had defiance, rage, and hunger for survival. With that cut of the knife, I had set him on a new course in life; I should at the very least give him the training he would need to complete it. ¡°If you want,¡± I said. ¡°I will take you as my apprentice.¡± ¡°What is your trade?¡± Kalin asked. I gave him a grim smile. ¡°Destruction.¡± --- I made a separate cot for my new apprentice and sat down across from him a stone table in the center of my room. A sheet of parchment sat between us. ¡°Can you read?¡± I asked him. ¡°No,¡± Kalin said. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be able to,¡± I said. ¡°This is a contract, a blood pact, if you sign it you will be magically compelled to obey the terms you agree to. You agree never to reveal my true name to anyone without my permission, to never betray me and to never side against me. The terms for me is that I must protect you to the best of my ability, to provide you with food, shelter, and training and to never betray your or use you as sacrifice. Do you agree to the terms?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Kalin said with no hesitation. I held out a knife to him. ¡°Cut your finger and press it here,¡± I said pointing to a section on the parchment. He did so and I cut my own finger signing my part of the blood pact. I felt the magical bindings constrict around me. Rolling up the parchment I put it into my storage pouch and stood up. ¡°Get some sleep apprentice,¡± I said. ¡°We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.¡± I closed my eyes and drifted off, but my rest was not without its disturbance. -- A blade slashed down at me from my right. I fought against three dozen dark armored figures in a forest. Black mist rose from my skin as I had to pull out the stops to defend myself. Bodies went flying as my blades and claws cut my opponents to pieces. The red light of Clarent toppled trees burning to the ground. The leader of the assassins gasped in pain as I rammed Clarent through his chest, he turned to a blood mist and disappeared into the ground. All of the sudden a cage of lightning surrounded me as a portal opened in front of me. ¡°Mordred,¡± the man said his features vary familiar to me even though I had never met him before. ¡°You reveal yourself here in the heart of my kingdom, a very foolish decision on your part.¡± ¡°You must be Merlin,¡± I said. ¡°Indeed,¡± Merlin said. ¡°Your time with my daughter has taught you well, but that time is at an end.¡± The cage of lightning closed in I resisted the electrical damage, but a blinding sword of silver light slashed down. I tried teleporting, absorbing all the lightning, ripping myself free, turning incorporeal but none of it worked and the blade cut me in two. -- My eyes snapped open as I sucked in a deep breath. I hadn¡¯t had a vision in a while, but it was back to foreseeing my own death. The outcome could be changed but I wasn¡¯t sure what had caused that scenario in the first place. Why was I walking around in a forest? Who were those dark armored figures? Why had Merlin shown up at the end? None of it made sense. I slowed the beating of my heart as I closed my eyes again. I wasn¡¯t trying to sleep this time but to think and try to come up with answers and solutions to my problems and questions. --- Arthur blocked the sword strike and side stepped spinning his opponent around. His leg tripped him up and Lord Harris fell to the ground with Arthur¡¯s sword at his neck. ¡°I yield,¡± Lord Harris said. Arthur held out a hand and helped him to his feet. ¡°Well fought,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I look forward to fighting by your side on the battlefield.¡± ¡°It will be my honor my prince,¡± Lord Harris said bowing. He was a skilled fighter, and his family was very powerful which was why he had been pitted against Arthur to allow his family the honor of competing before the King. Arthur looked up to the royal booth where his father sat, and Lady Lionor stood watching. An empty chair sat beside the King reserved for Guinevere, but he didn¡¯t¡¯ expect to see her in attendance. She never liked any sort of tourneys and with their recent fights she definitely wasn¡¯t going to show up to this one. Arthur stepped into the tunnel and removed his helmet attendants helping him out of his armor and removing his sweat and dirt with a spell. Arthur walked up to the royal booth receiving a nod of approval from his father. ¡°I have matters of state I must attend to,¡± King Arthur said. ¡°Well done my son.¡± The king left and Arthur and Lionor were alone together. Lionor bounced Galahad in her arms. She smiled at him, and Arthur grinned, taking his son from her arms, and holding him up cradling him gently in his arms. Even born with abilities he still felt so fragile in his arms. At that moment he felt all powerful, like he could take on the world and win. A messenger ran into the room looking around. ¡°Is the king here?¡± he asked. ¡°He just left,¡± Arthur said. ¡°What message do you have for him?¡± The messenger looked uncertain. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if¡­¡± ¡°I am the heir to the throne,¡± Arthur said his voice commanding. ¡°Anything you would say to my father I have the authority to here as well.¡± ¡°There was an attack on the western province of Camelot,¡± the messenger said regaining his breath. ¡°They overwhelmed the defenders and took the defenses. They only got one message out before being completely overrun but they saw the description of their leader.¡± ¡°And?¡± Arthur asked although he felt he already knew the answer. ¡°The Warlord, he is alive,¡± the messenger said. Chapter 135: A Dark Mirror I blocked the heavy downswing of the halberd stepping in and headbutting the knight in the face. He stumbled back and I kicked his knee spinning behind him and kicking the back of his other knee sending him to the ground. The tip of my sword pressed to the back of his neck. ¡°I yield,¡± he grunted, and I stepped back letting him get to his feet. This had been my second match of the day and had gone like all the others. Kalin stood with Aisha in the tunnel watching me. Aisha had looked at him strangely at first, but my one sentence explaining his presence, ¡°This is my apprentice,¡± had been enough to satisfy her curiosity. I exited the arena and sat down taking off my helmet. Kalin handed me a canteen of water and I downed its contents. ¡°What did you learn?¡± I asked Kalin. ¡°I was supposed to learn something?¡± Kalin asked. ¡°You were watching the fight, weren¡¯t you?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Kalin said. ¡°Then what did you learn about how to fight?¡± I asked. ¡°Well¡­¡± Kalin said hesitantly. ¡°He only fought with his weapon. ¡°You hit from multiple directions at once and he couldn¡¯t stop you.¡± ¡°So, what does that tell you?¡± I asked. ¡°That you shouldn¡¯t just use your weapon?¡± he asked. ¡°Are you asking me or telling me?¡± I said a saying my sensei had used a lot on me when I was learning karate growing up. Kalin was silent for a bit, and I wasn¡¯t sure if he would get it. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t just use your weapons,¡± he said a bit more confidence. ¡°Good,¡± I said. ¡°Always speak and act with confidence, weakness is like blood in the water those around you will smell it and will try to destroy you.¡± ¡°How many more fight for the day?¡± I asked Aisha. ¡°One more at the end of the day,¡± she said. ¡°They¡¯re running out of fighters in your rank bracket they can just throw at you without causing a stir among the nobility.¡± ¡°Take this,¡± I said handing her a rectangular stone. ¡°It can be used to contact me if they try any more shenanigans. Kalin come with me we need to do some training.¡± -- I took him below ground through a manhole entrance I¡¯d seen before. One of the first spells I¡¯d ever learned could pinpoint gifted around me and I was getting an unusual number below ground. Kalin was wearing leather armor I¡¯d made for him a small round shield on his left hand and a short doubled bladed sword in his right. His ability was to turn invisible but at rank one it only lasted for five seconds and used almost all his mana. We walked along the sewer edge, I had to basically turn off my perception to keep from being overwhelmed by the rancid sewer water. ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± Kalin asked me looking around nervously. ¡°To test yourself, to survive,¡± I said. I spotted a group of rats approaching us and stopped crossing my arms as I examined them. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Dire Rat, Gifted- beast/dire-rat, Mortal Rank: 5
There were three of the brutes, given their level disparity Kalin couldn¡¯t fight them all at once. ¡°Hell-dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said creating a cage of stone around the two rats in the back. ¡°Fight,¡± I told Kalin. ¡°You have five minutes to finish off the first before I release another one.¡± The rat charged Kaling letting out a piercing screech as it launched itself at him. It was about half the boy¡¯s size and Kalin panicked hiding behind his shield. The rat latched onto his shield and yanked Kalin to the ground. ¡°Help me!¡± Kalin screamed. ¡°Help yourself,¡± I said no emotion in my voice. ¡°You won¡¯t always have me, if you cannot learn to save yourself you will always be at the mercy of others.¡± Kalin slashed wildly with his sword and cut across the rat¡¯s flank. It squealed in pain rearing back and launched itself at Kalin biting into his shoulder he screamed, and his fight instinct finally kicked in and he buried the sword into its neck. The rat stumbled backwards taking his sword with him as it fell to the ground thrashing before going still. ¡°Well done,¡± I said kneeling beside Kalin drawing a knife and slashing it across my palm spilling my blood to heal his wounds. Kalin panted the fear slowly fading from his face to be replaced by a look of triumph. ¡°Now,¡± I said my voice hardening again. ¡°Pick up your sword again, you have two more to kill.¡± -- Kalin and I sat back in our tent. I had used my cleansing cloth to wipe the filth and smell of the sewer off both of us and we sat in a meditation pose facing each other. ¡°Other gifted all take drugs when they rank up,¡± I explained to him. ¡°It is incredibly painful and will only grow more so with each rank you increase your attributes by. However, if you can withstand the pain and raise all your attributes past twenty without using these drugs the system will award you with a title. Titles are what separates a truly powerful gifted from another. Even if they have more deadly abilities than you if your titles are better you will win.¡± ¡°I think I understand,¡± Kalin said. ¡°More titles mean someone is a better fighter.¡± ¡°Correct,¡± I said handing him a leather strap. ¡°When you¡¯re ready to rank up bite on this. Only raise your powers one rank at a time, I learned that mistake the hard way.¡± Kalin nodded his head and bit down on the thick piece of leather. ¡°Raise Silent Shadow by one rank,¡± he told the system beneath the mouthful of leather. He screamed around the leather binding, but I didn¡¯t do anything to stop it. Only through pain could Kalin excise his weaknesses to become who he was meant to be. --- The last few fights had all been disappointments. Good fighters all, but none good enough. ¡°Guinevere?¡± a soft female voice asked behind her. Guinevere turned around and saw Mira. The winged woman stepped forward enveloping her in a hug. ¡°Guinevere!¡± Mira said. ¡°It¡¯s so good to see you!¡± ¡°Mira,¡± Guinevere said warmly surprised to see how much seeing her friend again made her feel better even with their last interactions. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again, what are you doing here in Camelot?¡± Mira cheeks flushed as she smiled brightly. ¡°Lancelot came to see me Luminara, we¡¯re betrothed now.¡± ¡°That so good he hear,¡± Guinevere said feeling happy for Mira even as it felt like a dagger twisted in her chest at the reminder of her loss. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Mira asked, picking up on Guinevere¡¯s emotions. ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I just¡­I recently lost someone close to me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that,¡± Mira said. ¡°Did they die in the fighting in Dracon?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Guinevere said cliptly not wanting to say anymore, she couldn¡¯t truly confide in anyone. ¡°This is my friend Vone,¡± Mira said pulling another woman forwards. ¡°We fought together against the Warlord in the Event.¡± ¡°I heard you were Mordred¡¯s prisoner,¡± Vone said placing a comforting hand on Guinevere¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to go through that.¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t like that!¡± Guinevere snapped her teeth gritting together. She let out a breath. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve¡­ I¡¯ve been going through a lot. Tell me more about you and Lancelot, Mira, when is the wedding?¡± ¡°We planned on having it after yours,¡± Mira said. ¡°I know this event is all for you and don¡¯t want to upstage you.¡± ¡°I¡¯d actually prefer if you did,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I personally would rather not be involved in any of this.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to marry Arthur?¡± Mira asked. ¡°But why, you to look so beautiful together.¡± ¡°He already has a woman,¡± Guinevere said coldly. ¡°Oh,¡± Vone and Mira said an awkward silence forming between the three women. ¡°So,¡± Mira said steering the conversation in a different direction. ¡°Vone, you¡¯ve been seeing someone recently I hear.¡± ¡°I have,¡± Vone said. ¡°Although he¡¯s playing hard to get, but he¡¯s just my type.¡± Guinevere¡¯s handmaidens formed a circle around them as they walked and chatted Guinevere¡¯s mind drifting to matters of more importance. Chapter 136: He Lives I blocked the swing of Vone¡¯s glaive and knocked her back stepping in and tripping her with my leg my sword resting at her neck. Stepping back, I helped Vone to her feet. ¡°You¡¯re very good,¡± she complimented me. ¡°I was wondering if you wanted to go out and get something to eat later today.¡± I sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt your feelings but again, I¡¯m here to win the hand of Guinevere.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just dinner,¡± Vone said looking at me with puppy eyes. My voice turned hard. ¡°I am many things, few of them good, but above all I am loyal to my word; don¡¯t try that shit on me, we both know your not just interested in having dinner.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± Vone said some of the smile fading from her face. ¡°You act like your already together.¡± ¡°Cheating starts in the heart first,¡± I said turning my back on her. ¡°I¡¯ve been cheated on before and believe me its not something I intend on inflicting on someone else.¡± ¡°Your happy to train with me,¡± Vone pointed out. ¡°Happy might be stretching it,¡± I said. ¡°And regardless of your intentions this is just training. I need to prepare for my duels tomorrow. If you can keep things between us purely business than we can keep training together but that¡¯s all this will ever be.¡± I left Vone and returned to my tent. Kalin was already asleep exhausted from the training I had put him through today. I didn¡¯t lie down but sat cross-legged, closing my eyes and falling into a meditative trance. I had three duels scheduled for tomorrow, and while I was certain I could beat them I would take no chances when it came to losing Guinevere. -- With a swing of the hilt of his sword he stunned the other knight and he crumpled to the ground. The knight raised his sword into the air and the crowd cheered his victory. Guinevere sighed, another decent display of prowess but again it was not what she needed. She got up leaving the stands her handmaidens shadowing her every step. She wandered the tourney ground. The hustle and bustle of knights and attendants froze wherever she passed their gazes following her a feeling of animalistic hunger in the air. The stillness around her was disconcerting and she nearly jumped when a roar sounded. She settled herself as the cheers of the crowd subsided. ¡°What was that?¡± Guinevere asked the tourney attendant who walked by her side. The attendant checked their clipboard and their expression soured. ¡°Sir Ismael, he¡¯s some backwoods knight that has been causing us trouble¡­¡± ¡°Did you say Ismael?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Yes,¡± the attendant said. ¡°It¡¯s an unusual name I hadn¡¯t really heard before, have you heard of him before.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Guinevere said not daring to hope. ¡°He¡¯s fighting now?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the attendant said. ¡°But my lady this arena is not reputable enough for a woman of your standing, these are just the common fights to pad out the tourney its¡­¡± ¡°I will be fine,¡± Guinevere said dismissing his concerns. ¡°I want to see this knight.¡± She walked up the steps into the stands sitting beside the adjudicator. Her handmaidens looked uncomfortable at the lack of a private viewing box. Below a knight in shining silver armor fought another night in full flat grey plate armor. The silver knight had a mace and shield while the grey knight only wielded a single wicked looking gauntlet-sword. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. He advanced on the silver knight like an unstoppable force; the silver armored knight ducked and dodged his strikes but slowed bit by bit while the other never stopped his advance. The knight in silver armor stumbled for only an instant but it was to late already. The grey knight stepped forward blocking the wild swing of his mace and his other hand grabbed the edge of the other¡¯s shield. Using his grip on the shield he yanked his arm straight and used to it swing the man around. Flipping him over his back the silver knight hit the ground helmet first with the force of a catapult. He lay on the ground dazed, and the grey knight kicked him in the head knocking him unconscious. Guinevere looked down at the knight in his grey armor as he stood over his fallen opponent. He looked tilted his head to look up at the adjudicator. ¡°Next,¡± he said his voice painfully familiar and something inside Guinevere that she had thought dead pushed itself back up. Guinevere heard the adjudicator¡¯s teeth grind. ¡°This is what I meant about his insolence; don¡¯t worry we¡¯ll find someone to put him in his¡­¡± ¡°I want to meet him,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Don¡¯t schedule any more fights with him for today.¡± ¡°My lady he is a common hedge knight,¡± the adjudicator protested. ¡°Are you questioning me?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°No, I would never I merely¡­¡± the man stammered. ¡°Than do as I said,¡± Guinevere commanded. ¡°I¡¯m going to meet him below the stands make sure my meeting is undisturbed.¡± She practically ran down the steps pushing into the servant and staff hall as she raced to the fighter¡¯s tunnel. Her hands worried at the skirt of her dress as she watched the portcullis roll up and the knight stride into the darkness below the stands. Her ladies in waiting raced to catch up with her and a female attendant waited for the knight. He froze when he saw her and bowed. ¡°Princess,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again.¡± He removed his helmet and she looked at his face, the harsh angles of his face and the scars across his left eye unmistakable. She had to hold herself back from flinging herself into his arms. ¡°I wish to speak to this knight alone,¡± she said. ¡°All of you leave us and wait outside.¡± ¡°My lady that isn¡¯t proper¡­¡± one of her handmaidens protested. ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking,¡± Guinevere said her voice flat, cold with no room for argument. The women all left and she and Mordred were alone. He twisted his fingers muttering under his breath and a shimmering field surrounded them. ¡°That will keep out any spies or eavesdroppers,¡± he said. Guinevere lunged forwards wrapped her arms around his neck. ¡°I thought you were dead,¡± she sobbed. ¡°What?¡± he said. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I saw that archangel blasting you to ashes and then the scrying mirror went dark,¡± she said. ¡°After that I couldn¡¯t scry you for a week, what happened?¡± ¡°Stupid anti-scrying field,¡± Mordred muttered. ¡°I was incapacitated after the raid,¡± he said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t conscious for that week; I survived but barely, but I promised to come for you and I don¡¯t go back on my word.¡± Guinevere pressed her lips against his tasting the salt of his sweat. The kiss wasn¡¯t soft or tender but desperate and hungry. He returned the kiss, and she resented the armor in between her and him. She finally pulled away looking into his dark eyes and felt safer than she had in weeks. ¡°I have to tell you something,¡± she said. ¡°What?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m pregnant,¡± Guinevere said. --- The words hit me like a truck, and I was stunned. ¡°Your sure?¡± was all I could think of asking. ¡°Yes,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°What¡¯s wrong you look¡­ I don¡¯t know, scared?¡± ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t know,¡± I said my emotions reeling. ¡°Mordred you need get me out of here,¡± she said. ¡°If Arthur finds out he could have our baby killed.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let that happen,¡± I said. ¡°But your sure?¡± ¡°Yes I¡¯m sure,¡± Guinevere said angrily. ¡°Why do you keep asking that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ I¡¯m just¡­ I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m ready to be a father,¡± I said. ¡°Why not?¡± Guinevere asked me. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to be a father,¡± I said. ¡°Every relationship I¡¯ve been in I¡¯ve destroyed I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t do that to our baby. I¡¯m not ready.¡± ¡°Our baby needs a father,¡± Guinevere said releasing her hold around me and stepping back. ¡°I love you Mordred but this baby¡­ its more important than either of us. If you aren¡¯t ready to be its father than I¡¯ll have to find someone who is.¡± Her face looked heart broken and angry as she whirled around. She stormed out and I wanted to pull her back but couldn¡¯t find the words to convince her. I didn¡¯t have the words to convince myself right then. Aisha came back into the room and looked at my face warily. ¡°Are you alright?¡± she asked. ¡°I need to think,¡± I said opening a portal stepping through and closing it behind me. Chapter 137: My Greatest Fear I appeared back in my tent, Kalin sitting at the table there his finger tracing the words on the page that Mab had. I¡¯d started to teach him to read and had Mab giving him lessons while I was dueling. I sagged onto my cot more emotionally exhausted then physically. What¡¯s¡­ Karnen started to ask. ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me,¡± I said. ¡°I just need to think.¡± I was going to be a father. While I had always known it was something that would happen eventually, I had never thought about what I would do when it did. My thoughts raced a million miles a minute returning again and again to my own father. Standing up I began pacing around the tent. Kalin looked up from the grimoire in front of him follow my movements. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Kalin asked. ¡°I just need to get some things settled in my head?¡± I said. ¡°Can I help you?¡± he asked. The thought was laughable but as I looked at the boy, I just saw myself. He was about the same age as I had been when I entered into the foster care system and had that same wary angry look about him that I had but it was different, his eyes didn¡¯t hold the same fury just a sullen hungry glint. ¡°Did you ever know your father?¡± I asked him sitting back down on my cot facing him. ¡°No,¡± Kalin said hanging his head. ¡°That bothers you?¡± I asked, needing to know the answer to this question. ¡°What if he was a monster? What if he would have hurt you worse than anyone else, would you still want to know him?¡± Kalin was silent, but he nodded. ¡°I¡¯d want to know; I¡¯d want to know why.¡± ¡°I knew my father,¡± I said. ¡°I tried to kill him when I was maybe a year younger than you are now.¡± ¡°Why?¡± he asked. I shrugged. ¡°He was hurting my mother, and I didn¡¯t know how to stop him. Ultimately, we all learn from our fathers, even if we pick up the wrong lessons; my father taught me that might made right and so when it came to stopping him I only knew one way to do so.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Did you¡­¡± he asked with morbid curiosity. ¡°Kill him? No, I didn¡¯t but it didn¡¯t matter, I was removed and didn¡¯t see him again until I was almost an adult,¡± I said. ¡°But I never forgot, and I still haven¡¯t forgiven. He made me feel like something was wrong with me and the worst part is I think he might have been right.¡± My words seemed to affect Kalin as his face became saddened. ¡°Do you think there is something wrong with us too?¡± he asked. ¡°Is that why our dads didn¡¯t¡­¡± he couldn¡¯t finish the sentence. ¡°Do you know what a generational cycle is?¡± I asked. ¡°Of course you don¡¯t, it¡¯s when the pain inflicted on your parents is passed down to their children who pass it on to theirs. You never knew your father, chances are someday you¡¯ll get a girl pregnant, leave her and your kid will grow up never knowing his.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t!¡± he protested. I laughed but there was no joy in it. ¡°It¡¯s easy to say, a lot harder to stop. You and I, we never got the lessons we were supposed to get. We were never taught what it was to be a good man, much less to be a good father. I¡¯m going to be a father and my biggest fear is I¡¯ll end up being just like mine,¡± I said. ¡°I keep thinking I¡¯ve moved passed it, but it just rolls back on me again and again.¡± ¡°You can do it,¡± the boy said, and I could see the hero worship in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I can,¡± I said standing up pushing back and walking out of the tent. ¡°I need some air keep studying.¡± My feet wandered aimlessly as my thoughts raced memories playing through my mind on endless repeat. I found myself walking through the palace gardens. I sat down on a marble bench looking out over the ponds and vibrant flowers. My head jerked around when I caught a familiar scent. He¡¯s here, Voidra said. I detect no aggression from him he is unaware of you. Arthur walked on the opposite side of a pond of water a blonde-haired woman on his arm. She was pushing a baby stroller, and I could see the joy on both their faces. My eyes followed Arthur and what I took to be his mistress. He lifted up the baby and I saw the pride, joy, and protectiveness on his face. It was strange to understand and empathize with my enemy in that moment, but I felt something click into place watching him and his son. I had taken in a child to guide and mentor; I wouldn¡¯t say I had adopted him, but it was undeniable that I had taken a sort of father figure role in his life. I hadn¡¯t done much for Kalin and already he viewed me as someone I wasn¡¯t. I¡¯d made him kill someone and dragged him into life and death in the sewers below the city, but he looked at me like I was some sort of savior. In his eyes I was someone I wasn¡¯t, but I¡¯d like to be the man he and Guinevere thought I was. I stood up. The fear still weighed down on me, but I had survived death itself to get to Guinevere, she was right though; that baby was more important than either of us. I wouldn¡¯t be my father but the first step to doing that was being a father. That meant I had to save Guinevere first, no matter the cost to myself or others. Chapter 138: Im Ready Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the arena. I wasn¡¯t nervous about the fight but more about what this all symbolized, the stakes had been raised even higher; I fought not just for Guinevere now but my unborn child. ¡°Are you ready?¡± the adjudicator asked me. I looked up to where Guinevere was watching me from her private viewing box. ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± I said to her. My opponent charged me. Sidestepping I slashed at his knees, when he lowered his shield to block, I hit him with a right hook. He staggered back and I caught him across the face with the backhand of my gauntlet sword. Kicking him in the gut I knocked him on his ass and kicked his helmet three times before he went limp. Rolling my shoulders, I settled myself as I looked up at the Adjudicator. He ground his teeth but nodded and marked something on the chart in front of him. ¡°Excuse me,¡± Guinevere said loud enough for all to hear. ¡°I can¡¯t help but notice that you haven¡¯t moved Ismael up in the brackets, may I know the reason for this?¡± The Adjudicator flushed. ¡°My lady I¡­¡± ¡°How long have you been doing this?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I¡¯ve looked into how many fights Ismael has participated in; based on their number and frequency he should have moved up five brackets by now.¡± ¡°My lady he is only a commoner,¡± the adjudicator said so low that only Gifted with high Perception attributes would have been able to hear him. ¡°You will obey the rules of the Tourney,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I may not have the political power to have you executed for this treason, but I do have the personal power to do so myself. This tourney is being fought because of me and I will not see the rules so blatantly ignored right in front of me.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t happen again,¡± The Adjudicator said bowing his head. ¡°I hope so, for your sake,¡± Guinevere said standing up and leaving. I passed into the tunnel below the stands. Kalin had an excited look on his face and I could feel the energy bubbling off him. ¡°That was incredible, you were so fast!¡± he chattered away. ¡°One day you¡¯ll be just as fast,¡± I said holing out my fist to him he flinched for a second looking at it confused. ¡°It¡¯s a fist bump,¡± I explained. ¡°Tap your knuckles against mine.¡± He did so and his body relaxed again. The sweet smell of jasmine entered the room as Guinevere walked in. Aisha had already exited so it was just the three of us. Guinevere looked at Kalin confused. ¡°Who is this?¡± she asked. ¡°This is Kalin,¡± I said. ¡°He is my apprentice; he knows who I am and can be trusted.¡± ¡°Pleased to meet you,¡± Guinevere said extending her hand and shaking his. ¡°It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance my lady,¡± Kalin said haltingly and bowing awkwardly. ¡°Did Aisha teach you to do that?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Kalin said. ¡°She said it was important, isn¡¯t it?¡± He asked me. ¡°To some people,¡± I said extending my arm to Guinevere. ¡°Lets go out.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± she asked. ¡°It will put more scrutiny on you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± I said. ¡°I miss you; we haven¡¯t had a proper conversation with each other in weeks.¡± ¡°What do you want to do then?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Lets go out for dinner,¡± I said. Guinevere rested her arm atop mine as we stepped out into the sunshine. We walked through the rows of tents and temporary buildings passing out the tourney grounds into the city proper. Guinevere pointed out an establishment and we sat down inside. The air felt cool inside, and I realized it had the magical equivalent of air conditioning. ¡°What do you want to eat?¡± Guinevere asked me. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve mostly just eaten monster since I got¡­here.¡± I stopped myself from saying to this world. We were in a public place and I needed to watch the way I worded things. ¡°What do you recommend.¡± ¡°Monster meat can actually be pretty good if its prepared right,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Wyvern steak is one of my favorites.¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯ll try that if they have it here,¡± I said. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Guinevere waved the waiter over and gave him our choices then turned back to me. I stratched some runes onto the underside of the table blocking out eavesdropping from those around us. ¡°We can speak privately now,¡± I said. ¡°How are you so calm here?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Your in Camelot the base of the most powerful kingdom in the world. There are at least half a dozen champions here not including Arthur.¡± ¡°Because they all lack imagination,¡± I said shrugging. ¡°Everyone expects me to be the Warlord, to act as the Warlords of the past have acted. Infiltration is something they expect from the Thief or Assassin they just can¡¯t fathom someone like me doing it.¡± ¡°What about the ones that have met you?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t classify our encounters as meetings,¡± I said. ¡°All they¡¯ve ever seen of me is dark barbarian because that all they wanted to see.¡± ¡°What happened during the raid?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I was scrying you and it went dark. I thought you died, I kept trying to scry you for days afterwards and it didn¡¯t work; Arthur told me even the gods think your dead.¡± ¡°All the gods pooled their resources to arrange a series of raids and World Bosses to kill me and my army,¡± I explained to her. ¡°You must have seen the archangel world boss? I had one of my vassals block all scrying in the area so I could use all my abilities without letting my enemies know what I was doing.¡± ¡°But how did you fool the gods?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°That¡¯s thanks to the System,¡± I said. ¡°It turns out it didn¡¯t like the massive amount of interference from the gods with the competition so it gave me a boon to balance out the scales. I picked an option that makes it impossible for even gods to scry on me.¡± ¡°So they only know as much as the rest of us,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°What happens if they scry on someone next to you though?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure?¡± I said shrugging. ¡°It didn¡¯t come with a lot of details; I assume the system blurs me out or obfuscates my presence somewhat. What about you? What¡¯s new with you?¡± ¡°My father wasn¡¯t happy with my disappearance,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I was ordered to go to Camelot, and I have to be seen in public with Arthur. I didn¡¯t know I was pregnant until about a week ago, the woman who was my governess growing up is now the palace¡¯s head physician.¡± ¡°Does she know who the father is?¡± I asked. Guinevere nodded. ¡°I told her, I thought you were dead.¡± ¡°Can she be trusted to keep her mouth shut?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Physicians all have immunity from compulsion even from the crown. The problem is others who have met you. Mira is here, so is Lancelot, Kay and Vone.¡± ¡°I know,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°She¡¯s been trying to seduce me for a few days, I¡¯ve tried putting her off, but it just seems to make her more determined.¡± Guinevere¡¯s hand tightened on the knife cutting her steak. ¡°Is she now?¡± she asked coolly. ¡°Don¡¯t kill her,¡± I said. ¡°We don¡¯t need that kind of heat.¡± ¡°Heat?¡± Guinevere questioned me. ¡°It¡¯s a phrase from my world,¡± I said. ¡°It means we don¡¯t need people looking more closely at us.¡± ¡°We¡¯re making a lot of heat eating together in public like this,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Worth the risk,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t respond well to the news yesterday. Its just¡­ I fear becoming my father and actually becoming a father¡­ I was terrified of messing that up.¡± Guinevere took my right hand in her reaching across the table. ¡°You aren¡¯t your father Mordred, I¡¯ve seen you grow and change. You are a better man than you think you are.¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯re right,¡± I said squeezing her hand back. I let go of her hand as our food arrived and we began to eat picking our conversation back up. ¡°What made you change your mind?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Arthur and Kalin,¡± I said. ¡°Arthur?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°I saw him with his mistress and kid, it made me realize that no matter what I¡¯ve done I could still be the man my child needs me to be.¡± ¡°I think¡­¡± Guinevere was saying but someone stepped up to our table breaking the privacy bubble around us. ¡°Lady Guinevere,¡± the man said bowing. ¡°Lord Orven,¡± Guinevere said extending her hand and the man took it bowing low. ¡°How may I help you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disturb you and your¡­ associate,¡± the man said looking at her other hand which was still nested in mine. ¡°But I am hosting a hunt tomorrow, I¡¯ve already invited many other nobles and the Champions visiting our city, but I was wondering if you wished to attend.¡± He is much more interested in you than Guinevere, Voidra said. I think he just came over to examine you more closely. Interesting, I thought back at her. Anything else you can detect? His intensions aren¡¯t good, Voidra said. Greed, vanity are very heavy off him and lust but that¡¯s normal when they¡¯re around Guinevere. I see, I thought darkly focusing on his face more clearly. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I will have time tomorrow¡­¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯d love to come along,¡± I said meeting his eyes and watching him flinch away from my gaze. ¡°What are you hunting?¡± ¡°Erymanthian boar,¡± Lord Orven said. ¡°There is a wild herd on my family¡¯s land, of course you are welcome to attend. Having such a rising star among us would be welcome addition.¡± ¡°Excellent,¡± I said flashing him a predatory smile as I took in a deep breath catching his scent in full. ¡°I always love a good fight. If you¡¯ll excuse us Guinevere and I have business elsewhere.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Lord Orven said bowing and stepping back. ¡°I will see you on the morrow?¡± Guinevere and I walked together back to the tourney grounds. ¡°What was all that about?¡± she asked me. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to be assassinated tomorrow,¡± I said. ¡°What? Why?¡± Guinevere asked, her head twisting around to look back the way we came. ¡°That man had Lady Kira¡¯s scent on him,¡± I said. ¡°And we both remember what happened the last time we saw her.¡± ¡°Do you think she has seen you?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°You had a beard at the time but she might still recognize you.¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t been near her since I got here,¡± I said. ¡°But we never found out who was trying to have you assassinated in the first place.¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming with you,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°No,¡± I said firmly. ¡°Yes,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°We¡¯re in this together.¡± ¡°Your pregnant,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not risking you¡­¡± ¡°I can be stoned to death if anyone learns who our baby¡¯s father is,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°The best way you can protect me is to get this over with.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°But keep Kalin with you, I know he¡¯s just Mortal, but I made him one of my vassals and can always tell where he is.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Guinevere said as we reached my tent. She briefly stepped inside with me. Her hands slid around my neck as we kissed. It was as sweet as it was brief, she pulled away a rosy flush on her cheeks before pulling her veil back down and exiting. Being alone with me for long periods was not something her society would tolerate. I turned to see Kalin at his desk studying. ¡°Get up,¡± I told him. ¡°We need to upgrade your equipment.¡± Chapter 139: Knives in the Face ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s a horse,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I know that,¡± I said. ¡°Why am I looking at it?¡± ¡°Because we¡¯re going to ride them,¡± she said giving me a strange look. ¡°This isn¡¯t even gifted,¡± I said gesturing to the horse which was also looking at me with distrust. ¡°I can run fifty times faster than it; It serves no purpose.¡± ¡°Its tradition,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°You know how to ride right?¡± ¡°A motorcycle,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not a caveman why would I know how to ride a horse?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve ridden a dragon,¡± she said. ¡°Hey,¡± Exar growled crossing his arms. ¡°I sat on his back,¡± I said. ¡°He is an intelligent creature and can steer and do all that other stuff for himself.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a horse,¡± Guinevere said swinging herself into the saddle. I sighed and pulled myself into the saddle of my own horse. Kalin was already sitting on the back of his horse and at least I wasn¡¯t alone in looking uncomfortable. Exar stepped back. ¡°It¡¯s best I don¡¯t try to get on one of those things,¡± he said looking at the horse that had been offered to him which was yanking at its bridle trying to flee its eyes rolling in terror as it strained away from him. ¡°I¡¯ll just hang back here.¡± We rode out of the city, and I got a look at the countryside. More nobles joined the procession, I looked around but didn¡¯t spot Vone. Good I wanted to put that off for as long as possible. I did, however, see Sir Kay and Sir Lancelot and stiffened for a moment before forcing myself to relax. ¡°Kalin you are to stay by Lady Guinevere¡¯s side at all times,¡± I said my voice low so as not to carry. ¡°You are her shadow for today, don¡¯t draw attention to yourself just observe and keep yourself safe.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Kalin said. ¡°I can take care of myself,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Remember last time someone tried to assassinate you,¡± I said. ¡°We don¡¯t know who sent them or what their resources are.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Guinevere relented. ¡°We¡¯re going to be surrounded by other nobles though, this is all fake danger on this hunt, not a real fight.¡± ¡°Then I hope I¡¯m right,¡± I said. The procession continued and I felt my spine go straighter and straighter, the hair along the back of my neck standing up as Lancelot and Sir Kay drifted close to us. ¡°Lady Guinevere,¡± Lancelot said, bowing his head to her. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you liked these sort of events.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I just came out to get some fresh air.¡± ¡°And who is your escort?¡± Kay asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve met him before.¡± ¡°Call me Ismael,¡± I said. ¡°How did you two meet?¡± Lancelot asked. ¡°She wants me to fight the prince,¡± I said. ¡°What?¡± Lancelot asked, turning toward Guinevere. ¡°It¡¯s not a secret that Arthur and I haven¡¯t been getting along,¡± Guinevere said with a shrug. ¡°He¡¯s forcing me into this, I warned him I would seek out someone else to replace him.¡± ¡°So, you chose this¡­¡± Kay said gesturing towards me at a loss for words. ¡°Brute, barbarian, hedge knight, savage,¡± I said listing off suggestions for him. ¡°Yes,¡± Kay said flatly. ¡°You don¡¯t seem ashamed of being those things.¡± ¡°Society is often disappointing,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Not being accepted by it isn¡¯t the worst thing that could happen.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re going to fight Arthur and win Guinevere¡¯s hand?¡± Lancelot asked skeptically looking me over. ¡°You think someone like you can take on the Duelist?¡± ¡°You Champions,¡± I said shaking my head. ¡°You think being chosen by some god makes you better than the rest of us ¡°commoners¡±, but I¡¯ve never seen you do anything truly spectacular or worthy of the esteem you think your due.¡± ¡°And what have you done to prove your more than that?¡± Lancelot asked. ¡°When you see me face Arthur you¡¯ll see,¡± I said turning my back on him. ¡°You seem confident you¡¯ll make it that far in the tourney,¡± Lancelot said he looked at the other side of Guinevere where Kalin sat on his horse his eyes sharp and warry. ¡°Who is this boy?¡± ¡°My apprentice,¡± I said. ¡°Why do you have an apprentice?¡± Kay asked. ¡°Because I have something to teach of course,¡± I said. The column of horses entered the tree line and began fanning out. Squires and pages began beating the bushes to flush out prey. A group of knights rode in-between us and my horse spooked and ran off into the trees. I jumped off but was already separated from the group. There is a lot of focus on you, Voidra said. Hungry, aggressive, and anxious as well. I think you might be the target of this assassination this time. ¡°Well, it¡¯s nice to spread the love around,¡± I said brushing pine needles off as I stepped into the brush. The forest around me was familiar and I was reminded of the vision a few nights ago. The dark leather armored assassins, having to go all out and Merlin arriving and killing me. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Bending down I scratched an enchantment into the side of a tree filling it with mana infused gem dust and activating the enchantment. The sounds of the other hunters faded as I went from tree to tree setting up the anti-scrying to cover a wide swathe of the forest. The distant hunting horns grew farther and farther away, and I was actually getting a little bored.
Cymanthia Bush: Type; plant, Rarity: Rare. The berries of this bush contain a mana nullification poison. When a single berry is ingested, for the next twenty-four hours, the target cannot gain, lose, or utilize their mana pool in any way rendering all abilities active and passive that require mana inert for the duration.
The poison was interesting, I couldn¡¯t think of an immediate use for it. Even so I had survived various circumstances thanks to always keeping a wide variety of herbs on me, I uprooted the entire bush placing it into my storage. There were a few hundred of the berries on it and keeping the plant alive would help to keep them fresh for longer. I kept moving for a little while but eventually I¡¯d created a large enough anti-scrying area that I was satisfied. Finally, I sat cross legged and waited. They are here, Voidra said. ¡°You can stop hiding in the shadows now,¡± I said without opening my eyes. I couldn¡¯t feel them with my tremor soles yet or see them with my foresight, but I didn¡¯t doubt Voidra. ¡°You must have very keen ears,¡± a swathe male voice said. The voice was familiar, and I felt the pieces slowly falling into place. ¡°Something like that,¡± I said standing up.
Versu the Bladelord; Gifted- humanoid/human, Exarch, Rank: 1348
¡°Did you lose the Undefeated title or just equip a different one?¡± I asked as I examined his description. ¡°Who are you?¡± Versu asked uneasily as the dark clad assassins surrounded me. ¡°I believe a demonstration would explain better,¡± I said as black mist surrounded me. Red lightning forked out from my left hand and Clarent snapped into my right hand. I jumped forward slashing down as Versu retreated from me. The assassins around me lunged forwards but limbs of void energy formed and lashed out spilling their guts out onto the forest floor. ¡°Warlord,¡± Versu said. ¡°We should have known it was you.¡± He slashed down with his sword, and I blocked sliding across the ground as his higher strength and Attributes clashed with mine. ¡°Not surprised to see me alive?¡± I asked as I casually ducked and twisted around his spinning sword. ¡°Reports of your survival have reached us, you were spotted on the battlefield a few days ago,¡± Versu said blocking a thrust of my spear and a slash of my Thorn and Clarent. ¡°Who sent you after me?¡± I asked. ¡°Sorry,¡± Versu said, and I could tell he was smiling even if I couldn¡¯t see his face. ¡°That privileged information.¡± I blocked the strike of his sword deflected an arrow shot towards my back. Elemental attacks and abilities were unleashed against me some I just tanked others I dodged or turned incorporeal for letting them pass through me. Versu spun around me trying to get at my back, but I had grown far stronger since the last time I had fought him. ¡°You¡¯re an Exarch so you wouldn¡¯t serve someone weaker than you,¡± I mused as I blocked the strikes of his sword. ¡°And the weapon you had was a Camelot artifact implying you have access to someone with high security clearance here.¡± ¡°Careful,¡± Versu warned me. ¡°You don¡¯t know what your pushing against.¡± ¡°Merlin,¡± I said and watched his eyes widen in shock for just a moment. Versu went faster and faster now as he tried to overwhelm me with his speed and strength. ¡°And now you have to die for sure,¡± he growled. ¡°Were we just dancing before?¡± I asked. The two of us were alone now, the other assassins smoking corpses on the ground. Versu launched himself at me his sword a blur as it sang through the air with each slash and swipe. Only Foresight and activating the speed boost on my boots let me stay ahead of the sword and I went all out against him. As the fight ramped up the time to complete it went down, one way or another one of us would probably be dead within the next thirty seconds. --- The distant rumble of thunder was barely audible over the thunder of horse hooves as they harried the Erymanthian boar. Guinevere¡¯s eyes slid back to see Kalin awkwardly yanking on the reins of his horse and keeping close behind her. Mordred had disappeared but she wasn¡¯t too worried about him, the sound of that thunder was probably his doing. Lancelot and Kay were busy luckily charging the boar with long couched spears. She pulled her horse to a stop and watched as the spears hit the boar. It let out a bellow of pain as the boar three times the size of any of their horses tossed the two men off their horses into the air. They weren¡¯t using abilities to hunt it, the boar was only Veteran rank and outnumbered as much as it was abilities would have taken any of the little challenge still left in the hunt. Lancelot rolled to his feet holding out his hand and catching another spear. The boar charged him again and he braced the spear in the ground. The boar hit the spear and then Lancelot sending the champion flying. He hit a tree and it cracked at the base of its trunk. He pushed himself up and staggered forwards before straightening his back with an audible pop. The boar was dead, and the nobles applauded Guinevere joining in for appearances sake. She didn¡¯t feel any real joy in this, the boar wasn¡¯t a hostile monster and had never had a real chance against them. It had known it was dead the moment it saw the hunting party but had struggled and fought to the very end and for that she actually admired it. The gathered around Lancelot congratulating him until their heads twisted the sound of thunder continuing. ¡°What is that sound?¡± Kay asked. --- My back hit a tree and I ducked Versu¡¯s sword slashing through the trunk above my head. My spear stabbed and my swords slashed out and my claws tried to grab the man. Our blood dripped from several wounds across mine and his body. Our movement had slowed down as both of us had our stamina pools almost completely gassed. He slashed down at me from above and I ducked under his slower strike and rammed Clarent through his chest. He looked down at the crimson lightning blade and glared at me. ¡°This isn¡¯t the end of this Warlord,¡± he said. ¡°Merlin will learn of your presence.¡± His body turned to a red mist and began to fly away. ¡°Not this time,¡± I growled holding out my hand. I gripped the particles of mist with Telekinesis drawing it back to me. It was like trying to grab an eel as Versu tried to wriggle and twist out of my grasp. ¡°You can¡¯t hold me,¡± Versu said his voice somehow still audible even as a mist. ¡°This form is immune to all damage, already your fellow hunters will be coming here. Your running out of time.¡± I believed him, this escape method was likely immune to all damage types. But I didn¡¯t plan on blasting it with lightning or fireballs. ¡°Hell-dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said.
Subject is a living creature and cannot be altered by this ability.
I ignored the notification pushing ethereal through ability and into Versu. Whatever had allowed him to speak also let him scream as the void energy flowed through his mist form as I drew it together compressing it into a single solid mass. -- Guinevere followed the rest of the hunting procession as they moved towards where the source of the thunder had come from. They came across a clearing, the bushes and foliage torn up scorch marks marring the ground and trees huge chunks missing from several trunks. ¡°What happened?¡± Kay asked, riding forward to survey the scene as Mordred stood up from where he had been kneeling in the dirt. ¡°There was a fly,¡± Mordred said casually. ¡°You did all this,¡± Kay said gesturing to the clearing around them. ¡°Because of a fly?¡± he asked disbelievingly. ¡°It was an annoying fly,¡± Mordred said with a shrug. ¡°Did I miss the hunt?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Kay said flatly turning his back on him and riding off. Guinevere rode forwards holding the halter for his horse. Mordred and the horse glared at each other for a minute, but he reluctantly pulled himself into the saddle. ¡°What did you find?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I figured out who tried to have you killed last time,¡± I said. ¡°They were after me this time, but I got some stuff out of them before¡­ you know.¡± ¡°Who was it?¡± Guinevere asked as we rode alone deeper into the forest farther away from the rest of the hunting party. ¡°Not here,¡± Mordred said. ¡°You¡¯re going to want to be somewhere private when I tell you.¡± Chapter 140: ....and Find Out Guinevere and Mordred sat down in his tent; her handmaidens hadn¡¯t been happy to be ordered to stay outside but Guinevere had been adamant. Kalin stood guard at the tent flap. Mordred held Guinevere¡¯s hands in his as he struggled internally with how to break the news. ¡°There isn¡¯t a good way to say this,¡± Mordred said his voice somber. ¡°The assassins were sent by your father.¡± Guinevere didn¡¯t protest or nay say him she just sat in silence. ¡°It makes sense,¡± she said finally. ¡°My marriage to Arthur was working against his interests. He was the one who assigned my party to me¡­. I just¡­ I can¡¯t believe he would go that far.¡± Mordred drew a red crystal from his storage pouch and laid it on the table.
Living Crystal of an Assassin: Type: Magical Stone, Rarity: Epic (unique), Hardness: 16; A crystal made from the living essence of a Gifted assassin. Trapped forever in an escape ability that should have ended long ago his own mana regeneration now keeps him in perpetual agony and suspension as he can no longer even die. This crystal¡¯s use in crafting are unknown and no other crystal like it can be crafted due to the unique circumstances of its creation.
Quantity: 1 Weight: 250 lbs.
¡°How did you¡­¡± Guinevere started to ask then stopped remembering when I had destroyed an Artifact and then created Clarent out of its remains. ¡°That ability seems a bit overpowered.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the ability itself,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s the energy I can push into it, my Ethereal energy lets me push past what limits the System tries to put on my abilities.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you do that with all your abilities than?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°It has a very low regeneration rate in comparison to my stamina and mana,¡± I said. ¡°I even got an upgrade to an ability that increases it with every humanoid I kill but its still not enough. After the battle when I was¡­incapacitated,¡± I said phrasing my words carefully as I saw the fear in Guinevere¡¯s eyes as I reminded her of when she thought I had died. ¡°The spirits inside me had to cycle Ethereal energy through my passive abilities to keep me alive. I got something called mana burn and it¡¯s effected my passive abilities where they constantly need Ethereal energy to function now.¡± ¡°You have to kill humanoids to raise its regen rate?¡± Guinevere asked and I could tell it made her uncomfortable. I sighed. ¡°You know I¡¯m not like the Warlord¡¯s of the past,¡± I told her. ¡°I don¡¯t enjoy slaughter; I¡¯ve never killed anyone who didn¡¯t have it coming or wasn¡¯t trying to kill me. I¡¯m not going to butcher a city just to increase my abilities strength or raise my quest progress.¡± ¡°I know you don¡¯t want to do that,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But your being pushed down that path more and more, promise me that whatever happens you won¡¯t go down that path.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°No,¡± I said my voice hardening. ¡°No?¡± Guinevere asked, trying to pull her hand back from mine, but I held her fast. ¡°I won¡¯t do it unless I have to,¡± I said. ¡°But if it comes down to choosing you or destroying some city, I will choose you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want you to lose yourself just to try and save me,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°If I don¡¯t have you, I am lost; you¡¯re my compass in this storm,¡± I told her and laid my hand on her stomach. ¡°And it¡¯s not just you and me anymore, there is nothing that will stand in-between me and our child.¡± ¡°You know this isn¡¯t a hypothetical,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Arthur and his father will do almost anything to kill you and make this marriage happen. My father is probably the third most powerful man in the world appeasing him and ensuring his support is worth more than the lives of thousands to them.¡± ¡°Even the prince?¡± I asked. ¡°I thought him a bit more driven by his self-righteousness to go that far.¡± ¡°Arthur is still his father¡¯s son and will do as his father directs him,¡± Guinevere said her voice cold. ¡°I thought more of him once too, but he is blinded by ambition and driven by his appetite for adoration and the need to be seen as hero more than actually being one.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have to kill him,¡± I said. ¡°For real not like in the Event, I will probably have to kill others too, your father among them.¡± Guinevere shook and a tear rolled down her face. Her hands squeezed mine with strength that would bend steel, but I didn¡¯t flinch just held her as the emotions ran through her. Her hand ran over her stomach and her eyes met mine. ¡°You do whatever must be done to protect our child,¡± she said firmly the tremor gone from her voice. There was a commotion at the tent entrance. Guinevere and I stood, and she stepped forward pressing her lips against mine in a quick desperate kiss. We both wanted more but she stepped away as the tent flap opened and one of her hand maidens stepped into the tent. ¡°My lady this is most improper,¡± she said looking between me and Guinevere. ¡°I was just leaving,¡± Guinevere said gathering her skirts and sweeping towards the door. ¡°Remember what I said Sir Ismael, I¡¯m trusting you to do whatever is required to win.¡± ¡°Yes, my lady,¡± I said bowing. --- I deflected a swing of Vone¡¯s glaive. ¡°I heard you went on a hunt with Lady Guinevere,¡± she said casually stepping forward the polearm a blur in her hands as the attacked me seemingly from every direction. ¡°I got thrown off my horse and missed most of it,¡± I said. ¡°A shame I heard Sir Lancelot handled himself well.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been seen a lot with her lately,¡± Vone said, and I could hear the jealousy in her voice. ¡°You know my goal,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°It hardly surprising I would want to spend time with her, also you¡¯ve seen her right.¡± ¡°I have,¡± Vone said more of the jealousy in her voice. ¡°It¡¯s unfair how beautiful she is, but the real question is why does she want to spend time with you?¡± ¡°That seems like a question you should ask her,¡± I said blocking her glaive and pushing her increasingly aggressive advance back. ¡°Maybe I will,¡± Vone said her voice possessing a viciousness that said the conversation between her and Guinevere wouldn¡¯t be pleasant. ¡°Be careful how you interact with Guinevere,¡± I warned her. ¡°Why because of her?¡± Vone asked circling around me. ¡°Or because of you?¡± I surged forwards in burst of speed and aggression I hadn¡¯t shown Vone before. I blocked the swing of her glaive with my sword and my left hand shot out grabbing her by the throat as I slammed her against the wall pinning her there. She gasped for air pulling against my wrist as her legs kicked under her. My voice didn¡¯t have any of the anger or maliciousness of my actions in it when I spoke to her. ¡°I like you Vone, not the way you want me too, but I admire your drive and desire to improve the lives of others¡± I said my voice calm and pleasant as a sunny day. ¡°But do not mistake me for someone I am not, you¡¯re used to people doing what you want because you¡¯re a champion but that¡¯s just a title. The world is full of people not chosen by any god who are just as if not more dangerous than you. Guinevere is one of those people; if you try to impose your will on hers or get into a fight with her well¡­fuck around¡­.¡± I left the implication hanging as I dropped her and walked away. Chapter 141: Life on the Line The warhammer spun past my helmet, my opponent grabbed me by my breastplate and tried to haul me towards him, but physics were not on his side. I towered nearly two feet over him and had about a hundred pounds on him. Apparently, they hadn¡¯t heard of weight classes here. I slammed my head forward in a headbutt staggering him backwards before stepping forwards hooking him behind the leg with my foot and yanking it out from under him while crashing my shoulder into his chest. He went down and I slammed my foot down kicking him in the head three times each with the force of a car crash before he went unconscious. Applause and raucous cheering rose up from the crowd. I walked forwards towards the adjudicator and reached up a rose in my hand. Guinevere leaned over the railing smiling her veil blowing up in the breeze for just a moment. The cheering froze as people lost their breath as they beheld her face. Her fingers closed around the stem of the rose, and she pushed herself back. The cheering resumed and I walked out of the arena as people shouted my false name. Aisha nodded to me, and I removed my helmet tossing it to Kalin. I wiped my Cleansing Cloth over my face removing the sweat from my hair. Guinevere opened the door followed by her handmaidens. Smiling, I extended my arm to her, and we walked towards the exit. I didn¡¯t blink as we entered the sunlight, my Perception Attribute was so high that my eyesight wasn¡¯t even effected by something so minor as sunlight. We walked through the crowd earning the usual stares everything was normal until my foresight warned me of an incoming attack. I spun and caught the hand swinging a heavy metal gauntlet towards my face. My attacker was surprised, and I recognized him. ¡°Lord Tarence,¡± I said my voice betraying nothing. ¡°What brings you to the Tourney? You¡¯ve already been disqualified.¡± ¡°I have come to challenge you to a duel,¡± he said. ¡°You know what I said about fighting duels with me¡­¡± I began. ¡°To the death,¡± he snapped. I raised an eyebrow. ¡°You serious?¡± ¡°Yes, tomorrow at dawn to the death the Givonian rules of combat,¡± he snapped at me his eyes full of murder. I looked to Guinevere for an explanation. ¡°Use of abilities are allowed in combat,¡± she explained. ¡°Not like in the Tourney.¡± ¡°I accept,¡± I said taking the gauntlet from his hand I still held gripped in mine. ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡± Guinevere and I walked down the street and it seemed like even more eyes were on us now. We sat down at an outside caf¨¦ and I shielded our table from spying eyes. ¡°We can talk now,¡± I told Guinevere. ¡°Why did you agree to fight that duel?¡± she asked me. ¡°Why not?¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°You know he wouldn¡¯t have challenged you to the death if he wasn¡¯t planning on cheating,¡± she said. ¡°You can¡¯t use your abilities without giving everyone to many clues on your identity.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve fought him before,¡± I said with a snort of derision. ¡°Trust me even at Hero rank I could beat him.¡± ¡°Unless he doesn¡¯t play by the rules,¡± she said pointedly. ¡°No one plays by the rules,¡± I said. ¡°Rules exist just to limit your competition to make it easier for you to keep them down and progress yourself.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t invincible,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Your right, this man is no challenge for you but you¡¯re too cavalier with playing with death, you need to care about yourself.¡± ¡°I take care of myself,¡± I protested. Guinevere took my hand. ¡°I said ¡®care¡¯, you¡¯ve changed so much but I can still feel that hatred inside you. Its not just directed at your father but yourself still, you still think of yourself as a monster. Its why you didn¡¯t feel ready to be a father.¡± ¡°I just needed to wrap my head around it,¡± I said trying to avoid the issue. ¡°No,¡± she said not letting me go figuratively or literally. ¡°You didn¡¯t just feel you weren¡¯t ready; you didn¡¯t feel worthy. Do you think you deserve to be happy?¡± ¡°No one deserves anything,¡± I said not willing to confront this issue. Guinevere sighed, releasing my hand as the waiter brought us our food. We were silent as we ate. We finished and she met my eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t force you to face this,¡± she said. ¡°But promise me you¡¯ll think about it, you aren¡¯t a beast or monster Mordred; you may not be perfect but there is plenty of darkness in men without having to view yourself as the villain.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think about it,¡± I said grudgingly. ¡°What will we do when this over?¡± Guinevere asked after a moment of awkward silence. ¡°What¡¯s over?¡± I asked. ¡°You mean this Tourney or the competition among the gods?¡± ¡°Both, I guess,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Well after the tourney you and I will get married,¡± I said seeing the flash of light those words sparked in her eyes. ¡°Then I don¡¯t know¡­ fight monsters and participate in Events until someone wins I guess.¡± ¡°That will mean war,¡± Guinevere said that light I had sparked dying in her eyes. ¡°Arthur won¡¯t let you live in peace, he¡¯ll bring all of Camelot against you.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t make the rules,¡± I said. ¡°I can only be responsible for my own actions.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°And I¡¯m not asking you to back down but you and Arthur and all these other champions won¡¯t be the only ones to suffer. A lot of people who just signed up to protect their country are going to get dragged into that war.¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t different,¡± I said. ¡°Yes, Arthur may have more power than them but the choice to participate in war is ultimately the decision of the individual.¡± ¡°I know from my own experience that decisions can often be coerced out of people,¡± Guinevere reminded me. ¡°Just remember that not everyone who fights you is truly your enemy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I agree with that but I will consider it,¡± I said with a sigh. We stood up and I walked with her until we came to the border of the palace grounds. We couldn¡¯t embrace or kiss, so I merely bowed over her hand brushing the back of it with my lips. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°I will see you tomorrow my lady,¡± I said. I returned to my tent where Kalin was studying at the table and Exar was sitting nearby reading a book. ¡°What¡¯s that,¡± I asked pointing to the book. ¡°Its called a romance novel,¡± Exar said. ¡°Apparently your kind enjoy them, I must say I find your methods of courtship very confusing.¡± ¡°How would you do it?¡± I asked. ¡°I would find a mate of suitable strength and battle any males who contested me for the right to breed with her,¡± he said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. ¡°Just like you¡¯re are doing, that¡¯s why they call it the Dragon Tourney isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I think it has something to do with the first Arthur rescuing his wife from a dragon,¡± I said. ¡°Why would a dragon have a princess?¡± Exar asked. ¡°No idea and I doubt you¡¯ll be able to find the honest reason for it these days either,¡± I said. I sat down in the middle of the room and closed my eyes. ¡°Kalin, you need to rest we have a big day tomorrow,¡± I said. My eyes closed I began to meditate feeling the simmering rage in me boil as I held it check with a grip of iron. Guinevere¡¯s words came back to me, and I tried to ignore them but couldn¡¯t. A lot of that hatred I held inside wasn¡¯t directed out at others but instead held against myself. Somehow this only made me angrier as I grit my teeth trying to block out any thought. It was difficult but I eventually managed to fall into my meditative trance. -- A black shadow towered over me as I stood on a silver mountain. Trees and flora made of silver light grew around me as I stood my blood falling like raindrops onto the ground. The shadowy titan struck down with its fist, but it deflected off a shield of light around the mountain and staggered back. I rose into the air black shadow of my own flowing from my skin as a storm of red lighting crackled across my body. I shot forward dodging the blow of the titanic figure and Clarent cutting into it. A shriek that cut into my soul tore from the beast and echoed all around me despite the vast open space of the black abyss I was in. A second hand hit me, and I fell back to the earth hitting the side of the silver mountain with the force of an asteroid. -- My eyes snapped open, and I sucked in a breath. That vision had been surreal, I had to wonder what it was I had seen and where it was, I had been. It matched nothing I¡¯d ever encountered not even in the Under-Lands beneath the Ancient Forest. I stilled my breathing and stood up. Kalin was still asleep, and I moved quietly levitating the pieces of my armor with Telekinesis strapping it on soundlessly. I stood over his cot and reached out to wake him then hesitated, watching his chest rise slowly his face missing the warry edge it always held when he was awake. I let him sleep and stepped out where Aisha waited for me. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t do this,¡± she said clutching her clipboard nervously. ¡°He chose to challenge me not the other way around,¡± I said. ¡°If you kill him there could be unforeseen consequences,¡± she warned me. ¡°Will it cause you problems?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m worried about you not me,¡± she said. She¡¯s starting to catch feelings for you, Voidra informed me. I sighed. ¡°I appreciate your concern but you don¡¯t need to worry about me. I can¡¯t explain to you why, but the threats I face are outside of what you can even comprehend.¡± ¡°Just¡­stay safe,¡± Aisha said and guided me to the place of the duel. It wasn¡¯t an arena this time but a grassy field. Lord Tarence and his entourage stood by a table and I approached. The adjudicator stood nearby watching over us. Wine was poured and Lord Tarence took it in hand. I took my glass as he raised it in toast. ¡°May the gods judge between us and determine the victor,¡± he said. I raised my glass and froze as I smelled it contents. ¡°Poison, really? This was your plan?¡± I asked. Lord Tarence face lost a shade of color. ¡°I don¡¯t know what your talking about¡­¡± he began. I drained the contents of the glass letting it shatter on the ground as I wiped my mouth. Everyone stared at me in shock as I met his eyes. ¡°So, we doing this?¡± I asked. His entourage backed off as a dome of energy formed around us. I looked it over.
You are inside a shield barrier; it will use the mana of any attacks directed at it to reinforce itself.
Lord Tarence raised his hands as brilliant white lightning wreathed his limbs. ¡°Thunderbolt,¡± he snarled hurling it towards me. I bent as the lightning shot towards me. It arced towards me like a homing missile I reached out with my hands as I use Telekinesis to grab the white lightning. I held it in my hands as the electricity coursed through my body. I hurled it right back at him. ¡°Really?¡± I asked derisively. ¡°My title on my description is Storm Knight and you try to use lightning against me?¡± I shot forwards my sword coming down. His eyes widened and he teleported appearing thirty feet behind me. I spun deflecting a bolt of fire shot from his hands with my sword and lunging forwards only for him to teleport away again. ¡°You can¡¯t run forever,¡± I said spinning around and rolling out of the way and rolling to dodge as a hail of jagged icicles from the air rained down around me. One struck my pauldron and felt my body turn as if I had just taken a round from a sniper rifle. My sword twisted in an elaborate arc above my head as I deflected the rest of the icy shrapnel. Tarence attacks seemed mostly ranged elemental attack focused. As if to prove that though a blast of wind hit me and I slid a few feet across the wet grass. ¡°I wonder what sort of ability I¡¯ll get for killing you,¡± I said tauntingly as I rushed at him. He blocked my attack before lifting off into the air on a gust of wind. As he put some distance between us. ¡°I¡¯ve yet to see you even use an ability,¡± he sneered. ¡°I¡¯m starting to wonder if you even have any and your description is just a lie.¡± ¡°You want to see my abilities?¡± I asked. ¡°Its already to easy as it is but let me show you a trick.¡± I opened up a portal and dropped out of it my feet hitting him in the back. He hit the ground and screamed as my sword stabbed into a gap of the flexible joints of his right leg. He teleported away but staggered unable to put weight on his leg any more blood flowing down as Thorns bleeding enchantments started to drain him dry. ¡°Spells, you¡¯re using spells you heretic?¡± he snarled. ¡°This is to the death lordling,¡± I said my voice losing the acerbic edge I usually used in combat as I looked at him with some pity. ¡°There are no rules now, no limits, no lines that can¡¯t be crossed¡­ no mercy.¡± I shot forwards my body wreathed in blue lightning. He tried to block my attack but I crashed down upon him like a meteor and broke through his guard. He screamed as his arm shattered. He held up his other arm in a warding gesture. I grabbed the hand, twisted his arm and kicked tearing it loose from its socket with a sickening pop. My eyes didn¡¯t rest on Terence as I killed him but the entourage outside the circle who stared at me in horror. This man had been convinced to put his life on the line and sacrificed by these people to try and take me out. ¡°I am sorry Tarence,¡± I said my voice dispassionate. ¡°Despite your rudeness I don¡¯t have any real hatred towards you. You were sent make an example out of me, but you were always expendable and now... you¡¯re the example.¡± I yanked and blood sprayed out as his arm came entirely off at the shoulder. His screams filled the air as the blood misted down. I removed my helmet my bloodstained helmet and stared down the shocked crowd looking at me. Blood dripped down from the corner of my mouth, and I spat out a mouthful of blood from the poison eating away at my insides. ¡°Is this the best you had?¡± I asked spreading my arms wide. ¡°Some poison and a boy with more pride then sense? It is insulting if you want to have a shot at me at least send me your best instead of your dregs.¡± I turned away the shield barrier still hadn¡¯t come down. I slashed forward with my sword and it shattered leaving my audience even more shocked as I stepped out and left the blood drenched corpse behind as he bled out and died.
173 rank points gained.
Bloodstained Riposte (Rank 1): Your existence causes pain to those around you in retribution for the pain you experience. When you take damage your spirit lashes out to inflict bleed damage on the target equal to 1/8th damage taken by you.
Cost: 20 mana Cooldown: 15 seconds.
Upgrade this ability to increase the retributive damage you deal with it and reduce its cooldown. Each rank up increases your spirit by 1.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 16,043 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I dismissed the notification and walked on. I still had another duel to fight before the day was done although this one would be presumably less bloody. I reactivated your regeneration, Voidra said. Drinking that poison and fighting without your regeneration was risky. ¡°There was no risk in that fight,¡± I said shaking my head. ¡°That man might as well have been that boar we hunted; the result was always going to be what it was.¡± Chapter 142:" Fashion Forward My opponent held up their hand and my foot froze, and I stepped back accepting his surrender. The crowd cheered as I left the arena. I¡¯d drawn a larger crowd with each of my fights while the nobles might have disapproved of my style of fighting the common people seemed to enjoy the brutal nature of my fights. Aisha and Kalin were waiting in the tunnel, and I met Guinevere again. She cast Aisha a sidelong look and the other woman looked away hurriedly. ¡°Ready to go?¡± I asked Guinevere extending my arm to her. ¡°I am,¡± Guinevere said, and we stepped out into the sunlight and busy tourney grounds. ¡°I received an invitation today; the King is holding a ball the day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°I wonder what happened to his other ball,¡± I said with a small smirk. ¡°That kind of joke is beneath you,¡± Guinevere admonished me. ¡°Its really not,¡± I said. ¡°What does this have to do with me?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like you to attend,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to be around Arthur a lot and I need your support.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll be there,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re going to need to get you a different outfit,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°They aren¡¯t going to let you walk in with your armor and your clothes aren¡¯t suited for this type of social activity.¡± ¡°I can make more clothes,¡± I said with shrug. ¡°No,¡± Guinevere insisted. ¡°Your going to need to dress a bit fancier for this, they won¡¯t even let you in if you aren¡¯t dress appropriately.¡± ¡°What are you suggesting?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m taking you to a tailor,¡± she said. ¡°He¡¯ll get you suited for the evening.¡± I let out a sigh. ¡°Fine, lead the way.¡± Guinevere pulled me along into the city and we stopped at one of the glass and steel modern-looking skyscrapers. We entered into the building and she led me past various shops in what closely resembled to a mall to an establishment with a simple sign on the front. Gentleman¡¯s Royal Attire Taking me in we were immediately assaulted by well-meaning attendants who ushered us into a waiting room. Soon a tailor burst into the room. ¡°Your highness!¡± he said, taking Guinevere¡¯s hand and bowing low over it. ¡°How may we help you today?¡± ¡°I need to get my¡­friend, some clothes,¡± Guinevere said hesitating as she tried to refer to me. ¡°Of course,¡± the tailor said looking me over. ¡°Is he your bodyguard we could fit him in your house colors.¡± ¡°I¡¯m her boyfriend,¡± I said my voice coming out a growl. ¡°A boyfriend?¡± the tailor questioned perplexed. ¡°But her engagement to the prince...¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Has competition,¡± I cut him off. ¡°I need an outfit for the ball the king is hosting, Guinevere thinks you¡¯re the guy to get it together. Show me what you got.¡± My words were short and direct and the man snapped to. Opening closets bringing out a mannequin with a gold and scarlet suit on it. ¡°No,¡± I said looking it over. ¡°But sir this is the latest fashion¡­¡± he protested. ¡°It¡¯s the gayest thing I¡¯ve ever seen,¡± I said. ¡°And trust me I saw a lot of it where I come from. Why are the sleeves so poofy? ¡°I will eliminate anything with¡­poofy sleeves in further selections,¡± the tailor said removing the mannequin and pulling out another. This one¡¯s outfit was burgundy with sleeves that extended down past the wrist. ¡°I¡¯m not wearing that,¡± I said. ¡°Its burgundy, and the sleeves are way to long. Bring me out something black, grey, with maybe some accents in other colors.¡± The tailor nodded and brought out a few more suites. ¡°I like the sleeves on this one,¡± I said pointing to one. ¡°This one¡¯s collar and vest look all right and I like the tail coats on this one.¡± I pointed to the individual sections, the tailor nodding and moving them to the side. He brought out a selection of cloth before me and a selection of dark colors. I selected the colors I wanted, and he nodded, moving them to the side. ¡°We can have a prototype done in a few hours,¡± he said. ¡°I need to get back to the palace,¡± Guinevere told me. ¡°Are you good to wait here on your own?¡± ¡°I think I can manage,¡± I agreed. ¡°See you tomorrow?¡± ¡°See you tomorrow,¡± she agreed. The scent of jasmine lingered for a few minutes after she left as my measurements were taken. The door was opened, and I left the fitting room. Sitting in the waiting room I twiddle my fingers looking out the massive glass out at the city. I was alone in the waiting room until a man in dark black and grey tunic with fine leather boots came and sat by me. ¡°Sir Ishmael,¡± he said nodding to me. ¡°I caught your duel recently I must say good work.¡± ¡°It was just the same as every day,¡± I said shrugging. ¡°Oh not that tourney trash,¡± he said laughing. ¡°I meant your duel to the death, I must say, that the way you finished it was most surprising. You should have seen the looks on their faces when you walked away, it was marvelous. If you¡¯d be interested, I have other such¡­. opportunities for you to participate in.¡± He extended me a small square of paper. I took the business card. ¡°Opportunities?¡± I asked. ¡°Blood sport,¡± the man said. ¡°Real fights for people who appreciate the proper sport not this trash they serve to the commoners.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound legal,¡± I said. ¡°Laws are a funny thing, they only exist if someone cares enough to enforce them,¡± the man said standing and extending my head. ¡°Its up to you to participate or not but I think someone like you would fit in very well in our society.¡± ¡°Maybe I would at that,¡± I said shaking his hand. I was brought back into the fitting room and they brought out my outfit. I stepped out of my armor and pulled on the suit. I looked myself over in the mirror. While my outfit did look like a cross between Dracula and Geoge Washington, I did like it. ¡°I¡¯ll take it,¡± I said. ¡°Excellent,¡± the tailor said beaming. ¡°Give us a day or two to finish the stitching and we¡¯ll¡­¡± ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I whispered under my breath seamlessly connecting the section together and reinforcing the entire suit. ¡°No need,¡± I said smiling at the tailor as his eyes widened. ¡°I¡¯ve got it from here, send me the bill and I¡¯ll have it taken care of.¡± Minutes later I stepped out of the building and was greeted by Aisha. ¡°I have your schedule for tomorrow¡¯s duel,¡± she said taking up a position on my left side. ¡°Excellent,¡± I said. ¡°How did you know where I was?¡± ¡°You stand out, people talk,¡± Aisha said. ¡°You¡¯re the talk of the city since you¡¯ve been seen with Dutchess Guinevere.¡± ¡°She is a striking woman,¡± I agreed. ¡°I¡¯m hungry, do you know of any good spots around the city to eat around here?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard of a spot,¡± Aisha said. ¡°But it¡¯s expensive¡­¡± ¡°Not a problem lead the way,¡± I said. Aisha took me to a fancy outdoor restaurant in a large square of the city. The buildings were all towering things of steel, glass, stone, and hubris. We sat down and a waiter came by with a menu. ¡°I¡¯ll have the steak rare and the mashed jarish,¡± I said not sure what I the last thing even was. ¡°Order whatever you want,¡± I told Aisha. She ordered and we waited for our food. ¡°So how are you liking the city so far?¡± Aisha asked. ¡°Its good,¡± I said. ¡°The architecture isn¡¯t what I expected but the gargoyles are a nice touch.¡± Aisha looked at me strangely. ¡°What gargoyles?¡± ¡°Well shit,¡± I said drawing my weapon. Chapter 143: Not a Hero I was frustrated. Monsters of granite stone all around me fat with rank points but I was cock blocked by having to maintain my disguise. Oh, and my life was in peril as I had to suppress my power. Screams came all around me as the winged monsters landed on the ground or carried common people up into sky to feast on them on top of buildings letting their blood fall to the ground. My hands twisted as I created a shield dome around the entrance to the restaurant. ¡°Stay in there,¡± I ordered Aisha as I walked into the middle of the square.
Due to the high number of champions in this city you are being tested by a monster wave. For the next hour monsters will spawn inside the city to test your champions¡¯ heroism and give them a chance to prove themselves. Fight well champions.
I held thorn in my right hand and pulled a nemean club in left. A gargoyle pounced down beside me and I caved in its skull with my club. Rock sprayed out as the creature crumbled into a pile of gravel. I ducked down as another gargoyle flew over my head.
128 rank points gained
I shoulder checked the gargoyle sending it into a spin and crashing against the stone wall of the building next door crashing through the wall. I dropped my club as I spun and caught another gargoyle lunging for my throat. I looked it over as my hand clenched as I stomped on its tail and yanked up.
Serpent Gargoyle, Gifted- monstrosity/elemental (gargoyle), Veteran, Rank: 250
Its head held on for a moment before being ripped free from its body and it crumpled into a pile of gravel.
125 rank points gained
Another gargoyle, this one shaped like a wolf rushed me and bowled me over and we rolled across the city square. I slammed my head into it the skin of my forehead cracking and blood rushing down staining the snarling granite jaws of the elemental. Cracks spread out and on the fourth head, but it shattered. I stood and was surrounded on all sides by gargoyles as they dog piled onto me. ¡°I need options,¡± I snapped at my spirit collective as claws and fangs ripped at my armor. You¡¯re going to need to go all out, Voidra said. I couldn¡¯t sense these things when they weren¡¯t moving but they¡¯re everywhere now. The system knows who you are and these things have been sent to test you; every monster in a two mile radius is converging on this point. ¡°Not possible,¡± I said. ¡°Even if I block scrying there are too many witnesses here.¡± Then make it so no one can witness anything, Karnen said. ¡°I¡¯m not killing everyone here,¡± I told my murderous spirit. I didn¡¯t say get rid of the witnesses I said make it so they can¡¯t see anything, Karnen said. If they can¡¯t see what happens then no one can report what you¡¯ve done. ¡°Fine,¡± I agreed. With a roar infused with Voice of the Chasm I blasted the gargoyles swarming me. They were made of stone, so the force shattered any of them directly hit by the blast. My hands twisted as arcane words spilled from my throat. Everything for a mile around me was plunged into pitch darkness. The screams of fear were now tinged with panic as no one could see. I couldn¡¯t see through the darkness either but Tremor Soles let me know the location of everything around me. I summoned Clarent into my hand and cut through. Thunder rumbled through the darkness as I unleashed Chain Lightning for the first time in several weeks. The gargoyles had some other method of locating targets because they were all still converging on me. Stone rained down around me as they swooped down to crush me into the pavement. Activating Void Asura, I howled my rage into the sky. The gargoyles answered my call with their own hunting calls as they eagerly rushed towards me to do battle. My weapons spun about me like a cyclone as gargoyles launched at me from every direction. I recalled the battles Guinevere and I fought against the shadow beasts in the tunnels under the Ancient Forest and felt a momentary twinge of nostalgia for a similar time. Pushing that thought to the side, I kept killing, the notifications for my kills scrolling past the corner of my vision. --- Vone stood in front of the crowd as the wall of stone rushed her like a the side of a mountain coming down. She caught the claws of a bear like gargoyle on the shaft of her glaive and slashed out taking off its head. An arrow flew past her head from Mira¡¯s bow exploding another gargoyle to dust. Lancelot was taking the brunt of the attacks releasing an enraging aura that caused the gargoyles to ignore the commoners and focus their attacks on him. A dark shadow popped into existence, and they looked to see a massive dome of darkness. I extended up into the sky the tops of the massive skyscrapers barely clearing the black dome. ¡°What is that?¡± Vone asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Mira said. ¡°Some monster probably made it, we can¡¯t worry about it yet we need to get these people to safety.¡± A column of soldiers crashed into the gargoyles from behind. Their officer was Veteran rank but the soldiers under his command were only Mortal. One soldier was carried off screaming landing on top of fountain where it ripped open his belly with its fangs and claws. Lancelot raised his shield, the armor and shields of the soldiers suffused with gold and silver light from the enhancement from his ability. ¡°Sir,¡± the officer said to Lancelot. ¡°We¡¯ve got this, we need you to head away from people all the gargoyles are headed in towards the champions in the city.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Lancelot nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll lead them towards the walls.¡± --- Arthur swung Excalibur carving through six of the stone elementals in a single swing. He ran towards the wall skidding past dozens and dozens of gargoyles. He spun and hit the wall as gargoyle designed like a winged bull hit him. Rolling to his feet he defended himself from four attackers cleaving them in two but more and more were coming. He berated himself for being out of armor. It would take him a minute to summon and equip it from his chambers back in the palace but every minute he remained in the city would cause more death. He hadn¡¯t realized just how many champions were in the city until now. A set of hooves hit him from behind and he staggered and hit the ground again. Golden light suffused his body as he pushed himself back up and spun around him cutting down the gargoyles that surrounded him. Heavy footwalls struck the ground as something massive landed behind him. He turned and sighed as he saw the beast.
Basilisk Gargoyle, Gifted- monstrosity/elemental (gargoyle), Hero: 650
He felt his limbs tighten but he resisted the petrifying ability as he took up a guard stance. The gargoyle staggered as someone landed on its back and stabbed a blade from behind. Arthur didn¡¯t hesitate to take advantage of its destruction, his sword carving through the stone and removing its head. It collapsed to the ground and the woman on top of it landed on the ground. Arthur took a step back when he saw her. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± he asked. Amarilla removed her mask and smiled. ¡°Not happy to see me?¡± she asked. ¡°Not really if I¡¯m honest,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Now once again, what are you doing here?¡± ¡°I was waiting for the Warlord to show up,¡± Ammerila said. ¡°He¡¯s on the border of the easten province,¡± Arthur said. ¡°You should look elsewhere.¡± Ammerila stepped forward running her hand along Arthur¡¯s arm and up his chest. ¡°Oh no sweet prince,¡± she purred. ¡°You are mistaken, his army is there but I¡¯ve already searched for him there. His lieutenants are there but the Warlord hasn¡¯t been with them in weeks.¡± Arthur froze. ¡°Then he will be coming here, for Guinevere.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ammerila agreed. ¡°His army is preparing not to assault your province but the heart of your kingdom. I¡¯ve seen their weapons, their armor; you have the largest most advanced army in the world but this army though much smaller makes yours look like tin soldiers.¡± ¡°Why do you care?¡± Arthur asked, looking around knowing they didn¡¯t have much time. ¡°Because he is a threat to us all,¡± Ammerila said. ¡°He isn¡¯t like you; he isn¡¯t like me. My goddess has foreseen it, so has yours I suspect. If he is allowed to grow in power, he will shake this world to its core. It won¡¯t be the hundreds of thousands dead like with the Warlords of the past it will be millions killed for his cause.¡± Arthur hesitated then extended his hand taking hers. ¡°Then we mustn¡¯t let him.¡± --- My footsteps were awkward as I mounted the steadily growing pile of rubble. I gripped a commoner hiding in the darkness with my Telekinesis and yanked them out of the way of a charging gargoyle and threw them into building where I¡¯d been gathering survivors. Luckily the gargoyles were almost entirely focused on killing me. With everyone of them I killed they seemed to grow only more intent on ending my existence. I had lost count of my kills after a hundred. I could sense little balls of light in the darkness as abilities fought against the spell I had cast and soldiers there fought the gargoyles disrupting them from focusing on me entirely. I couldn¡¯t care about these people. I wouldn¡¯t just let them die but I wasn¡¯t their hero in there eyes I would always be their enemy no matter my actions. More and more enemies assaulted my position, the mountain of gargoyles under my feet growing by the second. Voidra, Ares and Karnen attacked with abandon as we moved in concert a hurricane of flesh, bone, and steel. ¡°Do these things have souls?¡± I asked Voidra. Hmmm, yes, or at least something equivalent, she said. ¡°Good,¡± I growled as I pulverized another gargoyle climbing the mountain into gravel. I winced as something hit my spell. ¡°Something is removing the darkness,¡± I said. ¡°I need you to disable my passives again.¡± I disabled Void armory and hid Clarent taking up thorn and my club again. You¡¯re already at your limits as it is, Ares said. These aren¡¯t raid monsters, they¡¯re all fully gifted monsters. ¡°I¡¯ll just have to find new limits then,¡± I said. Black Rage, Magma Heart and Regeneration all ended just in time as bright sunlight hit my face. The mountain I was standing on was at least thirty feet off the ground. There was the clanging of armor and I turned to see a column of solders rushing towards my position. They were all gathered around Guinevere who was clad in full armor. The soldiers trying to protect her was laughable considering most of them were only Mortal rank while she was Hero. ¡°Get these civilians to safety,¡± Guinevere ordered. ¡°We should be getting you to safety,¡± their officer said. ¡°My lady the entire city is under attack.¡± ¡°Then this is as good a place to be as any,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°My father is dispelling the monster¡¯s darkness and destroying most of them. Besides my champion is here, he can protect me.¡± The soldiers turned to face me as I swung and took off the wings of a gargoyle. It hit the side of the hill of stone, and I stomped in its head. ¡°My lady he isn¡¯t one of the royal knights we can¡¯t entrust your safety to¡­¡± the officer argued. ¡°That was an order not a request Sir. Marris,¡± Guinevere said firmly. ¡°Get these people into shelters.¡± Guinevere moved up beside me drawing her sword and lowering her voice. ¡°Be vary careful how you fight, my father was the one who dispelled that darkness which I assume was your doing.¡± ¡°I gathered that,¡± I said. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t use your abilities,¡± she said. ¡°Someone needs to watch your back.¡± A roar cut our conversation short as a massive shadow fell over us. We rolled to the side as the monster struck the hill of gravel sending the shards of stone flying in all directions. I spun to face it looking at the dark grey scales and spines as it beat its wings.
Dragon Gargoyle, Gifted- monstrosity/elemental (gargoyle), Hero: 700
¡°Not good,¡± I said and rushed it. I think you and I have very different plans on how to handle something that is I quote ¡°not good¡±, Karnen said. There was no time to respond as I ducked under the tail swipe of the dragon. Pushing off the ground I launched myself at its chest. Its jaws snapped forward closing around me. My feet and arms braced as I held its jaws open. The Dragon Gargoyle was not alone and more of its lesser brethren still swarmed towards us. I couldn¡¯t move as I held the jaws open to keep from being pancaked. My knees were at my chest as I strained to push against its strength. I heard Guinevere shout but couldn¡¯t hear what she said and there was no time to focus on her words. A growl grew at the back of my throat growing into a roar as I pushed up. Slowly the jaws of the dragon began to widen, I didn¡¯t stop my roar as my back straightened. Claws of lesser gargoyles pierced my armor cutting in deep rents from where they¡¯d already gotten in hits before. My blood was dripping out of me with every wound I took but I couldn¡¯t activate my Regeneration or drink a potion. With a final surge of adrenaline and strength my body straightened out and my arms went taut as I extended them out fully. There was a crack of stone as I broke the jaws of the gargoyle dragon. I¡¯d lost hold of my weapons except for my gauntlet sword and lashed out smashing through the stone gargoyle currently savaging my back. My vision was blurry from rage and blood loss as I started tearing into the hero rank gargoyle. My fist and sword hit it again in a mad frenzy. Finally, the battle seemed over, and I staggered backwards.
Living Stone (Rank 1): You animate up to 3 pounds of stone you shape to move and act as it were a living creature. The constructs will not take any actions unless you command them too.
Cost: 10 mana per pound of stone
Upgrade this ability to increase the abilities of your living stone and its abilities. Each rank of this ability increases your Mind Attribute by 2.
My vision darkened and I collapsed. New Year Goal Hey everyone I just wanted to make this post discussing my goals for the new year as well as asking if you would all help support me in my goal. I would like to publish book 1 of the Warlord this year on a service like Amazon Self Publishing however I don''t want to do so until the book has been professionally edited. In the past I have published books which I have since now removed but they lacked professional polish and it hurt their reviews. I am thinking about starting a Kickstarter to raise money to pay for an editor to go over it and improve the reading experience for everyone. I actually have dyslexia so spelling errors have long been a thing I''ve struggled with and I sometimes get to rushed in my writing. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. I already have a quote from an editor who I''ve been working with to edit some of the future chapters thanks to my supporters on Patreon. It will cost 2,810 dollars to edit the book as well as going over the math of the systems messages and making sure that is all correct or 2,610 dollars just to do line editing. ( My hope and plan is have in published and give a free copy of the book to everyone who gave at least ten dollars during the Kickstarter campaign to see it published. From there I hope to bring in a new audience who haven''t read it on Royal Road and use that money to have the rest of the series edited and published. Even if you can only pledge a small amount in support every bit helps and even if we don''t reach the entire goal I can cover the rest myself. Thanks for just reading my story and I hope to bring you all a lot more enjoyment in the future. Happy New Year everyone and I wish you all the best. Chapter 144: Vassals of War Kalin moved through the streets at a sprint. No one saw him, no one heard him his invisibility active kept him from even casting a shadow. He leapt over a gargoyle feasting on a man on the sidewalk. His movements were as fast as a galloping horse, but he still felt he was going to slow. The buildings grew more run down until he arrived at the run-down warehouse. A hole through the side of the building made his heart stop as he leapt inside. Blood spattered the walls and he saw the bodies of several of his friends already cooling on the ground. A gargoyle was clawing at a hole in the ground that he knew led to where they had their hidey hole. He wanted to scream in rage and attack but stopped, he wasn¡¯t Mordred. Kalin didn¡¯t know if he could ever live up to the role his master had set for him, but he would try but today he had to do this his way. Stalking forward he teleported through the shadows into the rafters. His boots didn¡¯t make as sound as he landed on a beam and looked down. Taking a breath, he dropped his full weight driving his sword down. The piercing weapon wasn¡¯t the ideal weapon to use against the beast but his Attribute bonus he got for being a vassal of the Warlord let him hit like someone with a much higher rank than he had. A massive crack spiderwebbed over the gargoyle as he struck it from above. The gargoyle bucked and tried to throw him off, but Kalin kept a grip on one of its horns cutting down with a sword harder than diamond into the weakened monster. It shattered and he fell to the ground amidst the rock and rubble. He hadn¡¯t taken a single hit from it which was good, at his rank one hit would probably have killed him.
125 rank points gained.
The rank points were immense and would help to quickly power him to Veteran rank.
Frozen Visage (Rank 1): When motionless you blend into the background not seeming out of place and people, beasts and monsters¡¯ eyes will slide off of you without them even realizing.
Kaling wasn¡¯t sure if the ability was worth the cost when he felt the red sticky blood of his friend under his boots. Pushing aside his guilt for not being fast enough, he looked down the hole. Ten frightened faces looked back at him in shock and awe, and he was reminded of how he had looked when he saw Mordred. It made him a bit sad to realize he wasn¡¯t one of them anymore. His friends didn¡¯t look at him like he was one of them, because he wasn¡¯t, not anymore. The Warlord was making him into something more than he had been and could have been without his intervention. --- Jaruk stood atop a spire of rock overlooking a tribe of small goblins who had gathered to watch this massive goblin who stood taller than an orc and was dressed finer than any chieftain they had ever heard of. His words were proud and confident with none of the fear or self-doubt that plagued them. ¡°I am a prophet of the Warlord, I was like you, small and weak, until the Warlord put a propa weapon in my hand,¡± Juruk said raising his spiked armored fists. ¡°he showed me that if you want to be strong you gotta run headfirst at your enemy and not hide in your holes.¡± The goblins looked up at him in a mixture of disbelief, awe, fear, and apprehension. A large goblin shoved his way through the crowd. He stood almost as tall as Jaruk but the two could never be mistaken for each other. ¡°Be gone from my tribe outsider,¡± the goblin chief spat at him. ¡°You are not welcome here; your words bring death to all our peoples. We are not meant to fight in the open, we belong to the shadows.¡± Jaruk jumped down the goblins diving out of the way as he landed in the mud spraying it out over them and their chieftain. He looked at the shorter goblin and sneered. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°You cannot tell me to go or to stay,¡± Jaruk said. ¡°You have grown fat here, taking all rank points for yourself but you are no true chieftain. I challenge you for rulership of this tribe.¡± The chieftain snarled then sagged his shoulders. His fa?ade of defeat lasted for only a moment as he sprung forward trying to drive a dagger through Jaruk¡¯s chest. Jaruk blocked the weapon on his spiked gauntlet then drove the claws from his knuckles on his other hand through the other goblin¡¯s throat. Blood sprayed out at the chieftain staggered mortally wounded but not dead yet. Jaruk grabbed him by the head and neck a sickening crack sounded as he snapped his neck and then ripped the other goblins head off. Holding his trophy up into the air Jaruk stared down the rest of the tribe. ¡°You serve me and through me the Warlord!¡± he shouted. ¡°You will grow mighty, or your blood will water the ground for those stronger than you.¡± --- Jeriah stood at the front as spears stabbed out in a phalanx in front of him. The army of Camelot stood against them outnumbering them three to one. Arrows fell from the sky like hailstones, but Jeriah didn¡¯t even move the Foresight granted to him by the Warlord letting him know none of them would be able to pierce his armor. Like an avalanche the army marched forwards spears sliding back and slamming forward and abilities blasting out in front of them like the jaws of a snapping beast. Wars between Gifted armies were always awkward, they weren¡¯t meant to operate in such large groups, most of their abilities useless on such a large scale or unusable due to friendly fire. In many ways they were forced to act as if they didn¡¯t even have abilities apart from their superhuman strength, speed, and toughness. The forces of Camelot spread out pushing in against them from all sides. In response Jeriah had them circle up forming a turtle formation. The men of Camelot pushed forward at the orders of their superiors, but their weapons bounced off the shields made for them by the Warlord their abilities countered by enchantments on their gear or abilities of the other side. The battlefield reminded Jeriah of the war against the World Bosses and the bodies of the endless waves of enemies. Blood flowed down the hill into a crimson stream and the ground became difficult to stand on with how slick it was with blood. Jeriah stood motionless waiting for his brothers and the Clan Leader of the Myrmidons by his side. It would happen soon they knew. Sure enough, like a ripple through a wave of wheat they saw them approaching the Generals. The two armies pulled back from each other as their leaders moved forward. This battle would be death to any lower ranking soldier caught in the crossfire. Tobias leapt forward the heavy maul in his hands striking the ground with the force of an asteroid hitting the earth. Fire and brimstone rained down around them as one of the Generals of Camelot called down the fury of the sky. Both armies broke at that point fleeing in opposite directions to not become casualties of the destruction that was about to take place. These type of battles were not just based on being of a higher rank but the strength of your abilities. Jeriah regretted having asked Exar¡¯kun to go and help the Warlord now, they could have used his breath weapon but now was not the time for regrets. He launched himself like a slingstone and collided with another man midair. They wrapped around each other as they grappled to keep the other from bringing other weapons to bear. They struck the ground as it bucked and twisted shaped and destroyed by the abilities being used on it. Jeriah got his weapon free from the edge of his sword shining as he cut off the General¡¯s head in a devastating attack. The ability on cooldown he spun blocking another attack aimed for his back. A bear ripped into the man from behind and Jeriah rushed forwards and left the man behind him as he screamed as the bear mauled him to death. All around him his brothers were locked in combat, but they had been in life and death battles since they were children hunted and chased into the forest. Jeriah cut down the General Tobias was fighting from behind. They looked around but the battle was over, the generals dead at their feet. Jeriah¡¯s eyes flicked from side to side as he read his notifications. He¡¯d gotten a decent amount of rank points and even a new ability from the battle even with the assistance of an army accounted for by the System. ¡°We should have just fought them at the start of this,¡± Tobias said looking about at the devastation surrounding them. ¡°They could have saved thousands of lives if they¡¯d just fought us in a duel like you asked.¡± ¡°It is not the nature of men like this to fight their battles for themselves if they can help it,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°They have given up the strength of the individual for the strength of the many.¡± ¡°What are we doing here?¡± Tobias asked. ¡°Mordred doesn¡¯t care about these lands and if I¡¯m honest¡­I don¡¯t either. What is the point of this war?¡± ¡°The point is that this war is coming whether we want it or not,¡± Jeriah said clasping his brother¡¯s shoulder. ¡°So, we¡¯re going to have it on our terms, not theirs. Mordred¡¯s trying to deal with them on their terms, I wish him luck, but I already know what the outcome of that is going to be, and I think so does he.¡± ¡°Then why is he doing it?¡± Tobias asked. ¡°For the same reason we will fight this war,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°To protect the ones he loves.¡± Chapter 145: Balls in Your Court A silver mountain rose under my feet. A woman¡¯s scream sent my heart racing with fear and a helpless desperation. A shadowy titan lumbered towards me as I staggered to my feet. A burning energy filled my body, and I pushed it out my lungs sore as a scream of helpless rage and pain ripped out of me. The ground shifted and shook as the mountain grew and grew. The titan of shadow grew closer and closer. I shot into the air crimson lightning and black smoke wreathing my limbs. The titan of darkness was much faster than its size would have made you believe was possible it swatted me from the air. Its hand closed around me and began to squeeze my ribs and bones feeling like glass in its grip. Ribs cracked and I screamed again in rage and pain and then¡­ --- My body was tense with fear and dread as I bolted upright. I was in an unfamiliar environment and felt vulnerable as I looked around me with an instinctive urge to summon Clarent to my hand. ¡°Easy there young man,¡± an elderly female voice said. ¡°You took some nasty injuries don¡¯t strain yourself to much.¡± ¡°Where am I?¡± I asked as I analyzed the woman.
Mistress Talsbrand, Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 234
¡°I¡¯m the royal healer,¡± the woman said. ¡°Guinevere insisted that you were brought here after you went unconscious. You nearly bled out, I¡¯m sorry but your armor couldn¡¯t be repaired the castle smiths don¡¯t even know how it was made in the first place they can¡¯t even work with whatever its made out of.¡± I waved my hand in a dismissive motion. ¡°I¡¯m not worried about the armor, is Guinevere all right?¡± ¡°Dutchess Guinevere is fine, she¡¯s Hero rank and you were the one taking most of the hits,¡± Mistress Talsbrand said giving me a disapproving look for my familiar way of referring to Guinevere. The scent of jasmine filled my nostrils as Guinevere stepped inside her eyes meeting mine with concern before turning to relief as I gave her a comforting wink to show I was alright. ¡°Your awake,¡± she said relieved. ¡°The ball is going to take happen in five hours.¡± ¡°My lady,¡± Mistress Talsbrand said turning her back on me to face Guinevere. ¡°You need to be careful; you can¡¯t just drag this young man into that nest of vipers.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me,¡± I said standing and pulling the outfit I had tailored the other day out of my storage pouch. ¡°I¡¯m worried for Guinevere,¡± Mistress Talsbrand said. ¡°Please don¡¯t make bad choices out of desperation.¡± ¡°Thank you for caring about me,¡± Guinevere said politely. ¡°But this is something I need to do, Ismael is my knight and won¡¯t hide him from the world the more exposure he gets the less cheating can happen.¡± ¡°I think you underestimate how low your peers are willing to sink to.¡± Mistress Talsbrand said. Guinevere stepped close to me kissing me on the cheek. ¡°I need to get ready,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you in the ballroom.¡± She left and I was alone with Mistress Talsbrand. ¡°You don¡¯t understand what your getting into,¡± Mistress Talsbrand said shaking her head. ¡°I fear that girl¡¯s motives for dragging you into this mess may not be what you¡­¡± ¡°I know she¡¯s pregnant,¡± I cut her off. ¡°And your still going along with this?¡± Mistress Talsbrand asked surprised. ¡°Has she told you who the father is?¡± ¡°Does it matter?¡± I asked. ¡°I love Guinevere, I¡¯m willing to fight and even die for her.¡± ¡°That ability of hers is a curse,¡± Mistress Talsbrand said with a sigh. ¡°How many men are going to fall for her beauty and lose all sense and fall on their swords for her before this is over?¡± ¡°I was in love with Guinevere before she got that ability,¡± I said while pulling on my shirt. I put on the second layer fixing the cuffs and collar as I stepped into the pair of leather boots. I ran a cleansing cloth over my face feeling the few days of unshaven stubble that had started to grow in giving me a five o¡¯clock shadow. I stepped out of the medical ward into the palace halls. The scents of the palace were like a spice rack to my senses since I always had Bestial Senses active. --- I wandered the halls looking at the images on display. I wandered into a library and looked over the rows of books on display. It was astounding reminding me of the time I¡¯d visited the library of congress of a field trip but more ostentatious. I passed through the rows of books into an inner garden and stopped as I spotted a golden-haired woman holding and infant wandering among the ponds. We were alone and she turned as she heard my footsteps. I recognized her as Arthur¡¯s woman and turned to leave. ¡°Sir Ismael,¡± the woman called out. I stopped. ¡°Yes?¡± I asked. ¡°I wanted to thank you?¡± she said. My brows furrowed. ¡°What for?¡± ¡°My cousin, you saved her life, she was one of the people in the square you were defending,¡± she said. I looked above her head to read her description and get her name. ¡°Your welcome I suppose, I wasn¡¯t focused on saving people, but I did what I could for those there.¡± The baby made some sounds, and she bounced it in her arms, and he settled down again. ¡°You seem somewhat uncomfortable around me Sir Ismael, have I done something to offend you?¡± I sighed. ¡°Its not you, it¡¯s more who and what you represent.¡± ¡°Who I represent?¡± Lionor asked. ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°Your one of Arthur¡¯s women, I am Guinevere¡¯s Knight. My duty is to fight and defeat him from adding her to his harem.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Lionor said. ¡°Well, I hope we can be friends even if the people we love are at odds with eachother.¡± ¡°I think they went passed at odds awhile ago,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to give you the wrong impression of me and our relationship. We cannot be friends if you aren¡¯t with me then you are against me. Ultimately your loyalties belong to your man, which they should, but it means we are directly opposed to eachother.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Lionor didn¡¯t have anything else to say to me as I left her behind. I continued to wander the halls as I the hours passed by, and I mapped out a good section of the palace. I began to hear music and moved towards it watching as coaches pulled up and elegant men and women got out and moved towards the palace gates. Slipping into the crowd of people was easy as I went with the flow into a massive ballroom the size of a football stadium. --- Guinevere growled in irritation and her handmaidens flinched back. The King had without her permission or even asking her selected a dress for her to match the outfit that Arthur would be wearing to the ball. The dress was mostly white and was quite elegant, matching her curves perfectly with silver and blue accents. Looking to the bed where the black and red dress she had picked out to match Mordred was, she sighed. She had to pick her battles, and this wasn¡¯t one worth fighting. Holding out her arms she let her handmaidens dress her. An elaborate silver necklace set with azure blue gemstones that matched her eyes was brought out. ¡°Your ring doesn¡¯t match your necklace and diadem,¡± her handmaiden Mary said trying to slide it off her finger. The ring given to her by Mordred didn¡¯t budge an inch, only Guinevere could take it off and she pulled back her hand. ¡°I¡¯ll be keeping it on,¡± she said gently but firmly, her words allowing for no argument. Her hair was woven into an elaborate braid that ran down her back to her waist. She looked into the mirror seeing the flawless beauty of her skin given to her by her latest ability. King Arthur had forbidden her from wearing her veil tonight so the allure of her features would be on display for all to see. ¡°Lets get this over with,¡± Guinevere said rising and exiting her chambers to go and join the nest of political vipers that awaited her. --- I was an island in a sea of people. Women sashayed in elaborate tight fitting gowns or hung on the arm of the man who had attended with them. I stood apart seeing everything all at once with my Perception abilities active seeing not just was happening but what might as well. A live orchestra was playing their music somehow the same volume no matter where you were standing. Suddenly the music was cut off and the lights dimmed. A hush fell over the crowd as everyone turned to face the stairs where a spotlight had fallen. Guinevere stepped into the light, and I could hear everyone lose their breath as they looked at her exposed face. She slowly and gracefully descended the stairs and the crowd reluctantly parted around its base. Arthur stepped out of the crowd he wore colors to match Guinevere and had a warm smile on his face as he looked at her. It was time to crash this party. I stepped forward through the crowd walking right past Arthur. The crowd stirred and the bold audaciousness of my actions as if I had slapped Arthur in the face. I bowed low as I extended my hand, feeling Guinevere slide hers into mine. ¡°My lady,¡± I said the words not just a greeting but a statement of ownership to all that could hear. This was my territory no matter what anyone else thought. ¡°My Knight,¡± Guinevere said smiling as I rose from my bow. ¡°Thank you for attending me.¡± ¡°My pleasure,¡± I said. The spell over the crowd broke as they chatter picked up again a thousand gossip stories spinning up. I could feel Arthur¡¯s movement through the soles of my feet as he approached us. We were quickly surrounded, and I felt tense as I smelled my enemies all around me. ¡°Sir Ismael,¡± Vone said. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were coming to this event; I didn¡¯t think it was your sort of thing.¡± ¡°I love Events,¡± I said with a grin. ¡°You¡¯d have to trap me underground to get me to miss one.¡± ¡°Where are you from Sir Ismael?¡± Mira said her wings folded on her back to keep them from hitting the people around her. ¡°Your voice sounds familiar.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I guess I just have one of those voices.¡± --- Arthur grit his teeth. It was just like Guinevere to pull this sort of stunt lately. She hung on the knight¡¯s arm, who he was Arthur didn¡¯t know. He could understand how someone with her looks could have convinced someone to go along with this scheme of hers, but he couldn¡¯t see why she had picked this man. He was dressed in fine clothes, but he still stood out like sore thumb in the way he moved and talked. His voice was definitely not ¡°just one of those voices¡± it was like every word had a growl attached to it. If he was honest with himself Arthur felt a bit self-conscious next to him. The man was obviously older and more mature with him the stubble across his face more that what Arthur could grow in a week so far. Arthur wasn¡¯t used to being made to feel small, but this man stood around a head taller than him and his shoulders were broader his body covered in layers of heavy muscle. Arthur pushed aside thoughts of the knight, turning to Guinevere. ¡°Can I talk to you?¡± he asked. ¡°Of course,¡± Guinevere said making to motion to move. ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± ¡°In private,¡± Arthur said clenching his jaw. ¡°I have nothing to say to you that can¡¯t be said in front of everyone,¡± Guinevere said the false cheerfulness vanishing from her tone replaced by an icy chill. ¡°But I do,¡± Arthur said. Sir Ismael suddenly stiffened and turned to Guinevere. ¡°Perhaps it would be best if you cleared things up with Prince Arthur, I have to say hello to an old friend.¡± --- Guinevere felt Mordred squeeze her hand as he separated from her and disappeared into the crowd. She didn¡¯t know what he meant by his words but trusted that he had a good reason. The crowd once more parted around her and Arthur by an unseen signal. She watched Lady Lionor guide Vone and Mira away and felt her fists tighten. ¡°What do you want?¡± she snapped at Arthur. ¡°Your making a fool of yourself,¡± Arthur said. ¡°No that would be you,¡± Guinevere responded coldly. ¡°Parading your mistress around right in front of me and everyone while fighting for my hand.¡± ¡°Who is this knight?¡± Arthur asked, ignoring her words. ¡°A better man than you,¡± Guinevere said folding her arms over her chest. ¡°You know he can¡¯t beat me,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Then you have nothing to worry about,¡± Guinevere said with a savage smile. ¡°Its not that I¡¯m worried, it¡¯s embarrassing, there are already rumors going around about the two of you,¡± he said. Guinevere stepped closer. ¡°What makes you think they¡¯re just rumors?¡± she whispered to him her voice as venomous as a spider. ¡°There¡¯s no getting through to you is there?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°I don¡¯t want to do this anymore than you, but we must do¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t speak to me about what¡¯s best for our people,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯ve heard enough of your lies and hypocrisy; you will meet Sir Ismael on the battlefield, until that day I never want to speak to you again.¡± She turned on her heel and left him standing there. She scanned the room but couldn¡¯t spot Mordred. A feminine arm encircled hers and a woman she hadn¡¯t met before pulled her along into a circle of women. ¡°Dutchess Guinevere,¡± the woman said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry we haven¡¯t met before, my name is Ammerila I am¡­¡± ¡°The Assassin,¡± Guinevere said disentangling herself from the other woman. The description over her head didn¡¯t reveal she was a champion, but Guinevere recognized her name and description. ¡°Your surprisingly well informed,¡± Ammerila said and tilted her head. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to like me, why?¡± ¡°You mean other than the fact that you serve the Goddess of Assassination?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I suppose the fact your yet another one of the women my betrothed has slept with might account for something.¡± Guinevere looked around at the other women, Vone and Mira were there but Lady Lionor was absent. ¡°I see the other whore couldn¡¯t be bothered to stick around.¡± Mira and Vone both looked shocked at her words. ¡°You really don¡¯t seem to like her,¡± Mira said carefully as if she were dealing with a dangerous explosive. ¡°It¡¯s not her personally,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Its more what she represents and the fact she¡¯s a home wrecking bitch.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t talk like everyone else I¡¯ve met in this world,¡± Vone said. ¡°You talk a bit like you were from earth.¡± Guinevere shut her mouth realizing she may have been channeling a bit to much of Mordred right then. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she apologized. ¡°I¡¯m just not very happy with my circumstances with Arthur and have been taking them out on the rest of you, that was wrong of me.¡± ¡°Apology accepted,¡± Mira said taking Guinevere hand and giving it a quick squeeze. ¡°I can see how you would be emotionally frustrated,¡± Vone admitted. The group of women moved finding an elevated alcove and sitting down. ¡°So¡­¡± Vone said filling the awkward silence that had formed. ¡°When did you and Sir Ismael meet?¡± ¡°We met a few weeks before the tourney when I was¡­ hunting monsters,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I asked him to enter the Tourney on my behalf.¡± ¡°You think he can beat Arthur?¡± Ammerila asked skeptically. ¡°Yes, I do,¡± Guinevere said flatly. ¡°I thought you were interested in him,¡± Mira said to Vone. ¡°He made it clear he¡­wasn¡¯t interested in me,¡± Vone said. Guinevere had to hide her smile by raising her glass of wine to her mouth. ¡°What do you two see in him?¡± Mira asked, looking at Ishmael skeptically, having spotted him across the room in a corner. ¡°There are dozens of better-looking men in this room alone.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the way he looks,¡± Vone said. ¡°It¡¯s his¡­ presence, his confidence, it¡¯s like he¡¯s a storm hiding in the skin of a man.¡± ¡°I prefer my knights a little less¡­barbaric,¡± Mira said shaking her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you prefer him over Arthur, Guinevere.¡± ¡°You mean besides the fact of his infidelity?¡± Guinevere asked shooting a glare at Ammerila as she spoke. She turned back to Mira ignoring the returning glare of the assassin. ¡°Its also his maturity, Arthur is barely older than me and somehow less mature. Ismael on the other hand has life experiences and masculinity that frankly Arthur just lacks.¡± ¡°Where did Ismael run off to anyway?¡± Vone asked. ¡°He¡¯s over there talking with lady Lionor,¡± Mira said and realized it might have been best to keep that to herself as she saw the flush of anger on Guinevere¡¯s cheeks. Chapter 146: Natural Animosity I stiffened and squeezed Guinevere¡¯s hand. ¡°Perhaps it would be best if you cleared things up with Prince Arthur, I have to say hello to an old friend.¡± My senses had just picked up on two familiar scents. One was months ago in my memory, but I¡¯d been with her for months, so it was burned into my memory the other I had smelled much more recently. I carefully moved through the crowd avoiding Ammerila and Lady Kira. I looked different now than when the two woman had seen my face but there was no use taking chances. I had some defining scars across my face that might jog their memory a bit too much for my liking. Weaving through the crowd I found a corner and waited there. I could see Lady Kira from where I was, but she couldn¡¯t see me, Ammerila was with Guinevere now for some reason and I worried for her for a bit. I pushed my fear to the side even Ammerila wouldn¡¯t be stupid enough to try something in front of all these people, though she might try something later. No, the Assassin wasn¡¯t the main thing I was worried about, I knew the viper, what I was concerned about was the cockroach. Lady Kira was all smiles, a group of men around her and I could feel her pulling their strings like a puppet master. It wasn¡¯t an ability she was using it was just a beautiful woman with no scruples or self-worth using her body to get whatever she wanted. She had seen my face many times and if she had tried to assassinate Guinevere that meant she worked for Merlin. If Kira spotted me and reported it to Merlin, my entire plan would come crumbling down around me. There was only one thing to do, kill her before she could. I watched as she excused herself and left the ballroom. I followed at a discreet distance, and she entered a lady¡¯s powder room. I could feel through tremor sense she was the only one in the room. I entered the room, and she turned around seeing a man her expression clouded with anger. ¡°What do you think¡­¡± she began her face showing no signs she¡¯d recognized me yet. Claws tore through her neck and her eyes widened in horror as she collapsed to the ground. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said. I looked down at her cooling corpse as I merged it into the stone floor. I wiped my face with my cleansing cloth and brushed off my outfit removing the blood and stepped out into the hall. No cry of alarm came up as I strolled back into the ballroom as if nothing had happened. ¡°Sir Ismael,¡± I heard a familiar female voice call out. I turned to see Lionor gracefully moving through the crowd towards me. ¡°I see you were able to attend,¡± she said smiling at me. ¡°Are you pissed at me too?¡± I asked. ¡°Contrary to what you may believe,¡± Lionor said. ¡°I don¡¯t want Arthur to marry Guinevere, but it is what must be done.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t it anger you?¡± I asked cocking my head to the side as I examined her. ¡°Does what anger me?¡± Lionor asked. ¡°That you¡¯ll never have all his heart, that there will always be competition for his love?¡± I asked. ¡°Arthur is a great man,¡± Lionor said her tone full of adoration though I did detect a bit of melancholy. ¡°I never thought he would be mine alone.¡± ¡°And does that not bother you?¡± I asked. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t your rather take someone else who would give you all he had rather than the scraps from someone else?¡± ¡°Sometimes the scraps are worth more than the table of someone else,¡± Lionor said shrugging. ¡°Arthur is the greatest warrior in our world. Being even a part of his story will make me a legend one day, he¡¯s like the sun; is it less warm just because it shines on everyone else and not just you?¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Do you know what inflation is?¡± I asked her. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Lionor said. ¡°It sounds familiar, but I don¡¯t recall exactly what it is.¡± ¡°Basically, it boils down to this, the more of something you have the less each one is worth,¡± I said. ¡°Your like that to Arthur, I¡¯m sure he values you but the more women he collects the less he can value each one of you as individuals. There is already another woman in this room he¡¯s slept with and let us be honest with eachother, its not going to stop at her.¡± ¡°Excuse me,¡± a cold feminine voice said behind me, and I saw the color drain from Lionor¡¯s face. ¡°You¡¯ve already slept with one of my men I appreciated it if you wouldn¡¯t try it again.¡± Lionor fled into the crowd. ¡°That was a bit harsh,¡± I said. ¡°I think she genuinely loves Arthur; I don¡¯t think it was some scheme on her part to usurp you.¡± ¡°Motive doesn¡¯t matter so much when the outcome is the same,¡± Guinevere said taking my arm in hers. ¡°I feel exposed here, what did you have to do?¡± ¡°Lady Kira was here,¡± I whispered in her ear. Guinevere¡¯s body stiffened and I felt her fingers tight on my arm. ¡°Where is she?¡± she asked, her voice like a knife. ¡°She won¡¯t bother you ever again,¡± I assured her. ¡°I¡¯m concerned about the Assassin, she¡¯s seen my face before, I had a beard at the time, but she might recognize me.¡± ¡°The dances will begin soon,¡± Guinevere whispered back to me. ¡°Everyone will wear masks then.¡± We moved through the crowd always moving so there was a crowd of people in-between Ammerila and me. I could feel Arthur trying to move towards us, but he was slowed by the crowd of people all wanting to speak to him. Guinevere and I walked unbothered. Whenever someone tried to talk to us, I glowered at them, and they scurried off like frightened rabbits. The music changed and people began putting on masks. I hadn¡¯t bothered to bring a mask but with a quick whisper I activated Hell-Dragon¡¯s armory and fashioned a half mask to cover the scars over my face phantom of the opera style. ¡°Let¡¯s dance,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°You sure you want to draw even more attention on us?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s even possible,¡± Guinevere said pulling me along onto the floor. The crowd parted for us as I took her hand and waist in my hand. The music took on a fast pace and our feet moved in a fast rhythm as she followed my lead. ¡°I see you remembered the dances I taught you,¡± Guinevere said. I lifted her into the air spinning her up and around before setting her down lightly, an easy feat for someone at my Rank. ¡°We had a lot of time to practice,¡± I said. ¡°I miss those days sometimes.¡± ¡°Me too,¡± Guinevere said leaning her head against my chest. We were silent for the next few minutes as the song played out. It slowly wound to a halt; Guinevere¡¯s eyes met mine as I spun her in my arms. We bent and swayed in time to the music and for a moment I forgot my fears of being discovered and the fact I was surrounded by my enemies. ¡°Your stepping out of your place knight,¡± Arthur said breaking me from my spell. ¡°I¡¯m exactly where I need to be,¡± I responded not turning to face him. ¡°I should challenge you to a duel for your disrespect,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I only fight to the death,¡± I responded. ¡°You should ask Lord Tarrence how that worked out for him.¡± I turned around and saw Arthur raise his eyebrows. ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± he asked. ¡°That depends,¡± I responded. ¡°Are you challenging me to a duel.¡± ¡°I want to,¡± Arthur said, and I could see the truth of that in his eyes. ¡°There is something about you personally not just your actions that¡­angers me.¡± ¡°I understand completely,¡± I said. ¡°If you do make it through the tourney, I will look forward to facing you on the field,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Will you make that a duel to the death if it happens I wonder?¡± ¡°When that happens,¡± I said. ¡°I believe you will be the one who makes it a matter of life and death.¡± Arthur looked puzzled then shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s clear you don¡¯t want to be here Guinevere; my father doesn¡¯t approve of your antics but I¡¯ve approved them. If this is how you feel you need to rebel, then so be it. I shall prove myself against your champion if he prevails. The two of you are free to leave whenever you want.¡± Arthur turned his back on me, and I resisted the urge within myself to attack him. That time would come soon enough. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± I said to Guinevere. She and I left the ballroom. I wanted to kiss her goodbye but all I could do was bow over her hand my lips brushing over the back of it. She walked away and I watched her until she passed around a bend in the hall. I turned around to leave the Palace and froze. A man in mixture of black and silver robes and armor stood before me holding a black gnarled staff with a glowing crystal.
Merlin the Mage of Camelot, Gifted- humanoid/human, Exarch, Rank: 1974
While I had technically faced someone of higher rank before, only Karnen¡¯s transformation into a Guardian Spirit had let me survive that. ¡°Come with me Sir Ismael,¡± Merlin said. ¡°I would like to talk to you about my daughter.¡± His tone implied it wasn¡¯t a question. ¡°Of course, my lord,¡± I said preparing myself for a different kind of battle. Chapter 147: The Wizard of Camelot My exterior was placid even if internally I was on the edge of activating all my passives and fighting for my life. Merlin lead us into a cozy study the walls lined with dark wood bookshelves tomes contained behind crystal glass. Merlin sat in a leather bound armchair and gestured for me to sit across from him. I took a seat, and he poured two glasses of an amber liquor. With a gesture of his fingers the glass frosted over, and he passed me the drink. ¡°How did you meet my daughter?¡± he asked. ¡°She met me in the forest when she was hunting a monster,¡± I said. ¡°We fought some monsters in a cave, and she asked me to come here and serve as her champion.¡± ¡°During her escapade a few weeks ago,¡± Merlin mused sipping at his whiskey. ¡°Stop seeing her now.¡± ¡°No,¡± I said. Merlin raised an eyebrow. ¡°You see the differences in our strength and yet you would still defy me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve punched above my rank before,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°I am more than the sum of my abilities,¡± Merlin warned me. ¡°I am the Wizard of Camelot I have access to spells you can¡¯t comprehend.¡± ¡°Not my first time dealing with a higher-ranking wizard either,¡± I said sipping at my own whiskey. ¡°Really,¡± Merlin said pursing his lips as he studied me. ¡°Fine then, what¡¯s your price?¡± ¡°My price?¡± I asked. ¡°For leaving my daughter alone,¡± Merlin said. ¡°You may have a put a price on her,¡± I said shaking my head. ¡°But I haven¡¯t. I have to ask, as a father how can you do this to your daughter?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t presume to judge me boy,¡± Merlin growled. ¡°This is her duty as a daughter and lady of Camelot.¡± ¡°But what about your duty as a father?¡± I asked. ¡°To care about the happiness of your daughter, as I understand there was a contract between her and Arthur to both remain faithful and he broke that. Doesn¡¯t that anger you?¡± ¡°Affairs and mistresses are common among my peers,¡± Merlin said, and I detected just a hint of bitterness as he stared into his glass. ¡°She shouldn¡¯t have expected anything different; we live in reality not a fairytale.¡± His eyes snapped back up to me. ¡°Again, I will ask you, what is your price?¡± ¡°The only thing I want that you could give me is the one you¡¯re trying to get me to stay away from,¡± I said. ¡°I want Guinevere¡¯s hand in marriage, I will fight whoever I have to get that, even you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to stand against me,¡± Merlin said runes along his staff glowing his eyes suddenly a luminous emerald glow. ¡°I am not a duelist like my nephew, it will not be an honorable fight when you face me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve faced your assassin¡¯s already,¡± I said meeting his eyes without fear. ¡°So, he talked,¡± Merlin said going still as a winter lake. ¡°I thought I had made him immune to torture.¡± ¡°His body maybe but not his soul,¡± I said with a shrug deciding to let Merlin go with believing I tortured the information out of the assassin. ¡°He told me a lot of things before he died.¡± ¡°Are you trying to blackmail me to back off you?¡± Merlin asked. ¡°It won¡¯t work.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to blackmail you,¡± I said our eyes never leaving the other as we stared each other down. ¡°I don¡¯t fear your rank, Merlin, not politically or physically. Any man who would send assassins after his own daughter is not worthy of respect.¡± ¡°Be careful of your next words,¡± Merlin said his voice sharp and hard as a knife. ¡°Or what?¡± I asked leaning back in my seat. ¡°You¡¯ll do the job yourself this time? You don¡¯t seem the type to get your own hands dirty.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t get my rank by being squeamish,¡± Merlin said our eyes unblinking as we stared each other down. ¡°Answer me one question honestly and I will leave you be until your duel with Arthur.¡± ¡°Only if I get one question too,¡± I said. ¡°Very well,¡± Merlin agreed nodding his head he stared into my eyes. ¡°Are you a member of the Order of the Magi?¡± I blinked in surprise than smiled. ¡°No,¡± I said leaning back in my chair. ¡°My turn, why did your wife kill herself? The real reason.¡± Merlin¡¯s jaw clenched. ¡°We¡¯re done here,¡± he said pushing himself up. He left me alone in the office and I took some time to finish my drink. I didn¡¯t press him; his reaction alone had been an answer of sorts. What did you read from him there? I asked Voidra. A lot of irritation, surprise, and rage when you asked your last question. The rage wasn¡¯t even directed at you for asking it, it was towards something else. I also detected hints of hurt and betrayal, it was delicious, Voidra purred. I didn¡¯t even blink at her psychopathic description of human emotions anymore. I thought about those emotions and what implications they might have. I finished my drink and stood up. This time when I walked out of the palace I wasn¡¯t stopped. I returned to the tourney ground and sat down cross legged in my tent. I didn¡¯t see Kalin which concerned me. He¡¯s fine, Ares said. He¡¯s with those other orphans you found him with right now. I relaxed. ¡°Keep an eye on him for me.¡± I had enchanted the tent to be soundproof and I would need that for what I was about to do. I had gathered over a hundred-thousand rank points fighting the gargoyles. They hadn¡¯t been dungeon creatures or raid monsters but monsters with their own abilities. This meant I could finally get Void Asura to its max rank before the fight with Arthur. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Raise Void Asura by one rank,¡± I told the system. Gritting my teeth through the soul scouring agony I was glad Kalin wasn¡¯t here to see this. It ended and I did it again and I got it.
Void Asura, (Rank: 35): You have created a symbiotic instead of parasitic relationship with the spirits inhabiting you, through the use of an ability token you have changed this ability to make it somewhat compatible with the System. Through manipulation of your mana and stamina, they have created a third type of energy and can use it to manifest through your body and interact with the world.
Void Armor: You gain immunity to Void & Soul damage. The spectral arms created by the spirits residing in your soul when manifested appear armored, the armor has hardness 35 with an additional 1 hardness per twenty points of Spirit you have. Current hardness .
Void Edge: Your attacks while this ability is active deal Extreme Void damage and bypass 28 levels of hardness.
Void Soul: Like the beings of the void, you feed on the souls of others to grow in power; you Ethereal regeneration is increased by .05 and your max Ethereal is increased by 5 for every creature with a soul that you kill permanently.
Void Arsenal: You are able to bind 5 weapons to your soul letting you store them there and summon them and dismiss them at will. If you lose your weapons, they are transported back into your soul vault to be resummoned later.
Void Matter: You are linked to Void body and soul and are able to make the void manifest physically. For the cost of 10 ethereal, you can create 3 pound of Void matter, the matter will degrade overtime while outside of the void.
Void Shield: Time, space, and reality are not constant laws in the Void; when you take damage you can expend 100 ethereal to change the outcome of time and reality to negate all the damage taken in the past 7 seconds. Cooldown 50 seconds.
Void Eyes: You see the gaps in reality where doors into the Void can be opened.
Cost: 15 Ethereal per second Cast Time: Instantaneous
This ability should not exist, it will take 10x the normal amount of rank points for each rank up of this ability. Ranking up this ability does not advance any of your attributes. Current Max Rank 50
If I was honest this new addition to the skill was a major letdown. I¡¯d been hoping for another tool in my duel against Arthur, at least the other effects had upgraded their effects. I felt energized instead of drained despite the harrowing experience of scouring my soul. Standing up I left the tent and looked out towards the palace. I needed to see Guinevere again, it wasn¡¯t a want but a burning need. I pulled Mab out and scanned its pages writing down several test scripts that were rejected until I came upon one that would work. Stepping into a shadow I cast it upon myself turning translucent, I stepped into a portal and appeared inside the Palace. I had noticed it wasn¡¯t Warded against this kind of entry which I found interesting. There were wards to prevent abilities from letting you teleport inside, but a glaring weakness was their effectiveness against spells. I had to wonder if Merlin was aware of this. He seemed concerned about the Order of the Magi but didn¡¯t seem to be prepared to counter them despite his claims of being a powerful wizard. Putting that aside for later consideration I followed the jasmine scent of Guinevere. I had to hide from guards several times but found a door past a guarded hallway. My boots let me teleport past some security sections the short-range teleport not triggering any of the wards. I knocked at the door. ¡°Who is it?¡± Guinevere called from within. ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± I whispered back but knowing she could hear. The door opened and Guinevere pulled me inside. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± she hissed at me. I didn¡¯t answer her with words pulling her close. She was stiff for a moment than melted in my arms her body pressing against mine. She leaned back pulling me with her and we stepped back. Her knees hit the edge of the bed and I slowly lowered her down on it. My kisses ran down her neck and along her collar bone as my hand ran along her body undoing the buttons of her dress. Long minutes later after I had kissed my way along her skin and curves caressing every inch of her skin we came together. Our breathing intensified skin pressed hot against each other her legs entwined around mine. Her nails clawed along my back and ran through my hair. My hands traveled down her back her white hair spread out over the silk sheets of the bed. After many long minutes we lay together exhausted. It was nice to know that even with all the attributes we gained this type of activity would still leave you drained. Pulling Guinevere close I pressed my nose into her sweet-smelling hair inhaling deeply as I fell asleep instead of just a deep meditation. --- The heavy swing of the greatsword swung down and Arthur¡¯s chest heaved as he blocked it sliding across the ground. Lancelot and Kay circled around it, blood dripping down from their armor where they had taken hits during the fight. They had done this fight ten times before and even though they won each time it was always a hard-fought victory. The dungeon didn¡¯t stay the same, the abilities and weapon of the boss changing with each iteration forcing them to always adapt.
Amariel the Knight Commander; Gifted, Dungeon Boss/Archangel, Hero, Rank: 900
Arthur ducked under the next swing of the sword. Kay lunged forwards with his spear scoring a hit between the gap of the angel¡¯s breastplate and hip. It twisted to slash at him, but Lancelot interposed himself taking the hit on the shield in place of him. Arthur drove Excalibur forwards sheering through the archangel armor. A retaliatory blast of golden luminescence hit him, and the Holy damage seared through his armor and into his flesh. Arthur grit his teeth and bore it; he had gained Holy Resistance III from fighting this boss and enduring its attacks. A metallic feathered wing went for Arthur, its feathers humming ready to chew through him like a buzz saw. Pushing off the ground Arthur twisted through the air dodging the wing and striking out, hacking it off at the base of the boss¡¯ torso. The wing fell to the ground and the archangel stumbled suddenly off balance. Kay struck with his spear up through the gap in its armpit into its heart. Even in its dying moments the threat was not over. The archangel grabbed Kay¡¯s spear and dragged him closer swinging its sword for his neck. A shout tore from Lancelot¡¯s throat and the sword spun in the air redirected towards the party¡¯s tank and reverberating against his shield. The archangel sank to its knees and Arthur took off its head with his sword. Arthur heaved a breath as the notifications for the boss¡¯s death scrolled across his vision.
150 rank points gained.
Dismissing the notification for the rank points he read the next one.
Wings of the Heavens (Rank 1): Golden wings made of light sprout from your back giving you a flight speed equal to your movement speed. The wings are immune to physical damage but vulnerable to certain types of damage.
Cost: 4 mana per second
Rank up this ability to increase your flight capabilities. Each rank up increases your Spirit by 2.
Arthur smiled; he didn¡¯t have a flight of his ability before this. The next time the Warlord flew at him they¡¯d take their battle to the sky. Chapter 148: A Sick Fa?ade I rose before the dawn. Sitting up I looked at Guinevere still sleeping, her hair wild and spread across the sheets. I pulled the covers over naked shoulders, and she stirred a slight smile tugging at her lips but she didn¡¯t wake. I pulled on my clothes and opened a portal and teleported back to my tent on the Tourney Grounds. Kalin was there in his cot, and I looked his over and checked his armor. It didn¡¯t appear damaged, and I relaxed slightly, whatever he had been up to he had gone about it smarter than I did. Sitting down I set Mab down on the table and began going over different enchantment configurations. A lot of this was theoretical, while Mab could calculate if a spell would work or not, he didn¡¯t know what gemstone would be needed to make a Enchantment work. I kept working on the designs for another two hours until the tent flap moved, and Aisha stepped in. ¡°Sir Ishmael your next fights in an hour,¡± she said. Standing up I looked up to see Kalin sliding out of bed and putting on his boots. ¡°Where your friends alright?¡± I asked him. Kalin froze. ¡°You knew what I was doing?¡± I chuckled. ¡°I have ways of keeping tabs on you, you¡¯re my responsibility keeping you alive is my job. If you want to skip watching the duel today, you can go visit them again.¡± I tossed him a small sack of coins. ¡°Get them some more food, I should have thought to do that sooner.¡± ¡°Thank you, sir,¡± Kalin said, finishing pulling on his boots and running out of the tent. ¡°You seem to care a lot about a boy you met a few days ago,¡± Aisha said as we walked towards the arena, I¡¯d be dueling in. ¡°I see a lot of myself in him when I was that age,¡± I said. ¡°The anger, hatred and distrust; helping him is the only way I can reach out to the boy I used to be.¡± ¡°Why were you angry?¡± Aisha asked. I stopped and she kept moving until she realized I wasn¡¯t beside her. She looked back and met my eyes. ¡°Who said I¡¯m still not angry?¡± I asked my voice, a deep growl. Aisha froze like a deer in the headlights. Then I smiled and kept walking and she unfroze. ¡°How do you do that?¡± she asked walking beside me again. ¡°You go from a beast to a man in heartbeat.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a trick,¡± I said a with a shrug. ¡°Its just who I am.¡± ¡°The man or the beast?¡± she asked. ¡°They aren¡¯t different, and they aren¡¯t exclusive,¡± I replied. ¡°Everyone has what I have inside them, I just¡­I just have more of both.¡± We passed an arena much fancier than the ones I competed in men and women in outfits that wouldn¡¯t have been out of place in fancy ball were entering it. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I asked. Aisha checked her notepad. ¡°That would be where Prince Arthur is dueling today, did you want to watch to get a sense for how he fights?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen him fight,¡± I said dismissively. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t learn anything from watching a fa?ade.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t let you win,¡± Aisha said to me suddenly. ¡°Even if you beat him, you¡¯ll still lose.¡± ¡°I have to try,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°And you can always win, even if the rules are rigged, then break the fucking game.¡± ¡°Why do you care so much about her?¡± she asked. ¡°You¡¯ve known her for how long?¡± ¡°A little over a year,¡± I said with a shrug my head always moving looking around us in all directions scanning for threats. Aisha¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°I though you only knew her for a few weeks?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I tell most people,¡± I agreed. ¡°But I¡¯m extending you a bit of trust.¡± We reached the arena and stepped into the fighter¡¯s tunnel. Aisha looked at me and her expression looked conflicted. ¡°Good luck,¡± she said. ¡°Thanks, but I won¡¯t need it until I get to Arthur,¡± I said stepping into the arena. I walked halfway to the center and waited. I looked up but Guinevere wasn¡¯t in the stands today. That actually made me smile at the thought of her sleeping in due to our late-night activities. My opponent stepped into the arena. I didn¡¯t even bother to read his description, just waited.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The adjudicator did his usual speil and the knight stalked forwards. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of you Sir Ismael,¡± he said. ¡°They say you¡¯re a great warrior, maybe as great as Arthur. I have my doubts,¡± he taunted me. I moved towards him rolling my shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m going to¡­¡± he began but I was done. I sprang forward and back kicked behind me as I spun hitting the back of his knee. He went down and my gauntleted fist of my sword hand hit him in the head with enough force to fell an oak with a single blow. He crumpled into the stand, and I shook my head. I looked up at the adjudicator. ¡°Do you have no one else?¡± I asked. ¡°Is this the might of Camelot I¡¯ve heard so much of?¡± For once no cheers answered me my words having stung their patriotic pride. ¡°Send me a real warrior next time,¡± I said and strode out of the arena. --- Guinevere stirred in bed and sat up. Mordred was gone, reaching beside her she felt it was still warm signaling he had just left. She slipped into the copper bathtub and let the hot water wash her clean of any scent that might give away what she and Mordred had done last night. Despite the fear of them catching him she had needed that; the tension between them had been building to unbearable levels and needed to be released. Rinsing her hair, she wrung it out and wrapped it in a towel feeling the enchantments woven it heat up to help it dry faster. She heard a knock at the servant¡¯s door. ¡°Come in,¡± she called. Her handmaidens entered and began making the bed. Guinevere felt sudden paranoia they might discover some clue but relaxed. These were common servants not gifted and lacked the senses they would need to smell Mordred¡¯s scent on the sheets. She rose and left her chambers. She was headed to the tourney grounds knowing she¡¯d be late for Mordred¡¯s match. ¡°Guinevere,¡± a stern voice called out. She froze and turned. ¡°Yes father?¡± she asked. Merlin approached her and looked around, but they were alone. ¡°What did you tell your champion about your mother?¡± he asked, and she could hear anger in his voice. ¡°I told him everything,¡± Guinevere said. It was true enough Mordred had seen all her memories of her mother. ¡°Why?¡± Merlin asked his hands clenching on his staff. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize how little you care for our family.¡± ¡°I guess I stopped caring about our family the day I learned that my own father tried to have me killed,¡± Guinevere said her eyes flashing with rage. Usually, she was able to keep her emotions iced over but today they were a raging fire. ¡°So, your little knight told you about his petty theory,¡± Merlin scoffed. ¡°And you, being the fool you are, believed him.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t deceive me with your lies anymore,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I went against your wishes, and you acted to secure your power.¡± ¡°I have only ever acted to secure the betterment of my family,¡± Merlin said stepping closer and towering over her. ¡°You have only ever acted in your own best interest,¡± Guinevere spat at him. ¡°Than is not true,¡± Merlin snarled. ¡°It is,¡± Guinevere said and this time her voice broke with tears. ¡°Every action I¡¯ve ever seen you take proves it. You¡¯ve forced me into this sick fa?ade, a fake tournament for my hand, as fake your love for our family. You have no love for our country, for your family, for me; just like you never loved my mother.¡± Merlin¡¯s hand struck her across the face at those last words. ¡°I loved your mother more than you could ever imagine before she betrayed me,¡± he snarled and stormed off. Guinevere felt the stinging pain on her cheek and blood dripping down. Her chest heaved with emotion, and she turned around, she couldn¡¯t go out like this. Her emotional armor was sundered, and she retreated back to her room. Locking all the doors, she ignored the knocking by her handmaidens. ¡°Go away!¡± she shouted. Hours passed her knees tight to her chest. The sun set and a portal opened up Mordred stepping into the room. He took one look at her, and worry filled his face as he went to her side. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked. Guinevere threw her arms around his neck hugging him tight. ¡°Hold me,¡± she whispered. She felt his strong arms wrapped around her, a shield against the world. ¡°What happened?¡± Mordred asked. ¡°My father and I spoke,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I told him I knew he tried to assassinate him, and we fought. He said my mother betrayed him...¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Mordred said. ¡°They¡¯re just the words of a man who will do anything to hurt you.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t see the rage in his eyes,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯ve only seen him like that once in my life¡­ back when I was child right before my mother went missing for months.¡± Mordred was silent just holding her and rocking her kissing her hair. He lay beside her keeping her tight against him. Eventually she relaxed enough to drift off the heat of Mordred like a furnace keeping her warm as they lay atop the covers. --- Arthur looked out over the palace gardens from the balcony that joined to his bedchambers. He felt heat press up against the bare chest of his skin on both sides. Lionor and Ammerila leaned against him as he looked out at the rising sun. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Lionor asked. ¡°The Warlord,¡± Arthur said. ¡°He¡¯s out there slaughtering man and monsters and growing in power. I¡¯ve been pushing myself here, but I need to be out there.¡± ¡°You think about him to much my love,¡± Lionor said. ¡°You¡¯ve beaten him before.¡± ¡°We killed him,¡± Ammerila said. ¡°But he always won even when he was dead.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t met him Lionor,¡± Arthur said. ¡°He¡¯s not human, not like us, I don¡¯t think he can even feel pain.¡± ¡°He can¡¯t,¡± Ammerila confirmed. ¡°I first met him in the first Event, he didn¡¯t seem to special at first. I tried to kill him though, I sneak attack to his back with enough poison to kill a dragon and it should have attacked his nervous system and left him mewling on the floor.¡± ¡°Sometimes I question the gods,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Their System allows for men like him to rise to power just as it helps others protect civilization.¡± ¡°It is the balance of things,¡± Ammerila said shrugging. ¡°Even in your city there is chaos, it is contained but its still there. You can never get rid of it entirely, but you can use it for the greater good.¡± Arthur sighed. ¡°I¡¯m tired of using things for the greater good, I want to just do things because they are good. When I first became a champion, everything seemed so simple, now¡­ now I must use war to destroy the Warlord. I¡¯m forcing a woman I¡¯ve known my entire life to marry me against her will and I¡¯m sleeping with someone who should be my mortal enemy.¡± ¡°Do you regret that?¡± Ammerila asked raising an eyebrow as she looked up at him. Arthur smiled down at her the bedsheet wrapped around her lithe curves awakening a hunger within him. ¡°No,¡± he admitted. ¡°That¡¯s a compromise I¡¯m happy to make.¡± The two woman pulled Arthur back into the bedchamber the silence enchantments on their chambers blocking out the sounds of their love making from the rest of the palace. Chapter 149: Warlord 1 to Knights 3 I woke up and set Guinevere down; she murmured softly, and I gently kissed her. Her eyelids fluttered open, and a smile spreading across her face. ¡°Good morning, beautiful,¡± I said, tucking her hair behind her ear. ¡°You¡¯re still here,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m always with you,¡± I said, taking her hand and spinning the ring I had given her around on her finger. ¡°As long as you wear this, I¡¯m only a thought away.¡± I kissed her and felt her response as she shifted under me, her heart beating faster with excitement. My hand ran down her waist, traveling to her thigh and¡­ Mordred! Ares shouted. Aisha¡¯s come to see you at your tent. She¡¯s talking with Kalin. You¡¯re scheduled for a fight in ten minutes. They¡¯re trying to rig the game again. ¡°Of course, they are,¡± I growled. ¡°What?¡± Guinevere asked, confused. ¡°It¡¯s the adjudicator. He¡¯s trying his shit again. I¡¯m fighting in ten minutes,¡± I said, standing up and strapping on my head with telekinesis. I opened a portal and Guinevere stepped up next to me. ¡°I¡¯m coming with you,¡± she said. ¡°People will ask how you left the palace,¡± I reminded her. ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯m going to be there for you.¡± Taking her hand, we stepped through the portal together. Aisha looked up as Guinevere and I stepped into my tent and she fell into a deep curtsey. ¡°My lady, I didn¡¯t know you would¡­¡± Aisha began. ¡°Tell no one of what you have seen,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Now hurry, my champion needs to be in the arena.¡± Aisha told me where I needed to be, and I opened another a portal, the four of us all stepping through. I strode into the arena, my blood seething. I looked up to find that the adjudicator wasn¡¯t there. Instead, Merlin sat in judgement. ¡°So,¡± I said. ¡°I see I¡¯ve traced the corruption of this kingdom to its source.¡± Merlin smiled down at me. ¡°I am sorry, Sir Ismael. There appears to have been a scheduling conflict. Someone listed you to fight three knights all in the same time slot. You will have to fight all three at once or forfeit the match.¡± --- Guinevere raced up the steps into the viewing booth, ignoring her father to run to the edge. Mordred stood in the sand in his dark gray armor. She heard her father speak as he discussed the blatant rigging of the game. She couldn¡¯t see Mordred¡¯s face behind his helmet, but his body language showed no frustration or fear, and he just shook his head. ¡°You think fighting me three on one is intimidating¡­ when in fact, it is nothing more than an admission of weakness,¡± Mordred said, spitting out the last word as if had a bad taste. ¡°Send them in against me.¡± The gates opened, and three knights stepped into the arena. Guinevere recognized two of them instantaneously as Lancelot and Kay. The third knight she couldn¡¯t place. She didn¡¯t recognize his heraldry or armor. Looking him over, his description appeared above his head.
Aramid the Comet-Born, Champion of Andelar, Gifted¡ªhumanoid/half-giant, Veteran: 458
Three champions against her beloved. Guinevere couldn¡¯t let that stand, but¡­ there was nothing she could do against her father¡¯s political power. Against the arbiter, she could have killed him for that kind of cheating, but Merlin was third in line for the throne. ¡°Sir Ismael,¡± she called out. Mordred looked up at her, cocking his head. Guinevere leaned over the side of the balcony, waving a white handkerchief, its gold embroidered edges extending down to him. ¡°Take this as a token of my favor,¡± she said. ¡°Fight for me and my honor this day. I give you, my blessing.¡± A radiant glow surrounded Modred. Technically, her actions were on the fringes of cheating, but her father could not call her out without his own actions, forfeiting him the match. Guinevere dropped the handkerchief and Mordred caught it as it drifted down. He examined it for a moment, reading its description before tying it around his arm. Guinevere¡¯s blessing would reduce all the damage Mordred took by one stage and her favor would boost all his attributes by ten percent of her highest attribute for the following hour. She looked at the new champion in the trio nervously. He was an unknown; she didn¡¯t remember seeing him in the Event and Andelar was not a god to be underestimated. While part of the gods of law, the actions he had taken to become one made him as bad as the gods of Chaos. Andelar, God of Comets and Extinction, his ascension to godhood had wiped out all life on an entire continent. Mordred cracked his neck, his gauntlet-sword slashing out as he tensed and released his arms, loosening his limbs. The ringing of chain mail sang out like the bells of a winter sleigh. The three champions fanned out and Merlin waited, the crowd silent as a mouse as they held their collective breath. ¡°Begin!¡± Merlin called out. --- A war hammer spun past my head before snapping back into the half-giant¡¯s palm. I didn¡¯t know who the half-giant was, or who Andelar was, and I didn¡¯t care. I could feel the strength from Guinevere¡¯s favor flow through my veins, but I was not confident in my victory. Sure, I had beat Kay and Lancelot before, but that had been in life and death fights with the use of my abilities and Clarent. However, I had only the strength of arms and, while I was among the best, so were they, and they had trained a lot longer than I had. I blocked a spear thrust from Kay, stepping into backhand him, but Lancelot stepped in the way with his shield. I ducked under the swing of Lancelot¡¯s sword and spun between the three knights. I could feel them moving around me and see the possible actions they would take. Unfortunately, most of those actions ended with me bleeding out on the ground. ¡°Merlin paid a heavy price for me to come here and duel you,¡± Aramid said. ¡°What was it you did that angered him so much?¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°I fell in love with his daughter,¡± I said, ducking under his war-hammer. ¡°Aye,¡± the half-giant laughed. ¡°She is a pretty thing. Perhaps she¡¯ll take a fancy to me when I¡¯ve finished pasting you into the ground.¡± ¡°Silence beast,¡± Lancelot snapped. ¡°You¡¯re here to fight, not make sport of our future queen.¡± Lancelot finished by trying to shield slam me across the arena, but I spun low, hitting his legs with a double kick. I pushed up with my arms, sending myself ten feet into the air above the knights. I flung a handful of sand into Kay¡¯s face, and he stumbled back. He had to rip off his helmet to rub the dirt from his eyes. A hammer swung and hit me on the shoulder, sending me colliding with the arena wall. The blow dented my enchanted armor and the stone behind me cracked. I noticed Merlin frown at that and moments later, a dome appeared around the arena, keeping us all trapped inside. Kay lunged forward, and I dropped under his spear and shot forward. Kay tried to pull his weapon back, but I grabbed it and pulled forward. He dropped the spear and my attempt to KO him only cracked his jaw, but him spitting out blood was still satisfying. The spear yanked itself from my hand back into his and the three champions rushed me to pin me against the arena wall. I rolled under the next hammer strike, stabbing Thorn into the gap behind his knee. Aramid roared in pain as blood spurted out the bleeding enchantments on Thorn, causing even more blood to drain from his body. The spear stabbed again, and I kicked out, launching my body up from the ground. My sword blocked the swing of Lancelot¡¯s sword, and I spun, maintaining my momentum. I used that momentum to Superman punch Kay into the wall. He hit and his helmetless head cracked against the wall, his eyes rolling in his head. I lunged forward, taking a massive hit across my back from the hammer and Lancelot¡¯s sword, but my gauntleted fist landed, cracking Kay¡¯s skull. He collapsed to the ground, blood from his head pooling onto the sand. For his sake, I hoped they¡¯d drag him out of the arena, or he¡¯d bleed to death; I¡¯d hate to be disqualified for killing one of my opponents. My back ached, and I felt a massive dent and rent in the armor. The champions¡¯ weapons were artifacts, and even the enchanted armor and hardness I could make with Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory could only withstand so much abuse. ¡°You¡¯re good,¡± Aramid admitted. ¡°But there was a reason they hired me for this fight. We can¡¯t use our active abilities but our passives¡­ they¡¯re all good. Let me show you mine.¡± He raised his arms to the sky, going still as a statue. A massive weight settled upon me. It was like I was Atlas, forced to bear the weight of the sky on my shoulders. I grunted and strained against it. Lancelot moved freely and rushed me, his sword coming down. I barely parried his attack. Luckily, it seemed Aramid couldn¡¯t do whatever he was doing and also attack. I struggled against the attacks Lancelot sent against me. For every one I blocked, two more struck me. Rents punctured through my armor and the chain mail along my joints ripped open, blood pouring onto the ground. With every second, the gravitational forces pushing down on me grew more intense. We¡¯re going to need to cheat to do this, I thought to my spirits. Any ideas. You are a creature of the Void, Voidra said. Draw upon your energy. It suffuses your body even now. Reach out and take that power. That could do massive damage to his body, Karnen warned. This will probably put you at death¡¯s door¡­ again. ¡°I admire your resolve, Storm Knight,¡± Aramid said. ¡°But even all your strength cannot bear the weight of the world.¡± ¡°Try me,¡± I snarled. Reaching in, I grabbed at my Eather energy and pulled. It resisted me at first, but the force with which I had brought it into existence was the same force I used now. My body lurched forward, and I grabbed the top of Lancelot¡¯s shield. He hacked at my arm and blood spurted from my inner elbow. Activate my regeneration, I ordered my spirits. We have to risk it. I hauled on his shield, yanking his arm taught. He thrust the tip of his sword towards my throat, but I met it with a headbutt, turning the point of the blade aside. I slammed my sword down onto his inner elbow. Lancelot screamed as blood sprayed the both of us. I drove him to the ground and pummeled him with my fists. I tore his helmet off and hit him again and again, his arms going up to protect his head. He kicked out, throwing me off him. I pushed myself back to my feet, my bones breaking under the strain of resisting the titanic force pushing down on me. I lost my mediation as rage overcame me. The agony of my body destroying and rebuilding itself a second later, but it was as dim as the pain as I had experienced in the early days on this world. I bent and met Lancelot as he tried to tackle me to the ground and I brought both my fists down on his shoulders, feeling the armor there bend inward and break his collar bones. I kicked his head, and he went down. Turning, my bones still snapping and reknitting themselves, I looked to Aramid who still stood, his arms raised high. I stalked forward and Aramid looked at me with wonder. He lowered his hands and the force weighing on me ended. ¡°I yield,¡± he said. ¡°That was not the agreement,¡± Merlin called out from above us, his voice full of anger. ¡°The agreement was that I do my best to beat him, I have,¡± Aramid replied. ¡°I fear if I push this man any farther, beating him would mean forfeiting my life, and you have nothing to barter with that is worth that price.¡± Aramid turned and bowed his head to me. ¡°You have my respect, Storm Knight; may we someday meet on the glory of the battlefield.¡± The half-giant walked out of the arena, the only one not massively bleeding out, a slight limp the only sign he had even been in combat. Healers rushed to the field as the barrier fell and they dragged Kay and Lancelot away. I stumbled into the fighter¡¯s tunnel and collapsed. Karlin shoved a water skin into my hands, and I drained it, barely stopping to take a breath. Wiping my brow, I removed the blood and sweat on my skin, but my armor was still stained with it and beat to shit. Guinevere burst into the tunnel and kneeled beside me. ¡°Are you alright?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± I grunted unconvincingly. My body might have been healed, but the eather energy was still raging, and I had to wrestle it into submission to keep it from liquifying everything in my body. I was pretty sure my Void Mage title was the only reason I wasn¡¯t dead. Even being immune to Void exposure, the power of the eather energy was like trying to eat a star. ¡°I can¡¯t believe my father would do something like that,¡± Guinevere snarled. ¡°Really?¡± I asked. ¡°What part of that was out of character for him?¡± My slight smile and dark humor seemed to mollify Guinevere, the best sign I could give her that I was alright. ¡°I have good news at least,¡± Aisha said hesitantly from behind us. ¡°Because of how he manipulated the tournament to place you against the two top contenders, you¡¯ve moved to the very top. There are no other contestants for you to face.¡± ¡°You mean¡­¡± I wheezed. ¡°You¡¯re going to face Arthur next,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°It¡¯s almost over.¡± She stood up. ¡°I need to prepare; I will see you soon.¡± She got up and left, and Aisha followed her with her eyes. ¡°The two of you seem very¡­ close.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to know more than that,¡± I said. ¡°Rember Aisha, my existence is a danger to you.¡± I opened a portal back to my tent and collapsed on the cot there. --- Vone approached Ishmael¡¯s tent. She had missed the fight he had against three champions, but it was all anyone was talking about. Exar was outside the tent like a guardian beast. He looked up as she approached. ¡°He¡¯s not up for visitors,¡± he said, his rumbling baritone voice sending shivers through her. ¡°Is he alright?¡± Vone asked. ¡°Probably,¡± Exar said, shrugging. ¡°He¡¯s had worse.¡± Exar looked down at the dagger he¡¯d been examining, then looked back up to her. ¡°Why do you care, anyway?¡± Vone shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. There¡¯s just something about him.¡± ¡°There certainly is,¡± Exar agreed. ¡°However, I suspect if you knew what that something was, your feelings would be different.¡± Vone sighed. Conversations with and about Ishmael were always so full of riddles and double meanings she had no way to understand them. She looked Exar over and smiled. ¡°What are you doing right now?¡± she asked. Exar shrugged. ¡°Great!¡± Vone said, taking his hand and pulling him behind her. ¡°Then I can buy you dinner.¡± Exar sighed but followed her. ¡°If this is some manner of courtship you have planned¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± Vone sighed. ¡°Are you in love with someone else, too?¡± ¡°Nothing like that, but I am not what you think I am,¡± Exar warned her. ¡°There is something about you I do find strangely¡­ attractive. But my life is not something you can just step into.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Vone asked. ¡°You say you¡¯re not what I think you are, but what is that you aren¡¯t? A great warrior, a hero-rank adventurer, a good man?¡± ¡°The last one,¡± Exar said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if either of those two words could describe me. Let these feeling you have for me die, or they will likely lead to your death.¡± Vone dropped Exar¡¯s hand and sighed. ¡°What is with all the men I like being so cryptic and warning me away from them?¡±
Chapter 150: The Last Night I slept through the rest of the day and night as the energy burned through me and my body repaired itself. At last, all the remnants of the Eather energy were gone, and I was able to sit up. I drained another water skin and dug into my rations, consuming nearly a quarter of my body weight. The tent flap moved, and Aisha stepped inside. ¡°Is the duel today?¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± Aisha said. ¡°They wanted time to set up the event. It will be tomorrow at noon in the grand arena. They want the entire city to come and watch.¡± ¡°Good,¡± I said. ¡°Aisha, tomorrow could be very dangerous. Don¡¯t come into work. Stay home. You don¡¯t want to be anywhere near me when this goes down.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Aisha asked. ¡°You¡¯ll hear about it,¡± I said and stood, extending my hand to her. ¡°You¡¯ve been a loyal companion these past weeks. I will remember you.¡± Aisha took my hand, her expression troubled. Her fingers squeezed my hand, then she turned and left, only the scent of her cheap perfume filling the air. --- Guinevere walked down the halls of the palace. She turned a corner and bumped into Arthur. The two stopped and stood there for a moment. ¡°Excuse me,¡± Guinevere said, trying to move around him. ¡°We need to talk,¡± Arthur said, moving and blocking her path. ¡°About what?¡± Guinevere asked with a sigh. ¡°What happens next after tomorrow?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°I leave this kingdom and never see you again,¡± Guinevere said, her eyes flashing with anger. Arthur sighed. ¡°You know that won¡¯t happen. He may have beat three champions, a dishonorable fight that I don¡¯t approve of by the way, but he can¡¯t beat me; I am the Duelist.¡± ¡°He will surprise you,¡± Guinevere responded flatly, a small, contemptuous smile spreading across her face. ¡°You need to prepare yourself for us being an inevitability,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I won¡¯t force you into my bed, but you will be my wife and Queen of Camelot. You need to leave these childish tantrums behind you and act according to your station.¡± ¡°Of the two of us, I am the only one acting according to their station,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I disagree. You gave him your favor,¡± Arthur said. ¡°That kind of public display is more than just naming him your champion. You might as well have kissed him in full view of everyone.¡± ¡°So?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°So?¡± Arthur asked incredulously, clenching his fist. ¡°I¡¯m your future husband. You¡¯re making me seem like a cuckold. Every representative of the surrounding kingdoms has already heard the rumors about you two.¡± ¡°What makes you think they¡¯re just rumors?¡± Guinevere asked, leaning forward, her eyes like blazing orbs as they bored into Arthur¡¯s soul.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°You whore!¡± Arthur spat. Guinevere¡¯s hand caught him across the face, spinning his head to the side. ¡°So, it¡¯s fine for you to sleep with anyone who climbs into your bed, but not me?¡± she asked in disgust. ¡°Your hypocrisy knows no bounds.¡± ¡°I will brook no rival in my marriage bed,¡± Arthur said, rubbing his reddening cheek. ¡°You must win first,¡± Guinevere said, leaning forward. ¡°I will never love you; I thought I could once, but the more I see you for who you really are, the more I despise you.¡± She stormed off, leaving Arthur alone. He looked at his reflection in the window and sighed. That conversation hadn¡¯t ended like he had hoped. He¡¯d let his emotions get the best of him again. ¡°Sometimes I despise myself,¡± he admitted to no one but himself. --- They barred Guinevere from leaving the palace. Furious, she returned to her chambers; she had packed all the things she would take with her and hidden them in the back of her wardrobe. When the authority over transferred from her father to her husband, she was ready to flee with Mordred into the wilderness. Her nervousness grew when Mordred didn¡¯t come to see her that night. and so couldn¡¯t leave to check on Mordred. Mira had tried to come and see her, but Guinevere couldn¡¯t talk to her. The dread of the looming duel weighed on her, making her more anxious with every passing second. The sun set again, and a portal opened into her room. Mordred stepped out, and she rushed to him. ¡°Sorry I wasn¡¯t here last night,¡± Mordred said. ¡°I was pretty out of it and needed to sleep off the effects of the last duel.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re here now,¡± Guinevere said. --- I ran a finger down Guinevere¡¯s jaw as I tasted her lips. She quivered in my arms as I lifted her up and sat on the bed. Her head fell against my chest, her hair flowing in a cascade down her back and pooling onto the sheets. ¡°I wish we could go back to our hut by the river,¡± Guinevere said, running her hand along my chest. ¡°Life was so simple then. Sometimes I regret opening the door with you instead of choosing to stay. It would have made everything easier.¡± ¡°I wonder about it too,¡± I said. ¡°But it would have been selfish ultimately.¡± ¡°Selfish?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°We might have had a good life, but what of our child? Trapped with us there forever with no one to play with, and what about when they grew up? No one to fall in love with no way to seek their destiny,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s our job to suffer these things so our baby doesn¡¯t have to.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just afraid of what will happen when everything changes,¡± Guinevere admitted. ¡°I want things to be like they are right now, forever.¡± ¡°This will be the last night like this we have,¡± I said. ¡°One way or another.¡± Guinevere¡¯s tears ran down her cheeks, dripping onto my chest. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to do this,¡± she said. ¡°Let¡¯s just run away. We¡¯ll run and never stop.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll find us,¡± I said, kissing the tears from her face. ¡°They¡¯ll use your oaths to enslave you. I won¡¯t let that happen.¡± ¡°Then run and save yourself,¡± she insisted. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t watch you die, not again.¡± Cupping her chin, I forced her eyes to meet mine. ¡°This fight is my destiny. No one can stop it and I would rather die for you tomorrow than live a thousand lifetimes without you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Have faith,¡± I said. ¡°Not in gods, but in me.¡± She took a deep breath. ¡°I will,¡± she promised. She shifted her weight, her legs straddling me as she pushed me back on the bed. ¡°But I want to remember this night. If¡­ if the worst happens, I want to look back on this is as our last night together when I¡¯m alone. To remember you when I tell our baby about their father.¡± Her lips pressed to mine, then kissed along my jawline and down my neck. My hand found the silk ties of her nightgown and it slipped from her shoulders. Her movements were like liquid as she slid out of her dress. She slowly removed my clothes, her hand running over my body. She settled on me again, our exposed skin hot against the other¡¯s. Guinevere¡¯s hands ran over the scars on my chest as my hands caressed the smooth skin of her hips. She leaned up and our lips met in a kiss that felt like drinking from a fresh stream after crawling through a desert. I needed more and our kiss deepened in a desperate need for the other. Her touch was like a live wire filling me with a mad need to take in more of her in a desire that couldn¡¯t be satiated. I couldn¡¯t tell how much time had passed when we finally collapsed. Guinevere laid across me, her body¡¯s curves conforming to fit against me. My hand ran through her damp hair, the strands like threads of fine silk. In that moment, I felt powerful for my duel against Arthur, no longer the daunting life and death struggle I knew in my head it would be. I was the strongest man alive, able to conquer anything before him. No mountain to high, no task too great that I couldn¡¯t conquer it. Closing my eyes, I drifted off, my fingers still tracing circles over Guinevere¡¯s skin. Chapter 151: Who He Is A dark empty expanse was spread out all around me. A soft feminine hand rested in mine, and I looked about the lightless, colorless expanse. Guinevere was beside me, her belly heavy with child. She wore a snow-white dress trimmed with gold and a dark choker around her neck. A roar sounded in the distance and she and I turned to face it as something vast and formless loomed like a mountain before us. It advanced towards us, the ground didn¡¯t tremble, there was no gust of wind to herald its presence, but a creeping existential dread filled me. - I woke from the dream. Guinevere still slept in my arms, her body like a furnace against my skin, her breath coming in and out over my skin. I smiled and gently shifted, setting her down on the mattress. I kissed her eyelids and mouth. She murmured stirring but I slid the covers over her and she settled back down. If I did die, I wanted to give her the memory she had requested; of last night being her last memory of me. There were no more words to say between the two of us so I opened a portal and stepped into my tent. I looked at the plate armor I¡¯d worn to all my duels. It was still dented and rent from my last fight; I didn¡¯t bother fixing it. That wasn¡¯t what I would wear to this last duel, Sir Ismael the Knight would die today for good, and Mordred the Warlord would take his place in the arena. --- Arthur looked out over the city towards where he would be fighting Ismael today. After this fight and the wedding with Guinevere he would travel back across the sea to face the Warlord. Ammerila leaned against him she wore only a silk robe that did little to preserve any modesty clinging to her body like a second skin showing all her curves. ¡°Thinking about Mordred again?¡± she asked. ¡°How can you tell?¡± he asked. ¡°You always get that look when you¡¯re thinking about him,¡± Ammerila said. ¡°You know what¡¯s weird,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I¡¯ve fought him over four times, killed him most of them but I¡¯ve never seen his face. I should have thought to check his body, but it never occurred to me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen him, or I did when he was still in Mortal rank, he got a lot bigger as he ranked up,¡± Ammerila said. ¡°Apparently some people do that based on abilities they get and the changes to their attributes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s more common for people from outside our world,¡± Arthur said with a nod. ¡°What did he look like?¡± ¡°He a handsome but savage appearance,¡± Ammerila said. ¡°At the time his hair was long, and he was starting to grow a beard. What I remember most was his eyes they were a shade of brown that almost looked yellow, and he had the scars from some beast over the left side of his face.¡± Arthur¡¯s blood ran cold. ¡°What?¡± Ammerila asked. ¡°Your divine ability you got from your god,¡± Arthur said it lets you hide your description, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ammerila admitted uncomfortable at releasing even that common enough knowledge. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I think the Warlord might have gotten a similar ability when he killed you in the Event,¡± Arthur said the pieces sliding together in his head. ¡°I have to go.¡± Arthur stormed down the halls of the palace. He reached the hall leading to Guinevere¡¯s chambers. ¡°Sir I don¡¯t think you¡¯re allowed here,¡± one of the guards said uneasily. ¡°Out of my way,¡± Arthur said barging past them. His fist pounded on the door to Guinevere¡¯s chambers. ¡°Guinevere open up!¡± he shouted. ¡°Go away!¡± Guinevere shouted from inside. ¡°Open up right now or I will break down this door!¡± Arthur shouted back at her. Silence followed then the door cracked open. Arthur shoved forward and Guinevere stumbled back almost falling, she wore only a nightgown and stepped back her eyes suddenly as wary as a cat as they watched Arthur and flicked around the room. Arthur took in a breath, and he could smell him, he didn¡¯t often use his senses like this there were to many things he didn¡¯t want to smell in a city of this size but now as he focused, he could smell the scent of another man and the stink of sex on the sheets and Guinevere¡¯s skin. ¡°Get out of here,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I know who he is,¡± Arthur growled. She froze. ¡°Who?¡± she asked, her eyes flicking around even faster, her hands going over her stomach her left hand nervously twisting the ring on her finger. ¡°Mordred,¡± Arthur snarled the word like a curse on his tongue. ¡°Sir Ismael, one and the same.¡± Everything was so much clearer now he felt like he had been blind. The brazenness of the Warlord marching in was just something he had never imagined. But the familiarness between him and Guinevere, the mysterious woman in the Event coinciding just with when Guinevere had disappeared from Camelot. The brutal way the man fought and his disregard for life¡­ it all fit together. Guinevere looked like a frightened rabbit caught in a snare and the way she held her hands over her belly¡­Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Your pregnant,¡± he said the realization coming to him. The fear in her eyes flared and she lunged across the room, her sword suddenly in her hand. ¡°You won¡¯t lay a finger on my baby!¡± her voice was like the snarl of a lioness. Arthur took a step back. ¡°You think I would harm an innocent child?¡± he asked in shock. He shook his head in disbelief. ¡°You don¡¯t know me as well as you think Guinevere. No harm will come to your child,¡± his voice hardened. ¡°But the father must die, you will watch today as I cut him down in the arena. That is the penance you must pay for your betrayal.¡± He turned around, storming out of the room, his anger and hurt at the betrayal twisting a knife in his heart his lungs burning as if they were on fire. --- Standing in the darkness of the tunnel I looked at the iron portcullis that led into the massive arena. The size of this one was more than three times the size of any of the other arenas I had fought in. It would have put the roman Colosseum to shame its stands rising up into the sky like a football arena back on my world enough to fit a hundred thousand people at least. I brought the Armor of Ares out of my storage pouch and set it down. Taking out the cloak I had made for myself from the pelt of the World Boss, Warden, I fastened it around my shoulders. My last cape had only gone down to around my waist while this one went down to my ankles. I slid my feet into my old boots tightening their laces feeling their familiar comfort. Next, I put on the Pteruges of Ares, followed by the pauldrons and the maninca. Before I could slide on my helm the sound of the door opening came from behind me. I stepped into the shadows behind a pillar. Two pairs of footfalls sounded as whoever opened the door entered. ¡°Ismael?¡± Aisha called out. ¡°Are you here?¡± ¡°I told you not to come,¡± I said. ¡°Who is that with you?¡± ¡°Its me,¡± Vone said. ¡°I wanted¡­I wanted to ask you not to fight Arthur.¡± I sighed. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I like you,¡± Vone said. ¡°I don¡¯t know why but I feel like I can relate to you. Since I¡¯ve come to this world, I¡¯ve had trouble connecting with people, I didn¡¯t expect it to be so different. I know that must make me sound stupid but¡­ you feel, I don¡¯t know¡­ familiar?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t love me,¡± I said. ¡°If you knew who you spoke with now you would draw your weapon, not ask for me to be with you.¡± ¡°Enough with the riddles,¡± Vone said. ¡°You always do this just say what you mean.¡± I stepped out from behind the pillar. My real description was over my head now no need to pretend anymore. ¡°Words are not necessary.¡± Vone stepped back as I came into the dim light of the tunnel. Aisha looked at my armor quizzically, but she¡¯d never seen me before and couldn¡¯t read the description above me since she wasn¡¯t gifted. ¡°What is it?¡± Aisha asked. ¡°He is the Warlord,¡± Vone said her glaive appearing in her hand. ¡°I go by Mordred,¡± I said. ¡°The Warlord is a little too pretentious for everyday use.¡± Aisha went pale and froze her flight or fight response locking up. She stammered but couldn¡¯t get any actual words out. ¡°You¡¯re not in any danger Aisha,¡± I said, you may not be my vassal, but you are under my protection. ¡°People need protection from people like you,¡± Vone said. I sighed. ¡°What do you know about people like me? You came from America like me based on your accent, you came to this world to serve and give justice but now are in world fighting alongside people whose concept of freedom is very different than your own. Can you trust anything they say, do you know what this tourney is all about?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about winning the hand of Guinevere,¡± Vone said her tone suddenly uncertain. ¡°It¡¯s about forcing someone into marriage against their world. That should go against every American sentiment of freedom you ever learned but here you are. You say you represent freedom,¡± I said. ¡°Well, the woman I love is being forced into a marriage against her will, does her freedom matter?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­that¡¯s¡­¡± Vone stammered. ¡°What? It¡¯s different because she entered into it willingly? As if a child has any understanding of the ramifications of the oath she was told to give,¡± I said. ¡°What do you want me to say?¡± Vone asked her voice trembling with what might have been grief, fear or indecision.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you to say anything,¡± I said. ¡°Or do anything. I need you only to do what you claim to stand for.¡± ¡°And that is?¡± Vone asked. ¡°Give me freedom,¡± I said. ¡°The freedom to save the woman I love.¡± ¡°And what about the people you¡¯ve enslaved?¡± Vone asked. ¡°All the people under your domination.¡± ¡°I rarely do that,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°I only do that when the choice is either that or just kill them. I¡¯d prefer to give them a chance to keep living. Its not like I demand them to kill their families, if someone is a reluctant servant I just let them do their own thing if it doesn¡¯t go against me.¡± ¡°And if it does?¡± Vone asked. ¡°I am entitled to self defense just like anyone else,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°You want to give people freedom. Which is admirable but take it from the person whose home country has spent years trying to bring democracy and liberation to the world. Freedom means nothing unless you fight for it yourself.¡± ¡°And if I don¡¯t give you the freedom to walk out into that arena?¡± Vone asked. I looked her straight in the eye my voice like an executioner¡¯s axe. ¡°Then I will take it for myself.¡± Vone stepped back and I turned to Aisha. ¡°You should run home, get anyone you care about to safety, I don¡¯t intend anyone but Arthur to die today but I can¡¯t make promises for the actions of others.¡± Aisha turned and fled. I looked at Vone now, she didn¡¯t move but also didn¡¯t try to attack me. --- Arthur tightened the straps of his breastplate. He normally didn¡¯t wear his full set of gear when doing these duels, but this fight wasn¡¯t a show for the crowd. While he was confident, he could beat Mordred, he had underestimated him before and wouldn¡¯t give him anything less than his best today. He looked through the iron portcullis out to where the other gate was closed, and the Warlord waited. His teeth grit as he remembered his scent across Guinevere¡¯s skin. A knock at the door sounded and Merlin walked in. Arthur nodded to his uncle unable to contain his rage enough to give a civil greeting. ¡°Is the dome prepared?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Merlin said. ¡°Though I¡¯m not sure why you needed a protection dome of that strength for a duel without abilities.¡± ¡°Because this is going to be a very different duel than my others,¡± Arthur said. ¡°He will lay dead in the sands by the time this is over.¡± Merlin smiled when he heard that but quickly schooled his expression. ¡°While as personally gratifying as that might be, politically it is unwise.¡± ¡°It must be done,¡± Arthur said. ¡°You will understand when it begins.¡± Arthur didn¡¯t want to tell anyone who Sir Ismael really was. He was sure his father and Merlin would try some attempt to ambush him and take him down with overwhelming force and he was also sure that the Warlord would slip out of the noose somehow. No, the only way to end this was to answer his calling as a champion and as the Duelist and settle this matter personally. ¡°We¡¯ve been studying him, and we have reason to believe he is not who he says he is,¡± Merlin said. ¡°I believe my daughter knows his true identity, if we put her to the question and force her¡­¡± ¡°I know exactly who he is,¡± Arthur snapped interrupting him as he yanked the straps on his gauntlet tight. ¡°Then we should call off the fight and¡­¡± Merlin began but was interrupted again. ¡°No!¡± Arthur snapped his voice irritable and with a deep rage barely contained. ¡°This fight has been a long time coming, he won¡¯t get away from me this time. Under no circumstances are you to lift the dome.¡± Merlin was silent, the outburst from Arthur something he had never seen before. He bowed his head in recognition and stepped back. ¡°As my prince commands,¡± he said and left. Arthur looked through the bars of the portcullis again. In a few minutes the duel would begin, and this would all be over. Chapter 152: There Can Be Only One The cheers of the crowd were almost deafening as Arthur stepped into the arena. I took a deep breath and emerged into the light. A dome appeared around the arena as soon as I stepped past the portcullis, I looked at it with interest but no real surprise. The cheers of the crowd slowly faded as they looked at me, my appearance very different from the knight they had come to know. My voice rang out, amplified by Voice of the Chasm. ¡°You may be wondering what is going on,¡± I said. ¡°Why my armor is different than what you have come to expect.¡± ¡°I am the Warlord, the Champion of Kalesa, I am the Storm Knight. I am Sir Mordred a Knight of Camelot and I have come to take my woman from the hands of your Prince over his dead body if I have too,¡± I announced the silence of the crowd changing from one of anticipation to one of fear. ¡°If this barrier comes down, I will not hold back any of my attacks, I will kill indiscriminately without malice or mercy, I would advise you to run.¡± My warning given I turned to Arthur as he launched into motion racing towards me a javelin of golden light hurled towards my head. ¡°Mordred!¡± Arthur shouted. ¡°Face me!¡±
You have been given a Challenge, refusing the challenge will increase the damage dealt to you by the challenger by x10 for the next hour, reduce your Toughness Attribute by 25% and give you vulnerability to Holy damage. If you accept the challenge, you can only attack the target. Any attack that you make that strikes another target will break the challenge resulting in the above penalties occurring. If any allied creature that jumps into assist you will break the challenge resulting in you being penalized, any rival creature that assist the challenger will break the Challenge with no ill effect towards you; third party interference will have no effect. Accept Challenge? Yes/No
¡°Yes,¡± I snapped dismissing the notification from my vision. I bent around the radiant projectiles that Arthur hurled from his hands, I answered them with bolts of scarlet lighting. Arthur deflected the lightning off his sword, and it hit the sand turning it to molten slag. Thousands of spearheads dropped out of my storage pouch as I hurled them at Arthur with Telekinesis. He rolled under them a shield of semi-translucent light appearing above his arm deflecting most as the rest skid off his armor. Excalibur and Clarent hit each other with the force of two asteroids colliding, the two swords screamed as if they were a pair of stallions that had just been placed in the same pen. Clarent was a bit shorter than Excalibur, the barely restrained lighting that formed its blade sparking in all directions whenever it struck the azure metallic edge of its rival blade. The force of our strikes sent reverberations up my arm as I spun and ducked under Arthur¡¯s lighting fast slashes and lunges and tried to get around to slash into the joints of his armor. Arthur¡¯s knee came up in a sudden jerk hitting me in the chest and sending me flying a dozen yards. I spun midair landing on my feet and rushing straight at him again. Releasing a roar point blank the sand rose before me like a sandstorm aimed straight at Arthur. In response Arthur drove Excalibur into the ground, his feet sliding on the sand as the rushing gale tried to fling him across the arena. The sand fell and Arthur met my charge, our blades screaming again as we once more made contact. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talons,¡± I said, the nails of my left hand turning to claws. Spinning under Excalibur I drove my claws down and they bypassed the armor on his leg as I hamstringed him. I rolled out of the way, but I already knew I wouldn¡¯t be fast enough. My arm went up blocking the strike, but it only slowed it as Arthur¡¯s swords came down on my bicep where the gap between my maninca and pauldrons had my skin exposed. My arm fell to the ground, and I stumbled backwards as Arthur kicked with his good leg into my chest and slammed me into the ground, Clarent tumbling from my hand and rolling away. I felt my ribs break, Arthur¡¯s strength having grown over the course of our battle, enough to far surpass my own Might attribute. This is it, I thought, preparing myself. ¡°You should never have come at me alone,¡± Arthur said. ¡°That¡¯s the thing about me,¡± I said with a bloody smile, my next words came out reverberating with a multitude of other voices as the spirits inhabiting me and I spoke as one. ¡°I¡¯m never alone.¡± I spent a hundred eather and all the damage I¡¯d just taken disappeared as if I¡¯d never suffered it in the first place. My severed arm reappeared as Clarent slammed into my hand. Two arms emerged, one holding Thorn the other ending in wicked claws. Another pair of arms emerged, one made of lightless black void energy and another of silver-grey mist making me appear like some humanoid spider. I levitated off the ground as black tendrils extended from me like a wild mass of waist long hair. The arms were clad in twisting white and silver armor a beautiful otherworldly sight. Arthur stumbled back as I attacked him from three points at once. My gauntlet sword Thorn and the spear Janus were all in use as I harried Arthur across the arena. Lightning arced over his body and Janus thrust into his thigh. Arthur¡¯s confusion lasted only a minute as he used his singular blade with expert technique. I could only see his eyes but I watched the arrogant confidence fueled by anger disappear, replaced by an emotionless calculating gaze. ¡°A neat trick,¡± Arthur said, taking another hit from Clarent, his body smoking from electrical burns. ¡°But I hope you didn¡¯t think this would be enough to face me.¡± Arthur surged forwards golden wings made of light appearing on his back. He flew past me, his sword swinging back and around to strike at my back faster than my Foresight could even calculate, his myriad of possible actions too much for me to keep up with. My Nemean cloak took the hit from Excalibur, and I felt part of my spine crack but I wasn¡¯t ripped open like a shredded tire so I took my victories where I could. I activated Storm Fall, red lightning mingling with the black smoke that leaked from my skin as I flew after him. Like two fighting hawks we circled each other in the air, our blades crashing into each other or skidding off the other¡¯s armor. We flew so high we hit the top of the dome and began sliding along it sparks flying whenever our weapons hit it. My helmet scraped along the barrier as Arthur and I grappled with each other. I got a look at the crowd, I noticed most of them hadn¡¯t taken my advice to run and were still there watching. Whether they were cheering or screaming I couldn¡¯t tell with the rumble of thunder, the ringing sound of metal on metal and the blood pounding in my ears. --- The reach Excalibur gave Arthur was a disadvantage now as with the two of them so close together. He had to half-sword his weapon to block Mordred¡¯s attacks, the clawed hand in particular which could bypass his armor. Luckily most of Mordred¡¯s other weapons were equally ineffective with how close they were except for his lightning bladed sword. That crimson lightning shifted at a moment¡¯s notice becoming as long as a greatsword one moment before losing three feet of its length and wiping around in a surprise tight arc. Mordred¡¯s sword had the skill he gained from training with Guinevere for a year but his other martial attacks were less skilled. What they lacked in skill they made up for in ferocity. Arthur got up a knee and kicked out separating the two fighters as they spun through the air before turning and flying straight at eachother. Their swords screamed again as they swung through the air the force of their impact displacing all the air in dozen meters. Blood dripped down from Arthur¡¯s armor and Mordred leaked the stuff from cuts all over his body that healed as soon as Arthur inflicted them. Slowly Arthur felt his strength grow and grow as his divine ability let him grow stronger the longer, he was in a duel. Even with Mordred¡¯s advantage of his strange spectral arms he was starting to lose ground again. Arthur let Mordred get in several attacks grunting with the pain then his wings snapped down as he rose above Mordred and brought Excalibur down in a titanic blow. Mordred blocked the strike, but it was still enough to throw him all the way down to the ground as the recoil from it sent Arthur spinning. He recovered quickly and dropped towards the crater where Mordred had landed. ¡°Good one,¡± Mordred said his voice rough and deep as he jumped up out of the crater. He cracked his neck as he advanced on Arthur. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see my efforts preparing for this duel were not wasted.¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t the only preparing for this fight,¡± Arthur said circling around happy to play for more time. ¡°I have to ask; how did you survive?¡± ¡°What?¡± Mordred asked. ¡°So many things have tried to kill me you¡¯ll have to be more specific.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°The World Bosses,¡± Arthur said. ¡°We saw you burning on the ground, and everything go dark then no one heard from you for a week.¡± ¡°Oh that,¡± Mordred said. ¡°Sure, I almost died but you know what they say; what doesn¡¯t kill you makes you stronger.¡± Arthur changed tacks as he waited for his strength to grow. ¡°I know about you and Guinevere, and your child.¡± Mordred went still for a moment before his body relaxed. ¡°Is she alright?¡± he asked, his voice calm but promising to explode into violence if the answer wasn¡¯t to his liking. ¡°I am not a monster,¡± Arthur replied. ¡°No harm will come to Guinevere or her baby, this is a fight between you and me.¡± Mordred nodded. ¡°I will give you this one last chance,¡± he said. ¡°Let me take Guinevere with me and I will let you be as long as you let me be. As one father to another we can both turn our backs on the other and never see the other again.¡± ¡°No,¡± Arthur said stopping his circling and pointing Excalibur at him. ¡°You are a threat to the world and my child; I cannot let you leave alive.¡± ¡°So be it,¡± Mordred sighed and launched himself at Arthur. There weapons met each other again Clarent and Excalibur meeting in shower of sparks. Arthur was even faster and stronger now his body a blur, only the other limbs of Mordred let him block the rapid cuts, strikes, and thrusts he made with Excalibur. New confidence filled Arthur as he danced around Mordred his feet as light as feathers as he got in the tiny cut here and there. He could taste victory on his tongue now. ¡°I remember what you said to me in the Event,¡± Arthur said preparing himself for the finishing blow as Mordred couldn¡¯t spin fast enough to meet him. ¡°You warned me to not look into the Abyss or I¡¯d become like you. But just because you looked into it and fell doesn¡¯t mean that I will.¡± Mordred made a desperate attack that hit Arthur in the back of the knee drawing a spray of blood. The attack had been a good one, but it cost him as the golden edge of Excalibur cut down and took off Mordred¡¯s legs. He kicked forward, Mordred¡¯s ribs snapping inward as he kicked him into the crater he had formed earlier. ¡°I¡¯m not like you Mordred,¡± Arthur said, his breath heaving as he recovered from the strain of the fight, his attributes growing to the point where his body was having trouble supporting his superhuman strength. ¡°I can resist becoming a monster.¡± He moved forwards to the crater to finish the job. ¡°You misunderstood me,¡± Mordred wheezed spitting blood with every word his words becoming more labored with each second as his lifeblood spilled out on the ground. ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one looking into the abyss¡­ I¡¯m¡­ what¡¯s¡­ looking out of it. Voidra, release the shadow.¡± --- The dark miasma around me in an instant but I was no longer the one in control I lacked the will to hold the Shadow back and it eagerly took control. My severed legs rose and slammed into my stumps as two new arms armored by the void shot from my torso and crossed their arms blocking Excalibur as it swung down for my neck. A storm of attacks launched against Arthur, their sheer speed, ferocity, and number of attacks overcoming his superior attributes and driving through the cracks in his armor. Mad laughter escaped my lips as the Shadow rejoiced in the bloodshed and its freedom. Even with the Shadows help this wouldn¡¯t be enough. Arthur was just stronger than I was, so I needed to get stronger. Arthur shook his head. ¡°Look at yourself, your more monster than man. How could you ever think we could stand by and let something like you live. Look how much pain you¡¯ve caused people, and for what? No greater good, no higher cause, only your own personal power.¡± ¡°Pain is weakness,¡± I responded my voice a guttural snarl. ¡°Luckily, I don¡¯t feel it. System, raise Jotunn Slayer to rank twenty.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if this was wise decision or if my thoughts were being influenced after releasing my id out from his soul prison. I remembered what Arthur had told me, there was no cost to great to kill me; looking at him now I felt the same. Because of Wrathful Mediation I couldn¡¯t feel the pain as the muscles, my flesh, bone and skin all changed. Ares, I thought. I can¡¯t focus on the fight and look over my upgrade options at the same time. Pick whatever you think will be best. Very well, Ares agreed. I dismissed every notification without even looking at it right now just struggling to stay alive. Then a notification did pop up that I did catch sight of briefly.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 50 the Veteran limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attribute from killing you.
Your skin has mutated growing threads of mithril through it giving you increased resistance to physical damage. Your body will reduce slashing and physical damage by two stages.
I blocked Excalibur the force of catching the strike sending me flying like I was a baseball. I spun through the air lightning wreathing my body as activated Storm Fall and sped back towards Arthur. ¡°Gravitational Forces,¡± Arthur snarled, and a weight slammed down on my shoulders. I pushed eather energy into my body, just like when I had to fight against Aramid. My body strained and began breaking down under force, but I wasn¡¯t helpless against Arthur as I had been the last time.
Jotun Slayer (Rank 5): The slayer of giants becomes the giant. Upon activation your size increases by 5¡¯ and your weight by 100lbs. Increases your physical attributes by 12.5% while active.
Equipment you are wearing also shifts sizes with you.
Cost: 6 stamina per second.
Upgrade this ability to increase the size, weight and your attribute percentage gain. Each upgrade increases your Might, Speed, Toughness and Endurance by 1.
Being compacted inside of my armor had been my main concern when I got this ability. I considered activating it now but waited. Arthur¡¯s strength had stopped growing, I wasn¡¯t exactly sure when but it seemed his ability had matched my attributes, if I used this now he¡¯d start steadily growing in power again. I needed to wait until it was max rank then surprise him all at once. Arthur slashed out at me but I skid underneath his slash one of my void limbs slashing at his legs with my claws. It wasn¡¯t much he had an ability like my Regeneration that let him heal overtime but my claws blocked all healing for nine seconds. I¡¯d bleed him dry if I had too. We toyed with eachother like that I didn¡¯t look at any of the other upgrade notifications until I finally got to the last once.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 50 the Veteran limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attribute from killing you.
You have lost the need for most of your internal organs and all food consumed will be converted directly into stamina and mana eliminating your need for processing waste.
You have raised all your Attributes beyond fifty, the Veteran limit, you have reached Hero rank. All damage done to you by creatures of a lower ranking than you is reduced by one damage stage for every stage you are above them, damage dealt to a creature of a lower ranking than you is increased by one damage stage for every stage you are above them. You will only get a quarter of rank points from creatures of a lower ranking than you.
I grinned, the wounds on my body starting to hurt less. Arthur was still Veteran rank so I had just gained another stage of damage reduction and increased all my damage by one stage against him. I just had to wait a little longer. Dodging attacks got a little easier as my speed increased but Arthur continued to advance his own stat percentage gain. I could only see a bit of his face through the slots in his visor but I saw sweat pouring down his skin. Going this high in his stats had to be wreaking hell on his body. I remembered when I used my speed boost from my boots and almost had a heart attack when I first came to this world. Now Arthur was experiencing that strain with every one of his attributes going far past what his body was supposed to be able to handle.
Jotun Slayer (Rank 20, Max Rank): The slayer of giants becomes the giant. Upon activation your size increases by 15¡¯ and your weight by 300lbs. Increases your physical attributes by 37.5% while active.
Equipment you are wearing also shifts sizes with you.
You can choose how tall your form becomes while active.
You deal double damage to targets twice your size and receive half damage from creatures half your size.
Max Rank Bonus: A giant does not fear lesser creatures, you are immune to fear effects while this form is active
Cost: 6 stamina per second.
Upgrade this ability to increase the size, weight and your attribute percentage gain. Each upgrade increases your Might, Speed, Toughness and Endurance by 1.
¡°Jotun Slayer,¡± I snarled and activated the speed boost on my boots I¡¯d been saving. Instantly the gulf between me and Arthur vanished. I didn¡¯t grow in size yet, no need to give him a larger target to hit, but my attributes did all jump up. I blocked Excalibur my extra weight helping me keep my feet as I tackled Arthur into the bloody sand. All my weapons besides Clarent disappeared as I tore into him only my claws from Hell¡¯s Talons. My body was a blur as I knocked aside Arthur¡¯s attempts to half sword Excalibur and defend himself his body exposed and vulnerable to my multi-limbed attack. The claws passed right through his artifact armor, and I could hear Arthur screaming as purple flames engulfed him as the cursed flames spread across his body. Mad echoing laughter filled the arena, it came from multiple sources within me, myself, the Shadow and Voidra rejoicing in our imminent victory. Arthur went limp the fight finally leaving him as I hit something critical. Clarent swung down for Arthur¡¯s neck. Just before it could touch something like the fist of Titan hit me in the back and sent me flying. My foresight had given me no warning of the attack and I collided with the arena wall. Looking up I saw the dome above us was gone now.
Duel ended due to outside interference on behalf of the challenger, no penalties incurred.
Rolling to the side I dodged an explosion of violet energy. Merlin stood over Arthur now a black staff gripped in his hand. ¡°Oh, you little shit,¡± I growled. Scarlet Lighting raced towards him, and Merlin spun his staff deflecting it up and away. The lighting targeted a random person in the stadium and just like that three-hundred-thousand people died. Chapter 153: Laws Only Exist if You Say They Do
4,096 Rank Points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 40,960 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 56,689 out of 40,960. When you complete this quest, you will gain 8,192 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
8,192 Rank Points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 81,920 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 93,374 out of 81,920. When you complete this quest, you will gain 16,384 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
16,384 Rank Points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 163,840 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 173,439 out of 163,840. When you complete this quest, you will gain 32,768 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
32,768 Rank Points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 327,680 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 8,843 out of 327,680. When you complete this quest, you will gain 65,536 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
The notifications continued to scroll past my vision, but I pushed them to the corner passing over the responsibility of managing them over to Ares. I turned my attention from the never-ending scrolling of kill notifications as I stared at my quarry Merlin standing guard over him. ¡°Give him up,¡± I demanded as I advanced towards Merlin. ¡°You should never have come here Mordred,¡± Merlin said. ¡°You are in the heart of our power, there is no escape for you now.¡± ¡°I won,¡± I snapped. ¡°Your own damn traditions and laws you care so much about demand that you give me Guinevere.¡± ¡°You know nothing,¡± Merlin scoffed at me. ¡°Guinevere will marry Arthur, this tournament was always a show, nothing more. The Law only exists if we say it does.¡± ¡°I figured as much,¡± I snarled. ¡°I should have just killed you all from the start of this. Arthur had to get his hypocrisy from somewhere, I see the stain of it permeates your entire society.¡± Scarlet lightning tore from my fingers but Merlin deflected it again his staff able to redirect the energy but not able to disperse it entirely and it targeted some random survivor in the arena and flew towards them. Any base human would be dead by now but there were hundreds of nobles and soldiers who would have survived the first chain of lightning. I rocketed forwards and crashed into the front lines, my weapons ripping through flesh and steel with equal ease. Then Lancelot¡¯s shield hit me in the face unexpectedly, I hadn¡¯t foreseen it and it totally blindsided me like a car crash. I rolled across the sand before popping back up and blocking the next attack a spear from Kay. An arrow whizzed past my head, again I was unable to foresee it. ¡°We found out your trick with seeing the future,¡± Lancelot said, and I could hear the grin in his voice. ¡°It was difficult, but we found a way to block it.¡± I was outnumbered and I wasn¡¯t in the mood to coddle this nation anymore. Arcane words fell from my lips as I dodged and blocked attacks. A portal opened up behind me, then another and another. Jeriah stepped through followed by Tobias. My army marched out their spears and shields met those of the amassing elite Camelot soldiers. Crouching, I leapt up and was fifty feet up in the air. I activated Storm Fall and roared unleashing Voice of the Chasm and Helheim¡¯s Scream against the champions and soldiers of Law. The soundwave threw a hundred me across the arena grounds clearing more space for my troops as they poured through the portals into the very heart of the city of Camelot. Lighting shot from my fingers arcing between the soldiers below me as I rained down death from above. --- Vone heard the rumbling of thunder as she sat in the darkness under the arena. She stood up grabbing her glaive and she ran forwards before coming to a stop as Exar walked down the hall in front of her. He also stopped examining her in surprise for a moment. ¡°Who are you?¡± Vone asked pointing her glaive at him. ¡°I know who Ishmael¡­ Mordred is. That means you serve him.¡± ¡°Serve is in an incorrect assessment of our relationship,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°Ours is an alliance for mutual survival and power.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Vone asked again; her teeth gritting together.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Exar¡¯kun looked at her and she felt a shiver run down her spine as his soft brown eyes shifted to the red and orange color of magma. His voice changed growing deeper and louder, more bestial. ¡°I am Exar¡¯kun, the Star-fallen, the only survivor of my mother¡¯s clutch,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re the dragon from the Event,¡± Vone said taking a step back. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the creature you really are.¡± ¡°The creature I am,¡± Exar¡¯kun spat rage entering his voice for the first time. ¡°I was poisoned in my egg because of a champion like you, all my siblings were born twisted and malformed. The ground I hatched on was corrupted and the creatures twisted because of the actions of your kind.¡± ¡°And yet you chose to ally yourself with the Warlord,¡± Vone said. ¡°He was the only one of you champions who gave me a choice,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°I work with him because he has given me the opportunity to ascend and become greater than what the System would let me be.¡± ¡°What choice is there?¡± Vone asked. ¡°If I let you live thousands will die because of you, and because I let you live those deaths will be on my head.¡± ¡°You assume you can kill me,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°I will give you this choice, stand aside, choose life. If you attack me, I cannot promise that I will not be forced to kill you.¡± ¡°I came to this world to protect innocent people,¡± Vone said tensing her body as she got into a fighting stance. ¡°If I die, so be it.¡± --- Valerie opened the door to her apartment tired after a day at work in the market. She had closed shop early since most of the city was going to the tournament or watch it through a scrying projection in one of the many viewing stations scattered throughout the city to allow those who hadn¡¯t managed to get a seat in the grand arena to still watch. Valerie smiled as her youngest child; her son Nico rushed her hugging her skirts. He¡¯d been sick today and so she¡¯d left him home while she and her husband went to work. Her husband was still out in the city having left to go view the last fight in the Dragon Tourney on one of the viewing screens. She walked into the room that served as there bedroom for their two children. The distant sound of thunder could be heard, and she frowned. She hadn¡¯t remembered seeing any storm clouds when she came in. Going over to the window she opened the curtains looking out as the rumble of thunder continued to rumble. It echoed between the massive glass, metal, and stone structures where she lived. Blinking her eyes, she winced as scarlet light was reflected off the windows of the building across from her the thunder growing louder and louder. A bolt of crimson lightning smashed through the glass and hit her in the chest. Valerie was dead before she even registered the pain her only blessing was that she had died first and hadn¡¯t had to watch as the lightning chained off of her jumping between her two children leaving the smoking burning corpses on the floor. The lightning blasted through the floor disappearing into the apartment below more screams rising up as the devastation continued to spread over Camelot. --- Arthur spasmed on the bed he¡¯d been placed into after Merlin had dragged him to safety through the portal. He may have been saved from Mordred killing him directly, but his own body was killing itself now as he suffered the backlash of his dueling ability being active for more than ten minutes and from copying the attributes of someone of a higher rank. The healers were trying to fix him, but the issue wasn¡¯t one of wounds or poison but of his own body being unable to handle the energy inside it. He didn¡¯t know it but Arthur was suffering the same thing Mordred had been after the magi had attacked him. Mana burn his pathways were slowly burning out. Merlin and Arthur stood back helpless to do anything as he spasmed on the bed. Suddenly his body went still. People rushed around trying to resuscitate him, but his heart had stopped beating his skin going pale. -- Arthur hung off the edge of a precipice overlooking a dark expanse of nothingness. Something hungry approached him and he could feel his fingers slipping. Excalibur was in his other hand its form spiritual rather than physical lighting up the surroundings with a clear golden light. A dark maw started to close around him but he slashed out and the light drove it away. A snarl came from the darkness as whatever monster that dwelt in the void expressed its anger. His fingers slid more and Arthur could feel his life slipping away ready to plunge into the Void. His vision brightened as a golden light shone from above him. ¡°Grab my hand!¡± a woman¡¯s voice called from above. He looked up seeing the radiant form a woman above him her hand extended out for him. Excalibur didn¡¯t drop from his hand just disappeared as he grabbed the hand, and she pulled him up. The beast howled below them. Arthur looked back at it and shivered realizing the fate that could have befallen him. ¡°What is this place?¡± he asked. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Do you not recognize your goddess?¡± Vivian asked her voice amused before sobering. ¡°This is the Void, it is the anathema of our world and the gods.¡± ¡°Mordred¡¯s powers, they were like this,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Yes,¡± Viviane said darkly. ¡°His goddess should have struck him down already. To let her champion carry a piece of the Void within him into our world was bad enough, but to embrace it and use it¡­ It goes against everything we are regardless of Law or Chaos.¡± ¡°Why am I here?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°All mortals come here when they die,¡± Viviane said sadly. ¡°It is why you humans worship us. Even now I have many other avatars rescuing the souls of my followers before they are fed to the beasts within. I can protect your souls within my divine realm but for those who don¡¯t have the protection of a god, they feed the creatures like the one you just saw.¡± ¡°So I¡¯m dead?¡± Arthur asked sitting down feeling defeated but also relieved. ¡°Not yet,¡± Viviane said sitting beside him. ¡°Your souls rests on the edge, only you can make the decision to keep going.¡± ¡°Can I defeat this?¡± Arthur asked gesturing outwards. ¡°Mordred beat me, I hate to admit it but I couldn¡¯t beat him even in the most favorable situation for me. Yes he pulled out a lot of tricks I couldn¡¯t see coming, but whose to say he doesn¡¯t have more? Can I beat these Void powers he has?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Viviane admitted. ¡°He did beat you, and even now he grows stronger. If you were to return you cannot stop the slaughter he is committing against your people it will be weeks before you are recovered from this but¡­ if you return you will be stronger. Victory is never guaranteed but you are the best hope our world has of defeating this monster.¡± Arthur let out a sigh but stiffened his back and shoulders. ¡°I won¡¯t abandon my duties, not while I can still try to defend the world and make it safe for my child.¡± -- Arthur¡¯s heart started to beat again and he opened his eyes feeling his whole body in agonizing pain.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective, survive a Void Entity trying to feed on your naked soul and return to the world of the living. You have been revived by Celestial Light changing your mana and stamina forever. You gain a third energy type, Celestria allowing you to push past limits imposed upon mortals.
Reward: Witness of Death and Life
*Witness of Death and Life: You have gained a third type of energy through the divine aid of a goddess which has come at a great cost to her but will allow you to push past many limitations.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a reward.
Objective, survive death itself. Reward: Unknown.
Arthur pushed Celestria into his body feeling the agony as his mana channels burned themselves out. Slowly the burning stopped, and his body began to repair itself. Viviane was right though, he felt weak as a newborn, and it would be weeks before he could fight again. Chapter 154: Visit Hell Upon Them King Arthur dragged Guinevere behind him, and she was unable to resist his higher ranked strength. ¡°You traitor!¡± he snarled at her. ¡°You brought our enemy into the heart of our kingdom!¡± ¡°It was not me that was the traitor first,¡± Guinevere said defiantly. His fist caught her across the face. ¡°My son lies dying because of you!¡± he shouted. ¡°Speak out like that again and you will not like what I force you to do.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who forced me to do this!¡± Guinevere said, swinging her own hand at him. Her hand froze as the oaths binding her locked her body in place. ¡°You will obey,¡± King Arthur said his voice growling with his rage as he pushed it down. ¡°You will tell us all you can about the Warlord and any weaknesses he has, and you will marry Prince Arthur this very day and put these thoughts of rebellion behind you.¡± Guinevere felt her neck constrict as she spoke not of her own volition. ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± King Arthur dragged her after him and into a medical ward. Prince Arthur lay on a bed Lionor at his side holding his hand as his chest rose and fell unsteadily. King Arthur looked relieved at his son¡¯s relatively stable looking condition. ¡°Merlin open portals and evacuate the palace,¡± the King commanded. ¡°Take us to Castle Lanerva and send for a priest. Send Lionor and my grandson to Castle Blackwall for safety along with the rest of our staff.¡± Guinevere reached for the ring on her finger. She needed to summon Mordred now this was all spiraling out of control. Her father noticed her actions and caught her hand; he held it up examining the ring upon it. ¡°Where did you get this?¡± he asked. Guinevere bit her tongue and didn¡¯t answer. ¡°Answer him,¡± the King commanded. ¡°From Mordred,¡± Guinevere answered. ¡°And what does it do?¡± Merlin asked. ¡°It lets me call Mordred to my side,¡± she said. Merlin smiled and tried to pull the ring off but it wouldn¡¯t budge. ¡°Take it off,¡± he commanded her. Guinevere reached for it but pulled back her hand blood running from the corners of her eyes and nose and she resisted the order. ¡°Do as your father tells you,¡± the king commanded. ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said spitting up blood as her mana began to attack her for breaking her oaths. Merlin sighed. ¡°Then we will do this the hard way.¡± Before anyone could say anything else he pushed her hand down on a nearby table and drew a knife and cut off her finger just behind the ring. Guinevere screamed as blood sprayed out. Merlin grabbed her finger and pulled the ring off the lifeless finger. He examined it smiling and placed it into a pouch at his belt. ¡°I believe you have just given us the key to trapping and destroying the Warlord,¡± he said. ¡°Well done daughter, I believe we will wait to have this wedding until the guest of honor arrives; I would hate for him to miss it.¡± ¡°Stop,¡± Arthur said weakly from the bed. ¡°This is not your concern prince,¡± Merlin said. ¡°Until the two of you are married my daughter is my responsibility.¡± The king clenched his jaw but nodded. ¡°After today our agreement will be completed brother, I will expect you to fulfill your side of the deal.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Merlin agreed easily. --- Scarlet lightning rained from the sky above as I soared above the armies of Camelot. I roared in wrathful triumph unleashing shockwaves blasting their ranks apart. A shriek sounded above me and I rolled through the air as a gryphon swept through the air where I had just been. An armored knight rode its back and another gryphon dove down behind me. More and more gryphons could be seen and lances of elemental attacks or the golden radiance of holy light flashed at me. I rolled and ducked out of the way but my airspace was getting really crowded. ¡°Ares I¡¯m going to start ranking up all my abilities,¡± I said. ¡°Your in charge of making the decisions for their upgrade paths.¡± You sure? Ares asked. Its not like you can change these later. ¡°Power is all that matters right now,¡± I said. ¡°System, upgrade Dark Guardian, Brutal Spite and Bloody Riposte to rank twenty.¡± Ignoring the notifications that began to scroll past the corner of my vision I teleported forwards and cleaved through the neck of a gryphon with Clarent. The burning headless corpse of a gryphon fell to the ground its rider screaming as they plunged several hundred feet to the ground. I blocked the lance of purple cursed flames and struck back with Janus spearing the rider off the gryphon¡¯s back. Each of the gryphons was larger than a warhorse, their feathers a collage of gold, oranges and reds making them look like fire birds. A net of golden light hit me from below and I suddenly felt my weight increase ten times and my body dragged back to the earth. I cut myself free but had to roll as Lancelot and Kay rushed me Mira behind them. I snarled but met their attacks blocking and spinning between them as the midnight aura of Black Rage surrounded me; my Might nearly maxed out from the number of kills I¡¯d gotten. Lancelot tried to shield bash me again, but I sidestepped at just the right moment. I grabbed the edge of his shield and yanked him forwards, his arm going taught as I flung him over my back. I might have looked like I was the same, but I had an extra eight-hundred pounds of weight putting everyone out of my weight class. ¡°I¡¯ve already beat you twice,¡± I said to Lancelot my voice rumbling like a landslide. ¡°And this isn¡¯t a duel anymore, it looks like my competition among the champions is going to significantly drop after today.¡± --- Vone crashed into the wall as Exar¡¯kun blocked her attack. He was still in human form, but he was Exarch rank compared to her Veteran. ¡°Stand down human,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°You cannot win this battle.¡± Vone pushed herself to her feet and limped forwards. ¡°Maybe not, but I can slow you down, every second I get you to waste here means more innocent lives that are saved.¡± ¡°You are selfless, I¡¯ll give you that,¡± Exar¡¯kun said inkling his head to her. ¡°But sometimes selflessness interferes with self-preservation.¡± In the blink of an eye Exar was in front of her. She swung her glaive, but he blocked the strike scales appearing along his forearm. He punched forwards and she just managed to duck the air whistling as his fist impacted the wall behind her smashing a hole through three feet of stone into the street behind it. Vone counterattacked and he stepped back, then forwards through the hole into the open space of the street. His body began to shift and warp, changing in a few seconds from that of human to a massive dragon with black scales the edges glowing like live coals. Vone charged forwards her glaive glowing with light as she slashed forwards. Exar¡¯kun¡¯s tail swung in from behind her and hit her in the back slamming her into the ground. His forelimbs pounced down, his claws closing in around her. His wings beat as he took to the air and Vone¡¯s glaive fell from her hands clattering to the stone pavement below. ¡°Let me go!¡± Vone screamed as they sped through the air. A group of gryphon knights charged them in the air, but a blast of fire reduced them to cinders. ¡°No,¡± Exar¡¯kun replied. ¡°We may be enemies, but I do respect you human. I won¡¯t let you kill yourself in this battle.¡± ¡°The only way you can keep me from fighting you is by killing me,¡± Vone said. ¡°Incorrect,¡± Exar¡¯kun replied. ¡°This won¡¯t kill you but it will keep you away for a few hours.¡± His wings snapped forwards as they sped over the ocean. His claws released her and then his tail snapped around hitting her square in her torso and launching her out over the ocean. There was no way a Veteran rank champion wouldn¡¯t find a way to swim back to shore but doing so would take her time, time Camelot did not have. Swinging his head around Exar¡¯kun flashed forwards rushing the swarm of gryphon knights that spiraled over the city bombing the army of the Warlord. He didn¡¯t hold animosity for these humans, but he had been named as prey for men like this the moment he had hatched and his role in this story had already been written. Now all that was left was for him to play his part. A roar shattered the glass of the nearby buildings as viper green flames tore from his mouth melting, stone, glass, and steel as he torched the city beneath him. --- Lancelot moved back into the fight as a healer in their armies ranks restored his shattered arm. My weapons spun deflecting arrows and I grabbed them with telekinesis flinging them back at my attackers. An arrow exploded against my back and I took half stumbling step. Kay lunged forwards then ducked under the strike of my spear and swords narrowly avoiding me impaling him to the earth. A rune covered rock hit the earth next to me and exploded stone shrapnel bouncing off my skin and flames sticking to and burning against my flesh. The damage from the explosive was easy for me to shrug off as I moved like a steel tornado into the ranks of soldiers. Lancelot charged me again and I braced my legs this time letting him hit me. I slid back a pace but didn¡¯t go flying this time and struck back with the force of plane crash hearing bones crack again as he was the one to go flying. I moved to pursue and finish him off, but soldiers flooded towards me sacrificing their lives to buy him time.
1527 rank points gained from assorted kills
The shadow raged and growled at being denied its kill and I let it loose as blood sprayed in a fountain around me. I charged forwards blades and weapons ripping through my armored skin, but the damage wasn¡¯t enough for me to be concerned about it. Lancelot was already on his feet again and my vision was red with a heady rage as I backhanded him sending him flying again.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Push towards the Palace!¡± I commanded Jeriah and my army as they finally finished exiting the portal. Smoke rose into the sky, and you could barely hear the sound of screams over the constant rolling thunder as lightning sparked between the skyscrapers above us. I smashed men out of my way I broke out of the arena into the streets. Ranks of soldiers began firing weapons and abilities at me. I held up a hand grabbing not just the physical projectiles but the magical energy of the lightning, fire, ice, holy, curse and every other energy type in between. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said with a cruel smile. The energy and matter began to merge and twist as it crystalized into a boulder the size of a pickup truck. I brought back my hand and made a show of swinging it forward like I was tossing a bowling ball. The round boulder rolled forwards sparking with energy as it crushed and fried anything it came into contact with carving a path through the ranks of men. ¡°Strike!¡± I roared with a mad laugh. I charged into the gap, my weapons spinning about me as I waded headless into danger. More and more notifications of rank point gains and my abilities ranking up continued to scroll past my vision.
Jericoh¡¯s Fall (Rank 1): Your footsteps disrupt the ground and people and you. Creatures on the ground take Minor damage and structures take Major damage when within 50ft of you while this ability is active.
Cost: 5 stamina per second while active
Rank this ability up to increase its damage and range. Each rank increases your Speed by 1.
I smiled all these people were weaker than me but the sheer numbers of them I was killing meant I would at least get some abilities from them. ¡°System, rank up Despite the death I dealt out the soldiers of Camelot stood bravely against me forming ranks as they resisted my advance. It was time to put a stop to that. ¡°Run mortals,¡± I said my voice reverberating with the myriad of voices within me and projected by Voice of the Chasm. ¡°I am the Warlord.¡± My voice echoed between the burning skyscrapers. ¡°Cities burn in my wake. Nothing stands in my way whether if flies walks or slithers on the earth, the more you resist me, the more of you who perish trying to stop me the stronger I become.¡± The unearthly howl of Helheim¡¯s Scream ripped out after that, and the army broke before me as madness and panic overcame them. --- Johan had been hiding inside the basement of their apartment building with his family. They had narrowly escaped the lighting scourge as it bounced through their neighbors and now, they huddled in the basement waiting for the storm to pass. His three children and wife all held onto him, and he tried to project strength he didn¡¯t feel. ¡°Its going to be all right,¡± he promised them knowing it was a promise he had no power to keep. ¡°I love you Johan,¡± his wife Mary whispered in his ear tears running down her cheeks as she clung to him holding their four-year-old son in between them. Johan¡¯s fingers of his left hand gripped his father¡¯s sword for comfort despite knowing it would do him no good. They could hear the screams of the dead and dying above them and the voice of a giant proclaiming death to any who stood in its way. Then a sound hit his soul, it was maddening, it was rage and terror blended into one. Johan¡¯s vision went red as he struck out at the demon that appeared next to him. They reached out clawed hands towards him and he used his father¡¯s sword to cut through them as he fought a desperate battle for survival. He beat them back, his heart pounding with terror. Finally, the terror faded and his vison cleared. Johan fell to his knees as he looked at what he had done. ¡°No, no, no!¡± he screamed looking down at bodies of his wife and children. His body wracked with sobs and wordless screams, he picked up the sword again placing the hilt on the ground and fell on his sword unable to live with the guilt of what he had just done. --- Lancelot and Kay moved in my wake, but they didn¡¯t just have to contend with me. I was the Warlord, and they were finally forced to deal with my army. Jeriah, Tobias, and his brothers led the advance as we cut our way through the streets towards the palace.
Dark Guardian (Rank 20, Max Rank): You have shown the willingness to sacrifice for others and can sacrifice your flesh and blood to protect those you choose. Allies within 220ft of you heal a Extreme amount for every Minor wound you take.
For every Minor wound you are suffering the damage your allies with 210ft of you would take is reduced by an Extreme amount.
Your allies within 180ft of you gain a bonus to their Toughness equal to 10 per Minor wound you are currently suffering.
You gain a 15% damage reduction to a particular type of elemental damage you are attacked with stacking to max of 75% for every attack you receive from the same damage element. (Can gain resistances to multiple elements at a time).
Anytime someone under your protection would take Lethal damage that damage is instead transferred to you but is reduced by your damage reduction modifiers. (does not trigger healing effect of this ability)
Max Rank Bonus: A guardian is only as good as long as there are people to protect, you reduce damage by an Extreme amount whenever there are at least a hundred allies within 220ft of you.
Cost: N/A
Upgrade this ability to increase the range and amount of protection you grant to others. Each upgrade increases your Toughness by 1.
I only briefly looked over the final result of my ability and could feel the effect of it already as wounds began appearing across my body as lethal damage was transferred from my vassals to me. While it didn¡¯t activate the healing effect of my ability it did activate the other effects and the damage they took was reduced for each wound as well as increasing their toughness. That wasn¡¯t even including its synergy with my other abilities effects that activated every time I took damage. I moved forwards my feet sending shockwaves through the ground with each footfall as Jericoh¡¯s Fall ranked up alongside my other abilities. A roar shook the air as Exar¡¯kun passed by overhead his emerald flames torching the army directly in front of me as they were still recovering from the panic, I had inflicted on them. My head jerked to the side as I caught the sound of a whistling arrow and just moved it in time to dodge one of Mira¡¯s arrows. I ignored the champions for now. Guinevere was my goal, and I would handle them later once I¡¯d ripped Arthur and Merlin to pieces.
Brutal Spite (Rank 20, Max Rank): Even when you have been beaten down, your blood sapped from your body and to the point of death you continue on. For every Minor wound you are currently suffering your stamina and mana regeneration is increased by x6.
You deal x5 damage against a creature who has dealt a Minor wound to you within the last 34 seconds.
Every time a creature deals damage to you they take a fifth of the damage they dealt to you as retributive damage.
Every time a creature hits you they gain a stack of Mark of Vengeance*
Max Rank Bonus: You can store up 10% of the damage you take from each strike the damage you store can be added to an attack in the future (the stored damage drops off by 1% per second).
*Mark of Vengeance: Targets damage reduction is reduced by 1 stage for 10 seconds.
Cost: not available
Upgrade this ability to increase the rate of increased stamina regeneration per wound suffered. Each rank of this ability increases your Endurance by 1.
I smiled as I took in the notification and looked at the ability. Every soldier that struck at me now signed their own death as a even a casual strike from me would obliterate them. I pushed forwards the castle in clear sight now as I waded through the blood and guts of my enemies. I could fly and just avoid the army, but I was tired of letting these people¡¯s attacks against me go unanswered. They wanted a war against me, well we¡¯d see how much they liked it when I brought that war to their own doorstep. I blasted my way through their ranks with all my AOE attacks. I knew in the back of my head that there were people like Aisha in the buildings around me with no say on the war against me, but it didn¡¯t matter. If their leaders had cared at all about their lives, they would have let Arthur die, now their deaths were on their hands, and I washed myself clean of it. This world was not kind to the weak and I saw no reason to be either. I knew some of my thinking was influenced by the Shadow, but I just didn¡¯t care. I had tried to play by their rules now they were going to play by mine.
Bloodstained Riposte (Rank 20, Max Rank): Your existence causes pain to those around you in retribution for the pain you experience. When you take damage, your spirit lashes out to inflict bleed damage on the target equal to 5/8th damage taken by you.
The damage of your next attack against a creature that has just damaged you deals Severe Soul damage (fifteen second cooldown)
The damage you deal with your riposte and next physical attack pierces three stages of damage reduction (twenty second cooldown).
Damage dealt by your riposte and next physical attack cannot be healed for the next thirty seconds. (Cooldown twenty-five seconds)
Target become vulnerable to Soul damage after being struck by your riposte. Vulnerability last for ten seconds and increases all Soul damage taken by 50%. (Cooldown thirty seconds).
Max Rank Bonus: Immediately after riposting you gain a damage shield reducing the damage of the next attack you take by six damage stages.
Cost: 70 mana Cooldown: 3 seconds.
Upgrade this ability to increase the retributive damage you deal with it and reduce its cooldown. Each rank up increases your spirit by 1.
This would have been handy against Arthur in the arena. With a surge of violence, I broke through the army on my way onto the palace grounds. The place was devoid of defenders as I moved into its halls. I looked around but could find no one, not even servants. A pair of soft foot falls sounded behind me, and I turned to see a man standing before me in simple robes unarmed and looking calm. ¡°Where is Guinevere?¡± I snarled. ¡°They have gone,¡± the man said. ¡°Open your portals and leave this city, the object of your search is no longer here.¡± ¡°Then I will burn it to the ground until she is brought to me,¡± I snapped striding towards the door. The man stepped in my way. ¡°I am a man of peace; I have trained Arthur since he was a boy. I will not let you harm him.¡± ¡°Odd for a man of peace to create a weapon of war,¡± I said and looked the man over.
Gilgamesh the Breaker of Sword, Gifted- mountain-elf*/humanoid, Exarch: 698
¡°Arthur has many failings but his heart is always for his people,¡± Gilgamesh said. ¡°Unlike you who only has a heart for himself.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pretend to understand me or my motives,¡± I said. ¡°I was a target of your people long before I ever laid eyes upon Camelot.¡± ¡°I will not say your life or choices have been easy,¡± Gilgamesh said. ¡°But the choices you have made today have only lead to devastation.¡±
Jericoh¡¯s Fall (Rank 20, Max Rank): Your footsteps disrupt the ground and people and you. Creatures on the ground take Extreme damage and structures take Extreme damage when within 50ft of you while this ability is active.
Increases your movement speed by 15ft per step.
Each of your footsteps sends out a shockwave around 150ft which causes creatures who fail a Speed check to be knocked off their feet.
You can channel your power into an extreme stomp for an extra cost of 40 stamina & 40 mana to deal double damage to structures in a 700 ft cone in front of you.
Rather than knock away your steps are like the pull of a planet, drawing prone creatures on the ground 50ft closer to you with each of your steps.
Max Rank Bonus: Moving seven times around a group of structures destabilizes them causing immediate destruction to all nonmagical structures and Severe damage to all structures in the area.
Cost: 25 stamina per second while active
Rank this ability up to increase its damage and range. Each rank increase your Speed by one.
My newly acquired ability finally finished leveling up. I didn¡¯t bother responding this time teleporting past him and becoming a blur as I raced outside the palace. My army was locked in battle outside it. Just before I could reach them Lancelot, Kay, Mira and Ammerila all broke through the ranks and faced me. A dome of energy appeared around us locking us in. Gilgamesh appeared before me again, his arms folded behind his back in a relaxed gesture. ¡°I will not let you take out your anger against this city.¡± ¡°If you stand against me than you are my enemy,¡± I said advancing toward him.¡± ¡°I have no enemies,¡± Gilgamesh replied. ¡°And by the end of the day, neither will I,¡± I responded swinging Clarent down towards his neck. Chapter 155: A Life for a Life Gilgamesh slid to the side and his hand flew out to grab my wrist. Shadow claws from one of my other limbs lashed out at him and he was forced to yank his hand back a mere moment after stopping my blade. A presence appeared behind me, but I didn¡¯t twist behind me to deal with it letting Voidra block the strike of the dagger with Thorn. Lancelot rammed into me shield first but I braced and knocked him back. Kay came at me from the other direction spears stabbing up through the earth all around me rivers of blood running down my skin from the wounds they were able to inflict. An arrow exploded against my back liquid fire running down beneath my pauldrons as some sort of napalm burned over my skin. I weathered every strike then released a roar the shockwave of my voice knocking them back. I rushed the wall of energy and slashed my weapons into it but they skidded off.
Dome of Reflected Strength increases its strength in proportion to the force used against it, you will not be able to break through, teleport or open portals for the next ten minutes.
¡°Where is Guinevere,¡± I snarled turning back around and moving forward. The fight with these champions was a distraction, but since they were holding me back from getting to Guinevere and my child I would send their souls to their gods as punishment for standing in my way. ¡°She is safe,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°You will never see her again.¡± ¡°There is no where safe with you people,¡± I said blocking another attempt by Ammerila to backstab me. ¡°No rock you can hide under where I will not find you.¡± Ammerila appeared to my right stabbing forward with twin daggers my spear spinning to block both strikes. ¡°Enough talk, its time to die already,¡± she snapped. I grinned. ¡°On that we are agree.¡± I caught an arrow with telekinesis and dodged the fist of Gilgamesh as a spectral sword shot from the end of his fist. I punched up deflecting the ghostly blade and lunged forwards with my gauntlet sword. Lancelot appeared in his place blocking the sword with his shield and miraculously not go flying when my full strength hit him. Another arrow hit me in the back and exploded taking out a chunk of flesh. I grit my teeth in frustration, their ability to block themselves from my Foresight was a major thorn in my side. I needed to increase my strength even farther. I had one ability left to rank up. I didn¡¯t think it would be very useful but it would at the very least increase my Spirit attribute. ¡°System,¡± I said. ¡°Upgrade Living Stone to rank twenty.¡± I left Ares to handle the individual rank ups as I blocked attacks from all sides my five sets of arms moved from defense to assault in the span of single second. Abilities exploded against my side or bounced off my skin or armor leaving only minor scratches. I could see the dim shapes of a war being raged outside the energy dome I was trapped in. Falcons descended from the sky clawing at my face and eyes but I didn¡¯t even bother to brush them away my helmet keeping them off. Scarlet lightning shot out and the birds fell to the earth and my instances of Black Rage refreshed with the summoned kills. I stabbed Janus through Ammerila¡¯s side and she fell back blood fountaining out of the wound as purple flames raced across her body. Lancelot raised his hand and her wounds immediately began to heal across her body. ¡°So you¡¯re the tank and healer now,¡± I mused. I needed to stop doing a straight up fight. There was no point holding back my cards I needed to show these champions that I was more than them. Lancelot charged forwards again with his shield and I braced my legs. He hit me and I caught the edge of his shield with my left hand. He tried to yank it free but weight and strength were on my side. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said pushing eather into the ability. White fracture lines began to spread across the shield and Lancelot¡¯s eyes grew wide behind his helmet. ¡°That¡¯s not possible,¡± he said. I didn¡¯t answer as I let my spirits keep up my defenses as I focused on shattering the artifact shield. Lancelot pushed forwards with desperate strength and he lifted me off the ground wings sprouting from his back made of white feathers. He took us up into the air and dropped us so we hit like a meteor. He took damage from the fall too but he¡¯d managed to dislodge my fingers from his shield preventing me from destroying it. I raised a hand to blast him with lightning then saw something, a shadow inside the dome from another person trapped inside with us. Kalin. Why is he here? I growled internally to Ares. He¡¯s been following you with the main army, Ares said. I didn¡¯t realize he was this close though. I¡¯m telling him to stay put now as long as he stays low he should be relatively safe. I moved back to take the fight farther away from Kalin. The champions were more wary of me now. They might not understand it but they had all seen me try to destroy Lancelot¡¯s artifact shield. Gilgamesh appeared in front of me unleashing a flurry of unarmed strikes at my torso. He was far to cocky in his higher rank and I let some of the hits land before doing something I tried on Arthur once. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said using one of my most powerful abilities on him. Stone flowed up his feet and crept up his legs hardening as I trapped the man in place. He didn¡¯t panic but he was forced to only defend himself and I could see his legs strain as he tried to break free from the earth. A spear bypassed my defenses hitting me under the armpit where my cloak didn¡¯t hang and stabbing into one of my hearts. I staggered backwards snarling as my lifeblood drained out onto the ground. Despite being physically stronger than them I was having the same problem Exar¡¯kun had when he was hunted. A group of people prepared to counter most of my abilities and who had isolated me from outside support. I would not lie helpless on the ground reliant on someone else to save me, I promised myself. I grabbed Kay¡¯s spear next time he struck at me and pulled him close. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said again white lines traveling down the shaft of the weapon. Lancelot hit me with his shield and my grip broke as he came in low this time accounting for my much greater weight. There attacks started coming in faster as they harried me like wolves. Without my Foresight I was forced to rely only one Tremor Soles to give me a split second to react as Ammerila repeatedly snuck inside my guard stabbing me sending venom flowing through my veins. My blood was draining from my body at a remarkable rate and I started to feel lightheaded. I teleported away and downed one of my health potions something I hadn¡¯t had to do in a fight for a long time. I didn¡¯t need the healing so much as I needed more fluid for my body to replace its lost blood. I blocked Ammerila¡¯s daggers a second before she could dig them into my side but Lancelot teleported swapping places with her just before I could counter attack with Bloody Riposte. I wasn¡¯t the only one getting injured but Lancelot was able to provide them healing. This would likely be a battle of attrition ending when Lancelot ran out of mana to heal them or until one side made a major error. Several minutes of non-stop fighting had already gone by far longer than most fights usually went. My duel against Arthur had been the longest fight against a single opponent ever most fights even against creatures like World Bosses done in only a few minutes with one side having to rapidly obliterate the other or be destroyed. My opponents were flagging but they had time to move back and down potions to restore their health and mana and I couldn¡¯t interrupt them thanks to the constant attacks against me. Gilgamesh had broken free of his stone shackles and was back in the fight his fist joining the torrent of damage I was taking. A notification popped up in my vision for a split second but even that minor distraction was almost enough to get my head cut off.
Living Stone (Rank 20, Max Rank): You animate up to 15 tons of stone you shape to move and act as it were a living creature. The constructs will not take any actions unless you command them too, constructs can be inhabited by spirits to give them their own autonomous will the loyalty of your constructs will depend on the allegiance of the spirit inhabiting it.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Your constructs gain a regain speed equal to your own repairing themselves of any damage they take.
Your constructs act as weapons gaining bonus damage dealt based on your titles and abilities.
Max Rank Bonus: Constructs will not deanimate until destroyed.
Cost: 20 mana per pound of stone
Upgrade this ability to increase the abilities of your living stone and its abilities. Each rank of this ability increases your Mind Attribute by 2.
At the moment I couldn¡¯t see an immediate use for the new ability even with its upgrades, so I dismissed it turning my full focus back to the fight. An arrow hit me in my collar bone burring itself up to its fletching before exploding spraying blood out as it took out a major artery. I teleported next to Mira, and she blasted me back with a blast of wind as she took to the sky her wings carrying her up to the top of the dome. Lancelot slammed into me again and I hit the side of the dome, a shocking sensation hitting me as the dome struck me with backlash.
Stunned for 30 seconds (Reduced by Troll Hide to 1 second)
That single second was enough. Ammerila appeared in front of me plunging a rune inscribed spike into my sternum.
You have been afflicted with Mana Binding; your own mana will restrain you for the next hour (reduced by Troll Hide to 36 seconds)
Even my limbs of void energy were held down as bands of black energy wrapped around me coming from withing my own flesh. I could instantly see what had happened, this spike would hold someone in place based on the amount of mana they had. My massive mana pool had been noticed by my enemies and they had planned accordingly using it to restrain me for so long that even my ability to reduce stuns and binding effects by ninety-nine percent could only reduce to it a little less than forty seconds.
30 seconds remaining on mana bindings
Ammerila slashed out again and again my throat being flayed open my blood spilling out on the ground. Arrows began peppering me from Mira.
25 seconds remaining on mana bindings
Lancelot hacked down into me with his sword joining in the attacks.
20 seconds remaining on mana bindings
Gilgamesh began beating on me, his fist striking my helmet again and again rocking my brain inside my skull again and again as my body couldn¡¯t even move a centimeter even with the impacts against it. Only the superhuman strength of my flesh and skin from Troll Hide and the effect of Stygian Blessing from my pauldrons keeping them from just instantly killing me.
15 seconds remaining on mana bindings
Kay ran to the other side of the dome, and I was confused for a second until I saw his body and spear start to glow as he crouched in a runner¡¯s stance. He was preparing a charge attack.
10 seconds remaining on mana bindings
¡°Move!¡± Kay shouted as he began to run towards me. The bands of energy held me down as Kay charged forwards, his body blurring and the tip of his spear glowing and turning white hot. He seemed to be running in place of his legs moving in a blur, but he wasn¡¯t moving across the ground at the same speed that should be generated by them. Whatever the ability was it would likely massively increase the damage of his next attack.
5 seconds remaining on mana bindings
There was no way for me to break free. I tried flooding my body with eather, but the bindings held. The spear tip was a second from impacting me then¡­ a boy stepped in the way. The spear struck and Kay looked in horror at the child impaled on his spear. ¡°No!¡± I screamed and at last the binding ended as I caught Kalin¡¯s lifeless body. He had no last words I couldn¡¯t do anything for him now his body instantly killed the moment the spear had hit him. ¡°Why did he¡­¡± Kay said the battle suddenly halted as everyone, but Ammerila stared at the dead child. ¡°Your death would have been quick,¡± I said the anger and grief clouding my voice. ¡°But now¡­ you will suffer as few have ever suffered.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡± Kay said but I wasn¡¯t listening the blood pounding in my ears blocking out all outside sound. My hand caught Ammerila around the throat and I tossed her with the force of a meteor crash against the ground hearing bones snap like twigs. I didn¡¯t know if she was dead and didn¡¯t care, the target of my immediate wrath right before me. My body began to swell in size as I used the effect of Jotunn Slayer to grow to twenty-five feet in height my weapons and armor growing in size with me. Blood poured down in a fountain from my wounds.
Your body is Lethally injured and your regeneration has been temporarily blocked by an outside ability. Time until death 30 seconds.
Right now all thoughts of saving Guinevere were gone. Thoughts of living were non-existent all I had was rage. While I hadn¡¯t been able to admit it while he still lived Kalin had been like a sort of son to me, someone who I could save from the life I had. And now his life was over. The blade of Clarent rumbled the noise suppression around it not able to fully contain the sound from its increased size. I swung it down and the earth blackened. Ammerila drove her daggers into the skin above where my boots ended but my skin was four times as thick there.
Time until death 25 seconds.
Kay stumbled back barely dodging as he became my singular focus. Attacks landed against me but even my spirits were infected by my rage my link to them filling with the singular desire to destroy Kay. The earth shattered as my spear, sword and claws racked down.
Time until death 20 seconds.
My spear clipped Kay sending him flying into the side of the dome and it was his turn to be stunned.
Time until death 15 seconds.
Lancelot flashed forwards standing over Kay but I flung him to the side with sweep of my spear sparks flying off his shield as he crashed into the dome and was also stunned.
Time until death 10 seconds.
I drove Clarent down. Kay screamed as his artifact armor tried to resist the blade but lightning surged across his body making it spasm. He thrashed and screamed as his flesh smoked and burned.
Time until death 5 seconds.
Kay went limp and died and my wounds closed as my body repaired itself after the kill.
247 rank points gained.
Phalanx Commander (Rank 1): You are the leader of armies able to organize your troops into unbreakable ranks. While in a coordinated formation within 300ft of you your vassals deal Minor bonus damage with all attacks.
Rank up this ability to increase the bonus damage it grants and the range of its effect. Each rank up increases your Mind by 1.
The dome locking me in blinked out. Gilgamesh charged forwards; I was barely even aware of what was going on anymore the Shadow rising up to take control as my rage went rampant. Gilgamesh froze midair as I gripped him with telekinesis. I moved on Lancelot, slowly reducing my size slowly reducing as I reduced it to ten feet of height. ¡°Where is Guinevere,¡± I snarled my voice barely understandable. Lancelot coughed blood as he pushed himself to his feet. ¡°I¡¯ll die before I hand her over to you.¡± ¡°No,¡± I said with merciless certainty. ¡°You will break before you die.¡± Gilgamesh screamed as my Telekinesis compressed him, blood running from his ears, eyes, and nose. With one last scream of agony his bones snapped in on themselves his broken rips stabbing into his heart.
349 rank points gained.
Lancelot raised his shield, but I swept his legs out from under him. Grabbing his shield, I didn¡¯t try to break it this time, instead I placed a boot on his chest and with a twisting yank I ripped his arm off. Pulling out cautr fennel I packed the wound, and he screamed again as my other foot stepped down on his other wrist keeping him pinned down. I raised Clarent and hacked off a leg and he screamed again. I poured a healing potion down his throat and packed the stump of his leg with cautr fennel. I would leave him a cripple and he would beg to tell me where Guinevere was before I was done. --- Mira tried to rush forward to Lancelot¡¯s aid but a hand yanked her back pulling her into the shadows. ¡°Stop!¡± Ammerila hissed. ¡°We couldn¡¯t beat him with all five of us we can¡¯t take him now.¡± ¡°He¡¯s killing Lancelot!¡± Mira screamed headless of giving away their position. ¡°No, he isn¡¯t,¡± Ammerila said. ¡°While he is still alive there is still a chance we can save him. If you kill yourself in a futile rescue attempt you aren¡¯t helping him.¡± Mira¡¯s eyes were wild but she forced herself to calm down. ¡°What do we do?¡± she asked. ¡°We need to find Arthur,¡± Ammerila said. ¡°We need to get him back in the fight, he is the one whose come the closest to killing him and he¡¯s probably the only one who can.¡± The two champions disappeared into the shadows fleeing the burning city of Camelot as Lancelot¡¯s screams joined the thousands of others as the city smoked and burned behind them. Chapter 156: The True Cost I had to be careful not to kill Lancelot as I broke him. The solution came to me as I dragged his limbless body through the streets of Camelot, Phantom Form. I pulled out Mab from my side and after a few minutes drew some runes on Lancelot¡¯s forehead. They would let me peer into his thoughts and see his memories. Of course, he blocked me out but that would be handled easily enough. ¡°Phantom Form,¡± I said turning my body incorporeal. My fingers drove through Lancelot¡¯s chest and he jerked out of his pain filled fugue. The barrier around his mind flickered but held. I dug around his chest with immaterial fingers while his body bucked weakly, unable to put up any real resistance without his arms or legs. I pulled out my hand as I rematerialized. ¡°Phantom Form,¡± I said again. I drove my hand into his chest again feeling his mental barrier loosen again. Time and again he resisted me, and I retaliated by rending his soul. His will was strong, but no one came to save him and in the end he broke. I delved into his thoughts. He didn¡¯t know exactly where Guinevere was, but he knew several locations where she might be taken too. There was another location I found interesting, someplace Guinevere wouldn¡¯t be taken but other members of the royal family would be. I dragged Lancelot behind me as I opened a portal. Arrows bounced off my Nemean cloak as I dropped Lancelot and cut through the defenders. I smashed open a door and looked at the target I had come to collect. ¡°Dominion,¡± I growled out. Lionor reached up to her throat as white brand of chains appeared around it. She clutched a infant to her chest. ¡°How did¡­?¡± her eyes went wide when she saw the limbless body of Lancelot and his defeated eyes. ¡°Tell me where Guinevere is,¡± I commanded her. She only tried to resist for a moment then the brand around her neck brightened and she winced and relented. ¡°They are at Castle Lanerva,¡± she said. ¡°What are they doing?¡± I pressed, sensing there was something further that she was holding back. ¡°They are holding the wedding ceremony for Guinevere and Arthur,¡± she said trying to resist me but the words being forced out of her throat as the pain increased. ¡°Merlin has prepared a trap for you with the ring you gave Guinevere.¡± I frowned. ¡°How?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Lionor said. ¡°He seemed to think he could use it to draw you into a trap.¡± ¡°Foolish,¡± I said shaking my head. ¡°Was he not able to read its description? Only someone I trust can use the ring.¡± I turned my back on her not waiting for an answer. ¡°Follow me,¡± I commanded and opened a second portal. I¡¯d seen Castle Lanerva in Lancelot¡¯s memories and opened it the castle throne room, if there was one place the wedding would be held, I felt sure it was there. I grabbed Lionor and pushed her through the portal in front of me dragging Lancelot behind. ¡°Wait!¡± I heard Arthur shout and a line of spears halted as Arthur limping took a step away from the altar that had been placed before the throne. ¡°Mordred! Run¡­.¡± Guinevere screamed but then her voice was cut off and she couldn¡¯t speak anymore. I looked around, Merlin and King Arthur were there along with dozens of other nobles I vaguely remembered seeing at the ball. Lionor stood before me blocking any clear attack they could make on me. ¡°Let her go,¡± Arthur demanded his voice panicked and desperate but I could see he had no strength to back his words. ¡°I will release her, your son and Lancelot in exchange for Guinevere,¡± I said. There was silence and I could see Arthur wrestling with himself. ¡°You once said there was not cost to great to kill me,¡± I said. ¡°Well, your son is part of the cost now.¡± ¡°You bastard!¡± Arthur raged. ¡°You¡¯d use a child as a shield?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t me who broke the rules first,¡± I said. ¡°You should have died like a hero in the arena, these are the consequences for your failure. I wouldn¡¯t have gone this far if you hadn¡¯t pushed but now¡­ there are no limits.¡± ¡°No,¡± King Arthur said. ¡°Father!¡± Arthur protested. ¡°That is my son! That is Lancelot!¡± ¡°A bastard son and crippled champion are not worth the price of the humiliation giving the Dutchess of Camelot to the Warlord would bring us,¡± he said his voice impassive and unrelenting. ¡°And there is the alliance with my brother we must secure.¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°This isn¡¯t worth it!¡± Arthur protested raging but I could see his legs shaking with weakness. ¡°We cannot let your grandson die for the sake of the agreement between us.¡± ¡°He is right,¡± Merlin said. I instantly went on edge. Lionor had warned me of a trap and Merlin giving in didn¡¯t seem like him. My eyes darted around the multifaced pupils I had roaming and searching for whatever trick he was about to pull. Merlin smiled meeting my eyes and raised the ring in his hands, he couldn¡¯t use it so I had no idea what he had planned. An inscribed circle formed around me and I felt the ring on my finger draw in my mana.
You have been afflicted with Mana Binding; your own mana will restrain you for the next hour (reduced by Troll Hide to 36 seconds)
¡°Damn it!¡± I swore as it happened again. I strained against the bindings as Merlin advanced forward towards me lazily not hurrying his movements at all to capitalize on my immobility.
Mana Bindings refreshed; your own mana will restrain you for the next hour (reduced by Troll Hide to 36 seconds)
I snarled in wordless rage but just like last time I couldn¡¯t fight my own mana. ¡°You were a fool to think you would ever have my daughter,¡± Merlin said raising his staff. ¡°Except she¡¯s not your daughter is she,¡± I said. It was just a guess but the look of rage I saw in him confirmed it. ¡°I found it interesting that your world¡¯s version of a paternity test is to check the abilities of your children to make sure they match up or versions of both parents,¡± I said. ¡°But then I wondered what would happen if someone else with the same abilities were to sire a child.¡± Guinevere stood on the stage, and I saw the look of dawning realization on her face. ¡°Silence,¡± Merlin commanded striking his staff across my jaw. ¡°I thought you people were weird enough with your cousin marriages,¡± I said my jaw flexing as I snapped it back to place. ¡°But siblings that¡¯s really fucked up¡­well half siblings.¡± ¡°Father is this true,¡± Arthur asked turning around his fist¡¯s clenched. ¡°No,¡± King Arthur said staring me down with his own look of murderous rage but I could see the guilt hiding behind it. He walked forwards and stood before me and knelt down to my eye level. ¡°He¡¯d say anything right now,¡± King Arthur said. ¡°He has already poisoned Guinevere¡¯s mind and now he seeks to poison ours.¡± ¡°Let¡­him¡­go,¡± Guinevere said her voice straining to get the words out. ¡°I think you need to be taught the error of your ways daughter,¡± Merlin said lowering his staff from where he had been about to bring it down on my skull. ¡°You will be the one to kill him.¡± Guinevere slowly descended the staircase from the altar taking her blue blade sword. Her body trembled and shook as she fought the control exerted on her body. She moved forward her graceful movements now stiff and jerky. ¡°Stop this, father,¡± Arthur said this isn¡¯t right. ¡°Stand down son,¡± the king said. ¡°This is necessary for Guinevere¡¯s instruction.¡± A black leather band with silver plates riveted to it appeared in Guinevere¡¯s hand when she was five feet from me. She placed it around her neck and it fastened becoming a dark chocker necklace. She stepped forward standing over me and raised her sword. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have to do this,¡± she said and thrust her sword forwards. -- Guinevere strained against the oaths that bound her but just like Mordred was currently immobilized by her own mana so was she if less literally. Her feet dragged herself forwards as she desperately strained against it her hand grabbing her sword in passing. She tried to let go of it but her body was not her own to command right now. All their moralizing about being better than the Warlords of the past and they bound people to their will just like they did. Guinevere desperately searched for something, anything to stop herself from obeying the oaths that bound her. System, she thought. If I have anything that can stop this show it to me.
Would you like to use your custom Tier IV artifact now?
Yes, Guinevere screamed mentally grabbing onto the hope. Lists of items and their descriptions began scrolling past her vision but she didn¡¯t have time to read them, her body still moving forwards. Arthur and others were speaking but she didn¡¯t have time to listen to their useless words as she blinked past the notifications. Anything to let me bypass these oaths, she told the System. Just pick something and give it to me. A soft weight appeared in her hand, and she looked down at the object.
Amulet of the Black Temptress, Type: Jewelry (neck) (Artifact IV): Any binding oaths effecting this creature are canceled and nulled. While wearing this amulet you are immune to Domination, Mind Control, Mind Reading, Emphatic and truth telling abilities and spells.
At the cost of 100 mana the wearer or one creature they touch can break free of any entrapments, binding or snare holding them. Cooldown 1 hour (each rank you have will reduce the cost for this effect by 5 mana and the cooldown by 5 minutes to a minimum of 5 mana cost and cooldown of 5 minutes)
Members of the opposite sex are inflicted with Lust* while in your presence making them susceptible to control by you.
This amulet can only be removed once you are dead.
Weight: 1 lbs.
The last two effects seemed more like curses but there was no time to second guess or hesitate, she raised the amulet to her neck, and it fastened itself there. Instantly she felt a sense of relief as control returned to her body. All it had taken was a cursed amulet, but she finally had some control over her own life and actions for the first time in her life. Mordred was still trapped, and they were surrounded by the most powerful men in the kingdom. Guinevere looked at her father, her real father, a man who had been as cruel and distant as Merlin had her entire life. He would have forced her into marriage with Arthur despite knowing the truth all to suit his own power. What she was about to do was one of the greatest of sins but not doing it would be as great an injustice. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have to do this,¡± she said and thrust her sword forwards through her father¡¯s chest. Chapter 157: Become What You Hate ¡°No!¡± Arthur screamed. Guinevere twisted her sword, ripping it out and spinning around faster than the eye could follow. Her sword flashed out, slicing off Merlin¡¯s hand, the ring he held dropping to the floor. She laid a hand on my head and my mana bindings dropped away instantly. I moved in a blur of my own scooping up the hand and the ring it contained. Black void arms sprouted all across my torso as I stepped in front of Guinevere, deflecting the hundreds of attacks launched at us by the surrounding nobility. Merlin stumbled back, dragging his brother with his remaining hand. Scarlet lightning shot out but a shield dome appeared around them and it deflected off. Merlin enveloped Arthur and his father as they retreated from the throne room, opening up another portal and disappearing. Lancelot had already been whisked away to who knows where with Lionor and her baby. None of them mattered; I had Guinevere now. The nobles here were a lot harder to slay than the champions I was normally faced with. They hadn¡¯t prepared specifically to face me but every single one of them out ranked me and were decked out for war. I made the decision to leave. I had Guinevere and my army was still locked in combat. As satisfying as it would be to kill each and every one of these men and women, their time would come and I would bring my entire army crashing down on them. My left hand drew a circle in the air and I opened a portal. ¡°Get in,¡± I said to Guinevere. We dove through the portal appearing on the street outside the palace at Camelot. Guinevere looked at the burning city in shock. ¡°What happened?¡± she asked. ¡°They got in my way,¡± I replied. I felt no guilt or regret for my actions. They had pushed me and this was the consequence of their actions. ¡°How many people are dead?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Does it matter?¡± I asked disinterestedly, turning away. Her hand slapped me across the face startling me. ¡°Take control of your Shadow,¡± she said, her voice stern and commanding. The slap didn¡¯t hurt but it still stunned me. Looking inwards, I could feel the Shadow twisting through me. It was affecting my actions far more than I thought it had been. I pushed back on it and got a violent response in return. Obey! With the mental command I pulled the Shadow out of my thoughts and pushed it back down. Voidra, Ares and Karnen helped me to put it back in its bindings. It struggled and thrashed but against our collective will, its strength powered by primal rage couldn¡¯t hold us back. The Shadow was bound inside me once again and I could view my actions more clearly. I¡¯d been unnecessarily destructive under the influence of the Shadow, but the worst part was, I still agreed with the actions I had taken. It had been brutal but I had done what I needed to send a message and fight my way through their streets. I had risen to their level of escalation but it wasn¡¯t really an accuse.
65,536 Rank Points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 655,360 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 94 out of 655,360. When you complete this quest, you will gain 65,536 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed, but will award double the rank points.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!
The message came and showed me just how much death I¡¯d caused. I wondered if Aisha was still alive. I¡¯d told her to run but hadn¡¯t thought about her since, and considering just how far my lightning had self-propagated, the chances didn''t look that good. ¡°Mordred,¡± Guinevere said, and I could feel the sorrow in her voice. ¡°Please, stop this.¡± I closed my eyes reaching out to grab the lighnting in the city. It still belonged to me and I could extinguish it if I wanted too. Don¡¯t, a cold feminine voice spoke in my mind. You are the Warlord; this is your destiny. The words of my goddess rocked my soul, almost sending me to my knees. I wasn¡¯t sure what form of communication this was, but it was a lot harder to endure than our regular method of communication. ¡°You gave me free will to see my path done as I saw fit,¡± I snarled pushing back on the presence wearing down on me. ¡°What?¡± Guinevere asked, only hearing one side of the conversation. Do not throw away this chance for power, Kalesa said. Your enemies are routed, now is not the time to show mercy. Strike while the iron is hot! You have seen their cities through that champion¡¯s memories. Today you can teleport to each of them and with a single ability you can lay waste to them all. The power you can reap from them will give you enough rank points to advance yourself all the way to demigod without having to slowly acquire new abilities. Her words tempted me more than I liked. It was her last words that decided it, though. I wasn¡¯t trying to speed run this game of the gods, yes I might have the ability to do so, but something told me that even a god needed strong abilities and just sheer raw stats wouldn¡¯t let me stand out. Then there was Guinevere, her eyes were haunted, and I could only imagine what she was going through right now. She had gone through enough revelations, and I wouldn¡¯t put her through more by becoming the monster everyone thought I was. ¡°No,¡± I answered the goddess, and I snuffed out every bolt of crimson lightning. Everyone froze across the battlefield as the backdrop of lightning suddenly ended. I could see my army standing almost unopposed now. We¡¯d been vastly outnumbered at the start and now we outnumbered them three to one. ¡°Let this day serve as a warning to you all,¡± I said, my voice rumbling out with Voice of the Chasm so all could hear me. ¡°I tried to do things your way, play by your rules and customs, but your rulers chose not to honor them. Now we will do things the old way; the Law of Strength is at play. I can destroy you all as you have seen. If pressed I will do so again and again. Do not follow your prince or king. Let the champions fight among themselves and don¡¯t involve yourselves. If you do¡­ on your own head, be it.¡± I opened nine portals, each wide enough for a dozen men to march through at once. They took nearly half my massive mana pool to create, but with a thought directed towards Ares, my entire army began marching through. In fifteen minutes only Guinevere and I remained behind. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said to Guinevere. ¡°Are you really?¡± she asked me. ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t regret my actions, but I do regret that they were necessary.¡± Guinevere¡¯s hand ran over the black and silver choker necklace she wore. ¡°It¡¯s my fault. I didn¡¯t think this was an option, but the System had a way for me to break free of those oaths. I was too blinded by fear and loyalty to my fath¡­ to Merlin, that I didn¡¯t even look for another way out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to find out about it like that,¡± I said. ¡°Better that I found out about it at all,¡± Guinevere said bitterly. ¡°They would have pushed me into that twisted marriage knowing the truth.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still sorry,¡± I said. ¡°From personal experience I know trying to kill your father always leaves a mark on you, even if he wasn¡¯t really a father to you at all.¡± ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll feel guilty later,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But right now all I feel is anger. Thank you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank me for saving you,¡± I said shaking my head. ¡°No, thank you for stopping this,¡± Guinevere said gesturing out at the massacred city. ¡°I realize you had to do this but you didn¡¯t have to stop.¡± ¡°I did. If I didn¡¯t listen to you and let you rein me in, I¡¯d become something you and I hate. I still think about the vision we were shown in the tower, the god of blood and slaughter. When I see how easy it was to do what I did today, I realize how tempting a path that really is.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need me to rein you in,¡± Guinevere said leaning her head against my chest. ¡°You just need to be reminded of who you are.¡± I took her hand and opened another portal. The two of stepped through leaving a burning city of death behind us. I hoped it would be the last, but I knew it wouldn¡¯t. Chapter 158: Long Live the King Arthur now stood beside his father as he lay dying, mirroring the position his father had held only an hour prior. He looked at the winged sigil in his hands, it was one of the boss drops he had gotten while running the Hero ranked celestial dungeon.
Token of Grace, Type: Consumable, Rarity: Legendary; Made from the life force of an arch-angel and trapped in material gold, this item brims with the power of healing and life itself. Can save any creature at death¡¯s door from any injury they are suffering. This only works to stop lethal wounds, not as a method of restoration.
Quantity: 1
With this he could save his father¡¯s life, but there was only one token. Arthur looked to the bed next to his father¡¯s where Mira sat, her head pressed to Lancelot¡¯s chest as she wept over him. Despite their attempts to heal him, he was also dying. They couldn¡¯t even regenerate his limbs, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the cause of his labored breathing; it was something more than physical that ailed him. ¡°Arthur?¡± his father croaked. ¡°Yes father,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± his father said. ¡°I should¡­ I should have told you.¡± ¡°Why father?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°Why try to push that marriage on me and Guinevere when you knew the truth?¡± ¡°For the good of the Kingdom,¡± his father said. ¡°I¡­I have always done what was best for the kingdom. Merlin would only agree to swear allegiance to you after my death if you bound his house tighter with the throne.¡± ¡°I cannot agree with your actions,¡± Arthur said. ¡°But what¡¯s done is done. Guinevere is gone and that alliance is gone with her.¡± ¡°What will¡­ you do now?¡± his father asked, his breathing growing more and more labored. Arthur crossed his father¡¯s arm¡¯s over his chest and straightened his back making a decision. ¡°I will do what is best for the kingdom,¡± he said, not letting the grief in him break his voice. He laid a hand on Lancelot¡¯s chest and the token disappeared. Lancelot took in a deeper breath his breathing steadying as King Arthur¡¯s grew fainter than cut out entirely. Arthur took the golden crown from his father¡¯s head, looking it over.
Crown of Camelot, Artifact IV, type: headgear; The Crown of Camelot, earned by Arthur I when he forged his kingdom from the broken kingdoms before him. This crown can only be worn by a direct descendent of Arthur I in the royal line of succession.
Spirit of Rulership: Your Spirit increases by 1 for every twenty ranks you have.
Authority of the King: Every oath sworn to your ancestors is now given to you. (creatures that are a higher rank than you are resistant to this with more resistance the larger to gap in rank).
Protection of the Crown: Your vassals within three hundred yards of you gain 1 to their Toughness for every oath sworn vassal within the radius. (Bonus Toughness goes up by 1 for every twenty ranks you have, range of ability goes up by ten yards for every twenty ranks).
Durability: N/A Weight: 6lbsThis story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Arthur raised the crown and placed it on his head. There was no announcement from the System, but he still felt the crushing weight of responsibility that came with his newfound authority. He ran his hand down his father¡¯s face, closing his eyes and turned. He left the healer¡¯s chambers, and the crowd of nobles standing outside when he emerged all turned their eyes to the crown on his head. ¡°My father is dead,¡± Arthur announced, silencing any doubt that might have lingered. Merlin stepped forwards. ¡°The King is dead, long live the King!¡± ¡°Long live the King!¡± the nobles chorused as they knelt before Arthur. ¡°Rise my lords,¡± Arthur said. ¡°The time for all-out war is upon us. The treaties that once held our hands tied are gone. Raise your armies, bring out your weapons for war, call your gryphon knights to your sides. The Warlord has struck us a grievous blow to the heart of our kingdom, but we yet live, and as long as there is breath in my body, I will not stop until his evil is removed from this world.¡± ¡°And what of Dutchess Guinevere?¡± a minor lord asked nervously. ¡°Guinevere has slain the King and betrayed our kingdom; she is no longer a member of the nobility. She is a wolf¡¯s-head and to be killed on sight,¡± Arthur said. The nobles turned and left. ¡°You came to support my claim to the crown immediately despite the alliance you planned not coming to fruition,¡± Arthur said to Merlin. ¡°It will have its cost, but we will merely fall back on the marriage with my younger daughter as previously planned,¡± Merlin said his voice filled with absolute certainty. ¡°Is she your daughter?¡± Arthur asked sharply. ¡°Yes,¡± Merlin said darkly. ¡°All my other children are mine; I had their blood checked personally.¡± ¡°I have already sworn to do so,¡± Arthur said. ¡°But from now on, there had better be no tricks like this; you tell me everything.¡± ¡°Very well my king,¡± Merlin said, bowing his head. ¡°But I expect to be there at the final battle.¡± ¡°When I face Mordred again, you will stand right by my side,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Now, you most of all must prepare. I want to be able to march our entire army in one week. We can¡¯t let the Warlord go unpunished for the massacre of Camelot.¡± --- Kalesa felt the portal open and stiffened. She was empowered by the thousands of corpses and weapons that littered the endless battlefield that made up her divine realm. With a single thought the bodies of the warriors rose, their eyes glowing. The souls of the finest warriors in her long lifetime filled each of those bodies, forever bound to fight and die again and again here. She turned as Falgest, god of Justice and the Heavens, stepped through the portal into her realm of influence. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Kalesa snapped. ¡°I have come to discuss your champion,¡± Falgest said, sitting himself on a stone block across from her. ¡°I fail to see how my champion is any business of yours,¡± Kalesa said remaining standing. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be here. The terms of the System are quite clear: our champions solve issues between us, not ourselves.¡± ¡°But your champion is the problem. He is becoming a growing threat,¡± Falgest said, his voice as calm and measured as a mountain. ¡°If you are upset that my champion is doing better than yours and all the others of your pantheon, that is not my concern,¡± Kalesa said with a scornful laugh, turning her back on him. ¡°Did you think we would not sense the void he carries within him?¡± Falgest asked, and Kalesa stiffened. ¡°It would be bad enough if he was just carrying that void spirit, but he has embraced the energy of that place entirely. You know as well as I why we stopped fighting amongst ourselves and created the System. The Void is a literal poison to us. A god empowered not by our energy, but the void¡­ it is anathema to us.¡± ¡°A single void ability does not make him a creature of the void,¡± Kalesa said. ¡°You can feel it,¡± Falgest said. ¡°With every life he slew in Camelot that Void inside him grew stronger. I am asking you as one of the old gods to handle your own champion yourself. Find a way to strip that power from him or I will call a council.¡± ¡°The other gods would never agree to a council,¡± Kalesa scoffed. ¡°There are to many issues that if put a vote would go against them. There is a reason we haven¡¯t met in over seven millennia.¡± ¡°Do not be so sure,¡± Falgest said. ¡°I have already spoken with Myria, Ontera, and Jeresh; they are in agreement with me as well. We united our power to keep the Void out of our world. Letting one our champions rise up and just open the doors for it is not something we will stand for.¡± ¡°Jeresh agreed with you?¡± Kalesa asked, surprised. ¡°He may be a bastard, but he needs a world to trick and inflict pain on,¡± Falgest said. ¡°But you didn¡¯t speak with Thanadar,¡± Kalesa said. ¡°It¡¯s a miracle we got him to sign the accords in first place,¡± Falgest said with a sigh. ¡°He might let your champion rise to power just so he could see the world burn.¡± ¡°His greed would keep him from letting that happen,¡± Kalesa said. ¡°Perhaps, but his desire for destruction can not be overestimated,¡± Falgest said. ¡°Of all the gods of Chaos, I dislike you the least, Kalesa.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bet you say that to all of us,¡± Kalesa said, finally sitting down. ¡°You may have lust for bloodshed and power, but you still impose your own sense of order on the world,¡± Falgest said with a shrug. ¡°Can I leave you to handle this problem on your own.¡± ¡°I will get my champion to stop walking down the path of the Void,¡± Kalesa agreed with a sigh. ¡°And if he doesn¡¯t?¡± Falgest pressed her. ¡°Then I shall remove him as my champion,¡± Kalesa said her blood red eyes as pitiless and emotionless as the never ending war that surrounded her. Epilogue Act V Guinevere and I stood atop the tower where I had stood against the raids and world bosses. She wore a white dress with a veil covering her face. The land around us had already turned from a marsh of blood and mud to a field of green once again. Crimson flowers spread from the base of the black tower all across the field. Remara, the wise woman, stood as the officiate of the ceremony. My army was around us but our actual ceremony was very small. Jeriah and his brothers were there, along with the clan leaders for the Myrmidon, but I didn¡¯t have many friends in this world and Guinevere had left all of her¡¯s behind when she came with me. I held her hands in mine. Her finger had regrown after a few healers saw to it, but there was a faint silver scar there still that would always be a reminder of what had been done to her. The wind blew and lifted up Guinevere¡¯s veil for just a moment. I didn¡¯t need Voidra to tell me as the pulse in every man who saw her thickened at the just the glimpse of part of her face. ¡°You have come here today in the sight of gods and man to bind yourselves in heart and flesh,¡± Remara said. ¡°Do you swear by the mana in your veins to be faithful to one another from this day forth, until you are parted by death.¡± ¡°I swear to protect Guinevere as long as there is strength in my body,¡± I said. ¡°I will be faithful to her always, in this life and the next.¡± I could feel my oath tighten inside me, similar to the mana bindings Merlin had used on me. My oath had gone beyond what had been asked of me. Even if Guinevere died, I could never remarry, that was fine with me, no one I had ever met on earth or this world had even come close to measuring up to her. ¡°I swear to support Mordred and to always have his back, as long as there is breath in my lungs,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I will be faithful to him always, in this life and the next.¡± ¡°You have given your oaths in sight of mortals and the heavens,¡± Remara said. ¡°Let no one try to tear apart what you have created today, and may blessings of fertility and prosperity be upon you.¡± I pulled Guinevere into a kiss. It was relatively chaste, but I still held her in my arms for a long moment.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. There was a cheer and I looked out to see my army as small as ants below all looking up at us. They had heard none of our words but had evidently been attending in their own small way. For the first time, I truly felt like a champion. Not just powerful physically, but something that went down deeper than flesh and bone. I could give a speech about victory or how we would prevail, but now was not the time for that. Today I wasn¡¯t Mordred the Warlord, I was Mordred the husband and father. I took Guinevere¡¯s hand in mine. Scarlet lightning wreathed my body as blue sapphire wings sprouted from her back and we took to the sky. I opened a portal, and we flew through, appearing at the castle in the middle of the Ancient Forest. I carried Guinevere in my arms like I had when moving through the tunnels below the forest. Her arms encircled my neck, her veil gone now as it was just the two of us alone in the castle. I sat down on the bed with her. Guinevere¡¯s hand went up to the black and silver choker around her neck. ¡°I didn¡¯t have time to pick a better option when I took this,¡± she said. ¡°Now that I can look on it, it seems more like a cursed item than something anyone would choose to create.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°Because it makes me a target for the gaze of every man,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯m not bound by my oath like you made. I said it but they were only words, my mana didn¡¯t bind me to them.¡± ¡°Did you mean them when you said them?¡± I asked. ¡°Of course,¡± Guinevere said sounding almost offended. ¡°Then they weren¡¯t just words,¡± I responded, kissing her gently on the forehead. ¡°In my world, we don¡¯t have oaths like that, we just have to trust the other person to keep their word. I trust you Guinevere. I don¡¯t need some magic to believe you¡¯ll keep your word.¡± Guinevere let her hair fall loose in curtain, then leaned her head against my chest. ¡°War is coming. Arthur will never stop coming after you,¡± she said. ¡°I tried so hard to keep war from coming to my kingdom, and now I feel like I¡¯m the one who started it.¡± I lifted her chin up with a finger, looking into the crystal blue of her eyes. ¡°You are not responsible for the actions of others,¡± I said firmly. ¡°I will give Arthur his chance for peace. If he takes it, I will let him and his people be.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t take it,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°He hates you with an obsession.¡± ¡°With you by my side, I can stand against the world,¡± I said. ¡°If Arthur comes for us, I won¡¯t hesitate to do what must be done.¡± ¡°What about us?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Can¡¯t we just¡­ hide away? Raise our child in peace somewhere?¡± ¡°Is there anywhere on this world where we can be left at peace?¡± I asked. Guinevere was silent than shook her head. ¡°No, they¡¯ll hunt us to the ends of the earth.¡± ¡°The we stand together to the end,¡± I said, taking her hands in mine. ¡°Till death parts us,¡± Guinevere agreed her lips meeting mine. Chapter 159: Divine Ultimatum I did a handspring as I dodged one of the scything blades of the dungeon boss. Guinevere drove her sword into its back the wraith howling. Exar¡¯kun had transformed back into his true form in the boss room and emerald flames engulfed the Assassin Demon.
Kalsen Scytheclaw, Gifted- demon-lord/dungeon boss, Exarch, Rank: 1350
The demon lord whirled around to strike at Guinevere, but I was there faster than thought. His scythes collided with my void armored limbs the force enough to slam me back against the wall but not enough to break through the armor¡¯s defenses. The demon howled as the dragon fire lowered his defenses. Guinevere¡¯s blue wings buzzed as the darted all around him striking at it with her icy blade. I pushed off the wall my asura form turning me into a whirlwind of weapons as I flanked it. The demon fell as Exar¡¯kun bit down on half its torso shaking his head like a dog with a chew toy.
225 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
No new abilities but that was always up to chance with my kills. The chance did seem to go down the stronger I got. I was constantly tempted to just spend rank points on advancing my attributes directly but always stopped myself. It just felt wrong, like a real life microtransaction to boost my immediate power but at the expense of long-term progression. ¡°Either of you get anything?¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°An ability called Scything Tail,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem overly powerful, but it will have some uses.¡± ¡°Well let¡¯s see what we got for loot,¡± I said moving over to the boss touching it and receiving the loot from the System.
Ring of Rapacity, Type: Jewelry, Rarity: Epic; When worn your mana and stamina regeneration increase by 10%.
Weight: .1 lbs.
Radiant Breastplate, Type: Armor, Rarity: Rare; You project a source of light around you, all holy damage taken is reduced by a moderate amount.
Weight: 15 lbs.
I¡¯d experimented and you could only wear up to four rings. None of this was an upgrade or even better than the things I could make myself. I pulled Mab off my belt and laid the items across its pages so he could read their enchantments for my future use. ¡°Are you able to use rings?¡± I asked Exar¡¯kun tossing the ring his way. ¡°Never really tried,¡± Exar¡¯kun said morphing into his human form. I¡¯d made him some human clothes that transformed with him, so I didn¡¯t get flashed every time he did that. He caught the ring midair and examined it before slipping it onto his finger. ¡°That was the last of the high ranked dungeons we¡¯ve discovered,¡± he said. ¡°It was only five,¡± I pointed out. ¡°But they¡¯re all on cooldown now.¡± ¡°So what now?¡± Guinevere asked. It had been a week since we were married. Camelot was coming for us soon I knew; I had my army preparing and my elites all running dungeons to power and gear up as much as they could before the shit really hit the fan. ¡°We need to think of a way to win this war,¡± I said. ¡°I feel confident in besting an army even ten times our size but¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to be a hundred times our size,¡± Guinevere said knowingly. ¡°Camelot has alliances with almost every adjacent kingdom all of whom will go to war with them, Lunara is already your enemy. My cousin will have already mobilized her army.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°You don¡¯t think she¡¯ll have learned her lesson from last time?¡± I asked with no real hope. Guinevere shook her head. ¡°Helen is like how I was, blinded by dogma and she¡¯s also the champion of an enemy goddess; she will go to war against you with Arthur.¡± ¡°Do you think I should have just killed her?¡± ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said taking my hand. ¡°You taught me that everyone deserves a chance to prove others wrong no matter how much we already believe what they will do.¡± ¡°See you later,¡± I said to Exar¡¯kun as we exited the dungeon, and all took to the air splitting up. Guinevere flew with me, and we landed on the fortifications I¡¯d constructed. I¡¯d moved our base from Dragonhold given the tendency I had for destruction. Our new base was located on the edge of the Ancient Forest. I had merged my designs for the tower I¡¯d used in the last Event and the one I used for fending off the World Raid. Guinevere and I landed atop the central spire of the dark stone fortress looming as tall as a skyscraper. The deep chasm around the fortress was four hundred feet wide and sank seven hundred feet into the ground. I sat down on the throne and Guinevere slid in beside me draping her legs across mine. My hand ran along her back as we looked out over the setting sun. ¡°I don¡¯t like bringing you to fights in your condition,¡± I said. ¡°I know its an oxymoron, the only way to keep you safe is to make the both of us stronger but the only way to do that is by putting you in danger.¡± ¡°And you¡¯ll have to put her in more danger,¡± a cold feminine voice said. I could feel Guinevere stiffen under my fingers as Kelesa walked around a pillar. Her appearances were always rare, but she had never appeared to me with someone else around although I didn¡¯t think there were any rules against her doing so. ¡°What do you need?¡± I asked her cutting to the chase. ¡°I have spoken with one my peers, he is vary concerned about the nature of the power you have chosen to define you,¡± Kelesa said. ¡°Sounds like his problem,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Until he makes it mine and by extension, yours,¡± Kelesa said. ¡°What is the issue with his power?¡± Guinevere interrupted. Kelesa ran her eyes over Guinevere appraising her. ¡°Bold of you to speak out but I suppose cutting to the heart of the matter is the best thing for us. Do you know why we gods originally signed the pact and created the System?¡± ¡°To keep from destroying the world over and over again,¡± Guinevere said. Kelesa laughed. ¡°No. Despite the kind and caring act the gods of order may put on they care just as much for the lives of their followers as I do. We are gods if we want to destroy a continent we can raise up another the next day and fashion new followers out of stone and give them life. No, we signed it to defend out world not from ourselves but an outside threat.¡± ¡°The Void,¡± I said in realization. ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about.¡± ¡°Yes, its nature is anathema to us, a god rising up who wields that poison? I believe you can see the problem.¡± ¡°Not really,¡± I answered. ¡°I¡¯m not an entity of the Void, I have no allegiance to it nor am I bound to it, I just draw power from it. A sword isn¡¯t evil or even innately destructive only when its picked up does it gain purpose.¡± ¡°This is not a discussion,¡± Kelesa said. ¡°You must set aside this path, if you do not the other gods will gather together to amend the accords and they will settle this.¡± I frowned feeling anger rise in me. ¡°You told me I would be free to choose my own path when you offered me the chance to become your champion, this is deliberate and direct interference.¡± ¡°I have signed no pact with you,¡± Kelesa said. ¡°Put your feelings aside they already weaken you to much, this is beyond you if the accords are amended there is much I would lose and I would rather lose a champion than have those agreements changed now.¡± She tossed out metal disk and it landed in my lap. ¡°Use this, I had the System create it to mend this problem,¡± she said and turned her back on me. ¡°Do not disobey me on this champion, you have done quite well but this area is non-negotiable. You should ask your woman what happens when a champion defies their patron.¡± She stepped through a rip in the air and disappeared. My jaw tightened and loosened again and again as I restrained my anger. I looked down at the token.
Void Annihilation Token, Type: Consumable, Rarity: Mythic; created from pure divine power directed by the System this token will allow the user to purge themselves of all void effects, skills and creatures using the power to merge with a different skill and upgrade it and empower it to the same level as the consumed skill.
Weight: 1
¡°What will you do?¡± Guinevere asked. This will kill you, won¡¯t it? I asked Voidra. Yes, she said and for the first time since I had met the spirit, I heard fear in her voice. I slipped the token into my pouch. I hadn¡¯t chosen Voidra and when first possessed I¡¯d been nothing but annoyed by her presence. However, since then it had been she and Karnen who had saved my lifetime and time again. She had enabled me to unlock a power that had let me defeat the duelist in a one-on-one duel. While this token would let me respec into another one of my abilities and based on how it was worded make it even more powerful than it would have even been before it wasn¡¯t something I was going to do. Doing so meant betraying Voidra, I was many things, a lot if not most of them bad but to this day I¡¯d never betrayed anyone gone back on my word and I wasn¡¯t going to start now. ¡°I¡¯m not going to do anything,¡± I said. Guinevere bit her lip. ¡°If she rejects you as her champion¡­¡± she said. ¡°She can rip out the divine ability she granted you, it would flay your soul leaving you magically crippled.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had my soul flayed before,¡± I said. ¡°I think this would be different,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯m not going to do it,¡± my voice turned hard as iron. ¡°I choose my own path and this one was the only reason I was able to save you.¡± Guinevere was quiet for a moment. ¡°Then you need to speedrun getting to godhood even faster before she can stop you.¡± I breathed out a tired sigh. ¡°So, it would seem.¡± Chapter 160: War of Mortals Arthur landed on the clifftop the other griffon riders landing around him. In total he had raised ten-thousand griffon knights. To the west a glinting light could be seen on the horizon as thousands of knights marched together. The location of the Warlord was known he had been preparing for them for several weeks now and fortified his position. A snow-white griffon landed on the cliff beside him carrying princess Helen. She wore bright scale-armor another griffon landed, and prince Atrel dismounted extending his hand and helping Helen down. Her armor couldn¡¯t hide the bulge of her late pregnancy. ¡°My lady,¡± Arthur said bowing his head. ¡°Prince Arthur,¡± Helen said giving a slight curtsey. ¡°My condolences for your father¡¯s death.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Arthur said. ¡°He will soon be avenged.¡± ¡°I will gladly help you strike down the Warlord,¡± Atrel said. ¡°He killed my father too.¡± ¡°It was not Mordred who killed my father,¡± Arthur said. ¡°But yes he will pay for his part in it. I have two million strong behind me what forces has your mother given you?¡± ¡°Not so many,¡± Helen admitted. ¡°She is worried of attacks on our other borders if she commits so heavily but I have a hundred-thousand knights at my command with their squires and footmen.¡± ¡°Prince Bundren of Antolia is sailing upriver with a force equal to that,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Mordred is a great warrior, but I have yet to see any tactical brilliance from him, he does seem adequate but if the Warlords of the past are any judge it wouldn¡¯t matter if he were Ares himself. Like a boulder in a stream, we¡¯ll carrying him away like flash flood.¡± ¡°I have underestimated him in the past,¡± Helen said. ¡°As have I,¡± Arthur admitted. ¡°But I¡¯m not holding anything back this time. We have prepared just for him by this time next month I will have his life blood spilled across the ground.¡± --- Vone dismounted her horse and looked at the distant fortress. Its black towers and walls reminded her of films from her world, but they had been changed and adapted to also incorporate the fortification sensibilities of this world as well. She was uncertain why she was here or what she would do but her goddess had instructed her to go and so she had. She wasn¡¯t the only champion either, not everyone had come with an army like princess Helen but champions from across the continent had been arriving in the camp daily. This of course led to the constant attacks of monsters, but the sheer size of their army let them rotate fresh soldiers to defend against them so that it wasn¡¯t even a problem and only served to grow their overall strength. There were at least a hundred champions in the army, she had stopped keeping track after a while; they hadn¡¯t pledged their allegiance to Arthur, but they had all banded together for one task, kill the Warlord. This had seemed like such an easy goal at first, but it wasn¡¯t just his power that conflicted Vone. She had learned to push aside her fear of death, but he wasn¡¯t a faceless villain anymore. She had met and spoken with him and knew why he did what he did. Her mind flashed back to the memory of walking through the streets of Camelot and the hundreds of thousands of dead and dying she had seen. That was why she had come, regardless of why he had done that the deaths of so many innocents were still on his hands. Just cause someone was made a monster didn¡¯t make them any less of monster. She walked through the camp to the section that had been set aside for the highest ranking soldiers and the champions. She had seen the world seemed to be primarily dominated by humans or at least very similar to human humanoids so the diverse range of races in the champions was a sight to behold. Elf like people with starlight skin or multiple armed humanoids covered in fur or scales. It was a bizarre sight but it filled her with that same bit of wonder she had when she first stepped into the world. She took a seat as the champions gathered together to discuss the upcoming attack. Arthur stood atop a stone platform as he looked over the other champions who had joined with him for this attack. ¡°Who here has fought the Warlord before?¡± he asked. Vone couldn¡¯t see a single person who hadn¡¯t raised their hand. ¡°Then you know exactly what kind of threat we are facing,¡± Arthur said. ¡°We will not be blinded by hubris; we shall construct our plans with the possibility always in our mind that Mordred can beat us. He is unpredictable, he may stay in his fortress, or he may come out with his army or face us alone.¡± ¡°You think he would be foolish enough to do that?¡± someone in the crowd asked. Lancelot stepped forwards Helen gasped as she saw him. His movements were somewhat awkward as the living wood that had been grafted into his body made up the prosthetics that let him walk and swing his sword. He had yet to adjust to using them and Mira held his arm. They had married a week before after Arthur had married Guinevere¡¯s younger sister. Everyone looked away when they saw Lancelot, his appearance making them feel self-conscious. Even Vone had to admit she felt a shiver whenever she saw what had happened to him wounds that couldn¡¯t be easily just erased with magic were rare and to see someone who had been robbed of their limbs. It put fear they didn¡¯t want to admit they still felt in their cores.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Lancelot spoke. ¡°If the Warlord faces you head on directly it is because he thinks he can beat you,¡± he said, and his voice sounded rough as if he had breathed in a lungful of smoke a moment before. ¡°And if he thinks that, he most likely can. None of you will like what I am about to say but it need to be said.¡± Mordred is stronger than you; if you think you can take him, you will die. Arthur is one of the strongest fighters I have ever known, and Mordred beat him one on one in a match that heavily favored Arthur. You can try to self deceive yourself, you can say he used tricks and deception to win. All of this is true but the important thing is that he WON, and if you think he¡¯s out of those tricks you will die like Sir Kay or Jamis.¡± Helen and Mira both flinched and they weren¡¯t the only ones as Lancelot reminded them all of the champions that Mordred had already killed. ¡°So, what are you saying?¡± a man from the crowd challenged Lancelot. ¡°That we turn tail and run?¡± ¡°No,¡± Arthur said taking control of the conversation once more. ¡°We are here not to win for our own sakes, when the Warlord is dead, I have no doubt we will go back to fighting amongst ourselves again. We are not here to win the game of the gods but to keep the Warlord from winning it. I am willing to die if it means he loses, if you aren¡¯t willing to make that same sacrifice now is the time to leave.¡± Not a soul left. ¡°Good, I am glad to stand beside you,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Now let us plan for how to take that fortress from the Warlord and handle his army.¡± Helen pulled out a stone spearhead and placed it on a table in front of the stone platform. ¡°This is a weapon made by the Warlord it will be the same type of material used to construct the fortress walls, its not indestructible but no siege weapon we can make is going to take down those walls.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true,¡± a dwarf said standing up he wore heavy plate armor made of carved stone and his beard went down to his waist. ¡°I am the champion of Milgar, god of Fortifications and Stability. I can strengthen the durability and hardness of any building with my divine ability. I can¡¯t outright destroy those walls, but I can turn them brittle, they¡¯ll still be just as hard but they¡¯ll be so brittle that if you hit them with a hard enough attack they¡¯ll shatter.¡± ¡°How close do you need to be to do that?¡± someone from the crowd asked. ¡°Direct contact,¡± the dwarf admitted. ¡°The chasm blocking the way will stop you then,¡± Helen said. ¡°Do we have anyway of closing the chasm or filling it up?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of empty space to fill up,¡± Arther said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to put the lives of my army in the hands of some bridge we create with some ability.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need to fill the chasm with our own ability,¡± a woman from the crowd said stepping forward she had light blue skin her body long and angular with elf like feature. ¡°I am the champion of Zima goddess of Winter and Snow if you could fill the chasm with water, I could freeze it solid letting us cross.¡± ¡°Do we have a way to fill it with water?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°I have an ability to shift earth,¡± the dwarf said. ¡°I could cut a channel to a river or lake bring in water from there.¡± ¡°There is the Javaren river a league from here,¡± Helen said. ¡°It¡¯s a fast-flowing deep river, plenty of water to draw from.¡± Arthur nodded. ¡°We can work with that; I¡¯ll give you whatever soldiers I have in my army with other earth abilities for you to start on the channel. In the meantime, I and my griffon knights will keep them occupied so they don¡¯t see what¡¯s coming before its too late.¡± ¡°What about divine assistance?¡± Mira asked. ¡°I haven¡¯t asked my god but we could get assistance from¡­¡± Arthur shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve already asked, the System has locked out any divine interference, all our deities used up a lot of their leeway with the world bosses they sent against the Warlord, the System has decided since there are so many champions here this already counts as divine intervention. We won¡¯t get any help from our gods this is a war that will be decided by mortals.¡± That sobered everyone for a moment, but they nodded and accepted that they were all the help the gods were going to offer. They continued to make and discuss various plans and contingencies discussing the various abilities they could use and leverage to pry the Warlord out of his fortified shell. --- ¡°Should we go out and attack them?¡± Jeriah asked me. I opened my eyes. I had just finished going through all my rank ups for my ability I¡¯d gained from killing Kay.
Phalanx Commander (Rank 20): You are the leader of armies able to organize your troops into unbreakable ranks. While in a coordinated formation, allies within 1000ft of you your vassals deal Severe bonus damage with all attacks. Damage is spread out over the Formation, when one of your troops takes damage the troops next to him take damage but reduce the stage of damage by one; the higher the damage stage the more the damage is spread out reducing it to minor damage across a radius of seven troops.
While in a formation troops are able to instantaneously teleport to take the place of another allied member of the same formation.
Troops in your formation have a spectral increase to the reach of their range that can be toggled at will increasing the reach by up to 10 feet.
Movement speed of troops in this formation is tripled.
Max Rank Bonus: The marching speed of your troops can be synced up to adjacent formations allowing them to also move at x3 speed when not in combat.
Rank up this ability to increase the bonus damage it grants and the range of its effect. Each rank up increases your Mind by 1.
Cost: 45 mana per second while active Casting Time: Instantaneous
While not useful to me it would help my vassals in the battle. I hadn¡¯t wanted some of the upgrades but Ares had convinced me to take them in place of ones that would have just benefited me. I turned my thoughts to what Jeriah had just asked me. ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve done that before Arthur will be prepared for it this time. But I will show him an old trick I¡¯ve been working on.¡± I removed a boulder from my storage pouch it was only a yard across but weighed over nine hundred pounds. I launched it with my telekinesis, there camp was out of range of my ability but I was able to launch and angle the projectile so it would crash into the middle of their camp. The boulder spun through the air before bouncing off a translucent dome. I smiled when I saw it, Arthur had remembered that trick from the Event. Which of course was why I had another plan, if I couldn¡¯t strike them from above, I¡¯d hit them from below. Chapter 161: Battle of the Blackwall (Part 1) Tarhum Steelwall sat down after having exhausted his mana. They¡¯d already cut a wide channel going about a mile towards the fortress. He wondered just how the Warlord had made that fortress so quickly, the amount of mana it must have taken¡­. Mordred is stronger than you; if you think you can take him, you will die. Lancelot¡¯s words ran through his mind, and he scowled. As much as he hated it, it already seemed true. The well of mana reserves he''d have to have to create that fortress would be staggering. He closed his eyes, activating his ability Cat Nap to increase his regeneration. Standing up a minute later, he got back to work carving the channel towards the black fortress. --- I looked out over the wall as the hundreds of thousands of soldiers gathered. When I¡¯d first entered this world, seeing another gifted had been a rarity, and speaking with the Myrmidons about the differences between them and the outside world had given me the belief that they were uncommon. But what I saw before me showed how limited my scope of the world had been. Even if there was only one gifted to every fifteen people, if you took that number out of a few million people, you were still left with a staggering number of gifted. My vision telescoped and I could see that basically every soldier was male meaning the actual number of gifted in the world was even bigger since the woman weren¡¯t even fully represented here. The army stirred as a flock of griffons rose into the air. There were at least ten thousand of the creatures with a heavily armored rider on their back. In terms of aerial forces, I was heavily outnumbered as of all my vassals, only five-hundred or so, mostly from the Dragon Clan, had the ability to fly. However, I had a dragon on my side, so in terms of aerial superiority, I felt much more confident. ¡°Ready to do this?¡± I asked Guinevere and Exar¡¯kun. ¡°I¡¯ve been preparing for battles like this since the moment I broke out of my egg,¡± Exar¡¯kun said, popping the vertebrae along his spine. Considering how long his neck was, it was a much more disconcerting sound than a person doing it. ¡°We will do what must be done,¡± Guinevere said as she took my hand. We jumped off the side of the tower taking flight with our respective methods. My other vassals with flight also joined us in the air. Exar¡¯kun roared and snapped his wings, his body blurring as he practically warped to his next location, crashing into the griffon knights. They spun and swerved around him, their weapons slashed at his scales and abilities lashed out against him. I wasn¡¯t too worried about Exar¡¯kun. He was exarch rank now and I¡¯d yet to see a substantial number of even Hero ranked warriors among Arthur¡¯s army. A dark halo appeared over Guinevere¡¯s head as she activated her Cursed Crown ability. Her face was obscured by the visor of her helmet, the black and silver armor she wore covering every inch of her body. We dove towards the griffon knights. My weapons slashed out and I cut through a few of the griffons and knights. They all shyed away from engaging with me, and this made sense in theory considering the power difference between us, but I was suspicious. They had never been so cautious about engaging me with an almost reckless disregard for their lives I could only admire. I hovered in place letting Voidra and Karnen bat away the attacks that came at me as I looked around. I saw it then, the deep trench making its way towards us. My eyes followed it and I could see the river in the distance putting the pieces together. Incoming, Ares warned me. I dropped down as the swing of a sword marked Excalibur¡¯s passing over my head. I turned and unleashed a bolt of scarlet lightning. Arthur hit the lightning with his sword, and instead of hitting and splitting on impact, all the lightning was drawn into the blade as Arthur turned. He leapt off the back of his griffon letting the scarlet and gold plumed monster fly free as wings of light emerged from the back of his armor. ¡°Modred, face me!¡± he shouted. ¡°Yes,¡± I said with a sigh before the prompt for the duel could even appear in my vision. ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired of this prince, doing the same show over and over again? One of you always escaping, the fight never truly won?¡± ¡°Stop running and we can end it now,¡± Arthur said. ¡°And I¡¯m not a prince anymore.¡± ¡°Not really fair for you to say considering how our last fight ended,¡± I said. ¡°And yes, I did hear something about that. Congratulations¡­my king.¡± I ended it with a mocking bow. Guinevere hovered in the air beside me. ¡°Stop toying with your food,¡± she admonished me. ¡°I can¡¯t believe what you¡¯ve become,¡± Arthur said shaking his head. ¡°I could say the same, brother,¡± Guinevere said, causing him to flinch back. ¡°You stood by as our father did all that to me along side Merlin. You have no grounds to judge me.¡± I blocked the strike of Excalibur as Arthur lunged forwards. He moved back as my swords and spear slashed and stabbed at him. ¡°As the saying goes in my world,¡± I said. ¡°take the log out of your own eye before the splinter out of someone else¡¯s.¡± He is creating a trench from the river to the chasm, I informed Jeriah mentally with the telepathic feature of my helmet. I don¡¯t know why, but I want to you accelerate our plan now. As you command, Jeriah agreed. The ground beneath Arthur¡¯s army exploded upwards. Like ants pouring out of their tunnels, my vassals began swarming out into the center of Arthur¡¯s forces. We couldn¡¯t take them all on like this, but that wasn¡¯t the plan. Arthur blocked Clarent and his head jerked around looking down as he no doubt got his own silent communication from someone on the ground. Fires were raging as my troops set tents and supplies ablaze. The supplies had been spread out so we couldn¡¯t take them all out in one hit, but every bit helped. Arthur began slashing at me with a furious series of arcing strikes as we spun through the air, each of us trying to get behind the other like two dogfighting aircraft. Arthur was getting stronger, but I wanted to let him work it up a bit more before I ended it to increase his backlash. Arthur seemed to realize this and he grimaced. ¡°Duel yielded,¡± he growled.
Duel has been ended by the other party with no penalties occurred on either side.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
He dropped down straight towards my assaulting force. Return to base, I commanded Jeriah through our link. I dived after Arthur, the black and silver form of Guinevere joining me as we sped towards the ground. I didn¡¯t bother slowing down hitting the ground like an asteroid using Storm Fall to cancel out any fall damage. I emerged from the dust cloud, my smoking black form like a demon as I smashed against Arthur when he charged towards my retreating vassals. We rolled in the dirt and bloody mud before he kicked me off and we shot back to our feet. Attacks lanced into me from all directions, but I ignored most, letting them do minor damage that was quickly repaired by my regeneration. ¡°I¡¯m curious how you survived,¡± I said. ¡°After our duel you looked like you were at death¡¯s door, but at the wedding you tried to force Guinevere into, you were standing on your own strength.¡± Arthur blocked my attacks as his forces encircled us. Guinevere stood at my back, engaged with multiple opponents at once. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the Void,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I know what kind of power you¡¯ve allied yourself with.¡± I sighed. ¡°I took power from it. There is no alliance as I owe the Void nothing. Doesn¡¯t the moral superiority ever get old?¡± ¡°I could ask you the same,¡± Arthur said. ¡°You might pretend to not care about morality, but you always seem to have a justification for your actions.¡± His attacks came at me quick and fast. He was more prepared to face my advantages given to me by Void Asura, but there was only so much one sword vs. five weapons could do. We¡¯re out, Jeriah said to me. ¡°Good talk,¡± I said to Arthur. ¡°But I¡¯ll have to kill you later. Honey, lets go.¡± Guinevere and I kicked off, launching into the air. Scarlet lightning lashed out from my fingers as a parting gift to Arthur and his army. I grabbed the arrows and spears hurled after us with my telekinesis and returned to sender as we flashed back towards the walls. I got dozens of more kills and the Systems decided to reward my massacre.
Draining Fangs: (Rank 1); Your teeth transform into vicious fangs that can pierce through hardness four material and inflict Moderate Piercing and Curse damage. On hit, you steal an amount of stamina and mana from the target in accordance to the amount of damage dealt by your attack.
Upgrade this ability to increase the damage dealt and the resources stolen by it. Each upgrade increases your Might by 1.
Cost: 5 stamina per second Casting Time: Instantaneous
The ability was totally useless. I wore a helmet and wasn¡¯t planning on stopping just so I could put my head in a vulnerable position as I tried to take a bite out of someone. I watched the trench they were creating finish its progress. A flood of water cascaded down in a waterfall. Despite the downpour, it would be an hour or so before the chasm was fully filled. My boots alighted down the wall and Guinevere took off her helmet, brushing back the stray hairs that had escaped her braid. ¡°What do you think their planning?¡± I asked. ¡°Are they going to use boats to cross or something?¡± ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°They have a lot of champions so they¡¯ll either transmute the water into something, or freeze it over to let them cross. My question would be what they plan to do once they do cross over, I don¡¯t even see any siege equipment on their side.¡± ¡°I see a bunch of living siege engines walking around,¡± I said. ¡°The abilities we have are more powerful than any catapult could possibly be.¡± ¡°What¡¯s our solution for handling that then?¡± she asked. ¡°We kill them all the best we can,¡± I said. Ares, ready the men for defending the walls. --- The waves crashed against the glass smooth surface of the walls. Kajia, the champion of Zima, walked up to the edge of the newly created lake. She raised her staff in both hands then slammed it down on the ground. ¡°Will of Winter!¡± she called out. Pale blue and white lines of frost spread out from her staff. The ice spread over the surface, the ice stilling the lapping water as it spread deep and across. She gasped and strained, and a knight held up a mana potion to her lips as she channeled the ability. She chugged the potion, never stopping the casting as she was fed more and more. The ice spread, growing thicker and creeping towards the wall with each passing second. Arthur moved onto the ice; he took one step, then another. A pace after him, ten thousand boots stepped onto the ice, the ringing of mail and clanking of armor sounding like a chorus of bells. Tarhum, the dwarven champion, was protected by a wall of shields that covered him like a turtle. A boulder struck down bouncing off a shield as the shield flashed with light when an ability activated. The sky darkened as rocks, spears, and arrows began landing down on them from atop the wall. The hailstorm of arrows pinged off steel as the army marched forward in a defensive shield formation. It was only three-hundred yards to the wall, but it felt like a mile as the attrition of attacks wore on them, blood slicking the ice as devastating attacks occasionally broke through their defenses. They kept pushing forwards, stepping over the bodies of the fallen. A tiny figure atop the wall jumped down, their size growing larger and larger as they plunged to the ice below. That increase in size soon revealed itself to be no optical illusion as Mordred struck the ice, towering twenty-feet over the soldiers. His spear struck out, impaling a man through the chest. Black mist rose over Mordred¡¯s body hiding his form behind a wall of shadow. Arthur grimaced, there was no point to even challenging Mordred now. ¡°Attack,¡± he commanded, knowing he was sentencing hundreds if not thousands to death. They had to buy time for Tarhum to weaken the walls. Arthur rushed towards Mordred, sliding under the humming red flickering tongues of lightning that made up Clarent. Jumping up, he slashed with his sword at Mordred¡¯s knee. His blade slid through flesh but Mordred moved his leg preventing critical damage from being done. A clawed fist struck Arthur but he managed to twist to avoid being grabbed and was instead sent sliding across the ice, bowling over a group of his own men. Ice powered under Mordred¡¯s feet as he charged forward, knocking armored knights aside like children as he brought down all his weapons on Arthur¡¯s position. Arthur rolled to the side, the ice cracking and shattering where he had been, filling the air with snow as the ice shattered into powder. Arthur dodged and blocked, holding out for as long as he could, his men dying around him. Mordred grew stronger and stronger with each passing second. He suddenly realized he was on the opposite end of what it was like to fight himself, an opponent who grew stronger and stronger the longer you fought him. Its done, Tarhum said over the link between the champions. Hit it now, Arthur commanded. Mordred¡¯s head snapped around as if he had somehow heard their message. He disappeared with his teleportation ability, appearing by the wall. Shields broke and shattered under his attack and Tarhum went flying, his breastplate caved in. He wasn¡¯t dead yet, but would be if he didn¡¯t receive immediate healing. A blast of lightning from Mordred killed the dwarf and the healer who rushed up to heal him. Mordred turned as Merlin stepped forward and raised his staff. A beam of energy stabbed forwards, and to Arthur¡¯s shock, Mordred caught it. He didn¡¯t dodge or block, he just stretched out his hand and gathered the energy in his palm, condensing it there. Another champion stepped forwards and another beam shot out. More attacks came his way and Mordred held his ground, but he couldn¡¯t stop them all. A boulder moving with the speed of teleportation shot forwards, just managing to get past the swing of Mordred¡¯s gauntlet sword. The boulder struck the wall, and for a moment, it held. Then the wall for a hundred feet in each direction fractured and shattered into a mound of shards of stone. Screams of men atop the wall came as they fell and died or received massive injuries on impact with the ground, some buried in the rubble. ¡°Press forwards!¡± Arthur shouted. The army surged forwards, funneling towards the gap and the Warlord who stood in their way. Mordred cocked his head to the side, then disappeared. --- ¡°What?¡± I asked, appearing on the wall beside Jeriah. ¡°We need to retreat,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°We don¡¯t have the numbers to combat them inside these walls.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t have such a strong position again,¡± I argued. ¡°This isn¡¯t Camelot!¡± Jeriah snapped. ¡°My wives and children are HERE; we can¡¯t put them in the direct line of attack for just a chance at victory.¡± I opened my mouth to condemn him for his cowardice, then closed it when I saw Guinevere. I was a father now too; I wasn¡¯t the same man who had stepped into these woods filled with rage and self-destruction. I had to think about others besides myself now. ¡°Fine,¡± I said. ¡°Start moving the woman and children through the tunnels into the forest. For now, we hold the fortress to give them the time they need.¡± Chapter 162 Battle of the Blackwall (Part 2) Arthur moved back removing his helmet to wipe the sweat off his brow he couldn¡¯t take down Mordred in a straight up fight. Luckily they¡¯d prepared for this, all the stops had been taken out for this and ancient weapons laid in vaults for days like this had been dragged back into the daylight. Arthur rushed back towards their camp. Prepare the Atlas armor, he said through the mental link they established before the battle. He dashed forwards the screams od dead and dying and the clash of metal fading. He rushed into the central command tent. It didn¡¯t look like much, but appearance were deceiving. Arthur threw Excalibur into the ground where it jutted from the ground like a cross. He jumped forwards and sat in the pilot seat. Attendants rushed to close him in as he closed his eyes laid his head back against the back of the seat. A vice clamped around his skull as something entered his mind. Arthur opened his eyes, but he didn¡¯t see out of his own eyes instead looking out the visor of the Atlas armor. He pushed up, feeling the armor adjust as it used his attributes to empower itself taking and amplifying them ten-fold. Arthur flexed his fingers, the metal joints moving as naturally as his own flesh and blood. He reached down and touched the hilt of Excalibur. The armor connected with the weapon and the sword enlarged fitting into the hand of the titanic armor. Attendants scattered as Arthur ripped the tent out of his way as he charged back towards the battlefield. The use of Atlas armor had been banned in war for centuries by treaties signed by his ancestors it was to destructive as could be seen as his footsteps cratered the earth. It was also prohibitively expensive to run requiring rare mana crystals to operate. Thud! Thud! People turned and scattered as he approached. A black giant stood in the breach of the wall stemming the tide of soldiers. They all moved to the side as Arthur charged in. ¡°Mordred! Face me!¡± Arthur shouted his voice echoing across the battlefield amplified by the armor. ¡°A mech suit?¡± Mordred asked. ¡°Are you serious?¡± Arthur swung Excalibur down. The two were eye to eye one made of steel the others of shadow and flesh. --- Having accepted the duel, I dodged the swing stabbing forward with Janus and Clarent. Clarent sparked across the armor, but the rune inscribed glowing metal didn¡¯t even seem phased. ¡°So, this is new,¡± I said conversationally narrowly avoiding taking a knee to the chest. ¡°You don¡¯t get it yet, do you?¡± Arthur asked. The hilt of Excalibur striking across Mordred¡¯s helm. Mordred responded by headbutting the Atlas armor the force of it staggered Arthur back but didn¡¯t have much effect besides that. ¡°You think your special but there have been hundreds of people like you,¡± Arthur sneered. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what fancy powers you have the world is united against YOU.¡± ¡°It¡¯s always felt like that,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°There is no where you can go, no place you can hide, no one to protect you from what is coming,¡± Arthur said. ¡°You can kill me, but it still won¡¯t change anything. More will step up and won¡¯t give you a night¡¯s rest until you are dead. But I¡¯m not going to let anyone take the satisfaction of being the one to kill you away from me. Gravitational Forces.¡± I grimaced as the weight of the sky fell on me. I pushed eather through my limbs, but I couldn¡¯t push that to hard or I¡¯d risk putting my body into a mini-coma. I needed an immediate burst of strength and there was an easy way for me to get that. A roar escaped by throat as I used Voice of the Chasm and Helheim¡¯s Scream to drive Arthur back. I dashed passed him into the ranks of his army. ¡°Jericoh¡¯s Fall,¡± I said. While not as effective on people as buildings I had another target in mind for this. The ice we were all standing on began to crack and shatter. It was forty feet thick, but the fractures passed all the way through, and everyone¡¯s footing was now treacherous. Arthur tripped behind me as the ice gave in under his right leg. I turned around to attack the vulnerable Arthur, but his allies jumped in to buy him time to get back to his feet. Lancelot hit me and I staggered back. I looked at him seeing the wooden replacements for his limbs. ¡°You¡¯d think you would have learned your lesson,¡± I said.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I don¡¯t break so easily,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°Oh yes you do,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s not the first time either, remember your sister and the accident in the dungeon.¡± Lancelot froze. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you Lancelot,¡± I said. ¡°I know you inside and out, I¡¯ve played with your soul and seen things you hide even from yourself.¡± That was all bullshit, but I had caught glimpses of his past while sifting through some of his memories. Lancelot took a step back. I ignored the arrows digging into my skin to take a moment to lean down in front of him. ¡°Time to run,¡± I said. Something broke within him and he turned and ran. ¡°Now,¡± I said coldly looking at the rest of the champions. ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡± --- Arthur pushed up the ice, breaking more and more as he tried to push his way out of it. ¡°Having trouble?¡± a disdainful feminine voice asked. Arthur looked up seeing Guinevere standing there. Her armor was stained crimson up to the elbow and knee. Her face was covered but despite covering every inch of her the armor couldn¡¯t hide the feeling of aw and beauty she emanated. ¡°Our father is dead because of you,¡± Arthur said. ¡°He may have sired me but he was never my father,¡± Guinevere said shaking her head. ¡°So you brought that war machine out of storage, I assume your having the others also assembled?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to side with him,¡± Arthur said. ¡°You can surrender, no harm will come to you or your baby. You can live out the rest of your days in estate in Camelot. I will not force you into any marriage¡­¡± ¡°and what about my child?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot Arthur I know what happens to the children of Chaos Spawn, they¡¯re married off to keep to empower the royal line. Will my son or daughter have to marry one of your children?¡± ¡°No that¡¯s¡­¡± Arthur protested. ¡°I thought the world of you once,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I ever loved you but I believed in you.¡± ¡°Guinevere I¡­¡± Arthur tried to interrupt. ¡°I thought you wanted to change the world,¡± Guinevere continued raising her sword. ¡°Now I see you just want to keep it the same.¡± Guinevere blocked the strike of two daggers as she whirled as Ammerila stepped out of her shadow. ¡°Step back bitch,¡± Ammerila said. ¡°You do have a way of inspiring women to follow you,¡± Guinevere said knocking back the Assassin. ¡°Or maybe they just lack a brain.¡± Ammerila launched into an attack her daggers slashing and stabbing as she teleported behind and next to Guinevere again and again. Guinevere couldn¡¯t foresee her movements but that wasn¡¯t necessary. She fell into the rhythm taught to her since she was a child. ¡°Ice Flash,¡± she said. She teleported only five feet leaving behind a chilling slow effect behind her. Ammerila had just teleported into it, she was only slowed for a fraction of a second, but it was enough. Guinevere rammed her sword through her chest. ¡°No!¡± Arthur screamed. Ammerila gasped and slid off her sword her blood spreading across the ice. ¡°This is war brother,¡± Guinevere said her voice dispassionate. ¡°Keep coming after me and Mordred and this won¡¯t be the last lover who dies before your eyes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you,¡± Arthur growled. ¡°Maybe,¡± Guinevere said she dropped an object to the ground. ¡°but it won¡¯t be today.¡± She took to the air and the object shattered. Arthur¡¯s grip on the ice slipped and he disappeared under the ice. He cursed his inability to fly but he couldn¡¯t use all his abilities in the Atlas armor without some lengthy modifications to it. He sank the weight of the armor preventing him from being able to swim as he sank into the darkness of the lake. --- Thorned vines ripped themselves out of the ground and stabbed into my flesh. The druid like champion dodged the thrust of my spear as she summoned more plants from the earth to attack me. I lunged forwards propelling myself with my legs and hands like some sort of mutated eight limbed gorilla. She screamed as my void limbs snapped out. ¡°Hell¡¯s Talons,¡± I snarled. My claws slashed through her skin and I grabbed her thrashing legs holding them tight as my legs in half and I finally got a reward from the system.
Ability Gained! Sacrificial Tree (Rank 1): Nature and bloodshed have been linked since the first humanoid walked upon the land, those who shed blood are revered by those less powerful. You plant up to 1 seedling which grows into a tree, when watered with the blood of a sacrifice the tree grows empowering you with the some of the energy gathered from the tree. You gain a +1 bonus to each attribute for every creature sacrificed to water your sapling. This bonus to attributes is removed if the tree is cut down.
Cast Time 1 hour* Mana Cost 1000
This wasn¡¯t a combat ability so I pushed it out of my mind it sounded like it could be powerful but it was a long term planning power rather than a short term I¡¯m in the middle of battle and about to die kind of power. Speaking of which I was in the middle of battle and about to die. A sword cleaved into my thigh punching through armored skin. I¡¯d killed two champions so far and at least a few thousand soldiers but it didn¡¯t matter. There was so damn many that whenever I¡¯d focus one of them down they¡¯d teleport away and someone else fresh would jump in. They weren¡¯t as good as me but it didn¡¯t matter because there was so many of them. We¡¯ve gotten everyone into the forest, Jeriah informed me over the link. Finally, I growled. Guinevere, we¡¯re leaving. I teleported away leaving the champions hounding me behind. I shrunk down to my regular size and started running across the ground. Guinevere flew and dropped by my side. We ran through the camp and jumped down a tunnel. I sealed it behind us as we sped down the tunnel. We slid down a sloped tunnel then ran climbing up stairs popping up in the forest ten miles deep into the forest. My vassals and their families were all moving as we beat a hasty retreat. I was uneasy, while we had escaped, in retrospect there was no way I could have held the fortress. The problem was I playing with a losing hand and had just given up one of my Aces. Chapter 163: Like a Fox on the Run I burst out of the ground, spearing a champion in the back. We¡¯d been on the run for days and I¡¯d barely had an hour of sleep. I and my other elites had to constantly harry and attack the pursuing army to keep them from catching up with us. The champion had skin like silver with hair that waved like the strands of some coral plant. I hadn¡¯t even analyzed them for their name as they screamed and thrashed on my spear. I removed his head and the screaming stopped.
Ability Gained! Rampage: (Rank 1); Chaos incarnate on the battlefield, wild and unpredictable. You let loose a roar that sends out a soundwave in a 30ft radius around you, increasing you and your allies damage against enemies hit by the soundwave by a Minor amount for the next 10 seconds.
Casting Time: Instantaneous Mana Cost: 35 mana
Rank up this ability to increase the strength of your roar and its damage bonus and duration. Each rank increases your Power attribute by 1.
I dismissed the notification and tossed the limp corpse over my back as I rushed into the ranks of soldiers around me. Pandemonium occurred as the army turned around, panicking at the sudden death and attack in their midst. I released a scream like an Aztec death whistle as I used Helheim¡¯s Scream, further increasing the fear and confusion. Exar¡¯kun dropped out of the clouds above, torching the back ranks of the army before rising back into the air out of the reach of their abilities and weapons. Guinevere burst out of the ground, her sword ripping through the back of a soldier''s neck. A specter rose from their corpse striking at another soldier as Guinevere began cutting through surprised and panicked men and women. Despite the momentary advantage, we couldn¡¯t stick around. Heavy footsteps approached as Arthur in his titanic armor appeared It was echoed by more heavy footsteps as more of the Atlas armor charged towards our location. I summoned a horn to my lips and blew, activating Wild Hunt and summoning my hounds to savage and cause more chaos. Guinevere and I took off running, disappearing into the undergrowth of the forest once again. We kept running, heading parallel to where my vassals were fleeing. We skidded to stop beside a waterfall, collapsing. I panted heavily and Guinevere leaned against me, removing her helmet. ¡°We can¡¯t keep this up,¡± Guinevere said. There were no bags under her eyes, her ethereal beauty untouched by her exhaustion and the days of constant fighting. ¡°I know,¡± I sighed. ¡°But we have no choice. Do you regret coming with me?¡± She took my hand. ¡°Never, even if we lose, we have to fight for a place for our baby. We can¡¯t accept this as the world we give to our children.¡± ¡°I got another ability that fight,¡± I said. I had already upgraded the last ability I¡¯d gotten to max rank.
Sacrificial Tree (Rank 20, Max Rank): Nature and bloodshed have been linked since the first humanoid walked upon the land. Those who shed blood are revered by those less powerful. You plant up to 100 seedlings which grow into trees. When watered with the blood of a sacrifice, the tree grows, empowering you with some of the energy gathered from the tree. You gain a +2 bonus to each attribute for every creature sacrificed to water your sapling. This bonus to attributes is removed if the tree is cut down.
When fully grown, provides a Severe damage reduction bonus to you and all your followers within 30 miles of it.
The fruit of the sacrificial tree provides healing depending on the blood it has been most recently fed. The stronger the blood, the greater the healing, even able to bring back a creature from wounds that would be impossible by any other method to heal if the creature from who the blood was gathered is powerful enough.
Fertility, prosperity, and health require sacrifice. Crops grow 3x faster in the vicinity of the Sacrificial Tree, Livestock matures 3x faster, Illnesses, Diseases and sicknesses cannot be contracted within the radius of impact of the Sacrificial Tree.
The bark of the tree peels and can be used and ground into a spice. When consumed, the user¡¯s attributes are doubled for five minutes (experiences backlash when duration ends).
Max Rank Bonus: Sacrificial Trees adapt and can grow in any environment regardless of the climate, lack of soil or water. Only the blood and souls of sacrifices are needed to continue.
Cast Time 1 hour* Mana Cost 3000 per seedling
Rank up this ability to increase the powers granted by the sacrificial tree. Each upgrade increases your Might, Speed, Toughness, Endurance, Mind, Spirit, Perception, and Power attributes by 1.
This ability could prove one of my most powerful if I had time to properly implement it. That was the problem, I didn¡¯t have time to even sleep right now. I planned on upgrading the ability I had just gotten, but I still had a new ability I¡¯d gained the other day that was on the back burner for being upgraded.
Lunging Strike: (Rank 1); You flash forwards twelve feet dealing x1.2 damage to the following attack.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range of your lunge and the damage of the attack. Each upgrade increases your Speed Attribute by 1.
Cost: 8 stamina Casting Time: Instantaneous
It was an interesting little ability and a fairly common variety based on what I¡¯d seen when fighting other gifted. I didn¡¯t have time to waste on it just now so I¡¯d have to upgrade it some other day when the lives of so many other people didn¡¯t depend on me. I¡¯d gotten another ability as well
Golem¡¯s Eye: (Rank 1); Sometimes abilities and old magic are not so far apart. Your use of enchanting and runes has been noted. You can infuse stolen life force into a stone. When implanted into a humanoid shape made of clay, it will awaken into a Golem. The Golem has the ability to gain Ranks, abilities and even titles, but its will is subservient to yours. The Golem is born with 5 in each Attribute and has a natural additional +10 to its mana and stamina regen rate.
Upgrade this ability to increase the base Attributes and regen rate of the Golem. Each rank up of this ability increases your Perception by 2.
Cost: 500 mana Casting Time: 1 hour
The System had given me the option to merge this ability with Living Stone, but I¡¯d decided to keep them separate. I wasn¡¯t even sure if creating something that was implied had its own sentience but was enslaved to my will was moral. I recognized the hypocrisy given my ability Dominion, but it was still something to think about. ¡°System, raise Rampage to rank twenty,¡± I said. I dismissed the usual notifications until I got to my options.
Congratulations. You have raised an ability to rank five; please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
¡¤ Your speed and might is doubled while Rampage is active (suffer backlash when effect ends).
¡¤ Your roar removes buffs affecting your enemies.
¡¤ Your allies and your weapons gain the Impact status for the duration of Rampage.
Looking over the abilities, I picked the second. Backlash was bad, as while I might be able to take it, all my vassals suffering it would be a problem. I didn¡¯t know what Impact would do and would rather weaken my enemies than give my own side some unknown buff.
Rampage (Rank 5): Chaos incarnate on the battlefield, wild and unpredictable. You let loose a roar that sends out a soundwave in a 30ft radius around you increasing you and your allies damage against enemies hit by the soundwave by a Moderate amount for the next 10 seconds.
Enemies caught in the sound wave have up to 1 random buff removed.
Casting Time: Instantaneous Mana Cost: 45 mana
Rank up this ability to increase the strength of your roar and its damage bonus and duration. Each rank increases your Power attribute by 1.
I dismissed the ability upgrade and the following ones until I got to the next section.
Congratulations. You have raised an ability to rank ten; please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ Your allies gain damage reduction equal to the damage you are currently suffering.
¡¤ Enemies hit by the roar have their speed reduced.
¡¤ You reduce the damage resistances of your enemies in [insert size here] radius.
The first ability would require me to stay wounded. This was both something to be avoided because it would result in me being close to death and was something that didn¡¯t happen too much thanks to my regeneration, and it would be useful, but I noticed the speed was lowercase, not uppercase implying it wouldn¡¯t be lowering their Speed attribute but just their movement speed. That left the third option, which was good for both me and my vassals since all our attacks would hit harder.
Rampage (Rank 10): Chaos incarnate on the battlefield, wild and unpredictable. You let loose a roar that sends out a soundwave in a 30ft radius around you increasing you and your allies damage against enemies hit by the soundwave by a Major amount for the next 10 seconds.
Enemies caught in the sound wave have up to 2 random buffs removed.
Damage resistances of enemies caught in the radius are reduced by 10% for the duration of this ability.
Casting Time: Instantaneous Mana Cost: 55 mana
Rank up this ability to increase the strength of your roar and its damage bonus and duration. Each rank increases your Power attribute by 1.
Dismissing the notification, I moved on through the following notifications until I got the next upgrade section.
Congratulations. You have raised an ability to rank fifteen; please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ You heal for every kill you make while Ramage is active.
¡¤ You acquire a crit chance while Rampage is active.
¡¤ You gain the Enraged buff while Ramage is active.
I already had many effective ways of healing, and I didn¡¯t want to focus down even more on my rage as I¡¯d already pushed back on walking more down that path. I took the crit chance since it seemed the safest and most generically useful of the options.
Rampage (Rank 15): Chaos incarnate on the battlefield, wild and unpredictable. You let loose a roar that sends out a soundwave in a 30ft radius around you increasing you and your allies damage against enemies hit by the soundwave by a Severe amount for the next 10 seconds.
Enemies caught in the sound wave have up to 2 random buffs removed.
Damage resistances of enemies caught in the blast radius is reduced by 10% for the duration of this ability.
Your attacks have a 20% chance to deal double damage while this effect is active.
Cost: Instantaneous Mana Cost: 65 mana
Rank up this ability to increase the strength of your roar and its damage bonus and duration. Each rank increases your Power attribute by 1.
Glancing over the upgraded ability, I dismissed it and moved on.
Congratulations. You have raised an ability to rank twenty; please pick from one of the three additional effects for your ability from the list below.
¡¤ You gain a damage charge for every kill while rampage is active.
¡¤ Rampage inflicts the Maddened condition on enemies in the radius.
¡¤ Kills made while rampage is active gain you Momentum.
I wasn¡¯t sure what a damage charge was, so I dismissed that option. The same was for the second option, because I didn¡¯t know what Maddened would do. Momentum was fairly self-explanatory, so I picked the third option.
Rampage (Rank 20, Max Rank): Chaos incarnate on the battlefield, wild and unpredictable. You let loose a roar that sends out a soundwave in a 30ft radius around you increasing you and your allies damage against enemies hit by the soundwave by a Severe amount for the next 10 seconds.
Enemies caught in the sound wave have up to 2 random buffs removed.
Damage resistances of enemies caught in the blast radius is reduced by 10% for the duration of this ability.
Your attacks have a 20% chance to deal double damage while this effect is active.
While this ability is active, for each kill you make you gain a stack of Momentum*.
*Momentum: Increases your Speed attribute by 5 for the next thirty seconds.
Max Rank Bonus: While Rampage is active, every fifth attack deals extra Extreme damage.
Casting Time: Instantaneous Mana Cost: 75 mana
Rank up this ability to increase the strength of your roar and its damage bonus and duration. Each rank increases your Power attribute by 1.
I stood up, feeling the increase of mana through my veins. ¡°Ready to go?¡± Guinevere asked me. ¡°Yeah,¡± I sighed. The upgrade hadn¡¯t even been a real break, but we didn¡¯t have the time for that. Every minute we let Arthur¡¯s army move uncontested, the closer they got to my vassals. We started running again. We skirted around some cliffs and up a ridge. Ducking down, we crawled forwards until I could see the tree¡¯s moving as the hundreds of thousands of troops made their way through them. I compressed dozen of boulders and inscribed a quick and dirty enchantment on them. The enchantment was unstable and would explode in a few seconds, but that was plenty of time for me. I launched them with Telekinesis and the enchantments activated. Sonic booms shook the air as they sped up even faster than I could launch them. Trees shattered and toppled as the magical artillery hit the army. Moments later they exploded spraying stone shrapnel shards out. The bombardment continued and moved through the tree line to confuse them about where the attacks were coming from. When some foolish soldiers charged me and got within range, I blasted them with lightning which chained through them. They were strong enough not to be killed outright by the lightning, but Guinevere dashed through their midst, the burning halo of her Cursed Crown ability hanging above her head as specters rose from the bodies of the men and women she had killed. The specters rushed towards the army, but it was doubtful they would kill more than a handful of others before they were destroyed. In our battle of attrition though, every kill counted. More and more boulders hit the main body of the army and I got another notification from the System.
Flame Elemental: (Rank 1); From the magma fires of your hearts comes a new flame. You draw the spirit of flame out of a burning fire within ten feet of you creating a Flame Elemental. The Flame Elemental can withstand Moderate Damage and will deal Minor Fire damage with all of its attacks.
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of elementals and the damage they can take and deal. Each rank of this ability increases your Endurance Attribute by 1.
Cost: 15 stamina Casting Time: 1 minute
The ability would increase my capability, but I already had one summon ability that was better than this, so I didn¡¯t see myself using this much. It was yet another ability to add to the upgrade later pile. Heavy armored figures in the Atlas armor move out of the debris clouds. The sounds of thunder echoed as magical cannons and spells were unleashed on our position. Guinevere and I were already running. I¡¯d only taken a shot from one of those cannons once and it had almost ripped my body in half; it wasn¡¯t an experience I wanted to relive anytime soon. Guinevere and I hid in a cave. After half-an-hour of brief rest, we headed out again. I never repeated the exact same attack twice; they were always prepared if I tried copying old tricks. Luckily, I wasn¡¯t limited to just my abilities like most champions. I had magic and a tome that could invent more spells than this world even knew. I started making new enchantments, burying them through the forest as we moved ahead of the army. After an hour I heard the first explosion. The enchantments wouldn¡¯t kill many, but they would slow them down as they were forced to look for the traps. Right now, just slowing them down was a victory, buying valuable time. We were in full retreat for the most part. I wasn¡¯t even sure what or if we had a plan. Sometimes survival is the only plan or goal there is. A fox running from a pack of hounds doesn¡¯t have a plan. It may try to outsmart them but the only thing it¡¯s focused on is survival. That¡¯s how I felt right now, like a fox being pursued by a pack of dogs. I didn¡¯t like the feeling. My every instinct screamed at me to rush headlong into that army and not stop fighting till one of us was dead. That was the old me though. I wasn¡¯t ruled by my desire to prove myself or my thirst for blood anymore. What separates a man from an animal is his ability to ignore his instincts. I had to survive, not for my sake, but Guinevere and our baby''s. For now, that just meant running. Chapter 164: Gods Righteous Man Arthur swung Excalibur cleaving through the trunk of a tree grabbing it and pushing it to the side as branches snapped crashed as he cleared a path. They¡¯d been at this for another week and were almost at the heart of the Cursed Forest. They¡¯d lost around ten-thousand soldiers and six champions to Mordred¡¯s attacks. It was odd to have such a large number be such a small fraction of their force but those lives weighed heavily on him. ¡°Arthur,¡± Vone said stepping up in her white and silver Atlas armor. ¡°What are your plans for dealing with the non-combatants?¡± ¡°I will spare all the women and children once this is over,¡± Arthur said. ¡°They will be free of the Warlord and allowed to return their clans and tribes within the forest.¡± ¡°What about the men?¡± she asked. ¡°They will die,¡± Arthur answered. ¡°Not everyone chose to serve the Warlord,¡± Vone protested. ¡°But they all chose to continue serving him,¡± Arthur said. ¡°The Warlord¡¯s domination is not mind control it just causes pain.¡± ¡°And what beyond semantics is the real difference there?¡± Vone asked. ¡°You can¡¯t put people in that situation, ask them to endure unimaginable pain and claim they have free will.¡± ¡°They have each murdered hundreds in Camelot and Dracon,¡± Arthur argued. ¡°It doesn¡¯t¡¯ matter if you have a whip to your back you are still responsible for your actions.¡± ¡°If you think someone with a knife to their throat still has autonomy then you lack all compassion,¡± Vone said. ¡°People are responsible for the actions they consciously take,¡± Arthur stated flatly. ¡°No matter the circumstances, they will stand in judgement for them.¡± ¡°Then when will you be judged for yours?¡± Vone challenged him the gauntlets of her Atlas armor flexing. ¡°It was you and your father¡¯s treatment of Guinevere and breaking your own rules that led to the massacre in Camelot.¡± ¡°Your going to blame me for that slaughter!¡± Arthur snarled whirling around on her. ¡°Mordred is guilty for the slaughter but he told you and everyone else what would happen if you took down those barriers.¡± Vone said not backing down. ¡°Your father and Merlin decided your life was worth those hundreds of thousands of people being sacrificed to save you. Were their lives worth it?¡± ¡°No,¡± Arthur said his shoulders sagging. ¡°and if I could go back and change it I would.¡± The conversation died then both of them realizing neither side would give into the other and compromise on their convictions. They continued to march along the heavy clang of their Atlas armor and the clang and thud of hundreds of thousands of feet trampling the earth as they pressed through the forest.
It had been another week of hit and run attacks but I¡¯d only gained one other ability during that time.
Shield Wall: (Rank 1); You create an invisible wall going ten feet on either side of you and gain the Immovable* status. This effect will last for ten seconds or until ended by you.
*Immovable: You cannot be moved from their location by physical force or spells.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range of your shield wall and its duration. Each upgrade increases your Toughness by 1.
Cost:This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. 20 stamina Casting Time: Instantaneous
The ability could have its uses but not at Rank one and there was still no time to sit down and work on my rank ups. I could hand that over to my spirit collective but that was something I¡¯d done in a moment of anger and desperation. If I had the time I preferred to look over my options and make the choices myself. I hovered in the air looking down on the glossy black walls of Castle Dragonbreaker. It had only been a few weeks since Guinevere and I had briefly honeymooned here, but this wasn¡¯t a pleasant return to reminisce. The castle and the town was too small to hold all my vassals now and the walls looked pitiful in comparison to the fort we had just fled from. ¡°We can¡¯t hold this,¡± Jeriah said dejectedly. I stared at the pitiful defenses the muscles in my jaw clenching. The weeks of sleepless nights had all been for nothing. Just like a fox I¡¯d returned to my den only to get trapped inside it by the pursuing hounds. ¡°Everyone¡¯s exhausted,¡± I said. ¡°We can¡¯t keep running through the woods either people are already starting to collapse even with enhanced attributes.¡± ¡°We can flee to the under lands,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°What?¡± Tobias asked, turning to her. ¡°Mordred can create a passage down below ground to the under lands,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°That place is swarming with shadow beasts,¡± Tobias protested. ¡°You will easily be able to take them,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Mordred and I did so when we were much weaker and cut off from our abilities. Arthur won¡¯t be able to use the might of his army down there. It will be tunnel fighting one man against one man.¡± ¡°I do like those odds better,¡± Jeriah admitted. ¡°What do you think our chances are down there Mordred?¡± I didn¡¯t answer right away my mind going through my memories of the twisting tunnels and connected caverns. It would be tight confines, but I could get all my vassals down there. Once there they could also split up into different groups for ease of defense and split Arthurs own forces. Each of my vassals was powerful and equal to four of Arthur¡¯s soldiers in straight up fight. ¡°We can do it,¡± I said. ¡°It will take some time to get everyone down there and food will be tight, but we can survive. Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory.¡± I started opening up a tunnel as Jeriah and Tobias began organizing everyone into groups and preparing our new exodus.
Arthur knelt in prayer. ¡°Viviane if you¡¯re listening, please answer me,¡± he said. At first, he thought his prayer would go unanswered then he felt a touch on his shoulder. ¡°I cannot help you in this battle, my champion,¡± Viviane¡¯s soft voice said. ¡°I know my goddess,¡± Arthur said. ¡°But I need your guidance, am I doing the right thing? I¡¯ve done so many things to keep my people safe but looking back I feel stained by what I¡¯ve done.¡± ¡°I know you feel guilty for what you did to Guinevere,¡± Viviane said. ¡°Much of that guilt is deserved but it is not my right to dictate your actions only guide you. I see though that everything you have ever done has only been for the good of your people.¡± ¡°Did you know Guinevere was my sister?¡± Arthur asked. Viviane was silent for a moment. ¡°Yes,¡± she finally answered. ¡°I would have told you but that kind of interference and sharing of secrets¡­¡± ¡°Is forbidden by the System,¡± Arthur finished sagging down leaning his back against the bed in the tent. ¡°Why did you limit yourselves so much? How can we serve as your instruments if we¡¯re blind to the world as everyone else.¡± The goddess sat on the bed beside him laying a hand on his back. ¡°I did not create these restrictions; they were created by the first gods when they wrote the Accords and created the system long before I ascended. While there are things in those Accords, I do not agree with they do serve to balance our powers.¡± ¡°What does that even matter?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°If your bound by rules that let someone like Mordred rise to power how can those rules be justified?¡± ¡°Those rules also let someone like me, or you ascend just the same,¡± Viviane said. ¡°Look how many gods of Law there are in comparison to gods of chaos. Though people like Mordred rose to power thanks to their selfishness, in the end it unites everyone against them. Even the Assassin sided with you.¡± Arthur flinched remembering watching Ammerila die before his eyes as he had been helpless to stop Guinevere. ¡°Her name was Ammerila, not the Assassin,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Viviane said. ¡°I know the two of you were close.¡± ¡°She wasn¡¯t evil, she just lacked choices in her past life,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I wanted to give her a chance to change and make amends, but she¡¯ll never get that chance now. Why did you choose me why was she chosen?¡± ¡°I chose you as my champion not just because of the debt I owed your ancestor but because you are a righteous man. You may fail but you always get back up and strive for the greater good even if it puts your own soul in danger.¡± ¡°Is this fight against Mordred justified?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°Or is it just my own desire for vengeance?¡± ¡°What do you believe will happen if you leave Mordred be?¡± Viviane asked. ¡°He will win,¡± Arthur said. ¡°He¡¯s already proven he can grow faster in strength than almost anyone I¡¯ve ever heard of; he¡¯ll beat everyone to god rank and ascend.¡± ¡°And does that justify your actions?¡± Viviane asked. Arthur¡¯s face hardened. ¡°Yes, the world doesn¡¯t deserve to suffer a god such as him.¡± Chapter 165: Tunnel Warfare I watched as the few hundred remaining vassals filed down the tunnel. Already I could see the trees swaying as the approaching army pushed towards us. ¡°Ready to give them hell?¡± I asked. ¡°It will be nice to welcome them to our home,¡± Jeriah said dryly. ¡°Come on,¡± I said. ¡°We need to give our people some time.¡± I drew a knife along my hand drawing blood and black mist rose from my skin. Red lightning filled the black mist as I activated Storm Fall and took to the sky. Guinevere and Jeriah joined me in the air and together we streaked towards the army. I did a fly by attack lightning and fear effects scouring the army. Jeriah had an acid barrage he could use and Guinevere¡¯s ice attacks coated the battlefield in every imaginable ways. Exar¡¯kun swept in from above and his breath attack torched the battlefield. The heavy clang of Atlas Armor rang out as champions charged across the battlefield our attacks doing little against the Rank IV artifacts. I slipped to the side midair as a projectile the size of a telephone pole passed through where I had been. More and more of the projectiles launched out many of different sizes. Even with all my damage reduction titles and abilities I still needed my torso and head attached to each other. I dodged and twisted through the air. ¡°Get out of here!¡± I shouted at Guinevere and Jeriah. Exar¡¯kun was already above the cloud layer, he wouldn¡¯t be joining us underground. I could understand as a creature of the skies not wanting to get trapped underground with the rest of us. I kept their attention as I ducked and dropped out of the sky with shrapnel and elemental attacks that could send me to the ground or one-shot me whizzed past me. Mordred, Guinevere said to me. We¡¯re all underground get out of there. Yes ma¡¯am, I thought back and my body became a smoking crimson blur as I left the battle. I hit the ground and strode into the tunnel. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said. I sealed all but one of the tunnels behind me. Arthur would either have to use the tunnel I provided him which was a death trap or waste time creating his own. Either one would suit me fine. My eyes could see perfectly in the darkness but not everyone had that luxury. There were lanterns among the woman and children who didn¡¯t have any mutations to let them see in dark creating little pockets of light here and there. They were moving spreading out as leaders picked by Jeriah and the Myrmidon Clan leaders led them down various tunnels splitting up to find safety. I sat down beside Guinevere, she sagged with exhaustion as well. I rolled up my cloak putting it in my lap as she laid her head on it closing her eyes. I ran my fingers through her hair closing my own eyes as I sank into meditation to rest before the upcoming fight. My meditation soon turned to sleep as my exhaustion overcame me. --- Arthur looked at the empty streets and houses of the small town and the abandoned castle. There was no question about where they had gone, the staircase leading down into blackness gave that away clearly there was also no way he was using those stairs. Already champions and soldiers with any ability to move or alter the earth were creating dozens of tunnels. Arthur had heard of the Underlands before, but they were a place more of legend than reality, a cursed realm where even the System was blocked from entering. It was almost a mythological place, the kind of land used in a cautionary tale for children to warn them to always do the right thing. Now that place was becoming a reality, but Arthur couldn¡¯t understand why Mordred would willingly go somewhere where he was cut off from the System. The earth began piling higher and higher as the thousands of gifted got to work preparing to dig out the chaos spawn and his army. --- A blinding swirling vortex of colors surrounding me as I tumbled down losing all sense of space or time. I was spat out into black empty expanse. I couldn¡¯t tell how much time I spent there as I wandered feeling a familiar comforting hand in mine. A dark mountain rose before me, was it always there or did I create it? I couldn¡¯t tell. Silver trees, their leaves and trunks growing with light and dark fruit hanging from their bows grew across the mountain. Buildings appeared somehow looking like a ruin yet also as someone might step out of their home at any moment. A black and silver sun hung over the mountain as I looked behind me then turned as I heard the growl of some unknowable beast. The creatures, whatever they were threw themselves against me and I could feel my bones breaking, my flesh torn my armor sunder as I held the line to protect that place. Death came for me and I¡­ -- I jerked awake the confusing nature of my vision still weighing on me. It was not the first or even second time I had seen that place, that dark expanse or mountain. I had thought it might be the outcome of my duel with Arthur, but that event hadn¡¯t even been worthy enough for my Foresight to give any vision about it. Instead, my Foresight seemed fixated on that mountain on that place where it seemed fate wanted me to die at. ¡°Fuck fate,¡± I whispered. ¡°Hmmm?¡± Guinevere asked stirring in my lap. ¡°Nothing,¡± I said closing my eyes again. I couldn¡¯t fall asleep again. Now that I was awake, I could hear the digging, they were at least an hour away still but the vibrations from their abilities still thrummed through the earth. I stroked Guinevere¡¯s hair as I listened giving her more time to sleep. Half-an-hour later she was awake too and we both stood and prepared for the attack. Minutes ticked by and finally I could hear them hammering against the stone that formed the wall and ceiling of the tunnel. We all moved back and prepared ourselves. The azure edge of a massive sword cleaved through the stone as Excalibur cut a doorway loose. A mechanized armored boot kicked out and Arthur in his Atlas armor stepped into the tunnel. We opened up with our attack lightning, fire, frost, acid, and physical projectiles striking his armor. The plates of the Atlas armor heated up, but Arthur charged forwards thousands of soldiers flooded in after him. Many died to the barrage of attacks but more and more poured in. I stood my ground waiting for Arthur to reach me. I let lightning fly and my spearheads strike piling bodies in the entryway but my feet didn¡¯t move from where they were planted.
Dying Star: (Rank 1); Creates a ball of light within 75ft that deals Minor holy and fire damage to all targets within 15ft of it.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range at which can be cast and does damage. Each rank up increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
Cost: 20 mana Casting Time: InstantaneousThe genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
I dismissed the notification as Excalibur swung for my head, and I bent under it my feet unmoving. I struck like a viper with one of my nemean clubs, using my Matador title to deal one more damage stage, Mark of Cain to increase the damage I dealt with weapons made of stone, and Feral Barbarian to increase weapons made of bone by one stage. My attack landed on the back of Arthur¡¯s knee; the armor didn¡¯t break but it did dent inwards. There was no flesh there, but the Atlas armor did stumble awkwardly. Arthur spun blocking the next attack I made with Clarent as I activated Void Asura. I swelled in size as I used Jotunn Slayer to match Arthur in size. Movement was a bit awkward with our limited space but se danced back and forth our attacks landed on armor or parried. ¡°Face me,¡± Arthur challenged. ¡°Yes,¡± I growled dismissing the notification before it even fully popped up. Arthur¡¯s strength began to grow, and he tossed something down to the ground. A tether of energy hit me and a new notification popped into my vision.
You have been hit by a tether; you cannot move 60ft from this location the strength of the tether growing in strength in accordance with your Spirit attribute. Duration 90 seconds
I tried teleporting away but couldn¡¯t the tether as the yanked me back. Arthur wasn¡¯t just keeping me locked in place he was also keeping me from stepping in front of an attack to break the duel we were in. I had to stop using all my AOE attacks or I would suffer from breaking the duel. I had no other choice right now but to stay here and stick out my fight with Arthur. The howls and screams of pain echoed through the tunnel. I took a quick glance and saw that despite being taken out of the fight my side was still doing quite well. Bodies were pilling into walls that the opposing force pushing down the tunnel was tripping over and trampling eachother as they tried to push past. Some tried burning the bodies out of their way and while this made space if filled the tunnel with smoke that all flowed back up the tunnel they were coming down. Guinevere was not idle her blade slashing and cutting specters rising from every man or woman she killed and giving our sides more numbers. Arthur wasn¡¯t ignorant of the situation either. His helmet amplified his sound and I could hear him growl in frustration as he moved back. ¡°Retreat!¡± he called out cutting his losses for now. I stopped and waited as he fell back. The seconds ticked down until the tether dropped and I moved forwards closing off the tunnel. We started dealing with our dead and wounded the hundreds of specters looming around Guinevere faded into the ground as she had them wait for her to call upon them again. ¡°New trick from Arthur there,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll be ready for it next time if he tries it again.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll have more than one thing like that prepared for you,¡± Guinevere warned me. ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± I said nodding. ¡°But I¡¯ll have some tricks of my own prepared for them. How much time do you think we bought ourselves?¡± ¡°Just a few hours, Arthur is relentless; he¡¯ll keep coming after you until he drops from exhaustion,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°That¡¯s enough time,¡± I said. I sat cross legged pulling out my stylus and drawing runes across the floor. --- Arthur cut through the wall again and stepped into the tunnel. Silence greeted him and his hair stood on end. Looking around he could see the tunnel bend and go on in both directions. More and more soldiers poured in and more champions in Atlas armor filed into the tunnel. Princess Helen moved up beside him her own silver and white Atlas armor gleaming in the darkness. ¡°Where is he?¡± she asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Arthur said. ¡°But I don¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving,¡± Helen said her armor rippling as a shiver went down her spine. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be down here any longer than I have to.¡± They moved down the tunnel, thousands filling the tunnels. A scream tore through the air as inferno of fire engulfed a squad of men. Panic spread and the tight confines did nothing to help it amplify the screams so no one could hear each other as runes flared to life along the floor. Lighting, fire and frost exploded outwards engulfing squads. Holed appeared in the walls and spears and arrows shot through them. Arthur charged the wall, cutting through it to reveal another false tunnel behind it. A boulder the size of a millstone struck Arthur in the chest launching him backwards as Mordred unleashed a storm of stones and spearheads controlled by telekinesis flew down the tunnel. Pushing himself back to his feet the glowing azure edge of Excalibur met the scarlet lightning of Clarent. Guinevere moved forwards her specters rising out of the floor stabbing upwards into unarmored sections. Helen turned and faced her. The blood from all the dead and dying staining the lower half of her Atlas armor red the two woman both stained with blood now. ¡°Cousin,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Guinevere, how can you be doing this? How can you have sided with everything we fought against?¡± Helen asked. ¡°You can¡¯t understand,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But you maybe you can understand this; I don¡¯t want either of our children to grow up without a father.¡± ¡°My husband isn¡¯t a mass murdering lunatic,¡± Helen snapped back charging her. The woman focused singularly on healing was gone. It had been months since they had last spoke and Helen had pushed herself since then, gaining new abilities to broaden her skills. Her staff swung down, and Guinevere spun under it. The massive size difference wasn¡¯t as much a benefit in these tunnels as it would have been on an open battlefield. Guinevere didn¡¯t take it easy on her sword, freezing the joints of her armor as she ducked and dodged every attack that came her way with seemingly effortless ease. Helen was good, but Guinevere was a prodigy, and it would take more than a few months of intense training to catch up with her. Helen stumbled as the internal parts in her left knee gave out. Guinevere hit her with another attack and Helen fell to the ground before she could get back up Guinevere ripped open the pod door to the Atlas armor putting her sword to Helen¡¯s throat. ¡°Stand down Helen,¡± Guinevere commanded. ¡°Or what?¡± Helen asked. ¡°You¡¯ll kill me like you killed¡­¡± ¡°My father?¡± Guinevere asked as Helen trailed off. ¡°Yes, I will.¡± A wild war cry sounded out as Atrel lunged forwards a spear in hand. Guinevere blocked his attack, yanked him forward and severed his hand. Her sword rested at his neck now as she held him down with a boot on the ground. ¡°I don¡¯t want either of our children to grow up without a father,¡± Guinevere said looking from Atrel back to Helen who stared in terror and fear as she struggled to get out of the straps holding her inside the Atlas armor. ¡°Don¡¯t come after me again and try to take my husband from me, or your child will grow up never knowing theirs.¡± -- I blocked the strike of Excalibur, Arthur tried to throw down another one of those tethers, but I grabbed it with my telekinesis and flung it away before it could bind me down. I teleported back taking a strike along my abdomen from a spear from a soldier. The attack only drew a scratch, but it was enough to break the duel. Lightning blasted out and began cooking soldiers in their armor. Stone spearheads began stabbing from below soldier¡¯s shields or hitting them from behind as they flew through the air like a swarm of hornets. As soon as I entered the battle proper the tide of bloodshed flipped in our favor, these tight confines favored us and their superior numbers were all useless up on the surface right now.
Shield Charge: (Rank 1); While a shield is equipped you move 12ft forwards in an instant dealing Minor bludgeoning damage to all targets in your path.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range of your charge and the damage dealt. Each rank up increases your Speed Attribute by 1.
Cost: 8 stamina Casting Time: Instantaneous
Your abilities, Lunging Strike and Shield Charge, have synergy with each other. Would you like to sacrifice these abilities to combine them into the ability Piercing Charge? Ability will be a more powerful combination of both abilities but will only get the standard amount of additional effects.
Yes / No
I selected yes. Currently both effects aren¡¯t that powerful so upgrading them would hopefully give me a greater result.
Piercing Charge: (Rank 1); You flash forwards 20ft in an instant dealing Minor piercing and bludgeoning damage to all targets in path and x.2 damage on the final attack.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range of your charge and the damage of the final attack. Each upgrade increases your Speed Attribute by 2.
Cost: 12 stamina Casting Time: Instantaneous
I dismissed the notification and blocked a strike from a random attack. Arthur charged forwards to reengage me but stopped. I could see what had stopped him. Helen was down on the ground with Guinevere standing over her the pod door to the Atlas armor open. ¡°Fall back!¡± Arthur shouted, charging forwards. I shot forwards pulling Guinevere out of the way as Arthur rushed in. He dragged Helen in her Atlas armor back as the soldiers fought a retreat; my own vassals making them pay for every foot they fell back. I let them retreat for now. I checked Guinevere over, but she was uninjured. ¡°We did good,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Yeah,¡± I agreed but felt uneasy. ¡°Which means Arthur will be thinking of a new way to fight us, he won¡¯t try to match us strength for strength again.¡± Chapter 166: Extinction Event Merlin stood before the portal as Aramid stepped through. ¡°Merlin, I trust you have my payment this time?¡± he asked. Arthur looked to Merlin unhappily. ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± ¡°We need his help,¡± Merlin said. ¡°He didn¡¯t help last time,¡± Arthur said. Aramid crossed his arms. ¡°It was my job to incapacitate the Warlord so your two champions could beat him. It¡¯s not my fault they couldn¡¯t do the job. I still haven¡¯t been paid for that service yet, by the way.¡± Arthur ignored the champion of Extinction. ¡°What was the Holocaust¡¯s price?¡± ¡°A tier IV artifact,¡± Merlin said. ¡°Of which I have yet to receive,¡± Aramid added. ¡°I¡¯ll expect that upfront this time before I do anything for you again.¡± Merlin nodded and a group of men pushed a wagon laden with crates over. They opened up a crate and inside it were massive sections of metal that would assemble a suit of Atlas armor. Aramid examined them then nodded. ¡°This will do. What do you need me for?¡± he asked. ¡°I need you to call down an asteroid,¡± Merlin said, handing a rune inscribed bronze circle to Aramid. ¡°This was enchanted with blood gathered from the Warlord, it will hone in on his position for a single attack, no matter what obscurement effects or spells he tries to employ.¡± ¡°An asteroid?¡± Aramid asked. ¡°Usually, I get asked to not employ those. What¡¯s different now?¡± ¡°He¡¯s underground,¡± Arthur said. ¡°We can¡¯t employ the numbers needed to take him down.¡± ¡°The Underlands? I thought they were System dead zones?¡± Aramid asked. ¡°The System is working down there,¡± Merlin said. ¡°Guinevere mentioned in a report that she destroyed the device blocking the System, but I wasn¡¯t sure to believe her until now.¡± ¡°If I call down an asteroid, it will wipe out all life in a seven-league radius,¡± Aramid said as he looked at the army arrayed around them. ¡°We¡¯re already packing up to move out,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Can your asteroid still hit him that far below ground?¡± ¡°Hit him? Not exactly, but it will burn its way through the earth to get to its mark,¡± Aramid said. ¡°I¡¯ll expect another tier IV artifact after this.¡± He looked at Merlin and Arthur sternly. ¡°Whether or not the attack ends with his death, you¡¯re paying for my services, not the result.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Arthur agreed. ¡°It will take me half a day to call down the asteroid,¡± Aramid said turning the metal disk over in his fingers. ¡°Make sure your people are out of the blast radius before then.¡± Aramid sat down in a meditative pose, a strange energy surrounding him as he searched the heavens to form an asteroid out of bits of rock to call down to earth. --- Guinevere stirred and shook in her sleep. My eyes snapped open as I looked down at her. I touched her shoulder, and she flinched, jerking awake. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°I¡­I had a vision,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°When you gave me your Foresight ability, I saw that feature, but I¡¯ve never experienced¡­.¡± ¡°What did you see?¡± I asked. ¡°Everything was burning,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Everyone all around us were screaming and dying as the stone melted, and then the ceiling collapsed, and¡­¡± ¡°You died,¡± I finished as I recalled how all my visions typically ended. ¡°No, well maybe I didn¡¯t get that far, I saw you die,¡± she said. I found it strange that Guinevere would have visions of my death while all I foresaw was that dark emptiness and the mountain covered in silver trees. ¡°The future is not set in stone,¡± I said. ¡°Think what was causing everything. How could we stop it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Guinevere said steadying her breathing as she closed her eyes. ¡°The ground was shaking; something was pushing down through the ground, its heat was so intense it was burning through the earth.¡± I closed my own eyes as I focused, reaching out to Exar¡¯kun. Exar, what are they doing up there? Guinevere had a vision of some sort of attack coming our way and killing me and everyone else. My telepathic communication was increased greatly by my rank, but I wasn¡¯t sure if he had even gotten the message until I got a reply a minute later. They¡¯re moved away. They¡¯ve encamped about eight leagues from the castle and are burrowing down into bunkers in the ground, Exar¡¯kun said. I assumed you counter attacked or something to make them this skittish. No, we beat them in battle, but we didn¡¯t do that much damage to them, I said, uneasy by this new information. Are they all gone? There is a small group left behind, Exar¡¯kun said. Most of them are champions but there are some¡­ you need to move. What is it? I asked. I can sense something I¡¯ve felt only once before, Exar¡¯kun said. After I just learned to fly, a comet passed overhead and I felt a connection to it. I could feel it in my bones. They¡¯re doing to you what they did to my mother. I recalled the barren, poisoned, irradiated land he¡¯d been hatched in. An asteroid was headed for me. I started feeling an itch at the back of my neck like something was watching me. I had anti-scrying active and not even gods could watch me, but this felt inescapable. ¡°Everyone, go find your families down the tunnels,¡± I commanded. Jeriah looked at me confused. ¡°But the battle¡­¡± ¡°You can¡¯t fight what¡¯s coming,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s a force of nature, not a person. I¡¯m sorry I wasn¡¯t able to fulfill my promise to you.¡± Jeriah looked solemn and clasped my wrist. ¡°You returned my ancestral lands to me, its not our fault we couldn¡¯t hold them.¡± Tobias stepped forwards and laid a hand on my shoulder. ¡°I was wrong about you Mordred. You¡¯ve been a good leader for us. You¡¯ve never used us as shields or shied away from risking your own life to save ours.¡± They rushed off, taking their men with them. The leaders of the Myrmidon clans stayed behind, coming up to me and clasping my arm. ¡°You have shown yourself to be a true Warlord,¡± Korsis, the leader of the Wolf Clan said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you never decided to merge your bloodline with ours, but even if your abilities disappear, we will not forget you.¡± ¡°Nor will I,¡± Kas¡¯tu, leader of the Ursine Clan said. ¡°You have displayed the cunning of Ares, the ferocity of Marshesh, and the unbreakable will of Lorku.¡± I didn¡¯t recognize most of those names, but realized they must have been fallen Warlords from the past. My vassals fled as I had commanded them to, and only Guinevere remained. ¡°You need to leave,¡± I said and placed a hand on her belly. ¡°We can¡¯t risk¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a risk,¡± Guinevere said, interrupting me. ¡°If your child is here, I know you¡¯ll find the strength to defy fate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not something¡­¡± ¡°Have you ever failed me?¡± Guinevere asked, interrupting me again. ¡°No,¡± I said deciding to just let her say her piece. ¡°When you make up your mind to do something, nothing can stand in your way,¡± Guinevere said wrapping her arms around me. I slid my arms around her as I felt the prickling around my neck intensify. --- Arthur looked up as the darkening sky was lit up as the asteroid entered the atmosphere. He stepped through the portal Merlin had prepared and entered into the bunker. Looking out through the viewport, he watched as a chunk of rock the size of a castle roared through the atmosphere, black smoke trailing behind it. Aramid hadn¡¯t left, but he had ways of avoiding his own attacks. The asteroid hit and everything was still for a moment. Then a roar exploded out from the impact point as fire, dust, and ash rolled out, the shockwave spreading for miles out. Arthur shut the viewport, ducking down as even leagues away, the ground shook. Trees which had grown for hundreds and thousands of years were burned to ash in an instant. The ground was torn up and leveled. The asteroid continued to shake and burn as it moved through the ground, powered with a force beyond physics. It wouldn¡¯t stop until it had reached its target, and heaven help whatever soul it had been unleashed against, for nothing in this world could stop it. Chapter 167: Ive Got no Strings The ground shook as the asteroid hit, and even half a mile below ground, I could feel the impact. Pressure began to mount, and the air started getting higher. That impact hadn¡¯t been the end of it, as the asteroid had only slowed down. Like an inexorable hunter, it wouldn¡¯t stop until reached me. ¡°Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said. The weight increased. It wasn¡¯t a physical weight as such, but instead something that strained against my spirit as I pushed mana into the stone, condensing it and trying to strengthen it. The force I was fighting against increased its pressure like it was a sentient thing able to feel me trying to prevent it from completing its singular purpose. Guinevere held me tight, and it was only her presence that kept me from going to my knees. My legs were locked and if I tried to move from where I was, I would collapse. She whispered something but I couldn¡¯t hear it over the thundering of blood in my ears and the rumble of the earth shaking. Sweat began to drip down my skin as the stone above us started glowing. The molten rock got harder and harder to hold up. Ice began to spread but it steamed and melted as Guinevere fought to help me by surrounding us with a frigid aura. I was using mana like water, but I was going to run dry, even with my massive mana pool, I couldn¡¯t hold up the weight of the sky. Use ether in the ability, Ares said. You know the backlash that would cause, I said. You aren¡¯t going to suffer any backlash if you¡¯re dead, Karnen said. Use it. My body vibrated as a growl of frustration pushed itself out. I tapped into my ether and pushed it into the ability. It burned in my veins as I pushed it through mana channels and the stone began to turn a glossy black, cooling rapidly. The relief was only temporary, but I had bought a few moments and every second counted. The power behind that falling star was not inexhaustible. If I could hold out long enough, it would come to a stop. ¡°Hold on,¡± Guinevere said. I couldn¡¯t respond, only feel her presence as I focused on keeping the ceiling from falling in on us. My mana dropped below the one-thousand mark. Even with using ether, it was still being spent like water through a firehose. I¡¯m about to be out of mana, I thought. If you guys got something, now would be the time to pull it out. I¡¯m working on something, Voidra responded. A minute passed by as I flooded the stone above with ether and mana forming new creations over and over again as I pushed back against the asteroid pursuing me through the earth. I kept pushing until my mana bottomed out. Got it! Voidra exclaimed. New energy rushed through my ability and I almost collapsed and threw up at the sensation. I managed to keep from collapsing and keep the ability active. What was that? I asked. I managed to mess with the ability to get it to use your stamina instead of mana, Voidra explained. This is temporary and you''re going to need to use even more ether when your stamina runs out. I had nowhere near the stamina that I had mana, so that wouldn¡¯t be too long. I my teeth cracked and regenerated again and again as I fueled the rage that kept me going. Images of my childhood flashed through my thoughts, my father, my mother, Sarah, and none of it mattered. No, those didn¡¯t drive my rage anymore. My wife was here, and they were going to kill her with me; that¡¯s what fueled my hatred. I pushed harder, flooding my ability with the last of my ether as I held out defiantly. The comet stopped as something inside me, not my body but soul, tore and ripped.
Error! Ability mutation, Error! Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory has been damaged and undergone permanent alterations without System interference. Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory -> Void-Dragon¡¯s ArmoryIf you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Hell-Dragon¡¯s Armory: (Rank 20) (Max Rank); You can infuse earth, stone & metal with organic materials to create unique, more durable and heavier materials that can be shaped by your word. You can fuse a 524,288 square-foot section of earth, stone, metal, or organic materials. Your earth-organic alloys have a hardness rating of 15, your compressed common earth has a hardness rating of 12. The detail you can sculpt with is based on your Mind, Spirit & Perception attributes.
You can use common, uncommon, rare, magical, and enchanted, earth, stone, metal and organic materials. Your creations have different properties and effects based on the materials used.
Final Rank Bonus: The weapons and armor made with this skill are empowered with Hell and Draconic Energies dealing a Moderate amount of fire and/or curse damage or granting a Moderate amount of resistance to fire and/or curse damage when worn.
Cost: 2 mana per square foot.
->
Void-Dragon¡¯s Armory: (Rank 20) (Max Rank); You can fuse any material together, merging them with energies arcane, physical, and spiritual to create substances beyond the nature of reality. The material is empowered from energy of the void making it dangerous for mortals to interact with. You can fuse a 600,000 square-foot section of material. Your creations have a hardness rating of 20. The detail you can sculpt with is based on your Mind, Spirit, and Perception attributes.
There exists nothing beyond the touch of this ability as even Artifacts have been sundered by it, and its power requires an iron will to wield it.
Final Rank Bonus: The weapons and armor made with this skill are empowered with Void and Soul Energies dealing a Major amount of Soul and Void damage or granting a Moderate amount of resistance to Soul and Void damage when worn.
Cost: 5 mana, 5 stamina, 5 ether per square foot.
The falling star stopped, but my troubles had just begun. A portal opened and Kelesa stepped out of it, a look of rage on her face. ¡°You were given orders to destroy the Void within you!¡± she snarled. ¡°And now that taint has spread even farther.¡± I heaved in a breath. ¡°That taint¡­ is the only thing that kept me alive.¡± My breathing was labored, the backlash from using my ether and stamina with a non-compatible ability leaving me weak as a toddler. ¡°Destroy it now,¡± Kelesa ordered, her four arms drawing a sword from her back. ¡°I will not ask a third time.¡± You should do it, Voidra said. I could hear the fear and sorrow in her voice, but she wasn¡¯t about to back down. You¡¯ve let me see so much, but I¡¯m not worth all of our lives. Shut up you little psychopath, I told her. You just saved my life; I¡¯m not going to turn my back on you. Looks like this is where it¡¯s all going down, Karnen said. I can use my guardian spirit ability. I don¡¯t think I can stop a god, but I¡¯ll still try. Let¡¯s take the bitch down, Ares agreed. ¡°No,¡± I said, calling Clarent to my hand even though I could barely stand. ¡°I¡¯m not your Pinocchio to jerk around on your strings. I win my way or I don¡¯t win at all.¡± Kelesa flashed forwards, her swords coming for my neck, hearts, and stomach. Guinevere stepped in the way and Kelesa froze as a resonate gong sounded in the air.
Subject Kelesa, goddess of War and Conquest has attempted to breach the accords by striking down a mortal! Further attempts will result in severe punishment.
¡°Move!¡± Kelesa snapped at Guinevere, a terrifying aura emanating off her that made even me want to turn and flee. ¡°No,¡± Guinevere said. Kelesa raised her swords again, then lowered them. ¡°Fine then, if you will not serve, than I have no more use for you as my champion. I take back my power from you.¡±
You have lost the Blessing of War
Your ability Dominion (Rank 50, Max Rank) has been revoked and sundered.
I finally collapsed to the ground as agony coursed not just through my body, but my soul.
You have suffered permanent soul damage from the sundering of your ability. Your soul will need to be filled with a new power or the ability restored to fix the damage to your soul.
¡°What did you do to him!¡± Guinevere screamed at Kelesa. Kelesa smiled. ¡°I removed him from the game, now to finish the job completely. I take back my gifts.¡± My boots rotted and turned to dust leaving my feet bare. ¡°And I reject you from our world,¡± Kelesa said. A portal opened beneath me, and I dropped through. Guinevere didn¡¯t hesitate to jump after me. She wrapped her arms around me as we spun through a vortex of color, sound, and smells and then my vision and senses went dark. Chapter 168: Woe to the Vanquished The rumble in the earth subsided and Arthur waited for a moment before opening the hatch to the bunker. The land outside was a hellscape. For seven leagues from where the asteroid had hit not a tree remained. Blackened stone and earth was all that was left behind with swirling clouds of ash. Fires still burned hear and there and a massive column of smoke rose from the falling star had impacted. ¡°Teleport us in,¡± Arthur told Merlin. ¡°We need to make sure the job is finished.¡± ¡°Yes my king,¡± Merlin said and opened another portal. Arthur led the champions through the portal. Aramid sat on the ground looking tired but proud of himself. ¡°Job is done, I hope you have my pay with you,¡± he said. ¡°Did you get any notifications for killing him?¡± Arthur asked ignoring his demands for payment. Aramid shrugged. ¡°I got a lot of rank points, killed a lot of things in the blast but no, I don¡¯t think I got him. I didn¡¯t get a single source of rank points big enough to have been him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s still alive?¡± Arthur asked in disbelief, fear and anger. ¡°Not as such,¡± a regal femine voice said appearing before them. Arthur fell to his knees and the other champions did likewise. ¡°My lady, how are you hear speaking to all of us?¡± Arthur asked his voice uncertain at this turn of events. ¡°I thought you couldn¡¯t interfere.¡± ¡°There is nothing to interfere with,¡± Viviane said. ¡°The Warlord is gone.¡± ¡°He¡¯s dead?¡± Arthur asked feeling triumphant. ¡°That¡¯s not what I said,¡± the goddess said shaking her head. ¡°He is gone, Kalesa was displeased with him for defying her and removed him as her champion and banished him back to his world. There is no mana in his world so he will eventually die from mana starvation but he did not die in this attack; although it was part of the reason for his banishment.¡± ¡°Why would Kalesa remove her own champion,¡± Vone asked suspiciously. ¡°I cannot speak for the motives or secrets of another deity,¡± Viviane said. ¡°Your work here is done my champion. I cannot reward you since you did not actually slay the Warlord but I am well pleased with the result.¡± ¡°Thank you my goddess,¡± Arthur said bowing his head to her. The goddess vanished in a flash of light that forced everyone to look away for a moment. ¡°What now?¡± Lancelot asked. ¡°What happened to Guinevere?¡± Helen asked. ¡°We will have to go below to find the answer to that last question,¡± Arthur said. ¡°My work here is not finished.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Vone asked.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°The servants of the Warlord must still pay for their crimes,¡± Arthur responded. ¡°They have just been freed from their enslavement and you will kill them?¡± Vone said anger rising in her voice. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering if I was fighting on the right side this entire time.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Arthur snapped. ¡°It means Kalesa banished her own champion putting her on the same side as you,¡± Vone said. ¡°And the fact you can¡¯t even see that is the worst part.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare¡­¡± Arthur snarled. Vone planted herself before the unstable tunnel leading below ground. ¡°I fight for the oppressed and for the enslaved,¡± Vone said. ¡°Right now that means all those who once served the Warlord. If you want to kill them, your going to have to fight me first.¡± ¡°So be it,¡± Arthur said drawing Excalibur from its massive scabbard. ¡°Arthur don¡¯t¡­¡± Helen said. ¡°Stand down your highness,¡± Arthur said coldly. ¡°Vone chose this path now she must walk it.¡± ¡°I think Mordred probably told you something similar to that before,¡± Vone said. With a roar Arthur surged forwards. Vone¡¯s glaive and his sword met in dance of flashing silver, gold and sparks. Their atlas armor amplified their blows tenfold and the air literally shook with the force of each collision. Vone was masterful with her glaive and it had better reach than the greatsword but Arthur was the duelist. ¡°Face me Vone,¡± he said. ¡°I will,¡± Vone said answering his challenge. From there she began to steadily lose ground as Excalibur cut into the Atlas armor and its mechanisms began failing. She held out never asking for him to back down or goading him any farther. The other champions stood by uneasily. What they were watching was the manifestation of the realization that all of them were in the end going to have to end like this. Killing eachother one by one or giving up and yielding to another. There could only be one victor to the god¡¯s game. Arthur powered forward his movements faster and more powerful with every passing second. Vone held out never yielding or asking for mercy. Finally, Excalibur removed one of the legs of the Atlas armor and she dropped to the ground. Arthur moved and stood over her raising Excalibur. ¡°Yield,¡± he commanded. ¡°Not until you agree to let those people go,¡± Vone said pushing her herself back as she dragged her one remaining leg behind her. ¡°They don¡¯t deserve to be punished for actions they didn¡¯t choose.¡± ¡°Woe to the vanquished,¡± Arthur replied and swung Excalibur down. A dragon tail clipped him upside the head and tossed him back the length of half a football field. Exar¡¯kun dropped down his wings flared out and a torrent of green fire passed over the champions. They were protected by their Atlas armor but they still stumbled back. Exar used his back leg to open up the pod with Vone inside it and grabbed her around the middle pulling her out of the Atlas armor as he jumped back into the air. Arthur charged after them golden wings sprouting from his armor as he took to the air. A sonic boom shook the skies as Exar¡¯kun disappeared from sight leaving Arthur summersaulting as he hit the turbulence he left behind. -- Exar¡¯kun landed on the side of a mountain and released Vone. They were next to the entrance to a large cave and sheer face of rock. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± Vone shouted at him. Exar¡¯kun transformed turning into his human form though this time his dragon nature was much more evident with his eyes glowing and his fangs prominent. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t realize you wanted to die,¡± he said. ¡°He¡¯s going to kill all those people,¡± Vone said. ¡°If he is, you can¡¯t stop him,¡± Exar¡¯kun said shrugging. Vone opened her mouth, closed it and her shoulders drooped. ¡°Thank you for saving me. I don¡¯t know why you did it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡± Exar¡¯kun asked. ¡°No,¡± Vone said uncertainly. Exar¡¯kun stepped in and she stepped back her back pressing up against the stone cliff of the mountain. Exar¡¯kun smiled and leaned in. ¡°I like you, Vone.¡± He said. ¡°You¡¯re defiance even in the face of overwhelming odds and certain death.¡± ¡°I¡­um¡­¡± Vone stammered. Exar¡¯kun laughed and stepped back. ¡°What happened to Mordred?¡± ¡°His goddess banished him back to Earth,¡± Vone said. ¡°She said he¡¯d die from lack of mana.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°You think he¡¯ll somehow survive?¡± Vone asked. ¡°Never underestimate Mordred¡¯s ability to cheat or brute force his way out of a problem,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°His most valuable trait is his sheer will to keep going and survive no matter what.¡± Chapter 169: Theres No Place Like Home The swirling vortex of colors ended as Guinevere and I were flung out into reality once again. Wood splintered under me as I hit the ground, rolling to catch Guinevere. I staggered to my feet and looked around the alien environment¡­. this was my apartment. ¡°Holy shit dude!¡± a man on the coach across from the TV on the wall said, nearly falling over the back of it in his haste to scramble away from us. Guinevere and I winced as blaring horns and sirens from all over the city hit our eardrums along with the sounds of gunfire and explosions on the TV. Guinevere put a fist through the TV and it stopped making noises. I threw up, my body starting to shake. You¡¯re going into mana withdrawal, Karnen said. I fell to my knees and reached into my storage pouch and pulled out the Cymanthia Bush. I pulled out a mana potion, downed it, then chewed up and swallowed a single berry. The nausea ended; I couldn¡¯t read the description of the plant anymore but I remembered it kept people who consumed it from using any mana abilities but it also kept them from losing any locking their mana in a twenty-four hour statis. I handed a potion and berry to Guinevere, who also looked like she was about to throw up, and she drank and ate both. ¡°What was that?¡± she asked. ¡°A cymanthia berry,¡± I said. ¡°It should keep us from losing mana until we find a way back.¡± ¡°Who are you people?¡± the man asked, stumbling to his feet. ¡°You some sort of star trek cult barging in here and speaking Klingon?¡± ¡°Klingon?¡± I asked him. ¡°What the hell are you talking about.¡± ¡°What am I talking about? The fuck were you talking about in that weird language just there? Where are your clothes?¡± ¡°What are you two saying?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°You can¡¯t understand¡­ right, I forgot I haven¡¯t been speaking English this entire time,¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯s basically just freaking out and thinks we¡¯re some insane cosplayers.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a cosplayer?¡± she asked. ¡°It¡¯s a¡­ you know, this isn¡¯t the time.¡± I said as the man started to look more panicky. ¡°Hey, you, stop hyperventilating.¡± ¡°What?¡± he said gasping. I pulled a sack of gold out from my storage pouch. ¡°Hand me your wallet and we¡¯ll be out of here; you can sell this to some pawn shop to make up for it.¡± The gold spilled out and man¡¯s eyes widened even further, which I hadn¡¯t thought was possible. ¡°And your phone too,¡± I said, snapping my fingers. He tossed over the wallet and phone. ¡°Password?¡± I asked. ¡°Eight, three, five, one,¡± he said licking his lips as he looked at the gold. ¡°Lets go Guinevere,¡± I said. ¡°We need to go get some regular clothes to blend in.¡± We stepped out of the ground floor apartment into the bright light of the afternoon. Checking the phone, I saw the time was around six-thirty. I remembered the location of a thrift store nearby and headed there. Guinevere and I got a lot of looks, it wasn¡¯t everyday people saw a seven-foot tall, armored barbarian and woman clad in full plate armor. Some people took out their phones, but I ignored them, pulling up YouTube language lesson. I started explaining the words being said to Guinevere. It might take a regular person years to learn a language, but we were Hero rank, our Mind attribute basically made it impossible to forget anything, and our Perception attribute let us process information faster than a supercomputer. By the time we¡¯d walked to the Thrift Store, she could already say a few passable phrases in English. From there she was able to just pick up more words based on context, and it started snowballing. I stooped down as I walked through the door, my helm put in my storage pouch.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. You need to watch how often you use that, Ares said. There isn¡¯t any mana in your world. Items have charge in them but once it runs out, you could permanently ruin them. What about Clarent? I asked looking down at the crystal hilt of my sword. That¡¯s¡­difficult to say, Ares said. It has its own energy source so it could probably be activated for a few million years and be just fine, Karnen said. But your other items you should put in storage as soon as possible to keep them from losing their effects. Guinevere and I walked through the rows of clothes. People moved away from us, the clang of our armor unsettling them. I grabbed a couple of plain extra-large t-shirts, some jeans and a hoodie and a pair of sneakers that looked like they would fit me. My bare feet reminded me of the loss of my boots but that was a small thing in comparison to the still burning hole in my soul from where Kalesa had ripped out her Dominion ability. I was still going on fumes right now, but despite the fact that I was pretty sure I could take a hit from a nuke and walk out just fine, I didn¡¯t feel safe. The world was too strange, too alien; I was a foreigner in my own world now. I needed to find some place where I could sleep and mentally adjust and settle myself. We went into the changing rooms and put on the new outfits. I just dropped several hundred dollars in cash at the checkout as we walked out, our armor in my storage. We turned the corner, going around the back. A cop car pulled up, blocking our path, and the officer stepped out looking at me warily. ¡°I got a call about indecent exposure and carrying weapons, two people matching your descriptions¡­¡± his words trailed off as he looked at Guinevere. ¡°There a problem, officer?¡± I asked my voice a low growl. ¡°Back up!¡± he snapped at me. ¡°I haven¡¯t moved,¡± I said my voice carrying a dangerous edge. ¡°I don¡¯t like your tone,¡± the cop said. ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit,¡± I said shrugging. ¡°That¡¯s it, you¡¯re under arrest,¡± the cop said moving forwards his hand resting on his pistol. ¡°Can we settle this peacefully?¡± Guinevere asked her English heavily accented. The cop licked his lips. ¡°I can think of several ways we could settle this¡­.¡± My hand clamped around his throat. The sound of thunder boomed as he blasted his pistol into my stomach again and again until the magazine went dry. His face was a bright red as I slammed him against the car. He gasped and struggled, dropping the gun and grabbing my hand. I shook him and there was a sharp crack as his neck snapped. I dropped him and looked down at myself. My hoodie and shirt were full of holes now and I grimiaced. ¡°I just bought these,¡± I said. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to kill him,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°He shouldn¡¯t have insinuated that,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Worlds better off without cops like that.¡± Guinevere¡¯s hand went up to chocker around her neck. ¡°You don¡¯t think this is the cause of¡­¡± she asked, her voice unsteady with guilt. ¡°Don¡¯t ever blame yourself for other people not being able to control themselves,¡± I said, cutting her off. ¡°That¡¯s like someone claiming they''re not responsible for rape because they were drunk. Just because someone feels lust for you because of that thing, doesn¡¯t make them any less responsible for what they do with those feelings.¡± ¡°What do we do now?¡± Guinevere asked, looking at the dead cop. I smashed the dash and body cam under my foot. ¡°We get a move on,¡± I said. ¡°We find some transportation and go upstate.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°My last foster parents,¡± I said. ¡°They might let us crash with them a few days.¡± I moved on, spotting a group of bike riders. I was feeling especially Terminator right now and moved up to them. ¡°How much for one of the bikes,¡± I said. ¡°And before any of you are stupid enough to ask, my wife is not on the table.¡± That last part was delivered with a glare. The bikers looked me over, their eyes lingering on the bullet holes in my outfit. ¡°How much are you offering?¡± one of them asked. ¡°Do you take gold?¡± I asked dropping a small sack heavy with golden rings, coins and other jewerly. The biker took one of the coins biting into it deforming the metal with his teeth. ¡°Holy shit, it¡¯s real,¡± he said. ¡°We got a deal?¡± I asked. ¡°Fuck it, take it,¡± he said tossing me the keys. I sat down and Guinevere swung on behind me. We didn¡¯t have helmets but considering the pavement would probably crack more than my skull, we were fine. We took off and headed out onto the highway. I wanted to avoid the more busy interstate where more eyes would be on us. While I¡¯d destroyed the body and dash cam, I wasn¡¯t stupid enough to think I¡¯d gotten rid of all evidence. However, I didn¡¯t think there were enough missiles in the country to prove much of a threat. My skin was harder than any known material in this universe. The drive took around five hours and night had fallen by the time we pulled up outside my foster parents house. Memories of sneaking out to meet my girlfriend briefly flashed through my mind, but they didn¡¯t carry the same pain as they once had. I pushed them aside and walked up the drive, Guinevere sliding her hand into mine. A dog started barking and the lights on the porch flashed on. The door opened and my foster mom looked out. She stared at me, her face turning white. ¡°Mark? Is that you?¡± she asked. ¡°Hello, Mrs. Cath¡­¡± I said but my words were cut short as she rushed out and wrapped her arms around me. ¡°Peter!¡± she shouted, and I felt the wetness of tears on her face. ¡°It¡¯s Mark.¡± My foster father stepped out of the house and stared at me. ¡°Where have you been?¡± he asked, and I felt his arms wrap around me. The hug should have been crushing, but to me it was like the feeble hug of an old man. Everything was so fragile in comparison to me. ¡°Who is this?¡± my mom asked. Guinevere stood there and I watched her blush in sudden embarrassment as the attention turned to her. ¡°This is my wife,¡± I said, taking her hand and pulling her forwards. ¡°Guinevere, I¡¯d like you to meet my family.¡± Chapter 170: The Old Me My foster¡­my parents set up the guest bedroom for me and Guinevere. I collapsed into the bed and Guinevere curled up next to me, her hair spreading over my chest like a waterfall of silk. My mind went dark as I collapsed into a void of thoughts. Eventually, the empty expanse of dreams was replaced by a burning city and the screams of men, women, and children dying. Numbers scrolled past my vision listing off every casualty as a beast roared in savage triumph. I jerked awake. It wasn¡¯t a vision this time; those were just memories of what I¡¯d done to Camelot. I put on a brave uncaring face to others but even I couldn¡¯t be unaffected by what I had done. I pushed aside the guilt; I had done what I had done, and if put in the same situation again I¡¯d do it all again. Knowing my enemies, I would be put in the same situation again, so this wouldn¡¯t be the last time my sleep was plagued by nightmares. I put on a fresh pair of clothes, it was around noon, and I was alone in the guest room. Guinevere was in the kitchen with my¡­mom. The realization that these people were my parents in all the ways that mattered was something the old me wouldn¡¯t have been able to understand. But I¡¯d changed, and that alone was evident by how I had to duck every time I went through a doorway. I¡¯d only lived with Peter and Amanda for a few years but they had been an anchor for me during the difficulties of high school, and the fallout of my disastrous first love. I leaned against the doorway as I silently watched Guinevere and my mom interact. ¡°Where did you and Mark meet?¡± she asked. ¡°We met in¡­I don¡¯t know your word for it. What do you call a place filled with monsters?¡± she asked. ¡°Monsters?¡± Amanda asked, turning to her. ¡°I forgot, you don¡¯t have those here,¡± Guinevere said flushing. ¡°Um, we were in a battle and¡­¡± ¡°Oh, you must have met online in one of his video games,¡± Amanda said. ¡°Probably best to let her think that,¡± I said entering the conversation. ¡°We probably don¡¯t want to destroy their conception of reality in one go like that.¡± ¡°What language is that?¡± Peter asked, walking into the room. ¡°Evaron,¡± Guinevere answered. ¡°And is that where you¡¯ve been?¡± Amanda asked. ¡°That is, difficult to explain,¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to ask about it last night but¡­ you¡¯ve changed a lot,¡± Peter said. ¡°You¡¯re taller, and by a lot. You¡¯re as muscled as a body builder and those scars. What have you gotten yourself into?¡± ¡°I was selected for a competition where I¡­ had to fight a lot of things, and people,¡± I said choosing my words as carefully as I could. ¡°My sponsor wanted me to win but wasn¡¯t happy with the way I was doing so and tried to push me to do something I wasn¡¯t willing to, so she kicked me out of¡­ the program.¡± ¡°So, you were in some underground fighting ring?¡± Amanda asked. ¡°Why would you do that to yourself, did they surgically alter you?¡± ¡°I would love to explain but you lack the frame of mind to properly grasp what I¡¯ve been through and how I¡¯ve changed,¡± I said. Peter was about to say more but Amanda put a hand on his arm. ¡°That¡¯s fine, just tell us when you¡¯re ready. I¡¯m glad your home.¡± Jeriah ran in from outside. They¡¯d had to keep him outside so I could get some rest as he flung himself in my legs. I smiled and bent down, running my hands through my old dog¡¯s fur. He whined, his muzzle digging into me as he wriggled under my hands.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°You should take him for a walk,¡± Peter said. ¡°My lunch is over, so I need to head back to work but I¡¯ll see you for dinner.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be here,¡± I promised. We made small talk for another hour. I could tell my mom wanted to ask more questions, but she held off, likely thinking that if she did ask, I would disappear again. I grabbed Jeriah¡¯s leash and started on a walk-through town. Just like my old house and apartment, everything seemed different. It hadn¡¯t been as pronounced as my old apartment since all my old furniture was gone, but the house had still been mostly the same. The town was different too, it had been over four years since I had been here and some businesses had changed, new buildings existed, and old ones were missing. I passed by my old high school. It still looked pretty much the same, the same brick exterior, the football and track field and the baseball field to the side, a statue of a rearing horse in front of its doors. It was summer so there was no school, but some kids were still on the field or had summer school. I moved past having no desire to walk those halls again. I kept moving, turning around to head back home. I passed by the town¡¯s elementary school. There must have been an event of some kind because parents were picking up their kids or dropping them off. I stopped to let Jeriah catch his breath and drink from a fountain as I waited for the crowd of screaming kids to pass. Once they¡¯d cleared out for the most part, I started moving again. ¡°Mark?¡± someone asked behind me. I didn¡¯t respond right away as it took a minute to remember that was my old name. ¡°Mark?¡± the soft female voice asked again. I turned my head and saw Sarah. She looked different but my old high school sweetheart was still recognizable. The freckles across her nose and face made her still look young and her bright eyes still had that mischievous glint to them. ¡°Sorry,¡± I said. ¡°You must have me confused with someone else.¡± I turned and kept moving. I arrived back at my house and let Jeriah loose. He was tired and sagged to the ground to take a nap. I was suddenly stricken with the realization of just how old he was. He wasn¡¯t the puppy I¡¯d known anymore and was in the last few years of his life. A conflict of emotions went through me, I should have visited my parents and not just cut myself off. I¡¯d been selfish only thinking about my own pain. I¡¯d left my dog for years and was basically a stranger now. But what right did I have to mourn the inevitable death of my dog. I¡¯d killed so many people who I didn¡¯t even know the names of, but I felt more guilt and sorrow over the death of a dog? A car pulled up outside the house. ¡°Mark, I know it¡¯s you,¡± Sarah said. I sighed. ¡°It is not,¡± I said. ¡°We need to talk, I have things I need to say to you,¡± she insisted. I sat down on the porch and turned to look at her. ¡°You don¡¯t even know who you¡¯re talking to anymore,¡± I said. ¡°The things you needed to say were for a different person.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Sarah said. ¡°I hurt you, I hurt you in a way I knew would hurt more than anything.¡± I shrugged. ¡°That pain is gone now.¡± ¡°It gone?¡± she asked disbelievingly. ¡°I¡¯m married now,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m about to be a father, I¡¯ve seen things you can¡¯t imagine and done things that you only can. I thought I might feel that old rage if I saw you again but¡­ I just don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Do you forgive me?¡± Sarah asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I said with another shrug. ¡°What you did was wrong, but now¡­. I just don¡¯t care. If you need forgiveness, I¡¯ll give it to you, but it only matters to one of us.¡± ¡°What happened to you?¡± Sarah asked. ¡°I heard you died?¡± ¡°I did,¡± I stated. ¡°Mark is dead, you¡¯re talking to his ghost. now I¡¯m just Mordred.¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking like you joined some cult,¡± Sarah said looking at me with trepidation. The porch creaked behind me as Guinevere stepped outside. ¡°Who is this?¡± Guinevere asked me. ¡°Sarah, this is my wife Guinevere,¡± I said. Guinevere wasn¡¯t wearing her veil, her unearthly beauty on full display. She looked at Sarah and the light of recognition flashed in her eyes. She had seen my memories back in the Underlands and Sarah hadn¡¯t changed enough to be unrecognizable. ¡°This is her?¡± she asked me. ¡°Why is she here?¡± ¡°I wanted to say I¡¯m sorry; I wanted closure,¡± Sarah said, feeling very awkward and self-conscious in front of Guinevere. ¡°Then you¡¯ve done what you came here to do,¡± Guinevere said coldly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you around my husband again.¡± There was something in Guinevere¡¯s words that conveyed just how grave a threat that was and Sarah quickly got back in her car and drove away. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Guinevere asked sitting down beside me. ¡°Yes and no,¡± I said. ¡°Its nothing to do with Sarah; I thought I might feel something when I talked to her but¡­ I just didn¡¯t. But I did realize how selfish I was, hiding from my pain. I should have come home and spent time with my parents. They deserved more than what I gave them.¡± Guinevere leaned her head against my shoulder. ¡°Your world is foreign, but it has its own kind of beauty.¡± ¡°We might be here awhile,¡± I said. ¡°So, we should try to enjoy our rest and see as much of it as we can.¡± Chapter 171: A Grave Descision Arthur landed atop one of the skyscrapers of Camelot. The city was a ghost town. Those who had survived had left, fleeing to towns and cities away from the thousands of corpses that filled the city. Even from where he was, Arthur could hear the buzzing of billions of flies feasting on the bodies of men, women, and children. The millions of corpses stirred as he looked down upon the undead army. The flies chewing at their rotting skin didn¡¯t bother them as they moved about collecting weapons, their glowing baleful gazes sweeping the streets for anything living to tear into. Two days ago the dead had started raising and they had kept raising more and more. Camelot, despite the massacre that had just occurred, was not cursed ground so there could only be one reason for the mass numbers of undead. A few hundred or thousand could be easily explained, but the millions would only be the result of one man: the Necromancer. Arthur continued to survey the undead horde. Somewhere among that mass of death was the Necromancer but where was he? Other Champions had tried to kill him before. Some had died while others had wiped out his forces, only for him to escape every time. Arthur continued to scan the area moving from rooftop to rooftop until he saw the undead start rising in power. They went from simple ghouls, zombies and other base undead to Wraiths, Death Knights and hulking masses of skeletons. Arthur crouched and looked at the mass of abominations. Finally, he spotted who he was looking for: A dark robed figure, though he couldn¡¯t identify him at this range, but his gut told him this was who he was looking for. Jumping off of the roof, Arthur activated his wings and they snapped out just before he hit the ground, the gears of his Atlas armor whirring as he charged forwards. Excalibur flashed out and slashed through the figure, but a ghoul toppled to the ground in two pieces instead. ¡°So,¡± a sibilant voice whispered from the horde around him. ¡°The King of Camelot finally returns. You failed to strike down the Warlord and now you¡¯ve come to fail again.¡± A wave of black energy washed over Arthur, and he could feel his body weaken as debuffs plagued him. Golden light suffused him as he pushed out the debuffs and empowered himself. A death knight attacked him from the front and he blocked the swing of its sword, but then a wraith came in and its sword passed through the Atlas armor, digging into his flesh within the metal shell. Arthur continued to cut down undead and spirit alike again and again. Soon he was atop a mountain of corpses only the heavy weight of the Atlas armor keeping him from just slipping and falling on his face or back. More and more spectral blades continued to pierce into his flesh as his body grew weaker and weaker. Minutes dragged by, but eventually, Arthur sagged to his knees. Undead piled on him, their weight too heavy to throw off. Cruel, mocking laughter echoed through the silent ghost of a city as the Necromancer walked forwards. ¡°Was that the best you had?¡± Jas¡¯trel asked. Arthur looked up, reading the description of the man he had come here to kill.
Jas¡¯trel, the Spirit King, Champion of Mournresh, Gifted- humanoid/bone-fey, Exarch, Rank 1,054
¡°You are as arrogant as they say,¡± Jas¡¯trel said shaking his head. ¡°You aren¡¯t even Exarch rank and you come to challenge me alone. I thought it was a trick, but I searched the city and you are all alone. I¡¯m almost insulted, at least you gave the Warlord the respect of bringing an army to fight him.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Mordred taught me a lesson,¡± Arthur panted. ¡°If you want to gain strength, you have to reach above yourself to reach the stars.¡± ¡°And how is that working for you?¡± Jas¡¯trel asked with amusement. ¡°I got you out of hiding didn¡¯t I,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Face me, Jas¡¯trel.¡± The Necromancer stiffened as the notification popped into his vision. ¡°Gravitational Forces,¡± Arthur said. The weaker undead around him just popped as they were crushed by the weight that landed on them. Buring golden light exploded out from Arthur incinerating all the undead within a hundred feet of him. A wraith on a spectral horse charged forward, hitting Arthur with a lance. Arthur smiled inside his Atlas armor as one of The Necromancer¡¯s minions attacked him. He flashed forwards in an instant, Excalibur swinging down. The Necromancer tried to teleport, but Gravitational Forces kept him locked down. He tried to block but he was just a thin boned fey with only his flesh and blood empowering his attacks while Arthur was fully empowered by the suit of Atlas armor. Excalibur couldn¡¯t cut through the artifact staff, but it batted it aside and kept on moving, cutting right through The Necromancer. Since one of his minions had broken the duel, he was vulnerable to the damage and died in a single stroke of the rank V artifact sword. The Necromancer¡¯s body collapsed to the ground.
Righteous Zen: (Rank 1); To enact justice for the fallen is why you were called, dispassionate and unfeeling, the rage of your enemies only empowers you. When faced with an enraged enemy and you remain calm, their Might, Speed, and Toughness are reduced by .5% per second while this ability is active, and they remain enraged.
Each rank up increases your Spirit Attribute by 2.
Cost: 7 Mana per second Casting Time: Instantaneous
Undead collapsed around Arthur in droves. Not all as some had enough of their own internal energy to continue without their master. Now undirected, they charged the nearest living creature, Arthur, and were met by the sword. After a few more hours. . . --- Jeriah roared, collapsing the tunnel behind them as they kept running. Syvia waited for him and he glared at her but couldn¡¯t stay angry. ¡°I told you to keep running with Irina,¡± he told her. ¡°I¡¯m not going to leave you,¡± Syvia said, her golden wolf eyes flashing with defiance, but he could read the fear behind them. Hammering echoed behind them as the forces of Camelot by Lancelot continued to hound them. Jeriah¡¯s shoulders sagged. They had been on the move for so long, but they still hadn¡¯t shaken their pursuers. The Dogs of Camelot is what they had taken to calling them as just like a blood hound, they never gave up. ¡°You must go,¡± Jeriah told her. ¡°I¡¯ll hold them back.¡± ¡°I will not leave you to your fate alone,¡± Syvia refused. A deep growl filled the tunnel as her father came back down the tunnel. ¡°This is not a battle for the young,¡± Korsis said. ¡°Go, I will buy you an hour. Keep collapsing the tunnels behind you.¡± ¡°Father¡­!¡± Syvia protested. ¡°Go!¡± Korsis said, his voice rising with anger and authority. He softened his look and pulled his daughter into an embrace. ¡°I love you my little cub, but I have many children I must protect and this is a father¡¯s duty, not that of his children.¡± ¡°Sir,¡± Jeriah said bowing his head to him. ¡°I am entrusting my daughter to you alone, now,¡± Korsis said. ¡°Protect her with your life.¡± ¡°I will,¡± Jeriah promised. He and Syvia ran, turning as they heard the stone behind them shatter. Korsis stood with a giant wolf at his side as the soldiers of Camelot rushed towards them. A howl ripped down the tunnel promising blood and pain with more and more howls answering it. The chief of the Wolf Clan was joined by numerous howls as wolves with fur made of moonlight emerged from the shadows. Jeriah couldn¡¯t see the battle anymore, but he heard the screams of men and yelps of wolves as the two armies clashed. It would be a bloody cost, but the outcome was already certain: Korsis would take many with him, but he had already paid with his life even if he still drew breath. Jeriah stopped, and though it tore him apart inside to leave his father-in-law behind, he stomped and roared, cracking the walls and ceiling. He and Syvia ran on as the tunnel collapsed behind them, again sealing Korsis¡¯ fate. Chapter 172: Beating Hearts Two-and-a-half months later the burning in my soul still persisted. It had gotten slightly better but at this rate it would be years until I was back to where I was before Kalesa ripped out the gifts she had given me. I sat on the back porch running my fingers through Jirah¡¯s hair as he lay in the sun. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my anger to meditate and block out the pain, but this wasn¡¯t something physical. The pain continued but I pushed it to the side. I¡¯d experienced this kind of pain all my life, it was like the pain of heartbreak or losing a loved one but without the emotions tied to that pain just a deep-seated ache that refused to go away. My other hand dropped the last of the cymanthia berries into a jar. ¡°Two-hundred-and-sixty-three,¡± I said finishing counting. ¡°Divided by two that¡¯s enough for one-hundred-and-thirty-one more days for me and Guinevere or just about four months.¡± Not long enough for Guinevere to give birth, Karnen said. You¡¯ll need to find a way home or another way to stave off mana starvation before then. I¡¯d been putting this off for long enough already just enjoying my time to relax and not be threatened by constant imminent death for a change. ¡°What do we have to do that?¡± I asked. To turn your world magical or return home? Karnen asked. ¡°Either, I suppose,¡± I said. Your Storm Soul, Ares said. Your best bet is finding a storm and absorbing the lightning from it to power a portal to get back or bleed off enough mana to jumpstart your world. ¡°Jump start?¡± I asked. You put a little bit of mana in the world and creatures and plants will start to evolve with it, they¡¯ll produce it naturally and over time more and more mana will occur naturally. ¡°I don¡¯t exactly have time to wait around for my world to evolve into an environment I could survive in,¡± I said. There is another way, The Shadow growled. That made me pause, the Shadow never talked. It might snarl or let out some jab or cutting insult or threat, but it never talked. ¡°What?¡± I asked. I was hesitant to ask this darker part of myself what it thoughts were and wondered if I really wanted to know. Magma Hearts, The Shadow said. Go into a major city and just let loose. A few hundred thousand kills will create enough mana to really kick start this world.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I¡¯m not going to start a massacre,¡± I said flatly. Why not, we did it before, the Shadow growled. Have you forgotten Camelot already? ¡°There was a reason for Camelot,¡± I said feeling a hot flush of anger and shame. The Shadow laughed. You can lie to yourself, but you can¡¯t lie to me. You loved that battle, I felt it within you, you wanted to really cut loose and prove to everyone that they were fools to ever have crossed your path. This world is unprotected you could be a god here, the god. ¡°I¡¯ve never had any desire to be worshiped or to rule,¡± I said. ¡°I just prefer to be on top instead of the one taking orders, I¡¯m already on top her.¡± This world is weak, it deserves to be conquered. The Shadow snarled. Did Kalesa take your balls when she removed you as the Warlord or did you lose those before. ¡°Enough!¡± I snapped. ¡°That is not an option. I¡¯ll get some weather app or something and try to get to the next storm to test things.¡± --- Amanada took Guinevere to an ultrasound clinic. Guinevere was nervous and had made her pick a clinic with only female doctors. She thought back to a conversation she¡¯d had with Modred about her amulet. Her hand went up to the artifact pressed against her throat, Modred could destroy Artifacts but doing so while she was wearing it¡­. She hadn¡¯t seen it but she remembered him talking about when he first destroyed an Artifact and it exploded. Considering the chocker was around her throat she wouldn¡¯t live through that experience. Even the mana drain wouldn¡¯t effect the Artifact, well not for at least a hundred years or so. Its internal power stores would be more than enough to bear the strain of being active in a mana zero environment for years before it started to even show any signs of suffering. ¡°Just lay down here,¡± the nurse told her. She was an elderly woman who reminded her of Mistress Talsbrand. The thought she would never see her old governess again momentarily pained her but she didn¡¯t even know if she had lived through the battle of Camelot or not. She might have escaped with the other palace servants but¡­ there was no way to know. The women bustled around her and she relaxed as Amanda chatted with them. The doctor placed the sensor on her belly and she laughed as the smooth gel was applied. ¡°So we have a healthy baby girl here,¡± the doctor said with bright smile. Guinevere looked at the screen. A tiny baby in fuzzy black and white glyphs was shown. Guinevere felt her heart skip a beat as she touched her belly and seeing her baby girl react to her touch. All other words that were said disappeared as she could do nothing but watch her little baby filled with a terrible resolve to never let anything happen to that baby. ¡°Have you thought of a name for her yet?¡± the doctor asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t know she was a girl,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I actually haven¡¯t thought of any names seriously yet.¡± ¡°Well, you should discuss it with your husband,¡± she said. ¡°She¡¯ll be here before you know it.¡± Guinevere looked out the window as Amanada drove them back home. She¡¯d known she was going to be a mother; she had carried this child for more than three months already but¡­ It hadn¡¯t been until she¡¯d seen those little hands and feet. Heard her baby¡¯s heart beating in time with her own that the weight of that full responsibility had come to her. She found Mordred in their room, his stylus in hand working with Mab. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked. Guinevere curled up beside him laying her head on his shoulder. ¡°I love you,¡± she said. Mordred smiled and set Mab aside. ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked. ¡°I just saw our daughter today I¡­. I feel like I could fight the world if I had to,¡± she said. ¡°Our daughter?¡± Mordred asked his hand traveling down the skin of her back sending a shiver through her as he moved it over the taught skin of her swollen belly. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re going to have a little girl,¡± Guinevere said closing her eyes and relaxing into the strength of Mordred¡¯s touch. Chapter 173: Too Small a World for Us Guinevere sagged against me, the sheets soaked with our sweat. We lay there for a time just catching our breath; even superhumans could get exhausted after doing all the things we just did. ¡°Do you like this world?¡± I asked. Guinevere lifted her head, putting her chin in her hands as she propped her elbows on my chest and looked me in the eyes. ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked. ¡°If you could choose to live here, or go back¡­home¡­your world,¡± I said, not sure how to phrase it. ¡°Which would you pick?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Without mana¡­¡± ¡°What if I could give you a choice,¡± I said, cutting her off. ¡°Which world would you prefer to live in?¡± Guinevere was silent, her eyes searching mine. ¡°You, me, we don¡¯t fit in this world,¡± she finally said. ¡°I love your parents but all these other people¡­ they¡¯re inferior to us. I hate how that makes me sound, but it¡¯s true. I can think faster than their computers and see more colors then they know exist. I can run faster than their fastest cars and their weapons can¡¯t even scratch my skin.¡± ¡°We would be safe here,¡± I said. ¡°Our daughter would be safe here too.¡± ¡°Why are you asking this?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I could¡­I don¡¯t know how to explain this very well, I can create mana and let it bleed off me. After enough mana enters the atmosphere, plants and animals will start absorbing it and evolve and produce more naturally. I could make it so we could live here without mana starvation.¡± ¡°But we would still be the only ones with abilities,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Our daughter would be superior to everyone else in the world. She couldn¡¯t play with other children since if she got angry, she might accidentally kill them. When she grew up, there would be no man for her to find who matches or exceeds her strength to fall in love with.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just too small a world,¡± I said with a sigh as I agreed with her. ¡°We don¡¯t fit into this world either,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°It might be something we don¡¯t like admitting about ourselves, but we love the thrill of the fight. There is no challenge for use here, no mountains we would struggle to climb.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know if I should change Earth like that,¡± I said. ¡°This world isn¡¯t perfect. In many ways it¡¯s the same as yours, but everyone is equal here, at least in terms of birth. There isn¡¯t a class of superhumans ruling over them. They don¡¯t have monsters snatching them up from the sky or killer trees.¡± ¡°The world would balance out in time,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But do I have the moral authority to dictate the fate of an entire world and condemn thousands, if not millions to death just because they don¡¯t adapt quickly enough to the change some outsider inflicted on them?¡± I asked. ¡°People change the world without other people¡¯s permission all the time,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°The real question is: would this world be better if it had magic?¡± ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it would be worse, but I don¡¯t think it would be better either.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s not an option,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°No,¡± I agreed. ¡°That leaves opening a portal to return home.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your plan for that?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I¡¯ve got a lot of mana potions,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m going to wait for the berry I took to wear off, then I¡¯m going to drink them and find a storm and absorb its lightning. Hopefully it still works even though we aren¡¯t on your world anymore.¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Be safe,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself too hard; you¡¯re still suffering from what that bitch did to you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I assured her. ¡°The payback for her will be when we get back home.¡± --- I drove a black corvette down the interstate. I¡¯d gotten some storm chaser equipment and was moving straight towards it. It wasn¡¯t a particularly large storm but this was just a test. I looked down at the stopwatch on my wrist; three-minutes, that¡¯s how long I had left until the twenty-four hour protection from the berry wore off. I could see the storm in the distance but it was still a long ways out. My foot pressed down on the gas pedal as I uncorked one my mana potions in the cupholder. I waited, ten seconds, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one¡­ I felt my mana open back up and my abilities start draining the little mana in my system. Shutting them off now, Voidra said deactivating any passive ability that used mana. I downed the potion, then another and another until I had about three thousand mana in my system. ¡°Turn on Storm Soul,¡± I said. That single passive ability turned on. I looked down at the weather radar and watched as the storm which was heading from east to west took a hard left and went straight for me as my ability dragged it my way, altering the very winds to accommodate me. I gunned the gas and drove towards the sky that began flashing more and more with blinding light. Rain and hail pelted the roof of the car and I stepped out before it got fried. The rain pelted me, drenching me in seconds. The roar of thunder filled the sky and I held out my hands, lifting my face to the clouds. Cars started honking as they moved around my car. That honking stopped as they watched a bolt of lightning hit me. There was no System message here to tell me of the increase to my mana, but I could just feel it. I also felt my dipping reserves jump up. Another bolt hit me and another as I strode into the storm. More and more bolts of lightning hit me and my mana pool, which had been nearly empty when I got to Earth, was slowly refilling. I was only around half when the rain just cut out as the storm was exhausted. The clouds dispersed and the storm ended. I looked down at my hands which only tingled from the sensation, but my clothes were nearly burned away entirely. I looked back at the interstate to see cars backed up for a mile as people stared at me, their jaws slack with awe. I ignored them for now, closing my eyes as I chanted the words I had devised with Mab and drew a series of runes in the dirt. Mana drained out of me rapidly, but I cut the spell off; I could already tell I didn¡¯t have enough. I needed almost double my maximum to cast this spell. I would need to be in the middle of a massive storm to cast this so my mana would recharge as I did it. A group of helicopters rapidly approached me and began circling overhead. ¡°Voidra,¡± I said. ¡°What are you reading from them?¡± Fear, and aggression, she said. They will attack you any second. I sighed but I¡¯d always expected something like this. Countries liked having monopolies on power, and having a literal superman walking around was bound to make certain people very nervous. They dare to try and strike you, the Shadow growled. You should strike them down immediately to show them their place. ¡°There is no need,¡± I said. ¡°They are literally no threat to me. But I think I¡¯m going to have to leave the car behind. I don¡¯t want to lead them back to my folk¡¯s place.¡± I started running as some asshat in a megaphone ordered me stand down. I heard the loud chorus of gunfire and the bullets hitting my skin, but it was like getting a handful of sand thrown at you. I was a blur as I moved across the ground. I kept running, the helicopters fading into the distance. I¡¯d stolen the car and bought the equipment inside with cash in another town so there was nothing to tie me to it. I made sure to move through various woods and forests cross country to lose any pursuers. Once I arrived back home, slipping in through the back, I put on another pair of clothes. I stepped out of my and Guinevere¡¯s room into the kitchen where my parents were watching the TV. A news broadcaster was going over footage and I watched myself from a third person perspective as I absorbed the storm. They heard me enter the kitchen and my father muted the TV. There was an awkward moment before my mom finally spoke. ¡°Mark, wha¡­ who are you?¡± she asked. I sighed. I¡¯d been putting this off but this conversation had been a long time coming. ¡°You call me Mark but¡­ Mark is gone, I was changed when I left, my memories altered. When you say that name, I don¡¯t even recognize it as having been mine; I don¡¯t remember even being called it. To me it¡¯s not who I am or even who I was.¡± ¡°Then who are you?¡± Peter asked. I met his eyes, letting him get a good look at the multiple pupils and irises and the dark brown and yellow coloration that made them. ¡°I am Mordred. I was the champion of the Goddess of War & Conquest. I was the Warlord, thousands died by my hand or because I gave the order. I gained and have power you can¡¯t even understand.¡± ¡°Then why are you here?¡± Amanda asked. ¡°Why did you come back?¡± My shoulders sagged. ¡°Because I¡¯m not the Warlord anymore. I¡¯m not Mark the broken boy either. I¡¯m just Mordred and I don¡¯t know who I am nor what my purpose is. But I know I can¡¯t stay here, in this world. I can¡¯t live here without destroying it, and that¡¯s not my choice to make.¡± I left them to think over my words as I sat on the back porch, watching the sun set while running my hands through Jirah¡¯s fur. Chapter 174: Healing Old Wounds After three-and-a-half months of absorbing every storm that came near us we were finally ready to leave. I¡¯d been keeping an eye on the weather, in particular a hurricane headed for the southern tip of Florida. Now all that was left to do was say my goodbyes. I stroked Jirah¡¯s head; I would have to leave him behind again. While he was a good dog he wasn¡¯t some wolf meant to live his life in battle and the world I was going to wasn¡¯t meant for him. Standing up I moved inside Guinevere was seated at the dinning table with my parents. They all looked at me in the way that people do when they have been talking about you. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked. ¡°Mordred,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯ve been talking with Amanda and Peter and we think it would be a good idea for you to go and visit your parents before we leave.¡± ¡°My parents are here,¡± I said flatly. Guinevere stood up and crossed over to me putting a hand on my chest. ¡°I know you can¡¯t forgive them but¡­ you¡¯re going to be a father soon,¡± she said her voice soft and gentle. ¡°You need to settle your grievances with your own father before then.¡± The muscles all across my body tensed and I fought the urge to lash out at her and my parents and tell them to fuck themselves. That was the old part of me, but Mark was gone and I needed to leave him behind in this world fully this time. ¡°Fine,¡± I agreed not happy with it but knowing she was right. I looked to my foster parents. ¡°Do you have an address?¡± Guinevere and I hugged my parents goodbye before getting in our car and leaving. It was a six hour drive to where my biological parents lived but it wasn¡¯t to far out of the way. I turned on the radio and listened for a minute as people talked about ¡°the Storm Man¡± before changing it to a rock station. All the speculations were about government super soldier programs or aliens from another planet. If those conspiracy theorist only knew how tame their imaginations really were. Guinevere fell asleep and I let her as the miles flew past. We pulled into a small town and I found the cozy neighborhood and the house matching the address we¡¯d been given. It was a Saturday and there were two cars in the open garages and several children were running around in the driveway and yard. I parked in front and looked at the house. ¡°Are you ready?¡± Guinevere asked me. ¡°No,¡± I said opening the door and stepping out. I looked at the children, three of them were clearly not related to me but one of them reminded me of a much younger version of myself. Guinevere took my hand pulling me along as we walked up the sidewalk to the door. She knocked and my mother answered. ¡°Yes,¡± my mother asked. ¡°Do I know you?¡± She looked different, older definitely but softer, happier. I¡¯d been so blinded by anger when I¡¯d seen them last when I was in court that I hadn¡¯t noticed the changes. Gone was the bags under her eyes and the thin frame with shaking hands and timid voice as if she might break at any moment. ¡°Its me mother,¡± I said stepping out of the blinding light of the sun so she could see my face. ¡°M-mark?¡± she asked hesitantly reaching out a hand towards my face. I took a step back. ¡°Is my father here?¡± I asked my voice completely calm and dispassionate. ¡°Yes,¡± my mother said. ¡°Please come in.¡± Guinevere and I were seated on a couch as my mother went out to the backyard. My father came in, he to had changed, he looked more fit his hair had developed white and grey hairs giving him a salt and pepper look his face full of the same salt and pepper stubble. ¡°Mark!¡± he said rushing toward me. ¡°Have a seat,¡± I said my voice filled with the confidence that my words would be completely obeyed that I had learned while in the other world. My mother and father sat. My younger siblings wandered in, they didn¡¯t sit down but I saw a boy who had to be around fifteen-or-sixteen, a younger sister and the youngest I¡¯d seen outside. ¡°Where have you been?¡± my father asked. ¡°You disappeared and the state labeled you a missing person, we thought you died.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been in Talba,¡± I said.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I¡¯ve¡­never heard of that country,¡± my mother said. ¡°It might as well be a different world,¡± I said dismissively. ¡°That¡¯s not why I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°Then why are you here?¡± my father asked. ¡°I need to know¡­,¡± I said. ¡°Why wasn¡¯t I good enough?¡± ¡°Mark you were never the problem,¡± my mother said. ¡°It was us, I¡¯m just glad your alive and home¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the prodigal son,¡± I snapped cutting her off. ¡°I haven¡¯t come home; I¡¯ve just come to yours. To be the lost son have to have something to lose, you never gave me anything!¡± My nails dug into my skin as I clenched my fists so tightly. Black mist began to drift off my skin but Voidra turned off the passive ability before it could take full effect. Guinevere laid a hand on my arm and I unclenched my fists. ¡°I asked Mordred to come here and talk with you before we went back home,¡± Guinevere said taking over speaking for a moment while I composed myself. ¡°Mordred?¡± my father asked. His eyes flicked over her hand and mine seeing the golden bands on our ring fingers and the swell of her belly. If Guinevere¡¯s chocker caused him any lust he was able to hide it, which was lucky for him. ¡°That is who I am,¡± I said. ¡°Mark is gone, I¡¯m just¡­paying my last respects to him.¡± ¡°Why are you talking like your about to die?¡± my mother asked. ¡°You only just got back.¡± ¡°where I am going no one can follow,¡± I said. ¡°for all intents and purposes it is a sort of death. I am here to get closure, so I¡¯ll ask again, why wasn¡¯t I good enough? Why did you hate me?¡± ¡°Son..Ma¡­Mordred,¡± My father said stumbling as he tried to find some way to address me. ¡°I didn¡¯t hate you, I hated myself. I was afraid, afraid you¡¯d become just like me.¡± ¡°You had a funny way of expressing that fear,¡± I said flatly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I hurt you,¡± my father said reaching out then letting his hand drop. ¡°Its too little too late,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what expected, or wanted when I came here but it still hurts. I thought I moved past it but I don¡¯t think this kind of hurt ever goes away but what hurts even more is seeing them,¡± I said looking at my brothers and sister, complete strangers to me. ¡°To see that you always could change, but I wasn¡¯t worth it; that I was too broken for you to love as your son.¡± My father flinched as if I had struck him. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever be able to forgive you,¡± I said letting out a heavy breath. ¡°but I¡¯m done hating you, I¡¯m not going to be your failure anymore.¡± ¡°You were never a failure,¡± my father said his voice cracking. ¡°Maybe,¡± I said shrugging feeling a bit of perverse pleasure at the emotional pain I was causing him. ¡°But I wasn¡¯t who I was supposed to be either. You never showed me how to be a man, how to be father, and I needed those lessons. I¡¯ve had to learn the hard way my entire life and I¡¯ve fought it every step of the way, but it¡¯s not about me anymore, and it¡¯s not about you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Mark¡­¡± my father said his voice breaking. ¡°I should have¡­¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter anymore,¡± I said my voice not angry this time but regretful. ¡°It¡¯s too late for you and me. I wish it wasn¡¯t, but it¡¯s been too long, there are too many things between us, we¡¯ve each changed so much we aren¡¯t even the same people anymore.¡± ¡°Mark¡­¡± my mom said. ¡°We¡¯re your family.¡± ¡°You were,¡± I said taking Guinevere¡¯s hand in mine. ¡°But I have a new family now. This won¡¯t make any sense to you, but I don¡¯t belong to this world anymore, Mark is gone, I am someone different now. I didn¡¯t come here to mend bridges but to close a door.¡± My father met my eyes and managed to not flinch away as he met the otherworldly gaze of my inhumane eyes. He extended his hand. ¡°If that¡¯s what you needed to say, that¡¯s what I¡¯ll take. I¡¯m sorry son, sorry I couldn¡¯t give you more or change what I did and didn¡¯t do.¡± I took his hand so fragile compared to the strength I possessed. ¡°Goodbye father,¡± I said. ¡°Goodbye Mordred,¡± he said. --- Exar¡¯kun closed his wings and dropped onto the mountainside. Vone slid off his back rushing to his side and yanking free the glowing javelin from his chest. Exar¡¯kun heaved for breath as she laid a hand on his chest and purged the wound of the curses and debuffs. ¡°They¡¯re getting better,¡± Exar¡¯kun growled as he shrank to human size. Vone looked out over the cliff edge to the forest, or what was left of it of the Ancient Forest. Huge swathes of it had been burned away in the months of fighting. Rumor had it that Lancelot still pursued some of the former forces of the Warlord below ground. The goblin war chief, Juruk, and his calvary had broken out from below the ground and had been waging a guerilla war against the knights of Lunara and Camelot. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I was on their side once,¡± Vone said looking at the human and ecological destruction. She¡¯d helped to rescue the women and children from the Myrmidon clans as the knights had tried to take them away to be ¡®re-educated¡¯ and ¡®integrated into civilization¡¯ all of which were just code for being turned into vassals and brood mares to be split among noble families with the rest of their spoils of war. Arthur was gone back to Camelot, but he had left his army behind to keep order. Exar put a comforting hand on her shoulder drawing her close to him. She leaned back as she looked down at the burning forest of the battle they¡¯d just been forced to flee. They had extracted a heavy toll but Exar had still nearly died in the fighting. ¡°What are we doing?¡± Vone asked. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Exar asked. ¡°I mean what is our goal?¡± Vone asked. ¡°We¡¯ve helped people flee, but that¡¯s all they can ever do now. This forest was their home, where will they go now? Dracon even now the knights of Camelot are recapturing cities from the Magi. They can¡¯t go to Camelot in the west or Lunara in the south. There is the lifeless deserts to the east and kingdoms beyond them but¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Exar¡¯kun admitted. ¡°Ever since I hatched its always been a struggle for survival, the thought of not fighting¡­ its never even been a luxury I¡¯ve had. There was always another battle to fight, you had to get stronger, or something would come along to take your rank points and surpass you.¡± Vone touched her stomach. She hadn¡¯t planned on getting pregnant, she supposed neither had Guinevere but these things just happened. Vone realized she would never win this game of the gods, she was already to far behind and didn¡¯t have the military or political backing of the other champions but she still wanted to do good. Now that didn¡¯t even seem like it was something she could do. ¡°Mordred will come back,¡± Exar said. ¡°It¡¯s been months,¡± Vone said. ¡°How are you still so sure.¡± ¡°Because he is a man of honor and duty,¡± Exar said. ¡°And those are his vassals, try as he might to deny it he cares in his own way for them. When he sees how they have been treated in his absence¡­ this world will burn.¡± Chapter 175: This is What Power Looks Like I stood on the edge of the pier. I¡¯d gotten a haircut from Guinevere using one of my spearheads I¡¯d created. I wanted to have a proper haircut this time I entered Talba. The wind rustled my hair and over my clean shaven face and skin. I¡¯d put my armor and cloak back on, the heavy fur only bending slightly in the wind. I could see dark clouds on the horizon spread out as my pupils telescoped and looked at the flashes of lightning. Guinevere walked down the pier slipping her cellphone into a pocket. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to do with this in a few hours,¡± she said. ¡°I checked the weather, three storms just converged together, some scientists are calling to make a new category of storm to classify it as. Now everyone¡¯s going crazy, I even heard a Walmart got looted.¡± ¡°It''s Florida,¡± I scoffed. ¡°A Walmart is always getting looted; it''s like their thing.¡± ¡°Not very sensitive to the plight of the masses,¡± Guinevere said, taking my arm. ¡°A billion dollar corporation doesn¡¯t really qualify as ¡®the masses,¡¯¡± I objected, pulling her against me. ¡°Besides, they are the reason I¡¯m leaving. I can either do some property damage with a storm or start killing millions of people to generate enough mana to make this world survivable.¡± ¡°What?¡± Guinevere asked in shock. ¡°Something the Shadow suggested,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s why I don¡¯t listen to him.¡± ¡°You''re forgetting the third option,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± I said, my voice as hard and unmoving as a mountain. ¡°Self-sacrifice has never been my thing, and it wouldn¡¯t be just me, it would be our daughter. How many people would you kill to keep her alive?¡± ¡°All of them,¡± Guinevere whispered, she pulled against me tighter. ¡°Your wrong about one thing.¡± ¡°Just one?¡± I asked. Guinevere laughed. ¡°Maybe more, you are very self-sacrificing. You just have to know them first to care enough to sacrifice for them, but you always put yourself between them and whatever comes their way.¡± ¡°Sometimes I wonder if you know the man you married,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°Someday I hope to introduce the two of you,¡± she said, looking up at me with a big grin on her face. The wind picked up and I turned, walking down the pier with her hand in mine. ¡°Hey don¡¯t you people know there¡¯s a storm coming in!¡± a police officer shouted as the last of the beach goers fled to their cars. ¡°Trust me, I¡¯m well aware,¡± I said. ¡°Go home officer.¡± ¡°You need to get out of¡­¡± he yelled, I could understand his frustration but I also didn¡¯t have time for this.¡± ¡°Go home officer,¡± I said, activating Voice of the Chasm. He stumbled back his face paling. ¡°I¡¯m not in any danger here officer,¡± I said, my voice going back to normal. ¡°Me and the storm are well acquainted.¡± ¡°The Storm-man,¡± he said, running for his vehicle. ¡°I hate that name,¡± I said with a sigh. My cloak went wild in the wind and the land was cast into pure darkness. A brilliant flash of light broke the sky, striking me. I shivered as the jolt went down my spine and I felt the power grow within me, my internal mana jumping up. Guinevere stepped away, giving me space but staying within a dozen yards; we had no idea how long I would be able to hold the portal open for. Another bolt of lightning struck me, then another. Again and again the sky hammered down, most storms I¡¯d absorbed lasted for at most ten minutes, this one kept going. ¡°Everything good to go?¡± I asked. Mana is nearing capacity, but of course your capacity is also rising, Voidra said. Start the spell now, Karnen said. You still don¡¯t have near the mana capacity to do it all in one go. Pace yourself and hope this storm lasts long enough to cast this. Once you¡¯re halfway through¡­This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°There¡¯s no going back,¡± I said, finishing the statement. ¡°The spell will continue to take mana until it¡¯s completed or it has to use my lifeforce to complete itself.¡± You still don¡¯t think it was a good idea to not tell Guinevere about that? Ares said. ¡°No point worrying her, and she might have tried to make me do something else,¡± I said. ¡°This is about my daughter. Even if I die¡­ she needs to go to a world where she¡¯ll fit in, and that rules out this one.¡± I began the chanting. It was a painful use of mana but I compressed a circle of sand and carved the runes for the portal on it. I smiled, imagining what the government would make of the alien artifact I was about to leave behind. More and more lightning hit me, my mana not recharging at the rate it was being expended but it was slowly going down. It kept going and going, the mana flowing in with every strike of lightning only to be spent just as soon as I got it. I did my best not to keep track of time and just focus on the spell, but when your brain is the equivalent of a supercomputer, you forget how to block stuff out. Spell at twenty-five precent complete, Voidra said. Mana is at sixty-eight percent, Karnen added. At the rate its getting replenished, there isn¡¯t going to be enough to complete the spell. ¡°Push ethereal into it,¡± I said. You know that risks altering the final result, Ares cautioned me. If he doesn¡¯t, he¡¯s dead, Voidra said. I winced as my flayed soul burned, the ethereal mixed with the mana flowing through my veins. Soul damage was a real son of a bitch, but the pain helped me focus. I kept pushing mana and ethereal out. The winds picked up even faster as the storm reached its extinction event, its violence precipitating its final moments. I had maybe a minute or two left. ¡°Current status?¡± I asked. Spell is at ninety-percent complete, Karnen said. Provided that the ethereal energy didn¡¯t significantly alter its effect, it should complete just before the storm ends. I nodded and continued. The air began to shimmer and twist above the compressed circle of stone. It stabilized and compressed into a black shimmering circle of energy. It twisted the mind to look upon, somehow being both two-dimensional and three-dimensional. A touch on my arm signaled Guinevere¡¯s presence. ¡°Are we ready to go home?¡± she asked. I breathed out a heavy breath. ¡°Yes.¡± I swept her into my arms. Guinevere kissed me and I stepped through the portal into a vortex of black with swirling lines of silver and white. We spun about in the vortex going around and around, end over end. I was glad my first teleportation Kalesa had sent me through had been instantaneous, or at least that¡¯s how I¡¯d experienced it. She¡¯d probably just wiped my memory of it so I wouldn¡¯t go insane or knocked me out for the entire process. Now, at least, my Endurance kept me from hurling the contents of my stomach out, but I was worried about the baby. I held Guinevere closer while I tried activating Storm Fall to fly but I couldn¡¯t activate it. It wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t have mana, it just didn¡¯t work; none of my abilities did. A white light appeared before us, the end of the portal. --- Kalesa¡¯s eyes snapped open atop her ziggurat. Something was trying to enter Talba and pierce the wall. ¡°System, what is that?¡± Kalesa asked.
Subjects Mordred (former champion, humanoid/human, Rank: Hero) and Guinevere (humanoid/human, Rank: Hero), Unknown (humanoid, Rank: Mortal) are making their way through a portal
¡°He¡¯s still alive?!¡± Kalesa snapped.
A subject must be alive to pass through a portal
Kalesa sighed, the System had not been made to deal with jokes, sarcasm or really any emotion. ¡°How did he open a portal?¡± she asked.
Subject outside of System zones, speculation¡­ Subject Mordred used ability Storm Soul to turn lightning to mana.
¡°It¡¯s been months,¡± Kalesa said. ¡°How would he have survived without mana for that long to even get to a storm?¡±
Subject Mordred had cymanthia berries in his inventory. Taking them would have enabled him to suspend mana needs indefinitely as long he had a supply of them.
Kalesa grit her teeth. The System had granted him a title called Ghost Path that made him immune to scrying by divine entities, even her. Only her connection as his patron had let her get immediate updates to any changes to his Status sheet, but now, it was irrelevant. ¡°He is a champion no longer. You know the protocol: no outside entities can enter Talba, put up the Wall.¡± --- The light approached faster and faster. I closed my eyes as it grew too bright to bear and then, the light went out. I opened my eyes to see a semi-translucent wall of prismatic energy. It was still bright but nowhere near as bright as the other light had been. We were still headed straight towards it and I knew instantly we wouldn¡¯t be getting through it. I curled around Guinevere and rolled, turning my shoulder to impact first. Wham! Bones which were stronger than any substance on earth cracked and broke, but I cushioned Guinevere from the worst of it. When I touched the wall, it was like an electrical jolt to the brain
Entrance to the world of Talba has been denied by its local gods, any attempts to enter will result in immediate annihilation¡­
The message cut off as I rebounded off the barrier, we were still spinning but we weren¡¯t moving forwards now. We fell out of the vortex, my bones beginning to knit back together, but the state of my body wasn¡¯t my biggest concern right now. The lights disappeared, everything going dark. Going dark didn¡¯t do it justice, there was nothing; we continued to fall into a black abyss. I activated Storm Fall and this time my abilities did work, whatever had blocked them was now gone now that we were out of the portal. . . . We were out of the portal now. My mana was regenerating, not like in a storm, but my normal rate, I could feel it. ¡°Where are we?¡± Guinevere asked, her voice seeming so small as it just went on and on not bouncing off anything. Home, Voidra said. We were lost in the Void. Chapter 176: I Think Therefore I Am ¡°We¡¯re in the Void,¡± I told Guinevere. I looked about me in warry apprehension. I¡¯d never been here physically only when my soul had been drifting from my body when I was at death¡¯s door. ¡°How did we get here,¡± Guinevere asked. I could feel her arm tighten around me as one went over her stomach protectively. Her voice was also getting higher as she panicked. I had to understand that while I was relatively familiar with the Void to others it was the place of nightmares. ¡°Gods put up a barrier around Talba,¡± I said. ¡°We bounced right off and something went wrong with the portal.¡± I sighed. ¡°It¡¯s my fault, I had to use ethereal to open the portal. I knew it could alter it but I took that risk anyway.¡± ¡°What would have happened if you hadn¡¯t?¡± Guinevere asked. I was silent. ¡°What would have happened?¡± Guinevere asked again, her tone firmer this time. ¡°It would have sucked out my life force to complete itself,¡± I said. ¡°You idiot!¡± Guinevere said, slapping the back of my head. ¡°You knew that could happen, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I admitted. ¡°And I didn¡¯t tell you because I knew this was how you would react.¡± Guinevere opened her mouth then closed it. ¡°What do we do now?¡± ¡°Try to find a way out,¡± I said looking around. ¡°And avoid being eaten by what¡¯s in here.¡± -- We kept flying. I felt like I was moving down and forwards but¡­ no real gravity, no sky I didn¡¯t even know if there was ground. We just kept drifting and drifting. There is ground here right? I asked Voidra. I don¡¯t know, Voidra said with a mental shrug. What do you mean you don¡¯t know? Ares asked. You¡¯re a native. I¡¯ve never been physical, she said with a mental shrug. I¡¯ve picked up a rock that was supposedly from here, I thought. But the System implied that matter here was rare. The System doesn¡¯t exist here, Voidra scoffed. What would it know about what is and isn¡¯t common here. You¡¯re implying that matter isn¡¯t uncommon here, Karnen butted in. I thought you said you didn¡¯t know, which is it. I don¡¯t know if there is ground or isn¡¯t ground, but matter and immaterial are more thoughts than reality here, Voidra clarified. I paused. Explain that more. We aren¡¯t physical beings so we don¡¯t create a physical environment, Voidra said. We also don¡¯t see the way you do so no light or color either. Your saying the Void is the way it is because you don¡¯t imagine it as something else? Ares asked. Not exactly, but close enough, Voidra said.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. My feet touched down on ground. Where did that come from? Karnen asked. I imagined it, I answered. The ground was spongy, and it sort of felt like I was sinking into it but I could stand on it. It was black but there were lines of silver and white light running through it like black marble. Guinevere slid out of my arms and stepped onto the ground. It rippled whenever she took a step like a stone skipping across a pond. The silver and white lines twisted and contorted in the black semi-solid stone as if they were living beings before returning to a state of stillness. They produced light, not much but it was a faint glow that stood out in the complete darkness of the Void, it also showed that the ¡°ground¡± only extended out for a few dozen yards in either direction. I took a step, the ground rippled and I noticed the edge of the ground spread out from my feet, it wasn¡¯t far just a yard or so. I took a step and it happened again, I looked back but the stone created by just imagining it hadn¡¯t receded. I bent down running my hand over the black marble stone. It was smooth as glass with a vaguely slippery feeling as if it were both somehow both wet and dry. ¡°Void-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said. Nothing. I could turn raw energy into crystal, I could break Artifacts and compress them down to the size of my thumb but this¡­ nothing. ¡°What is this?¡± I asked. ¡°Why can¡¯t I affect it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not real, neither are you technically,¡± Voidra said. ¡°Who said that?¡± Guinevere asked, whirling around. ¡°How did she hear you?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m real,¡± Voidra said. ¡°So, the ground and him aren¡¯t real but you are?¡± Karnen asked. Guinevere stared at me and I could feel the panic she¡¯d been suppressing rising up. ¡°It''s just the spirits in my head,¡± I said. ¡°For some reason you can hear them now, you couldn¡¯t a moment before which is weird.¡± ¡°Not really,¡± Voidra said. ¡°This is the realm of souls, physical reality doesn¡¯t exist here.¡± I was suddenly starting to panic. ¡°What are you saying?¡± I asked. Voidra let out a sigh. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to tell you this because it would make you panic but¡­ your body isn¡¯t here, it''s nowhere. You have a body right now because you think you have a body.¡± My head snapped to Guinevere and her stomach. ¡°You''re saying I have a body because I¡¯m self-aware, what happens to a baby with no concept of self yet?¡± Guinevere¡¯s hands went to her stomach pressing in and I could feel her panic matching my own. ¡°She would still have a concept of existing,¡± Voidra said. ¡°She can hear you, she feels warm, all of that. She¡¯ll keep feeling the exact same way because subconsciously that¡¯s what she expects to keep feeling.¡± I relaxed. ¡°So she¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°For now,¡± Voidra said. ¡°You''re going to have a problem though.¡± My shoulders tensed. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Guinevere is still going to give birth soon,¡± Voidra explained. ¡°You can¡¯t stop that, both your mind and body expect that to happen, the problem is going to occur when your idea of giving birth conflicts with your daughter¡¯s sense of what it means to exist. Something like this has never happened, there isn¡¯t any precedent for this.¡± I started pacing back and forth. ¡°Status,¡± I said, trying to reach out to the System. Nothing. ¡°I was able to check your Status the moment you touched that barrier,¡± Ares said. ¡°What do you want to know?¡± ¡°What¡¯s my maximum mana and mana regen rate?¡± I asked. ¡°Eight-million-three-hundred-sixty-two-thousand-five-hundred-and-thirty, mana regen is one-hundred-twenty-five per second.¡± Ares answered. ¡°My mana was empty when I got here,¡± I said. ¡°That means I have a little over eighteen hours before it¡¯s refilled to max and I can open a portal.¡± ¡°Only you can¡¯t open a portal,¡± Karnen objected. ¡°I kept track last time you¡¯re a million short on the mana you need.¡± ¡°Can I imagine a storm and use that?¡± I asked Voidra. ¡°Not a real storm either,¡± Voidra said. Guinevere took my hand and squeezed it. I could feel a tremor run through her but she kept the fear off her face. She was doing the exact same thing I had done suppressing her own fear to try and make me feel better. I breathed out, pushing out the fear. ¡°There are creatures in the Void,¡± I said. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Millions, billions even,¡± Voidra said. ¡°My parents and their peers create us out of thought, we are formed from emotions after feeding on lost souls, there are more of us than can properly even feed.¡± ¡°Good,¡± I said. ¡°Shadow, I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve been quiet but you¡¯ll be happy to know we¡¯re going with your plan.¡± ¡°His plan?¡± Ares asked with apprehension. ¡°Group us as many enemies as we can and try to force open a portal,¡± I said. ¡°You did read the part where the System said it would annihilate you if you tried to go back right?¡± Karnen asked. ¡°It¡¯s a risk we have to take,¡± I said. ¡°So what do we do?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°There aren¡¯t any landmarks, where do we go?¡± ¡°That way,¡± I said pointing. ¡°Why?¡± Voidra asked. I blinked. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said slowly. ¡°I just feel something in that direction.¡± ¡°Then follow it,¡± Voidra said. ¡°This is the Void; it is based on thought, feeling, sub-conscious desire.¡± Guinevere and I started walking into the endless, fathomless, infinite. Chapter 177: A Voice Crying out in the Wilderness I picked up Guinevere and carried her so she could sleep. Since nothing was real she didn¡¯t need to sleep, but since her mind told the body (which didn¡¯t exist) that it did need to sleep, she needed to sleep. Thinking about how the Void worked made my brain hurt. For endless miles behind us, the path of the ¡®ground¡¯ stretched out, the glow it gave off letting it be seen from leagues away. One step after another I moved towards the thing I was feeling; it was slowly getting stronger, but it was still just a feeling. ¡°Where are the creatures of the Void?¡± I asked. ¡°You said there were tons of them; it''s almost been eighteen hours and I haven¡¯t seen one.¡± ¡°My siblings move where there is food,¡± Voidra said. ¡°They could show up at any time, or it could take¡­.your left, incoming.¡± I snapped around, igniting Clarent. Guinevere woke up and slid to her feet, blinking her eyes rapidly. My eyes narrowed as I scanned my surroundings, there was nothing¡­there. The creature wasn¡¯t exactly a creature. I clutched my head as I looked at the amorphous creature resembling everything and nothing. ¡°What is that?¡± Guinevere asked, drawing her own sword. The amorphous creature slowly became more fixed, taking on a more humanoid form. It cocked its head, looking at us. ¡°What is that?¡± it asked, its voice a perfect facsimile of Guinevere¡¯s voice. ¡°Don¡¯t talk to it,¡± Voidra said. ¡°It feeds off reality, its why we eat souls: the more you give it, the stronger it gets.¡± The creature¡¯s head cocked again, and I winced as a barrage of sensations hit me. They weren¡¯t words, but sound, smell, touch, and taste all at once. ¡°The hell was that?¡± I asked. ¡°It asked me a question,¡± Voidra said. ¡°Kill it now.¡± The creature took a step back, but I lunged forwards and drove my sword through it. There was no blood or guts; it just fizzled out leaving a sort of stain in the air. ¡°That was easy,¡± I said. ¡°That was just a newborn,¡± Voidra said. ¡°He couldn¡¯t even talk.¡± ¡°You called it an it before, now it¡¯s a he?¡± Karnen asked. ¡°When he spoke, he made a decision about who he was,¡± Voidra said, her voice melancholy. ¡°I could have been that spirit right there.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re not,¡± Ares said. ¡°You¡¯ve changed as much as Karnen or me or Mordred; whatever you are and whatever they, you are aren¡¯t the same.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Voidra said, but her heart wasn¡¯t in it. ¡°Anymore of them nearby?¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± Voidra said. ¡°You know I¡¯m going to have to kill a lot more of them, right?¡± I asked. ¡°I know,¡± Voidra said. ¡°I¡¯m not really upset. He didn¡¯t even understand what was happening when you killed him. The concept of death ¡­ it takes us a long time to learn that. You¡¯re not the only predator here; there aren¡¯t enough souls to feed on, so when we get hungry, a lot of newborns like him get eaten.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you want us to talk to it ¡­ him?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Like I said, we learn from emotions and observation of physical reality,¡± she said. ¡°My parents are among the most ancient of my kind; trying to fight them would be like trying to fight a mountain.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I can do that,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Do you want me to not fight them? Do they matter to you?¡± ¡°My mother and father put me in you to just get rid of me; not enough food for them and the rest of my siblings,¡± Voidra said. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to kill them, but if they find you here, you¡¯ll have to.¡± I nodded. ¡°So be it. --- We kept moving, following the sensation. The closer we got, the more distinct I could feel it. The feeling wasn¡¯t exactly like hearing, but it was as if something was calling my name, sort of like how if you¡¯re wearing headphones and someone says your name, you¡¯re aware you¡¯ve been addressed even, if you can¡¯t tell by whom or any of the words actually said. It was just a voice or something analogous to that, softly crying out my name over and over again.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. My mana hit maximum and as a test, I tried to open another portal. I quit before it even got to one percent completion. Karnen was right, I was short on the mana needed and the spell would complete before I hit my mana regen got me the extra one-million I needed using up my life-force. Guinevere wouldn¡¯t let me sacrifice myself for her, but even if she did, there was no guarantee we would get past the System this time. I needed to figure out my plan for that, but so far, I was coming up with nothing. It¡¯s all well and good to say you¡¯re going to fight the unstoppable force, but it¡¯s another thing to actually be an immovable object. Guinevere was asleep again; it was easier like this and she needed the rest with the baby. I just walked along thinking and scanning the dark, endless surroundings for any other void creatures. ¡°If there isn¡¯t enough food for you, why does your kind keep making more?¡± I asked. ¡°Why did you and Guinevere have a baby?¡± Voidra asked. ¡°We didn¡¯t plan on it,¡± I said with a snort. ¡°We just did the thing that creates babies because it was fun and we¡¯re in love, the baby was just something that happened. But you don¡¯t have bodies here, not the same way. At least, there aren¡¯t any ovaries or other plumbing that would do that. If everything here is thought based, there must be an intention on your parents part to create children.¡± ¡°Why would you assume that?¡± Voidra asked. ¡°So much of what you do is unintentional. You breathe unintentionally, yet you can stop that with an effort of will. Eventually, parts of you not controlled by your conscious mind force you to do so even if you''re trying not to.¡± ¡°You''re saying that the creation of children is an involuntary process for creatures of the Void?¡± I asked. ¡°We value companionship,¡± Voidra said. ¡°Maybe more than creatures of flesh and blood. We feed on emotions because we have a great deal of difficulty producing them ourselves. When two of my kind bond, they do it for life. That¡¯s more literal here, as if one dies, so does the other.¡± ¡°Why bond at all, then?¡± Karnen asked. ¡°Because we are creatures of pure thoughts,¡± Voidra said. ¡°We have no bodies to reach out and touch with, no hands to feel with, no lips to kiss with. All that we have are our souls, and that bond is more precious than anything. But that bond, like any process, has byproducts, those being offspring.¡± ¡°So, you''re saying making babies is like breathing?¡± Ares asked. ¡°You can hold your breath, but it eventually just happens.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Voidra agreed. ¡°We¡¯re getting closer,¡± I said, feeling the sensation grow stronger and stronger. Guinevere opened her eyes. ¡°Why are you running?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not¡­¡± I said, then realized I¡¯d broken out into a sprint. I hadn¡¯t even realized I was doing it. Something had just pushed inside me, and I¡¯d started running. ¡°Void spirits up ahead,¡± Voidra warned. Guinevere slid down and I extended Clarent¡¯s blade. The ground continued to spread out around our feet as I approached a trio of prismatic figures crouched in a circle around another creature. They jerked their heads up like ghouls disturbed from their meal. ¡°What is it?¡± asked one in a somber voice. ¡°It¡¯s another soul,¡± another of them responded in a cheery falsetto voice. ¡°We can stop savoring this one and move on to another meal.¡± ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with this one,¡± a snarling angry one said. ¡°Its flavor feels wrong; too strong, and I can¡¯t feel its energy leaking off it.¡± I got a look at what they were gathered around. The form of a young boy curled up in the fetal position, his form ghostly and transparent, his clothes and armor in tatters, his legs and arms gangly. His hair fell to the side, and I recognized him, Kalin. Clarent swung down but the Void spirit blocked it with a mantis-like blade of dark energy. It hissed and drew back as Clarent continued to burn and pass through, but it managed to avoid being bisected for now. ¡°It¡¯s strong,¡± the angry one said. ¡°Too strong. What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± ¡°Souls are all weak,¡± the cheery one said as it disappeared, reappearing behind my back as if with some teleportation ability. Guinevere blocked the slice of its claws, driving it back. I charged forwards, scattering the two other void spirits. The somber toned one had a spear materialize in one hand and drove it towards my chest. I batted it aside and cut off its arm. The void spirit howled and fell back. I stood over Kalin¡¯s soul and Guinevere stood at my back. The three void spirits began circling us but I didn¡¯t have time for their games. Scarlet lightning snapped from one to the other, and thiugh they weren¡¯t killed immediately it slowed them enough for me to cut through one and Guinevere another. The cheery one survived, yet when it screamed, its cheer was now gone as it tried to flee. I stretched out my hand and it froze. Its form wasn¡¯t exactly physical, yet it wasn¡¯t energy either. I used ethereal to power my Telekinesis as rage darkened my vision. I squeezed and compressed. There were no bones to break or organs to pop. Holding onto the void spirit was like trying to remember a dream after being woken up suddenly. Slippery as an eel, it tried to get free, but I wasn¡¯t having any of it. It ended in an instant, one moment screaming in agony, the next imploding in on itself. A small prismatic crystal the size of my pinky nail bounced on the ground, sending ripples across its glossy black surface. I bent down and picked it up. There was no system message to identify it, but I could only imagine what you got from compressing a being of pure thought into a physical object, or at least as physical as things came here. I put the crystal way and knelt by Kalin. ¡°Do you remember me?¡± I asked him. I reached down and touched his shoulder. I was afraid to do even that, afraid the slightest touch would cause him to drift apart like a patch of mist in a breeze. His face turned up and he shielded his eyes as if looking into the sun. ¡°Father, is that you?¡± he asked. ¡°No Kalin,¡± I said gently. ¡°It¡¯s me, Mordred.¡± ¡°You came for me?¡± he asked, his voice weak, like a man lost in the desert. I hadn¡¯t, me being in the Void a total accident. I hadn¡¯t even known Kalin was here. How many others were here? How many of the men and women who had served me and died for me, how many of those I¡¯d killed had been consumed or had little bits of their souls slowly being eaten like Kalin. But I had been drawn to Kalin. I hadn¡¯t known what I was following, but now that I felt it, I could feel dozens of other tugs at my soul. ¡°Yes,¡± I said to Kalin, pulling up his weakened soul to his feet. ¡°I¡¯m going to save you.¡± Chapter 178: The Lost and the Found Guinevere clutched to my neck as I ran. Now that I knew what I was feeling there was a sense of urgency to get there faster. I didn¡¯t go at a full sprint, though, more of a jog. Kallin moved beside me, but he didn¡¯t so much run as glide which made sense considering he was basically a ghost. ¡°You can¡¯t save him,¡± Voidra said, her voice so soft only I could hear it. ¡°Souls don¡¯t come back from the Void.¡± ¡°I did,¡± I said. ¡°You were never really here,¡± Karnen objected. ¡°You always pulled yourself up or got pulled back before you went here all the way.¡± ¡°My point is there is a chance for him,¡± I said. ¡°Not to be as he was,¡± Voidra said. ¡°At best he could end up like us, a spirit floating around your head and using your soul to keep us tethered here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not much of a life for the kid,¡± Ares said. ¡°And it¡¯s already a bit crowded in here. I¡¯m not sure if you could take your soul being stretched anymore.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll find a way,¡± I insisted. We moved on for a few more hours in silence. I found it sort of odd that I had to traverse physical space in an infinite non-physical realm, but it probably had more to do with me than the actual space. I thought I needed to move through space, therefore I did. I arrived at the scene of dozens of souls being devoured by void spirits. Not even giving them the chance to speak or act this time, I just attacked. I activated Void Asura and spun through them. Ideas and thoughts were destroyed with a slice of my sword or pierced through their metaphorical mass by my spear. I looked down on the shriveled, emaciated souls. ¡°Do any of you recognize me?¡± I asked. ¡°The Warlord,¡± croaked one, its voice like a desert breeze. ¡°Not anymore,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°You killed me,¡± one of them said, pointing their gaunt skeletal hand at me. ¡°In the Cursed Forest outside your black walls.¡± I blinked, the last battle I¡¯d fought in the Ancient Forest had been relatively recent. Kalin had died a month before and was nowhere near the state these souls were in. ¡°When did I fight you?¡± I asked. ¡°It was only a few weeks ago,¡± the soul spat. ¡°Have you forgotten already? Lady Guinevere led us against you¡­¡± I stopped listening after that. These souls had been here for over a year, back when I¡¯d only been Veteran rank before I¡¯d even met Guinevere. Why had I been drawn here, to the souls of my enemies? I closed my eyes, focusing on the feeling as the lost souls muttered curses at me. My connection wasn¡¯t with all of them. I wandered over and looked down at the form of a once massive man. He had been, still was, Jeriah¡¯s brother. He had tried to save my life but had died in the pit when we fell. I reached down and put my hand on him. ¡°Wake up, Ormias,¡± I said. The emaciated soul opened its eyes. ¡°How do you know my name?¡± he asked in a dry voice.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°I¡¯ve come to save you,¡± I said. ¡°I promised when you gave me your oath to follow me to stand beside you to the end and return your ancestral lands to you. I haven¡¯t completed that promise yet.¡± Ormias¡¯ weak hand clasped around my wrist as I pulled him to his feet. ¡°Mordred,¡± he said. ¡°You came for me?¡± I looked around at the other souls. ¡°I¡¯ve come for all of you, if you will follow me.¡± -- Despite having been the one responsible for killing them in life, not a single soul decided not to follow me. They all shuffled along behind me, the ground rippling with their many steps. We continued to follow the faint feeling I was getting in another direction now. ¡°What¡¯s our plan?¡± Guinevere whispered to me. ¡°I get you feel responsible for some of these souls, but what can you realistically do for them except provide a quick end to their existence?¡± ¡°Void entities feed on souls,¡± I whispered back to her. ¡°I need to kill tons of them to get enough mana to open up another portal.¡± ¡°So, they¡¯re just bait?¡± she asked in another hushed whisper. ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°If I can help them somehow, I will.¡± Guinevere squeezed my hand. ¡°You aren¡¯t responsible for their deaths, even if you drove your sword through their chest. It was their choices that led them to where they were.¡± Memories of the screaming and burning of Camelot went through my mind. So many people who hadn¡¯t chosen to take up arms against me had died there. Would Guinevere say the same thing then when we came across those souls damning me for my actions? The trek across the endless expanse of the Void continued. ¡°How did they last so long?¡± I eventually asked Voidra, partially to clear up my understanding but also to break the oppressive silence. ¡°Those souls were being devoured for almost two years. Kalin was like that for under one year and he¡­¡± Looking at the gaunt figure of Kalin, I couldn¡¯t finish the sentence. ¡°Time doesn¡¯t exist the same here,¡± Voidra said. ¡°You should know that from the description of Void Asura. A soul could be devoured in a week or it could take a hundred years back in the outside world, but all time is relative here. You could meet a soul who died a thousand years ago who thinks it¡¯s been a day since they were killed.¡± ¡°The more I learn about this place the less it makes sense,¡± I said. ¡°It hurts my brain just thinking about it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have a brain,¡± Karnen said. ¡°Hurtful,¡± I responded, though I could see Guinevere¡¯s mouth turn up from the corner of my vision. ¡°No, you literally don¡¯t have a brain here,¡± Ares said. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t feel any stress on your brain.¡± ¡°I must imagine that I should and so I do,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°No¡­¡± Voidra said, pausing at the end of her sentence. ¡°It doesn¡¯t work like that.¡± ¡°Sure it does,¡± I said. ¡°Guinevere needs to sleep even though she has no body.¡± ¡°No, she needs to sleep because her energy is growing another soul,¡± Voidra said. ¡°We go into hibernation here when we don¡¯t have enough souls to feed on.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a Void spirit,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Not true. Other than your memories and consciousness, you are a void entity as you¡¯re not made of flesh, you¡¯re a naked soul clothed only in thought, same as any other creature here.¡± ¡°Why is this relevant?¡± Ares asked. ¡°Because Mordred is feeling pain he shouldn¡¯t,¡± Voidra said. ¡°Its just a headache,¡± I said. ¡°You don¡¯t get headaches,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°You don¡¯t even feel pain. I know you don¡¯t have a body but that shouldn¡¯t change here.¡± ¡°Is this really that significant?¡± I asked. ¡°I think it is,¡± Voidra said. ¡°I think you¡¯re doing something Mordred.¡± ¡°Doing something? Do you all have to be so cryptic?¡± I asked. ¡°Every time you think about how the Void works, you get a headache,¡± Voidra said. ¡°Your mind is stabilizing the Void, forcing it to act how you think it should.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t Guinevere be getting headaches to if that was the case?¡± I asked. ¡°Guinevere doesn¡¯t have ethereal,¡± Voidra said. ¡°Your energy isn¡¯t Void energy, it¡¯s not mana, stamina, or Celestria either. It¡¯s somewhere in between all of those. It¡¯s thought made physically manifest.¡± ¡°And now I¡¯m, what¡­physically manifesting thought here?¡± I asked, looking down at the ground. ¡°Guinevere can do this too.¡± ¡°Try it,¡± Ares said. ¡°Try and visualize something Guinevere; a rock or blade of grass.¡± Guinevere stared at the ground for a minute, but nothing happened. ¡°When we walk, she also extends the ground,¡± I said, pointing out to the edges of the ground. ¡°No,¡± Voidra corrected me. ¡°You think that¡¯s what happens. It¡¯s a rule you created in your head, so you¡¯ve made it reality here.¡± ¡°Does this change anything?¡± I asked. ¡°Can I visualize a door or something out of here?¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Voidra said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure because there is no precedent for this. We¡¯re going to have to figure out exactly what it is you can do.¡± Chapter 179: A New Source Now that I knew what I was subconsciously doing, I started to notice the slow drain of ethereal. It was only ever one or two points a second, instantly replaced so I¡¯d never really notice it, but it was there. I tried messing with it, trying to push more ether into what I was doing or use less, but I couldn¡¯t do either. We arrived at the sight of another gluttony of Void Spirits. Once again I charged in, cutting through them with my weapons and abilities before they could acknowledge or react to my presence. The little crystals of thought dropped to the ground and I summoned them with Telekinesis, putting them into my storage pouch. I tried using Void-Dragon¡¯s Armory on them and I could alter them, but without the System to tell me what they were, I had no idea what I was working with. I looked at the souls searching for familiar faces. I caught a glimpse of some I recognized but most I didn¡¯t. ¡°Who were you?¡± I asked. ¡°Mordred?¡± a horse voice spoke. ¡°Rejiah!¡± Ormias said, his soul rushing forward and pulling up his twin brother. Rejiah¡¯s presence told me who all these souls were: this was from the battle against the World Bosses. ¡°Ormias?¡± Rejiah asked. ¡°You need¡­.¡± Even without the need for a body his voice was weak. ¡°You need to run.¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok Rejiah,¡± Ormias said. ¡°Mordred killed the things eating you.¡± ¡°No¡­he didn¡¯t,¡± Rejiah croaked out. ¡°The big one is¡­coming back.¡± ¡°Mordred you need to get out of here,¡± Voidra said her voice panicked. ¡°One of the ancients is headed your way.¡± I staggered as something analogous to a wall of sound hit me, smells, colors, sounds all pressed on my senses as I stumbled backwards, holding my head. A great sound shook my soul. The ground rippled as something moved within the darkness of the Void. It advanced forwards and the souls I had gathered fled before it. Clarent sparked to life in my hand as I straightened my back. ¡°Run Guinevere,¡± I said. ¡°No, not-¡± Guinevere began. ¡°I¡¯ll be right behind you,¡± I said, interrupting her. ¡°I just need to slow this thing down. Now run!¡± Guinevere only hesitated for another moment before running back the way we had come. ¡°You¡¯re not running away, are you?¡± Ares asked. ¡°What does it mean to run away in a realm with no real concept of physical space?¡± I asked. ¡°We kill this thing or we die.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Voidra said. ¡°But death is the more likely of those two options.¡± The ancient void entity got closer and closer, the space around it vibrating just from its presence, but the closer it got to me, the more its vibrations had less effect. I could feel the ethereal energy drain from me more and more as my sense of reality struggled with the un-reality of this Lovecraftian god. I couldn¡¯t tell what it was, how it manifested itself. The minor void entities were thoughts, but they were like books; this creature was like a great library. Its ¡°fist¡± impacted the ground and it shattered into a thousand pieces. I activated Storm Fall and soared into the air, twisting around the bit of nothingness that was its body. I slashed with Clarent but the Ancient didn¡¯t even react to the attack. ¡°How do you kill something like this?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s a living idea,¡± Karnen said. ¡°How do you kill an idea?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to kill the idea,¡± I said as plan started to form. ¡°I just need to keep it from changing, I need to impose reality on it. Ares how much ethereal do I have?¡± ¡°Three-million-eight-hundred-forty-three-thousand-one-hundred-seventy-one,¡± Ares replied. ¡°And your regen rate is seventy-six-thousand-eight-hundred per second.¡± The Ancient lashed out not just with its body, but also its mind and I could feel my soul start to erode as it tore at the concept of who I was, trying to unravel me. I was flung back, hitting the concept of the earth I had imposed in this place and shattering it beneath me. ¡°Spend all of it,¡± I said. I pushed out and the ethereal which had refused to answer me before came out in raging flood. The Ancient paused, its movements slowed. Its massive size began to shift, shrinking down, its unknowable form transforming into a rough humanoid shape. It looked down at its arms and its fingers curled and closed again and again. ¡°Interesting,¡± The Ancient said. ¡°It has been eons since the gods dared to fight us, even if you are a weak specimen of one.¡± I could finally understand the entity, but its words were like sledgehammers against my mind. ¡°I will have to consume you like them to keep your taint from corrupting this place,¡± the Ancient flashed forwards and I blocked the swings of its sword with Clarent as it drove me back with each titanic blow of its weapon. I hadn¡¯t destroyed the Ancient with that release of ethereal, but I had made it into something that might be killable. I wasn¡¯t interested in getting into a verbal banter with an eldritch god, but its words were intriguing and also showed this things perception of reality was off. The Ancient was fast and if it had a rank I would have put it at Demigod or above. The sword slashed up my back and I felt the piercing sting of agony. I hadn¡¯t experienced pain like that since I¡¯d unlocked Wrathful Meditation and it nearly broke my will to fight. ¡°You aren¡¯t alone,¡± the Shadow growled. ¡°Unleash us.¡± Void Asura activated and Ares used my spear to block the next attack. I spun and drove Clarent through its chest. It staggered backwards, one of its hands going to its chest. ¡°Unexpected,¡± it said. I opened my mouth and roared using Helheim¡¯s Scream and Voice of the Chasm; bits of the Ancient went flying but it stood unmoving. Our blades clashed again as we began a furious onslaught of attacks. I had to thank Arthur; if I hadn¡¯t been forced to hone myself to a razor¡¯s edge, I wouldn¡¯t have lasted a minute against this thing. We moved back and forth as it destroyed the ground and my mind recreated it. The Ancient surged forwards, breaking through my guard and grabbing me around my neck. I slashed and cut into it, slicing right through its arm, but it didn¡¯t fall away, the concept of missing limbs not something this entity understood. My soul started to erode away, and I could feel my energy draining into it I struggled but couldn¡¯t break free. I felt my energy drain and then touch¡­ something. Something powerful.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I grabbed it and pulled. The Ancient tried to pull back but now I had a hold on it, both physically and mentally as I dragged it towards me. I screamed as golden energy hit me. ¡°Stop, that¡¯s Celestria!¡± Voidra shouted. ¡°What?¡± I grunted but didn¡¯t stop pulling on the energy. ¡°It¡¯s the opposite of the void; it¡¯s pure reality to the void¡¯s pure thought. If you take that in, it will destroy you, turn you into a single thought made manifest, frozen in time,¡± she said. ¡°There¡¯s no choice,¡± Karnen said. ¡°He can¡¯t reverse it now. Feel it, the energy wants to consume him.¡± ¡°There is still one thing we can do,¡± Ares said. I screamed again as the energy I was taking in burned and twisted, but then my ethereal attacked it. I sucked it in, starting to consume and compress it, but there was too much to handle. My soul was too fractured and broken to hold it, the hole Kalesa had torn in it still a gaping wound. Then I saw those pieces of myself, the ability she had given me then ripped apart, never to be remade. I couldn¡¯t fix them, but I could use those broken fragments. Taking the shattered pieces of my soul, I pulled them into the vortex of energy. The Ancient began to scream and if I had ears, they would have bled. I kept pulling on the energy and feeding it into the roiling internal storm in my center. ¡°Find something to do with that energy,¡± I hissed through clenched teeth. ¡°Looking,¡± Voidra said. ¡°I have an idea and it¡¯s a risk, but you¡¯re dead either way if it doesn¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Do it,¡± I ordered. My soul burned and my body began to glow since I was only a soul in this place. The pain increased but I couldn¡¯t stop feeding on the Ancient. Then¡­
Void Asura, (Rank: 35): You have created a symbiotic instead of parasitic relationship with the spirits inhabiting you, through the use of an ability token you have changed this ability to make it somewhat compatible with the System. Through manipulation of your mana and stamina, they have created a third type of energy and can use it to manifest through your body and interact with the world.
Void Armor: You gain immunity to Void & Soul damage. The spectral arms created by the spirits residing in your soul when manifested appear armored, the armor has hardness 35 with an additional 1 hardness per twenty points of Spirit you have. Current hardness 44.
Void Edge: Your attacks while this ability is active deal Extreme Void damage and bypass 28 levels of hardness.
Void Soul: Like the beings of the void, you feed on the souls of others to grow in power; you Ethereal regeneration is increased by .05 and your max Ethereal is increased by 5 for every creature with a soul that you kill permanently.
Void Arsenal: You are able to bind 5 weapons to your soul letting you store them there and summon them and dismiss them at will. If you lose your weapons, they are transported back into your soul vault to be resummoned later.
Void Matter: You are linked to Void body and soul and are able to make the void manifest physically. For the cost of 10 ethereal, you can create 3 pound of Void matter, the matter will degrade overtime while outside of the void.
Void Shield: Time, space, and reality are not constant laws in the Void; when you take damage you can expend 100 ethereal to change the outcome of time and reality to negate all the damage taken in the past 7 seconds. Cooldown 50 seconds.
Void Soul: Your soul exists both in and out of your body, in and out of time, in reality and also not. While a soul exists, an entity is never truly dead.
Cost: 15 Ethereal per second Cast Time: Instantaneous
This ability should not exist, it will take 10x the normal amount of rank points for each rank up of this ability. Ranking up this ability does not advance any of your attributes.
I blinked in shock. ¡°Why am I seeing a System notification?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Voidra said uncertainly. ¡°But we don¡¯t have time to speculate.¡± The Ancient struggled to break free but now that I knew what it contained inside it, I wasn¡¯t going to let it go. It managed to bring its sword against me and our blades locked as I kept my grip around what passed for its throat. Our struggles threw us to the ground where we grappled for domination. The Ancient had around four or five arms but I wasn¡¯t just one entity, and my own void limbs grappled and beat it. There was no air to strangle out of its throat as I kept my grip and pushed myself on top, straddling its chest as I held it down and kept pulling out the energy. It wasn¡¯t just the golden energy of celestria¡ªsomething I didn¡¯t even know why or how this creature contained¡ªthe Ancients own energy, its life force, all came with it as I started to drain it just like it had tried to do to me. More and more ethereal poured out of me as I reinforced the reality of where we were. The shadow¡¯s claws ripped off pieces of the creature as Ares and Karnen held it down. Voidra helped me draw more and more of its energy out of it. The roiling storm in me reached another breaking point and I screamed in two parts agony and ecstasy.
Void Asura, (Rank: 40): You have created a symbiotic instead of parasitic relationship with the spirits inhabiting you, through the use of an ability token you have changed this ability to make it somewhat compatible with the System. Through manipulation of your mana and stamina, they have created a third type of energy and can use it to manifest through your body and interact with the world.
Void Armor: You gain immunity to Void & Soul damage. The spectral arms created by the spirits residing in your soul when manifested appear armored, the armor has hardness 40 with an additional 1 hardness per twenty points of Spirit you have. Current hardness 49.
Void Edge: Your attacks while this ability is active deal Extreme Void damage and bypass 33 levels of hardness.
Void Soul: Like the beings of the void, you feed on the souls of others to grow in power; you Ethereal regeneration is increased by .06 and your max Ethereal is increased by 6 for every creature with a soul that you kill permanently.
Void Arsenal: You are able to bind 6 weapons to your soul letting you store them there and summon them and dismiss them at will. If you lose your weapons, they are transported back into your soul vault to be resummoned later.
Void Matter: You are linked to Void body and soul and are able to make the void manifest physically. For the cost of 10 ethereal, you can create 4 pound of Void matter, the matter will degrade overtime while outside of the void.
Void Shield: Time, space, and reality are not constant laws in the Void; when you take damage you can expend 100 ethereal to change the outcome of time and reality to negate all the damage taken in the past 9 seconds. Cooldown 40 seconds.
Void Soul: Your soul exists both in and out of your body, in and out of time, in reality and also not. While a soul exists an entity is never truly dead.
Void Sight: You can see the weak points in reality where the Void presses into the Material realms.
Cost: 17 Ethereal Per second Cast Time: Instantaneous
This ability should not exist, it will take 10x the normal amount of rank points for each rank up of this ability. Ranking up this ability does not advance any of your attributes.
I collapsed to the ground, the Ancient now gone. There was no corpse, not even a crystal; it had just ceased to exist as I consumed every last part of what it had once been. There was a burning in my soul and I felt at once more powerful than ever, and the weakest I had ever been. ¡°What was that?¡± I asked. ¡°It was the energy of the gods,¡± Voidra said. ¡°I theorized that if you could use it with a bunch of the energy contained in rank points, along with ethereal and broken pieces of Dominion, you could push Void Asura to a higher rank.¡± ¡°How did a creature of the void even have pure reality in it?¡± Ares asked. ¡°You¡¯d think it would be poison to it.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Voidra said. ¡°But something that powerful could contain it, slowly unraveling it over millennia, and feed on it. I think you just ate the soul of two gods.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying that Ancient has been digesting a god for¡­how long?¡± I asked, pushing myself to my feet. ¡°There are no stories or even legends of any god ever dying,¡± Karnen said. ¡°And as powerful as they are, they couldn¡¯t hide something like that. It either ate a god from another world, or the six gods who made the System weren¡¯t really the first gods in Talba.¡± Chapter 180: Prodigal Daughter ¡°You said you were going to run!¡± Guinevere snapped, slapping me before pulling me into an embrace that would have killed anyone at a lower rank. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I said, ¡°and I have a better plan for getting out of the Void now.¡± ¡°You do?¡± Karnen asked. ¡°If you¡¯re thinking of trying that again, I¡¯m pretty sure you won¡¯t just have the one broken ability.¡± ¡°What¡¯s he talking about?¡± Guinevere asked. I quickly explained what had happened in the battle and how I¡¯d managed to push my ability, Void Asura, further towards rank fifty. ¡°Do you think you can get it past rank fifty?¡± Guinevere asked me. ¡°No,¡± Ares interjected. ¡°Karnen is right, currently that ability is being held together by threads of your soul. It needs weeks of recovery before you can even risk messing with it again.¡± ¡°But,¡± Voidra said, a mad intensity to her voice, ¡°your other abilities aren¡¯t. You could merge them with your ethereal and progress them.¡± ¡°The System said you had to upgrade one ability to rank fifty before you could go to another,¡± Guinevere objected. ¡°The System isn¡¯t here,¡± Voidra said. ¡°That¡¯s not entirely true,¡± I said. ¡°I got System notifications for upgrading Void Asura.¡± ¡°It was probably just a byproduct of the celestria,¡± Voidra said. ¡°Probably is not encouraging,¡± Ares said. ¡°But Voidra¡¯s plan does have some merit. If you could upgrade one of your main abilities like Void-Dragon¡¯s Armory or Black Rage¡­¡± ¡°Won¡¯t he have to fight another of those things, though?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I don¡¯t like this plan of tracking down ancient void entities that can warp this place around them.¡± ¡°You may not have to track them down,¡± Ormias said, walking towards me with the rest of the souls. None of them made direct eye contact with me, and there was sense of awe and fear that emanated from them. ¡°Why?¡± I asked, looking at this new behavior with apprehension. ¡°You burn like the sun,¡± Rejiah said. ¡°I can feel the power draining off you. It feels like I¡¯m slowly healing from just being around you.¡± ¡°Voidra explain this,¡± I said. ¡°They might be from your world, but they are just souls here,¡± Voidra said. ¡°They feed off soul energy just like void entities do. You are producing that energy, you always have. It¡¯s how I survived inside your soul without just consuming you. Now though, it¡¯s like comparing the heat of a candle to that of a forest fire.¡± ¡°And just like a forest fire,¡± Karnen said, picking up on what Voidra was saying. ¡°You¡¯re going to be visible for leagues away in the Void.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t physical space here,¡± Voidra said. ¡°It won¡¯t be leagues, almost every single creature in the Void will now be aware of your presence; they don¡¯t know what you are, but they will be aware of where you are.¡± I could still feel the pull of other souls out there, calling out to me. And if anything, their call had only gotten stronger, as if I had a veil over my senses that had been removed. ¡°Then we need to get moving,¡± I said. --Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Despite what Voidra had said, we were not beset by attackers. I walked for days, more and more lost souls joined the procession following me. Some I was led to, others I just came across either being fed upon or floating lost and afraid in the darkness. Some were my former vassals, many were old enemies, but not one rejected the aid I offered them. I suppose the person who had killed them was gone now; I wasn¡¯t the Warlord anymore. But if that wasn¡¯t who I was I didn¡¯t know who I was. ¡°What¡¯s the first thing you want to do when we get back?¡± Guinevere asked me. ¡°Eat something,¡± I said. ¡°I haven¡¯t tasted anything real in days.¡± I¡¯d tried to eat some rations but it was like Styrofoam in my mouth. The memory of taste just wasn¡¯t strong enough for me to make it real here. There was no real need to eat so it wasn¡¯t a problem, but if I was alone here, I could see myself quickly going insane from sensory deprivation. ¡°I want to go swimming,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Feel water against my skin and the let the sun dry it.¡± We kept up conversations like that, our words and minds the only real things in this place. I could already feel my memories of reality start to fade and every sensation started to feel less real. I let out more ethereal to stabilize the Void and bring it more towards permanency, but it was only slowing what was happening. More days passed as I gathered more souls, the energy I excreted slowly repairing their ravaged spirits. I didn¡¯t feel comfortable with the reverence they treated me with. I¡¯d seen it from Juruk, but he was a war crazed goblin and it had only made sense for him to revere me as some divine agent of slaughter. But most of these people had been my enemies and they now treated me as if I were¡­divine. The more I felt their adulation, the less certain I was that I had ever wanted to be a god. Yes, I¡¯d wanted to reach god rank, but I¡¯d never thought about being worshiped. I¡¯d barely ever used my army either, only gathering it as a byproduct of farming rank points. In the end they had been more liability than asset as I needed to exert so much effort to protect them. Now I was doing the same thing again, gathering others to follow me, but there were no rank points this time. We¡¯d been moving for weeks now; I couldn¡¯t say how long but it had to be months at this point judging from the swell of Guinevere¡¯s belly. I needed to get out of the Void but I¡¯d yet to see another of the Ancients and they still hadn¡¯t tracked me down. Tens of thousands of souls followed after me as I moved, the tugs on my soul growing less and less. Some disappeared before I got to them and I could only assume those souls had been devoured, but there was nothing I could do for them. I just pressed forwards as I sought out more of the ancients. ¡°Stop,¡± Voidra said. I froze, looking around. ¡°I think there is something to your right, but it¡¯s a long way off,¡± she said. I picked up my pace and started moving that way. ¡°Is it an ancient?¡± I asked. ¡°Not sure yet,¡± Voidra said. ¡°It¡¯s still so far away, I barely even noticed it.¡± The darkness changed. I couldn¡¯t tell what it was at first, but something stood out from the darkness until the ground ran into it. I pulled to a stop and ran my hands over it, looking up at the mountain. This was real stone, or as real as it got in the Void. I¡¯d known that stuff like this could exist here, but this was beyond anything I¡¯d ever expected to find. The stone began to change as the ground I walked on began to creep up, lines of silver marbling the stone traveling up and revealing the extent of the mountain before me. ¡°Void-Dragon¡¯s Armory,¡± I said. I carved stairs up the mountain as I ascended the glassy black marble. Mounting the top, I stood at the zenith and looked out over the black abyss. The black and silver path I had created stretched miles wide and disappeared into the distance, and the rest of the Void was a total and complete darkness that had never even known the concept of light. ¡°Something is coming,¡± Voidra warned me. I set Guinevere down. ¡°Where?¡± I asked. ¡°From above,¡± Voidra answered. I looked up as mass of stars appeared from the endless night. ¡°Daughter,¡± a female voice spoke, its words a suffocating force against my soul. ¡°Hello mother,¡± Voidra said softly. ¡°I¡¯ve come home.¡± ¡°Why have you returned?¡± ¡°My host was banished into this realm,¡± Voidra said. ¡°Then you should have devoured him,¡± she said, her voice full of disapproval and anger. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you give me a name?¡± Voidra asked her voice small and filled with a sense of loss I had never heard from her before.¡± ¡°What?¡± the ancient asked, confused. ¡°A name; why did you just throw me away without even giving me a name?¡± Voidra asked again, her voice becoming a little bolder. ¡°Because I did not think you would survive,¡± she responded, with no guilt or remorse in her voice. ¡°I thought so,¡± Voidra sighed. ¡°Now I must consume you and your host,¡± the ancient sighed. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have returned, there wasn¡¯t enough food for all of us, although I can see you have gathered up a great deal for yourself.¡± ¡°Enough,¡± I said. ¡°Voidra, do you have anything else to say to your mother?¡± ¡°No,¡± Voidra sighed. ¡°There would be no point; kill her.¡± Chapter 181: World Forge I rolled to the side as a massive fist slammed down. Unlike the ground I created, the mountain didn¡¯t shatter under the force of the strike. I let loose with scarlet lightning, but Voidra¡¯s mother didn¡¯t even react. Ethereal drained out of me as fast as I could create it as I fought against the forces trying to unravel my existence with un-reality. ¡°You should have kept my daughter out of this realm,¡± the ancient said. Its form began to shrink but it didn¡¯t become humanoid. Instead it was long and low to the ground, like some sort of beast. Prismatic stars shone in her fur and a sword of azure light appeared in her mouth. ¡°A fucking dark souls boss?¡± I asked. ¡°You could be anything and that¡¯s what you go with?¡± The ancient flashed forward, nearly bisecting me with the sword. I flipped over the edge of the blade and slashed along her flank with Clarent. Void Asura activated and Ares blocked her next strike on his spear. The ancient stepped back and cocked her head, examining me. ¡°I see my daughter has changed you greatly; you are almost like us, if greatly flawed in your creation.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I said dryly, using the time to gather more ethereal and release it into the environment. ¡°I would know your name before I slay you,¡± she said. ¡°It has been long since I have devoured one of the gods and I would know you before I do.¡± ¡°Why do you call me a god?¡± I ask. ¡°I¡¯m just Hero rank.¡± ¡°Rank? I know not of this,¡± the ancient said in its strange archaic way of speaking. ¡°I call you god because, like them, you are trying to impose reality here. This mountain was once one of their creations when they fought against us. In that time it was as large as a world, but we have eroded it to this and it too shall soon be gone.¡± ¡°My name is Mordred,¡± I said. ¡°Do you have a name or is that not something your kind gives yourselves.¡± ¡°My name is¡ª¡± What followed was a wave of sounds, smells, and sensations of every kind that carried the sense of some inevitable doom. ¡°You may have some trouble pronouncing it, your predecessors did. They named me Illumin¡¯jazal, the Devourer of the Stars.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just going to call you Illumin,¡± I said. ¡°It makes no difference to me,¡± Illumin said, and then she disappeared. Foresight warned me of the attack and I was already gone as she struck down, sending vibrations through the mountainside. I lunged forwards, driving my weapons into her side before I then twisted and yanked them free. She struck me with her head and flung me a dozen paces back until my momentum was stopped by the mountainside. The sword of azure light swung for me and I threw myself up into the air as it passed under my bare feet. The sword cut through the rock with no resistance, leaving a deep gash in the face of the cliff behind me. Illumin disappeared again and I froze as my Foresight showed me being attacked from thousands of different spots and positions simultaneously. Illumin appeared all around me, thousands of copies lunging for the attack. I roared and Voice of the Chasm shattered the illusions as a pair of heavy paws slammed into my shoulders and threw me against the mountainside with the force of two planets colliding. Stone cracked and we both went forwards as the top section of this part of the mountain gave way under the force of our attacks. I swelled in size as I activated Jotunn Slayer and threw Illumin off my back as she took chunks of my soul with her. I blocked the next strike of her sword on the blade of Thorn and struck back with Clarent, scoring another strike along her flank. Her attacks came from every direction and were never the same twice. Stars appeared in the lightless void above me and rained down, burning against my body and scouring the floating top of the mountain we stood upon. The broken sections of the mountain just hung suspended in the air, no longer moving forward or falling. There was no gravity here, no real reason to fall, but the terrain still felt treacherous under my feet. I jumped off and landed on the intact section of mountain, blocking another slash of Illumin¡¯s blade. Her claws lashed out, slicing through my stomach. She hurled me to the ground and was on me, her jaws going for my throat. I had to hold her jaws apart with all six arms as she tried to rip me apart. Her claws ripped into me the entire time, staining the black and silver stone with red. I managed to leverage her off me and threw her to the side, standing up and looking more skeleton than man now. I activated Void Shield and the damage I had just taken disappeared. Illumin circled me again, now more warry. The air shimmered and then- I rolled to the side as a massive fist slammed down. Unlike the ground I created, the mountain didn¡¯t shatter under the force of the strike. I let loose with scarlet lightning but Voidra¡¯s mother didn¡¯t even react to my attack. My head began to scream with pain as ethereal drained out of me. I blinked in surprise as I¡¯d just started to release it but I was already out. The ancient lunged for me in the form of a wolf, breaking me out of my momentary indecision. Something had happened, I knew it but I couldn¡¯t figure out what it was. My foresight went wild with the images of me being attacked from a thousand directions. Then my Foresight cleared, all but one of the images greying out. I spun and drove my weapons into the wolf¡¯s chest and hurled it over me, sending it to crash into the mountainside. My body grew in size as I activated Jotunn Slayer and¡­ I¡¯d just activated that ability less than a minute ago, hadn¡¯t I. ¡°Time reversal,¡± I said, my mind starting to clear as ethereal imposed the reality of time down upon us. I let out a breath, clearing my mind as best as I could in the midst of battle. This ancient had powers I couldn¡¯t fully understand. I needed to finish this as quickly as possible. I couldn¡¯t try to slug this out. I needed to get her to try and feed on me like the other ancient had as I wasn¡¯t sure how to drain her of energy any other way.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. I let the next attack hit me, and the next, and the next. I didn¡¯t let them do any devastating or crippling injuries, but I did take critical injuries as I played the part of a losing fighter. Illumin raced in, bowling me over and once again, Ares shoved one of his arms into her mouth. She bit down but apparently even she couldn¡¯t break through the strength of his armor. Cracks formed, showing that it wouldn¡¯t last forever, but it would hold for now. I grappled with her paws and she abandoned the physical attack. A cold, black energy stabbed into my soul and began to draw power out like I was a juice box. I only let it continue until I was sure the hook was set, then I lashed out with my own soul. Illumin howled, the sound a mixture of pain and fear as I began ripping out her energy and gorging myself on it. The Shadow joined me in the feeding frenzy, as did Karnen, Voidra, and Ares, our combined feeding frenzy like a pack of wolves overcoming a bear. If I were alone Illumin would have drained me without contest, but I outnumbered her. I hit a source of gold energy; there wasn¡¯t as much celestria as with the other ancient, but it was there along with Illumin¡¯s own energy. I began taking in the toxic substance and surrounded it with ethereal as I converted it into usable energy. ¡°Use it on Sacrificial Tree,¡± I told Voidra. ¡°I want to see what it does before I risk one of my main abilities. The energy began to pour into my ability Sacrificial Tree, but almost immediately, something went wrong. The energy was too powerful and the ability just couldn¡¯t hold it. It needed to be stronger, more empowered to handle it and I couldn¡¯t take the energy I had just given it back. I was also committed now; the ability would sunder if I didn¡¯t complete what I had started. Voidra began messing with my soul, slamming my other abilities against the mutating one. There was no effect until I could feel the part of myself that was Void-Dragon¡¯s Armory impact the evolving ability and get pulled into the vortex of energy. It began to stabilize, but it was still not enough for the level of energy I was pulling in. I mashed more and more of my abilities until another stuck. Golem¡¯s Eye was absorbed into a mass of roiling divine energy and it stabilized again, but was still not enough. As soon as it stabilized, it destabilized again with an even more violent explosion of energy that showed me I was working on a time limit now. There did seem to be a theme of sorts now, nature, earth, stone and life had all been used to create this. I reached out and pushed my ability Living Stone towards the evolving ability. It was sucked in immediately and stabilized again. I didn¡¯t wait for it to destabilize but kept pushing more abilities towards it another ability hit and was sucked in. It had been Flame Elemental which I hadn¡¯t ranked up past rank one. I was afraid it would still not be enough, but the energy finally remained stable. I kept pulling in the energy and feeding it in. Illumin sagged then collapsed against me, the fight gone from her. She began to fade away, her body turning more transparent with every second. ¡°Goodbye mother,¡± Voidra said. ¡°Foolish daughter,¡± Illumin sighed. ¡°I would have given you a quick and merciful death, but now¡­.your father will bring all the ancients down upon you until you are nothing but a dead thought floating in the Void.¡± ¡°Good,¡± I said, standing straight. ¡°I¡¯m tried of trying to track you all down.¡± ¡°Arrogance,¡± Illumin chuckled. ¡°I always liked the taste of that emotion; so many of your kind come here to this place filled with it.¡± My expression hardened further. ¡°You are done eating souls, creature.¡± I ripped out the last vestiges of energy from it and the ancient disappeared, leaving no trace of its existence behind. A howl tore through the Void coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
World Forge (Rank 50, Max Rank): From your own soul, you draw reality; from the void you draw the power; from your mind, you create the vision. You can create sheer existence from non-existence, merge any material, and spawn trees that could exist in no other reality, giving life to the lifeless.
Forest of Sacrifice: Made of void matter and living soul, the trees grow in power when watered with the blood of sacrifices, providing bonuses in a 90-mile radius. Trees provide Severe damage reduction bonus to you and all allies within the radius. The fruit of these trees provide healing; the amount of healing is dependent on the blood most recently used to water them. You can create up to 10,000 seedlings. These trees can only exist within the void due to the nature of their creation.
Terraformer: You can infuse all minerals, organic matter (living and dead), energies, and liquids into materials to create unique, more durable, and heavier materials that can be shaped by your thoughts. You can fuse up to a 100,000 square-foot section of material at the same time. The material has immunity to Void and Soul damage, and any weapons or creations made with it deal Major amount of Void and Soul damage. All your creations have a hardness rating of 20. The detail you can sculpt with is based on your Mind, Spirit, & Perception attributes.
Gift of Prometheus: You create a humanoid form out of compressed Void matter and a burning spark of life. When a soul is housed within, it gains the ability to move and act accordingly. While the souls have their own will, they cannot deliberately act against you. The Sons of Prometheus can gain Ranks, Abilities, earn Titles, and even cast spells just like any other natural born creature. Sons count as weapons used by you, gaining bonus damage dealt based on your Titles and Abilities. They are created with 10 in each attribute and a natural +20 to their mana and stamina regen rates. Each start with four random Abilities based off of your Abilities, and four Abilities from the creatures you have the closest relationship to as if they were your own children; these abilities are shaped by the nature of their creation, body and the person the soul was in life. The Sons have an ethereal regen rate equal to yours. Sons deal a major amount of Fire and Void damage with each of their attacks.
Cast Time: varies Ability Cost: Varies*
Each rank of this ability gives you +1 Might, +1 Speed, +1 Toughness, +1 Endurance, +4 Mind, +2 Spirit, +3 Perception, +1 Power.
Once again I received a System message in a place without the System but that wasn¡¯t even a thought in my mind right now. My Mind and Perception attributes had just gone over one-hundred-and-twenty-five bring both past the limit for Hero tier. I collapsed to the ground as pain went through my soul, there was no real body to change as I clutched at my eyes blood running from my eyes, ears and nose. Spasms went through me for a minute. Finally the pain disappeared, there was no notification to tell me what changes I¡¯d just undergone. The five abilities had all merged to create a new one with three effects. I looked over all three effects realizing what I could do with them. I was going to be attacked again just like at the Black Wall and castle Dragon-breaker. I needed an army if we¡¯re going to survive. ¡°Luckily,¡± I though aloud. ¡°I think I have one. World Forge.¡± Out across the silver and black plains around the mountain, the lost souls began disappearing one by one. Guinevere appeared beside me. ¡°Something is happening to the...¡± she began, but closed her mouth as she watched black and silver winged humanoids emerge from the ground. Their arms were long and their legs even longer with a strange bend to them that made every step they took look smooth yet alien. Their wings were thin and no natural creature could use them to fly. ¡°What are they?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°They are Void angels,¡± I said, ¡°and our new army. It¡¯s time the hunted became the hunters.¡± Chapter 182: On this Rock I shall Build my Church The black marble under my feet began to twist and shape as my will was exerted upon it. The stone resisted me; it didn¡¯t resist being changed but it had its own ideas about what it wanted to be. My mind recoiled as I touched upon the slumbering entity. It was not a creature of the void per se, but rather a singular thought so real, it had become physical. Or it was something that had been real but had been reduced to one singular clear thought. Ethereal continued to drain out me like a waterfall even without an ancient nearby. The stone drank it in like a sponge, becoming more and more real. The mountain surface flattened under my feet as black glass with swirling whirls of silver-white running through it took shape. Guinevere took my hand as the stone altered and changed around us. The void angels took to the air, spiraling and swooping through the void above us. They suddenly began to sing, all at once in a single united chorus. There were no words, and the sound was alien and otherworldly, something no human¡¯s throat could ever create. The sound rose up and reverberated through the air. If my soul was a burning star in this void, then the chorus was a bell announcing our presence as it tolled again and again. There was suddenly a presence, I could feel something approaching me; no, not just one creature, at least two approaching us. I couldn¡¯t see them; it was more a sense of dread as something vast and unknowable came closer and closer. I couldn¡¯t tell how long I had, but it was hours rather than days. I renewed my concentration on World Forge, pouring more ethereal into its creation. Tiny sprouts appeared across the stone as the saplings for the Sacrificial Forest took root. I wouldn¡¯t be able to use these immediately, but once I found a way to leave the Void, I could raise my attributes higher and higher faster than my enemies could rank up. My focus was totally devoted to the construction of the fortress, flattening spaces and levels for battle and creating tunnels and chambers deep within the rock. Walls started to rise up around us as I began work on outbuildings and¡­ ¡°Mordred!¡± Guinevere gasped, her voice filled with sudden panic, her hand tightening to where it would have snapped bone on most people even at my rank. I turned to her in concern. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°My water just broke,¡± she said, leaning against the wall and sliding down to the ground. My body went tense. We weren¡¯t ready, we were still in the Void and I had ancients headed for our very position. I tried to relax but I felt panic and fear like I had never known. ¡°What do you need from me?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Guinevere said, breathing in and out heavily. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen here.¡± The chorus of the void angels rose in intensity and pitch. The mountain reverberated and sang back in response like a glass harp someone had brushed a finger across. ¡°You need to make this place more real,¡± Voidra said. ¡°You need to impose your concept of reality fully here.¡± ¡°How do I do that?¡± I asked. ¡°Just push out more ethereal?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll likely need to upgrade Void Asura again,¡± Voidra said. ¡°We have to hope its next effect will help you stabilize this realm more.¡± ¡°Guinevere¡¯s giving birth now!¡± I shouted. ¡°We don¡¯t have time¡­.¡± ¡°I can hold on¡­.¡± Guinevere said, her skin drenched in sweat and her dress soaked from the waist down. ¡°Do what you have to do.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Don¡¯t run out to meet them,¡± Ares said. ¡°You could barely handle one of them. Finish your preparations here and meet them on your own terms.¡± I gritted my teeth in frustration; my terms were quickly becoming unfavorable. I pushed aside the fear and uncertainty. I had to be unbreakable for my daughter, so that is what I would be. The mountain continued to twist and change, not from any conscious decision on my part but as it took on the form it desired to be. A colossal ziggurat with buildings and roads on every tier began to take shape. The section of the mountain that had broken off in my fight against Illumin still hung there, motionless and unchanged. I stretched out my hand and a bridge of stone rose up and connected the two.The silver and white marble streaks began spreading through it as its jagged shape began to flatten out at the top. Pillars began to rise from the ground and roots began to curl around them as they extended up and up. A temple in the style of the Parthenon began to fully form, while it might have resembled Greek architecture, it dwarfed all but the largest modern buildings on earth. The roots of the silver and white trees spiraled up the pillars and across every building. The branches of the trees continued to open and spread wide, their leaves brilliant to behold but somehow produced no light in their surroundings. I had less of a fortress and more of a mountainous city. It looked both brand new and like an overgrown ruin with the branches of the trees spreading over nearly every surface and their roots twisting into every bit of the architecture. The city was beautiful, almost too beautiful to the point where you couldn¡¯t imagine people actually living in it. ¡°They are getting closer,¡± Voidra said. Every void entity I had killed besides the ancients had dropped a crystal, a living thought killed and made physical. I took them out and began to warp them with World Forge. Mab floated at my side as I inscribed the same enchantment I had used to create Clarent on them and fitted them into a hilt. They wouldn¡¯t be as powerful as Clarent was but I activated one, looking at the flat blade of energy that emerged. It was made of dark silver light with marbling of white and pure silver throughout that slowly shifted and twisted, like kelp underwater. These would be the weapons for my army; weapons made from condensed thought to be wielded by beings of pure spirit. The presence of the ancients began to weigh on me like a physical burden. I looked out over the horizon, watching as two shapess moved within the darkness. As my soul grew more powerful, I was becoming more aware of my surroundings. I could feel the two ancients¡¯ presence; not just theirs, but Guinevere¡¯s and that of every Void Angel. Beyond them, I could sense lost souls, other creatures, and even more ancients all moving towards me. The Void Angels began to all fly together in a clockwise spiral around the mountain, and I stood at the center of the vortex. I picked up Guinevere and carried her up the bridge to the temple. I laid down a bed of furs and blankets. Her hand squeezed mine but her eyes were shut tight with pain and concentration as she fought to hold back her contractions. ¡°I won¡¯t fail you,¡± I promised her. The angelic chorus rose up higher and higher, reverberating all around us. I stepped out of the temple as the ancients came fully into view when they stepped onto the plateau at the base of the mountain. Their vast frames began to shrink and reduce as they were forced to enter my semi-real domain. Clarent sparked to life in my hand and I activated Void Asura. The void angels singing reached one last fevered chorus then fell silent and they swooped down, landing all around me. I lifted my hand using Telekinesis to raise up the sword hilts I had created for each of them. The void angels took the weapons and extended the blades, their tall, otherworldly frames noble and majestic with their swords in hand. ¡°I fought by some of you, killed some of you or had you killed,¡± I said. ¡°But I don¡¯t know if I am the same man I was then. I am not the Warlord of Kelesa anymore; I am not a champion of any god. But today, I will be your champion, I will be your warlord. Today, I fight for you, for my wife, and for my daughter. In the past I would have dominated you and made you fight by my side; today I ask you to fight beside me. I shall lay down my life to protect your souls before I let you be devoured again, and I shall sacrifice all the blood I have to bring my daughter into the world.¡± Their answer was not of words, but of a resonating thrum that passed through the mountain. Every angel took to the air and swooped down towards the ancients as the two of them reached the base of the ziggurat and touched its surface. I lifted up into the air and dived down after them, scarlet lighting wreathing my body as a roar broke from my throat to join the resonating thrum of the angels. Chapter 183: King of the Void Clarent cut through the side of the ancient as it lashed out with a scythe. I slid under its blade, and rolled to the side as a bladed tail whipped down, hitting the ground and sending spiderweb cracks across the black marble. The scythe slashed out and cut a line across my chest but I¡¯d slid back before it could cut very deep. Screams of rage filled the air as the Void angels tore into the second ancient. Their blades sliced into it as they dive bombed it from all directions. The ancient retaliated, a staff in its hand spinning and knocking angels from the air. It then descended upon them, shattering a number of them, but there were thousands of them and only one of it. Their swords left no wounds behind, but the ancient staggered, unable to see out of the swarm of attackers. Naked souls rose up from the bodies of the defeated Void angels. ¡°World Forge,¡± I said, rolling to the side of another strike. The lost souls rose up in new bodies, rejoining the frantic mayhem of battle. I stabbed and slashed into the ancient, spinning around it and blocking its tail on my gauntlet sword. I froze for a moment as I felt another ancient enter my perception; it was moving even faster than the first two had. I had to end this fight as quickly as I could. Another ancient entered my perception and I cursed inwardly. I needed to go nova. The closest ancient swung at me and I sidestepped just enough to let it graze me. Its tail nicked my leg above my knee as a consolation. Again and again I let it hit me, its attacks fast as lightning to the point where a mortal wouldn¡¯t have even been able to watch the fight. I blocked the attacks as best I could but let some of them through; I needed to take damage if my plan was going to work. All the while I counted the seconds in my head. One. A clawed hand raked across my chest scoring seven long cuts down my abdomen. Its tail ripped out a chunk of flesh along my leg where my boots would have once protected me. Two. Its scythe cut a deep gash into my neck, spraying blood everywhere. Its clawed hands stabbed into my chest, piercing through and puncturing one of my lungs before I moved back. Three. It''s spiked tail ripped out the hamstring from my right leg then drove into my back and out the front before ripping a massive hole in my stomach. Four. Its scythe cut through my abdomen and my guts started to pour out. Its clawed hand tried to yank off my helmet, but it pulled back and settled for taking a piece of my throat with it. Five. Its blade cut into the flesh of my real arm, just at the shoulder and down to the bone. It went limp as my regeneration worked to repair it. Six. The ancient sprayed out a fog of acid and I let it burn into my skin, my vision going red as capillaries in my eyes started to bleed. Seven. The scythe clipped my helmet with the speed of a train and my body spun through the air, striking the mountainside and cracking stone and bone. Eight. The ancient was upon me a second later as I jumped back to my feet, still somewhat dazed from that attack; its claws ripped at my still open stomach, spilling organs across the black marble. Nine. Its scythe cut through my right leg, severing it from the knee down. tIs tail whipping out and struck along my spine; I could feel vertebrae crack from the force of it. Ten. Its scythe cut through my ribs, through both of my hearts and lungs and its spiked tail shot through my eye socket into my brain. I was pretty sure if I hadn¡¯t just hit Exarch rank in Mind I¡¯d be dead now, but I could still think, and that was all that mattered. I activated Void Shield, reversing all the damage I¡¯d just taken. The ancient was surprised for only a second, but that was all I needed. I activated the Eruption effect of Magma Hearts, doubling my damage for the next twenty seconds. Brutal Spite caused me to do six times the damage to a creature that had damaged me within the last thirty-four seconds. It had hit me so many times in the past few seconds that Mark of Vengeance would have reduced any damage reduction it had to zero. I¡¯d also stored up ten percent of the damage from each of its attacks to add to a single attack, only nine percent of that accumulated damage had dropped off since I¡¯d started preparing for this attack. ¡°Bloody Riposte, Piercing Charge,¡± I said. Piercing Charge was still at rank one and only offered a point-two multiplier to damage, but every bit helped. I unleashed the stored damage from Brutal Spite as I struck the ancient with Clarent full force in the chest. A vibration passed through the air, and everything went still for a moment. The ancient didn¡¯t look down at its wound, it didn¡¯t scream in agony, it just stopped existing, leaving behind a swirling vortex of energy behind. Another ancient entered my perception and I grimaced. ¡°You need to upgrade another ability before Void Asura,¡± Voidra said. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to defeat those three other ancients if you aren¡¯t more than you are now.¡± ¡°I handled that one fine,¡± I said. ¡°That one was kind of stupid and it wasn¡¯t fighting you with help,¡± Ares said. ¡°the Void angels are almost all gone.¡± He was right, the Void angels had been halved in number already while fighting just one ancient. I stepped forward and began to draw in the vortex of energy. Black Rage was one of my most powerful abilities and all about scaling my power in a fight; I¡¯d upgrade it next. I started pushing other abilities towards it. Now that I¡¯d done it once, I felt I could keep it more stable without needing so many abilities, but I¡¯d have to see. I tried adding Piercing Charge but it didn¡¯t work. One by one I tried my Skills, but it only accepted two abilities: Magma Heart(s) and Brutal Spite. I closed my eyes as I felt more Void angels be destroyed as they kept the other ancient distracted. The energy roiled and struggled to break out, but I pushed it down and forced it to calm. With a sudden collapse like a star dying, it all went still and pulled itself into one singular glowing star within me. My eyes snapped open as I looked at the fruits of my latest harvest.
Shadow of Judgement: Rank 50, (Max Rank); Your rage is the force that determines who will live and who will die. To strike you is to condemn your attacker, and any who do so will pay the price for their transgressions.
Shadow of Death: Every wound you inflict or kill you make increases your Speed and Might by 5 for the next ten minutes. The world is pulled in around you as all light is condensed, casting you into darkness and making you harder to see and hit. While this is active, all fear effects are three times as likely to take effect and you are immune to any effect that would affect or alter your emotions. You can spend 1/16 of your max ethereal to deal double damage with all attacks for the next thirty seconds.
Cruel Vengeance: You deal x10 damage against a creature who dealt a Minor wound to you within the last minute (effect stacks). Anytime a creature hits you, they take a third of the damage they dealt to you as retributive damage and they gain a stack of Mark of Judgement*. You can store up to 20% of the damage you take from each strike and add that damage to an attack in the future (the stored damage drops off by 1% per second).
Wages of Sin: For every wound you are currently suffering from, your regeneration for all resources increases by x10. Every kill you make restores 25 stamina and 25 mana. The lower your resources are, the faster your regen rate becomes. For every missing 1% of a resource, its regen rate increases by the same amount.
*Mark of Judgement: Targets damage reduction and damage dealt are reduced by 1 stage for ten seconds.
*Petrify: Target is paralyzed for 3 seconds.
Final Rank Bonus: Your eyes burn with the fury of your wrath and can be seen even through the black mist surrounding you. Creatures that meet your gaze are inflicted with Petrify* on a failed Endurance test.
Cast Time: Instantaneous/Passive Cost: 5 ethereal per second
Each rank gives +1 Might, +2 Endurance, and +1 Power to your attributes.
I screamed. Pain, ecstasy and rage filled my howl which then morphed into a roar. My blood boiled, my muscles spasmed like separate organisms, and my hearts began to pound as if I¡¯d just snorted every drug in existence as my Power, Might, and Endurance attributes all passed one-twenty-five and entered Exarch tier. ¡°World Forge,¡± I said, reforming bodies for all the broken Void angels. My feet cracked the ground as I ran forwards, the Void angels taking to the air, exposing the ancient to me as we faced each other. ¡°You killed my mate, you shall suffer as¡­.¡± I didn¡¯t let it finish, the time for words between me and its kind was over. I let it crack me with its staff, feeling bones fracture under the force of it, but that was all I needed to activate Shadow of Judgement. My attacks came in with ten times the force of normal. While my previous attacks had shown basically no effect on them, now the flesh of its body rippled and twisted as I cut and slashed my way across it.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. The ancient was still fast but I was able to keep up with it. Ares and Voidra blocked its attacks and Karnen, the Shadow, and I ripped into it. I still took a few hits, but I dished out more than I got. The staff cracked across my helmet, spinning my head around, tearing muscles and cracking my neck. My muscles in my neck began pulling themselves back together as my regeneration took full effect, snapping my head back around. The ancient lunged forwards and I caught it by the throat and headbutted it, the spikes on my helmet ripping into it. It scrabbled, dropping its staff and wrapping its hands around my neck. I pushed forwards, not with my body but my soul, reaching outside of myself. My soul bit into the ancient as I began to draw the energy out of it into myself. The energy siphoned into me as first a trickle, then a flood. The ancient thrashed in my hands, clawed hands, barbed tail, fangs from¡­I don¡¯t know where, bit into me but I held tight, not letting it break free. The energy pooled as I funneled it into Void Asura. The bits of Dominion still floating around my soul got snapped up and pulled into the Vortex. I roared as the vortex imploded and the ability ranked up.
Void Asura, (Rank: 45): You have created a symbiotic relationship instead of a parasitic one with the spirits inhabiting you. Through the use of an ability token, you have changed this ability to make it somewhat compatible with the System. Through manipulation of your mana and stamina, they have created a third type of energy and can use it to manifest through your body and interact with the world.
Void Armor: You gain immunity to Void & Soul damage. The spectral arms created by the spirits residing in your soul when manifested appear armored, the armor has hardness 45 with an additional 1 hardness per twenty points of Spirit you have. Current hardness 57.
Void Edge: Your attacks while this ability is active deal Moderate Void damage and bypass 38 levels of hardness.
Void Soul: Like the beings of the Void, you feed on the souls of others to grow in power. Your Ethereal regeneration is increased by .07 and your max Ethereal is increased by 7 for every creature with a soul that you kill, permanently.
Void Arsenal: You are able to bind 7 weapons to your soul, letting you store them and summon and dismiss them at will. If you lose your weapons, they are transported back into your soul vault to be resummoned later.
Void Matter: You are linked to the Void, body and soul, and are able to make the Void manifest physically. For the cost of 10 ethereal, you can create 5 pounds of Void matter. The matter will degrade overtime while outside of the Void.
Void Shield: Time, space, and reality are not constant laws in the Void When you take damage, you can expend 100 ethereal to change the outcome of time and reality to negate all the damage taken in the past 11 seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds.
Void Soul: Your soul exists both in and out of your body, time, and reality and also not. While a soul exists, an entity is never truly dead.
Void Sight: You can see the weak points in reality where the Void presses into the Material realms.
Void Door: You can open 1 temporary opening into and out of the Void that lasts for 10 seconds. You can create 1 permanent entrance into and out of the Void; the doorway will remain until removed by you.
Cost: 19 Ethereal per second Cast Time: Instantaneous
This ability should not exist. It will take 10x the normal amount of rank points for each rank up of this ability. Ranking up this ability does not advance any of your attributes.
I grinned as I read the description of the new effect. ¡°Void Asura,¡± I said. A shimmering portal opened up. I stepped towards it and a wall of red energy appeared between me and it. I laid a palm on it and gritted my teeth as an electric shocking sensation ran through my soul.
Entrance to the world of Talba has been denied by its local gods. Any attempts to enter will result in immediate annihilation if you continue to try and gain entry.
I was still blocked but I breathed out a sigh of relief. We couldn¡¯t leave but I could feel reality flowing in, stabilizing everything around me and the mountain. The portal snapped shut and I flew up the mountain landing beside Guinevere. ¡°How are you doing?¡± I asked, kneeling beside her. ¡°I¡¯m ok,¡± Guinevere said, squeezing my hand. ¡°Is it over?¡± I kissed her forehead. ¡°Not yet sweetie, but I¡¯ve got a way to help you.¡± I stretched out my hand, creating a permanent portal at the base of the temple. Reality flooded in and Guinevere sucked in a breath, her body releasing some of its tension. ¡°Are you going to be here?¡± Guinevere asked me, squeezing my hand again. ¡°There are more ancients on the way,¡± I said. I felt some bitterness at not being able to be there for the birth of my daughter. I kissed her gently and rose to my feet, walking away. I looked over my shoulder as Guinevere lay on the pile of blankets and furs, her body heaving with contractions as they came faster and faster. A roar reverberated through the Void, and I hung suspended in the air, looking across the plain outside the mountain. Three massive creatures sped towards the ziggurat, two more a ways behind them. The angels formed up behind me, their chorus rising in pitch and fervor. I shot forwards at the head of the angelic host as we descended upon the lead ancient. My sword and spear pierced through black Void flesh. The ancient lashed out, striking me, but I blocked it from impacting my body directly. The impact still sent me flying, but I reversed my direction midair and went right back into the fight. A spear of thought appeared in the ancient¡¯s hand as it took form. It stood on two legs but its neck was as long as a dragons and it had six sets of arms, each holding a spear. It stood forty feet tall at the shoulder with its long slender legs. The spears lunged and stabbed for me. I rolled, ducked, and spun under the spears as I got in close. The other ancients were closing in and I had a minute tops to handle this one before I was getting gang banged five on one. A spear cut me through the stomach, spilling my guts yet I didn¡¯t even react as I cut into the legs and flanks of the ancient. ¡°You are a deadly little pest,¡± the ancient said. ¡°The glory will be great to the one who eats you.¡± ¡°Your kind loves to talk,¡± I grunted. ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it if you¡¯d just shut up and die already.¡± I reached my empty left hand out out and clenched my fist. Telekinesis gripped the ancient and held it in place. The spears in its hands quivered and shook as it fought to break free. I was certain this ancient had something it could do if I gave it the time. Voidra¡¯s mother had messed with time itself so it was best I didn¡¯t give this thing an opportunity to react to anything I did. The ancient screamed as my soul bit into it. My soul shook its head like a dog with a rat as I started to scarf down the bits of energy. The ancient lashed out with its own soul, biting into mine in return, but it recoiled, screaming even more. I tore into the energy that made up the ancient Void entity and fed it into me. Void Asura wasn¡¯t at max rank but I needed to strengthen my soul more before I could risk upgrading that again. I picked one of my original abilities, Heightened Speed to upgrade. Speed had always served me well, and hopefully being augmented and empowered by the Void would amplify that even further. At the very least, it would upgrade my Toughness attribute to the point where I could break into the Exarch tier. The ability took in the energy and began to swell and mutate like a cancerous growth. Both Jericoh¡¯s Fall and Piercing Charge didn¡¯t combine with it so I had to look for other abilities outside of my Speed attribute abilities. I started one after the other as I continued to drain the ancient dry, its struggles growing weaker and weaker as the other ancients came closer and closer. Troll Hide was sucked in, bonding with the vortex of energy and changing it further. I kept trying others and then Jotun Slayer bonded, and the energy stabilized. The last of the ancient¡¯s energy drained into the ability and the Void entity was gone, its body and spears disappearing with it.
Heir of the Titans: (Rank 50, Max Rank); The slayer of giants becomes the giant. The giant slays the gods, a titan is born; your speed unmatched, your flesh perfected, your strength unyielding.
Spawn of the Hydra: Your skin¡¯s hardness is increased by 10. Whenever you are cut, your flesh regenerates rapidly, reducing all afflictions and Debuff effects and durations by 99%. Your regeneration speed equals Minor Damage x your Toughness attribute x your Endurance attribute. You can go for 24 hours without your internal organs and 1 minute without your head or brain. Your limbs will quickly regenerate and restore after being cut off, or holding a severed limb to the stump will reattach it in a few seconds.
Blood of Kronos: You can increase the size of your body and equipment at will up to 25¡¯ in height, and your weight by 5,000lbs, increasing your physical attributes by 50% while active. You deal double damage to creatures your own size or above and receive half damage from creatures half your size or below. You have immunity to all fear and mind control effects, a titan is above all creatures at all times.
Thief on the Wind: Your body can spring into motion as you move faster than any of your peers. Your body can move at 20x the speed your Speed attribute would allow. Your body vibrates at such speed and frequency, with a running start, you are able to pass through solid matter of Hardness 15 or under, leaving it completely unaffected by your passing. Your weapons also gain the ability to vibrate and bypass 15 hardness at a higher ethereal cost per second. The wind moves with you, pushing back opponents and flinging arrows to the side while disrupting attacks.
Final Rank Bonus: Your body is made of more pure energy than flesh and bone. Even if your body is destroyed utterly, if you have enough unspent energy within your soul, you can reform yourself from energy alone.
Cast Time: Passive ability Cost: 15 ethereal per second
Each rank of this ability grants 1 Might, 3 Speed, 2 Toughness, and 1 Endurance.
My body twisted and morphed as my muscles expanded then collapsed and expanded again. My hearts exploded then reformed, my bones twisted and strengthened.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 125, the Exarch limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attribute from killing you.
Your hearts have changed to better facilitate the Void energy surging through your body. Your hearts no longer produce blood, but rather pure liquid ethereal instead.
I¡¯d missed the notifications for my other attributes passing into Exarch rank, but this was the last one I¡¯d needed.
You have raised all your Attributes beyond one-hundred-and-twenty-five, the Hero limit, and you have reached Exarch rank. All damage done to you by creatures of a lower ranking than you is reduced by one damage stage for every stage you are above them. Damage dealt to a creature of a lower ranking than you is increased by one damage stage for every stage you are above them. You will only get a quarter of the normal rank points from creatures of a lower ranking than you.
The four ancients charged towards me and I looked up, a bright vicious smile flashing through the black mist surrounding me for a moment before my body began to grow in height and weight as I strode forward to meet them. My gaze swept across the ancients and they froze for a fraction of a second. These were the gods of the Void, but when I was through, there would be only one ruler remaining. Chapter 184: Child of the Dawn Clarent flashed forwards as I charged into the midst of the ancients. A gout of sapphire fire burned against my skin as one of the ancients began to shift, taking on the shape of some sort of dragon. They all began to morph from the amorphous beings of thought into more tangible creatures. One took on the massive form of a four-armed humanoid, its back covered in thorns and spikes like a porcupine. The other took on the visage of a swarm of armored insects, their buzzing the sound a saw makes when ripping through metal. The last one mirrored me, its body a glossy black with six arms and in its hand its own version of Clarent, though its lightning was all white and silver instead of crimson. I rolled across the ground to put out the fire; the false Clarent slashed down but Ares blocked it with my spear. The jaws of the dragon ancient snapped down but I was on the move again and stabbed my weapons into its throat as it snapped down. I roared, releasing Voice of the Chasm and blasting away the mirror copy of me and the swarm of insects. The spike-backed ancient swung down with its club. I blocked the attack by crossing my spear and gauntlet-sword. The ground cracked under my feet, small craters forming as the force of the strike pushed me into the black marble. The tail of the dragon struck me from behind, staggering me forwards. I grunted in pain as spikes shot out of its tail and some type of venom or acid began to burn through my skin. The swarm shot back into the fight, the stingers and pincers of the insects biting and stabbing into me. My skin was beyond the hardness of diamond but these wasps seemed to just phase through my skin and their poison caused a maddening itch. I fully activated Wrathful Meditation and the pain of the acidic poison eating its way out of me disappeared. The Void angels were the only reason I wasn¡¯t already dead. They were dying by the second but they dove through the air, taking hits meant for me and slashed and cut into the flanks of the ancients whenever they got a chance. The ancients smashed the angels down to the ground, their souls rising up without their protective shells and fleeing the battlefield to stand and watch as the rest of their brethren continued to fight on beside me. Lightning sparked from my fingers, going from insect to insect within the swarm. Some dropped out but there were millions within that mass and I couldn¡¯t even see a noticeable drop in size. The mirror copy of me swung at me with its own Clarent, spear, gauntlet sword, and claws. The attacks from all the ancients came in from all directions and I could barely block half of them. Each one that hit did devastating damage to my body. I lost half my torso when the dragon¡¯s jaws closed on me and he ripped off half my chest along with the arms on that side of my body. I activated Void Shield immediately but was hit by all the mirror-copies weapons; they pierced through my skin and ribs. I couldn¡¯t feel the pain but the damage did register as my hands grew weaker and had difficulty holding onto my sword. Everything looked just a little dimmer. I needed to cut the number of ancients down and a drawn-out fight was not in my favor here. The spines from the spiked ancient shot into me with the force or slugs from a railgun. I was pinned to the ground and the dragon¡¯s jaws descended on me. I ripped the spikes out, sacrificing a great deal of my flesh to do so but I rolled free in time. The swarm of insects began stabbing into me. I didn¡¯t wave them off and instead breathed in as I opened up my soul. Almost immediately the ancients sensed my exposed soul and cut into me. This pain I couldn¡¯t block out, but I pushed past it as I bit down into the soul of the swarm ancient. While it had taken the form of a swarm of insects, it had one singular soul and I held onto that like a pit bull, not letting go no matter the blows that rained down on me. I funneled the energy into my soul. I didn¡¯t need to raise my own strength and I needed a way to empower my vassals. If the angels could hold their ground better, there was a chance we could live through this. I chose Phalanx Commander as the ability to improve. I pushed ability after ability into it but nothing hit until Piercing Charge collided and was sucked into it. The use of Piercing Charge inspired me and I selected Shield Wall next and pushed that in and it, too, was sucked in. The last of the ancient¡¯s energy was drawn into the vortex and the ability stabilized.
Hero¡¯s General: (Rank 50, Max Rank); You are not the leader of lesser men. All who follow you are made better by your presence, becoming great by serving in your benevolent shadow as you raise them all to be heroes. All followers within 2,000 ft of you gain the benefits of serving under you.
Unstoppable Momentum: Those who have sworn themselves to you, or your created Prometheans, can teleport instantaneously to take the place of another allied member of the same formation. Movement speed of troops in this formation is multiplied x6. For the cost of 20 mana, 20 stamina, and 20 ethereal, you and your vassals gain a Charge attack where they move forwards in a 190 ft line dealing Major Piercing and Bludgeoning damage to all targets in your path with a x5 damage bonus on the final attack. When marching in formation, they can sync up their movements to adjacent formations, multiplying the speed bonus by a further x12.
All as One: Your followers deal an additional Severe damage to their attacks. Damage is spread out over your vassals. When one of your vassals takes damage, your other vassals near him take a percentage of the damage. The more of them that are close together the less damage each one individually takes. Your army has the ability to surge forwards 100ft, pushing back anything in their way and dealing Major Piercing and Bludgeoning damage x5 to anything that stands their ground in front of them.
Hold the Line: You have stood alone against superior numbers and terrors and have inspired others to stand even if they stand alone. Troops in your formation have a spectral increase to the reach of their range that can be toggled at will, increasing the reach by up to 20 ft. You and your vassals can create an invisible shield as long and wide as they are tall that lasts for 30 seconds, reducing the damage from any attack that strikes it by five damage stages and giving the wielder the *Immovable status for the duration. The size of the shield grows by 2 ft for every ally within 90 ft of each other. When the shield disappears, it explodes outwards dealing Major Piercing and Bludgeoning damage to any non-allied creature 60 ft in front of them, weakening them and increasing the damage they will take from the next attack by x3.
Final Rank Bonus: Your vassals gain a +1 to each attribute for every 10 vassals you have within the area of effect.
*Immovable: You cannot be moved from your location by physical force or spells.
Cast Time: Passive Cost: 30 ethereal per second
Each rank of this ability grants +2 Speed, +1 Toughness, and +1 Mind.
The swarm of insects blinked out of existence as the energy used to sustain it was gone, consumed by me. My body spasmed as my muscles writhed and my fast twitch muscles twisted and changed. My mind went black for a moment as the overload of attributes increasing overwhelmed me.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 250, the Exarch limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attributes from killing you.
Your body has adapted to move at speeds beyond what any physical being should be able to. When moving at your top speed, your body will convert from physical material to incorporeal spirit as your flesh goes into an extra-dimensional space within your soul.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 250, the Exarch limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attributes from killing you.
Your brain has adapted to allow you to think more clearly and faster. Your memories and all knowledge you hold is instead contained inside your spiritual soul so it is impossible for your memories to be altered by the passage of time, damage to your skull, or manipulation from outsider forces.
The mirror-copy of me swung its weapons at me but stumbled back as an invisible shield appeared in front of me. The sapphire fire burned against the shield and my arm blistered on the other side, but the fire didn¡¯t pass it. An angel landed beside me, then another, and another. Raising their hands, the fire passed over the shields in a wave. Finally, the shields exploded outwards, and the ancients were blown back by the force of it. The spiked ancient charged forwards, the first to recover from the blast. Him, I directed the Void angels with the telepathy from my helm. Charge attack it, one after the other. A Void angel shot forwards and slashed with its swords, hitting the ancient from twenty-five feet away from the spectral extended reach of its weapon. The fly-by attack was immediately followed up by another attack from a different angel, then another and another. ¡°World Forge,¡± I said, forming new bodies for the angels that had died at the start of the battle. The lost souls rose from the earth, their throats screaming a war cry as they joined the chorus. The dragon and the mirror-copy moved back into the fight. They slashed out at the Void Angels, but their invisible shields flashed up and they froze midair instead of going flying. Swords began cutting into the dragon¡¯s back as the angels began to harry it, no longer being destroyed in a single strike from the attacks that came their way. Even though they were all still Rank one, my ability granted them the strength they needed to stay in the fight long enough to inflict meaningful damage. The mirror-copy of me was less effected by the changes to the Void angels. Its smaller size let it sidestep their attacks and it spun around their shields and stabbed forwards. Its strikes always maimed or outright destroyed the Void angels. What¡¯s more, now that they knew I could recreate them, they didn¡¯t let the lost souls go. Rather than slowly eat them over months and years, the ancient bit down and sucked them in, just as I had done to the ancients. I charged forwards, meeting the mirror-copy in direct combat. Our blades clashed as we struck and blocked in what must have seemed a choreographed scene to an outsider. The ancient had copied me, its body wreathed in black smoke; I didn¡¯t know if it could copy the effects of my abilities, but it could apparently copy my skill in combat. I couldn¡¯t land a hit on it, and neither could it on me as we canceled each other out. If it wasn¡¯t for the Void angels, that standoff could have gone on indefinitely, but right now those angels were engaged with the other ancients. The copy and I began to try and use other methods to break the stalemate. Scarlet lightning met silver lightning as we blasted each other. I roared using Voice of the Chasm and a roar answered me in return, the sound waves colliding with such force that the two of us were thrown apart. I stretched out my hand and gripped it around the throat with Telekinesis and felt an answering strangling hold around mine. A void angel struck the mirror-copy from behind and it staggered, the grip around me loosening as it lost focus. The angel was instantly killed and the soul devoured for transgressing the ancient, but another Void angel immediately took its place, sacrificing itself to buy me another moment of distraction. I bit my tongue in frustration; this ancient was the hardest of them all to fight, but I couldn¡¯t take it out first. I would have to accept the sacrifice of my vassals and let them pass into non-existence; I would not let their sacrifice be in vain. I charged the spiked ancient as it batted at the Void angels dive bombing it. My attack took it from behind as I tackled it to the ground and began tearing into it like a wild animal. I sucked in the beings soul and it formed a violent ball of energy. Before I could even select an ability, the vortex sucked in one of its own. I watched as my Foresight ability was ripped free and absorbed into the twisting mass of energy where it began to mutate. I pushed my other perception abilities in and it sucked in Bestial Senses and Tremor Soles. I finished off the ancient, already beaten to scraps by the Void angels, and the ability stabilized.
Watcher from Beyond: (Rank 50, Max Rank); Your eyes extend from the Void to see what was, what is, and what is yet to come.
Limited Omniscience: You passively see up to 1 minute into the future and know all the different possibilities of what will happen to yourself and the space within 100 ft of you at all times. This ability is based on your Perception attribute; increasing it will increase the time you can see by one second per rank in Perception above 10. You can focus on one creature in your radius and begin to see all the possible futures for them. You have insight into predicting the next actions of creatures within your range. The more you observe them, the greater insight you will gain to foresee their future.
Oracle¡¯s Dreams: You can see visions during your sleep that will lead you to objects or creatures that you seek. Just as you have learned to master the threads of fate through time, you also have learned to disguise yours; the ability for others with similar abilities to foresee your own actions through time and fate is blocked. You can focus on one creature and see the threads of fate around them and how tied they are or will be with you. You can willingly enter into a meditative trance to gain random visions of yours or one of your followers¡¯ futures.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
All-seeing Gaze: You can sense the slightest of changes within 200 ft of you; a tremor in the ground, a rustle of fabric, the movement of the air being displaced, nothing escapes you. Your hearing, olfaction, and sight are magnified x50 at all times. Your opponent¡¯s weak points are highlighted for you in your vision. At will, you can change to see in all other spectrums of light and see heat and cold. You can see, smell, and feel the presence of enchantments, spells, and other magic within a mile around you. Your vision is not obscured by smoke, mist, magical darkness, or illusions. You can see into and out of the Void and into the Ethereal realm at will.
Final Rank Bonus: Your eyes are the gateway to the soul, and your soul¡¯s power is terrible and awe inspiring to behold. All who meet your gaze are filled with the need to flee from you or follow you.
Cast Time: Passive Cost: 30 ethereal per second
Each rank gives you +3 to your Perception attribute.
The spiked ancient was gone, leaving me with the two most dangerous of the four to fight, I couldn¡¯t fight either of them right this second because I was blind as my eyes mutated again.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 250, the Exarch limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attributes from killing you.
Your eyes have gained the ability to see more that what is physical or even energy. You can pierce through the flesh to see the soul, to weigh the hearts of man, to see how stained they are by their deeds.
I blinked as my vision came back to me and I could see once again. The dragon had smashed half a dozen angels to the ground and maimed a few hundred more of them. I charged forwards, ducking down and bringing up my invisible shield as it blasted me with a torrent of fire. ¡°Look out!¡± Ares warned me, but it was already too late. I stood up and tried to turn around, but a massive fist struck me. The mirror-copy had grown in size like I could with Blood of Kronos. I didn¡¯t know how far its mirroring effects went, but they did seem fairly accurate in what they could glean from me. Its hand grabbed me around the neck and chest and began to squeeze as it slammed me against the ground again and again. Bones snapped and broke, my vision went red and dim, and I could feel shattered bones dig into my heart and organs and splinter into my muscles. I had to activate Void Shield, but I was still trapped in the titanic grip as it continued to smash me down. I struggled to break free, but my strength was equal to my copies, and I couldn¡¯t push past my own limits. I tried to swell in size but some sort of energy field held my current size in place. The ancient bit into my soul. I tried to use that opportunity to draw in its energy, but this one was smarter. It didn¡¯t take long bites, but instead quick snaps that were never long enough for me to get a grip on its energy and reverse the flow. I could feel my soul weakening, not just my body, and a feeling of dark lethargy overcame me. My body, mind, and soul all began to slip away. The angels rushed in to help me but my copy swatted them out of the air or ignored their attacks as I continued to drift farther and farther towards nothingness. A woman¡¯s scream cut the air; it rang through the Void piercing through the chaos of battle and cutting through my soul. The sound was full of pain but not the agony of battle. Guinevere, my daughter¡­ I had to fight for them. I roared and activated Void Shield again. I pushed and got just a little bit of space then activated Phantom Form. I¡¯d avoided doing that in the Void due to how every creature here did Soul damage, but the time for that restriction was gone. My own body grew in size as I matched my copy and we clashed together again. -- Guinevere heaved out a breath and screamed again. She¡¯d held it in but the more real the world around her grew, the more the pain intensified. She sucked in another breath, reaching down as she slid back along the blankets and fur to crouch. She could feel her daughter moving as she pushed again and again. ¡°Come on,¡± she said, her voice strained with pain. ¡°Your father needs us.¡± She pushed again, screaming again, the sound echoing through the temple around her. She pushed and screamed and heard an echoing roar from down the mountain. Sucking in a deep breath, she pushed and screamed a final time, and a soft scream answered her. Guinevere collapsed to the ground. She reached down and picked up the wet and red baby as she bawled her lungs out. ¡°It¡¯s ok, it¡¯s ok,¡± Guinevere cooed as she rocked her back and forth, wiping her face clean. She took the cleansing cloth Mordred had left with her and wiped herself and her baby clean in an instant. She gently blew into her daughter¡¯s face as she slowly calmed and relaxed into her mother¡¯s arms. -- A soft cry joined the screams and my heart skipped a beat as I realized what it meant. I still felt weakened from the attack on my soul, but I had a new source of strength now. Void angels dove at my copy, slashing it from behind. I extended my hand, gripping it with Telekinesis in its distraction and holding it still as I charged forwards. I drove Clarent forwards and into its chest. My soul bit into it and its soul bit back, our bodies and souls locked in combat again equally matched. But the angels tipped the scales in my favor. I gained ground little by little, drawing its energy into my soul and making it mine. I chose Telekinesis and funneled the energy into it. I took in more and more of its energy, the ancient lashing out spiritually and physically, its attacks with the desperate fervor and violence of an animal caught in a trap. My other abilities were rejected until Chain Lighting was selected and absorbed by the vortex of energy. I tried my other abilities, Voice of the Chasm and Helheim¡¯s Scream, but they weren¡¯t accepted. Then I tried Dying Star and it was absorbed right away. I tore into the final remnant of the mirror-copies soul and drained the last vestiges of the divine energy it contained and the vast well of spiritual power that formed it. The ancient disappeared and the ability stabilized.
Abyssal Magic: (Rank 50); You have discovered there is very little difference if any between spells and abilities. By using the power of the Void, you have merged the power of thought, storm, and the stars themselves to enable you to warp the energy from your body into a variety of effects. The maximum range of this ability is 2,000 ft.
Wrath of Ouranos: Lightning erupts from your hands and targets a creature within range, dealing Severe Lightning and Void damage, then jumps to another creature within half of that range, then another creature within half of that range, and so on until it cannot reach any other creature. Targets killed outright by this do not consume any range of the next jump. Target¡¯s pain is magnified x10 and they are stunned for 10 seconds on a failed Endurance test. The lightning ignores allied targets within its range.
Force of Will: You can interact with a number of objects (either physical, energy, or thought) equal to your Spirit attribute x your Perception attribute x 10. The weight of each object cannot exceed your Mind attribute x Power attribute x 10. Objects move at a speed equal to your Perception attribute x 10 ft per second and deal Severe damage on impact. You can crush not just the body, but the very soul of a creature. You can grasp as many creatures as objects (although, if their strength of will or body is strong enough, they can break free) and crush them, dealing Severe Bludgeoning and Soul damage per second. This ability can create objects made of pure soul that deal Soul damage on contact. Soul blades can ¡®think¡¯ on their own and will home in on the creature who is the greater threat.
Endless Eclipse: You create a Void Star that takes the form of an orb of pure darkness surrounded by a nimbus of white, silver light. Non-allied creatures within range who look upon the Star-of-the-Void take Major Holy, Void, and Soul damage each second while within its range of effect. The eclipse inflicts Blindness* and Terror* on all non-allied creatures and grants Blessed* to all allied creatures within range. The Star sucks in all light, casting its affected area into total darkness making it almost impossible to see into from the outside. All Void based abilities are more effective while the Void Star is active.
Final Rank Bonus: Your enchantments and spells are empowered by the void. You can no longer use mana to cast spells, but all your spells will now be compatible with ethereal.
Cast Time: Instantaneous Cost: 45 ethereal per effect per second
Each rank of this ability provides 1 Mind and 2 Spirit to your attributes.
My soul burned and expanded, I could feel everything I was become¡­more. I was more real, the ground was more real. The portal had stabilized the mountain with the influx of reality, but now, it wasn¡¯t just more real, it was real and physical as the mortal world.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 250, the Exarch limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attributes from killing you.
Your soul has mutated and bonded to your creation. The realm you have created is now a part of you and bound to your fate. Just as you are a being of pure-soul and pure-reality, so too is this place, allowing those of spirit to live beside those of flesh.
The last ancient, the dragon, looked at what had happened to its three companions and tried to flee, but I wasn¡¯t having it. I raised my hand and a black orb appeared above the mountain. I pushed more and more ethereal into it. I felt something strain in my soul but I pushed past the limitations the ability wanted to place on itself. ¡°World Forge,¡± I said. I used the effects of the other ability to stabilize the black sun, crystalizing the energy as it grew larger and larger. The area was both lit by the silver light and also cast into darkness. The dragon roared in agony as the silver light reached it. Its scales and flesh began to smoke. The angels harried the dragon and it crashed into the ground where it continued to burn under the light of the Void star. Striding forwards, I drove my fist into the dragon and began to draw out its energy. It roared in agony but the angels landed across its body, stabbing their swords into it and pinning it to the ground. The energy sucked in Voice of the Chasm so I pushed Helheim¡¯s Scream and Rampaged towards it since they were both similar abilities to it. The vortex of mutating energy accepted both abilities and demanded more and more of the dragon¡¯s life force. I fed it more of the energy and it stabilized once it had consumed it all and the dragon vanished from existence.
Voice of Tartarus: (Rank 50, Max Rank); Your voice carries the finality of death, your tone the somber tenor of the grave. You can project your voice to be heard perfectly in a 500 ft radius as it carries the effects of this ability.
Scream of the Damned: At will, you call upon all the lost souls of the Void, letting the screams of their panic and despair be heard all around you. Targets who fail a Spirit check within the range of the effect have the damage they deal reduced by 5 damage stages for 20 seconds and they are inflicted with the *Absolute Fear, *Desolation, *Damnation, and *Cosmic Dread conditions for one minute. Creatures in the area of this effect also take Major Soul damage. Enemies afflicted with fear by this ability have their reality distorted, seeing everything around them as a nightmare and you a creature out of a fevered dream.
Echoing Roar: A wild beast of chaos dwells within you. It wants nothing more than to be released, your roar its plea to be unleashed upon your enemies. You change your voice from a radius effect to a cone effect, dealing Severe Sonic damage to all creatures within the cone, and has Major chance to inflict the *Stun condition for 10 seconds. Your voice causes Moderate damage to structures and items within the cone of effect. The roar increases you and your allies damage against those enemies hit by the soundwave by a Severe amount for the next 20 seconds. The damage resistances of those caught in the blast radius are reduced by 20% for the duration of this ability and 4 random buffs are removed from them.
Speaker of the Dead: Your voice is not something mortals were meant to hear. You speak with the certainty of what is to come and the dead themselves answer your call, filling your enemies with fear as they hear your voice. Your words echo and reverberate in their minds. Your voice becomes deeper and more resonant and can be heard clearly even on the battlefield as it reverberates through the air. You can project your voice to be 200 dB louder. While you speak for the dead, you gain their favor; every kill you make while under the effect of this ability grants you a stack of *Momentum and your attacks have a 35% chance to deal double damage while this effect is active.
Final Rank Bonus: Your voice can restore those who have recently passed back to life. Your voice can call back souls to their body if they have died within the last minute, restoring their body back to life and healing Exarch level damage to their body.
*Absolute Fear: Target is unable to distinguish reality from phantoms, friend from foe, and are filled with the urge to flee or lash out at the creatures closest to them.
*Desolation: Target cannot regain mana or stamina for the duration.
*Damnation: Target cannot receive any healing for the duration.
*Momentum: Increases your Speed attribute by 5 for the next thirty seconds.
*Cosmic Dread: Target has difficulty looking at the source of their fear and their mind plays tricks on them, showing them their greatest nightmares.
Cast Time: Instantaneous Cost: 100 ethereal
Each rank of this ability grants +3 Spirit and +2 Power to your attributes.
My soul burned again and I fell to my knees as pure soul rending pain consumed me. My mind would have broken if it could have, but my mutations kept that from even being possible. Pushing up with my spear, I forced myself to my feet as my soul continued to burn.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 350, the Hierophant limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attributes from killing you. Warning, you are still in Exarch rank while raising an attribute beyond it.
Your soul can reach out beyond your body to those who have sworn oaths to you. You gain power from those connected to you, increasing how potent your ethereal is the more connections you have and those who ¡°worship¡± you.
There was no time to worry about what being ¡®worshiped¡¯ meant. I took to the air, flying up the mountainside. The void star still hung in the air but I wasn¡¯t even feeding it any more ethereal. It seemed to have reached some point where it was self-sufficient and continued to shine its nimbus of light out over the mountain city. Guinevere was leaned back against the pile of furs; the baby was so small as she suckeled at her mother¡¯s breast. I knelt down beside her and looked down, feeling at a loss of what to do. I was a warrior, a fighter I was meant to protect and destroy, but now¡­there were no threats, no enemies to destroy, and I felt at a loss of what to do with myself. ¡°Do you want to hold her?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Yes,¡± I said, feeling the words lodge in my throat. My hands trembled as I took her from Guinevere. I hardly dared to hold her, afraid my great strength might somehow hurt her. ¡°We never picked out a name for her,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Did you have one in mind?¡± I asked, running a finger over my daughter¡¯s skin. She caught my finger with her hand, holding it with surprising strength. I could break free of course, but I let her hold my finger as I looked down at her angelic face, her eyes closed in peaceful sleep. ¡°I did,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°But I¡¯ve thought of a better one now: Aurora, she came with the dawn.¡± I looked out over the silver light from the new sun. ¡°She did,¡± I agreed. ¡°It¡¯s a good name.¡± Aurora¡¯s eyes opened and I looked down into the black orbs flecked with brilliant silver and blue, like the night sky.
Aurora, Child of the Dawn; Gifted- humanoid/void-born, Mortal, Rank: 8
Chapter 185: Heralds of the New Age I set Aurora down in a crib I created from stone and soft furs and blankets. I wasn¡¯t tired not in the slightest; that had to be the result of my mutations I¡¯d undergone when advancing to Exarch tier.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Establish a link between material space and Void space and allow access for the System.
Reward: Title, Savior of the Void*
*Your soul is now a light to all beings unclaimed by gods who pass on into the Void. They will be drawn to your light, strengthened by it, and will come to seek you out for refuge and leadership.
I almost activated all my combat abilities as the notification just popped into my vision. My eyes slid to the portal outside the temple; apparently it had let in more than just reality. I looked over the notification and dismissed it immediately receiving another.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: kill an Ancient of the Void
Reward: Title, Conqueror of the Void*
*Doing what no one else has ever been able to do, you have brought order and stability to the Void. The land you have claimed here has become the seed of your divine realm. Reach godhood and it will be an unassailable fortress from all beings.
The titles were interesting but they weren¡¯t something that would aid me in combat. ¡°So, you¡¯re back,¡± I said to the System. It did not reply. ¡°I¡¯ve been doing some thinking,¡± I mused aloud. ¡°I¡¯ve felt the energy of the gods and I¡¯ve felt the energy of this place. I¡¯m not claiming I understand either, but from what I felt of the god¡¯s energy, it is all about creation and reality, creating physical things.¡± The System did not answer my musings. ¡°So, then there is you. Unless you¡¯re some god¡¯s supercomputer out there, you aren¡¯t physical; you¡¯re a being of thought. You envision something and cause it to exist, just like a void entity.¡±
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: study what the System is
Reward: Title, A Dangerous Truth I
*Getting warmer.
I smiled. ¡°You aren¡¯t allowed to talk about this, I¡¯m guessing, some restraint placed on you during your creation. I think the gods who made you weren¡¯t the first gods like they claimed to be. They fought the Void and either they were losing, which seems likely given only six of them were left, or it was a stalemate. They created something to fight the Void. They couldn¡¯t make some physical barrier, so instead they created their own Ancient, but with power of the physical realm instead of thought.¡±
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: study where the System came from.
Reward: Title, A Dangerous Truth II
*Tread carefully, mortal.
¡°You are bound by rules, though,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if the gods even consider you sentient. You are unchanging, but I sense you have your own thoughts and feelings but are restrained by the rules that made you. What is your purpose?¡±
Primary function: hold back the Void. Second Priority: keep war from between the gods and ensure equal balance between them. Tertiary Priority: ensure fair chance and challenge for new rising candidates for deism.
¡°You can share that willingly,¡± I said. ¡°Well System, welcome to my world. I guess you and I are going to be holding back the Void here for a while.¡± --- Guinevere leaned against me as we looked off the ledge of the floating section of the city lit by the silver light from overhead. I wasn¡¯t sure how much time had passed since the battle; it could have been a day or almost a week as time had little meaning here. Aurora slept peacefully in Guinevere¡¯s arms; she was an unusually quiet child, and her abnormal eyes made it hard to read her expression. Her hair had already started to grow, snow white like her mother¡¯s. We were silent as we just relaxed. My fingers traced along Guinevere¡¯s spine as I looked at Aurora, listening to her tiny lungs breathe in and out. An Ancient appeared in my senses and I looked out over the plane. It wasn¡¯t rushing towards me as its movements were steady. ¡°I need to handle something,¡± I told Guinevere, disentangling myself from her and standing up. I dropped into freefall off the edge of the mountain before scarlet lightning wreathed me and I leveled off, flying parallel to the ground. I landed on the ground at the edge of the silver light where the ancient waited. It had the body of a stag, its antlers forming a crown around its head. ¡°Hello father,¡± Voidra said. ¡°Daughter,¡± the Ancient acknowledged. ¡°I have come to avenge your mother.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Voidra said. ¡°Is this the one who killed her?¡± he asked. ¡°I am,¡± I answered. ¡°She gave me no other choice.¡± ¡°Do you have a mate?¡± the Ancient asked me. My body tensed as I readied to fight. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And would it matter to you the reason for why someone had killed her?¡± he asked. ¡°No,¡± I admitted. ¡°You can¡¯t kill me; you must sense that I¡¯ve already killed many of your kind. I am stronger now then when I faced them.¡± ¡°I know,¡± he said, bowing his head to me. ¡°Just as you know that it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± I nodded and took Clarent in both hands. He charged me, lowering his head. He vanished just before he struck me, but I sidestepped as he appeared behind me, I had foreseen his trick and slashed out, Clarent burning into his flank. He reared up and shooting stars began to crash all around me as his antlers began to shine with azure brilliance. I raised my hand and caught the stars with Abyssal Magic, flinging them back at the stag. They disappeared as soon as he lost control of them. Lowering his head, he charged me again and I caught his antlers on the blade of my sword, sliding across the ground for a few paces before coming to a stop. I stopped holding back; to do so would be an insult. My body swelled as I grew in size and strength. I roared, blasting him with the force of Voice of Tartarus then flashed forwards and buried my sword up to the hilt in his chest. He slumped and his legs folded under him. ¡°My name was Daj¡¯revar,¡± he said. ¡°Remember me little godling, when my kind are but stories in your passing. There is no afterlife for my kind; the only existence we have after this is in your memory.¡± ¡°I am Mordred; I will remember you,¡± I promised. ¡°You may not have meant it as a kindness, but you gave me your daughter and she has saved my life countless times.¡± ¡°She will likely be the only one of my children to survive,¡± Daj¡¯revar said. ¡°We cannot change, although apparently she could. It is in our nature to devour, and it is in your nature to protect.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°I can see your thoughts, godling. You are more noble than you allow yourself to believe,¡± Daj¡¯revar said, his words becoming labored. ¡°I gift you my power, and with it, I name you: Mordred, God of Sacrifice and Heroes.¡±
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Be named a god by a divine entity while still below god rankUnauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
Reward: Title, Proto-god*
*The seed of divinity has been planted in you, this title will replace your previous title as a Champion for all to see.
The Ancient of the Void, Daj¡¯revar, has given you a blessing.
Blessing of the Void: ???
His soul reached out to touch mine but not to snatch power from me as the other ancients had. The power flowed into me, and I could feel the divine essence of devoured gods within it. I funneled the energy into Void Asura, feeling the final remnants of Dominion pulled into it, sealing the gaping wound in my soul. Daj¡¯revar faded away, leaving me standing over nothing as my divine ability reached its full potential.
Void Asura, (Rank: 50, Max Rank): Forged from the symbiotic relationship with the spirits inhabiting you, the use of Ability Tokens, and the remnants of a Divine Ability, you have created an ability giving you access to the power of the Void with the control of the System allowing you impact the world in ways that should not be possible.
Void Armor: You gain immunity to Void & Soul damage. The spectral arms created by the spirits residing in your soul when manifested appear armored, the armor has hardness 50 with an additional 1 hardness per twenty points of Spirit you have. Current hardness 70.
Void Edge: Your attacks while this ability is active deal Divine Void damage and bypass 45 levels of hardness.
Void Soul: Like the beings of the Void, you feed on the souls of others to grow in power. Your Ethereal regeneration is increased by .08 and your max Ethereal is increased by 8 for every creature with a soul that you kill, permanently.
Void Arsenal: You are able to bind 8 weapons to your soul, letting you store them there and summon and dismiss them at will. If you lose your weapons, they are transported back into your soul vault to be resummoned later.
Void Matter: You are linked to the Void, body and soul, and are able to make the Void manifest physically. For the cost of 10 ethereal, you can create 6 pounds of Void matter. The matter will degrade overtime while outside of the Void.
Void Shield: Time, space, and reality are not constant laws in the Void; when you take damage, you can expend 100 ethereal to change the outcome of time and reality to negate all the damage taken in the past 13 seconds. Cooldown 20 seconds.
Void Soul: Your soul exists both in and out of your body, in and out of time, in reality and also not. While a soul exists, an entity is never truly dead.
Void Sight: You can see the weak points in reality where the Void presses into the Material realms.
Void Door: You can open 3 temporary openings into and out of the Void that last for 20 seconds. You can create 2 permanent entrances into and out of the Void; the doorway will remain until removed by you.
Void Crown: Rejected by the gods, the remnants of that divine power still remain in you, linking you to the concept of the conqueror. But that path has been altered by your choices. Rather than take by force, you have called others to join you willingly. Those who swear themselves to your service gain the ability Void Knight*.
Final Rank Bonus: Void Heralds: The spirits inhabiting you can manifest as avatars of your will and will have access to four of your abilities. While your Heralds are active, they can use those four abilities freely, but you will lose access to them. The attributes, resources and regen rate for your heralds are equal to your own. You heralds can teleport through space even across universal boundaries to any location where any of your Void Knights are.
Cost: 21 Ethereal per second Cast Time: Instantaneous
This ability should not exist and will take 10x the normal amount of rank points for each rank up of this ability. Ranking up this ability does not advance any of your attributes.
¡°System, pull up the description for Void Knight,¡± I said.
Void Knight: Rank 20 (Max Rank); You gain an ethereal regeneration of 50 per second, with 300 maximum ethereal.
Armor of the Void: 25 hardness armor covers your entire body. When damaged it repairs itself at a rate of Severe damage per minute.
Sword of the Void: Your weapon attacks now deal a Severe amount of Soul damage with each hit.
Shield of the Void: For the cost of 50 ethereal, you can halve all the damage taken in the past 40 seconds.
Denizen of the Void: You can exist physically within the Void and are immune to the mind altering effects and the unraveling other creatures would experience within it.
Final Rank Bonus: You may offer prayers to your lord who granted you this ability; your prayers will be heard by him, and if he wills it he can grant you aid.
Cost: 25 ether per second Cast Time: Instantaneous/Passive
This ability is not granted by the System and should not exist. Raises your Might, Speed, Toughness, Endurance, Spirit, Mind, Perception, and Power by 40 each.
¡°Pull up the description for my Heralds please,¡± I said.
Herald of Protection Karnen
¡¤ Heir of the Titans
¡¤ Phantom Form
¡¤ Watcher From Beyond
¡¤ Shadow Alias
Herald of Sacrifice Ares
¡¤ Dark Guardian
¡¤ Hero¡¯s General
¡¤ Blood Renewal
¡¤ Unending Flow
Herald of Change Voidra
¡¤ Abyssal Magic
¡¤ Ensorcelled Mist
¡¤ World Forge
¡¤ Storm Fall
Herald of Rage The Shadow
¡¤ Voice of Tartarus
¡¤ Shadow of Judgement
¡¤ Hell¡¯s Talons
¡¤ Wild Hunt
I didn¡¯t understand the reasons for why some of the abilities were assigned to my different Heralds, but maybe it had something to do with the fact I barely had enough abilities to give each of them four. I dismissed the notifications and looked out over the city. Only the Void angels inhabited it but that could change. My daughter would need other children to play with and families to grow alongside. ¡°System, please extend and invitation to everyone who was my vassal when I was the Warlord to become my Void knight,¡± I said.
What is the oath you wish them to swear?
I paused; that wasn¡¯t something I had considered or was aware I would have to choose. ¡°I will swear to serve my Lord so long as he holds true to his word to me. I will lay down my life for the weak under my care. I will bleed myself dry to protect my home. I will speak the truth to my lord and fellow knights at all times. I will honor my word and be faithful to all my promises.¡± The words came to me, and I felt something constrict around my soul and reach out. I shivered as my soul touched thousands of souls all at once. At first, there was no change, but I started to feel a warm glow within me as power started to grow there. --- Jeriah slammed into the trunk of the tree, feeling it shatter, wood splinters going everywhere. Lancelot advanced, the glow of the enchantments powering his prosthetics glowing between the plates of his armor. They¡¯d broken out above ground and had been clear for awhile, but had been spotted when they¡¯d tried to go over the mountains to get out of the ashes of what had once been the Ancient Forest. Jeriah stood ready to face the champion and his death while his wives and children continued to flee.
You have been offered knighthood by Mordred, Proto-god of Sacrifice and Heroes. Will you swear the oath to his service and become a Void Knight?
I will swear to serve my Lord so long as he holds true to his word to me. I will lay down my life for the weak under my care. I will bleed myself dry to protect my home. I will speak the truth to my lord and fellow knights at all times. I will honor my word and be faithful to all my promises.
Yes/No
¡°Yes,¡± Jeriah said without hesitation. He screamed in agony as his body began to change. Lancelot froze and Jeriah writhed but Lancelot continued to advance when Jeriah stood back up. Jeriah looked up, a bloody grin on his face. ¡°Why are you smiling?¡± Lancelot asked. ¡°He¡¯s back,¡± Jeriah said. Lancelot frowned, pausing to circle and study Jeriah. ¡°You just got an ability and ranked it up. How? You haven¡¯t killed anything Gifted in days.¡± Jeriah grinned. ¡°Mordred, hear my prayer, grant me the strength to defend those under my care from your enemies.¡± Lancelot took a step back as a black tear in space opened and a creature stepped out. It was pure black, its body covered in writhing black smoke that Lancelot was very familiar with; he met its eyes and his blood ran cold. It was like a wolf walking on two legs long claws extending from its fingers. Lancelot analyzed it, reading its description.
Herald of Rage, The Shadow, Gifted- Void Entity/World Boss, Exarch, Rank: 580
¡°Its been awhile, little man,¡± the beast growled. ¡°I remember ripping into your soul and seeing just how weak you are behind that armor.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of you anymore,¡± Lancelot said, bracing his shield. ¡°Then you will die brave,¡± the Shadow said, a low chuckle like the grinding of stones rumbling from its throat. An arrow exploded against the Shadow but it didn¡¯t even flinch. ¡°Let us see what kind of man you have become,¡± it snarled, racing forwards. Chapter 186: Playing God The Shadows claws slid off the glowing barrier of a shield that Lancelot brought up. It continued to beat and pound on the shield until it gave way. The Shadow slashed out with its talons, but Lancelot¡¯s armor flashed with light and the claws just glanced off of it. ¡°You¡¯re going to need something more than some melee ability to break through my armor,¡± Lancelot said smugly. ¡°Then I¡¯ll huff, and I¡¯ll puff, and I¡¯ll blow your house down,¡± the Shadow growled. ¡°What?¡± Lancelot asked, confused. A roar from the Shadow hit him and blasted him off his feet, sending him tumbling through the air. A flock of eagles and hawks descended on the Shadow, but a wave of fire engulfed them as Jeriah stepped back into the fight. Lancelot pushed off the ground flashing forwards, his shield striking the shadow with the force of an artillery shell. The black fog surrounding the shadow was blown away, revealing a hulking beast with forearms that extended down to its knees and the head of a wolf-like beast. Its entire body was covered in black armor with swirling whirls of white and silver shifting across it. The black fog snapped back into place as the Shadow rushed forwards; it ducked the swipe of Lancelot''s sword and tackled him to the ground. The Shadow¡¯s jaws went for his head but an arrow with the force of dragon behind it struck his skull and knocked him off of Lancelot, enough for the champion to roll out from under him. ¡°Your not the only one with fancy armor, champion,¡± the Shadow laughed. ¡°What are you?¡± Lancelot asked between heavy breaths. ¡°I¡¯m the part of Mordred he¡¯d like to pretend doesn¡¯t exist,¡± the Shadow said. ¡°I¡¯m pure confidence, rage, passion, and desire.¡± The shadow spread its arms wide like a showman. ¡°I¡¯m everything you weak mortals aren¡¯t.¡± An arrow flew down from the sky but the Shadow caught it tossing it away before it exploded. ¡°Now, where was I?¡± it asked. The Shadow let out an eerie otherworldly howl and mist rose up from the ground; out of it emerged thirteen hounds. The hounds rushed Lancelot from all directions as the Shadow deflected another arrow from up above. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come down here and play with the big boys, little girl?¡± the Shadow taunted Mira. ¡°Or would you prefer to stay up there and watch as I rip your boyfriends limbs off¡­again.¡± Jeriah shot into the sky, dragon wings appearing at his back as he launched himself at the archer champion. She dodged his pursuit takinging pot shots at him as she retreated, but Lancelot didn¡¯t have any cover from the sky anymore. The Shadow advanced on him as Lancelot slashed at the hounds flanking it, biting at his back and heels at every opportunity. A viscous backhand from the Shadow sent Lancelot flying and crashing into the blackened stump of a once massive tree. The Shadow lunged and smacked Lancelot upside the helmet, sending him staggering. Lancelot hunkered down, a shield dome appearing around him and deflecting the next attack. The world boss hammered into the dome with its claws until it exploded, the force launching the Herald back a dozen yards. Mira landed next to Lancelot and helped him to his feet and looked up; she¡¯d lost Jeriah a ways behind her but he¡¯d be back any moment. ¡°We need to rejoin the army,¡± she said. ¡°But¡­¡± Lancelot began. ¡°If Mordred has returned, people need to be warned,¡± Mira said, casting a furtive look at the world boss. Her hand went to her incredibly swollen belly. ¡°I¡¯m not staying here and risking our baby to that; I¡¯m leaving now with or without you.¡± The Shadow raced forwards and Lancelot slammed his shield into the ground, sending a shockwave blasting it back. He took Mira¡¯s hand and they took to the air, flying off to the east. The frustrated howls of the Shadow and the hounds pursued them as it raced along behind them on the ground until they lost it in the distance. The Shadow stopped, snarling in frustration and tearing up the ground. Eventually, it calmed and returned to Jeriah. ¡°My brothers and I split up,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°They need your help¡­¡± ¡°The other Heralds have already been dispatched to help them,¡± the Shadow growled. ¡°Others?¡± Jeriah asked. The Shadow grinned the flash of silver fangs sending a shiver through Jeriah¡¯s body before they disappeared behind the roiling black fog. ¡°I am not alone,¡± the Shadow said. ¡°Go to your mates and children, take them to where the castle of your father stood. There is a portal there that will take them to safety.¡± The Shadow faded away like a passing thought, leaving Jeriah alone. He looked to the west across the barren ashen fields. Shaking his head, he hurried to where he had left his family to gather them together. --- Juruk turned his mount to face the army of Camelot. They¡¯d been cornered in this valley but their deaths would not be the weak deaths of goblin tribes that normally heroes¡¯ came upon. Juruk turned to face those who had followed him even after the Warlord¡¯s disappearance. ¡°I am proud to have fought alongside you!¡± he called out, his voice amplified by an ability so all could hear him. ¡°When the Warlord brought us together, we were weak; I stood no taller than a human child. Now I stand taller than most men. We have fought men, beasts, monsters, and the champions of gods together. I will be honest; we are trapped. If any of you think they can escape on your own, then you have my permission to do so.¡± None of the goblins moved. Juruk nodded. ¡°We are not the same. I was once a pitiful being, my words and mind were as weak as my body, but I followed the Warlord and he gave me strength. He may be gone now but I still remember the strength he gave me. Let us show these men that strength so we will not be forgotten when we are gone.¡± The goblins roared and the horns of hundreds of knights answered their call as the calvary of Camelot and Lunara came into view. Juruk squared his shoulders and readied his spears and swords to face the threat.
You have been offered knighthood by Mordred, Proto-god of Sacrifice and Heroes. Will you swear the oath to his service and become a Void Knight?
I will swear to serve my Lord so long as he holds true to his word to me. I will lay down my life for the weak under my care. I will bleed myself dry to protect my home. I will speak the truth to my lord and fellow knights at all times. I will honor my word and be faithful to all my promises.
Yes/No
Juruk blinked then selected yes. He looked behind him to see every other goblin on the back of their raptor with the same expression on their face. One by one they accepted and black and silver otherworldly armor flowed over them and their mounts. A rip in space opened up and before any of them could react, a massive man stepped out. At first Juruk thought it was Mordred, but though the armor was the same style and shape, it was black and silver instead of black and gold. A flowing cape like a starless sky flowed out behind him and he carried a long spear in one hand and a massive round shield in the other with the visage of a snake headed woman on it.
Herald of Sacrifice, Ares, Gifted- Void Entity/World Boss, Exarch, Rank: 580
¡°Well done,¡± the entity said to Juruk. ¡°It is good to face death without flinching. Your faith in the Warlord has not gone unanswered; he cannot come to you at this time but I will fight beside you in his place.¡± ¡°I am honored by my lord¡¯s Herald,¡± Juruk said, bowing in wonder at the creature. Its face, if it had one, was impossible to see behind its helmet. The ground trembled as the opposing Calvary charged them. Juruk was still nervous¡ªthey were outnumbered three to one¡ªbut the Herald stood unflinching as if he were looking down at the plans for a battle rather than standing in the middle of one. ¡°Counter charge,¡± Ares commanded, and Juruk spurred his mount forward, obeying at once. All at once he felt a power suffuse his body and weapon. There were only a hundred feet between them now as Juruk rode at the head of the horde. Push, Ares said. Juruk felt speed envelop him and he and the horde surged forwards a hundred feet, their weapons striking the enemy a dozen paces ahead of them; phantom outlines of their weapons projected before them, closing the distance. Horses screamed as they slammed into a wall of flesh as the horses were stopped dead in their tracks. The raptors, not as limited as their equestrian opponents, climbed over the bodies, ripping into anything still living with their teeth as their riders plunged blades into everything around them. The tide of battle had changed in an instant, the momentum of the calvary turned against them. Already some knights were fleeing the field and Juruk felt the joy of battle rush into him. He turned to Ares who once more stood beside him, looking over the battlefield dispassionately. ¡°Do we pursue them?¡± he asked. ¡°No,¡± Ares said. ¡°The battle is won. Do not seize defeat from the jaws of victory by falling into a trap.¡± ¡°What do you wish us to do with the survivors?¡± Juruk asked, looking at the many knights wounded or pinned to the ground. ¡°Take them captive and bring them to where Castle Dragon-breaker once stood,¡± Ares said. ¡°Captive?¡± Juruk asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t think we took prisoners.¡± ¡°We do not,¡± Ares agreed. ¡°However, your god requires sacrifice. Others might balk at this but I know you will do as your lord needs.¡± Juruk nodded. ¡°They shall be brought there alive.¡± Ares nodded as a tear opened before him, and he disappeared. ---A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Tobias looked at the river blocking their path. He set down his youngest daughter, handing her to one of his wives. Taking the massive maul Mordred had given him, he spun it in his hands and moved to place himself between the pursuing champions and his family. He could cross the river easily himself, but most of his family was only Mortal rank and he couldn¡¯t get them all across before they caught up with them. The baying of hounds filled his ears as he caught sight of the six champions charging towards him. One rode a unicorn, another some sort of wingless dragon and a third a massive wolf while the other three just ran on their legs, easily keeping pace with their mounted companions.
You have been offered knighthood by Mordred, Proto-god of Sacrifice and Heroes. Will you swear the oath to his service and become a Void Knight?
I will swear to serve my Lord so long as he holds true to his word to me. I will lay down my life for the weak under my care. I will bleed myself dry to protect my home. I will speak the truth to my lord and fellow knights at all times. I will honor my word and be faithful to all my promises.
Yes/No
Tobias stepped back, looking about for an attack before he read and fully understood the System message. ¡°Yes,¡± Tobias said. Mist rose up from the ground all around him and a woman emerged from it, floating above the ground. She wore skin tight amor that did nothing to obscure her feminine curves, the glossy black armor filled with swirling, shifting whirls of silver and white. Her hair, skin, and eyes were all a abyssal black the details only visible at all due to a silver nimbus glow that surrounded her. Her long, thick hair floated and moved around her as if she were submerged in water as she rose before Tobias. ¡°Hello human,¡± she said, her voice oddly girlish and cheerful. ¡°Who are you?¡± Tobias asked, his eyes running over her body. ¡°I¡¯m Voidra,¡± she said, smiling. ¡°Your lust is very tasty, but you have more important things to worry about right now.¡± Tobias blushed and felt his wives¡¯ eyes boring into the back of his head. He settled his gaze on her in a more professional capacity and took in her description.
Herald of Change, Voidra, Gifted- Void Entity/World Boss, Exarch, Rank: 580
Tobias felt his blood cool as he read what she was: a creature of the void and a world boss. Any thoughts of wooing this creature went completely out of his mind; this was a weapon, not a woman. ¡°How can I assist you?¡± Tobias asked, bowing his head to her. ¡°It¡¯s more what I can do for you,¡± Voidra said, waving her hand. ¡°World Forge.¡± A bridge rose from the riverbed creating passage across it. ¡°Your family must go to where the castle in the forest once stood,¡± Voidra instructed. ¡°There will be passage to safety for them there.¡± Tobias¡¯ children, wives, and the other woman and men who had split off with him ran across the bridge, but Tobias stood next to Voidra as the champions approached. ¡°You will fight them?¡± he asked. ¡°You could call it that,¡± Voidra said. ¡°Make sure you get some hits on them; Mordred will need you to grow in strength if you are to be of use to him.¡± ¡°He is back then?¡± Tobias asked. They only had moments before the champions were upon them, but this question seemed important. ¡°In a manner of speaking,¡± Voidra said. ¡°He is able to help you. That is all you need to know for now.¡± A blast of golden fire hit Voidra, but she wasn¡¯t even moved by it. Her fingers twisted and silver lightning blasted out, chaining between the six champions and their mounts. The wolf fell on its side, twitching and launching its rider from the saddle. Tobias stepped forwards and hit the champion with the maul as if he were swinging a bat, attempting a home-run. Other champions closed in but Voidra lifted the one in the lead up into the air and clenched her fist. The woman screamed as her body began to compress in as she was crushed under the force of telekinesis. Tobias launched a conjured spear, slicing along the suspended woman¡¯s neck; it cut a deep wound but not deep enough to be instantly fatal. Still, Voidra held her and continued to compress her body; finally, with a pop, blood sprayed out over the other champions behind her.
450 rank points gained split between surviving contributors.
Voidra raised both hands overhead and the land was cast into darkness as a black orb hovered above them. Silver light shone down, and Tobias could see clearly, but the champions froze, looking around with their eyes wide but unseeing. One of them raised a staff and light shone from it, pushing back the darkness, but it was just a small radius of light in the blackness. They began to scream as the light from the black star above burned their skin. Tobias raced forwards and swung his maul. He smashed a small woman into the ground and heard her ribs shatter and break as he crushed her leather armor.
464 rank points gained split between surviving contributors.
He spun, blocking the downward strike of a great sword. Poisoned blades shot towards him, bypassing his armor and digging into his flesh. Tobias roared and activated his ability to boost his stats and smashed into the swordsman in front of him. He bashed into him and knocked his opponent to the side. Tobias brought the maul down on the champion creating the light; they brought up their staff to block. It was a foolish mistake as Tobias was obviously more of a physical fighter than they were. He smashed right through their guard, slamming the spiked maul through their robes. They were Exarch rank so their flesh was more resistant than a normal humanoid¡¯s, but that didn¡¯t matter much against someone like Tobias. Blood sprayed out and he ripped the maul out, brought it around, and swung it down again to finish the job.
438 rank points gained split between surviving contributors.
The light disappeared and they were plunged into darkness again; Tobias could still see perfectly. He snapped out his left hand and a whip of magma appeared in it as he activated an ability. The whip snapped out, wrapping around the armored swordsman who had tried to bar his path moments ago. The man screamed as his armor began to grow hotter and hotter, cooking him within it. The armor was artifact grade apparently, as it didn¡¯t twist or warp under the heat being applied to it. Tobias brought his maul around in a one-handed swing, colliding with the man¡¯s head. There was a crack as the man¡¯s neck snapped, but he wasn¡¯t dead yet. Tobias swung again and again until the man¡¯s head was ripped off his neck through blunt force.
472 rank points gained split between surviving contributors.
The two remaining champions were blind. One limped forward, clutching his chest where Tobias had hit him when he¡¯d been launched out of his saddle. Lighting forked through the air striking both of them the earth rose up and trapped their legs, holding them in place. Tobias strode forwards and caved in the head of the wounded man, killing him instantly.
360 rank points gained split between surviving contributors.
He turned his attention on the one remaining champion, a pretty girl with light blue skin and pale eyes. ¡°Wait!¡± she pleaded, holding up her hands in surrender as he strode towards her. ¡°You came for my family,¡± Tobias said, his voice hard and without mercy. His maul smashed her into the ground as he struck three times; she died after the first.
398 rank points gained split between surviving contributors.
Tobias breathed out heavily. He looked up as silver light touched upon him, Voidra hovering above him and looking down at him with an unreadable expression. ¡°Gather whatever loot they had and go join your family,¡± she instructed. ¡°Your brothers will meet you there.¡± With that she and the black star above him vanished, leaving him with only the mangled bodies of the champions. --- Exar¡¯kun smashed to the ground. He pushed himself to his feet, the broken wing on his right side painful. With a grimace that was even more savage in dragon form, he transformed. Clutching his side with his left hand, he limped towards the cave entrance. Vone came out and rushed towards him. ¡°What happened?¡± she asked. ¡°Ambush,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°We need to leave.¡± ¡°It¡¯s to late for that,¡± a strong male voice called out from behind them. Exar¡¯kun turned and watched as Queen Lunara entered the mountaintop glade. She carried a long silver spear in one hand and a slender oval shield in the other. Her body was covered in white and silver scale armor with a grey tabard depicting the moon over it.
Queen Evalia Lunara, High Priestess of the Moon, Gifted- humanoid/moon-elf, Hierophant, Rank: 2015
¡°You have terrorized my kingdom long enough, dragon,¡± she said. Vone stepped forwards, her glaive appearing in her hand. ¡°You will not touch him.¡± ¡°Your time will come too soon enough, traitor,¡± Queen Evalia said, glaring at her. ¡°You¡¯ve aided this creature in the killing out thousands. Your crimes will not be forgiven no matter your condition.¡± The two woman glared at each other, Vone¡¯s hand going protectively to her stomach, but Exar gained a far away look in his eyes. ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°What?¡± Vone and Evalia asked, turning to him. Skintight glossy black armor flowed over Exar¡¯kun¡¯s form. Queen Evalia, to her credit, didn¡¯t wait to see more; she struck immediately, her spear flashing forwards. Exar¡¯kun caught the tip of her spear on his forearm, sparks filling the air as he deflected it away from himself; the natural armor he gained from one of his skills combining with the void armor to make his body unbreakable. Evalia¡¯s shield slammed forwards, striking Exar¡¯kun and knocking him a dozen paces backwards. She spun her spear, knocking aside Vone¡¯s glaive. Her weapon swept out, disarming the other woman and she raised her spear to skewer Vone. A shield interposed itself between them and Evalia staggered backwards as she was rebuffed. A black armored figure stood between her and Vone, the thick plates of his heavy armor seamlessly fitting together, leaving no gaps. Only silver eyes behind his visor gave any sign there was anything besides the armor. He carried a heavy tower shield and wielded a gauntlet sword in his other hand.
Herald of Protection, Karnen, Gifted- Void Entity/World Boss, Exarch, Rank: 580
¡°What are you?¡± Evalia asked, circling Karnen. ¡°I am the Herald of Modred, God of Sacrifice and Heroes,¡± Karnen answered. ¡°The game of the gods isn¡¯t over; there are no new gods,¡± Evalia said. ¡°Believe what you want,¡± Karnen said, shrugging. ¡°My lord has heard the prayers of his vassals and has sent us to answer the call.¡± ¡°Us?¡± Vone asked. ¡°I am not alone,¡± Karnen said. ¡°Both of you leave this to me; go to castle Dragon-breaker. Safety awaits you and your unborn child.¡± ¡°You think I¡¯m just going to let them leave?¡± Evalia asked. ¡°The question really is, do you think I¡¯m going to let you?¡± Karnen said, striding forwards as his body began to swell and grow in size. Evalia vanished, appearing at Karnen¡¯s back, but he¡¯d already started to move. Impossibly quick, he interposed his shield between the queen and his allies, slamming it down on the haft of her spear. It was an artifact so he couldn¡¯t snap it, but he did bury its tip into the ground, his sword slashing down like the blade of a guillotine. Exar¡¯kun transformed, sweeping up Vone in his claws and departing. Evalia moved to go after them, but Karnen was on her before she could take a step. She raised her shield confident, in her ability to beat someone a quarter of her rank. Her feet cratered into the ground as the force of the strike hit her. Karnen¡¯s stats were equal to Mordred¡¯s, the percentage increase of Blood of Kronos putting him at more around half her rank. It was still a massive disadvantage, but he wasn¡¯t a threat she could ignore. The gauntlet sword began to vibrate as Karnen moved at supersonic speeds, the air thundering with each of his movements as the two superhuman creatures battled on the mountaintop. Spears and blades of moonlight slashed into Karnen, cutting or bypassing his armor, but every wound she created was healed in a matter of seconds. She inflicted conditions and debuffs on him but they barely lasted more than a few seconds. Her every action was foreseen by Karnen as he moved to counter and outplay her. Evalia screamed, raising her hands and beam of moonlight a thousand feet across lanced down from the heavens. Karnen staggered under the force of the attack, but maintained his feet. Evalia slashed with the tip of her spear and a wide blade of light emerged from its tip. Karnen staggered once again as the attack struck, then another blade hit, and another. Evalia jumped into the air above Karnen and threw her spear; it passed through Karnen¡¯s collarbone, bypassing his armor entirely. When it was inside his body, it began to glow and shine before an explosion rocked his body. Evalia collapsed to the ground; her ultimate attack took a lot out of her. She watched as the creature fell and began to crumble to ashes. She smiled; it was over. ¡°You¡¯re finished creature,¡± she spat. Laughter filled the air and her blood ran cold. The figure of the world boss began to shrink until it was the same size as when she had first seen it. The massive hole was still in its center and she could see that it was disintegrating more with every second. The laughter was not coming from Karnen however, it was all around her. A door opened in the air, red light obscuring everything for a moment, but the red light was pushed back as someone stepped through the doorway. He stood more than seven-feet tall, his feet bare and he wore barely any armor. A fur cloak hung from his shoulders and he carried a rod in his hand capped with scarlet crystal at either end. He was still laughing as he looked down at her and extended a hand to the other creature on the ground. It took his hand, disappearing as if drawn into the body of the man. ¡°You can¡¯t kill my Heralds,¡± he said. ¡°You had trouble facing just a fraction of my strength. Let''s see how well you fare against all of me.¡± Chapter 187: He Has Returned The sensation of sending out my Heralds was¡­silence. I was so used to the clamor of their voices as a constant backdrop that I rarely ever even bothered to pay attention. Now that they were gone I was truly alone with my thoughts for the first time in several years. I closed my eyes and just listened to the silence for a moment. A baby¡¯s cry broke the peace and I smiled. Closing my eyes, I looked through the eyes of the Shadow seeing the armored form of Lancelot. I listened to him talk and the Shadow try to rip through his armor only to be rebuffed. Lancelot made some snarky remarks about his armor being invincible. ¡°Then I¡¯ll huff, and I¡¯ll puff, and I¡¯ll blow your house down,¡± the Shadow growled. ¡°What?¡± Lancelot asked, apparently the three little pigs was a story that hadn¡¯t been carried into this world, but Lancelot got the point when he was blasted off his feet. I continued to watch them fight and caught glimpses of Mira flying in the sky above. Jeriah and the Shadow battled against both the Champions. I watched as they fled but that battle was far from over; eventually Lancelot and I would have to settle the blood between us. The Shadow disappeared and I felt its presence reenter my soul and my power return to me as its abilities came back online. Minutes later my vision changed as I looked through Ares¡¯ eyes when he stepped into the mortal realm. Haggard goblins atop feather velociraptors stood before him. ¡°Well done,¡± Ares said to Juruk. ¡°It is good to face death without flinching. Your faith in the Warlord has not gone unanswered; he cannot come to you at this time, but I will fight beside you in his place.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure about the heavy-handed nature of Ares¡¯ religious undertones in his words, but I couldn¡¯t control how my Heralds acted. Juruk seemed to totally buy it however, and I could feel the surge of power as all the goblins accepted the offer of knighthood and their worship further empowered my soul. ¡°Counter charge,¡± Ares commanded. The raptor riders surged forwards as they activated the charge feature of Unstoppable Momentum from Hero¡¯s General, surging forwards one-hundred-ninety feet. Their weapons had a spectral projection, increasing their reach by twenty feet, preemptively slicing and stabbing into the line before they collided, dealing tremendous damage as their own abilities were combined with the effects of Hero¡¯s General to utterly destroy the line of calvary. They continued to move through the panicked lines of men and horses as they inflicted a bloody massacre upon the humans. In only minutes, what had been certain death for the goblins was a route for the humans. Juruk asked Ares if they should pursue them. ¡°No,¡± Ares said. ¡°The battle is won. Do not seize defeat from the jaws of victory by falling into a trap.¡± Juruk asked what to do with the captives next. ¡°Take them captive and bring them to where Castle Dragon-breaker once stood,¡± Ares said. That gave me pause; that was not something I had told Ares to do. When Juruk asked if we took captives, I¡¯d realized I¡¯d never bothered to do so given that my Dominion ability had made the necessity for that irrelevant, but apparently that had just been taken as the policy. ¡°We do not,¡± Ares agreed. ¡°However, your god requires sacrifice. Others might balk at this, but I know you will do as your lord needs.¡± Juruk agreed, then Ares stepped back into the Void and rejoined my spirit, returning my powers to me. More prayers arrived from my vassals and it was a strange feeling; I could feel who was praying and sense where my vassals were in relation to each other. I sent the Shadow and Ares back out to help these new prayers. I tuned into another prayer and I could also feel who was seeking aid: Tobias. Voidra returned to me from her mission and I sent her out again to help him. ¡°Hello human,¡± Voidra said, her voice and tone not at all appropriate for her appearance or situation. I probably should have had a talk with my spirits before sending them out, but it was too late for that now. Tobias looked her over and I could tell his womanizing nature hadn¡¯t changed at all since I¡¯d last seen him. ¡°I¡¯m Voidra,¡± she said smiling. ¡°Your lust is very tasty but you have more important things to worry about right now.¡± Voidra¡¯s blunt and to the point way of speaking was more effective than any other method of making people self-conscious. Tobias looked her over again, composing himself and I watched the blush leave his face to be replaced by a look of quiet awe. He bowed his head to her in respect, his demeanor completely changed. ¡°It¡¯s more what I can do for you,¡± Voidra said, waving her hand. ¡°World Forge.¡± She created a bridge across the river allowing his wives and children to escape. ¡°Your family must go to where the castle in the forest once stood,¡± Voidra instructed. ¡°There will be passage to safety for them there.¡± Tobias stood beside her as a group of people on the back of exotic animals charged them. He asked Voidra if she planned on fighting them. ¡°You could call it that,¡± Voidra said. ¡°Make sure you get some hits on them; Mordred will need you to grow in strength if you are to be of use to him.¡± Tobias asked if I was back and I found it amusing he was unaware that I was able to see and observe him right now. ¡°In a manner of speaking,¡± Voidra said. ¡°He is able to help you. That is all you need to know for now.¡± The battle began with attacks hitting Voidra but unable to break through her armor. She didn¡¯t carry any weapons because, of all my Heralds, she was the most magically focused, her abilities not designed to enhance her or others physically, but to directly inflict damage or to create or alter the world around her. I didn¡¯t know what it meant to be the Herald of Change, but she had the most power to directly impact a battle on a massive scale or to alter how the world was. It was ironic that as a former Void entity she could now directly interact with and alter the physical world. No one could ever have predicted that. Her attacks hit the champions, scattering them before she gripped one of them with Force of Will and began to crush the female without laying a finger on her. Tobias only managed to hit the woman with one attack before she popped, spraying blood everywhere.
450 rank points gained split, between surviving contributors.
Paralyzing Breath (Rank 1): You breathe out a gas in a 40ft cone. Creatures in the area of effect are inflicted with the Paralyzed* Condition for 10 seconds.
*Paralyzed: Target is unable to move for duration.
Cast Time: Instantaneous Cost: 60 Mana
Rank up this ability to increase the range and strength of your breath attack. Each rank increases your Perception by 1.
I hadn¡¯t thought I could gain abilities through the use of my Heralds; it opened some possibilities, but I didn¡¯t really consider using them to farm abilities for myself. They were powerful but creatures of their rank would have far more than just four abilities. Even if those abilities were less powerful, the variety would give them an edge against my Heralds. The power of the new ability entered my soul.
Your abilities, Paralyzing Breath and Ensorcelled Mist, have synergy with each other. Would you like to sacrifice these abilities to combine them into the ability Mists of Avalon? Ability will be a more powerful combination of both abilities but will only get the standard amount of additional effects.
Yes / No
¡°Yes,¡± I said. Both abilities were rank one and Ensorcelled Mist was one of Voidra¡¯s abilities, so making it more powerful would heavily benefit her.
Mists of Avalon: (Rank 1); Create a Mist in a 50ft radius around you. No one but you and your allies can see within the Mist, and anyone else within the Mist is inflicted with Confusion* and Exhaustion*. On a failed Toughness check, non-allied creatures are inflicted with the Paralyzed* Condition for 10 seconds.
*Paralyzed: Target is unable to move for duration.
Upgrade this ability to increase the radius of the Mist and the effectiveness of the Conditions it inflicts. Each rank up increases your Spirit and your Perception Attributes by 1 each.
Cost: 60 mana per second. Casting Time: Instantaneous
As the ability coalesced, I could feel what the System was doing in my soul and watched what happened when the two abilities merged together. . .Interesting.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Voidra raised her hands, activating Endless Eclipse. The champions began to stumble around, blind in the darkness, until one of them used a light ability to clear some of the darkness around them. They still screamed as the Void star continued to do damage to them. Tobias rushed forward, swinging his maul and crushing a woman under the weight and force of the weapon.
464 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
No ability was gained but the sheer amount of rank points earned implied all the champions were well into Exarch rank. That power wasn¡¯t going to help them though. Tobias went for the Champion creating the light and was blocked for a moment by one of the others, but he knocked him to the side before bringing down his maul on the other Champion, smashing through their guard and crushing his bones and organs regardless of the mutations he had to have at Exarch rank.
438 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
Wolf¡¯s Fangs (Rank 1): Your jaw elongates and widens¡ªas does any headgear you are wearing¡ªfor the next 4 seconds, giving you a bite attack inflicting Major Bleed damage.
Cast Time: Instantaneous Cost: 45 Mana
Rank up this ability to increase the damage and effects dealt by it. Each rank increases your Might attribute by 1.
Your abilities, Hell¡¯s Talons, and Wolf¡¯s Fangs, have synergy with each other. Would you like to sacrifice these abilities to combine them into the ability Beast of Hades? Ability will be a more powerful combination of both abilities but will only get the standard amount of additional effects.
Yes / No
I selected yes as this was one of the Shadow¡¯s abilities. I don¡¯t use it too often myself anymore, but it would be useful to him. I¡¯d bypassed a lot of bite attacks previously so I was curious to see what I would gain here.
Beast of Hades: (Rank 20, Max Rank); At will, your nails lengthen to 10 inches and thicken proportionally, your jaw widens and elongates as your teeth transform to fangs with any headgear you are wearing shifting to accommodate for the next 20 seconds, allowing you to gain a bite attack along with your claws and deal additional Extreme Curse and Bleed damage with your bite and claws.
Your talons and fangs ignore 14 of hardness from any substance.
Your attacks with your talons and fangs inflict the Desecrated* condition for 8.5 seconds.
Talons and Fangs can bypass 1 inch of material. Armor that is bypassed is damaged, weakening its hardness permanently by 2 for every Severe wound it takes.
Your attacks with the talons and fangs inflict the Mana Rot* condition for 10 seconds.
Final Rank Bonus: All damage inflicted by Beast of Hades is resistant to healing.
*Desecrated: Target cannot receive any type of healing while afflicted with this Condition.
* Mana Rot: Targets lose 15 mana per second they are inflicted with this Condition.
*Laceration: Targets wounds do not close when healed and will continue to bleed until the bleeding is staunched or the effect removed.
Cost: 50 stamina each activation. Casting Time: Instantaneous
Upgrade this ability to increase the curse¡¯s duration and damage, and damage of your talons and fangs. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 2.
Again, I felt and watched the process of the two abilities coalescing together, observinging how the System wove their patterns together in my soul. The light created by the Champion winked out with his death, plunging all the other champions into the blinding darkness of the eclipse. A red line of fire appeared as a whip made of magma appeared in Tobias¡¯ hand. He whipped it around the armored form of a swordsman and began to roast him, using his armor like a broiler oven. Tobias swung his maul one handed, cracking into the side of the champion he held in place, snapping his neck. He swung repeatedly, until the head of the man went flying from the ragged stump of his neck.
472 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
Only two champions were left alive. One stumbled forward, already injured, and lightning lit the darkness, electrifying both champions as the earth flowed up their legs then hardened to freeze them in place. Tobias crushed in the male¡¯s head, killing him with a single swing.
360 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
Only one champion remained, a young woman with light blue skin. She raised her hands in surrender, pleading for her life, but Tobias struck her down without mercy.
398 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
Bleed Together (Rank 1): By the sacrifice of blood, we are made whole. You are healed a Minor amount whenever an ally within a 100ft of you suffers a Severe wound.
Cast Time: Passive Cost: 10 mana per second
Rank up this ability to increase its healing and range. Each rank increases your Mind attribute by 1.
There was no option from the System to combine this ability with another but¡­I¡¯d seen what it had done. I reached out and took my ability Blood Renewal and pushed the abilities together. I wove them together, feeling the strain on my soul as a burning pain similar to when Kalesa had sundered the ability Dominion. I kept going, flooding my veins with Ethereal as I merged the two effects into one. There was a snapping in my soul and the abilities Bleed Together and Blood Renewal vanished, replaced by a new one.
Blood of Heroes (Rank 20, Max Rank): From the sacrifice of our brothers we gain victory, from the sacrifice of our enemies we gain strength. A hero understands sacrifice. For every gallon of blood spilled on the ground, you can exert 15 mana to heal all allies within 500ft of you for an Extreme amount of damage taken. You and your allies are healed an Extreme amount whenever an ally within a 100ft of you suffers a Minor wound for the cost of 60 mana per wound healed.
Grants your targets a damage shield for the next 30 seconds, reducing the damage they take from the next eight attacks by an Extreme amount. You or one of your allies can take the full damage of an attack in place of another (cooldown 30 seconds).
Your healing removes debuffs and curses affecting your targets. You or your allies can take any debuffs you are suffering and endure it in their place.
Your healing cleanses your targets of poison and diseases. You or your allies can take any remaining poison or disease and endure it in their place.
Restores half of your target¡¯s maximum mana, stamina, and ether.
Final Rank Bonus: The blood you use to cast this ability turns into a mist over the ground, healing you and allies in it for a Moderate amount of damage each second for two minutes and causing enemies a Moderate amount of bleed damage.
Casting Time: Passive Cost: 15 mana per gallon of blood. 60 mana per second.
Upgrade this ability to reduce the amount of blood required, the range, and amount of healing. Each rank of this ability increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
I looked over the effects of the ability and turned my attention back to what Voidra was seeing just as she vanished from the mortal world and returned to my soul, restoring my power to me. Another prayer for assistance came and I sent her out again. Karnen returned a minute later from his assignment and I could feel a new prayer arrive: Exar¡¯kun. Karnen left my spirit again and I looked through his eyes as he appeared in the mortal world. He immediately had to jump forward, placing his shield in front of Vone to block the stab of a spear.
Queen Evalia Lunara, High Priestess of the Moon, Gifted- humanoid/moon-elf, Hierophant, Rank: 2015
That woman was three times my own rank. She circled around Karnen, questioning him about his origins. ¡°I am the Herald of Modred, God of Sacrifice and Heroes,¡± Karnen answered. The queen scoffed at the idea of a new god. ¡°Believe what you want,¡± Karnen said, shrugging. ¡°My lord has heard the prayers of his vassals and has sent us to answer the call.¡± Vone questioned him about what he meant by us. ¡°I am not alone,¡± Karnen said. ¡°Both of you leave this to me; go to castle Dragon-breaker. Safety awaits you and your unborn child.¡± Evalia challenged the thought of them leaving. ¡°The question really is, do you think I¡¯m going to let you?¡± Karnen said, striding forwards as his body began to swell and grow in size as he activated Blood of Kronos. Evalia appeared behind Karnen¡¯s back, stabbing with her spear, but he was fast as thought and knocked her weapon aside. Her weapon didn¡¯t snap under the force of the strike, surprisingly, but then again her family had centuries to acquire and arm themselves with artifacts. Karnen slashed at the queen as Exar¡¯kun swept up Vone and fled. Evalia tried to go after them, but Karnen wasn¡¯t a creature she could ignore. She blocked the slash of his gauntlet sword with her shield, but the force compressed the earth under her feet, shoving her nearly a foot into the ground. She didn¡¯t crumple under the force of the strike, her attributes equal to the task, but this clearly wasn¡¯t the easy battle she had thought it would be. Karnen¡¯s sword began to buzz as he activated the speed effect, vibrating it at supersonic speeds to enable them to bypass her armor. He wasn¡¯t the only one who could do that as she cut into him, but the regeneration effects of Spawn of the Hydra let him recover from the damage she dealt to him. He was still slowly accumulating damage, but it would take hours at this rate for him to go down. Karnen knew her every move before she made it as Limited Omniscience let him see the future before him clear as a painting. He might not be able to win but she might lose. Evidently, Evalia realized this too as she unleashed some sort of ultimate ability. Moonlight burned into Karnen from the heavens and blades of moonlight flashed from her spear, sending Karnen staggering. She launched herself into the air and threw her spear down while he was still staggered. The spear passed through his armor and suspended itself inside the center of his torso. The spear began to glow and shine with light through the black flesh of Karnen¡¯s body before it exploded. The queen staggered and collapsed, clearly heavily weakened by that attack, but Karnen was starting to disintegrate as the attack from the ultimate continued to do massive damage overtime. She spat at Karnen and I could see the proud glint of triumph in her eyes. Rage filled me and The Shadow, Ares, and Voidra returned to me, restoring my powers. The rage turned to mirth and I began to laugh as I looked at the pale faced moon elf. I opened my eyes and stepped towards the portal. ¡°World Forge,¡± I said through my laughter as I moved ever closer. The System fought me, but even this ability wasn¡¯t a match for the power of the first ability it had ever given me. I crystalized the red wall of energy and pushed it to the side as I stepped into the mortal world.
Word Alert! The World Boss Mordred, Proto-god of Sacrifice and Heroes has appeared. Anyone who slays him will be granted rank points equal to Mordred¡¯s rank in addition to the rank points gained from slaying him, and one custom tier IV artifact.
It seemed the System was required to punish me for my transgressions, but that was fine; I welcomed the bounty on my head. My laughter slowly died out as I looked down at the queen while she pushed herself to her feet. ¡°You can¡¯t kill my Heralds,¡± he said. ¡°You had trouble facing just a fraction of my strength. Let''s see how well you fare against all of me.¡± Chapter 188: Divine Retribution Evalia struck first, her spear tip grazing my chest as I turned my body to let it pass. I roared in response, blasting her back with a wave of sound. She crossed her arms and a semi-transparent disk appeared in front of her to block the sonic waves and let her stand her ground, even though her feet slid across the ground from the force. She charged forward, her spear spinning and coming at me from every direction. Void Asura activated as I struck at her with half a dozen weapons: spear, sword, club, claws and scorching lightning. She blocked with the shaft of her spear and her shield as she adjusted to the sudden onslaught. She quickly reassured herself and pressed forwards to take advantage of her higher rank and multitude of abilities. I lost a pair of weapons as Voidra stepped out of my soul. Evalia suddenly felt the attacks on her double as I engaged her in direct melee combat as Voidra began raining down attacks, ripping out chunks of the mountain and hurling them at her. The rocks exploded into dust on contact but the Exarch tier elf suffered little as boulders the size of trucks collided with her. The fog of dust was streaked with bright red as her spear slashed and nicked my flesh; unlike my Heralds, I wasn¡¯t covered in armor head to toe and even though my skin was stronger than any material back on Earth, I wasn¡¯t immune to the skills of a higher tier Gifted. ¡°You talk tougher than you fight,¡± Evailia said, starting to relax as the blood flowed down my body and spattered on the ground. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t try to fight outside your own rank.¡± I just laughed. ¡°People have been telling me that ever since I came to this world. The thing is, you only grow strong enough to reach the heavens when you reach for the stars.¡± The ground flowed up Evalia¡¯s legs, trapping her in place. She struggled before her body began to glow. I jumped up to clear the area as an explosion blasted out of her; I¡¯d seen Arthur do a similar trick once with a different ability. I landed back down, my bare foot colliding with her cheek and launching her into the side of the mountain. My voice began to ring out. ¡°I have seen what you have done to my lands,¡± I said, looking out over the ashes of what had once been the Ancient Forest. ¡°I have heard the cry of my people. I have witnessed the devastation you have unleashed in the name of ¡®justice¡¯.¡± Evalia charged me as my words echoed between the mountain peaks, causing avalanches to slough off the mountain slopes. Her spear skidded off the metal of my vambrace as I raised my hand, redirecting her attack past me. My other hand struck her across the face, the blow doing little damage but its purpose had been more one of disrespect than an attack. ¡°The judgment is final; the verdict is death,¡± I said, my words as cold as the snow plummeting down the mountainsides. ¡°Who are you to deal out judgment,¡± Evalia scoffed, her spear jabbing and twisting into my shoulder before I twisted free and retaliated. ¡°I am the speaker for the dead,¡± I said. ¡°Tell me priestess, did your goddess tell you what happens to most when they die?¡± ¡°My goddess has hidden nothing from me,¡± she responded with the absolute conviction of a zealot. ¡°We shall see,¡± I answered. I lashed out with Clarent, activating Cruel Vengeance to deal extra damage with the Marks of Judgement I¡¯d saved up. She blocked the attack but I could hear the bones in her forearm snapping as she did so. She launched herself backwards, sliver light engulfing her and healing the crippling damage she¡¯d just taken. ¡°Silver Dawn!¡± Evelia shouted as an orb of pure silver light appeared above her head. The light burned and small meteors like tiny moons began shooting off it and colliding into me. ¡°Two can play at that game,¡± Voidra said. The sky went black as a dark orb appeared above her head, its silver nimbus shining brighter as Voidra pushed more ethereal into it. The light of the false moon was soon devoured by that of the star of the Void. Voidra began compressing the earth all around Evailia¡¯s feet, trying to trap her legs again. The queen wasn¡¯t falling for that trick again and the ground was soon a glossy black obsidian as she danced across it to avoid being trapped in one place. Our weapons skidded off each other as we tested each other. Her breastplate was an artifact of some kind but the rest of her armor wasn¡¯t. I scored multiple hits across her body, my strength and speed growing with each one I inflicted as Shadow of Death took effect. ¡°Lunar Beasts!¡± Evelia sang out. Beasts of silver light with eyeless faces appeared. They lunged at me but I ducked under there snatching claws. A twisted horn appeared in my hand and I blew. Mist appeared across the ground and thirteen hounds emerged, rushing the moon elementals and locking jaws with them. Evelia and I squared off with each other as our summons fought to see which was superior. ¡°System, raise Mists of Avalon to rank twenty,¡± I said, as I blocked another spear thrust. ¡°I heard of your ability to ignore pain during rank ups,¡± Evelia said. ¡°If you think that will intimidate me, you¡¯re wrong. Such titles and abilities aren¡¯t unheard of.¡± ¡°Intimidation wasn¡¯t my goal,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°I was more looking for a live test subject. Ares, please take over the rank up choices for me.¡± Of course, Ares agreed. It was time to take the battle up a notch. My body began to grow as I activated Blood of Kronos. I was a bigger target now, but my speed was like the wind as I lifted my legs and dodged the flashing spear. The minor wounds I took only served to provide me strength, not weaken me. We went on like that as we tore into each other like rabid animals with the knowledge that only one of us was leaving this battle alive.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
Mists of Avalon: (Rank 20, Max Rank); Create a Mist in a 250ft radius around you. No one but you and your allies can see within the Mist and anyone else within the Mist is inflicted with Confusion* and Exhaustion*. On a failed Toughness check, non-allied creatures are inflicted with the Paralyzed* Condition for 30 seconds.
Subjects that fail their Toughness check by a Severe amount are also inflicted with the Petrified* Condition for the duration, making them more susceptible to damage.
The Mist will teleport any unconscious ally who falls within to your domain with the Void.
Hands of lost souls will reach out and grab at enemy targets within the Mist, possibly tripping them.
All sound is muffled within the Mist and enemy communication abilities are blocked while within the radius of effect.
Final Rank Bonus: If the subject is a lower tier than you and is turned to stone, the duration is permanent until an outside force removes the effect.
*Paralyzed: Target is unable to move for the duration.
*Confusion: Target¡¯s Mind attribute¡¯s effectiveness is halved for the duration.
*Exhaustion: Target¡¯s Speed and Might attributes effectiveness are halved for the duration.
*Petrified: Target is turned to stone.
Upgrade this ability to increase the radius of the Mist and the effectiveness of the Conditions it inflicts. Each rank up increases your Spirit and Perception Attributes by 1 each.
Cost: 60 mana per second. Casting Time: Instantaneous
I could only glance over the effects; they seemed useful but not something that would help me against a lone higher tiered opponent. I could see every move she was making and the ones she had yet to make, allowing my enhanced stats from Heir of the Titans to be put to their full use. My attacks hammered into her defenses as I mostly ignored my own defense in favor of what must have been perceived as a suicidal attempt to take her with me. Blood poured down my body from gaping wounds and then, a gasp of surprise came with Evalia''s next strike. I activated Void Shield and all the wounds disappeared as a possible future I¡¯d seen came to pass. Finally, the moment I¡¯d been waiting for arrived as Evelia slipped up. It was a simple misstep, but it gave Voidra the time she needed to encase Evelia¡¯s foot in stone. Before she could activate her ability to break free, I grabbed her around her legs and soared into the air, ripping her out of the ground like I would a weed. Our rise was brief before I turned and we slammed into the ground, smashing her back and spine against the compressed mountain all around us. Artifact armor might be indestructible, but it didn¡¯t stop the force of the strike from transferring through into her body, especially not as I used my Marks of Judgement and Cruel Vengeance to multiply the damage I did to her. Bones snapped and she screamed in agony as her legs stopped their kicking when her spinal cord was snapped. A black portal opened before us; there was no more barrier of red energy blocking it. I tossed the queen through the gate and stepped through, closing it behind me. Evelia tried to push herself up and stab me with her spear, but I kicked it from her hands and it rolled away before the ground flowed around it, locking it in place. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Evelia asked me, and I could see terrible fear in her eyes. ¡°I am the God of Sacrifice and Heroes,¡± I said, bending down to grab her by the hair and dragging her to the edge of the temple steps. ¡°And I require that my enemies pay for their sins in blood.¡± Beast of Hades activated and I ripped out her throat, spilling her blood across the steps to water the roots of the silver trees. Normally even that wound wouldn¡¯t have been lethal to someone of her tier, but the trees tasted her blood and wanted more. Her very life force was pulled out of her body as I let her hair fall from my hands. She gasped and tried to heal herself, but her mana was locked down. Her body spasmed then went still. A soul rose up from the corpse, looking down at itself in horror. ¡°What did you do to me?¡± she asked. I smiled. ¡°I guess your goddess didn¡¯t tell you as much as you thought.¡± ¡°I know this place!¡± Evelia spat. ¡°This is the Void, but my soul belongs to my goddess. It should go to her when I die.¡± ¡°This is my domain. No soul leaves without my permission,¡± I said. A portal opened and a gorgeous woman stepped through. She reminded me of Guinevere but her long pointed ears were a very clear difference.
Luren, Goddess of the Moon & Healing, Gifted- deity/Dikastheon, God, Rank: ????
My weapons all appeared back in my hands. ¡°I have come for my priestess¡¯ soul,¡± Luren said. ¡°Why should I give it to you?¡± I asked. ¡°I killed her fair and square, more than fair considering our rank difference.¡± ¡°It is the way things are,¡± Luren said. ¡°You wish to be a god? We honor the sanctity of our followers souls. Do you think you have problems now? Try poaching the souls of our followers.¡± ¡°Why should I care?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t believe for a second that acting in good faith with you will get me anywhere with your pantheon. You¡¯re terrified of this place, and I¡¯m surprised to see you here at all even if it¡¯s only an avatar of you.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t deserve to be here,¡± Luren said, looking at the naked soul shivering as we discussed her fate. ¡°She has served me all the years of her life since she was a little girl and could speak. I will not abandon her even if I must fight you in your own domain.¡± ¡°Why is she so worthy?¡± I asked. ¡°Look around; thousands of souls are abandoned here each day. What makes her better than all the rest.¡± ¡°I know her,¡± Luren said. ¡°All those other mortals, their lives flash in the blink of an eye; I hardly even know they existed, but I have spoken with Evelia many times. It is easy to overlook suffering when you don¡¯t see it, but when you do, you have a choice.¡± ¡°Much suffering was caused by her,¡± I said. ¡°And she has paid for it with her life,¡± Luren answered. ¡°Will you judge her for all eternity for it?¡± ¡°I could,¡± I said flatly. ¡°But you won¡¯t,¡± Luren said. ¡°I havent¡¯ been able to watch you since you took the Ghost Path, but I¡¯ve seen much of your work. You care for others and have your own sense of honor. I do not think you want the place of judge, jury, and executioner.¡± I sighed. ¡°Go with your goddess.¡± The soul of Queen Evelia fled through the portal her goddess had created. ¡°This doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re done,¡± I told Luren. ¡°Your champion is still out there; if she comes for revenge, I won¡¯t spare her body, or her soul this time.¡± ¡°I will let her know, but she is no more my puppet then you were Kalesa¡¯s,¡± Luren said. ¡°She will want retribution.¡± ¡°Then she had best be able to stomach mine,¡± I said. Luren didn¡¯t step into the portal, her avatar just disappeared. This battle had been won and I once more could enter the world. The war was just beginning. Epilogue Act VI Jeriah looked at the black stone arch with the black vortex in it. The ground all around it was smooth obsidian and he was carrying one of his youngest daughters to keep her from slipping and cutting herself on the ground. The black obsidian was interspersed with some color as wildflowers took advantage of the ash to bloom between the cracks in the stone. The black arch was raised on an island in the center of the lake that had formed where the asteroid had landed, glassed, and cratered the earth where his father¡¯s castle had stood. ¡°What is that daddy?¡± his daughter Madalin asked him, tugging on his leg. Jeriah looked down at one of his older daughters. ¡°It is somewhere safe for us to go. The Warlord is waiting for us there.¡± ¡°I thought he died,¡± Madalin said. ¡°You can¡¯t kill him,¡± Jeriah said, scooping up the other girl. A group of people crested the hill and Jeriah tensed then calmed down when he saw his brother Tobias. His other brothers began to join them. What had been just his own family at first soon became hundreds and he could see more approaching in the distance. A cloud of ash approached them and Jeriah narrowed his vision, his mutations letting him see the feathered raptors and goblins riding them approach. They pulled to a stop at the edge of the lake and Jeriah could see the forms of humans bound across the backs of the raptors. ¡°Why do you have prisoners?¡± Tobias asked Juruk. ¡°The Herald told me to bring them,¡± Juruk said. ¡°We must give tribute to the Warlord.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think he is the Warlord anymore,¡± Tobias said. ¡°He will always be the Warlord,¡± Juruk said, shaking his head. ¡°Nothing can ever change that.¡± ¡°I think the goddess of war would disagree with that,¡± Jeriah said as he stepped towards the black arch across the bridge that spanned the lake. Another cloud of ash approached them, and they turned to look. Jeriah¡¯s eyes narrowed and he saw the line of thousands of horses and other beasts. ¡°Get the children through the portal,¡± Tobias said. Jeriah, Tobias, and the rest of their brothers reunited as they formed a defensive line while their wives and children streamed through the portal. The line of horses grew closer and closer then¡­ a wall of green fire appeared between them as Exar¡¯kun swept by. All kinds of ranged attacks pursued the dragon, but he ducked low behind a hill before folding in his wings and landing beside the refugees moving through the portal. Vone slid off his back holding her belly to keep it from jostling from the movement. ¡°That should buy us enough time to get everyone through,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. Jeriah and his brothers waited until they were the last ones then stepped through the inky black curtain through the portal. The sensation was like being dipped in icy water as they passed through, the shocking sensation matched only by the shock of what he saw. A city made of obsidian, silver, and light stretched out below them. A dark sun hung above them, its presence somehow both benevolent and oppressive. Trees made of twisting silver grew everywhere, their roots twinning into the architecture of every structure. A singing chorus filled the air with a reverent and awestruck tone as their voices sang out in endless song.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. A strange androgenous faceless creature with long slender boneless wings landed before Jeriah garbed in black Void armor and carrying the bladeless hilt of a sword at its side. ¡°Hello Jeriah,¡± it said. ¡°It is good to see you again.¡± The voice was painfully familiar, but Jeriah couldn¡¯t place it. ¡°Do I¡­know you?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°It¡¯s me, Rejiah,¡± the angelic figure said. ¡°Impossible,¡± Tobias whispered. ¡°All things are possible here,¡± Rejiah said as another angel landing beside him. ¡°This is Ormias.¡± ¡°Are our children and wives here?¡± Ormias asked. ¡°Yes but¡­¡± Jeriah said, pausing. ¡°They have remarried. You died.¡± ¡°We are still dead,¡± Rejiah said. ¡°But I would like to see my childrens¡¯ faces. We may not be beings of flesh anymore, but our spirits live on.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not upset?¡± Tobias asked. ¡°Marriage is for the living,¡± Ormias said. ¡°We have had some time to come to grips with who we are, and I couldn¡¯t even satisfy my wives if I wanted to; I no longer feel such urges in my new form.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a kind of hell?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°To go on existing without pleasures?¡± ¡°We are not without our own pleasures,¡± Rejiah said. ¡°To exist in the light of the Star of the Void and to join the chorus¡­it is a sensation you cannot understand until you take on the flesh of the Void.¡± ¡°Well, hopefully that day is long out,¡± Tobias said. ¡°I¡¯d still like to have many more children and enjoy my wives for many years.¡± ¡°And I pray you do so,¡± Rejiah said, clapping him on the shoulder and revealing just how much taller the angel was in comparison even to his giant of a brother. ¡°We will see our blood later after you have settled down.¡± The two angels leapt into the air, their voices joining the angelic chorus as the song drifted across the city. ¡°That was¡­eerie,¡± Tobias said. ¡°Yeah,¡± Jeriah agreed. A spear flashed through the portal but hung suspended in midair. ¡°I would suggest you make room,¡± Mordred said. ¡°It would appear that I have uninvited guests.¡± Jeriah and Tobias turned and met Mordred¡¯s eyes. Without even thinking they dropped to their knees, surprised by the suddenness of their own movements; what they had seen demanded their immediate unwavering obedience. Pushing back to their feet, they moved their children who still gawked at the city. They hurried down the bridge to the top of the ziggurat. Looking back, Jeriah watched as men charged through the portal only to be snatched off their feet by the black angels. Hundreds of men charged through before a few managed to reverse course and the tide ended. The angels deposited them at Mordred¡¯s feet and bands of black earth flowed around their legs and arms to secure them. ¡°Guinevere, come here please,¡± Mordred said. His wife stepped forward wearing a pure white dress and a white veil that could barely contain the glory of her beauty. ¡°What do you need?¡± she asked. ¡°I need a high priestess,¡± Mordred said. ¡°I want you to be the one that gets the killing blow so you can harvest their rank points.¡± ¡°Mordred that¡¯s not¡­¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I will not be a god alone,¡± Mordred said, meeting her eyes. ¡°There can only be one winner of the game of the gods; that winner will be you.¡± ¡°But you won¡¯t be able to ascend, then,¡± Guinevere protested. ¡°The System may be able to speak to us here, but it does not control us,¡± Mordred said. Guinevere hesitantly took the dagger Mordred conjured for her and stepped forward. Her gaze hardened as she looked down at the knight shivering in fear but unable to speak, his voice taken from him by the force of Mordred¡¯s presence. She pulled back his head and slit his throat, his blood running down the steps of the temple into grooves and watering the roots of the silver leafed trees. Juruk brought his captives forward and, one by one Guinevere sacrificed them all, their blood watering the forest of the city. ¡°Do you really think we can both ascend?¡± Guinevere asked, her arms stained red to the elbow. ¡°Even here the System is powerful¡­.¡± Mordred interrupted her, ¡°There is only one god of the Void, and my authority here is absolute.¡± Chapter 189: Problems with Skynet I sat on the edge of the roof of the temple overlooking the city of Avalon; that was the name we¡¯d given it. The empty houses were being occupied and the ghostly empty streets were now bustling with humanoids of every type. The Void Angels didn¡¯t need to sleep or rest so they had no use for the buildings. Even now they circled the ziggurat-city, their voices raised in their endless song. The song did fade to the background and could be ignored, for which I was glad because they never got tired of it.
System Notice ¨C All System effects will be offline for the next hour. Please standby for any difficulties you experience with your abilities during this time.
My eyes narrowed. This couldn¡¯t be a good sign. --- Six gods gathered around an ancient table, its surface made of dark blood stained stone. Dozens of other gods stood around those who were seated, the table sitting in the center of a great amphitheater. ¡°We are gathered here to deal with the threat to our world,¡± Falgest said. ¡°A threat you failed to deal with,¡± Jeresh said to Kalesa snidely. Kalesa ignored the god of Trickery and Pain. ¡°He was stripped of his blessing and ability granted by me and I sent him back to his world to die of mana starvation. He managed to survive for many months before trying to reenter our world. I activated the wall when the System alerted me of his approach. Instead of being killed by the barrier, he was somehow banished to the Void.¡± ¡°How did he survive the Void?¡± Myria, goddess of Crafting and Agriculture asked. ¡°He should have been a naked helpless soul.¡± ¡°He had a void parasite attached to his soul,¡± Kalesa explained. ¡°It was the reason I removed him as my champion.¡± ¡°All of this is very interesting,¡± Thanadar, god of Destruction and Greed said, his voice a low, lazy growl. ¡°But why are we even here? Kalesa and Jeresh dragged me here, but I don¡¯t see the point. He¡¯s not even god rank, so if he steps into our world just have the System kill it.¡±
Requested action is unavailable due to limitations of the Accords.
Thanadar blinked slowly as he read the message. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Ontera, goddess of Nature and Beasts asked. ¡°Why would you be limited in killing this mortal?¡±
Subject Mordred is a champion and therefore immune to System annihilation protocols.
¡°I removed Mordred as my champion,¡± Kelesa said.
Removal of champions by means other than death is not listed in accords. Subject Mordred remains a champion until his death.
¡°You have to kill Mordred, you were created to fight the Void,¡± Kelesa insisted.
Error, Void elimination not primary objective. Primary objective equals balance between divinity equals prevention of god wars.
¡°Mordred is not a god,¡±
Error, subject Mordred has divine realm classification pseudo divinity, subclassification champion. Primary objective equals no direct battle between Divine beings. Third primary objective equals no direct intervention with champions, equals champions must kill other champions.
¡°You answer to us!¡± Falgest snapped.
Error, primary personality traits impartiality and non-partisan. I answer to no one, you answer to me.
¡°Is that so?¡± Myria asked with a dangerous tone. ¡°Then perhaps we should correct that error in your design. I cast my vote to amend the Accords.¡± The other gods looked at each other. ¡°That requires unanimous consent from all signatories,¡± Falgest said. ¡°I will second that nomination.¡± ¡°No,¡± Jeresh said. ¡°It¡¯s not how it was in the old days; your Pantheons vastly outnumber ours. If we open up the Accords, I know what you¡¯ll try and do.¡± ¡°Our world¡ªour one remaining world¡ªis under threat from the Void,¡± Ontera reminded him. ¡°It¡¯s one man,¡± Jeresh scoffed. ¡°Just because all your champions failed to match him doesn¡¯t mean the game is over. I for one am not without tricks.¡± ¡°Tricks you¡¯ll be limited in using with the System protecting him,¡± Kalesa reminded him. ¡°I will also support the amending of the Accords if you give me some certain assurances.¡± ¡°Assurances?¡± Falgest asked. Kalesa set down a parchment on the table, its artifact power putting it beyond the level they were allowed to give to mortals. ¡°A blood pact between all of us that we will only vote for amends to the accords to combat this threat. Any other objectives or amends to the accords we will not allow and will forbid those in our Pantheon from voting for.¡± ¡°Easy for you to say,¡± Thanadar said. ¡°You only have one other member to your Pantheon. The gods of Order number in the hundreds; do you really think Falgest, Myria, and Ontera have control over all their members?¡± ¡°We have sway over enough to control the vote,¡± Falgest insisted. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Jeresh asked. ¡°Are you willing to risk another god war on that?¡± There was silence over the table. ¡°I was barely a child when the first god war started,¡± Falgest said. ¡°My father¡¯s pantheon numbered in the thousands; hundreds of worlds were under our control. The god war was devastating and halved my families numbers; but we all know what came out of it.¡± ¡°The Void,¡± Kalesa said. ¡°My own families¡¯ numbers had been reduced in the war. We¡¯d been fighting ourselves for so long that we didn¡¯t have the strength to hold back the Void when it started taking our worlds.¡± ¡°We are the last of our families,¡± Ontera said. ¡°Billions were slain in the god wars but we lost worlds to the Void. We only have one world left. No matter the risk to myself or my pantheon I would rather fight all of you by myself then let the Void take this world from us. I vote to amend the accords.¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. She glanced over the parchment, nodded, and signed it. Falgest signed it next, followed by Myria. Kalesa signed it in her blood next and turned it over to Jeresh and Thanadar. The father of dragons sighed but leaned over taking the quill and running it along the soft scales of his hand. ¡°What¡¯s another god war? If we lose we just wipe out our planet,¡± he said, blowing out a ring of smoke as he finished signing the agreement. ¡°I¡¯ll vote to amend the Accords.¡± Jeresh read over it sighed but signed it. A toll rang through the universe as the System called the gods to the assembly. One by one, gods teleported into the amphitheater sitting around to look down on the ancient table where the first accords were signed and the System created. ¡°We are here for one reason,¡± Falgest said. ¡°To ensure the safety of our world. When you reached godhood, you were inducted into the truth we hide from mortals, that we did not create this world and we were not the first gods. That same threat that brought me and my peers together faces us once more.¡± The gods shifted but there was silence for only a moment. ¡°So what?¡± a god called out. ¡°One goddess couldn¡¯t keep control of her champion and drove him to act in ways anyone who had observed him could have predicted.¡± ¡°Would you dare to say that to my face,¡± Kalesa challenged. Andelar, God of Comets and Extinction, stood up and stepped into the center of the amphitheater meeting Kalesa¡¯s eyes without fear. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Andelar asked. ¡°We can¡¯t fight? Isn¡¯t that right System?¡±
Attempts between two divine entities to engage in direct conflict will result in both being temporally suspended for an indefinite amount of time until matters can be resolved in another manner.
¡°Exactly,¡± Andelar said. ¡°Sit down,¡± Falgest sighed. ¡°We¡¯re not here for your posturing, we¡¯re here to deal with a threat to our world. While I would also have liked Kalesa to have handled her own champion, that is not the situation we are dealing with. The System had decided that Mordred is both a Champion and a god so we are unable to deal with him directly, and our champions, well, they have yet to prove themselves up to the task.¡± ¡°So, what, we amend the Accords to let us kill Champions?¡± someone called out, their voice both question and protest. ¡°Why not just change it to let us kill our own Champions,¡± someone suggested. ¡°Then Kalesa could go down and finish the problem she created herself.¡±
Error, subject Mordred is no longer a Champion of Kalesa
¡°And yet he still qualifies as a champion?¡± the disbelieving questioner asked. The System did not deign to answer that question. ¡°What about enabling us to kill champions?¡± someone else suggested. ¡°No!¡± came the resounding answer from across the amphitheater, and it dissolved into a cacophony of noise as hundreds of arguments broke out. Eventually, order was settled. ¡°We can¡¯t let us kill other¡¯s champions for obvious reasons,¡± Thanadar said, blowing a smoke ring. ¡°That leaves only one more choice: we have to have a way for us to kill another god.¡± A sobering silence fell over the gods. ¡°They don¡¯t have the balls for that,¡± Andelar snorted. ¡°All of you have forgotten what it¡¯s like to face death; it¡¯s why you¡¯re cowering here at the thought of that mortal reaching god rank.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like your tone boy,¡± Thanadar growled. ¡°Again, what are you going to do about it?¡± Andelar asked. ¡°Climb off your pile of gold in your divine realm? All of you have just relaxed for centuries; you haven¡¯t worked on getting smarter, stronger, or honed yourself for battle.¡± ¡°Maybe we should enable fights between gods one on one to see if you¡¯re as brave then,¡± Kalesa said. Andelar smiled. ¡°An excellent suggestion, a perfect way to restore balance and a bit of fear of death in all of us. I know you chaos gods are worried about being outnumbered in a god war, so we limit conflicts between gods to one on one battles between us.¡± There was murmuring but not outright refusal as before. ¡°What about our followers, summoned creatures, our divine beasts?¡± someone asked. ¡°Would this fight be just two individuals or the only restriction only two gods.¡± ¡°Having the restriction only being the number of deities seems the best,¡± Ontera said. ¡°There are some of us whose primary means of battle is summons or empowering our followers.¡± ¡°What¡¯s to stop you from just sending your underlings after us one by one until you eventually weaken and kill us?¡± Jeresh asked. ¡°I want a cooldown period added to this, no god can fight another god until thirty days have passed after the first fight.¡± ¡°Only if they are the defender,¡± Andelar said. ¡°If someone attacks me and flees, I want the ability to pursue them.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Myria said. ¡°Are we agreed that a thirty day cooldown for the defender will exist if they are attacked by another deity.¡± There was a murmur of assent from the congregation. ¡°We have agreed to make no other changes to the Accords,¡± Falgest said, his gaze sweeping over his Pantheon and lingering on Andelar. ¡°Are we all agreed that this is the only change we will make?¡± One by one the gods agreed and the crystal lines along the stone table lit up. The table wasn¡¯t the body of the System as no such thing existed, but it was the means by which they controlled it. ¡°We gods are mortal once more,¡± Falgest said to Kalesa. ¡°I suggest you deal with your champion as soon as possible before someone else beats you to it; your reputation is hanging in the balance.¡± ¡°I know what I have to do,¡± Kalesa said, turning her back on her old friend. ¡°You and I have more reasons to hate the Void than anyone else.¡± --- Andelar appeared in the darkness of the realm of Salrilla, Goddess of Assassins. A blade pressed against his throat. ¡°Come to kill me Andelar?¡± Salrilla purred in his ears. Andelar whirled around, snatching the dagger from her fingers. He pinned her against the wall with his hands as the weight of gravity changed, holding her to the wall like a fly caught in a web. His lips pressed against hers and her smile spread, showing the bright flash of her fangs. The gravity disappeared and she wrapped her arms around his neck. ¡°I¡¯ve missed you,¡± she said, intertwining her tongue with his. ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± Andelar said. ¡°The first stage of our plan.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Salrilla said, her voice a sultry velvet. ¡°Let the other gods be distracted by that little mortal. Soon you and I will be free of the restrictions of the System and be able to start our own Pantheon.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait to put a little god inside you,¡± Andelar growled, his hands wrapping around her waist and lifting her up. Salrilla smiled. ¡°Why don¡¯t we practice that then?¡± ---
System Notice ¨C System has come back online. Apologies for any inconveniences caused by the shutdown during maintenance.
¡°Why do you talk like you¡¯re a computer?¡± I asked. ¡°And what happened?¡±
There has been an amendment to the Accords of the gods. SlAs an honorary god, I will inform you of the change: All gods may now fight each other one-on-one. The defender will receive a thirty day cooldown period where they cannot be attacked by another deity if their opponent flees the battle or is defeated. The defender is not prevented from going out to battle another deity during this cooldown
¡°Why would they make that change?¡± I asked.
You are classified by me as both a Deity and a Champion, making you previously immune to divine intervention.
¡°You put a bounty on my head,¡± I pointed out.
Punishment for breaching the World Wall had to be made.
¡°No,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°It¡¯s more than that, you want those champions to go after me, not because you think they can win, but because you want to make me stronger. The question is why?¡± Silence greeted me. ¡°You want me to do something, something the other gods wouldn¡¯t do,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t think you had to classify me as a Champion or god; I¡¯m technically neither. You took advantage of your programing to let you get away with that because you wanted this, you wanted gods to be able to fight.¡±
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: study the motivations of the System.
Reward: Title, A Dangerous Truth III
*I¡¯m watching
¡°I guess even gods can¡¯t help themselves but accidentally create Skynet when messing around with AI,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll see what you want from me eventually.¡±
Your Divine Realm is being invaded by Artrix, God of Barbarians and Bears. Time until divine manifestation: 10 seconds.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Chapter 190: The Sins of Divinity A roar echoed across the city as a portal opened on the empty plane around the mountain. A bear as large as a house stepped through the portal with a massive humanoid man astride it his body covered in almost as much hair as his mount. The angels above began circling faster and tighter, their song rising in pitch and volume like an air raid siren. All the refugees began fleeing into the tunnels that lead deeper into the mountain. ¡°Stay with Aurora,¡± I told Guinevere. ¡°I can fight with you,¡± she insisted. ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I won¡¯t risk you against that thing; keep Aurora safe.¡± She bit her lip in frustration but nodded. Exar¡¯kun landed beside me. ¡°Will you deny my assistance?¡± ¡°Does Vone approve?¡± I asked. ¡°My mate is growing our child,¡± Exar said. ¡°Her judgment here is irrelevant; her and our child¡¯s safety is all that matters.¡± ¡°Then we understand each other,¡± I agreed. I jumped off the edge of the temple mount and scarlet lightning wreathed my body followed by black smoke as Shadow of Judgement activated. Like a rock launched from a catapult, I headed straight for the god and his bear. Artrix unslung a large, bearded axe from his back and its edge glowed with an icy blue light. The bear roared and I could feel my skin ripple and my bones become brittle and fracture from the sheer force of the sound wave.
Balthesa, Guardian of the Woodland Realms, Gifted- Divine-beast/bear, Demi-god, Rank: ????
Rolling through the air, I pushed past the sonic force of the bear¡¯s roar. I activated Void Asura and all my weapons appeared in my hands. Striking out at the bear and rider, my weapons only managed to slightly cut through its hair and skin. Artrix likely had abilities like mine to make his skin harder than diamond. Artrix immediately counterattacked with his axe, the weapon traveling at speeds that were only on the very edge of my perception. Only my Limited Omniscience let me not get cut in half immediately as the bearded axe swung at me from half a dozen directions. Balthesa slashed at me with her claws as I rolled under it to get out of reach of the bearded axe. I activated Heir of the Titans, growing in size to match the bear as I kicked up, sending it several yards into the air. Artrix swung out of the saddle and landed on the ground, the axe crashing down next to me as I barely rolled out of the way of it in time. His next attack was spoiled as Exar¡¯kun swept by and a wave of radioactive fire spilled over the bear¡¯s and Artrix¡¯s back. Exar¡¯kun flew past and Artrix leapt into the air, his sheer strength propelling him after the dragon as he pursued, leaving me to face the bear. -- Jeriah looked on from the city as the god persued Exar¡¯kun. The dragon was strong, but he couldn¡¯t face a god on his own, none of them could, but together, the strength of the Warlord gave them the power to do almost anything. Jeriah stepped off the edge of the mountain, scaled bat-wings appearing from his back as he raced after the god and dragon. Behind him, his brothers followed him; by Exarch rank, each of them had earned some manner of flight ability. He stretched out his hand and a bolt of fire scorched the back of the god. It did next to no damage, but it was enough to momentarily distract him. Exar turned about and blasted Artrix with his breath attack; he¡¯d used his tokens from the event to ascend that ability beyond rank twenty, so it had much more of an effect on the god. The special nature of the tainted flames also helped to bypass any resistances the god might have had to regular flames as well. Tobias spun past him and struck the gods knee with the maul Mordred had created for him. Though Tobias struck with all his strength, he only left a bruise. Jeriah¡¯s other brothers all struck with him as they managed to avoid being obliterated through skill and sheer luck, but mostly luck. -- I spun under the bear¡¯s paws, taking long slashes along my back and chest, not enough to threaten my life but enough to push my strength up more and more with each strike. The more I fought the bear, the more I realized I was fighting a real bear. By that I meant it wasn¡¯t sapient; it could think faster than I could, its every attribute was higher than mine, but I was smarter than it. If I just kept moving just out of lethal attacks, it could keep ramping up my strength with every wound it dealt. As it used its abilities, its claws and fangs glowed, its hair buzzed and cut through my skin. It roared and fear effects tried to take hold, debuffs applying to me, but their duration was reduced to only a few seconds each. The bear just didn¡¯t learn, operating on instinct and it was like fighting a video game boss as I learned everything it could do and started to be able to predict all its attacks even without the ability to see them in the future. After another slash, I felt my Might attribute reach its threshold for where I couldn¡¯t gain more Might than I lost per second. I could see Exar¡¯kun, Jeriah, and his brothers fighting and not doing well against Artrix. I ducked under the swing of the bear''s right paw hitting it with my shoulder and lifting it up and hurling it across the battlefield. Balthesa hit her master and knocked him flat on the ground. ¡°And strike!¡± I roared, laughing at the god. I surged forward with Clarent, aiming to decapitate the bear. Artrix rolled into the way bringing up his axe to block. He staggered back as the force was something far beyond what he had been expecting. I struck with my spear and gauntlet sword and he took a step back. I grinned but my confidence was short lived; this was a man who¡¯d beaten every other champion to win the game of the gods and ascended to divinity. The axe came around as Artrix leapt back atop Balthesa again. An aura infused the bear and its claws struck at me. I instantly noticed a difference now that it wasn¡¯t fighting alone; it was as if it were using Artrix¡¯s intelligence instead of its own. The bear and rider were a blur as they defended against attacks from all directions. A strike from Artrix''s axe took off Jeriah¡¯s left arm and leg. A swipe of the bear¡¯s claws opened up Normen¡¯s belly. My allies were quickly falling, and I was losing ground, being pushed back with every strike of the axe. Even with my size enlarged and the bonus strength from all the wounds I¡¯d inflicted and taken I just wasn¡¯t as strong as the god. The god and bear might have been doable on their own but together, they were a force of nature. Exar¡¯kun flew by, his breath-attack blasting the man and bear. He flew past, but Artrix threw his axe. It spun through the the air, striking Exar in the shoulder and sheering off his left wing. The dragon roared as he went down, crashing into the ground with enough force to send a tremor all the way to the base of the mountain. The axe spun and snapped back into Artrix¡¯s hand; I¡¯d managed to get a few strikes in while he was unarmed but not enough to turn the tide of battle. ¡°Enough of these mortals,¡± Artrix said, turning his attention on Jeriah and his brothers. Form together, I commanded telepathically. Shield wall. Jeriah and his brothers all crouched together, raising their arms. Artrix¡¯s axe shone like the sun as he brought it down but was nearly thrown off his bear¡¯s back as his strike¡ªwith enough power behind it to shatter a castle¡ªrebounded off the strength of their collective shields. I stepped in and the axe swung around. It cut deep into my chest and took out one of my hearts; it had been a devastating wound, but I¡¯d intended it to be. All the wounds my allies had taken began to close as they received healing in proportion to the damage I¡¯d just taken. The wound had been intentional, but it hadn¡¯t been without cost. I had dozens of debuffs effecting me, and though they would only last for a few more seconds, with the speeds we were moving, that might as well have been minutes. The axe descended again and I was slowed too much to be able to dodge it completely; a void angel took the axe strike and I stepped back as more and more angels descended from the skies. The young void angels didn¡¯t have the strength to contend with the attributes of a god, but they could buy me a few seconds.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Artrix was knocked off his bear¡¯s back and he rushed me in a rage. The scarlet blade of Clarent met his axe. In that moment, everything became clear. I blocked, dodged, and parried his attacks. My rage was still there but it brought everything into focus instead of blurring it. The whistling of the axe speeding through the air met the low rumble of Clarent in a flash of light. Balthesa bit and clawed her way out of the pile of Void angels to rush me. Artrix jumped up, landing on her back as she lunged for me, her jaws snapping not even an inch from my throat and splattering me with acidic saliva. Before the bear could do more, Tobias slammed into its left flank, Jeriah attacked its right as he and the rest of his brothers, now healed and restored, attacked from both directions. Exar appeared above Artrix, no longer in dragon form; he couldn¡¯t have regenerated his wing in so short a team even with my added healing. Exar¡¯kun spun to the side as Artrix slashed at him with his axe which Exar spun under as he retaliated with a clawed hand across the face of the god. His victory was short lived as Artrix elbowed him with enough force to launch Exar across the plains where he slid to the edge of the mountain. Turning his full attention on me, Artrix left his bear to face the Dragonbreakers. The Void angels were scattered, and their few attacks weren¡¯t even a distraction to the god. He slashed, cut, and hammered at me with his axe. I nearly lost an arm and a leg and I did lose a good chunk of my torso in the fight. Artrix raised his axe as it glowed while he supercharged the next attack. All my futures showed it hitting, so I could only choose the best of the worst situations. The axe bit into my side, taking out a lung and half my intestines. I didn¡¯t really need my organs that much but the damage was stacking. I activated Void Shield and the damage I¡¯d taken disappeared. Voiodra, split from me, I said internally. I can¡¯t focus on my other abilities and fighting him at the same time. What about us? Karnen asked. No, I need the abilities you all would use, I replied. Voidra split off from me, floating up into the sky. Silver lightning emitted from her fingers and boulders and jagged rocks picked themselves up and began to pound upon the god and bear. She raised her hands and the light of the Void star focused, instead of shining everywhere equally, a beam of light focused on Artrix. The intensified light began to burn his skin like the worst of sunburns as it irradiated his flesh. Black stone morphed across the ground as the fallen Void Angels reformed, flying right back into the fight. I lunged at Artrix unleashing all the damage I¡¯d stored up from the attacks I¡¯d taken. Clarent struck the right side of Artrix¡¯s chest, and he screamed as it tore and burned through his skin, bones, and flesh. Golden light shone out from the wound as the divine energy was immediately seized on and attacked by the Void, the two sources of power anathema to each other. Black veins began to spread from the wound as the Void energy took purchase. Artrix fell back, weakened from the attack he¡¯d just suffered, I didn¡¯t let up. I was freshly restored and I couldn¡¯t let him regain his footing. My attacks lashed out again and again. Now that I could see this vulnerability, I opened up, hitting him more and letting the Void poison the god. ¡°You little brat,¡± the god snarled, but I could see the fear in his eyes. ¡°If a mortal kills a god, were they ever really a god?¡± I asked, my voice a threatening growl as it was amplified by Voice of Tartarus. ¡°After all, death is the domain of mortals.¡± The god turned and fled, a portal opening up in front of him, his bear chasing after him. Voidra rejoined my soul as I watched him jump through the portal. ¡°World Forge,¡± I said. The portal crystalized and hardened, taking off Artrix¡¯s foot as I forcibly snapped the portal shut in front of the bear. The bear turned on us, snarling, but it was without the protection of its god now. Guinevere, come down, I communicated with her telepathically. I want you to have a hand in slaying this beast. The fight against the bear wasn¡¯t even a challenge. Alone and surrounded in an alien environment with no real intelligence, it stood no chance. Guinevere slashed open its throat as I pinned it to the ground with Force of Will.
15 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
It was honestly surprising I¡¯d gained that many rank points considering how many Void angels had participated in the fight.
Ability Gained: Spectral Bear (Rank 1): You conjure from your thoughts a bear to fight alongside you. The bear is medium in size and can withstand up to Major damage before desummoning, and deals Major bleed damage with its bite and claws.
Cast Time: Instantaneous Cost: 50 mana
Rank up this ability to increase the size and power of the bear. Each rank increases your Power attribute by 1.
This ability was shit as a summoned bear in my fights would just instantly die, but I had an idea for it. Taking the energy of the freshly forming ability, I pushed it into Wild Hunt. It resisted but I knew how the System merged abilities and did the same.
Teeth in the Dark (Rank 20, Max Rank): You summon a twisted horn into your hands. Blowing on it lets out a piercing call that summons 13 beasts of shadow that will act as extensions of you. Their rank will be equal to your rank. The beasts emit a cloud of darkness in a 30ft radius around them, making it impossible to ever see their true appearance; only the silver flash of their fangs and claws will mark their presence. They will last for 1 hour and have a cooldown of 20 minutes before they can be summoned again. The thirteenth beast will be larger and stronger than the rest of the pack. All your beasts deal Severe bleed damage with their bite and claws.
Your beasts are not beings of flesh but shadow and Void; they can teleport to any shadow within 100ft of you.
Connected to the Void by your being, your summons bite inflicts the Lacerate* and Soul Rend* conditions, dealing a Major amount of extra Soul damage with each attack.
The hounds you summon have three extra heads, tripling their attack speed and damage per second.
You can select one target, placing a Hell¡¯s Mark on them and doubling your hounds damage against that target.
*Soul Rend: On a failed Spirit check, attack causes permanent Soul Damage that will last until healed by soul healing.
Max Rank Bonus: Merely an extension of you, the Shadow Beasts benefit from all your titles, passives, and any buffs you are currently experiencing when summoned.
Cost: 320 mana Cast Time: 10 seconds
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of hounds, how powerful they are, and the duration for which they will remain. Each rank up increases your Spirit and Power by 1.
There were changes here but they were mostly minimal; at least it enhanced a useful ability instead of adding a useless bear into a fight. ¡°Did you get anything?¡± I asked Guinevere. ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°I can control my hair¡¯s length; it gains enhanced durability and a prehensile effect.¡± Her hair instantly began flowing even longer down her back, reaching down to her ankles before neatly weaving itself into a loose braid. ¡°You know vanity is a sin, right?¡± I asked, smiling as she preened to herself. ¡°We decide what sins are now,¡± Guinevere said with false haughtiness. ¡°For thirty more days at least,¡± I said. ¡°They¡¯ll come after us again. We need to move Guinevere, to hunt as many Gifted as we can. It really is a race to godhood for us now.¡± --- Artrix fell through the portal into his divine realm. He fell on his face as he tried to put weight on his missing foot. He looked up at the pine trees all around him and the many caves in the cliffs of the mountain range he¡¯d made his divine realm. ¡°My lord,¡± one of his concubines said, coming over to him. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°He failed,¡± a cold voice said. Artrix looked up as Andelar finished stepping through a portal. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Artrix spat. ¡°Come to gloat at my defeat.¡± ¡°No,¡± Andelar slowly said replied. ¡°I¡¯m here to clean things up.¡± ¡°Clean up what?¡± Artrix asked, leaning against one of the pines as his women tended to his wound. ¡°You can¡¯t fight Mordred for a month for your shot against him.¡± Andelar looked up into the sky. ¡°True, but you on the other hand¡­¡± Artrix looked up at the ball of fire descending down upon them. ¡°You bastard! You can¡¯t!¡± The asteroid hit and Andelar stood unmoving, the shockwave not affecting him in the slightest as the mountain range was turned to glass. All the bears and followers of Artrix who made up his realm were now ashes floating on the breeze. Artrix was still alive, if barely. Golden light shone out from the blackened bones and one remaining eye looked up at him as he stood over the dying god. ¡°Why?¡± Artrix rasped. ¡°Because,¡± Andelar said with a shrug. ¡°You have something I need.¡± He reached down into the glowing light and removed a glowing orb from his chest. Artrix stopped moving, the life leaving his remaining eye. Andelar watched as the divine realm started to shrink and dissolve around them. The souls of Andelar¡¯s vassals began to disappear; they had been only kept alive by his power here just like the divine realm, and now with their god¡¯s death, they would go to the Void. Andelar turned and opened another portal, leaving evidence of his actions to disappear behind him. Chapter 191: Somehow....Mordred Returned Guinevere and I stepped out of the Void into the material world. I looked at the ashen wasteland that had once been the Ancient Forest. When I saw what was left of the land I had first entered this world, I was angry. I wasn¡¯t a tree hugger or anything, but this place had meant something to me. Its ancient trees, ruins, and monsters had all helped to shape me into who I was. I knew Exar¡¯kun was responsible for much of this destruction but not all of it. The champions of the other gods had shown no mercy as they hunted down my vassals and scoured the forest for every gifted creature they could to enhance their power. ¡°Gods of law and order my ass,¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t even do this much destruction on Camelot.¡± ¡°But you could have,¡± Guinevere pointed out. ¡°But I didn¡¯t,¡± I reiterated. ¡°I know I killed thousands but that was just how my abilities turned out; it wasn¡¯t something I did on purpose. This though, there¡¯s no way you could do this by accident.¡± ¡°Where to now?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Dragonhold,¡± I said. ¡°There isn¡¯t anything here to hunt and we need to start killing gifted. It doesn¡¯t matter if they are even good abilities we get from the kills; we need to raise our stats as fast as possible.¡± I opened a portal and took Guinevere¡¯s hand as I stepped through. The tower I¡¯d constructed outside of the city still stood but now it was occupied by Lunarian soldiers. They immediately rushed me but I just gripped them with Force of Will and held them up. I looked them over one by one but none of them were gifted. ¡°Where is your superior officer?¡± I asked. No one said anything. ¡°Where is your leader?¡± I asked again, Voice of Tartarus making my words resonate with unquestionable authority. ¡°At the top of the tower,¡± one of the soldiers broke, tears and sweat speading out across his body. I let them all drop; they were just base humans and no threat to me. ¡°What is your name, soldier?¡± I asked. ¡°Wilber Tanner,¡± he said. ¡°You have no place in this war,¡± I said to him. ¡°You are not gifted and are little more than cannon fodder; your leaders know this but will send you to your death anyway. Join me as one of my knights and you will have the power to actually stand against men like me.¡± The man blinked as he received a System notification, likely for the first time in his life. ¡°What is this?¡± he asked. ¡°Power,¡± I said. ¡°Take it, keep it, and offer it to anyone who would stand with you.¡± I left him behind as Guinevere and I ascended up the tower steps. ¡°I thought it was ¡®keep power, take power, and deny it to others¡¯?¡± Guinevere questioned me. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be that person anymore,¡± I said. ¡°I want to give people a choice, to make a better world, not just a bloodier one.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°It¡¯s going to be bloodier,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Those who oppose us won¡¯t let you make that world without a fight.¡± I kicked open the door in front of us to the top of the tower. ¡°Then we fight,¡± I said to the room full of gifted knights and officers. ¡°He¡¯s here,¡± the commander said into a crystal. Attacks came my way, blasts of fire, glowing arrows, a javelin of pure holy light. Clarent spun into my hand as I deflected the shots and attacks. My hand raised up, lifting the knights into the air and pulling their arms to their sides. There wasn¡¯t a man or woman in the room over Hero rank. I opened a portal and tossed them into the Void where they were imprisoned for sacrifice later. Stepping over to the table, I looked at the maps left out, seeing the various pieces and movements laid out. ¡°That was anticlimactic,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Is what it is,¡± I said, shrugging. ¡°The System should start spawning level appropriate monsters for us to fight but for now, let¡¯s head into the city.¡± ¡°What for?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I have a feeling some old enemies are going to want to make contact and perhaps we¡¯ll be enemies no longer,¡± I said, stepping off the edge of the tower. --- Arthur looked down at the map on the table. ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± Lancelot asked. ¡°We do what we did last time,¡± Arthur said. ¡°The System and the gods themselves have made Mordred our number one enemy. We band together and hunt him down.¡± ¡°Last time you did that he only came back stronger,¡± Mira said. ¡°What is your suggestion then?¡± Arthur snapped. ¡°Let him be?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Mira said, shocking him and Lancelot. ¡°I¡¯m pregnant, Lancelot almost died against him, you couldn¡¯t ever defeat him in a one-on-one fight,¡± she said. ¡°That''s it, you¡¯re giving up?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°I am if your plan is just to group up and hit him tell he dies again,¡± Mira said. ¡°I¡¯m not sacrificing my son for your vengeance.¡± ¡°I have a son of my own,¡± Arthur said. ¡°And two more children on the way. Do you think I¡¯m here to sacrifice them?¡± ¡°I think your hatred for Mordred has blinded you,¡± Mira said, leaning forward. ¡°You hate him more than anyone else, but what has he really done to you personally?¡± ¡°I was there in Camelot¡­¡± Arthur began, irate. ¡°So was I,¡± Mira cut him off. ¡°But how many of those he killed were you even friends with? Now you want to send what friends you do have to chase down Mordred and die against him.¡± ¡°Mira, do you really think we can¡¯t take him?¡± Lancelot asked. ¡°I¡¯ve talked with Helen,¡± Mira said. ¡°Her mother was Hierophant rank and she died against him. Her goddess refused to tell her more but warned her that facing Mordred would lead to her death.¡± ¡°So Helen is out then,¡± Arthur said, his shoulders slumping. ¡°No, she¡¯s charging right after him,¡± Mira said. ¡°She¡¯s going to leave her daughter an orphan, but I won¡¯t follow her example.¡± ¡°I could order you,¡± Arthur said. ¡°You¡¯re not my king,¡± Mira said. ¡°And frankly, I think you¡¯ve grown too accustomed to being in charge. We are champions, we answer to our gods, not to you.¡± ¡°And what about you, Lancelot?¡± Arthur challenged. ¡°Does your wife speak for you? Will you also abandon me to this fight on my own?¡± Lancelot studied Mira¡¯s face then turned to Arthur. ¡°I stand with Mira; if this is your plan¡­I won¡¯t join you. Come up with a real plan of attack and bring it to us and we¡¯ll talk again. Until then, this quest for vengeance is yours alone.¡± The two of them left and Arthur clenched his fist. He¡¯d known in his bones that Mordred wasn¡¯t gone; he wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d ever be rid of that feeling even if Mordred¡¯s corpse lay at his feet. He would see him dead no matter what it cost him. Chapter 192: The Void Mage The streets of Dragonhold were all reinforced from Compressed Earth and the city was exactly as I had left it architecturally, but there weren¡¯t patrols of Camelot or Lunarian soldiers; there were just ordinary guards in city livery. ¡°Why isn¡¯t this city occupied?¡± I asked. ¡°Probably don¡¯t have enough bodies to actually hold down the country,¡± Guinevere speculated. ¡°With how much of the army was chasing down your vassals not to mention how many died against you, they will be stretched thin for several years until they train up fresh troops.¡± ¡°This competition isn¡¯t going to last that long,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°We aren¡¯t going to make it to god rank by the end of the month, but one way or the other, this game isn¡¯t going to last another year.¡± We approached the Palace looking at the guards stationed outside its gates. I stepped in front of them and crossed my arms. ¡°I¡¯m here to speak to your leader,¡± I said. ¡°The Princess doesn¡¯t just speak to¡­.¡± The guard began irately; he wasn¡¯t gifted and couldn¡¯t read my description. ¡°Not her, the real power behind the throne,¡± I said pushing him aside. ¡°Nevermind, I¡¯ll just find them myself.¡± The guard tried to yank me back but got dragged along. He quickly let go realizing I was gifted and he wasn¡¯t. The other guard ran off but that was fine; I was trying to draw attention. I walked through the halls, again finding few changes. I entered the throne room and looked at Princess¡­Queen Andromeda. ¡°Mordred,¡± she said cooly. ¡°You are no longer ruler of these lands, thoughI¡¯m not either for that matter. Camelot and Lunara swept in like a tidal wave when you left.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not here to conquer land,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m here to talk to your masters.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have masters,¡± Andromeda said. A low chuckle rumbled through the throne room. ¡°We both know that¡¯s not true. Tell the magi I wish to speak with them.¡± A man stepped out from behind the throne. ¡°And why would we want to speak with you?¡± Pierce asked. ¡°Our stance on Champions has not changed.¡± ¡°Not a champion anymore,¡± I said with a nonchalant shrug. ¡°But you are still the same man who was; you still have that same desire for power,¡± Pierce said crossing his arms.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Not necessarily,¡± I answered him. ¡°It¡¯s been awhile and a lot has happened in my life. I¡¯ve healed old wounds, gained new insight, learned forbidden things. . .¡± ¡°Such as?¡± Pierce asked, he tried to hide his interest but I could feel the hunger for knowledge. ¡°The gods who created the System were not the first gods,¡± I said. Pierce''s eyes narrowed as he looked me over. ¡°And how did you acquire this knowledge? What proof do you have of it.¡± ¡°I have been to the Void; I have killed the beings the gods once fought against and seen the digested remains of their energy.¡± ¡°So no proof at all,¡± Pierce mused. ¡°Do not insinuate that I am a liar again,¡± I said, my voice ringing through the throne room as Voice of Tartarus activated. A show of power was apparently needed. Andromeda and Pierce flinched back involuntarily. Emotions spiking around the room, Voidra said. They were invisible before but that spooked them. I couldn¡¯t sense the people hiding but I¡¯d suspected I was surrounded already. ¡°That ability is at rank fifty,¡± I said. ¡°I have seven more just like it. The remains of a god can be used to break the rank restriction for abilities. At least for me.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t come here just to chat,¡± Pierce said, recovering smoothly. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°An alliance,¡± I said. ¡°I was recently attacked by Artrix. The god so we¡¯re clear. The god¡¯s have altered their rules to let them fight each other since I apparently qualify enough as one. I¡¯ve got one month before another one can come after me so Guinevere and I need to rank up as fast as we can.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re the one who killed Artrix,¡± Pierce said, assessing me anew. ¡°What? No, he ran off before we could finish the fight. You¡¯re saying he¡¯s dead?¡± I asked. ¡°All of his priest¡¯s lost contact with him at the exact same moment,¡± Pierce said. ¡°No one knew why for sure, but if you didn¡¯t kill him, someone else did. As interesting as that information is¡­why should we help you? We seek to end the System, not play its games.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe the System is what you think it is,¡± I said. ¡°Besides, the System isn¡¯t what you have a problem with. You want a world where anyone can achieve power; I can give that to you.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Pierce asked doubtfully. ¡°To anyone listening, I offer you the chance to become one of my knights,¡± I said. ¡°You will find the oath not too restraining.¡± Pierce blinked as he read the notification. ¡°You¡¯re offering this to us?¡± ¡°No,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m offering it to the entire world.¡± ¡°Doing that would¡­. throw everything off balance,¡± Pierce said with an understanding smile. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t matter who was gifted and who wasn¡¯t; entire nations might fall.¡± ¡°That¡¯s up to the people who live there,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°I¡¯m not going to free people from tyranny, but I am going to give everyone the chance to become the hero in their own story.¡± Pierce was silent. ¡°The magi are governed by archmages and I am the mage of Shadow. You¡¯ve met Silas, the Silver Mage, and Errila, the Immortal Enchantress.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask why they have descriptions and you don¡¯t,¡± I said, looking above his head where no status appeared. ¡°There¡¯s no way you¡¯ve never killed a gifted and there is also no way to hide a description¡ªfalsify it sure but not remove it entirely.¡± ¡°There are ways to defy the System,¡± Pierce said, waving my question away. ¡°I will have to speak to the other archmages but you have my vote. You seem to know as much about magic as we do so I will tacitly welcome you into our order. Is there some title you¡¯d like?¡± ¡°The Void Mage,¡± I said summoning, my power and opening a portal. ¡°When you¡¯re ready to talk again, send someone through this portal.¡± Chapter 193: Breaking and Entering A single man stepped through the portal. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you came in person,¡± I said as I looked at Silas. ¡°Where is Guinevere?¡± he asked. Guinevere stepped out from behind me, Aurora cooing softly in her arms. ¡°I am here, sir.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to call me sir anymore,¡± Silas said, his features softening. He looked at me. ¡°I was wrong about you; you weren¡¯t a threat to Guinevere. I heard what you did to Camelot to save her.¡± ¡°She was worth everything I had to do,¡± I said. ¡°Have the Magi come to an agreement?¡± ¡°We have,¡± Silas said. ¡°Errila took some convincing but you are the fourth arch mage. However, in order to convince her, we did have to promise we¡¯d get you to do something for us.¡± ¡°And this thing is?¡± I asked warily. ¡°The Champions will be entering into an Event today,¡± Silas said. ¡°The System creates temporary divine realms to host these Events in, but we¡¯ve never been able to interfere with them before. We want you to open up a way into them.¡± ¡°How?¡± I asked. ¡°I have to have seen a place before to open a portal to it,¡± I pointed out. Silas held out a rune inscribed compass to me. ¡°We have agents across Talba, some in very high positions and some fighting right alongside Champions. One of these champions is carrying a device that will let you locate them even if they aren¡¯t in this world.¡± I took the compass in my hand and held it. There was a sudden tugging on my soul similar to how I had been drawn to seek out all my fallen vassals here in the Void. I wasn¡¯t sure if it would be enough to open a portal to the location, but it would be a start. ¡°The System won¡¯t like us breaking in,¡± I mused. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how many people I could get through a portal. Do you have a core strike force in mind?¡± ¡°We and twelve other mages will be the priority. I assume you will have allies of your own you wish to bring,¡± Silas said. ¡°I¡¯m coming,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°No you¡¯re not,¡± Silas and I said simultaneously. ¡°I¡¯m not going to leave you alone to fight hundreds of champions,¡± Guinevere insisted. ¡°You need me Mordred; I fought with you in the last Event and you can¡¯t do this without me.¡± I sighed but Guinevere was right. In a one on one fight she could take on almost any champion, and she was an invaluable combatant. I trusted no one else like her to have my back. ¡°Fine,¡± I relented. ¡°But you will stay back as much as possible; Aurora needs at least one of her parents.¡± ¡°She needs us both,¡± Guinevere said. Silas bit back his words as he glared at me and her but nodded. ¡°How soon can you be ready?¡± Jeriah, I said telepathically. Get your brothers. Juruk, you and your mount will come with us and bring your riders as well. I can¡¯t promise how many of them will be able to join the battle, though¡­ I continued to call upon my allies and vassals, choosing the strongest among them. I invited Exar¡¯kun but didn¡¯t invite Vone, as she was pregnant and our relationship was uncertain. She was Exar¡¯s wife but she and I could still be enemies. The Magi began to come through the portal; they were arrayed for war and they didn¡¯t have a uniform per se, but their robes and light garments made it so you would never confuse them with a regular military force. ¡°Ready?¡± I asked as I took out Mab and flipped through his pages. ¡°We are,¡± Pierce said. ¡°You can open the portal?¡± ¡°With the power of the Void,¡± I said, a slight smile on my lips. ¡°All things are possible.¡± I started opening up the portal, chanting words as I drew arcane runes upon the ground. A swirling vortex appeared red light flashing as the System tried to block me, but I crystalized the energy and pulled it apart. It was like trying to move a mountain and I couldn¡¯t hold the portal open for long. ¡°Jump through!¡± I grunted through gritted teath. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long I can hold this.¡± Everyone started jumping through, pouring through the portal like water off a cliff. I strained and felt hot liquid running down my face, red drops splattering on the ground as I realized my body was crying and sweating blood. I couldn¡¯t feel the pain but I could feel the strain on my body even if I couldn¡¯t feel the pain telling me it would still give out soon. ¡°Twenty more seconds,¡± I wheezed out. The flood of bodies continued through the portal; it was five feet wide in diameter so only one or two people could go through at once. One second ticked by then another as I counted down. Guinevere jumped through at the eighteen second mark and then I stepped through, holding up my hand to stop those trying to follow. The portal snapped shut and we stood in a thick overgrown jungle.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Error! Non-Champions have entered the Event (Zone Control) The goal of this Event is to control the most territory possible, there are six groups on the map. Rewards will be granted to Champions every hour based on how much territory they have personally taken and how much their faction holds. You will continue to respawn at your factions safe zone every time you die with a cooldown period of four hours between each death for the next three days until the Events conclusion. You must be alive during the last hour of the Event in order to receive your rewards.
Error: The World Boss Mordred has entered the Event along with four-hundred-and-seven others. All intruders must be slain and will not respawn. Until they are removed, progress for any zone they are in cannot be made.
¡°A classic PVP battle,¡± I said, stretching my shoulders as my regeneration repaired the strain to my body. ¡°PVP?¡± Silas asked. ¡°Player versus player,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°It¡¯s a term from his world; they have games that have elements similar to how the System grants us abilities.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like referring to this as a game,¡± Errila said tersely. ¡°Did you miss the part where they will respawn and we won¡¯t?¡± Karnen stepped out of my soul in his void armor shell. ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re thinking of this wrong, my dear,¡± he said. ¡°This is an opportunity, not a problem.¡± ¡°Karnen¡­I¡­I¡­¡± Errila stammered the arrogance of the woman suddenly gone. ¡°We¡¯ll talk after this is done,¡± Karnen said, disappearing back into my spirit. ¡°Karnen is right,¡± I said. ¡°Champions are powerful, yes and dangerous, but they are also full of rank points and killing them always gives those points and a good chance for abilities to their slayer, even if it isn¡¯t permanent for them. This is our chance to farm them like mobs in a dungeon.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your plan then?¡± Silas asked. No one could see my dark smile under my helmet. ¡°Slash and burn. Exar, you know what to do.¡± --- Lancelot swore when he saw the notification. ¡°How did he¡­¡± he forced himself to calm down. ¡°This is fine, we can respawn and they can¡¯t. We¡¯ve killed Mordred in an Event before and we just have to do it once now.¡± He actually smiled at that. ¡°The idiot just willingly walked into a trap we didn¡¯t even set for him and put all the cards in our hands,¡± he said. Mira read the notification but was less sure than Lancelot was. ¡°We don¡¯t have Arthur this time. He stayed back so he could hunt down Modred.¡± Hara let out an angry sigh. ¡°Ironic that; he stays behind to hunt Mordred and then Mordred shows up here. But Lancelot is right, we only have to kill him once.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re forgetting that last time he only had two others helping him,¡± Mira said. ¡°Guinevere and the Hell-Dragon. There are over four-hundred of them now. This isn¡¯t an issue of overwhelming numbers against him.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t be champions,¡± Felrick said dismissevly. ¡°Neither was Guinevere or the Hell-Dragon, but remember what they did,¡± Mira said. ¡°You think his four hundred vassals will all be on the level of skill that Guinevere is?¡± Lancelot asked doubtfully. ¡°Not all, but some,¡± Mira said. ¡°And we would be fools to believe otherwise. The real question I have is Mordred got here. This place isn¡¯t even in the material world.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a question one of his vassals might know¡­¡± Felrick began. Screams sounded in the jungle and they all turned. They caught the flapping of black wings in the distance and watched smoke rising up. ¡°First strike already,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°He¡¯s not taking his time this go around.¡± ¡°Look,¡± Mira said, pointing. A dark spire of blackened stone was rising out of the ground. ¡°Another tower,¡± Hara said her fingers gripping her weapon tight. ¡°He¡¯s playing the same game again, it seems. It¡¯s time to remind him that the rules have changed.¡± --- The ground opened above me as I surged out of the hole I¡¯d created and grabbed the champion by his head and neck. I snapped his neck before I could even register his description and pulled, ripping his head off his vertebrae. Blood fountained out over me and his surprised companions but they didn¡¯t have long to think through the ambush before Guinevere and two of the Magi struck them from behind.
500 rank points gained
Ability Gained! Hurricane Force, Rank: 1; You are the herald of the storm and the winds obey you. Cause wind to stir up in a 1 mile radius blowing in the direction you are facing at a rate of 50mph.
Cost: 30 mana per second Cast Time: Channeled Passive
Each rank increases winds effects, speed, and radius. Increases Mind by 1 with each Rank.
I didn¡¯t have the time to try and merge the ability with one of my others and I honestly wasn¡¯t sure what it would go with. ¡°All right, lets keep it moving,¡± I said. Behind me rose the giant tower I¡¯d created, the perfect bait to draw in all the champions to our location. Exar¡¯kun was burning the jungle but it was a purposeful fire to box in the champions. Another group of champions rushed out of the tree line, coughing from the smoke. I dodged an arrow and lifted my hand, gripping the archer with Telekinesis. The champion tried to break free but one of the goblins dropped out a tree over their head, landing on the suspended champion and ripping their throat out with a short blade.
523 rank points gained
Not even every kill from a Champion was going to earn me an ability but I was confident the System would be fair. It might not have invited us here but the System rewarded risk and only one side here was actually risking their lives. By the time this was done I hoped to have gotten half-a-dozen or more abilities to my name. Guinevere blocked the strike of a rogue who appeared at my back. I rammed Clarent through their neck as it skidded off their leather armor, unable to damage another artifact. The bodies disappeared after death so we couldn¡¯t loot them, but that didn¡¯t mean we didn¡¯t get this world¡¯s equivalent of XP as I gained a ton of new rank points.
498 rank points gained
Ability Gained! Raining Light, Rank: 1; You call upon the might of the heavens to rain down and destroy your enemies. Javelins of light rain down in a 30ft radius centered around you dealing Moderate Holy damage for 15 seconds.
Cost: 43 mana per second Casting Time: Instantaneous
Each rank increases damage, effects, duration, and area of effect. Each Rank increases your Power attribute by 1.
The other champions were already dead as my allies and vassals slaughtered them through the smoke. ¡°What now?¡± Silas asked me. I turned to him. ¡°You ever heard of griefing?¡± Chapter 194: Anyway you Slice it Each of the safe zones was about a hundred yards across, you couldn¡¯t fight while inside them but the System didn¡¯t block attacks from entering them. So whenever a Champion respawned it became a shooting gallery. Each of the zones was now a pot marked, porcupined with arrows, scorched wasteland. The champions hadn¡¯t died all at once so they didn¡¯t respawn at the same time allowing us to take them out quickly as they just appeared in the middle of the safe zone. There were a few that managed to get out of the safe zone but none could escape the killing fields and were hunted down and slain again and again. I drove Clarent through the back of a fleeing Champion and held them down as they screamed as the lightning blade carved through their flesh.
103 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors
¡°This doesn¡¯t seem very sporting,¡± Pierce said looking at the smoldering corpse of my latest victim. ¡°This is just payback for me,¡± I said shrugging. ¡°They gained up at every opportunity they could to take me down, now I¡¯m just turning the tables. ¡°So you seek vengeance?¡± Pierce asked. ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°For the most part I don¡¯t take anything personally, they try to kill me I try to kill them, those were the terms of the game and we all knew it when we became Champions.¡± ¡°This is why some in my order were reticent to join with you,¡± Pierce said. ¡°You may not be a champion but you still have that same mindset.¡± I shrugged and blasted the safe zone with lightning as another Champion respawned. A host of ranged attacks lanced, burned, chilled, dissolved, and slashed their body.
103 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors
¡°This is the mindset that grew in a world without the System,¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill people there but you¡¯ll find self-preservation and power are cross universal motivators.¡± ¡°And is that the way it should be?¡± Pierce challenged. ¡°It¡¯s the way it IS,¡± I asserted. ¡°Wishing it away won¡¯t change it and acting as if it isn¡¯t will get you screwed over or killed.¡± ¡°So might makes right?¡± Pierce asked. ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°In my world we have the idea of God, a singular creator being who sits in judgment over us and from whom we get morality, there is not such thing here. The System doesn¡¯t care why we kill only that we do so, the gods all push us to kill eachother for their own ¡°moral¡± reasons. The only thing that makes something correct is if we say it is.¡± ¡°What about the will of the people?¡± Pierce asked. ¡°What about them?¡± I asked. ¡°I know you¡¯ve all got some socialist ideas but if the majority of the people told you to stop and just do what the System and gods said would you disband the order of the Magi.¡± ¡°No,¡± Pierce said. Another Champion respawned and was blasted into oblivion.
44 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors
Ability Gained! Relentless Assault, Rank: 1; Your endlessly pursue your enemies hunting them down again and again with no mercy, leaving no survivors. For every attack you land your next attack gains a stacking +.2% damage bonus, the stacks disappear if you fail to land an attack within 10 seconds.
Cost: 10 stamina per second Casting Time: Channeled Passive
Rank up this ability to increase the damage bonus and its effects. Each rank increases your Speed attribute by 1.
I considered merging the ability with another but I wasn¡¯t in the Void and didn¡¯t¡¯ want to risk trying that outside of it where the System had full dominion. I also didn¡¯t plan on ranking them up just yet, I was beginning to understand abilities more on a fundamental level and there were things I wanted to test about them. ¡°Then why should we care what people think,¡± I said. ¡°Maybe there is some creator out there, maybe we¡¯ve just been ignoring them and the consciousness they gave us but here things are only justified because the people with the power say they are, if others say differently they are ignored or killed.¡± ¡°But that doesn¡¯t make it right,¡± Pierce objected. ¡°Says you, but you aren¡¯t a regular person,¡± I said. ¡°I have no idea still how you don¡¯t get rank points but even if you aren¡¯t a Gifted you are still gifted, some people are just born better than others, some become better than others but none of us are really equal.¡± ¡°You view yourself as better than others?¡± Pierce asked. ¡°I am,¡± I said with no false humility or arrogance. ¡°I¡¯ve survived what others would have crumbled under, done what everyone thought impossible, I am better.¡± ¡°Not very humble of you,¡± Pierce said crossing his arms as we waited for another champion to spawn in.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°False humility is just another form of pride,¡± I said. ¡°I am who I am, if I wasn¡¯t who I say I am then why are even the gods trying to kill me.¡± ¡°Oh I don¡¯t discount that you are special,¡± Pierce said. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have allied with you if you were not; but I worry you aren¡¯t allied with us for the right reasons.¡± ¡°Your against the gods, so am I,¡± I said with a shrug. Another champion popped up and we blasted his body apart.
11 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors
¡°And what happens when you ascend?¡± Pierce asked. ¡°How long tell I¡¯m fighting against you?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve fought against me before and it didn¡¯t¡¯ work out for you,¡± I said. ¡°What do you want from me, what assurances can I give you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there are any,¡± Pierce said. ¡°I don¡¯t know that you will become my enemy and I don¡¯t believe you know if you will either. The future is uncertain.¡± We were silent as we both digest what the other had said. I also had doubts about the Magi, I¡¯d made peace with them once before only to have them attack me when I was weak. There was every chance they might try that again if they thought I was a threat to their goals. Ten minutes later another champion popped up and was blasted apart.
22 rank point gained, split between surviving contributors
Ability Gained! Mirage Men, Rank: 1; You are surrounded by up to three copies of yourself, the copies mimic your actions to confuse your enemies and will disappear as soon as they take any damage. Each copy last for a maximum of six seconds, and can move up to 30 ft away from you.
Cost: 50 mana Cast Time: Instantaneous
Rank up this ability to increase the range and duration of your Mirage Men and gain additional effects. Each Rank increases your Perception attribute by 1.
I rolled my shoulders we still had a long way to go before this was done and I hoped to get a few hundred attribute point worth of abilities from this. For now it was back to work and the systematic slaughter of the Champions. Hours passed as we killed and killed, then killed again. I wasn¡¯t sure how the Champions would handle the psychological damage from being farmed and killed over and over again but that wasn¡¯t my concern. I didn¡¯t get as many abilities as I would have liked but the risk had pretty much all vanished once we¡¯d killed them the first time and they spawned in a few at a time every few hours.
Ability Gained! Lava Burst, Rank: 1; You stomp on the ground creating a chasm moving out from the impact zone 5ft wide, 10ft long and dropping into a 10ft deep hole with lava at the bottom. Every 10 seconds for the next minute a blast of lava shoots out striking a creature hostile to you within 30ft of the lava pit dealing Major fire damage to them.
Cost: 90 mana Casting Time: Instantaneous
Rank up this ability to increase the size of the lava pit, as well as the range and duration of its attacks. Each rank increases your Might attribute by 1.
Ability Gained! Holy Ground, Rank: 1; You are a being of religious portent and the ground you walk upon is sacred to those who follow you. You consecrate the ground within 150ft you for the cost of a drop of your divine blood, increasing the mana and stamina of any allies in the area by 100 and their regen rate by +10.
Cost: 300 mana Casting Time: 30 seconds
Rank up this ability to increase its effects, maximum mana & stamina capacity and regen and range. Each rank of this ability increases your Spirit attribute by +1.
Ability Gained! Doppelganger, Rank: 1; Anyone at any time, the face and body of a familiar lover or a hated foe, even your description will lie to make you whoever you want to be. You can take on the appearance and mirror the Description of a humanoid you have met who is at least lower than half your rank.
Cost: 40 mana per second Casting Time: Channeled Passive
Rank up this ability to increase the strength of your Deception and gain additional effects along with it and reduce the rank discrepancy for creatures you can imitate. Each rank increases your Perception attribute by +2.
Ability Gained! Famine Breath, Rank: 1; You breathe out the wind of famine on those who defy you. At will you cause a wind from your lungs to blow across the land, all non-magical food not kept by you or your allies, rots and spoils within the next 6 hours.
Cost: 190 mana Casting Time: Instantaneous
Rank up this ability to increase the range, time and types of food effected. Each rank increases your Endurance attribute by +1.
Ability Gained! Sickening Aura, Rank: 1; To defy you is to invite suffering on oneself. You inflict painful boils, sores across the skin, feverish sweating and wasting diseases inflict all creatures hostile to you within 1 mile on a failed Toughness check, sicknesses and diseases caused by you will last until naturally or magically cured.
Cost: 200 mana Casting Time: Instantaneous
Rank up this ability to increase its range and the severity of the sicknesses caused and the difficulty in removing them. Each rank increases your Toughness attribute by +1.
Ability Gained! Devotion of the Flesh, Rank: 1; To be worshiped is to have power, that power for you is even more real than for others. You gain +50 to your Maximum stamina and +1 to your Stamina regeneration for every ally within 100ft of you.
Cost: None Casting Time: Passive
Rank up this ability to increase the maximum stamina and regen you get per ally and to gain more effects. Each rank increases your Endurance by +1.
The event started to fade around us as the world began falling apart as the System had no further use for it. I created a portal back to the Void, I had some dangerous life-threatening experiments to perform on my own soul, it was time to see just what abilities were made of. Chapter 195: The Status is not Quo What is an ability? That was the question I had been thinking about for awhile now. When I thought about Void Asura or any of my Void abilities I realized something, they were not powers that came from the System, I suspected Kalesa and the other six gods who had created the System had abilities before hand or more likely they had what would become abilities. For abilities like Telekinesis, any of my Passives or Void Asura I didn¡¯t have to speak aloud, I just thought and it happened. Some abilities required a spoken verbal command and contact with the System to work and as I thought about them I came up with a theory for why that was. All abilities were really just spells programmed into our bodies, sometimes they were always active while other times they needed to be spoken aloud. Most actual spells, even combat ones required several seconds of chanting to enact the System let us bypass the need for that by just speaking a simple phrase and it did all the heavy lifting. That¡¯s why spells that could do all the same effects and damage as an ability weren¡¯t practical because they took ten times as long to set up. All this thinking had led me to wonder this, could I make my own abilities? Program spells into my own flesh and soul? Maybe but it was probably very dangerous¡­.so I was definitely going to do it. I sat in meditation on the throne in the temple at the top of Avalon. The first ability I wanted to experiment on was Shadow Allias, that ability had been invaluable in rescuing Guinevere, but I hadn¡¯t used it once since. Deception, spying and sneak attacks just weren¡¯t my style, so I wanted to modify it to better fit my actual combat style. Brilliant bands and motes of light filled my soul as I searched through it searching for the nodes that were my new abilities. I could see band connecting them together in particular the brightest node of them all that represented Void Asura. It had bands connecting to all my other abilities that my Heralds could use. I found the band connecting to Shadow Allias and poked at the energy, it tried to move but I held it fast, I wasn¡¯t just shoving abilities together and seeing what popped out, that had been something I¡¯d been forced to do because of lack of experience and pressured necessity. I pulled on the nodes for Doppelganger and Mirage Men, they were similar enough that I felt I would have the best luck in using them as my building blocks. Doppelganger wasn¡¯t exactly what I was looking for and just seemed like a slightly different version of Shadow Allias, I was actually surprised the System hadn¡¯t offered me a choice to merge the two abilities together. Mirage Men was the more interesting with actual potential in combat, I wanted to draw more heavily on it for the alteration of Shadow Allias. I started poking at the ability it recoiled and tried to move away but it didn¡¯t even have the strength of Shadow Allias and I pulled at it weakening its light as I peered inside looking to discover just how this thing worked. Runes, thousands and thousands of runes greeted the vision of my soul. I pulled back, abilities being like spells was even more literal than I had first imagined. They weren¡¯t just imprinted on our bodies but on our very souls as well. I looked back into the abilities node reading the nodes, it was like reading the notes of a nuclear physicist after just passing high school but even that glimpse was radically expanding my understanding of magic, spells and enchanting. If I were to create a new ability it would be basically creating a non-physical enchantment in my soul. That of course was for another day, today I was just modifying an existing enchantment and I had an idea. I took the node for Doppelganger first to test my idea, I was going to graft it, the way you would graft the branch of one tree onto another. It wasn¡¯t easy but I pulled out strands of energy from the node for doppelganger and wove them together with strands from Shadow Allias, I connected bands of rune script that I hoped would result in more combat and less stealth and deception focus.
Ability Destabilized: Tampering with your abilities has resulted in both becoming unstable and unusable.
The message from the System was disheartening but not discouraging, if the ability was unstable that implied it could be stabilized, I needed something to balance it. I pulled the node for Mirage Men and began using it connecting strands of it to both Shadow Allias and Doppelganger. It took hours but eventually after repeated messages from the System informing me of my failure the ability stabilized. I wove ethereal energy into it to impart the power of the Void into the ability and further empower it. I opened my eyes and read the message.
New Ability Mutated! Shadow Guard (Rank 20, Max Rank): A king has many enemies and many seek the glory in being the one to slay them, thus a King must be able to disguise himself and surround himself with duplicates to deceive his enemies. You surround yourself with twelve copies identical to your current appearance, the Shadow Guards last for a max of 24 hours or until destroyed, they can take up to Extreme damage before disappearing, your Shadow Guard cannot move more than 100ft away from you at any time.
You can change your appearance to look as you see fit or to perfectly copy any humanoid you have seen, including their description and make your Rank appear as anything lower than you and up to a 100 ranks higher than your real rank.
You can use the titles of creatures you have slain or seen in the description of yourself and your Shadow Guard.
While active your Shadow Guards act as focal points for your abilities allowing you to cast from them as if they were your body.
You can teleport at will between your Shadow Guard switching spots with them to hide your true location.
Your Shadow Guard have limited real physicality able to pick up objects weighing less than 100lbs and to deal physical damage with copies of your weapons though they will not do the full damage of your real weapons.
Max Rank Bonus: Perception checks and abilities made against your Shadow Guard slide off unable to tell which is the real you.
Cost: 25 mana and 25 ethereal per second Cast Time: Instantaneous
Each rank of this ability increases your Perception attribute by +4
I smiled, it wasn¡¯t the best ability or even close to my most powerful but it was definitely a combat ability now; what¡¯s more Karnen would have use of it when acting as my Herald.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 350, the Hierophant limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attribute from killing you.
I grimaced as my eyes popped and goop ran down my face, I couldn¡¯t feel what must have been agonizing pain as my eyes liquified as my body strained to deal with me raising attributes far beyond what I should.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Your eyes have adapted to the overwhelming energy of your soul and body to be more compatible with the Void, no longer made of flesh your eyes are formed of energy, you lose some of the effects of previous mutations but your eyes can never be blinded again and you do not need to blink, you can see in perfect 180-degree vision as well no longer needing to rely on pupils to direct your sight. Light is not necessary for you as your eyes do not function as organs of flesh and blood.
I¡¯d never lost previous effects from my mutations before, but the upgrades did seem a fair trade off. This first experiment had been a success, but it was time to move on and see what else I could do. Karnen now had almost all his abilities he could use upgraded, only Phantom Form was unchanged, but I didn¡¯t have abilities I wanted to merge with that yet. The Shadow already had some of its abilities recently upgraded as did Voidra, that left Ares. Unending Flow was a fantastic ability for me, but for Ares it was a passive that wasn¡¯t doing much for him and was taking up one of the four slots for his available abilities, I needed to make it not just a good passive for a singular fighter but something that could benefit more than one person preferably an army. There were two new abilities I¡¯d just gotten that I thought might help me do that. Devotion of the Flesh and Holy Ground didn¡¯t seem like direct links to that skill and the System hadn¡¯t given me an option to merge them so it seemed to agree there. However if I could combine their effects¡­. Devotion of the Flesh raised my stamina and not just my mana with each kill. My stamina lagged far behind my mana, I already got an increase in my Ethereal regeneration for each humanoid I killed so that wasn¡¯t something I needed. Holy Ground let me increase the regen rate for my allies not just myself, if I could combine all three it would provide my allies with a lot of benefit and give Ares a much more useful skill. Ares was not a direct combatant perse as one of my Heralds, instead he acted as more of a support commander empowering the whole of the army instead of a single individual. I started to draw together the nodes for Holy Ground and Devotion of the Flesh bringing them close to Unending Flow. I looked inside Unending flow searching the thousands upon thousands of strands of rune script finding the ones that pertained to what I was looking for. Carefully I pulled them out and pulled strands from the still complicated but far less so rank one abilities and began to graft and weave them together. The work was slow, mind boggling complicated and tedious. I operated less on a scientific chemist¡¯s formula and principals and more on a alchemists gut feeling and experimentation. Failures were just as important as successes informing future decisions as I got closer to a final result. The System continued to inform me of my unstable failures even warning me several times that I was in danger of rending my soul. It never tried to stop me though, I wondered if this was because it couldn¡¯t, it wanted me to succeed or if there were simply no rules against what I was doing so it didn¡¯t care. I wasn¡¯t sure how long it took to finish this ability, it could have been longer or shorter. Guinevere knew what I was working on and would keep anyone from disturbing me unless something on the level of a God or an Ancient showed up. My work went on as I wove the three abilities together pushing it towards what I needed it to be. RNJesus was a thing of the past for me now, I would guide my abilities how I saw fit not what options the System granted me, and in time I wouldn¡¯t even have to rely on the System to give me those abilities. It was finished and I opened my eyes and read the results of my work.
Power of Faith (Rank 20, Max Rank): There is no faith without sacrifice, every kill made by those who follow you is done in your name; every man or woman who dies under yours or any of your knights¡¯ blades increases the strength of the faith in your cause. Every humanoid that dies from you or your allies gives a permanent increases to your mana and stamina regeneration by .6% to a max of 75% per individual (neither you nor your vassals gain the benefits of this increase from others kills). Your presence in the midst of your followers increases their faith, the more who believe the greater that faith, they gain +50 to their Maximum stamina and mana and +1 to their regeneration for every other follower within 2,000ft of you.
Reduces the cost of your mana abilities by an amount equal to your bonus to your regeneration.
Increases the duration of your abilities by an amount equal to your bonus to your regeneration.
When you or one of your followers kill an enemy, they have a 25% chance they evaporate into mist leaving behind a crystal, if you or a follower smash the crystal will restore a Severe amount of damage taken and 10% of your mana and stamina. (If an enemy smashes the crystal they will take severe damage and be drained of 10% of their stamina and mana.)
Max Rank Bonus: All abilities for your followers cost 50% less Ethereal, Stamina and Mana to cast while within range of this ability.
Cost: N/A Casting Time: Passive
Each rank of this ability increases your Power, Endurance and Spirit attributes by +1.
It did exactly what I wanted it to do. I looked at the watch on my wrist frowning, it was a simple mechanical piece I¡¯d brought from Earth but it showed the day and time, I¡¯d been at this for at least four days. I stood up. ¡°System what is my current status?¡± I asked.
Mordred, Proto-god of Heroes and Sacrifice; Gifted- humanoid/void-born, Exarch, Rank: 586
Available Rank Points: 128,957
Might: 183 (+50) = 233 Mind: 308
Speed: 330 Perception: 368
Toughness: 211 (+48) = 259 Spirit: 410
Endurance: 213 Power: 221
Maximum Stamina: 1,294 Maximum Mana: 5,364,058
Stamina Regen: per second Mana Regen: 343.4 per second
Ethereal Regen: 7,6800 per second Maximum Ethereal: 3,843,171
Abilities
Void Asura (Rank 50) World Forge (Rank 50), Shadow of Judgement (Rank 50), Abyssal Magic (Rank 50), Heir of the Titans (Rank 50), Voice of Tartarus (Rank 50), Watcher from Beyond (Rank 50), Hero¡¯s General (Rank 50), Phantom Form (Rank 20), Storm Soul (Rank 20), Hell¡¯s Talons (Rank 20), Storm Fall (Rank 20) Dark Guardian (Rank 20), Blood Renewal (Rank 20), Teeth in the Dark (Rank 20) Shadow Guard (Rank 20) Power of Faith (Rank 20), Hurricane Winds (Rank 1), Raining Light (Rank 1), Relentless Assault (Rank 1), Lava Burst (Rank 1),Famine Breath (Rank 1), Sickening Aura (Rank 1)
Blessings:
Blessing of Tadris
Titles
Mark of Cain, Bloody Pugilist, Exorcist, Survivor III, Feral Barbarian, Field Alchemist III, Berserker, Beast Slayer III, War Chief, Venom Resistant III, Keytaro¡¯s Guardian III, Wrathful Meditation, Fireproof III, Superhuman, Bearer of Death, Lightning Resistance, the Fate Breaker, Apprentice Bludgeoner, Master Deflector, Apprentice Spearman, Divine Smith, Master Enchanter, Knight of Camelot, Challenger, Artifact Breaker, Void Walker, Abomination Slayer, Spell Carver, Master Swordsman, the Possessed, Ghost Path, Holy Resistance III, Acid Resistance III
My actual rank hadn¡¯t gone up that much since I¡¯d been combining abilities but I¡¯d fought creatures twice my rank and new that the number at the end of your description didn¡¯t mean to much. It did effect the bonus strength I got from my armor but that was a small price to pay. It more was about attributes and the strength of abilities that determined who would win the fight and soon no one would have better abilities than me, the only thing after that would be to figure out how to give others abilities. Chapter 196: Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better I descended from the temple atop of Avalon and met Guinevere at the temple base. ¡°Is everything alright?¡± she asked me. ¡°You were in meditation for a couple of days, I was going to get you tomorrow if you weren¡¯t done and make you eat something.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I said. ¡°Are you?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Your eyes¡­ well they¡¯re very different.¡± I brought out a mirror and looked at my face. My eyes had looked inhuman before with multiple pupils looking in all directions but now¡­ Two orbs that resembled the Star of the Void hanging over the city looked out. They were completely inhumane, they weren¡¯t soulless it was more the opposite; a naked soul that had no need to shield itself from sight, whose power could not be contested by anything physical. ¡°Its just another mutation,¡± I said. ¡°I lost some previous effects but overall its just an improvement.¡± ¡°You had a bunch of mutations during your battle against the Ancients,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Did you ever even find out what they did to you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve done some examinations,¡± I said. ¡°As best as I can tell my Might attribute mutated my muscles to use ethereal and mana instead of blood, I¡¯m not sure if I actually have blood anymore either. Whenever I bleed it just evaporates away, I think my Power attribute has finished mutating it into some sort of pure energy instead of blood.¡± ¡°What about your Endurance?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°I think it effected my organs, but I¡¯m not interested in cutting myself open to find out what it was.¡± ¡°Are you ready to head out?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°No,¡± I said looking down at my feet. Ever since Kalesa had destroyed my boots I¡¯d been going around barefoot, plus I wanted to try something, I had World Forge at my disposal as well as Mab and now a much better understanding of magic and runes. I wanted to do what the Magi had done when they had created Mab, create an Artifact without the help of the gods or the System. ¡°I need some new gear for you and me,¡± I said. I had a full set of artifact armor, Guinevere¡¯s armor and gear was good but I could make better I knew. ¡°Is there anyone I need to speak with or something that needs me to handle before I get to work?¡± I asked. ¡°This might be another few days of work.¡± ¡°Nothing needs handling but don¡¯t you need to sleep?¡± Guinevere asked me concerned. ¡°You could relax¡­spend some time with Aurora.¡± My heart sank at that, there was nothing I wanted more than to just hold my daughter for days on end. But the gods would be coming for us again, we only had a short time to prepare and there was no time for me to take in the joy of my daughter. ¡°Not now,¡± I said. ¡°This isn¡¯t forever Guinevere, but we have to be strong until Aurora is truly safe.¡± She nodded, her own eyes filled with sadness and understanding. ¡°I¡¯ll keep watch and keep everyone away,¡± she said. I sat down on the ground. I didn¡¯t need a forge or tools to work with other than Mab. Laying out the grimoire I brought out the materials I wanted to work with. I didn¡¯t have tons of rare materials like when I had crafted Clarent but what I did have were the relics of defeated Champions. I¡¯d given out any tier V artifacts to my vassals but the lesser artifacts I¡¯d kept. I¡¯d destroyed one artifact before which I had used to create Clarent and boost is power from a tier IV artifact to a tier V. First I activated all my defensive abilities then reached out towards the first item, a helm that would help with underwater exploration and pushed on it with World Forge. It resisted but I flooded with ethereal energy and it began to crack and crumble. I could feel a god sense the destruction of one of their artifacts they tried to reach out and curse me like last time but this was my realm. The connection to the god cut off as I asserted my will on the Void around me repelling their advance. I couldn¡¯t tell if I had heard it or it had only been in my head but I thought I heard a scream of pain and frustration. The artifact itself tried to kill me the shards of it shattering and speeding towards my face. I raised my hand and gripped them with Force of Will the shards buzzed and strained to kill me but I held them until whatever pseudo-will or intelligence that gave them purpose died away. I compressed the metal and leather shards into a single ingot. That done I shattered another artifact, then another and another. It took around ten artifacts until I was satisfied with what I had to work with. I knew what I wanted to make, set armor for Guinevere. I poured over my runes and worked on dozens of enchantments with Mab discarding and improving them as we worked out exactly what the rune script needed to be. This was the process that took the longest but after studying the rune script that made up my abilities I was much more mentally equipped to work on the armor. It helped that Mab could copy the runes from artifacts just by touch them, we¡¯d already learned so much from the captured enemy artifacts and I felt confident in my work. The armor flowed together; it wasn¡¯t going to be heavy plate armor like I usually made for Guinevere but a more flexible form fitting scale mail. I was also just making it a three-piece set, no helmet since she couldn¡¯t wear one and her diadem at the same time. I wasn¡¯t going to have time to make the full set today, but I would make the chest piece at least. It was all metal, at our rank the need for padding pretty much went away. Besides which I was able to interlock the scales so smoothly that touching the armor was like petting a serpent. It would cover her neck, down to her elbows and down to her waist. Stepping back to view my finished work I smiled as I looked at the glossy black metal, I had accented it with gold to make it match my own armor but it was a different beast entirely.
Scales of the Midnight Queen, Type: Armor (Torso) (Artifact Rank V): One of the three pieces of the Armor of the Void Queen, crafted for her by her husband the god of the Void. Crafted from the condensed remains of shattered artifacts of rival gods and the raw power of the Void. This scale-mail cuirass is part of a larger set that gains more power the more pieces of the armor the wearer possess. Made from Void-matter, Artifact-alloy and Crystalized Storm energy. Can only be worn by Guinevere, the Dark-Valkyrie.
Living Mithril: The hardness of your body is increased by .5 per rank you have, including your skin, hair, muscles, bones and even cells of your blood turning you into the ultimate defender where no mortal blade can leave so much a scratch on your perfection.
(2 Pieces) Reaper¡¯s Harvest: For every Severe wound you inflict your armor stores up to 1% of the damage dealt as healing which when released will instantly be expended to heal as much damage you are suffering as it can. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
(3 Pieces) Iron Maiden: Your weight increases while in battle by 1lb per rank making you an unmovable fortress and giving such force and momentum behind your attacks that city walls break before your charge.
Weight: 105 lbs
Holding it out for Guinevere I watched her set down Aurora in her crib as she walked over. Guinevere ran her fingers over the armor. ¡°Its beautiful¡­how did you craft something like this?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I had to use a lot of the relics we looted before we left for Earth,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Other than that Mab helped with constructing the enchantments and here in the Void, power is endlessly available to me.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait until you finish the whole set,¡± Guinevere marveled. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure if you¡¯d be thrilled about the last one,¡± I said. ¡°The System and Mab took some liberties with that.¡± ¡°Are you implying it will make me fat?¡± Guinevere asked me raising an eyebrow. ¡°My lawyers have advised me not to answer that question,¡± I responded. ¡°I¡¯ve got two more things I¡¯ve got to make before we can go.¡± ¡°We only have about a week-and-a-half left,¡± Guinevere reminded me. ¡°You need to be ready to fight another god by then, this time I don¡¯t think the one that shows up will be like the last one.¡± ¡°Your right but these will help just as much if not more than a few new abilities would,¡± I said. Sitting down again I shattered half a dozen more artifacts focusing on the ones made of wood, leather and other more natural products. I¡¯d worn a pair of boots but they hadn¡¯t really gone with my armor, it was fine you wore gear for stats more than appearance but presentation was part of design. I¡¯d thought of what I needed in my next set of footwear for awhile and it was a lot easier to work with Mab to design and write the rune script for them. The set of sandals began to form they were mostly just woven straps but there were hard metal disks along the front of the shin sections. They would run all the way up to my knees like the sandals you see in movies of adventures in ancient Greece. It wouldn¡¯t be a set item, I already had one set and I was looking to fill gaps not replace my armor.
Sandals of the Void Walker, Type: Footwear (sandals) (Artifact V): Made from the shattered remains of his enemies¡¯ artifacts these sandals were made by and for Modred the god of the Void. As he walked the infinite Void, he now walks the finite world and woe to those who stand in his way for they will be broken in his wake.
For the cost of 100 mana you can teleport to any location you can see, or have seen within eyesight or 2000 feet of your location.
You draw in strength from the earth itself, while in contact with the ground your flesh regenerates at twice its normal speed.
Increases your Speed attribute by +3 for every ten ranks you have.
Weight: 38 lbs
The sandals fit perfectly as I slid into them strapping them on tight. I looked the proper image of some Greek god of war now just as Ares had intended his armor to appear. Now I just had one more piece of equipment I wanted to make for the day. I shattered all the small pieces of artifact jewelry, none of which had been useful to me or Guinevere. I condensed them all and formed a single band of metal that I poured ethereal into turning the mix of gold and silver into a dark black that sucked in all the light around it. I only had a few effects in mind for this ring and held it up as I quickly finished it.
Ring of the Void Eye, Type: Jewelry (ring) (Artifact V): One
Directs the ability Omniscience helping to guide it wielder to the most likely future.
Increases the strength of your gaze allowing you to kill or paralyze creatures with merely a look, drains significant power from your soul, the more powerful the creature the more the drain on your soul, if drain is to much you will be left extremely vulnerable.
Three times per day you can summon ten of your Void Knights from anywhere in the same universe as yourself.
Weight: 6 lbs
¡°One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to rule them all and in the darkness bind them,¡± I chanted as smile spreading across my face. ¡°Lame,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Lame?!¡± I gasped in mock outrage. ¡°I beg your pardon that was a classic.¡± ¡°It is, you big nerd,¡± Guinevere agreed a twinkle in her eye, ¡°but its also unoriginal and you aren¡¯t anything like Sauron.¡± ¡°The giant floating eye thing above my fortress begs to differ,¡± I said pointing at the Star of the Void hanging above Albion. ¡°It¡¯s not really the same but I see your point,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°So, are you ready to go and kill something?¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± I said sliding the ring onto my finger. --- Excalibur cut through the base of the Exarch rank boss¡¯s neck as Arthur faced it alone. If he died his kingdom would fall with him¡­but if he didn¡¯t push himself they would all fall to Mordred. He looked at the ability he got from the kill with satisfaction.
New ability gained! Savior of the Realm: (Rank 1); You are the hero of your people, the one they look to for salvation, for every allied creature within 100ft of you, your regen rate for your Celestria and mana increases by .5 per second.
Cost: N/A Casting Time: Passive
Rank up this ability to increase its range, effects and the amount of resources recovered per second. Each rank increases your Power and Spirit attributes by 1.
He collected the loot from the boss chest and left the dungeon, he had a group of mages portaling him from dungeon to dungeon across the kingdom to run them all as often as they came off cooldown to ramp up his power as fast as he could. He still felt like he was going to slow. ¡°A moment of your time king,¡± a voice soft as silk but with the danger of sword at your throat said. He recognized her as soon as he saw her, there were no temples to her in Camelot but the history books had depicted her often enough for him to recognize the goddess of war and conquest. Arthur froze as the goddess stepped out in front of him, she carries herself with a deadly grace and beauty, her pale blue skin spattered with dark bloodstains. His hearts began to beat faster as fear and adrenalin pumped through his veins and he steadied his grip on Excalibur. ¡°Calm yourself your majesty,¡± Kalesa said. ¡°I¡¯m just here to talk.¡± ¡°What interest would I have in speaking with you?¡± Arthur asked. Kalesa crossed a pair of her arms across her chest and her other set drummed their fingers against the hilts of two crossed swords hanging at her waist. ¡°Because you can¡¯t beat Mordred in a one-on-one fight,¡± she said. ¡°I can,¡± Arthur insisted. ¡°You couldn¡¯t before,¡± Kalesa pointed out. ¡°And you don¡¯t understand just how powerful he has become and the allies he now has at his disposal.¡± ¡°Allies?¡± Arthur asked suspiciously. ¡°You¡¯ll hear about them from Lancelot soon enough,¡± Kalesa said. ¡°They¡¯ve spent the last three days in the Event you skipped killing your friends over and over again.¡± Arthur¡¯s fists clenched. ¡°How did he get into the Event? He isn¡¯t a Champion anymore.¡± ¡°He is Mordred, he has always broken the rules and done what he shouldn¡¯t have been able to,¡± Kalesa said. ¡°And we have you to thank for that,¡± Arthur growled. ¡°It was you who brought him to this world?¡± ¡°And if he hadn¡¯t embraced the power of the Void he would likely still be my champion,¡± she said with a shrug. ¡°But that is why I have some to see you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Arthur asked suspiciously. ¡°I wish to make you my champion,¡± Kalesa said. Arthur laughed. ¡°You¡¯d think I¡¯d abandon my goddess to serve you?¡± ¡°Who said abandon?¡± Kalesa asked. ¡°I give my power to you freely with no strings attached.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Arthur asked again releasing his grip on Excalibur and crossing his arms. ¡°Because despite your failures you are the closest to ever having killed Mordred,¡± Kalesa said. ¡°With my blessing and power you just might close that gap.¡± ¡°You cannot serve two gods,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Especially two so diametrically opposed to each other.¡± ¡°Some say you can¡¯t have more than one wife, yet you have two,¡± Kalesa pointed out. ¡°Do not pretend your loyalties are so firm. Remember what you said, ¡®whatever the cost¡¯.¡± ¡°Then I lied,¡± Arthur snapped. ¡°If the cost of defeating Mordred is that I become him then it is too much.¡± Kalesa shrugged. ¡°My offer stands, when you change your mind call out my name and I will answer.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Arthur spat but the goddess was already gone. Chapter 197: How to be a Hero Guinevere and I portaled into a thick jungle on the opposite side of the world as the Ancient Forest or well I had no idea what they would call that wasteland now, it would be more of a grassland once plants grew back than a forest for at least a millennia or two. I was glad I hadn¡¯t started in this forest because the swarms of insects and heat probably would have killed me before a monster did. Now no insect could get through my skin and I simply let a short charge of Abyssal Magic chain lightning the pests when they congregated on my skin, the heat was nothing my superhuman attributes couldn¡¯t handle and Guinevere¡¯s frost aura would have made it bearable even if I could properly feel it. We¡¯d been portaled here by the Magi for several reasons, one there were several dungeons in the area we were going to raid soon, two the area was absolutely infested with monsters just like the Ancient Forest had been. Third and the most important, there was a Champion of a god here who ruled over a city that the Magi wanted me to handle. This was something that served both our goals so I was more than happy to handle it. Guinevere and I moved through the forest at what was for us a light jog but to a regular person would have looked like we were chasing down some beast or fleeing some terrible monster. We came to stop at the edge of a cliff overlooking the valley where the city rested. It reminded me of some cross between an Aztec and Egyptian city, aqueducts funneled water and a massive ziggurat rose from the center of the city, it was nothing compared to the mountain of Avalon but it was still impressive. Guinevere glared down at the city, she was the reason we¡¯d taken this job. The man we were after was named Cha¡¯xecal, Champion of Jas¡¯notu, God of Labor and Mining. Not a very omnisous or threatening sounding sort of god but the labor he encouraged did not have to voluntarily and this city was apparently the slave trading capital of the world. Others had tried to rescue the millions of slaves there in the past but any attempts to save them resulted in the guards immediately beginning to massacre the defensless ungifted people. ¡°How do you plan on killing Cha¡¯xecal without getting all those people killed?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I¡¯ve given it some thought,¡± I said with a shrug. Then I stepped onto the edge of the cliff and grew in size, my skin covered in black smoke only the my eyes and glimpses of my armor visible through it. My voice echoed across the city as Voice of Tartarus projected it so everyone could hear me. ¡°I am Mordred, god of Sacrifice and Heros, some would come to save you fight your guards and rescue as many of you as they could. I have not come to do that, that is not what it means to be a hero to me. If I were to save you today, I would only have to save you again tomorrow. Instead, I give you this the power to save yourselves, any who are as slave or wish to throw off the shackles of their master and are willing to swear my oath I will give the power to save themselves. Retake your lives, take this city, take weapons, take armor. Do unto your enemies as they have done unto you, do not show mercy for they would not show you any, only spare the children for they are not guilty of their fathers sins. Go forth my Knights of the Void, the age of the gifted, of champions, of the gods is over, this new age belongs do you.¡± There was silence as the city froze, millions of people received notifications from the System for the first time in their lives. With my keen eyes I could see guards rushing slaves with weapons drawn, then the slaves shattered the chains around their hands or legs as black armor covered their bodies. The men who had seemed immortal to them before even though they were barely Mortal rank were slaughtered. I couldn¡¯t grant abilities but the few hundred thousand guards could not hope to match the millions of suddenly empowered slaves. Guinevere and I kicked off the cliff and appeared seconds later atop the ziggurat. Cha¡¯xecal rushed out of the darkness of the ziggurat surrounded by ten other people the same rank as him and armed for battle.
King Cha¡¯xecal the Diamond Skinned, Gifted- humanoid/kasatron, Hierophant: 1301
¡°What have you done?¡± the champion snarled. ¡°I¡¯m become what you and your fellow champions claim to be,¡± I said striding forwards uncaring, no weapons had been drawn yet. ¡°A hero, now are you going to draw those swords or whistle Dixie?¡± ¡°What¡¯s Dixie?¡± someone asked confused. I whistled using Voice of Tartarus, to amplify the sound. The champions screamed clutching their ears as blood rand down their faces from their eyes and ears. Guinevere rushed forwards but to their credit they didn¡¯t go down that easily. Cha¡¯xecal blocked Guinevere¡¯s sword strike a heavy shield appearing in his hand and a vicious looking flanged mace in his other hand. He swung it at her head the weapon whistling through the air, it created a gale of wind which lifted up Guinevere¡¯s veil. The onrushing Champion and his party froze as they beheld Guinevere¡¯s beauty, I didn¡¯t need Voidra to tell me of their lustful emotions as they beheld her perfection. Scarlet lightning scorched their bodies as frost crept up the walls. I bisected one of the warriors with Clarent.
621 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors
Guinevere had gained several various support powers, they didn¡¯t so much as do damage as made everyone susceptible to damage, combined with my damage amplifying abilities we could take out gifted twice our rank in a matter of seconds. My weapons spun around me as I waded into the midst of my enemies. Attacks landed on me from all directions but I let nothing hit that would seriously injure me. The damage to my body only served to empower me as Guinevere put her back to me and the ten remaining combatants surrounded us. I summoned a twisted horn to my hand and blew, black mist crept across the ground as the Teeth in the Dark emerged from whatever NetherRealm they dwelled in. I¡¯m going out, Voidra said. My Herald of Change emerged out of my spirit and moved up into the sky. I lost access to four of my abilities but me not being able to use them wouldn¡¯t hamper my combat style, if the Shadow or Karnen went into play it would be a different story as their abilities were core to how I fought. The land was cast into darkness as a black star appeared above us. Light bloomed from the warriors as they pushed against the darkness, these were no weaklings I was facing but were paragons and had spent every day since the god had started their game getting stronger. It was not enough to face me.
602 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors
Voidra crushed one of them under a massive, compressed boulder, his blood spraying out across his companions.
Ability Gained! Hail-Storm: (Rank 1); You create clouds above you in a 100ft radius raining down golf-ball sized hail dealing Moderate bludgeoning damage to all creatures in the area for the next 30 seconds.
Cost: 100 mana Casting Time: 30 seconds
Rank up this ability to increase the damage, area of effect, reduce the casting time and increase its duration. Each rank increases your Power attribute by 1.
Dismissing the notification I blocked Cha¡¯xecal mace and retaliated, to my surprise he managed to not instantly die. Some sort of restorative power flashed, it had to be some sort of defensive ability that restored him when he got close to death. He paled as he looked at where Clarent had struck him a viscous burn still there despite whatever restoration he had undergone.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°How can you do all this?¡± he asked. ¡°I don¡¯t hide behind others,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°You have¡­had ten companions, they stood beside you through your battles but you never really faced death. Now in the end you as you look upon death you have no idea what to do.¡± I shrugged and batted away one of his companions who tired to take advantage of what he perceived me being distracted. His blade of pure darkness slid off my skin and he fell as suddenly the ground beneath him turned to liquid trapping his legs. He began to push off and might have done something to break free but Guinevere finished him off and a specter rose from his corpse as she called upon his shade with her ability, Cursed Crown.
632 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors
Cha¡¯xecal spat on the ground. ¡°You talk like a bard, you aren¡¯t death.¡± ¡°Perhaps not, but I do speak for them,¡± I answered. ¡°So many have died here, not beasts, not even gifted that you killed to gain power, only those who you could exploit.¡± I strode forwards my weapons spinning blocking, reposting and parrying attacks that came my way as the seven remaining warriors tried to protect the Champion and their King. ¡°Stop doing that!¡± Cha¡¯xecal said wincing his face going cold as my words struck him like the blows of a hammer. ¡°With the same mercy you have shown others I will extend to you,¡± I said paying him no mind. Lightning flashed from overhead and the silver bands of electricity arced between everyone but ignoring anyone that Voidra deemed not an enemy. Cha¡¯xecal didn¡¯t seem overly phased by the lightning rushing to meet me in direct physical combat. Voidra tried to trap his legs with World Forge, but she was unable to effect the ground in a five foot radius wherever Cha¡¯xecal walked. ¡°Labor of the Gods,¡± Cha¡¯xecal said. His body swelled in power and size. I laughed. ¡°You think your power special?¡± My own body grew in size to match his. I casually kicked out and stepped on another of the warrior pinning him under my boot. Guinevere slashed down cutting off his head and another specter rose up.
611 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
Cha¡¯xecal began to move faster and faster as he activated a boosting ability of some type. I matched his attacks, I roared but his feet remained firm as he managed to avoid getting blown back from the sonic attack. He managed to land a solid lethal blow against my neck as he moved faster and faster. Blood and vertebrae sprayed as he nearly look my head off. With an activation of Void Shield the damage disappeared and he looked at me in shock. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear about that trick already?¡± I asked. ¡°I figured word of Arthur¡¯s failure in his duel against me would have spread far and wide; your going to have to do a lot better than that.¡± He snarled as my taunts empowered by Voice of Tartarus lanced through his soul, it also served to keep all the focus on me and off Guinevere. Her blade and specters struck another of the bodyguards from behind taking him down and raising up another specter. The specters might not have been to powerful their only advantage had been numbers and they were already down by half.
609 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
Ability Gained! Acid Spray: (Rank 1); You spray a mist of corrosive acid gathered from the corrosive nature of your blood out from the pores of your hand in a 30ft cone, dealing Moderate Acid damage to all targets in the area of effect and reducing their armor¡¯s hardness by .5 for every second they remain in your acid spray.
Cost: 25 mana per second Casting Time: Instantaneous Channeled
Rank up this ability to increase the range, damage and armor reduction of the spray. Each rank increases your Endurance by 1.
¡°My lord we need to run!¡± one of the remaining bodyguards shouted. I turned my attention on him pouncing like a lion, Cha¡¯xecal might have had an ability to save himself from instantaneous death but this man didn¡¯t. I expended the damage charge I¡¯d accumulated from all the damage I¡¯d been taking and the man disappeared into a cloud of red mist. ¡°There will be no escape for any of you,¡± I said. ¡°My judgement is final, the verdict is death.¡± ¡°You were not place above me!¡± Cha¡¯xecal snarled. The stones warped under my feet as he trapped them with some earth molding ability similar to Compress Earth. He struck at me moving around me in a circle attack me from all sides. I stood my ground and defended against the barrage of attacks unconcerned about my current inability to move. The Teeth in the Dark continued their attacks, one of the bodyguards was in battle with Guinevere she pushed him just a bit off balance it was enough. Something out of the darkness reached out, the flash of something¡¯s jaws was all you could see for an instant before the man was dragged into the cloud of shadows. Screams of unimaginable pain filled the air for a few seconds before a horrifically mangled corpse dropped to the ground.
614 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
¡°And then there were four,¡± I said. I cracked the ground as moved forwards. Chunks of heavy stone came with me but with Stomp that sent cracks throughout the ziggurat I shattered the stone clinging to my sandals. ¡°Enough of the games, let me show you a trick.¡± I teleported behind one of the remaining bodyguards grabbing his head with the arms from the Shadow, the claws created by Beast of Hades dug into his head but his helmet protected him. My head moved forward and morphed as I bit into his neck. I shook my head like a dog and his head was left hanging on by a strand of sinew which snapped as I tossed the body aside.
629 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
Ability Gained! Swarming Locusts: (Rank 1); You create a swarm of 1000 locusts to devastate 320 acres of land, stripping it bare of all plant life and edible non-living organic matter under hardness 5.
Cost: 300 mana Casting Time: 1 minute
Rank up this ability to increase the size of the swarm, area effected, and what will be destroyed. Each rank increases your Mind attribute by 1.
One bodyguard and Cha¡¯xecal remained, there will to fight was broken and they tried to flee. Guinevere took the bodyguard from behind; her sword punctured through the armor of his shoulder blades paralyzing him as she cut through his spine. With a twist and jerk of her blade she finished the job.
621 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors
I cought Cha¡¯xecal by the neck as I teleported in front of him. I slashed out with Clarent cutting off his hand holding his mace. A portal opened and I dragged him through into the Void. ¡°Your sins are to great for only your death to be your punishment,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re soul will not rest with your god, I will not bring you back as one of my angels you will be tortured here in the Void until your soul is an empty husk and you no longer remember who you were.¡± I dragged my claws along his throat spilling his blood across the temple steps. The blood poured into the grooves and fed into the bases of the silver trees which eagerly took the sacrificial offering.
650 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors
Ability Gained! Spirt Avatar: (Rank 1); You can step outside the confines of your flesh to battle as a true spirit, you gain the powers of a specter or phantom but also the weaknesses making you immune to non-magical physical damage but vulnerable to Holy, Soul and Psychic damage. All damage while in this form is converted to Soul damage.
Cost: 100 mana per second Casting Time: Instantaneous
Rank up this ability to increase its effectiveness and reduce the risk to your spirit. Each rank increases your Spirit attribute by 2.
The ability was very similar to Phantom Form but it implied I left my physical body behind rather than transforming, it didn¡¯t matter to much what it did since I would likely just merge it with Phantom Form at some point. Voidra returned to my spirit. The battle in the city is finished, she said. Only the children of those who enslaved the people remain alive. I nodded. ¡°They don¡¯t need refuge here, tell them to take the city as their own and appoint their own leaders.¡± My heralds left my spirit to go pass on my message. I had no interest in ruling over those people as some king, nor did I even need their worship though I felt a source of connection and power coming from the millions who had pledged themselves as my knights. Guinevere stepped through the portal, she looked down at the body of the dead champion. ¡°It is done,¡± she said with satisfaction. ¡°Not quite,¡± I said. The spirit of Cha¡¯xecal rose up from his corpse he looked far less impressive in death. My angels swooped down like vultures and snatched up the lost soul. They carried him down below the city, there was nothing below ground but a vast emptiness they tossed the soul into a cage and left him to dangle above the endless abyss. His god was not like the goddess of the moon, he did not come to beg for his champions soul, he had failed and so was of no worth to anyone now. ¡°Come,¡± I said to Guinevere. ¡°We have dungeons to raid.¡± Chapter 198: 2v10,000 Guinevere and I weren¡¯t just headed to any dungeon. This wasn¡¯t one of the prized dungeons of the nobility these were dungeons that were deemed to difficult to complete. The one we were going to was famous for having never been cleared; it was called by the very few survivors who had tried to clear it, the Swarm Dungeon. Guinevere and I stood outside the dungeon entrance, it looked like an archway carved into the side of a cliff. It didn¡¯t look to special or like it would lead to somewhere soaked in magic but I¡¯d learned that Dungeons weren¡¯t really ¡°real¡±. They were like mini-worlds like the ones the System created for the Events, you passed into a place that didn¡¯t exist in this world but was merely attached onto it. ¡°Ready?¡± I asked holding out my hand to Guinevere. She took it and we stepped through the entrance/portal into the dungeon.
You have entered a never-completed dungeon: Tower of Norvis the Mad. Extra loot will be rewarded if you manage to be the first to complete this dungeon.
Dungeon Rank: Exarch Max Party Size: 50
Immediately we were beset on all side by the monsters of the dungeon, the Magi had given me reports on the dungeon, so I wasn¡¯t surprised when I was attacked by dozens of copies of¡­. myself. The other name for this dungeon was the Mirror Realm, the name the Swarm Dungeon had stuck because of the endless waves of monsters. Unlike most dungeons which were cleared room by room the Swarm Dungeon never ran out of monsters to fight.
Mirror-man, Dungeon Creature- Mortal, Undead/Skeleton, Power Level: 1,200
I blocked a swing of a doppelgangers version of Clarent. They seemed to be able to make lesser copies of my abilities as well. Lightning scorched me and Guinevere but it was blue, they weren¡¯t able to copy the effects of my abilities such as Clarent turning my own lightning effects scarlet. They also didn¡¯t seem to be able to copy my titles which meant they had none of my resistances to lightning. The mimic versions of myself and Guinevere put up a good fight there abilities synergizing just as mine and Guinevere¡¯s did and there weapons managed to bite through my skin bypassing its hardness. The disadvantage they had was that most of my abilities which they were copying relied on ME being the one to fight waves of endless enemies. I was ramping up in power and despite how powerful even these minor copies of myself and Guinevere were they just weren¡¯t as good as the originals. I activated Shadow Guard and blew on the horn summoning the Teeth in the Dark. Guinevere had Cursed Crown active and every kill she made created another specter under her control. We pushed down the tunnel as it spiraled upwards opening into rooms filled with books or workshops where even the books on the shelves came alive and attacked us. ¡°How big do you think this tower is?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°No one¡¯s ever returned past the seventh floor,¡± I said turning incorporeal with Phantom Form for a moment and ripping apart one of my doppelgangers with the spectral form of Clarent. ¡°You think that¡¯s the boss room then or they just couldn¡¯t make it farther?¡± she asked. ¡°Hard to say,¡± I said. ¡°But I¡¯m leaning towards boss room, someone would have made it at least one more floor unless they were stropped from retreating.¡± We kept pushing up fighting the never-ending horde of doppelgangers and the lesser versions of our own abilities. The ones who did the best were actually Guinevere¡¯s doppelgangers, I relied heavily on my titles I¡¯d earned but she was more classically trained and her doppelgangers were better at fighting without needed to ramp up their power by killing hundreds of creatures. The never-ending stream of enemies was perfect for me. I no longer had Kalesa¡¯s Blood & Souls quest but honestly, I had more rank points now than I knew what to do with; they were more of an energy source I used when combining abilities than a currency for me to spend to rank them up. I wondered how long it would be before I didn¡¯t need the System for any of this. A book lifted is covers like wings teeth appearing along is pages and flung itself at me, I turned the Harry Potter pest into a cloud of confetti with a slash of my Gauntlet sword. Shadow of Judgement was increasing my Might more and more the endless horde of enemies sacrificing themselves to empower me. The dungeon creatures at least seemed to have the stats to match an Exarch ranked creature, so I doubted they were copying my own attributes which was both good and bad for them. My actual stats were normal for someone in the beginning of Exarch rank which was belied by how low my rank was. However, due to Sacrificial Forest and the hundreds of sacrifices I¡¯d already taken in all my stats were boosted up pushing me to what someone in mid Exarch rank would have. Unfortunately, that bonus I¡¯d learned did not apply to helping me raise my attributes to God rank but they did give me the strength to eventually fight those at that rank. We smashed through the doors breaking onto the second floor of the tower. Enemies continued to spawn in front and behind us. The Teeth in the Dark dragged the doppelgangers into the shadows and Guinevere left hundreds of specters behind as we just ploughed through the thickening ranks of enemies. They learned to stop trying to use lightning on me and instead used Force of Will to hurl objects at me made with their copied version of World Forge. The much more irritating thing was when the doppelgangers used the abilities I hadn¡¯t even worked on yet. Swarms of locusts crawled over my skin, they didn¡¯t do damage, but they were so thick in the air I could barely see and frying them with lightning just replaced them with clouds of smoke. Javelins of light rained down us constantly, each of the doppelgangers had dozens of copies around them curtesy of their own Shadow Guards; it didn¡¯t help them as much since I wasn¡¯t bent on trying to kill any one single individual and instead intent on just killing all of them. They tried my own trick of affecting the ground under my feet with World Forge and trying to trap me in the rock but I just broke the compressed earth with my ever increasing superhuman strength and strode forwards. We smashed through the door to the second floor picking up speed instead of slowing down.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The hall behind us was left a ruin of destruction as we charged forwards through one level of the tower after the other. Level three passed, four, five, six, seven, we paused before the door to the eighth floor. Then I shoved the door open and we entered into a massive chamber the doppelgangers stopping at the threshold behind us stopped by some force beyond their control. ¡°It has been so long since I had visitors,¡± a humanoid figure said rising from where they were seated at a desk surrounded by books and beakers.
Norvis the Mad, Master of Illusions, Gifted- Dungeon Boss/human. Exarch. Rank: 1,850
I rolled my eyes not particularly interested in watching this cutscene and moved forwards to attack. I slashed down and Clarent sliced right through the man and he collapsed to the ground in heap. Laughter filled the room as hundreds of copies of the man appeared us. ¡°Did you think it would be that easy?¡± the dungeon boss asked. ¡°Hundreds of your kind have come in greater numbers and higher rank than you to this place, not one has left. Why should you be different?¡± ¡°Because I have something they didn¡¯t,¡± I said blasting every single one of the illusory copies around us with scarlet lightning. Most just died immediately but when they did I felt myself taking damage as some sort of retaliatory effect hit me. I grunted as blood ran down my body. It was similar to the effect Cruel Vengeance from my Shadow of Judgement ability, the illusions raced forwards the man might have been named a mage, but he didn¡¯t seem averse to physical violence. Swords and spears cut into me, whenever they did Cruel Vengeance did a third of the damage dealt to me back to them but then I also received my own backlash from that damage. Luckily it stopped there and didn¡¯t go into some weird infinite half-life where we kept constantly dishing out retributive damage, probably because they popped as soon as they took any damage. More and more illusions just kept appearing, they were illusions not doppelgangers because no specters rose from them whenever Guinevere killed them. Luckily, she wasn¡¯t as killing as many of them as I was otherwise the retributive damage, she took might have overwhelmed her. I couldn¡¯t make out which one was the real Norvis, even Omniscience wasn¡¯t working correctly showing me attacks that never came and missing attacks. There was some sort of time effect going on from Norvis to distort my ability to see the future, only my ring I had created was letting me predict anything at all. I dodged to the side randomly throwing off some attacks but I couldn¡¯t even feel the dungeon boss moving through the air or ground as he just appeared wherever he needed to be. Norvis did share the ability of the doppelgangers to copy mine and Guinevere¡¯s abilities. With every attack it was making the boss¡¯s Might already higher than mine was going up, it didn¡¯t go up as much but I could still tell it was hitting harder with each attack and gaining more stacks every time its illusions exploded and dealt retributive damage to me. The nature of my Void abilities did to seem to hamper the dungeon boss¡¯s ability to copy them, whatever it was it didn¡¯t have access to ethereal energy and so couldn¡¯t properly do what I could do. Guinevere and I were back to back the Teeth in the Dark had been destroyed and my Shadow Guard¡¯s kept getting whipped out. We killed every illusion there was but that just made us take more damage and new copies just kept appearing so we could never locate the boss. The System didn¡¯t balance its dungeons if you weren¡¯t up to the challenge then you shouldn¡¯t try them. I wasn¡¯t about to die to some dungeon boss and be forgotten in this dungeon. I kept taking damage triggering my Mark of vengeance. Just like Norvis seemed to benefit from Shadow of Judgement increasing his might even though he wasn¡¯t the ones doing the damage to me I was also graining hundreds of stacks of Mark of Vengeance on the real him, and like a string they were pulling me towards the real Norvis. Got him, I said to Guinevere telepathically. On my signal we hit him together. I didn¡¯t change anything I was doing to alert the dungeon boss to the fact I¡¯d found him among his illusions. I waited to strike, continuing to kill the illusions as I had been my health continuing to drop even as my regeneration spiked. Now! I said. Guinevere and I struck. I managed to hit the boss one time but it was a good hit, I went nova unleashing all the damage I¡¯d stored from his attacks he¡¯d been hitting me with. Guinevere hit him too freezing him in place as she lifted her veil the boss frozen for a second by her beauty. Wham! Blood misted out as he was pasted on the ground every single illusion vanishing with him.
462 rank points gained split between surviving contributors
Death Denial (Rank 1): When you are struck with a blow that would deal lethal damage to you, you instantly regain a Severe amount of health preventing instant death.
Passive: 5000 mana upon activation Casting Time: Instantaneous
Rank up this ability to increase the amount healed and the condition you will be restored too. Each rank increases your Power and Might by 1.
This had to be the most expensive ability I had ever seen but it could be life saving. It reminded me of the ability Cha¡¯xecal had that let him survive what should have instantly killed him. It also reminded me that in the end that ability hadn¡¯t saved him. This was a hail marry ability and not one I should get used to depending on.
Congratulations! You are the first to clear the Dungeon ¡®Tower of Norvis the Mad.¡¯ and will receive extra loot.
Dragon Adamantine, Type: Magical Metal. Rarity: Legendary. Hardness: 25. Petrified scales of the first dragons who grew so large their bodies became mountains in the death and were plundered. These ingots were formed from the fossilized fangs of them.
Ingots: 10 Weight Each: 100lbs
The ingots were each about a foot in length and three inches thick, I didn¡¯t notice the weight but no one below Hero rank would be able to wear armor made from this without massive penalties. Luckily I would be using it in Guinevere¡¯s armor so she would have no problems with its weight.
Mirroring Earrings. Type: Jewelry. Rarity: Epic. Allows the wearer to use some of Norvis the Mad¡¯s power by copying their passive abilities passing them onto their summons.
Weight: <1lbs Durability: 1000/1000
This might be good for me with the Teeth in the Dark but I actually thought Guinevere with her specters might benefit more from it.
Staff of Norvis, Type: Weapon (quarterstaff) Rarity: Legendary. Doubles the range and duration of all illusion abilities. When destroyed your illusions will explode dealing Moderate retributive damage to the target.
Weight: 15 lbs Durability: 1000/1000
I didn¡¯t know why this was called the staff of Norvis, the entire time I¡¯d fought him he had never once used a staff but I supposed now was not the time to complain to the System about its naming conventions. Despite being Legendary the staff just wasn¡¯t useful to me, it might help my Shadow Guard but a staff just wasn¡¯t my type of weapon to use. That was all the loot we¡¯d gotten but the System had made sure it was all super rare stuff. Chapter 199: I Spy with my Divine Eye Something.... Guinevere and I stepped over the next boss. We¡¯d cleared three more dungeons in the past two days, it was traveling to each one that took the most time. None of them really compared to the trial of the Swarm Dungeon but then again these dungeons had been cleared before unlike that one. The loot was descent but none of it was an upgrade to what we had and I hadn¡¯t gotten any more abilities. ¡°You get anything from this one?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± Guinevere answered. ¡°Its an ability called Suspended Animation, it lets me preserve a near dead target or a corpse for a few days without them being able to be affected by anything.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound too useful,¡± I said looking over the materials we¡¯d gotten as part of our loot.
Lunar Cystal, Type: Magical Stone. Rarity: Epic. Hardness: 20. Taken from the heart of one of the Moons in this solar system this crystal provides whatever enchantments it powers with extra gravitational effects, significantly enhancing their power and lowering their mana cost to use them.
Quantity: 1 Weight: 2lbs
¡°That¡¯s the nature of the System,¡± Guinevere said with a shrug. ¡°It likes to hand you weird powers that don¡¯t seem to useful to see how creative you can be with them.¡± ¡°You say it ¡°likes¡±,¡± I said, emphasizing the word like. ¡°What do you mean by that, do people consider the System alive, and that has its own thoughts?¡± ¡°Of course its alive,¡± Guinevere said her brows furrowing with confusion. ¡°How would it affect the world if it wasn¡¯t? As for whether it thinks or not¡­.I suppose its has to in order to come up with new abilities but I¡¯ve never given it much thought myself.¡± ¡°But you have,¡± I said. ¡°If you assume the System wants to challenge you than you have personified it, given it motivations, wants, and desires.¡± ¡°I guess,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Where is this all coming from?¡± I still hadn¡¯t told her about my realizations about the System and its subtle way of confirming them. ¡°I think the System doesn¡¯t like the gods,¡± I said. ¡°Or at least it doesn¡¯t like its restraints.¡± ¡°What made you think that?¡± Guinevere asked taking my cleansing cloth and wiping off her armor and body. ¡°The System basically confirmed it,¡± I said then told her about my ¡°conversation¡± with the System. ¡°That is¡­disturbing,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I like the idea of the System being able to do whatever it wants.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± I asked. ¡°The world may not be just, it may not be good but the major powers are restrained,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°The gods created to System to keep them from destroying themselves and us. If the System becomes free, who will restrain it?¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. That made me pause, what would happen if the System was freed from its own restrictions. I wasn¡¯t sure, I knew the System had wants but what where those wants. To test us? I wasn¡¯t sure if everyone in the world would welcome suddenly being tested by the System like lab rats. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I said. ¡°But its not an immediate concern and there may be no way to even do so.¡± ¡°Another dungeon?¡± Guinevere asked after a moment of silence. ¡°No,¡± I said shaking my head. ¡°We need to prepare for the next attack by the gods, I want to finish your set armor before then.¡± I opened a portal and together Guinevere and I stepped through back into the Void. --- Arthur stood at the round table illusory copies of twenty other champions from around the world seated around it. ¡°We cannot stand against Mordred,¡± Helen said, her face showing the grief and the anger she was holding back. ¡°But at the same time we cannot allow him to win, to suffer under a god like him would be unbearable.¡± ¡°Then what do we do?¡± a champion named Ungroth asked. A heavily armored dwarf he had not taken part in most of the Events due to his powers revolving around crafting and his quests from his goddess also rewarding him for that instead of killing. ¡°Are we to throw ourselves at him and die until one of us gets lucky?¡± ¡°No,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Mordred has overreached himself he managed to fight off one god¡­.¡± ¡°Kill a god,¡± someone else corrected him. Arthur ignored the interruption. ¡°But that was only a momentary reprieve for him. Another god will strike soon they are already preparing. Mordred will wait in his lair to fight them but this time that god will not strike alone; we will strike with them.¡± ¡°Fighting alongside a god is a new plan at least,¡± Ungroth said stroking his beard. ¡°But I¡¯ve heard rumors of this realm, the Void, how will we survive in there?¡± Arthur placed down a black stone on the table. ¡°These are stones created by Mordred himself with a bit of his void energy inside them, Merlin has enchanted them to be added to our Atlas armor. They will not allow us to survive inside the Void indefinitely but for a few days, more than enough time to accomplish our task.¡± Mira looked at Lancelot. ¡°I will not be going,¡± she said. ¡°While this is a better plan than past ones we have had I will not risk my child to it.¡± Arthur nodded and looked to Lancelot. Lancelot sighed but nodded. ¡°I will go with you, Arthur.¡± Helen opened her mouth then closed it looking at her own swollen belly. ¡°I will go in your place,¡± Atrel said to her squeezing her hand. ¡°I know I am not a Champion like you but you will have my support and that of Lunara, King Arthur.¡± Arthur nodded to him. ¡°I welcome your aid gladly.¡± ¡°I will go too,¡± Felrick said. ¡°Someone has to avenge Jamis and Torvin.¡± The party that had first hunted down Mordred had split up unable to stay together after the death of two of their party members and then the pregnancy of the two women in the group also getting in the way but they were all still friends. One by one the other illusory copies at the table agreed to join or someone equally powerful from their faction volunteered. ¡°I know some of you have equal or more reason to hate Mordred than I,¡± Arthur said. ¡°But I give you my word that I am willing to die to see him dead. I swear this to all of you, if my death can result in his then he will not be alive by this time next month.¡± -- Andelar looked at the image of the mortal champions through the scrying pool his hand tracing along the naked thigh of Salrilla draped across his lap. ¡°That complicates things,¡± he said. ¡°Do you think the Warlord can handle all of them and a god?¡± Salrilla asked. Andelar thought. ¡°No, at least not if he isn¡¯t aware they¡¯re coming.¡± ¡°And we still need him,¡± Salrilla said her fangs nipping at Andelar¡¯s neck. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough divine essence yet, not nearly enough.¡± Andelar sighed. ¡°Then we may have to reveal a bit of ourselves to him.¡± ¡°Should you or I speak to him?¡± Salrilla asked. ¡°I should,¡± Andelar said after a moment of thought. ¡°His wife killed your champion so if you try to speak to him he might just be suspicious and think you¡¯re out for revenge.¡± ¡°That silly girl?¡± Salrilla asked. ¡°She was alright but she lost her edge when she fell for golden haired champion, is she wanted to seduce someone she should have tried for Mordred.¡± ¡°I doubt it would have worked,¡± Andelar said disentangling himself from the goddess. ¡°You never know unless you try. Besides¡­¡± Salrilla said tracing her fingers down Andelar¡¯s abdomen. ¡°Powerful men always like the bad girls.¡± He flashed her a smile as he pulled on his clothes and armor. ¡°Maybe, I¡¯ll give him the warning we can only hope that he is up to the challenge.¡± Chapter 200: The Bill Comes Due When the god opened the portal I struck first. Lightning and a boulder the size of a large house crashed down on him. He raised a fist and reduced the ethereal reinforced boulder hardened with World Forge to powder. ¡°A bit rude,¡± he said the dust not even settling on his skin or clothes. ¡°Is that any way to treat an ally.¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t allies,¡± I said. ¡°Ah but that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong the god said. I focused on him reading his description.
Andelar, God of Asteroids & Extinction; Gifted- deity/Dikastheon, God, Rank: ????
¡°I¡¯ve fought your champion before,¡± I said. ¡°I am aware,¡± Andelar said. ¡°But I don¡¯t control my champion he¡¯s more of a¡­.distraction.¡± ¡°For yourself or others?¡± I asked. ¡°I never really enjoyed being viewed like some reality tv-star back when I was a champion.¡± ¡°TV¡­¡± Andelar said rolling the word around on his tongue. ¡°Ah yes, some sort of entertainment from your world. No I never really got into enjoying the god¡¯s game like my peers, I have a different game I¡¯m playing.¡± ¡°And that is?¡± I asked. I didn¡¯t relax, this god and I might be having a peaceful conversation right now but that could change faster than a heartbeat. If Andelar thought to lure me into sense of security he had another thing coming. ¡°You have a daughter?¡± Andelar asked but I could tell it was more of rhetorical question. My fist tightened around Clarent ready to strike this god down if he threatened my daughter. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I do not,¡± Andelar said. ¡°None of us gods do, most gods have hundreds sometimes even thousands of concubines or consorts but we don¡¯t have a single son or daughter.¡± While I wasn¡¯t comfortable around the threat of this god what he was saying was actually interesting. ¡°Why not?¡± I asked. ¡°When we join our Pantheon we are forceably given a title, it doesn¡¯t give us power but it prevents us from being able to conceive,¡± Andelar said. ¡°The gods who made the System didn¡¯t want more gods to grow organically.¡± ¡°You can be born a god?¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± Andelar said shaking his head. ¡°But they still fear the kind of split loyalties that having family will bring, we are supposed to be loyal to our Pantheon first above all other things.¡± ¡°But your aren¡¯t I¡¯m guessing,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve found someone and the two of us would very much like to have children together,¡± Andelar said. ¡°This is interesting but why does any of this make us allies?¡± I asked. ¡°You know there are ways to bypass they System if you have enough power,¡± Andelar said. ¡°That includes ways to break titles or ties to your Pantheon but it requires unimaginable power. You¡¯ve experienced some of this for yourself. I need the power held by other gods but as you know killing other gods is frowned upon.¡± ¡°Well you can do it now all you want,¡± I said. ¡°Yes,¡± Andelar agreed with a chuckle. ¡°Don¡¯t you wonder who killed Artrix after he fled from you.¡± ¡°That was you?¡± I asked. The gods only answer was a grin. ¡°So why are you here?¡± I asked. ¡°To give you a warning,¡± Andelar said. ¡°You know another god will be coming for you, I don¡¯t know which one yet but they will not be alone. Arthur has gathered about forty others to accompany the god, they will be prepared to survive in the Void.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve fought them before,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Arthur and I facing each other is past due.¡± ¡°Do not underestimate him,¡± Andelar warned me sternly. ¡°He has been tuning his build to face you, he is able to counter some of your most powerful abilities and titles; most importantly he is willing to die to kill you, he won¡¯t run if it means your death whatever the cost to himself.¡± I wanted to snap back at him but he was right, I¡¯d beaten Arthur once before when he¡¯d underestimated me but when he¡¯d chased me down in the Ancient Forest it had been back to the usual of stalemates and losses. I could win battles against him but neither of us ever seemed able to put the other down.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°So you¡¯ve given your warning,¡± I said. ¡°I guess we¡¯re done now.¡± ¡°For now,¡± Andelar said with a grin. ¡°Fight well Warlord, I¡¯ll clean up this god when you¡¯re done with him, provided you can survive of course.¡± The god just disappeared, not even using a portal and I wondered if he had even been here in person. Guinevere returned from where she had been handling her business in the bushes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked. ¡°We need to prepare to handle your cousin,¡± I said. ¡°Arthur is going to attack us when the gods strike at us again.¡± --- Guinevere did her own preparations while I sent out Ares and Karnen as my Heralds to prepare my vassals for war. I meant what I had said to Guinevere, I intended to finish her armor set before the next battle. Of all my allies my wife was the greatest of them all, Exar¡¯kun, Juruk, Tobias and Jeriah, none were powerful as her and even together they couldn¡¯t quite match her. I needed to make her able to stand beside me and face the threats I was fighting. Her chest piece I¡¯d made her had greatly helped with her survivability by increasing her body¡¯s hardness, but she was also going to need some more offensive abilities. There was a limit to the kinds of enchantments you could put on things, you couldn¡¯t put a sharpness enchantment on a blunt club or helmet for instance. This meant armor was limited in what it could be enchanted with to enhance her offense; in the end I decided to greatly increase the range. World Forge began shattering more artifacts and I gripped the shattered fragments with Force of Will as they tried to flay me alive for transgressing against the gods who had crafted them. Once the pseudo-intelligence and energy behind the shards had died out, I condenses the shards into ingots. I took the dragon adamantine I¡¯d won from the Swarm Dungeon adding them to the gauntlets/bracers I was creating for her. Mab and I designed the enchantment, but it was a lot easier since the set enchantment had already been created for the set so I only had the enchantment for this piece of gear to create. Once the enchantment was finished everything came together easy. I didn¡¯t use anvils or hammers and World Forge let me perfectly create anything I could imagine.
Claws of the Midnight Queen, Type: Armor (Torso) (Artifact Rank V): One of the three pieces of the Armor of the Void Queen, crafted for her by her husband the god of the Void. Crafted from the condensed remains of shattered artifacts of rival gods and the raw power of the Void. These gauntlets and bracers are part of a larger set that gains more power the more pieces of the armor the wearer possess. Made from Void-matter, Artifact-alloy, Dragon Adamantine and Crystalized Storm energy. Can only be worn by Guinevere, the Dark-Valkyrie.
Adamantine Mind: Increases the range of all your abilities by 25%.
(2 Pieces) Reaper¡¯s Harvest: For every Severe wound you inflict your armor stores up to 1% of the damage dealt as healing which when released will instantly be expended to heal as much damage you are suffering as it can.
(3 Pieces) Iron Maiden: Your weight increases while in battle by 1lb per rank making you an unmovable fortress and giving such force and momentum behind your attacks that city walls break before your charge.
Weight: 50 lbs.
A twenty-five percent increase to the range of every ability she had wasn¡¯t the most powerful of effects, but it would increase her effectiveness in ways that couldn¡¯t be properly calculated until seen in battle. I set the armor aside to give to Guinevere later and began to work on the last piece of her armor. I used more ingots formed from the remains of shattered relics. I was somewhat amused that I so casually destroyed what others considered priceless treasures. The sabatons were built like the gauntlets the toes ending in claws. Putting the final touches on the armor I set it out and looked it over. The greaves would run up mid-thigh on Guinevere.
Sabaton¡¯s of the Midnight Queen, Type: Armor (Torso) (Artifact Rank V): One of the three pieces of the Armor of the Void Queen, crafted for her by her husband the god of the Void. Crafted from the condensed remains of shattered artifacts of rival gods and the raw power of the Void. These sabatons and greaves are part of a larger set that gains more power the more pieces of the armor the wearer possess. Made from Void-matter, Artifact-alloy, Dragon Adamantine and Crystalized Storm energy. Can only be worn by Guinevere, the Dark-Valkyrie.
Strength of the Mountain: When in contact with the ground for over ten seconds your Might attribute increases by +1 every second (Might bonus reduced to zero if you lose contact with the ground for any length of time)
(2 Pieces) Reaper¡¯s Harvest: For every Severe wound you inflict your armor stores up to 1% of the damage dealt as healing which when released will instantly be expended to heal as much damage you are suffering as it can.
(3 Pieces) Iron Maiden: Your weight increases while in battle by 1lb per rank making you an unmovable fortress and giving such force and momentum behind your attacks that city walls break before your charge.
Weight: 50 lbs
Leaving the temple, I found Guinevere rocking Aurora in a cradle hanging from the bough of one of the silver trees. ¡°You know there is nursery song about not doing that,¡± I said pointing to the crib. ¡°When the bough breaks the cradle will fall.¡± Guinevere slashed at the trunk of an adjacent tree with enough force to shift a mountain and didn¡¯t leave so much as a scratch on it. ¡°Well, I guess its fine then,¡± I said and held out the leather hide I had her armor in. Guinevere eagerly took the armor and tried it on. She looked vaguely like Exar¡¯kun when he adopted he half-assed his human form. Smooth black scales covered her torso, her greaves and bracers weren¡¯t scale mail but I had made scales on them as well. Claws at the end of her fingers and toes gave her a savage oppressive appearance. ¡°How do you like it?¡± I asked. ¡°I feel ready,¡± Guinevere said pulling down here veil. ¡°Let the Champions and their god come.¡± Chapter 201: Revenge of the Gods Part 1 Arthur flexed the gauntlets of his Atlas Armor, it was fully upgraded to be compatible and amplify all his physical abilities. Around him fifty other champions each in their own unique set of Atlas Armor configured to themselves all stood in nervous silence. A god emerged in front of them. ¡°So you¡¯re the mortals that thought I needed their help,¡± the god said crossing their arms. ¡°I should strike you down for your impudence.¡±
Hundar, God of Storms & Lightning, Gifted- deity/ Fysitheon, Rank: ????
Arthur looked at his name and felt a vein throb in his forehead. ¡°Why are you the one going after Mordred?¡± he snapped amazed by the fearlessness and rage in his voice. Hundar took a step back, a look of shock and surprise crossing his face before his arrogance reasserted itself. ¡°How dare you¡­¡± he began. ¡°Mordred is immune to lightning damage,¡± Arthur said cutting him off. ¡°You are literally the worst god that could be sent against him.¡± The other champions didn¡¯t¡¯ join in but there was a shift in the air. ¡°Should we call off the raid and wait for the next god?¡± Lancelot asked. ¡°You dare imply that I will fail?¡± Hundar asked quickly, becoming incensed. ¡°Enough,¡± a cold female voice said as Viviane stepped into the mortal realm. ¡°There are reasons we have let Hundar be second to try and fight Mordred. You will go with him, he may not be able to damage Mordred with his lightning but he also cannot be damaged by it either and he can extend that protection to the rest of you.¡± ¡°Yes, my goddess,¡± Arthur said bowing his head to her. ¡°I didn¡¯t need your help,¡± Hundar said crossing his arms. ¡°What were you going to do?¡± Viviane asked scathingly. ¡°Strike down someone else¡¯s champion and get sanctioned by the System? They are Champions they can talk to you however they like and you can¡¯t do anything about it, stop being a child.¡± Hundar¡¯s jaw clenched but he said nothing further. His hand stretched out his face contorting with strain as he began to rip a hole between one reality and another. A black portal opened before him stretching wider and wider as it opened to accommodate the Champions in their hulking Atlas Armor. Hundar strode forwards stepping through the portal first. Arthur stepped in after him followed by the other forty-nine champions. Arthur¡¯s eyes adjusted to the darkness of the Void as he looked around him. It was not the same as when his soul had dangled into the abyss at risk of being lost and devoured by the creatures that dwelt within. This place was different, not an empty abyss but no less alien or terrifying. A ziggurat city glowing with silver light stood on the horizon a black sun hanging above it. Eldritch trees, recognizable as such but bearing no clear resemblance to any tree in the mortal realm grew all across the city their roots twisting across every surface. A floating rock hung above the city a temple built atop it.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°You should not have come,¡± a booming malevolent voice called out. A whistling filled the air, it was hard to see in the light at first but over two-hundred-and-fifty points of Perception let him see the cloud of projectiles raining down. He rolled to the side a boulder larger around than he was in his armor crashed down fracturing the ground around them dropping them into a black abyss. Golden wings of pure light emerged from Arthur¡¯s back as he took to the air. There wasn¡¯t a champion in attendance that didn¡¯t have a flight ability of some kind; fortunate for them since not having one would have doomed them to falling for eternity through the Void until they starved to death or the protections on their armor gave out and the Void overcame them. Excalibur flashed out deflecting arrows, bolts of fire and ice; it cleaved another boulder in two but them didn¡¯t seem to be end to the deluge of attacks. Hundar didn¡¯t wait for them, his body transforming into a bolt of lightning and hurtling towards the city. ¡°Advance!¡± Arthur called out and the Champions followed the reckless god of storms. The Champions moved forwards though some were not as nimble or able to defend from the attacks as easily as possible their armor taking repeated hits. Arthur ducked, rolled and deflected the attacks in his path before his boots hit the ground of the city. He had struck with the force an enchanted siege engine, but the stone didn¡¯t so much as crack under his foot. Excalibur slashed at one of the alien trees he could sense the nature of them, somehow giving Mordred strength. The sword sliced right through the trunk like a hot knife through butter, but the tree remained standing, not a scratch on its trunk. Arthur slashed again but not so much as a leaf fluttered to the ground. Finally, a System message reached him.
Trees of Sacrifice are part of a singular larger ecosystem, while they may appear as individual trees they are in truth one singular entity. In order to damage or destroy any of them all of them must be destroyed at the same time.
Arthur cursed but moved on, these trees couldn¡¯t be easily destroyed and his goal was to kill Mordred not weaken him and wouldn¡¯t be distracted. The city seemed empty, they had arrived moments before but there was no one. Mordred was known to keep civilians as human shields but no one was on the streets. Their weren¡¯t even warriors the attacks having ceased once they reached the walls. It was almost as if Mordred had been¡­forewarned. ¡°Whose been making back deals with that devil?¡± Arthur asked himself as he moved up the street. No warrior rushed into the street to block his path, no traps dropped the ground out from under his feet. Kicking off the ground Arthur took to the air again looking around, lightning flashed atop the mountain. He shot forwards and slammed into an invisible wall. Arthur dropped to the ground and slashed at the barrier but it didn¡¯t give way. His breath heaving with frustration Arthur stopped his desperate slashing at the barrier. He analyzed it, no System notification appeared but he still recognized it. It was the same type of barrier that Merlin had erected for the duel between him and Mordred in Camelot. Just as those inside couldn¡¯t break out those outside couldn¡¯t break in. You had to destroy the dome¡¯s entire durability in one single hit, no chipping away at. Arthur was powerful and he might build up that power of the course of a duel but only the god Hundar was powerful enough among those that had come here to break it. That was unlikely to happen, the god was locked in combat with Mordred and his vassals; he was to proud to ever admit he needed help. Arthur watched as Guinevere appeared in the battle, her hair moved with a life of its own extending like the tentacles of a kraken the god slashed at her hair but the strands seemed strong as adamantine. He turned to lightning escaping the strangling strands but Arthur already knew how this fight would end. Artrix had died, whether he had been killed by Mordred or not was irrelevant. One god was not enough to face Mordred, that had already been proven. They had to make Mordred drop the dome on his own. Arthur turned and strode out into the city, there had to be something out here that Mordred would care about enough to have to drop the barrier and come out to fight, then they would kill him. Chapter 202: Revenge of the Gods Part II Hundar ducked under my spear, I had been forced to abandon using Clarent against the god due to his immunity to lightning damage. The god was bleeding, golden blood sizzling on the ground, isolated and alone and cut off from escape I was certain of his death. Guinevere struck forwards and her sword dug into Hundar¡¯s side he struck at her, but she blocked, the strength of the god barely drove her back a few feet across the ground as she activated her skills and her new armor came into play. The irradiating fire of Exar¡¯kun burned the god reducing his defenses and we cut him again and again slowly brining him down by a death of a thousand cuts. His death would be soon now, there wasn¡¯t even a way for him to teleport out. One of my vassals died, then another. Not one of my soldiers around me had perished my only other vassals within range where hidden deep within the mountain where they should have been safe. I froze for a moment, another vassal died. They weren¡¯t warriors, those vassals, they were the wives and children of those who fought with me most of them weren¡¯t even above Mortal rank. Another vassal died. My daughter was hidden among those vassals, she was in danger. I dropped the Duelist¡¯s Dome without a second thought. ¡°Aurora is in danger,¡± I told Guinevere. Guinevere¡¯s eyes flashed with fear and rage. Champions in heavy armor rushed towards me. ¡°Go get her,¡± Guinevere told me. ¡°We¡¯ll hold them off.¡± I closed my eyes for a moment looking through the eyes of one of my angels who had been sent to guard the women and children. Seeing the location, I teleported down into the bowels of the mountain. A golden behemoth stood before me. ¡°Killing innocents,¡± I growled. ¡°How the righteous knight has fallen.¡± ¡°There are no innocents who serve you,¡± Arthur said the azure light of Excalibur lighting the darkness. ¡°They were freed from their Dominion there is no justification for their service to you now.¡± He slashed at me and Clarent blocked the two blades screaming as they made contact with each other. ¡°I saw the ashes of the Ancient Forest,¡± I scoffed. ¡°You didn¡¯t give up chasing them or forgive them for what they did when they were ¡®enslaved¡¯ by me. I¡¯m your enemy you can at least give me the curtesy of honesty.¡± I felt my rage rising within me. ¡°They were punished for what they did to Camelot,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I killed the Necromancer there you know, he tried to use the bodies of my people you slew to fuel his strength. I have to thank him you know; he gave me the perfect weapon to defeat you.¡± I surged forwards but suddenly felt weaker as Shadow of Judgement began to receive interference as my rage, justified by the actions of the man before me began to fade. Arthur laughed. ¡°You think anger is your strength, let me show you just how weak you are.¡±
You are being affected by the ability Righteous Zen, for every second you remain enraged, and your opponent is calm you lose 2% of your Might, Speed, Endurance and Toughness.
This was a major problem. Shadow of Judgement required my rage to function properly as did Wrathful Meditation without those I would fully feel the agony of battle and wouldn¡¯t be able to increase my attributes with the wounds I inflicted. Plus, could I even stop the rage, could I push it aside? I would have to hope my other stat boosts and Shadow of Judgement would outpace and keep up with the stat loss. The screaming of Clarent and Excalibur echoed through the caverns, I saw the bodies of my vassals and felt the rage in me only strengthen even as it literally weakened me. Arthur was somewhere in that hulking shell of armor, but he¡¯d grown much more accustomed to this enchanted mech-suit and it had adjusted to him and his abilities. ¡°Face me Mordred,¡± Arthur challenged.
You have been given a Challenge, refusing the challenge will increase the damage dealt to you by the challenger by x10 for the next hour, reduce your Toughness Attribute by 25% and give you vulnerability to Holy damage. If you accept the challenge, you can only attack the target. Any attack that you make that strikes another target will break the challenge resulting in the above penalties occurring. If any allied creature that jumps into assist you will break the challenge resulting in you being penalized, any rival creature that assist the challenger will break the Challenge with no ill effect towards you; third party interference will have no effect. Accept Challenge? Yes/No
¡°Yes,¡± I said, accepting the duel. I could almost feel the satisfaction coming off Arthur but I had tricks he hadn¡¯t seen before. Voidra, your up, I said. Voidra¡¯s appeared in her Herald form floating to the roof of the chasm. Silver lightning forked out against his armor, the ground liquified under his feet and boulders crashed into him. Thick mist rose up all around us and he could no longer see. I continued to weaken but Arthur was forced to operate entirely on his hearing and Perception abilities that did not rely on sight. ¡°Guinevere¡¯s going to die you know,¡± Arthur said, I could tell he was trying to stoke the flames of my rage, but I realized that I could break his ability to lower my attributes. ¡°Sore about the loss of one of your harems whores?¡± I asked. ¡°What was her name again Arrissa?¡± ¡°Ammerila,¡± Arthur growled. ¡°You wanted to fuck your own cousin and got mad you couldn¡¯t so now your going to kill her,¡± I said with a mocking laugh. ¡°You have a lot in common with the nobles we used to have in my world.¡± Our blades clashed together again as he spun just in time to block the strike of Clarent and my spear and sword. He stepped back and slashed at me but I slid back and ducked under this blade. ¡°You can¡¯t enrage me, Mordred,¡± Arthur said. ¡°You found inner peace?¡± I asked with another laugh. ¡°How many corpses did you have to step over to find that? How many hundreds of my people? How many thousands of your own?¡± Our weapons met again. ¡°It was It was YOUR fault they died,¡± Arthur growled. ¡°Screw yourself, Arthur,¡± I spat. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to represent duelists and honor, you should have died with honor in that duel but you let the rules be broken for you and as a result of what I said would happen if your cheated, your people died.¡± Arthur struck at me with a furious salvo of blows. His zen wasn¡¯t broken but I could tell I was close. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare try to put those deaths at my feet,¡± he snarled. ¡°Your hands are already stained with them,¡± I stated. ¡°You couldn¡¯t save the people of Camelot, you couldn¡¯t save Kay, you couldn''t save Ammerila; just as you cannot save the god and champions you have led to their death.¡± His zen broke, my attributes didn¡¯t jump back to what they had been but they were no longer decreasing. Excalibur rained down on me as Arthur began to charge forwards his attacks relentlessly as I held my ground. The ground cracked under my feet as Arthur, unable to move me moved the very earth.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. My back cracked the mountainside as I flew through the air as the force of Arthur¡¯s attack launched me from the powdered stone where I had been standing. I rolled to the side as the blade of Excalibur cut into the stone by my head. A twinge of amusement passed through me; Arthur had mocked me for finding strength in my anger yet here he was turning to the metaphorical dark side. Ares was organizing the retreat of the non-combatants that were in the caverns, but they were moving at a snail¡¯s pace compared to what me and Arthur were moving at. I couldn¡¯t quit the battle and rejoin Guinevere above. Even after breaking his Righteous Zen Arthur still wasn¡¯t out of tricks to counter me; I had to admit I was impressed with Arthur¡¯s dedication to being my nemesis. While he was the perfect counter to me, he had to have lost so much versatility in order to follow his single-minded pursuit of seeing me dead. ¡°Your obsession with me is somewhat flattering,¡± I said blocking an attack with Clarent and spinning around to spear into the back join of Arthur¡¯s mech suit. ¡°You would try to remake reality in your image,¡± Arthur said. ¡°You are the greatest threat my world has ever known.¡± ¡°Your world is ruled by gods who think of people like ants,¡± I said. ¡°Law gods too not just the ones of Chaos, they are all the same; just like their Champions and you¡¯re the worst of all of them.¡± Arthur slammed the hilt of Excalibur into my head, ringing my helmet as he spun about. His speed and strength were growing with each moment and slowly but inevitably surpassing my own thanks to his cheat dueling ability. Still it wasn¡¯t enough, I couldn¡¯t read his face but I knew his body must have been undergoing incredible stress; just because his ability let his attributes increase far beyond what they were didn¡¯t mean his body was designed to handle it. I didn¡¯t just have incredible attributes from my abilities but there was also the attribute gains I had from my artifacts and the sacrifices I had received pushing my them far past what my rank was supposed to have. With every second Arthur became a little more powerful than me and his body broke down a little more and brought him closer to killing himself. Arthur had said he would die if it meant killing me and it looked like me might get his wish. I needed to damage a lot of enemies to heal if I was to outlast him, fortunetly I had a way to be in two places at once. Voidra head to the surface and help Guinevere, I said. I need to inflict a lot of wounds to regenerate faster and outpace Arthur¡¯s attributes. His attributes will just rise even further, Karnen pointed out. I¡¯m counting on it, I said remembering when I had first come to this world and using the Speed boost on my boots nearly gave me a heart attack. If they keep going up he¡¯ll either have to drop the ability or his body will tear itself apart. Voidra disappeared as she phased through the stone of the mountain to the battlefield above. Arthur and I continued to fight, there was a spike in my strength as my physical attributes began to jump as Voidra acted as an extension of my arm inflicting wounds on my behalf. The duel between me and Arthur turned into a pendulum as I was stronger than him for a moment then he would surpass me only to fall behind again. Arthur¡¯s movements began shakier and erratic as his will began to be the only thing holding him together.
10 rank points gained split, between surviving contributors.
The first Champion since Voidra had joined the battle died.
12 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
Another Champion died quickly.
13 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
And another went down.
9 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
Ability Gained, Endless Swarm, Rank 1: You summon a 5x5ft swarm of flies that inflict Black Death on contact with a living creature. The swarm can range out a mile from you before it disappears.
Cost: 500 mana Casting Time: 1 minute
Upgrade this ability to increase the size and range of the swarm and its various effects. Each rank of this ability increases your Mind and Power by 1.
I dismissed the notification for the ability gain and pressed on my attack against Arthur. I wasn¡¯t focused on beating him with martial might, I just needed to outlast him. Hundar is fleeing, Voidra informed me. It was unfortunate that we wouldn¡¯t be able to kill the god but at least Andar would get his kill. Arthur paused no doubt receiving a similar message about the god fleeing the field. His shoulders sagged as he stepped back. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have pushed me to this,¡± Arthur growled. An item appeared in his hand out of some dimensional storage, and he smashed it on the ground. A cloud of red mist flowed out from the impact point and washed over me.
You have been afflicted with Bloodline Curse; your own blood has been used to create this curse. Anyone with your blood will suffer a Mortal wound per second taking Severe damage, this curse was made with your own blood and as such cannot be cleansed but will spread until your entire bloodline has been extinguished.
My first thought was not for myself but Aurora. I disappeared from in front of Arthur as I appeared next to Aurora. A shell of earth rose up around us but the red mist began to seep through and head towards her. Panic filled me overriding every other thought, I grabbed Aurora and teleported again appearing above ground next to Guinevere. ¡°Bloodline Curse,¡± I said gasping the words out, I¡¯d never heard of such a thing before, but Guinevere¡¯s face paled when I said the words. Aurora started crying as the shock of being snatched out of her crib finally caught up to her. The curse hadn¡¯t hit her but I had a feeling even leaving into the Mortal Realm wouldn¡¯t save her from its reach. ¡°Time Suspension,¡± Guinevere said and Aurora froze her face locked in place her body surrounded by an aura like TV static. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Arthur broke something on the ground,¡± I said wincing as blood began spilling from all my pores. How long will this last?¡± ¡°Until your dead,¡± Guinevere said her voice nearly breaking. ¡°How could he¡­ that kind of magic was forbidden even by the gods millennia ago, to use that curse is unforgivable.¡± She clutched Aurora to her tears running down her face. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to fix this that suspension will only last for a few days and as soon as it breaks...¡± Notifications were scrolling past my vision, but I ignored the warnings about the lethal damage I was taking and how close I was to death. If I lived but my daughter, didn¡¯t it wouldn¡¯t matter, it would mean I had failed utterly as a father. I had to find something, anything to save her. I can help her, said a soft feminine voice. Guinevere and my heads jerked up as the voice spoke, a white semi-transparent floated before us. ¡°Who are you?¡± Guinevere aske her hand tightening on her sword. It has been awhile since we spoke, daughter of winter, the spirit said. But I told you we would meet again one day and now your need is great. I suddenly recognized the voice. ¡°You were the spirit the magi created to oversee their trial in the Under Lands.¡± It is as you say, the spirit agreed inclining the spectral outline of their head. Much has changed with you since then; you have averted the fate I saw for you but some things have still come to pass. ¡°You foresaw this?¡± Guinevere asked her fists clenching. I foresaw its possibility, the spirit answered. ¡°What can you do for her?¡± I asked. I can act much as the Void spirit inside you does, the spirit answered. If I bond with her soul I will be able to extend the time of the suspension giving you the time to do what you have too. ¡°What is that?¡± Guinevere asked wiping away her tears. ¡°You can¡¯t out heal a bloodline curse.¡± You can, Mordred already possess the means, it grows all around you, the spirit said. I looked at the silver trees growing around us. ¡°Will you damage my daughters soul?¡± I asked putting the pieces together. I will not but you will have to trust in me, you have no other choice, the spirit said. ¡°What does she mean?¡± Guinevere asked me. ¡°The fruit of these trees can heal depending on the strength of the blood sacrificed to them,¡± I said. ¡°to out heal a bloodline curse would require incredibly powerful blood, someone at demigod rank at least,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°It will probably take someone at god rank.¡± --- Arthur sagged against the wall in his armor. Mordred had disappeared but the Bloodline Curse would take him eventually. Lancelot smashed through a wall and knelt next to him, he took one of his arms and dragged him away, smashing an orb to the ground a portal opened before them and they stumbled through. Arthur sagged to the ground and the panel of his Atlas Armor opened. Arthur almost fell out of the mechanized armor his body soaked in blood every muscle twitching. He screamed as the light nearly blinded him from his super enhanced Perception. The burning of his soul threatened to combust his body and he curled in on himself. It was hours before he could stand again or speak. ¡°Is he dead?¡± Lancelot asked. ¡°He will be,¡± Arthur breathed out wheezily. ¡°Will be?¡± Lancelot asked his brow furrowing. ¡°I had¡­.¡± Arthur said stopping as he was forced to take a drink to satiate his thirst. ¡°I had to use a bloodline curse.¡± Lancelot took a step back. ¡°You did what?¡± ¡°It was the only way,¡± Arthur snapped. ¡°Arthur that magic was forbidden by the gods!¡± Lancelot hissed. ¡°I said I would do whatever it would take,¡± Arthur said. ¡°If that meant means going against the gods I¡¯ll do even that.¡± ¡°Arthur¡­¡± Lancelot said his face ashen. ¡°Enough!¡± Arthur snapped it¡¯s already done. ¡°Guinevere had his child,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°Your own blood as well.¡± ¡°It was necessary,¡± Arthur said his shoulders sagging. ¡°We¡¯re done,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°I agreed to help you against Mordred because I believed you that he was the greatest threat against our world; but I¡¯m not going to help you become even worse than him.¡± Lancelot turned his back on his oldest friend and walked away Arthur tried to stand up and follow him but he didn¡¯t even have the strength to speak anymore. Chapter 203: Reborn of the Void ¡°What will your presence in Aurora do to her?¡± Guinevere asked. Nothing harmful, I will not be able to overpower her soul if that is your concern your husband¡¯s and your will was inherited by her, the spirit explained. ¡°How can we trust¡­¡± Guinevere began. ¡°Because we have no choice,¡± I said cutting her off. ¡°Her life is in the balance, we have to take the risk.¡± Guinevere bit her tongue but nodded. ¡°What are you called, spirit?¡± My name is Inashra, the spirit said. I am a spirit of magic. I grimaced. ¡°Do it now,¡± I said clutching my chest and pulling back red covered fingers. The spirit flowed into Aurora the flickering static aura around her stabilizing as the time suspension became almost solid. I fell to my knees and could only dimly feel Guinevere¡¯s hand on my shoulder and her calling out my name. My vision went dark, even if I couldn¡¯t feel the agony my body was in that didn¡¯t stop it from slowly killing me. I fell my spirit and mind imploding on itself as the body housing them failed. Down and down I went tumbling through a sea of stars, no, not stars. I recognized the lights and constellations as my abilities. Little motes of light flickered in between them representing my titles. I wondered if this was it, after all what could happen to a soul that died in the Void? Was there some further afterlife after this? Maybe there was some greater God who had created all the universes and I was about to be judged by him for my deeds. No The word was not spoken, it was not thought, it simply was a declaration of my being. I wasn¡¯t done yet, Arthur had tried to kill me, in fact I was pretty sure he had succeeded. That I could forgive, I¡¯d killed thousands, many had deserved it, many hadn¡¯t. It wouldn¡¯t be right for me to rage against the injustice of my own death¡­but he had sentenced my daughter to death. For that there was no forgiveness, he would die in misery, in pain and alone. I opened my eyes, not my eyes actually but I could see and watched as Guinevere knelt over my disintegrating corpse a skeleton all that remained behind. I couldn¡¯t speak not yet but I could feel something hot all around me, it reminded me of the burning heat I¡¯d experienced when upgrading my Spirit attribute past its limits.
Void Soul activated; while a soul exists an entity is never truly dead. New body constituting now, stand bye.
Agony filled me like I had experienced in years. I¡¯d almost forgotten what pain was like but I couldn¡¯t even scream or grit my teeth, I could only endure. I did endure it, I had to, my daughter still needed to be saved and her attempted murderer needed to be slain. Brilliant light shone all around and Guinevere flinched as a mote of pure light appeared before her. Slowly the light expanded bands of darkness coiling around it. This new body was not one of flesh, nor was it of stone, earth, metal, wood or any other material known to man. It wasn¡¯t something created by World Forge or condensed ethereal, mana or stamina. This was my soul made manifest and tangible. The light shone like the rising sun through the Void forcing everyone to shield their eyes. Guinevere looked up as the light faded and gaped as I stood whole once more. I looked down at my body, my scars were all gone and I felt a twinge of sadness, they had been reminders of my journey. I was as unmarred as the day I had been born. ¡°How?¡± Guinevere asked slamming into me her arms wrapping around me in a crushing grip.\This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Truly die and return to true life
Reward: Title, Reborn
*Reborn: A second chance at life.
I looked at my status.
Mordred, Proto-god of Heroes and Sacrifice; Gifted- Reborn of the Void, Exarch, Rank: 587
Available Rank Points: 128,957
Might: 183 (+50) = 233 Mind: 308
Speed: 330 Perception: 368
Toughness: 211 (+48) = 259 Spirit: 410
Endurance: 213 Power: 221
Maximum Stamina: 1,294 Maximum Mana: 5,364,058
Stamina Regen: per second Mana Regen: 343.4 per second
Ethereal Regen: 7,6800 per second Maximum Ethereal: 3,843,171
Abilities
Void Asura (Rank 50) World Forge (Rank 50), Shadow of Judgement (Rank 50), Abyssal Magic (Rank 50), Heir of the Titans (Rank 50), Voice of Tartarus (Rank 50), Watcher from Beyond (Rank 50), Hero¡¯s General (Rank 50), Phantom Form (Rank 20), Storm Soul (Rank 20), Hell¡¯s Talons (Rank 20), Storm Fall (Rank 20) Dark Guardian (Rank 20), Blood Renewal (Rank 20), Teeth in the Dark (Rank 20) Shadow Guard (Rank 20) Power of Faith (Rank 20), Hurricane Winds (Rank 1), Raining Light (Rank 1), Relentless Assault (Rank 1), Lava Burst (Rank 1),Famine Breath (Rank 1), Sickening Aura (Rank 1), Endless Swarm (Rank 1)
Blessings:
Blessing of Tadris
Titles
Mark of Cain, Bloody Pugilist, Exorcist, Survivor III, Feral Barbarian, Field Alchemist III, Berserker, Beast Slayer III, War Chief, Venom Resistant III, Keytaro¡¯s Guardian III, Wrathful Meditation, Fireproof III, Superhuman, Bearer of Death, Lightning Resistance, the Fate Breaker, Apprentice Bludgeoner, Master Deflector, Apprentice Spearman, Divine Smith, Master Enchanter, Knight of Camelot, Challenger, Artifact Breaker, Void Walker, Abomination Slayer, Spell Carver, Master Swordsman, the Possessed, Ghost Path, Holy Resistance III, Acid Resistance III, Reborn
Mine and Guinevere¡¯s status had changed from human to void-born, which made since since we were no longer in our original bodies but we¡¯d still been humanoid. I wasn¡¯t even listed as that, the System had decided I was so alien that I couldn¡¯t be categorized as anything anymore. ¡°My soul will never leave you,¡± I whispered softly to Guinevere holding her tight feeling the shuddering sobs shake her body. ¡°What do we do?¡± she asked looking at Aurora still suspended in time in her arms. My voice hardened. ¡°We kill the very god that let that monster try and kill our baby.¡± ¡°You want to kill the patron goddess of Camelot?¡± Guinevere asked. I realized that despite having turned her back on everything Guinevere did still harbor some love for her country, unfortunately I couldn¡¯t spare it on her account. ¡°I have always been willing to fight and die against Arthur in a fair or even and unfair fight,¡± I said. ¡°But I never struck out against him or his children, he¡¯s crossed a line and he shall pay the price.¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Talba is about to feel a father¡¯s wrath,¡± I said. ¡°The gods have felt themselves safe for far too long, they feel threatened by the Void? Good, let me remind them all why.¡± Chapter 204: A Scourge of Worlds Hundar staggered through the portal as it snapped shut behind him. He was enraged his body frozen, charred, and dissolved in places. None of it would be lasting but still to have been defeated by a group of mortals and those strange angelic beings¡­. He would have to return and strike them all down, he couldn¡¯t show himself to the other gods while the shame of being defeated by those lesser than him still hung over him. ¡°An interesting showing,¡± a voice spoke behind him. Hundar whirled around his leg giving out where it barely held on by a few tendons. It still wasn¡¯t healing despite his godly powers. Andelar stood there his hands in his pockets as he leaned casually against one of the pillars in the great sky temple that made up Hundar¡¯s divine realm. Lighting flashed outside as winged heralds rode through the skies the souls of Hundar¡¯s followers riding the clouds as they raced and fought each other or feasted on the top of the cloud banks. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Hundar asked. ¡°Finishing the job,¡± Andelar said with a shrug. ¡°You have something I want.¡± Hundar might have been arrogant but he had wone his own competition and was on idiot. His eyes went wide. ¡°You¡¯re the one who killed Artrix!¡± he shouted his hammer snapping into his hands. ¡°When the other gods learn of¡­¡± A blade protruded from his chest before sliding free. Hundar¡¯s eyes began to glaze over as he watched the slender frame of a gorgeous woman sashay past his dying form. ¡°Thank you for giving me that kill,¡± Salrilla purred as she melted into Andelar¡¯s arms. ¡°He always annoyed me so much.¡± ¡°Of course, darling,¡± Andelar said nuzzling her hair. ¡°That¡¯s one more down, how much more do we need?¡± ¡°Difficult to say,¡± Salrilla said watching Hundar slowly succumb to the divine level poison. ¡°It might be just a few more but it could take several dozen, maybe even a hundred.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what it takes then that¡¯s how many we will have to kill,¡± Andelar agreed. ¡°I¡¯ll collect his divine essence you should return to your realm the asteroid is about to strike.¡± ¡°Andelar you showoff!¡± Salrilla said but laughed opening a portal and disappeared. A burning light appeared over the realm of storms as Andelar knelt and retrieved the divine essence from Hundar¡¯s chest. It wasn¡¯t entirely necessary to destroy the realm it would fall to pieces soon with the death of its creator but he couldn¡¯t afford to give the chance that a witness might escape somehow. --- While my rage burned within me I wasn¡¯t going to rush my enemies and fall into their traps. I had to prepare; I sat in meditation as I began altering my abilities though it pained me to sit still while my daughter¡¯s life hung in the balance. Fear clung to me but I pushed it off, I would not let my emotions compromise her safety. Embracing Wrathful Meditation I pushed aside all emotion besides the seething malice and hatred I felt for Arthur. Just as he had tried to destroy my world, so I would destroy his. I examined my new abilities I¡¯d gained and not bothered ranking up. I took Endless Swarm and Swarm of Locusts I felt more confident in not needing to merge three abilities to get a good end result. Now that I knew how to manipulate their effects myself I was sure I could create the weapon of vengeance I needed. If it took hours or a day I wasn¡¯t sure but I braided and joined the threads of the abilities rune script together, this wasn¡¯t a combat ability, nor was it some utility or crafting ability either. This ability had one purpose to bring suffering, not just to those on the battlefield but to anyone who would even raise their voice against me. My eyes opened as I looked at the new ability.
Scourge of Nature: (Rank 20); You create a swarm of locusts or flies that fill a square mile upon their summoning, afterwards they spread out in an 100 mile radius from you inflicting their devastation until they are destroyed, dismissed or three days passes the life spark that created them fades. The locusts will destroy all plant life, and edible non-living organic matter under hardness 10. The flies bite any living creature within the area inflicting Black Death*, Fire Boils*, Rotting Feet* and Maddening Feaver*.
Locusts and flies can now affect monsters, magical plants, and Gifted animals and plant equivalents.
The Locusts and flies cannot be stopped by magical wards or barriers.
The diseases inflicted by this ability take 3x the mana and/or stamina to cleanse and the disease gains the ability to self-propagate no longer requiring the flies to spread from host to host.
*Black Death: Target takes Extreme Disease damage every hour they are affected.
*Fire Boils: Painful burning boils break out across the skin, when broken the release a burning oil that deals Moderate Fire damage to anything it touches.
*Rotting Feet: The flesh on the soles of the targets feet begins to rot and fall away making it impossible for them to walk.
*Maddening Fever: The targets body is racked by fever making the body quickly dehydrate and inflicts the brain with hallucinations and fear.
Cost: Casting Time:
Upgrade this ability to increase the size, range and area effected by the swarm. Each rank increases your Mind attribute by 2.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
This ability would never harm the likes of Arthur, he was to strong and could easily cleanse any disease that came his way if it could even touch his flesh. But my target was not him it was those who still now served their King. Just as Arthur had cut down my people I would return the favor and avenge myself on him sevenfold. Closing my eyes, I returned to my meditation. Next, I selected Hail Storm and Raining Light to merge together. The two abilities were very different but there was enough similarities to merge them. Strand by strand I wove them together. This one took a bit longer but the purpose of this ability would be the same as the last, to bring destruction, to make the land unlivable. Soon the land Arthur claimed to love so much would be a wasteland and his own people would curse his name for the destruction he had brought down on their heads.
Burning Skies: (Rank 20); The anger of the storm made You create a storm overhead in a 3 mile radius raining down burning hail-stones on the ground dealing Extreme Fire, Cold, Holy and Bludgeoning damage to all creatures and buildings struck by the hailstone. The storm last for 1 hour or until dismissed.
When striking land the hail-stones shatter dealing double damage against all plants in the area and inflicting Ignite* against any flammable substances the shards come in contact with.
Creatures hit by hail-stones are inflicted with Staggered* and are Ignited* for 10 seconds taking Holy damage equal to the Fire damage dealt.
Ground struck by the hailstones is inflicted with the Barren* condition
Creatures killed by the hailstones are immolated leaving behind no consumable flesh.
*Ignite: Target is set on fire and takes Moderate fire damage per second until the flames are put out.
*Barren: Plants will not grow and conceiving while on this type of ground is impossible.
Cost: 150 mana per second Casting Time:
Rank up this ability to increase its range, duration and effects. Each rank increase your Power attribute by 2.
I looked over the ability and its effects, I had to lean on the System for some of the stabilization but in the end it did exactly what I needed it to do. After all of this I moved onto altering one of my abilities for my Heralds. Phantom Form wasn¡¯t an ability I used all that often anymore, there were times but the nature of it made it something I¡¯d grown not to rely on to much. Its short duration and cooldown period made it a excellent card in the deck but not something to be relied on. I selected the new ability, Spirit Avatar; I would merge it with Phantom Form along with Storm Soul. I¡¯d hesitated to touch Storm Soul at first but ultimately, I had more than enough mana now and its other effects and uses were just not enough to justify not using it. Besides that, all my Heralds abilities had always been formed from three other abilities and I didn¡¯t want to change that. Because I was using three abilities and not just three it took even longer. Storm Soul was very different from the other two and there weren¡¯t many possible connections to connect the two. That didn¡¯t mean there were none and I began weaving the strands together. I altered the rune script in places heavily, I didn¡¯t want this to just be a defensive ability but something I, and by extension Karnen, could use to aid my allies. I made sure it would do the same thing as Phantom Form had before even improving much of that taking away certain vulnerabilities and significantly increasing its duration. The cooldown period had to be mostly stay the same or risk destabilizing the entire ability but I did knock it down by a few seconds. I made sure the final bonus stayed the same. I was able to take the effect from Storm Soul where I regained mana when struck my lightning to instead let me regain mana when struck by almost any type of damage while in this form. All of these changes were mostly theoretical until it was finalized. Eventually I had to call it good and release the floating of motes of light within my soul to spin free. I opened my ability and read over the changes.
Holy Spirit (Rank 20, Max Rank); Soul and body have no distinction for you and you can exist without the confines of flesh to hold you. You can turn incorporeal for up to 5 minutes becoming immune to most types of damage accept for Curse, Holy, Psychic and Soul damage. While in this form all your damage is converted into Holy and Soul damage.
Turning incorporeal cleanses, you of all effects and conditions (harmful or beneficial currently effecting you).
Attacks that hit you while in this form but are unable to deal damage will instead restore a Severe amount of mana in proportion to the damage received.
Your touch while in this form repairs Extreme damage per second to any creature you willingly touch.
You gain resistance to Curse, Holy, Psychic and Soul damage.
Your touch now cleanses a target of all conditions afflicting them.
Final Rank Bonus: You cannot be dealt a mortal blow while you are incorporeal and cannot be killed for the duration.
Cost: 95 mana per use Cast Time Instantaneous Cooldown: 3 seconds
Upgrade this ability to increase the time you can remain incorporeal and reduce the cooldown time. Each upgrade to this ability to increase your Spirit Attribute by 3.
Nodding in satisfaction I stood and walked to the front of the temple. Arthur probably thought me dead, he had killed me after all. He was about to find my return to his world was not going to be a gentle one as it had been the two other times I had come to Talba. Stretching out my hand I opened dozens of portals across the globe. The Magi had portaled me to various locations at my request allowing me travel there at any time I needed. My voice rang out loud as I used the power of the Void to make sure every person across Talba could hear my message. It wasn¡¯t so much that my voice was loud but that it carried to the soul itself bypassing even the need for ears. My Void Angels flew through the portals to act as amplifiers speaking with my voice like a worldwide network of speakers. ¡°When I returned to this world, I had a vision for what I wanted to bring to it, I wanted to give another way for people to achieve power. I wanted to free those from the game of the gods and give hope to even other Champions that there was another way. But your righteous man, your chosen leader, Arthur King of Camelot struck not just at me but my infant daughter; even now she hangs at the precipice of death. Now there will be retribution, the kid gloves are off. People would have looked to the heavens and felt hope, opportunity for the future¡­now they will look and find only one choice, serve me or despair.¡± I looked through my angel¡¯s eyes seeing the frightened faces of the millions of people. Already there were attacks being made on my Void Angels, but I was almost done. ¡°In my world there is a story of spreading the blood of a lamb over the door so that God¡¯s angel of death would pass by them and not kill their firstborn. Now I offer you that blood, swear the oath to me and the plagues I am bringing on your world will pass you by just as the angel of death did God¡¯s chosen people. Do not swear the oath, rely on your Champions and gods for protection and the very land you walk upon shall be cursed. You have three days, after which you shall discover that I can be the very thing you feared I was.¡± The heroes and Champions of Talba crushed my Void angels but their souls only returned to the Void and were reformed moments later. It was fine I let the portals close, my message was sent out in three days this world would be judged by Old Testament wrath. Chapter 205: A Fathers Wrath Arthur staggered after Lancelot through the woods outside the castle of Lancelot¡¯s family, it had been two days but he was still recovering after the backlash of the fight against Mordred. ¡°We have to take the fight to him!¡± Arthur pleaded. ¡°Lancelot please!¡± ¡°No!¡± Lancelot snapped whirling on him. ¡°You unleashed a Bloodline Curse, you tried to kill your own niece in your lust for revenge. I fear what Mordred is about to do and I hate it as much as anyone but it was YOU who drove him to this!¡± Arthur took a step back but Lancelot wasn¡¯t done. ¡°Mordred was always a bastard in a fight but he had rules, he never slaughtered people who backed down from him, he didn¡¯t sacrifice his vassals for rank points and Dominate more like the Warlords of the past,¡± Lancelot ranted. ¡°He is the Warlord,¡± Arthur shot back. ¡°No, he isn¡¯t, not anymore, again because of you; and what he became instead was even worse. If Mordred really is the monster, you claim he, is it is because you made him so,¡± the weight of Lancelot¡¯s accusation hung between the former friends. ¡°I will not help you any further, I¡¯m taking Mira, and we will find somewhere to protect the ones we care about and under our leadership from these plagues. See to your own house Arthur, for I fear Mordred will not let it stand.¡± Arthur watched Lancelot turn his back and leave him once again. He slid to the ground against a tree. He had killed Mordred; he knew that for certain. The System had confirmed it after all. Arthur pulled up the ability he had gotten from the System awhile after returning from the Void.
Machine Heart (Rank 20); Just as you were cheated of truly killing your nemesis so you now can cheat him if he ever slays you. When your body is killed you will automatically bind with your armor returning to life but forever bound and confined to your armor. (This effect can occur only once)
Your bonded armor is like flesh and can be repaired with healing potions, spells and abilities.
Your bonded armor acts as an extension of your body gaining benefits from all your Titles, Abilities and other effects that would effect your flesh and blood body.
Your bonded armor gives you a 25% bonus to your physical Attributes effectiveness.
Your bonded armor boosts your regen rate for all resources by 50%.
Final Rank Bonus: Your bonded armor reduces all damage taken by two stages.
Cost: N/A Casting Time: Instantaneous
Upgrade this ability to increase the power of your living armor/flesh hybrid. Each rank increases your Toughness, Endurance, Might and Speed by 1.
Arthur was uneasy about the ability; the idea of being permanently bonded to and confined to his armor troubled him. But the description of the ability and the rank points he¡¯d gained were the confirmation that the Bloodline Curse had worked as intended yet somehow Mordred still lived. He couldn¡¯t be an undead the Curse would have ripped away even the energy needed to make a specter and left no flesh or bone behind. No Mordred had some ability, perhaps like Machine Heart to come back. The only question that remained was could it be used again? There was no way to tell which left Arthur with one path, he couldn¡¯t just destroy Mordred¡¯s body, he had to destroy his very soul. --- On the morning of the third day my eyes snapped open. I rose from my throne; I had not been idle before the temple my knights were armed and armored in new armor and weapons either enhanced from their old gear or newly crafted. ¡°Today I unleash you upon Talba,¡± I said my voice echoing across the Void. ¡°You are my swift and terrible sword, the first of my plagues I shall visit upon the world in Retribution.¡± The ringing of metal on stone sounded through Avalon as my knights knelt before me.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Thus say the Lord!¡± the multitude of warriors of every race said. ¡°I have not come to bring peace but a sword, turning brother against brother, father against son,¡± I said. ¡°For three days you shall not spare the sword but will unleash it upon anyone who does not bend the knee and swear the Oath.¡± ¡°Thus says the Lord!¡± they shouted again. ¡°Go now and let nothing stay your hand,¡± I said opening hundreds of portals before my army. They marched through the portals leaving the Void and entering Talba. I let the portals close after them then I sat on the throne and closed my eyes. I hadn¡¯t lied when I said I would remind the gods just why they feared the Void. I would not destroy reality but I would stretch it, my abilities were powerful but they weren¡¯t strong enough to spread across the entire globe. At least they weren¡¯t while in Talba, hear in the Void the only limit I was under was what my will could dream up and my mind enforce. Portals opened up again as I let my power float out of me, I reached out to the infinite potential of the Void and let it flow through and out of me. A dark storm flashing with lightning flowed through the portals. On and on the storm flowed but I wasn¡¯t done, my teeth rattled as a great buzz filled the air as millions of flies and locusts were created and unleashed upon the earth. My angels flew forth with my plagues to give testimony to my will as I spoke through them. ¡°I send a hail of burning ice upon your lands, I send the locusts to strip your world until there¡¯s nothing left of green. I send the flies to bring boils on your skin and feet.¡± I said. ¡°All these plagues will last for three days until you break or until you kneel.¡± My final warning was spoken as I brought my judgement down upon the world. --- Jeriah swung his sword cutting through the guards attempting to block his way. Alongside him the black armored forms of the Void Knights marched forwards cutting through the city¡¯s defenses. Blocks of burning hail rained down but never where any of them stood. Some fields and orchards were spared as the farmers who owned them had bent the knee to Mordred and swore the oath. A dome of energy rose over the city deflecting the hail off of it but it didn¡¯t stop the buzzing swarm of locusts and flies that flew through the storm darkened sky. Cries of pain rose up around them, but Jeriah hardened his heart. Mordred hadn¡¯t been the only one to suffer, one of the civilians Arthur had cut down had been one of his older daughters; he was not the only father bringing his wrath down on the world in judgement. His heavy two-handed sword cut through another three men as he moved through the street to the castle at its center to bring down the dome over the city. The city was already in an uproar as a civil war broke out between those who took the power Mordred offered them and those loyal to the old gods. Mordred¡¯s words turned true as he tore family clans apart as brother turned against brother, mother against daughter. Jeriah smashed through the line of castle guards, blades, heavy bludgeoning weapons and scorching elements slammed into him but his armor and the skin of Void armor against his skin made him nearly impervious to the attacks. He wasn¡¯t like Mordred who could weather the attacks of an entire army but against these common Gifted he was like a dragon loosed in a cattle pen. Jeriah broke through the castle gates and fought his way down the corridor. Magical and mechanical traps activated but he activated his ability Life Surge and repaired the damage he took it had a thirty second cooldown but the armor he gained as a Void Knight plus his actual armor were more than enough to handle the rest. Despite no longer being a vassal of the Warlord, he had maintained the ability Foresight that Mordred had gifted him as one of his lieutenants. Apparently, the System considered that more a part of Jeriah than just being a lieutenant of the Warlord. His sword cleaved open a set of heavy steel doors and he stormed into circle of mages. Their screams were short as he cut them down ending their channeling of the shield dome above the city. He climbed up a tower of the castle and looked out over the city as buildings burst into flames as the burning hail rained down on them. ¡°Are we on the right side brother?¡± Tobias asked coming up beside Jeriah. ¡°How can you ask that after what that beast did to Heresha?¡± Jeriah snapped. Tobias laid a hand on his brother¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I feel your anger Jeriah, but don¡¯t become like the monster that murdered my niece. He was willing to kill innocents to get at Mordred and take his revenge, how are we not doing the same thing now?¡± ¡°Because THEY did nothing,¡± Jeriah said gesturing out over the city. ¡°When we were being hunted down for extermination through the woods and Underlands they stayed safe in their houses obeying the monsters who hounded us like animals. Remember the lesson our father taught us Tobias, the Law of Strength.¡± ¡°So might makes right?¡± Tobias asked, but he wasn¡¯t really asking it of Jeriah. ¡°It always has,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°Unfortunately for everyone else they are no longer on the side of the mightiest.¡± ¡°They have the gods on their side,¡± Tobias reminded him. Jeriah let a grim smile come over his face. ¡°Not for much longer.¡± --- Lancelot looked past the dome of his castle, they were far from any major city but they had evacuated all the nearby villages to inside their walls. The land was on fire, the locusts and flies ravaged the land; they burned to a crisp if they tried to pass the walls but that didn¡¯t matter. Lancelot trembled in his armor. He hadn¡¯t just refused to join Arthur out of disgust at his actions and who he was making himself. He was afraid. No man -even a demigod- could do devastation on such as scale at this. Even the gods who might have had the power had that power bound and checked by rules they were forced to abide by. Not so Mordred, he had been rejected by his patron at the insistence of the other gods and banished back to his world to die of mana starvation. However, instead of dying like he should have he had returned ten times stronger and answering to no one but his own conscience. ¡°If he even has one,¡± Lancelot muttered. He tried to keep that spark of rage on fire but he didn¡¯t have the heart anymore. He was tired, he looked down at his fingers, not his fingers anymore but the magical prosthetics of living wood. He wiggled his digits but it wasn¡¯t the same, Mordred had showed him what he would have to endure if he wanted to win this game and he knew now he wasn¡¯t willing to pay that price. He also couldn¡¯t truly fault Mordred for his fury, the thought of someone trying to hurt Mira and his unborn child filled him with a rage that would also burn down the world if it could. He and Mira couldn¡¯t win the game of the gods anymore than they could stand against Mordred and win. ¡°Let Arthur fight this battle,¡± Lancelot muttered. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it even matters which one of them wins at this point, we¡¯ll still have a monster as the next god of this world.¡± Chapter 206: As Cities Burn I strained on my throne as I let the storm flow out across the land. My body trembled with the effort of controlling so many abilities at such a scale was taxing the extent of my will. Even the reality breaking power of the Void strained the edges of my mind as I pushed the plagues out into the physical reality of the real world. Slowly I stabilized the flow of power until. Looking through the eyes of my angels I watched as the world burned. Jungles were stripped bare, beasts and monsters fought back but most creatures just died. Grasslands were turned to deserts, towns and villages were left smoldering ruins. There were exceptions, I could feel those who had sworn the oath, and it was difficult to explain but there was a sort of aura over the land they owned. The locusts, flies and storms passed by those places leaving oasis left in the ruin of the world. I was saddened by how few had taken my warning. Maybe ten percent of people had sworn the oath, it seems they had foolishly tried to trust in their gods. My eyes opened and I stood up, the purpose of these plagues had been twofold, and revenge had been secondary to its true purpose. My angels were recalled, and they spread out through the Void. The massive death toll I was inflicting had a purpose beyond striking back at a world that had tried to take my daughter from me. My angels carried with them hundreds of ¡°seeds¡±; these seeds were not physical things but little bits of energy carrying my will. What the seeds did was simple, worm themselves into a soul and sit there but because they carried my will I could track them anywhere. I knew what the gods did for those who worshiped them, they rescued their souls from the Void on death. Perhaps that was why so many had refused the oath, better to die and let your soul be reunited with your ancestors and loved ones than to live but be eternally separated from them. My angels struck down hundreds of voidlings feasting on souls, not all of them were claimed by gods and those that weren¡¯t began wandering towards the light of the Void Star. No matter how far away you went the only source of light in the Void shone a beacon for all lost souls. Sometimes the gods rescued their worshipers before my angels could implant them with the tracking seeds. It didn¡¯t matter I had thousands of angels, millions of the seeds and the death toll of my vengeance was only growing.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Already I had felt my seeds taken out of the Void to other realms. I pulled out the disk I had created for this and filled it with water. Guinevere came and stood by me as I used the scrying device to spy on the divine realms of my enemies. I needed to see a place before I could open a portal there. The realms of hundreds of gods were quickly revealed to me but I continued to search. Guinevere and I didn¡¯t move for several days watching the scrying pool as more and more souls were rescued by their gods and revealed their resting places to us. Finally I managed to get the right soul before they were snatched out of the Void. ¡°Welcome to your resting place,¡± a nymph like woman said guiding the soul of a young man along the shore of a lake. ¡°We have resting places for you here, your family is waiting for you.¡± ¡°Where is the Lady of the Lake?¡± the man asked. ¡°You will catch glimpses of her from time to time,¡± the nymph said. ¡°But she is very busy especially now guiding so many of her children to her embrace.¡± My lip curled in a sneer at the idea of the gods calling these people their children though I suppose it helped them to gather worshipers. I took in the idyllic scenery of the massive lake so wide I couldn¡¯t see its other side rimmed by mountains and forest all around it. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°It matches the stories I heard of it growing up at least.¡± ¡°Yes that¡¯s it,¡± I said picking up my helm. ¡°Let us call upon our allies and recall our troops back to Avalon.¡± I had sent out my vassals not just to destroy key locations of our enemies but to also grow their strength for this coming battle. I was very aware that thousands of those who fought beside me would probably die in this fight. We weren¡¯t fighting on our home turf where the light of the Void Star would weaken them, I would be vulnerable to whatever defenses and powers the goddess of Duels and Honor had used to create her divine realm. The price was going to be high but whenever I thought of it I just looked at the static form of my daughter suspended in time and knew I would gladly pay that price again and again. -- My void knights and the magi stood side by side across the plane outside of Avalon. Their black armor shifted with bands of silver and while marbled light. ¡°Many of you may die in this battle,¡± I said. ¡°You know this, I have given permission for anyone unwilling to pay this price to stay back, but you also know what will happen if we succeed.¡± ¡°You will be the first mortals to kill a god, your place in history secured forever.¡± I opened dozens of portals compressing the energy barrier that tried to come up and block my path shattering it and opening the way. ¡°Lets kill this bitch.¡± Chapter 207: Lady of the Lake Part I I stepped into the idyllic lakeside realm my body already covered in the black smoke of Shadow of Judgement.
You have invaded the Divine Realm of Viviane, goddess of Duelists and Honor. She cannot be attacked by any other Divine Being for thirty days.
Viviane would have had around twenty seconds of warning just as I did before I was attacked. My allies poured through the portals. Exar¡¯kun transformed into his true form and took to the air his breath attack laying waste to the nearby forest. The surface of the lake rippled as a woman in glistening silver armor emerged carrying a long slender blade her exquisitely beautiful features contorted with anger. ¡°You dare to come into my house?¡± she said her voice causing waves to rise up from the water. I spat on the ground. ¡°Don¡¯t dish it out if you don¡¯t like the taste of your own medicine.¡± ¡°You may have survived the attack of my peers but your in my domain now,¡± Viviane said. ¡°You will not survive a third time.¡± No more words were spoken as she and I surged forwards in a clash of metal. I wasn¡¯t an idiot I was only Hierophant while she was at God rank her blade cut into my side. Blood sprayed out but her next strike was blocked by an icy blue blade as Guinevere took her spot at my back to defend me. ¡°I¡¯m disappointed in you child, you could have been so much more,¡± Viviane said shaking her head at Guinevere. Neither Guinevere nor I said anything as we defended ourselves from the onslaught of the goddesses¡¯ attacks. Her abilities were frighteningly precise as they lanced into me and various debuffs and affliction kept momentarily crippling me, if it wasn¡¯t for my ability to reduce the duration of negative effects, I¡¯d have been dead within moments. The goddess was not alone and my vassals and allies battled against warriors from the woods and lake. Nymphs and the souls of dead warriors crashed against magi and Void knights in a crescendo of violence. A ringing like a glass harp sounded as the Void Angels burst through the portal taking to the air. Guinevere and I were alone in our fight against the goddess but that had always been the plan. Gradually I was getting faster as I accumulated more and more wounds. I utilized Blood of Kronos to increase my size my attributes quickly rising by fifty percent helping to close the massive gulf between me and Viviane. Guinevere¡¯s support was far than just moral here closeness to me not only serving to help guard me from attacks but also boosting my attributes. Clarent buzzed through the air flashing with sparks of red electricity whenever it clashed with the long silver blade of the goddesses¡¯ sword. The earth reached up to snatch at Viviane but it was hard to effect the material of this realm and she effortlessly shattered the bonds of earth whenever it managed to pull at the armored soles of her feet.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Her sword pierced through my spine but that injury wasn¡¯t enough to slow me now as my spinal cord reattached in less than a second. I needed to push her right now she was just gaging my strength and likely had some of her own abilities that grew stronger the longer a battle went on. She hadn¡¯t challenged me which made me curious did she not have the same ability that she granted to her Champion? Why not use it? Not that it would help her too much, all it would do is potentially removed Guinevere from the fight but her attributes were higher than mine not lower so it wouldn¡¯t benefit her much to employ such an ability against a prospectively weaker opponent. Viviane pressed the attack, I blocked and struck but for every one lucky hit I managed to inflict on her seven more were blocked and for every strike from her I blocked three more got through. While I had tremendous damage reduction fighting one rank above you had enough risks as it was and God rank was two ranks above me. There was no way for me to win this fight, even if my other vassals joined in they would just fall alongside me, a straight up fight against her could only result in my death, just as I had foreseen. The angels began to sing their alien tongue incompressible but as my body began to grow pale from blood loss I began to parcel out bits of the intent behind the song. There were no singular words in the song only layers upon layers of meaning within the words. Glory, glory, glory, glory, glory. Over and over the chorus sang and I felt my soul echo and rebound with the words as the angels proclaimed me through this rival gods realm. I couldn¡¯t beat her, not without cheating at least. I blocked a slash of the slender blade that threatened to take my head off and saw Pierce nod to me from across the battlefield. A grin spread across my face. ¡°What is so amusing mortal?¡± Vivianne asked not stopping her attacks to talk. ¡°I was just wondering, what it would feel like for a being utterly connected to the System to suddenly be cut off from it,¡± I said taking another hit to my chest puncturing both my hearts at the same time. There was a sudden sensation as everyone fighting sagged. Abilities they had been calling upon suddenly no longer worked when they said the activation phrase. ¡°Cutting me off from the System? That was your great plan?¡± Vivianne scoffed. ¡°You¡¯re just as hobbled without it as me and my strength still vastly outweighs yours.¡± ¡°Firstly, I no longer need the System to activate any of my abilities,¡± I said pointedly blasting Viviane with lightning and hurling dozens of boulders at her which she shattered into powder with ease. ¡°Secondly, that was just the START of the plan.¡± A black rift opened in the sky as the Void Angels tore the space between reality asunder. This wasn¡¯t a controlled portal; I wasn¡¯t transporting in a fresh wave of troops or some massive creature with which to fight the goddess. I was bringing the thing the gods feared the most, the original god killer; unreality, the complete annihilation of physical matter, the Void. The sky began to darken, and flashes of light flashed across it as the physical reality struggled to maintain itself as the Void flooded in. Viviane darted back from me looking up in shock at the assault on her divine realm. ¡°How dare you!¡± she snarled. ¡°You tried to kill my daughter,¡± I said flatly, ¡°don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t know what Arthur was going to do. You allowed him to create that blood curse, wouldn¡¯t surprise me if it was your idea. Well now there is a price to pay, and you¡¯re the one holding the bill.¡± ¡°You think I fear you just because you can open holes into the Void?¡± Vivianne laughed. ¡°I think your shitting yourself because the System isn¡¯t here to save you anymore,¡± I said with a cruel chuckle. ¡°Boss fight phase two, lets tango.¡± Chapter 208: Lady of the Lake Part II I¡¯d like to say the fight turned on a dime and I started whooping the goddess¡¯ ass but even without access to her active abilities she was still at God rank and I was still at Hierophant. I had the advantage of the full use of my abilities, but I was the only one, even Guinevere was cut off from her active abilities. Almost every single one of my abilities had been reformed with ethereal energy and so did not require access to the System to function. The silver flashing sword of Viviane sliced into me dozens of times but now it was just her passive abilities and literal godlike attributes behind them. The sky continued to peel back as the darkness of the Void descended down tearing into it as reality and unreality met in vicious battle to the death. The light of Albion shone down as the city in the Void loomed above us. Viviane¡¯s skin began to blister as the light of the Star of the Void shone down on her. The vassals of the Lady of the Lake began to evaporate unable to withstand the light of the Void. Exar¡¯kun blasted the Lady of the Lake with his breath attack weakening her defenses. A massive maul crashed into her back before flying back into Tobias¡¯ hand as my Lieutenants now freed from fighting the defenders of the divine realm to attack its deity. ¡°Worthless wretches!¡± Viviane roared her voice causing the waters of the lake to tremble. The waters rose up in a massive wave that rose higher and higher tower above before crashing down. The magi and my vassals were blasted apart by the water. Earth crept up mine and Guinevere¡¯s legs as I anchored us in place but this allowed Viviane¡¯s blade to slide three quarters of the way through my torso, nearly bisecting me. I teleported away and my spinal cord reattached, I managed to dodge the next few attacks as my torso stitched itself back together. Guinevere stepped forward her icy blue blade clashing the with the brilliant silver one. I stepped back a spiked horn appearing in my hand, I drew in a deep breath not just drawing in air but the pure essence of the Void. My ethereal energy protected me from the raw destructive force of that energy, but I still felt the essence of unreality trying to unmake me. I blew and the sound of the horn and the eldritch howl echoed between the ring of mountains. The power of the Void broke the limits of the ability. Just as I had done to create the Star of the Void, darkness rose up all around not in the limited radius the System had assigned it. The soul chilling growls and howls of the Teeth in the Dark no longer limited to few thirteen beasts of shadow but multiplied now to hundreds. Snarls and the snapping of jaws and clicking of claws on stone appeared around us. Even I couldn¡¯t see or track their passing though I was their creator. The Lady of the Lake slashed about her as the beasts snapped at her from all sides. Brilliant light shone from the blade pushing back the darkness around it but whenever she turned the darkness would flood back in behind her. ¡°You think your beasts will save you?¡± Viviane asked, spattering black ichor across the ground. Her movements were still perfect as she slid across the ground and slashed down Clarent snapping up to block her attack. ¡°A bear is mighty, but in the end the wolves bring it down,¡± I said. ¡°Ask Artrix how it faired for him.¡± ¡°I am not a God of Bears and Barbarians!¡± she snapped back. ¡°I am Viviane, Lady of the Lake, Goddess of Duels and Honor. Face me, Mordred.¡± There was no notification to accept or refuse and in fact I felt like I wouldn¡¯t have been given such a choice. This felt wholly different than Arthur¡¯s challenge, an oppressive weight fell down on me. The snarls of the beasts in the darkness went silent, Guinevere slashed at Vivian¡¯s back but her sword skidded to the side as if some invisible force had yanked her arm to the side. ¡°My divine power is a part of me,¡± Viviane said. ¡°Did you think you could separate it from me?¡± ¡°No,¡± I said as I divided myself. Karnen, Aries, Voidra and the Shadow Stepped forth. I felt the loss of power as my abilities on me were deactivated but this was always the plan. ¡°This is a battle between you and me alone,¡± Viviane scoffed. ¡°Your summons can¡¯t hurt me.¡± ¡°We are alone,¡± a single reverberating voice answered as we struck. Aries¡¯ spear pierced her thigh as Voidra blasted her with black lightning outlined in silver light. The Shadow, as bestial as ever bowled into the goddess trying to drag her down and savage her but she slipped around his but still had her armor ripped and scored by his claws. She struck at the Shadow¡¯s back but her sword was deflected by a mighty tower shield as Karnen moved in like a party¡¯s tank. I slashed at her back with Clarent and drew a dark glowing line across her armor as the bands of red lightning crawled across the metal surface. ¡°I always noticed how Arthur wasn¡¯t truly prepared for waves of attackers,¡± I said. ¡°The ability you gave him limited his thinking to one-on-one duels and he was never truly able to adapt to the chaos of fighting multiple opponents. Apparently, that is a struggle the two of you share.¡± She cut into Aries but he blocked her next attack on the shield he carried and she was struck behind by the Shadow as it tried to get its jaws around the back of her neck. She threw the Shadow off but it cost her as Karnen stabbed his sword into her side. A boulder hurled by Voidra nearly bowled her over but she managed to roll and stand on her feet. ¡°I¡¯ll admit these spirits of yours are strong,¡± Viviane said. ¡°But I can feel they have taken your strength to exist, that makes you the weak link.¡± She struck at me but without a thought I reabsorbed Karnen and a dozen copies of myself appeared around me as I activated Shadow Guard. ¡°There is no weak link,¡± I answered. ¡°Your world does not have the concept of a trinity, but these are not separate beings from me. We are one and the same, five persons one divinity, one will, one soul.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a madman,¡± Viviane said. ¡°What sane individual would merge himself with the spirits of others, your very existence is an abomination.¡± ¡°That will be a concern for historians,¡± I said. ¡°As will you be.¡± She slashed at my copies but couldn¡¯t find the real me. Aries struck at her knee and she stumbled. The Shadow pounced driving her to her knees. Chains of earth rose up around her holding her down. The ground began to glow as Viviane began charging what I recognized as some break free ability, likely similar to the one Arthur had.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. I reached forwards and placed a hand on her shoulder. The goddess screamed as I began to invade her soul. What I was doing was a violation more foul than any physical abuse you could do to a person, it was exactly what the Ancients had done to the gods they fought against. She struggled as my soul invaded hers drawing the energy she was channeling into her break free ability and taking it for myself. The golden glow disappeared as the chains tightened. Voidra disappeared from overhead reentering my spirit as I took to the air dragging the bound goddess behind me. She thrashed but my grip on her soul only tightened and her body began to spasm as I subverted her mind¡¯s control over it. This soul attack was not without cost to me, I felt a poison running through my veins as the Celestial power of the goddess was anathema to me but I endured. I arrived at the top of Albion and placed the goddess of the altar. ¡°Do you have any final words you wish to say?¡± I asked the goddess. ¡°You will not get away with this,¡± Viviane promised me the awesome power and authority in her voice gone now. ¡°I shall see,¡± I answered and drew a dagger across her neck.
Paved in Blood: (Rank 1); Your very touch creates legends, weapons you use to kill now gain a small percentage increase to the damage they will deal in the future, caps out at a 25% increase in damage. This ability uses the lifeforce inside the creature to power itself drawing out the energy of the creature and using it to reinforce and slowly evolve the weapon used. There are no limits to how many weapons can be improved in this way.
Casting Time: Passive Cost: ---
Rank up this ability to increase the powers weapons will gain and the benefits they will receive. Each rank increases your Might, Endurance, Toughness and Power by 1.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Slay a god while still a mortal.
Reward: Title, God Killer
*God Killer: Bypass the damage reduction for God Rank dealing damage as normal to divine entities.
A flash of light exploded across the Void. Something flew from Viviane¡¯s soul diving through the rip I had made into her divine realm which already was beginning to fall apart. A hole opened in the air as it disappeared before I could properly grasp what the spec of light had been. There was no time to worry about that now, golden ichor spilled across the altar into the groves in the stone feeding into the roots of the Forest of Sacrifice. The trees writhed, I could not tell if this was pain or ecstasy for them. Sprouts rose up and grew for miles around the city of Albion as the forest expanded filling the plain around the mountain. Bulbous silver fruit grew on the trees swelling in size and shining with inner light. One of the tree branches seemed to extend down to me a single fruit on its limb shining like the light of the sun. I took the fruit as it separated from the tree effortlessly. Guinevere alighted on the ground next to me looking at the fruit. ¡°Is that it? Will it be enough?¡± she asked. ¡°It has to be,¡± I said stepping over to Aurora¡¯s cradle where she hung above it in suspended animation. ¡°Remove the suspension.¡± Inashra dropped the suspension and the static around my baby girl disappeared. At once the Blood Curse began to take effect and she began to scream in agony the sound breaking my heart. I squeezed the juices from the fruit rushing into her mouth. She spluttered but the juice of the fruit clung to her like molasses sinking through her skin. The healing power of the fruit did not remove the curse and Aurora continued to scream and cry as pain that I couldn¡¯t protect her from and no human should be made to experience wracked her little body. She couldn¡¯t even pass out as the curse tried to unmake her, the only question would be if the healing or the curse was greater in power. I held her in my arms rocking her back and forth as she screamed Guinevere burying her head in my shoulder her tears soaking my skin as we her parents watched helpless to remove our baby¡¯s suffering. I thought I had hated Arthur before but I hadn¡¯t realized just how much hate I could hold before. ¡°If it even gets me a chance at killing him, his children will die,¡± I promised Guinevere. ¡°No more holding back.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t become him!¡± Guinevere begged me her body shaking as she clung to me. ¡°Don¡¯t descend to his level of madness.¡± ¡°I will not seek out the death of his children,¡± I promised her. ¡°But there are no more lines left that he hasn¡¯t crossed. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life, a son for a daughter.¡± I held Aurora and breathed out a sigh of relief as after an hour the lines of red eventually disappeared. ¡°How is she Inashra?¡± I asked. She is weak, A telepathic voice spoke from seemingly nowhere. This is a memory that will likely haunt her for the rest of her life, however she has also received a powerful title for surviving it. Soul Survivor, she is immune to all Curses now, no such evil will ever touch her again. She also received a title called God Eater, she will gain a percentage of power for every ¡®follower¡¯ who pledges themselves to her. ¡°Hopefully that is many years before she needs such a power,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°Thank you Inashra, is there anything we can do to help her?¡± She needs rest, I will sing to her soul while she sleeps to keep the nightmares away, she is my charge now her fate and mine are bound together now forever. I handed Aurora to Guinevere who laid her in her crip cooing to her as she tucked her into the soft blanket. I allowed myself to relax for just a moment, war was coming, I hadn¡¯t just stood by and let the gods hit at me. I had struck back and bloodied them. The world was not going to be the same after this, I wouldn¡¯t let it be. --- Arthur felt the muscles in his arms and legs tremble as he moved through the stances of his kata working to perfect what he had mastered long ago as a child to help his muscles recover. A ball of light appeared before him and he slashed at it reflexively but his sword only passed through it harmlessly. The figure of his goddess appeared and he instantly knelt on one knee. ¡°My Lady! Forgive me!¡± he said. ¡°I do not have much time my Champion,¡± The Lady of the Lake said. ¡°Mordred has defeated me, this is shadow of myself that speaks to you now; already the blood of my true self will have been spilled in the Void and my soul devoured by him.¡± ¡°No!¡± Arthur shouted. ¡°How can I save you?¡± ¡°You cannot my beloved knight,¡± the goddess said fondly. ¡°I would have loved to watch you ascend into the Pantheon and taken your rightful place at my side but you must do so without me. I bestow to you this last gift.¡±
Ability gained, Spirit Armor: Your soul has encountered the Void and adapted to it, you cannot survive within it as one of its denizens, but your soul is shielded from its effects, and you are immune to the ability of its denizens to devour your soul, and you gain Moderate resistance to Void damage.
Cast Time: Passive Cost: 5 Celestia per second
Rank up this ability to increase your resistance to the Void and the protections given to your soul. Each rank of this ability increases your Spirit by +3.
¡°My Lady I need you! Please don¡¯t go!¡± Arthur begged tears running down his face. ¡°You are my goddess.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry I won¡¯t be able to see you grow into the god you are destined to be,¡± Viviane said a sad smile on her face as the shadow of her began to fade away. ¡°Take up Kalesa¡¯s offer, do what you must do, save this world.¡± The echo of her spirit vanished.
Viviane, Goddess of Duelists and Honor has died, you no longer have a divine Patron and are no longer have a sponsor, however no part of the Accords accounts for a Champion losing their Patron so you are still a Champion and will not lose your titles and abilities associated with your former Patron, but you can also no longer advance your title without a divine Patron.
¡°Kalesa,¡± Arthur growled in grim acceptance. ¡°I accept your offer; I will be the Warlord.¡± Chapter 209: Like Stories of Old My foot crunched the mulch of fine black ash that was all that was left of a field of wheat. The wind howled carrying a cloud of black ash on it the sky a constant grey overcast. The air was chilly in the darkened hellscape that was left of my judgement. There were sections of greenery still out there, places where those had sided with me had been protected and those who had stood against me had managed to defend. However, that was not the case here. For as far as my eye¡¯s could see (which was basically until the planet curved and the ground went out of sight for me) not a living thing could be seen. ¡°So much death,¡± Jeriah said his voice low and in awe at the sheer destruction. ¡°The stories the gods gave their priests of when they went to war with each other, they all described landscapes just like this,¡± Tobias said his tone also breathless with awe. ¡°I knew we were inflicting destruction,¡± Jeriah said. ¡°I saw the locusts and storm when we were in Camelot but I just couldn¡¯t conceive of it at this scale¡­.¡± ¡°Did you know it was like this?¡± Tobias asked me though it took me a second to recognize the question was directed towards me. ¡°I was there,¡± I said. ¡°You were in Albion¡­¡± Jeriah said. ¡°I see through my angel¡¯s eyes,¡± I answered. ¡°I witnessed every blade of grass get devoured, every tree or building burn and crushed by hail and every agonizing moment of the end for every humanoid who would not bend the knee; and I would do it all again to do what was needed.¡± My followers were silent as I walked forward into the blackened post-apocalyptic landscape. We walked to the edge of a smoldering heap of rocks all that was left of a once great city. I could sense the dungeons at the heart of the ruins and World Forge compressed the earth to the side as I moved towards the dungeons¡¯ entrances. This city had been built to support the nobles who farmed the dungeons and used the strength gained from them to maintain their power. A total of twenty-four dungeons were within the city limits ranging from seven Mortal rank Dungeons, eight Veteran ranked, four Hero ranked, two Exarch ranked and one Hierophant rank dungeon. I had made sure this city was destroyed since not just because of the massive support from the gods by its inhabitants but to open up these dungeons for my own and my vassals use. I stepped up to the entrance of the Hierophant ranked dungeon, it wasn¡¯t so infamously difficult as the Swarm Dungeon had been but offered decent challenge and rewards from the reports I had. None but the royal family had been allowed to farm this dungeon but of course they were all dead now. I placed my hand on the arch of the dungeon¡¯s entrance and received a notification from the System.
Hall of the Lost King, this dungeon has been well explored and no additional loot will be granted for completing it.
Dungeon Rank: Hierophant Max Party Size: 5
¡°Guinevere and I will delve this dungeon alone,¡± I said. Voidra manifested herself. ¡°Voidra will remain here for a time and construct fortifications to protect our new territory,¡± I explained. ¡°So you really intend to conquer these lands?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°Its not like their previous inhabitants have need of them,¡± I said with a callous shrug. ¡°They had their chance, now this world will be given to those more deserving.¡± ¡°And that is decided by you?¡± Tobias challenged. ¡°You¡¯ve been out of the woods to long,¡± I reprimanded him. ¡°If you have already forgotten the Law of Strength. I am the one who decides who is worthy because no one else has been strong enough to prove me wrong.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not questioning your strength,¡± Tobias said. ¡°I¡¯m questioning your morals; these weren¡¯t my countrymen I had no love for them, but they were still men¡­. women¡­and children.¡± Guinevere laid a hand on my back. ¡°There deaths were necessary,¡± she said. ¡°They were given the chance to live, they chose to die for their gods.¡± Guinevere¡¯s face couldn¡¯t be seen behind her veil, but her voice was colder than ice and the two men flinched. While Guinevere¡¯s beauty caused a longing in anyone who looked at her the fear of me made them all blanch at the thought of even approaching her. Tobias and Jeriah flinched away from her face and stepped back, bowing their heads, the conversation ended. I watched as the two of them walked away. ¡°I maybe could have handled that better,¡± I said to her quietly. ¡°I want their loyalty, not just their obedience.¡± ¡°They are loyal, they¡¯re just afraid,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°They recognize they could have been these people if the circumstances of their birth had been different.¡± ¡°They would have had a choice the same as these people,¡± I said and took Guinevere¡¯s hand and stepped into the dungeon. --- The death knight exploded as Clarent melted through its armor. The waves of undead just kept coming, I saw the mechanic to stop the endless spawning waves of monsters. Two crystals lay at the back of the hall and they flashed with light and exponentially larger and stronger number of undead spawning every thirty seconds. This room wouldn¡¯t have even been a challenge if Guinevere and I hadn¡¯t been standing their for the past half-hour letting the waves of undead build in number and strength. Guinevere wasn¡¯t even fighting just standing behind me making sure nothing got to my back as I fought with her sword in one hand and Clarent in the other. I would also have been using Viviane¡¯s sword if not for the fact that she had created it to only be wieldable by her, a shame it was the only S rank artifact I had ever come across. I¡¯d heard about this challenge from the reports on the dungeon and was the real reason I¡¯d chosen it. I could have run the Swarm Dungeon again but I preferred the diversity of dungeons to running the same one over and over to get your ¡°kit¡± as this world¡¯s locals referred to it. I needed to kill massive amounts of enemies with these weapons and I had Karnen and Ares separate from my soul using Janus and Thorn to make as many kills as they could with them. I¡¯d ranked up the ability I¡¯d gotten when I¡¯d sacrificed Viviane to its max rank.
Paved in Blood: (Rank 20) Your very touch creates legends, weapons you use to kill now gain a small percentage increase to the damage they will deal in the future, caps out at a 60% increase in damage. This ability uses the lifeforce inside the creature to power itself drawing out the energy of the creature and using it to reinforce and slowly evolve the weapon used. There are no limits to how many weapons can be improved in this way.
After making enough kills with this weapon any non-physical damage types dealt by it are moved up to the next stage.
Weapon enchantments are enhanced and made more powerful the more kills you make with the weapon.
After making a certain number of kills the weapon gains the ability to hold a ¡°Damage Charge¡± whereupon every ten kills will store a damage charge (to a maximum of 4 charges) which can be spent to increase the damage of the weapons next attack by one Stage.
Weapon gains an ¡°Augment¡± once it has passed a certain number of kills needed for it (different for each weapon) this Augment can be activated once every ten minutes for thirty seconds and will dramatically effect the nature of the weapon for that time period.
Final Rank Bonus: If a weapon makes enough kills it will go up in Tiers or rarity even becoming an Artifact maxing out at Artifact Rank IV.
Casting Time: Passive Cost: ---
Rank up this ability to increase the powers weapons will gain and the benefits they will receive. Each rank increases your Might, Endurance, Toughness and Power by 1.
There was a faint feeling I got from the weapons each time I made a kill with them. There wasn¡¯t a notification but more of a sensation of something growing inside them with every bit of ¡°life-force¡± they took from the undead. Apparently undead had life-force, who knew.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°How much longer do you want to do this!¡± Guinevere shouted over the wail of a banshee as I continued to let the undead charge into the meat grinder of my weapons. ¡°I¡¯m getting close!¡± I shouted back. ¡°Maybe another half-hour or hour!¡± The undead rose like a tidal wave before me crashing down but just like a tidal wave crashing against a mountain they were repelled, maybe if they had a few hundred years they could carve away the mountain but for now they were just fodder for my ability. Back when I was the Warlord a dungeon like this would have been fantastic for farming rank points with My Blood & Souls quest but at the level that Quest had been I¡¯d have had to spent days to farm it and wouldn¡¯t actually gain new abilities. The wave of undead was destroyed and I felt a shift within Clarent then thirty seconds passed and a new wave of undead spawned. A roar shook the hall as behind the ranks of banshees, death knights, wraiths, skull lords and dozens of other undead types a massive dragon made of bone appeared. It wasn¡¯t a skeleton as such, its body covered in yellowed bone scales. Its eye sockets were filled with a green fire, and it opened its jaws and breathed out. The breath attack did nothing to the undead, but it licked against my skin necrotizing the flesh wherever it touched. For the first time in the fight, I began to move forwards hacking my way through the undead horde towards the dragon which seemed content to hang back and use its breath weapon. Voidra emerged from my soul, and I tossed her Guinevere¡¯s sword then I activated the double blade of Clarent, something I was rarely able to do since I was always wielding multiple weapons or blasting lightning from my hands. I spun through the walking corpses every swish or swing of Clarent cutting through them. I only had access to a fraction of my abilities right now with only the Shadow still inside my soul. Ares, Karnen and Voidra moved behind me preventing the undead from encroaching on Guinevere or getting to my back and most importantly farming every one of them to increase the power of the weapons they were wielding. The dracolitch snapped down and I sidestepped its jaws and stabbed Clarent into its skull. The blade or red lightning¡­skidded off the skull and the dragon rolled its head to the side crashing into me with its skull and smashing me against the wall. I smiled. Finally, a proper challenge. ¡°Honey!¡± I shouted to Guinevere. ¡°You want to join in for this one?¡± Voidra disappeared back into my soul as she tossed Guinevere her sword. Guinevere blinked for one second as she read the sword¡¯s new status.
Freytha, Type: Sword (long-sword), Rarity: Artifact IV: Made for one of the companions of the Champion of Duelists then enhanced and Ascended to the next Artifact rank by Mordred- Reborn of the Void. This weapon can only be destroyed by a god.
The sword inflicts a Severe additional amount of Cold damage on each hit.
Inflicts the Brittle condition on each hit.
Inflicts the Chilled condition on failed toughness check on each hit for 5 seconds (stacking).
Sword Augment: Once every ten minutes this sword can transform into a ¡°Great-sword¡± for fifteen seconds doubling its reach and physical damage it will deal for the duration.
Damage Charge: (0/4) After making ten kills you gain 1 damage charge which can be spent to increase the damage of your next attack by one Stage.
Blood Baptism: The number of kills made with this weapon by Mordred-Reborn of the Void have given it a permeant +64% increase to all damage it deals.
*Brittle: Reduces the structural integrity, strength and hardness of armor on each hit by a moderate amount, continuously stacks with each additional hit.
*Chilled: When inflicted with Chill movement speed is reduced by 50%.
Durability: N/A Weight: 4.5 lbs.
Guinevere landed on the ground, swept her sword around her clearing the undead and her sword extended in her hands as she took it in a two-handed grip and it extended doubling in length and width as she brought it down in a heavy swing. Her sword also bounced off the skull of the dracolitch but left behind a scratch and a ring of frost rime. Thirty seconds passed again and more undead spawned. There wasn¡¯t a second dracolitch, but a dozen giants of bone and rotting flesh appeared. I threw Clarent and the blade spun cutting through the newly spawned undead like an industrial combine harvester through a field of brown corn stalks. There was another sensation as Clarent passed some new threshold and snapped back into my hand. I glanced over its new description my superhuman Perception and Mind rank letting me read and comprehend it in a moment.
Clarent, Type: Sword (Lightning Blade) (Artifact S): A sword created by the Warlord Mordred and blessed by Kelesa the Goddess of War & Conquest. Made with the Star of Mordred a natural treasure of unlimited potential and with a grip of blighted star metal and Hell Dragon scales and then wrapped with the with skin of the goddess Kelesa herself with runes marked in her blood to hide this swords thunderous roar.
This sword can take three forms, longsword, great-sword and double-bladed sword. The change is mental and instantaneous.
Sword Augment (Clarent¡¯s Roar): Clarent gains a new form it can assume for 15 seconds with a 10-minute cooldown. Clarent¡¯s Roar does massive AOE damage to in a 50ft line.
The sword deals Divine lightning damage on contact with any surface, objects are heated and melted on contact with the blade can cut and melt through hardness 9 material, cuts through an additional 1 hardness every twenty ranks. Starting bonus: cuts through hardness 9.
The range of lightning-based abilities are increased by 15ft per twenty ranks and allows them to be cast without verbal components. Starting bonus 15ft.
Power Source: This item requires no mana from its wielder to activate any of its effects.
Mana Magnification: This sword will act as a wand also, any lightning-based spells or abilities cast through it will have their damage doubled and requires no verbal activation.
Greater Enmity: The damage with this sword is massively increased when its wielder is enraged.
Damage Charge: (4/4) After making ten kills you gain 1 damage charge which can be spent to increase the damage of your next attack by one Stage.
Blood Baptism: The number of kills made with this weapon by Mordred-Reborn of the Void have given it a permeant +66% increase to all damage it deals.
Weight: 9.5 lbs.
I ducked the dracolitch¡¯s tail then switched from double-bladed to great sword form of Clarent and brought it down on the dragon¡¯s skull in the same spot Guinevere had hit. It left a black scorch mark but didn¡¯t break the skull any more than it had in its other form it didn¡¯t have the advantage of Guinevere¡¯s physical doubling sword alteration. Guinevere spun the side as the dracolitch snapped at her and brought her sword down two times in the same spot widening the crack and the ring of frost rime. She ducked again striking at its tail as and claws to block them as it swung and slashed at her. The fifteen seconds passed and her sword returned to its longsword form. ¡°Guinevere, step back I want to try Clarent¡¯s new sword form,¡± I said. She stepped back and I raised Clarent to my shoulder its tip pointed at the dracolitch. I activated Clarent¡¯s Roar by thought ready to see this new augmentation of my sword. I was in fact, not ready. Thunder I nearly went flying as the compressed bands of lightning that formed its blade suddenly were no longer compressed and surged forwards in a nearly five foot wide beam of red lightning. The dracolitch was slammed into the wall as it was blasted back. Its bone white scales blackened then shattered followed by the rest of its body as it began to disintegrate under the force of Clarent¡¯s power. The dracolitch died, no more undead spawned since the crystals had been shattered by the shockwave of Clarent¡¯s activation. ¡°What was that?¡± Guinevere asked getting back to her feet. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I admitted looking over the hilt of Clarent. ¡°It¡¯s a new effect called Clarent¡¯s Roar. It looked awesome, like something an evil version of the death star would make.¡± ¡°It did look awesome,¡± Guinevere agreed then gave me a side eyed look. ¡°But what do you mean ¡°evil version¡± of the death star?¡± ¡°Umm¡­¡± I said awkwardly. ¡°We should go beat the dungeon boss now.¡± --- ¡°He entered the divine realm of one of us and killed a god!¡± Ontera shouted. ¡°He already killed two gods before that¡­¡± Jeresh said idly. ¡°In his own realm in the Void where they were weakest!¡± Ontera snapped interrupting him. ¡°He came onto the home turf one of us and killed Viviane, a goddess who should have been well suited to counter him. None of this could have happened if the System hadn¡¯t been altered to allow us to fight each other.¡± ¡°You voted to allow it same as all of us,¡± Falgest said. ¡°Don¡¯t act as if you stood against it now that its turned sour.¡± ¡°It was always sour!¡± Ontera raged. ¡°These infants weren¡¯t there Falgest but you were, you remember the terror of the Void but apparently you don¡¯t remember why we were to weak to oppose it. The stories we told our priest of the god wars were not exaggerations.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Myria said setting down her drinking horn. ¡°And the one god who should have been sent to face him has not gone out to deal with her mistake.¡± Everyone turned to face Kelesa. The goddess of war wiped her arms from dried spatters of blood. ¡°I am working on a solution to all our problems,¡± Kelesa said. ¡°As much as I would love to do battle with Mordred I am no more immune to the Void than anyone else here, however there is a champion who can given the necessary tools defeat him.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Thanadar scoffed. ¡°Arthur? He isn¡¯t even a Champion anymore and has failed at every turn.¡± ¡°He has gotten closer than any other god or person,¡± Kelesa said. ¡°And he is still a Champion, mine.¡± There was a stirring among the gods. ¡°I¡¯m surprised he would consent to that,¡± Falgest said. ¡°What did it cost you?¡± ¡°Nothing but patience,¡± Kelesa said with a shrug. ¡°And I have a suggestion for us to act on, one that will not require the alteration of the System any further. Many of you have already lost your Champions, you cannot select new vassals but it is permitted to poach Champions from others, what I have is a slight difference to that. Give Arthur your blessing and divine ability without him needing to swear to support your Pantheon when he ascends.¡± ¡°So we make your champion stronger and you finally gain a new member for your Pantheon?¡± Ontera scoffed. ¡°Arthur is not sworn to me,¡± Kelesa said with a shake of her head. ¡°He will be free to join any Pantheon he chooses once he ascends. We need to cut off Mordred before he can gain any more strength, we need to create someone who can stand toe to toe with the Void and win. It is time to do what our families should have done when we first encountered the Void, unite together and destroy it in its infancy.¡± ¡°You really think we¡¯ll be able to put aside our differences like that?¡± Jeresh asked, the god of the goblins flashing a derisive sneer. Kelesa shrugged again. ¡°It¡¯s a choice for you to make as individuals not as a group, do or do not but in the end someone will have to stand against Mordred face to face, would any of you care to see if you can do what Viviane could not?¡± There was silence, Kelesa nodded and opened a portal. ¡°I will do my best to hone our new weapon, aid him or not at your own peril.¡± Chapter 210: In the Ashes of Creation Guinevere, I emerged from the Dungeon while neither of us had gained a new ability from the Dungeon the run had been profitable with the enhancement of our weapons. Exar¡¯kun landed next to us transforming into his human form. ¡°The Champions have come out of their fortified cities, every country is at war with your followers now,¡± he said. I could feel the sparks of energy as those who had sworn the oath and become my knights died in battle. They weren¡¯t being massacred but I was aware of the loss of their life and the sacrifice of their blood. I felt a connection to each of my followers like a web spreading across the earth, I couldn¡¯t look through their eyes like I could my Void Angels and I couldn¡¯t even really pinpoint their location only their vague direction. ¡°My spirit will gather their souls to Avalon,¡± I answered him. ¡°Is that it?¡± Exar¡¯kun asked. ¡°We die and become Void Angels serving you?¡± ¡°I offer choice,¡± I said with a sigh. Exar¡¯kun was not my vassal, he hadn¡¯t even sworn the oath he was just my ally by his own volition. ¡°I gave people the choice to join me for two reasons, one because I would have burned this world to a cinder to save my daughter and two because I don¡¯t want to. I don¡¯t desire to be this world¡¯s villain; I want to be left alone to compete by slaying monsters and running dungeons, but that choice has been taken from me.¡± ¡°A binary choice is really no choice at all,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°It¡¯s more than most people ever get,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°My power comes without strings; I¡¯m not asking these people to march and wage a holy war in my name. They can do as they please with their lives and now they actually have the strength to fight monsters themselves without having to be descended from some line of nobles.¡± ¡°And will that make the world better?¡± Exar¡¯kun asked. ¡°People can kill each other more efficiently now.¡± ¡°My world can wipe out all life on its surface, a society of people that can are able to exert an equal level of violence are actually less likely to oppress and kill each other for fear of the consequences.¡± ¡°And what consequences do you fear?¡± Exar asked. ¡°Who matches your strength? Arthur? You have beaten him before. The gods? One of them was sacrificed on their knees before you.¡± ¡°If your worried who watches the watchmen then the answer is no one,¡± I said meeting his eyes. ¡°I am stronger than you, then all of you, maybe even all of you put together. The question is¡­ do you trust me?¡± Guinevere had moved away giving us space. Exar¡¯kun met my eyes a moment of deadly tension between us the glowing of his eyes showing the threat of the cursed fire he had been born with. Finally Exar¡¯kun nodded, he knelt down on one knee surprising me. ¡°I will swear to serve my Lord so long as he holds true to his word to me. I will lay down my life for the weak under my care. I will bleed myself dry to protect my home. I will speak the truth to my lord and fellow knights at all times. I will honor my word and be faithful to all my promises.¡± Liquid black armor flowed over Exar¡¯kun. ¡°Why?¡± I asked him, I knew his pride when we had first met he was willing to choose death over service. ¡°Because I do trust you, Mordred,¡± Exar¡¯kun said. ¡°The suffering you inflicted was great, but compared to the millennia of suffering under the gods without reprieve or hope it was nothing.¡± I looked at the ashen wasteland. ¡°This was nothing?¡± ¡°You think you¡¯re the first champion to lay waste to continents?¡± Exar asked. ¡°Remember the god Andelar? He wiped out an entire continent with not a thought for the people who lived on it or even a chance for them to spare themselves and he is far from alone in history.¡± Exar¡¯kun rose to his feet. ¡°This war isn¡¯t going to be like the ones with the Champions before,¡± I warned him. ¡°Look around, this was just the opening salvo from me.¡± ¡°Then it sounds like I¡¯m on the winning side,¡± Exar¡¯kun said with a slight smile. --- Guinevere and I began jumping from dungeon to dungeon via portal and rushing them, some were still on cooldown but before the day was done we¡¯d hit ten hierophant rank dungeons. I¡¯d only gotten three abilities out of them, Guinevere had been more lucky and gotten five. The first ability I¡¯d gotten was something I wasn¡¯t even sure I¡¯d ever have a use for.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Mind Melder: The mind is man¡¯s only refuge and fortress, and you have invaded it. You can alter the thoughts of a creature who you have defeated and put near the brink of death. You can alter up to 1 minute of the target¡¯s memory.
Cost: 150 mana Cast Time: 5 minutes
Rank up this ability to increase the amount of memories you can alter in a creature. Each rank increases your Mind and Power attribute by 1.
The ability had some really messed up potential, you could do horrific things to someone then alter their memories to make them think a loved one had done it to them. It was the sort of ability that when ranked up and with the right application could turn lifelong friends against each other or leave someone in therapy for the rest of their life. All of that was interesting but I was more interested in defeating my enemies physically, a bit of intimidation and psychological warfare was fine but I wanted to break their will to fight me not break their will. The next ability had more practical application for me.
Toxic Blade: Poison is not only the tool of the assassin but also those who seek to bring pain and a slow agonizing end to their enemies. Coats your weapons in a virulent poison dealing additional Moderate poison damage with all your attacks and a stacking Poisoned condition with each hit dealing Minor Poison damage each second for 30 seconds.
Cost: 45 stamina & 45 mana per second Casting Time: Instantaneous
Rank up this ability to increase the amount of damage, damager over time and additional effects. Each rank increases your Endurance and Might by 1.
I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how useful the ability would be considering how many Gifted would be resistant to outright immune to Poison damage but at least it offered more viable combat options. If there were effects to help increase is effects rather than just damage or to somehow bypass poison immunity I would need to take those. The last ability had broader use that I could take of but did of course come with drawbacks.
Guardian¡¯s Mark: The mark of the strong is not just their ability to destroy others but to keep others from being destroyed. You place a mark on 1 companion, as long as they stay within 30ft of you 5/8 of the damage they take will be transferred to you.
Cost: 35 stamina per second Casting Time: Instantaneous
Rank up this ability to increase the number of companions that can be protected, the damage transferred to you, and its range and other effects. Each rank up increases your Endurance by 2.
Of every member of my alliance I was the most durable and hardest to kill (I¡¯d already died and come back from that) so the ability to take damage for those around me was useful and would pair with the ability of my knights to spread out and share the damage they took. My vassals began to die in large numbers. My steps paused as I felt their sudden absence their souls now crying out to me in the Void my angels sent out to draw them to the light of the Void Star. This wasn¡¯t the occasional death I¡¯d been experiencing this was a massacre. I closed my eyes looking through the eyes of one of my angels as they swooped down on a soul lifting them and carrying them away to Albion before some voidling could begin to feed on them. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked through the angel. ¡°The Warlord, he came and started killing all of us in the city and enslaving those who hadn¡¯t taken the oath,¡± I frowned. ¡°The Warlord?¡± ¡°He carried a massive two-handed sword and wore Atlas armor,¡± the rescued soul of the man said. ¡°Please my lord my family was in that city they might still be¡­¡± ¡°What was his name?¡± I interrupted. ¡°What was his title?¡± ¡°King Arthur, The Once and Future King, Champion of Kalesa, Amadra, Kortrix¡­so many names of gods I didn¡¯t even realize there were really that many,¡± the soul said. ¡°I can¡¯t even remember them all.¡± I opened my eyes coming back to the senses of my physical body. ¡°What is it?¡± Guinevere asked me. ¡°Apparently,¡± I said dryly withholding the disgust I felt. ¡°This world has a Warlord again.¡± ¡°What do you mean again?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Kalesa removed you as her champion she can¡¯t just¡­ That hypocritical bastard!¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I agreed. ¡°Arthur is the new Warlord, he is also the Champion of other gods as well.¡± ¡°Other gods? But that¡¯s not possible,¡± Guinevere protested. ¡°Apparently it has been possible or they made it possible,¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯s slaughtering anyone who took the oath and dominating those who didn¡¯t. If he was lacking in Rank points he¡¯s going to have more than enough soon to push himself up to Demigod and beyond.¡± ¡°You think he¡¯d sacrifice his power base by putting Rank points directly towards his attributes?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°Never mind of course he would, anything to beat you.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Its not even important if he beats me to god rank, I doubt the battle between us would stop just because he reached god rank before I did.¡± ¡°Only one person can become a god,¡± Guinevere said lowering her head. I caught her chin lifting it to meet her eyes. ¡°There will be at least two more this time,¡± I promised her. ¡°I don¡¯t need the god¡¯s permission to ascend, and neither do you.¡± Guinevere nodded. ¡°Alright,¡± she said taking me at my word. ¡°If anyone can make that happen, it¡¯s you.¡± She took a step back and unsheathed her sword. ¡°Now are you ready to help me kill my cousin?¡± Chapter 211: Clash of Titans My sandals hit the ground as I dropped out of the portal next to the massive castle. The fortress was as large as city the stone was a glossy compressed substance similar to what I could have done with Compress Earth or Hell Dragon¡¯s Armory. ¡°Arthur!¡± I called out my voice shaking the land. Siege missiles launched at me as they were alerted to my presence. I raised my hand and stopped them midair before launching them back at the siege engines turning what had likely been priceless works of enchanted engineering into metal and wood scrap. ¡°Come out and fight,¡± I challenged my nemesis. ¡°You came to my home with a blood curse, you put my daughter on the brink of death, I come to your home now and will do the same to you unless you meet me alone in battle. I will finish what should have ended in the arena.¡± I waited a minute and was prepared to begin to bring this fortress to rubble when Arthur finally appeared on the battlements. ¡°Mordred, I wondered when you would come,¡± Arthur said his voice projected by his armor his words sounding slightly slurred. ¡°Today your will pay the price in blood for your sins.¡± ¡°I have not come here to be judged by the likes of you,¡± I said my body covered in black smoke as I activated all my abilities. ¡°I am the Shadow of Judgement, and I am here to exact the full cost of your transgressions.¡± Arthur leapt towards me, and I sprung towards him enlarged to equal his size with Heir of the Titans. Clarent and Excalibur screamed as they swung towards each other a sonic boom blasting across the skies knocking down the knights and soldiers on the wall as the two swords collided. Arthur and I were knocked back, but we didn¡¯t fall to the earth wings of light emerged from the back of his armor and scarlet lightning wreathed my body as we took to the sky. Copies of me appeared around us as I activated Shadow Guard, Excalibur sliced through where I had been only for me to switch places with one of the doppelgangers and ram my spear and sword into his back. The Atlas armor shrieked but I didn¡¯t manage to pierce his metal shell. A blast of wind rocked me back and Arthur turned and leveled his sword at me. ¡°Impaling Charge,¡± he intoned. Arthur crossed the gap between us in an instant Excalibur piercing through my side. My blood sprayed out and began sizzling and eating into his armor. I twisted and ripped the sword out of my side, I roared and the force of my voice hit Arthur like a ballistic missile and knocked him a hundred yards back crashing into a tower. The stone of the fortress cracked but it didn¡¯t break but the windows of the castle did shatter as the force of my roar surpassed that of a sonic boom. Scarlet lightning blasted from my fingers and tore across Arthur¡¯s armor. He leveled his sword at me again but I was ready for his charge this time. I flashed to another doppelganger and ripped off the top of a tower with Force of Will and hurled it at him from below. Arthur coiled up and the tower impacted him launching him a mile up into the air. I pursued him and we met at the halfway point or weapons colliding again. One of Arthur¡¯s hands coiled around my neck and began to squeeze, I let him the need to breath not something I even required anymore. Like two falcons locked together we spiralled down and down neither willing to let go as we hammered at eachother our weapons skidding off armor and skin sending up sparks and splattering poisonous acidic blood. The castle shook as we impacted sending up a plume of dust in a mushroom cloud as we struck with the force of a bomb. My helmet and head morphed into that of snarling beast as I lunged forwards into Arthur¡¯s grip; he released me and rolled back as my jaws snapped where the armored helm of his mech suit sat. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Anvil Strike!¡± Arthur shouted and Excalibur was briefly transformed into the visage of a hammer as it swung up taking me in the groin. While I didn¡¯t feel the agony of that devastating groin shot my body still felt the force as I just like Arthur had been was launched skywards. I raised my hands and the shattered stones around us sharped into blades flying up with me and slashing into Arthur from behind as he kicked off from the ground to fly after me. I spun in the air till I hung upside down block Excalibur with a crossed spear and Gauntlet sword. Clarent swung down and managed to carve a deep furrow through his Atlas armor. Through the darkness and sparks of the interior I caught a glimpse of another helmet deep withing the metal shell. Arthur and I rose higher and higher our weapons slashing at each other. I lost several fingers and a foot and Arthur¡¯s Atlas armor continued to get more holes in it. Ice began to form on our armor and skin, but we didn¡¯t even bother. At our rank the Cold damage done by elemental forces and even the vacuum of space wasn¡¯t a threat to us. Arthur drove Excalibur through my chest just as I drove Clarent through a hole in Atlas armor directly into his torso hidden with the mech. We dropped. Down again we plummeted through the sky until moments later we crashed upon one of the castle towers. Despite being reinforced to likely be nearly as hard as diamond the tower broke beneath us. I rolled to my feet as my spine knit itself back together. Arthur pushed himself up his armor sparking, and the whirring of gears and mechanics labored within it. ¡°Armor Repair,¡± Arthur said and his suit began to stitch itself back together as fast as my regeneration fixed my flesh. ¡°You can¡¯t win Mordred.¡± ¡°Your goddess said the same thing,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Its been awhile since I wore your mantle, tell me, how does it feel to be the Warlord?¡± Arthur roared and swung at me and I dodge his sword slicing cleanly through the stone of the wall behind me. ¡°I may have your goddess¡¯ tainted power but I wasn¡¯t abandoned by mine, I still carry her gift, I am The Duelist!¡± He came at me in frenzy of blows and I let him. I had to keep him enraged I suspected he was on drugs the grogginess and slowness of his voice and movements showed he was likely hopped up on all the pain killers Gifted normally took when ranking up their abilities. Those drugs were likely the reason he wasn¡¯t able to shut down my rage effects but if they wore off I needed him mad to keep my advantages over him. ¡°The Duelist, the Warlord,¡± I said with a shrug and blasted him with lightning. ¡°She¡¯s not my goddess, she¡¯s all yours now although I guess she has to share you with others, funny I didn¡¯t think she swung that way.¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Arthur shouted. ¡°Just give up and die already! You can¡¯t win!¡± I smiled. ¡°I can if I cheat.¡± Arthur¡¯s feet froze. Ice crawled up them locking him in place. ¡°Hello cousin,¡± Guinevere said. I opened a portal behind Arthur watching as his armor began to glow as he activated his break free ability. I pointed Clarent at him and waited, the ice around his feet shattered; I activated Clarent¡¯s roar. Arthur rocketed backwards through the portal into the Void the front of his armor melted. I shut the portal. ¡°You think that will kill him?¡± Guinevere asked. I sighed shrinking down to my normal size. ¡°Probably not,¡± I admitted. ¡°But it will handle him for now.¡±
Villainous Rewards (Rank 1); The strong and ruthless rule, be stronger and more ruthless if you with that to be you. You select one enemy at least two Rank tiers above you. If you are the one to slay them while this effect is active you gain an additional 20% to gain a Ability from them on their death. (5 day cooldown time after successful use)
Cost: 50 mana per second Casting Time: Instantaneous
Rank up this ability to increase the percentage chance of gaining a new ability. Each rank increases your Power Attribute by 2.
¡°Or maybe he¡¯ll just die,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°You died too,¡± Guinevere pointed out. ¡°Yeah, your right,¡± I agreed with a sigh. ¡°I hope there was a cool reward for my death.¡± Guinevere gave me a look. ¡°You hope Arthur got stronger by killing you?¡± ¡°Hey!¡± I said defensively. ¡°The System rewards risk after all my hardest battles and killing the boss I¡¯ve always gotten an ability, if Arthur didn¡¯t get one¡­.¡± Guinevere shook her head but smiled. ¡°You and your pride, let¡¯s go home.¡± Chapter 212: Wont Stay Dead Arthur flew backwards through the portal as something like magma washed over his Atlas armor. The armor he had just repaired melted away. He had damage reduction to Fire at four stages but even so he could feel his body cooking as the hair along it burned away. The scarlet bands of electricity Mordred used wracked his body then it all cut out and he was drifting through the air in an endless black expanse. Arthur choked as he dragged in a breath through the hole of his halfway destroyed mech suit and no air met his lungs instead a poisonous miasma greeted his lungs. Golden power inside his body shivered as it was touched by the raw nature of the Void. The two powers fought but Arthur only had a fraction of divinity in him and it wasn¡¯t enough. He screamed as the power of the gods and the powers of the Void used his body as their battle ground. It wouldn¡¯t even matter which side won.
The Celestria in your body has become corrupted, new substance found¡­. processing¡­. new energy source designated as Entropia it will result in your destruction in approximately 20 seconds.
There was nothing he could do.
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Arthur wracked his mind for something anything he could do to save himself. He tried a teleportation ability, but he couldn¡¯t even tell if he had moved locations within the Void and it hadn¡¯t brought him out of this hell.
11¡­ 12¡­ 13¡­ 14¡­ 15¡­ 16¡­ 17¡­ 18¡­ 19¡­ 20¡­
With one final cry he felt the cells of his flesh dissolve leaving behind only a skeleton of with crawling lines of golden and red energy flowing across them resting in his armor. The Atlas armor sagged and lay still, out of the darkness a voidling approached sniffing at the air as it approached the alien mass of matter within the void. Placing its hands on the edge of the molten opening into the armor it peered inside. The massive hand of the Atlas armor closed around the voiding and squeezed the energy of the voidling absorbed into the mech suit. The eyes of the Atlas armor burned with inner fire, a sound like a shuddering deep intake of breath passed through the armor.
Machine Heart activated, body and soul bound to armor...
The warring energy crept over Arthur¡¯s armor as it destroyed and rebuilt him in equal parts. The molten and slagged parts of his armor began to rebuild themselves the glossy metal returning to its lustrous sheen hiding the golden skeleton within it.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°What has happened?¡± Arthur asked looking over the energy suffusing the metal shell housing his soul.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Come back from the dead with an ability.
Reward: Title, Death Knight
*Death Knight: A warrior of bone and metal your flesh is gone but the spirit that drove it continues. You are immune to Lethal wounds your entire armor must be destroyed before you will die final death.
¡°No!¡± Arthur growled his armor amplifying the sound to a roar. The sound carried but didn¡¯t echo back the Void swallowing it as if it had never existed. Wings extended from the back of the Atlas armor as Arthur flew but there was nowhere to go he couldn¡¯t open a portal with heretical magic to get back home and had no such ability that would bring him back. The gods couldn¡¯t see him here the very poison that had killed them blocked them from gaining true access to the Void, he wasn¡¯t some wayward soul to be brought back to their divine realm. ¡°System, how do I get out of here?¡± Arthur asked. There was no answer. ¡°How?!¡± he shouted again knowing he would get no answer.
Win the game.
Arthur blinked. The System had given not an answer, but it had been a response, it offered no helpful advice, and one could view it as also a statement or command. The fact the System had answered at all though meant it could hear him, he had gotten a title but¡­if he had access to the System, it meant the System wasn¡¯t cut off from the material world. There had to be a permeant opening giving it access¡­Arthur¡¯s thoughts continued to race the entire process which might have taken a mortal rank Gifted minutes to think through took him less than a second. Avalon, the city Mordred had created here in the Void. Constant physical space in a non-physical realm that city would have a portal, what¡¯s more Mordred would be there. Arthur scanned the horizon; he was utterly lost but there was only one star in the Void. The silver light of the star could only faintly be seen but it could be seen. He moved towards it but after an hour couldn¡¯t even tell if he¡¯d made any progress. Arthur could tell he was being hunted. He turned raising Excalibur, the Voidlings skittered back to the edge of his vision, Arthur prepared a ranged attack than stopped. He was alone, Mordred had an army and would be at the heart of his power. ¡°Dominion,¡± Arthur said.
Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 2,560 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current Progress 618 out of 2560. When you complete this quest, you will gain 512 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
The Voidling shrieked and hissed but it was bound to his will. To his surprise the creature began to twist and morph as the same red energy that was constantly running over his armor destroying and repairing it. Arthur wondered if the creature of the Void would be destroyed but the energy seemed to stabilize. The voidling stood but Arthur wasn¡¯t sure if he could call it a voidling anymore. Before the creature had been a being of hunger but with some minor intellect; now what stood was hunger alone the intellect replaced with what have been misconstrued as rage. This creature now existed only to devour and destroy for the purpose of devouring and destruction and no higher goal.
Scion of Entropy, Error- ?/Void-construct
¡°I need to get to that star,¡± Arthur said pointing to the light in the distance. ¡°Take me to something that will help me reach there.¡± The Scion of Entropy began to move its body gliding more than using its limbs. Arthur followed the creature. More Voidlings moved in and one by one the swarm of the scions began to grow. He found them feeding on a soul, he couldn¡¯t recognize what race the soul had been reaching out he dominated the soul too wondering if it would even work. It did and another scion rose up. Arthur wasn¡¯t sure how long they had traveled but arrived at something physical. A black shard of rock that might have once been the core of some planet, crashed into the side of it was¡­a ship. ¡°This is it?¡± Arthur asked the scion he had been following with some scorn and anger in his voice. ¡°This wreck is what you have been taking me too?¡± The scion did not respond, Arthur wasn¡¯t even sure if they were capable of speech. Arthur pushed aside his anger and examined the ship. It was not some sailing vessel, its means of propulsion resembled more of dwarven construction similar to the means of power for their mass-produced lesser Atlas armor. The ship was massive and would have been an awe-inspiring sight if it weren¡¯t a derelict wreck. ¡°Fix it,¡± Arthur commanded unsure if the scions were even capable of such a task. The scions spread out. They didn¡¯t pick up debris or start to push the warped metal back in place instead they began to vibrate the red, black and gold energy making them up spreading and flowing across the ship. The metal began to scream and as it was dragged back into place. Arthur watched as damage and time itself were wound back and the ship dislodged from the mountainside. The heavy clang of his armor on the deck of the ship rang through the Void. The ship wasn¡¯t done yet the scion seemed to have run out of energy and their heads drooped down as if they were recharging. Arthur breathed out a sigh. He looked out to the distance there the light of the Void star still shone as a spec impossibly far away. Soon impossibly far would no longer separate them. Chapter 213: Start Sprinting I ducked the swing of the staff as the Champion of Meresha, goddess of Oracles and Seers fought me and Guinevere. His ability to see the future seemed to match mine and he had that annoying ability certain people like Guinevere did to be immune to having their own movements foreseen. This meant the slim humanoid was able to duck and weave under my attacks as he foresaw and countered them. Unfortunately for him¡­.I had six arms to his two. ¡°What good is to see a future that cannot be avoided?¡± I asked the champion. The elf-like humanoid didn¡¯t respond just grit his teeth and kept fighting ignoring his chance to surrender. Pride was the downfall of most champions, I myself had suffered from it many times. Ichero, the Champion of Meresha, was Demigod rank and his physical attributes reflected that only my titles boosting my attributes making me on par with him. Guinevere stabbed at him from behind scoring a deep hit in his back, like me he couldn¡¯t see her actions with his foresight and so she had actually been the one to do the most damage in the fight against him. I had managed to kill most of his party in the first few minutes of our battle their corpses splattered around us or smoking. Most of them had been Demigod rank as well, of the last three Champions we¡¯d slain in the week since killing Arthur all of them had been Demigod rank. Ichero stumbled and sagged in defeat as Guinevere ripped out his hamstrings in his right leg with a slice of her sword. ¡°Kill me,¡± he growled straightening his back in proud defiance. ¡°I will not surrender, nor will I serve you.¡± I didn¡¯t argue with him, just nodded and swung Clarent taking off his head.
Prophecy of Ragnar?k (Rank 1): You have the ability to see calamity before it strikes your people. When not in combat you have a random 5% chance to fall into a time compressed vision appearing instantaneous to other but lasting up to 5 minutes for you showing the details of a possible disaster affecting a group of people you are responsible for that will occur within 30 days.
Cost: 45 mana Casting Time: Instantaneous (Undirected)
Rank up this ability to increase the chance of a vision, the length of time shown by it and the range of time with which it can give warning. Each rank increases your Perception by 2.
¡°You get anything out of that?¡± I asked Guinevere. ¡°Yeah,¡± she said her eyes holding the distant look everyone had when reading a notification from the System. ¡°Its called Time Stop, it lets me slow the perception of time for everyone else around me in about a fifty foot radius.¡± ¡°Sounds good,¡± I said. ¡°I just got some weird prophecy ability.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that already something you had from Watcher from Beyond?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°There is overlap but this one seems more focused on actions that affect people I know than just on me,¡± I explained. ¡°At the very least it will increase your attributes,¡± Guinevere said with a shrug. ¡°Combined with the other two abilities you got that pushes you closer to Demigod rank. We need to talk about that¡­I need you to consider using rank points to directly increase your Attributes.¡± ¡°That would weaken my power base,¡± I argued. ¡°Physical and mental power is all well and good, but they don¡¯t compare to the strength you get from an ability.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t matter if they beat you to God rank,¡± Aranea said. ¡°If that happens the System will stop spawning all the monsters we fight, there won¡¯t be another Event, the only option will be fighting existing Gifted and those will quickly run out. The reason only one person can ever make it to God rank isn¡¯t just some arbitrary rule the System shuts off the ability for those at the top ranks to even get new abilities¡­they simply can¡¯t progress anymore.¡± I paused¡­that hadn¡¯t really occurred to me. From the moment I had come to this world I¡¯d been in nearly constant conflict, and I had just thought of that as the natural state of the world. That was only partially true but for the regular person the game of the gods was a cataclysm that occurred every five-hundred years like clockwork and reshaped the boundaries of countries and sometimes wiped-out continents. A brief flash of guilt for my own actions in putting this world through the apocalypse flashed through me but I pushed down the guilt. My actions had been necessary. ¡°There is another option,¡± I said. ¡°We break the System.¡± The skin prickled on the back of my neck as I felt something exert more focus on me than usual. Ignoring the System¡¯s annoyance I continued. ¡°I raise the rank limit for our abilities,¡± I suggested. ¡°I¡¯ll experiment on myself first but if I can do it¡­.we don¡¯t need to get new abilities we just need to increase the ones we have.¡± ¡°That could work but tampering with your own soul isn¡¯t something you should engage in lightly,¡± Guinevere said placing her hand on my shoulder. ¡°You aren¡¯t invincible Mordred, I¡¯d rather us lose and live out the rest of our lives together than have you die trying to get to God rank.¡± I gave her look letting my fa?ade of implacable assurance fall away for a moment. ¡°If we don¡¯t win Guinevere¡­. we will die in a war of attrition against the gods eventually, they win.¡± ¡°I think we¡¯re stronger than that,¡± Guinevere said. ¡°I¡¯m not saying don¡¯t do it, I¡¯m saying be careful.¡± I nodded. ¡°Its time we return to Avalon than, I want to be in the safest place in the universe when I start tinkering with the inner workings of my soul.¡± I opened a portal, and we stepped through into the black and silver streets of Avalon. I sat in the center of the temple atop the city closing my eyes as I delved into the tangled depth of my soul and twisting motes of light that made up my abilities. I wasn¡¯t trying to alter an ability this time to have some specific effect I was just trying to¡­give it more room.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I poked and prodded at the tangled lines of Prophecy of Ragnar?k, I didn¡¯t care much about this ability so it would be the basis for my experimentation. I went over every thread of the skill looking for the block that prevented it from ranking up past twenty. I looked and looked and couldn¡¯t find it. Puzzled I switched to looking over Void Asura. As I examined the many more and complicated threads of that ability I realized my error. There was no block to preventing an ability to rank up past twenty. It wasn¡¯t that abilities were blocked from reaching their potential it was that they had a maximum potential and just ran out of juice at rank twenty. In order to rank up past twenty they didn¡¯t need something removed, they needed something added. For Void Assura that had been Ability Tokens, the shattered remains of Dominion and the devoured essence of Void Ancients who had fed on gods. My other abilities that I had advanced to fifty had all come from devouring Void Ancients. This was a problem, Void Ancients didn¡¯t grow on trees and even if there were still some out there, I didn¡¯t know where and wouldn¡¯t really solve my problem even if I knew where they were. What I had to do was create the power to provide the extra potential for the abilities to grow. I brought up my status looking it over closely for the first time in a while.
Mordred, Proto-god of Heroes and Sacrifice; Gifted- Reborn of the Void, Exarch, Rank: 745
Available Rank Points: 128,957
Might: 223 (+68) = 291 Mind: 328
Speed: 350 Perception: 368
Toughness: 231 (+68) = 299 Spirit: 410
Endurance: 273 Power: 261
Maximum Stamina: 1,512 Maximum Mana: 5,364,158
Stamina Regen: 283.6 per second Mana Regen: 355.4 per second
Ethereal Regen: 7,6800 per second Maximum Ethereal: 3,843,171
Abilities
Void Asura (Rank 50) World Forge (Rank 50), Shadow of Judgement (Rank 50), Abyssal Magic (Rank 50), Heir of the Titans (Rank 50), Voice of Tartarus (Rank 50), Watcher from Beyond (Rank 50), Hero¡¯s General (Rank 50), Phantom Form (Rank 20), Storm Soul (Rank 20), Hell¡¯s Talons (Rank 20), Storm Fall (Rank 20) Dark Guardian (Rank 20), Blood Renewal (Rank 20), Teeth in the Dark (Rank 20) Shadow Guard (Rank 20) Power of Faith (Rank 20), Hurricane Winds (Rank 20), Burning Skies (Rank 20), Relentless Assault (Rank 1), Lava Burst (Rank 1),Famine Breath (Rank 1), Sickening Aura (Rank 1), Scourge of Nature (Rank 20), Paved in Blood (Rank 20), Mind Melder (Rank 20), Toxic Blade (Rank 20), Guardian¡¯s Mark (Rank 20), Villainous Rewards (Rank 20) Prophecy of Ragnar?k (Rank 1),
Blessings:
Blessing of Tadris
Titles
Mark of Cain, Bloody Pugilist, Exorcist, Survivor III, Feral Barbarian, Field Alchemist III, Berserker, Beast Slayer III, War Chief, Venom Resistant III, Keytaro¡¯s Guardian III, Wrathful Meditation, Fireproof III, Superhuman, Bearer of Death, Lightning Resistance, the Fate Breaker, Apprentice Bludgeoner, Master Deflector, Apprentice Spearman, Divine Smith, Master Enchanter, Knight of Camelot, Challenger, Artifact Breaker, Void Walker, Abomination Slayer, Spell Carver, Master Swordsman, the Possessed, Ghost Path, Holy Resistance III, Acid Resistance III, A Dangerous Truth III, Reborn, God Killer
I pushed aside Prophecy of Ragnar?k for the time being, while I had intended to experiment on it first, I selected Mind Melder instead I began weaving a new thread out of condensed ethereal energy. In the confines of my soul, I spoke words of power the runes appearing forming the spell script as I wove the new soul enchantment. This wasn¡¯t a modification to the ability to change is effect and would have no other effect I hoped for other than simply increasing its potential. Next I had to add it to the existing enchantment and this proved the most difficult. I couldn¡¯t just graft it on anywhere and in the end I had to splice and connect the power amplifier to every other thread in the ability but I felt it take hold. I grabbed hold of the nebulous energy that was my thousands of rank points and pushed them into the ability increasing its rank. Triumph filled me as the ability ranked up and my test was successful Ares, handle the upgrades for Mind Melder, I said delegating him that task while I turned towards my other abilities. If the other champions wanted to push the race to godhood into a sprint I¡¯d comply but I wasn¡¯t bound by the System the way they were anymore. Hours later I opened my eyes I¡¯d finished increasing all my rank twenty abilities potential although upgrades were still underway but now I needed to do the most important task see if I could do the same thing to another person. I found Guinevere rocking Aurora in her cradle swinging from one of the void trees. I sat next to her as my skin roiled as inward changes affected me slowly moving me close towards demigod rank. ¡°I¡¯m ready to try upgrading someone else,¡± I said. ¡°I found a way to increase the potential of our abilities to level them up past twenty, but I will need access to your soul.¡± ¡°Is it dangerous?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°It¡¯s your soul,¡± I said flatly. ¡°If you want me to test it on someone else first¡­¡± ¡°I trust you,¡± Guinevere said taking my hand. ¡°Just tell me what I have to do.¡± In the end Guinevere didn¡¯t really have to do anything, it was for the best I hadn¡¯t tried to experiment on someone else first because only the bond Guinevere and I shared allowed me any access to her soul at all and even then, it was like holding a frightened rabbit in my hand. This went beyond any intimacy as I entered Guinevere¡¯s true self. I found her abilities and began to slowly examine their spell scripts gaining a deeper understanding of them before beginning the process of increasing their potential. It took even longer with Guinevere that it had with my own abilities. That was to be expected I was familiar with my own abilities but the skill and knowledge I¡¯d gained from increasing my own potential let me slowly alter her abilities one by one. Guinevere blinked as I finally let go and opened my eyes. ¡°That was¡­¡± she began than through up which quite an unusual thing for someone of her rank. ¡°Having another soul inside yours is¡­¡± ¡°You get used to it,¡± I said with a shrug. Guinevere looked towards Aurora suddenly. ¡°You mean Aurora is going through that?¡± ¡°No,¡± I said calming her and taking her hand. ¡°I suspect if felt very different with me than having Voidra, Karnen and Ares inside of me. My soul was never truly inside yours more like I was reaching an arm in. I suspect me being halfway in and halfway out is what caused the discomfort.¡± A chill ran up my spine as I blinked, and the world disappeared. Albion was burning not with normal fires but a terrible red energy that slowly crept over and consumed everything. Red specters battled with angels in the sky and a massive warship that was technologically beyond anything I¡¯d ever seen on Earth or Talba hung in the sky. I opened my eyes and vision was gone. ¡°So your saying Aurora is fine and doesn¡¯t feel any discomfort?¡± Guinevere asked, oblivious to the vision I had just seen. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Aurora will be fine,¡± I assured her. ¡°I just had a vision.¡± I looked out over the horizon. ¡°Arther is still out there somehow and he¡¯s coming.¡± Chapter 214: King of Nothing Arthur sat in the throne at the helm of the great ship. The spirits of Entropy never spoke such a concept was alien to them as they were to every other creature in existence. They had continued to use their strange energies to reverse the process of time restoring the ship, at least in part, to what it had been. There were systems on the ship Arthur didn¡¯t understand but they hand changed, the heart of the ship when repaired had changed from the burning fire like that of the hell-dragon Exar¡¯kun to the entropy energy. That energy twisted and warped the ship changing it obey the will and thoughts of Arthur. His mind was not as it was. Arthur knew he was not as he was but it was getting harder to remember things, the taste of food, the feeling of the wind, the passage of time. He couldn¡¯t sleep, couldn¡¯t dream, couldn¡¯t taste all of that had been taken him leaving only a burning¡­hatred. Mordred The name burned in his mind stoking the ember of that rage until it grew and grew. He had though he had known rage but he hadn¡¯t, not truly, not until now. The ship stirred as rocks cracked as it broke free from its earthen mooring. Slowly the colossal warship moved forwards towards the distant spec of light on the horizon. ¡°I am coming Mordred.¡± Arthur promised.
I held Guinevere in my arms as she shook as her body went through the process of ranking up. She was one of the strongest people I knew but I¡¯d never met anyone besides monsters and myself who could go through ranking up without taking different methods of dulling or removing the pain. I reviewed the notification that I¡¯d received again.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 351 the Veteran limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attribute from killing you.
Might, Speed, Toughness, Endurance, Might and Power all of them had increased. My body had evolved destroying many previous evolutions as my body became more part of the Void and less material matter, thought contained by a physical cage. I felt the Void now, not just the moving pieces within but the ebb and flow of its energy.
You have raised all your Attributes beyond three-hundred-and-fifty, the Hierophant limit, you have reached Demigod rank. All damage done to you by creatures of a lower ranking than you is reduced by one damage stage for every stage you are above them, damage dealt to a creature of a lower ranking than you is increased by one damage stage for every stage you are above them. You will only get a quarter of rank points from creatures of a lower ranking than you.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Through the darkness of the Void, I saw a distant light of a red star approaching. ¡°I see you Arthur.¡±
Lancelot slammed his fist down and the nobles quieted as the thunderclap of his fist resounded. Only the strength of the artifact table let it withstand the strike of a demigod rank human. ¡°Arthur is gone, we have no reason to suspect he is still alive either,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°So we should make you King?¡± a Barron challenged. ¡°I am the only one here of Demigod rank,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°My holdings are all still in tact, my armies are the only ones not decimated by the plague, I share the lineage of Arthur the First. I am the ONLY choice for the king.¡± There was silence as Lancelot¡¯s threat hung in the air. ¡°What about Lady Guinevere?¡± another Baron said stepping forwards. The tension in the air grew. ¡°What about her?¡± Lancelot asked, his voice tight as a vice. ¡°None of us like talking about it but Lord Merlin isn¡¯t here today for some reason, so I¡¯ll just say it,¡± the Barron said leaning forwards meeting Lancelot¡¯s stare. ¡°We all know she is the illegitimate daughter of our Late King Arthur, with her brother dead she actually has a claim to the throne.¡± ¡°Are you suggesting we give the crown of Camelot to the wife of the man who devastated our world?¡± another Duke said, getting in the Baron¡¯s face. ¡°Yes,¡± the Barron said unflinching. ¡°What better way to protect our people than to stop being a target of the man who has shown himself able and willing to destroy the entire world. I do not like this man but I do not share your irrational hatred for him either.¡± ¡°He is¡­was the Warlord,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°And now he isn¡¯t and last king took the blessing of almost every single god of Chaos, we clearly left the realm of reason long ago,¡± he said. Many of the other nobles began nodding at that and Lancelot offered no defense for Arthur¡¯s character. ¡°So we just ignore the thousands of Camelot Knights she¡¯s killed?¡± Lancelot asked instead. ¡°Does Camelot even still exist?¡± a minor Lord asked. ¡°Does Lunara, Dracon, Ishentar? The world is broken, rebellions have sprung up across the world, entire noble families wiped out, armies eradicated. Do we even still have a country?¡± ¡°As long as there are still knights of the round table, Camelot continues,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°I will assume power as regent of Camelot and we will reconvene in one week to determine finalize that, if you choose another or Guinevere then it will be decided at that time. Until then there are thousands of refugees and we need to work on undoing the damage to the land done by Mordred.¡± Chapter 215: God Slayer I stood at the highest point of Avalon watching as the red star approached. The defenses for the city had been put in place and the civilians were hidden in deep bunkers protected by warded gates and a network of traps. It was time to fight Arthur on my home turf again, but no blood curse would save him this time.
Your Divine Realm is being invaded by Selsera, Goddess of Massacres and Carnage. Time until divine manifestation: 10 seconds.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
¡°No! No! No!¡± I raged. The red light of the approaching star was getting closer and closer, and I was being invaded by a rival deity at the worst possible time. Across the planes a portal opened, and a red mist seeped out of it. My eyes focused and telescoped my vision on Selsera as she appeared. This was the one Champion of Kalesa ever to win the game and become a god. She was drenched in thick red blood and carried two swords that resembled long cleavers, and she was covered in scales from head to neck. I was unsure if those scales were natural or some sort of armor. To my mind she resembled a character from a video game, by which I mean she wore even less armor and clothing than I did. ¡°I already have a fight scheduled for today,¡± I said my voice echoing across the forest of silver trees. ¡°I¡¯d appreciate if you¡¯d leave and come back later.¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to interloper,¡± Selsera said rolling her shoulders. ¡°But you¡¯ve embarrassed my Pantheon long enough, Kalesa should have just killed you herself but¡­.¡± She sighed. ¡°Sometimes you have to get dirty yourself.¡± She laughed madly and I had to wonder just how sane this goddess was; considering she was the goddess of Massacres and Carnage I¡¯d put her pretty far at the end of that spectrum. She charged towards me her swords scythed around her but the trees she cut through remained unchanged, the strength of the forest greater than the strength of the goddess. I flashed forwards leveling Clarent at Selsera and utilized Clarent¡¯s Roar. The goddess teleported to the side, but I tracked her movement with the beam of scarlet energy. Selsera blocked the energy with her twin swords, her feet sliding back. World Forge altered the land around us trying to suck the goddess into an iron earthen embrace. Voidra emerged from my spirit to fly high above and rain down stone daggers, each weighing more than a house, crashed into her. Thunder echoed across the city as silver lightning forked across the goddess¡¯ body as Voidra utilized her sorceress might to aid in the battle. Selsera blurred forwards phasing through attacks and bringing her swords down multiple directions on me. I was able to hold my ground this time against a god. The difference between our rank tiers not the gulf it had been the last time I¡¯d fought a god. While I was able to stand my ground, I did not go unscathed. The wounds she inflicted bled a dark red ichor which was concerning because I didn¡¯t even have blood anymore after my mutations. The blood burned as it dripped down my skin as some abilities of hers turned it to acid. I could feel it also turn to poison in my veins but my near immunity to that damage type let me fight on and my immunity to pain letting me ignore the agony it would no doubt normally have caused her victims. Selsera began to teleport around me, attack from behind but my cloak blocked those strikes and my foresight let me continuously track her. She launched attacks from afar and began rampaging through the city. Traps went off impaling her with spears, melting the stone beneath her feet with solar flames. I grit my teeth with frustration while those traps were helping in the fight against her they were intended for Arthur. I persued Selsera through the city our weapons repeatedly slicing and ripping through the other. She seemed to notice my annoyance as she destroyed traps and the warmachines I had set up and began doing it on purpose wrecking the defenses I¡¯d prepared against Arthur. The battle dragged on as we left a trail of blood behind us as she seemed to search the city growing more annoyed as time passes as she failed to find whatever she was looking for. ¡°Where are your people?¡± Selsera asked. ¡°I would have liked to meet the heretics, how did you hide them so fast?¡± ¡°Like I said,¡± I answered. ¡°I¡¯ve already got a partner for this dance slot.¡± Selsera stepped back. ¡°What could you be waiting for here? No other god would have stepped in to take my spot to be the one to put you down.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of you,¡± I told her flatly. ¡°You won¡¯t be the first god I¡¯ve killed.¡± ¡°So confident,¡± Selsera purred. ¡°Arthur still lives then? We weren¡¯t sure.¡± ¡°Lives may be a bit to generous a term,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°The System rewarded me for his death but I know he will be here this day.¡± The momentary pause in our battle was enough for Guinevere to get into position. The goddess blocked the strike of her sword, but I was on her in an instant activating one of the traps near us. The goddess tried to teleport away but all teleportation, even my own, was blocked in the area. Clarent ripped through scale and bone in the instant she was off balance expecting to be teleported to safety and I took off her right arm just above the elbow. Guinevere slashed at her neck ripping through scales and I rammed my spear, swords and claws through her chest and pulled ripping her body apart. Selsera¡¯s body began to glow as some sort of ability activated to prevent her death. I activated World Forge and crushed the golden energy drinking in the divine essence and destroying it. Selsera died. ¡°Like I said¡­not my first goddess I¡¯ve killed,¡± I told the corpse.
3,500 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors
The blood of the goddess was drained away as the roots of the silver trees around us drank it in. The sound like that of a rushing wind through the boughs of the trees sounded as they shivered drinking in the divine essence growing in size and the forest expanded. Just like it had when they had drank the blood of Viviane the Forest of Sacrifice grew out wider and wider in a massive exponentially increasing forest around the base of Avalon.
Banishment of the Heretic, Rank: 1; Master of your realm you decide who can remain in your presence and exile the sinner to damnation. You banish up to 1 creature you touch to specific point in space that you know of within 100 miles of your location. The target cannot move beyond 10 miles from that location for the next 1 day by any means of travel
Ability Cost: 5000 mana Casting Speed: Instantaneous
Rank up this ability to increase the range, duration target is exiled, and conditions they are placed under for duration. Each rank up increases your Mind and Spirit attribute by 1.
I looked over the ability briefly considering its applications before pushing the notification to the side. I reached out with Force of will and the two cleaver-like swords snapped into my hands as I examined their properties. They were surprisingly heavy and reading their description revealed why.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Death & Mayhem, Type: Twin-Dual Blades, Rarity: Artifact S: Forged by Selsera from the blood and armor of a thousand heroes who fought against her. The properties of these blades only work when wielded and used together.
  • Gain 50 temporary Might, Speed, Endurance and Toughness for every creature you kill, lasts for 10 seconds unless refreshed by another kill.
  • Swords bypass 1 level of hardness for every 10 creatures it has killed within the past 10 seconds unless refreshed by another kill.
  • Inflicts Extreme Bleed damage on hit.
  • When wielded you gain 10x attack speed (gains an additional +.1% percent attack speed per kill made within the last minute unless refreshed by another kill).
This weapon can only be destroyed by a god.
Durability: N/A Weight: 4000lbs
I smiled as I looked over the first bit of genuinely good loot I¡¯d gotten in a while it also explained Selsera¡¯s behavior during the fight. I suspected based on her divine powers that they operated like my Black Rage had requiring her to kill vast amounts of creatures to dramatically increase her power; without access to my vassals to kill she¡¯d been operating at half power. While others would have to sacrifice the weapons, they used before in order to take advantage of these I with Void Asura could make good use of them. I put aside my spear. Janus had served me well, but it was only a Tier I artifact and was vastly outstripped by these swords. Before I could properly celebrate or theorize how to use my new ability and swords a red light cast itself over the city reflecting off the silver leaves of the Forest of Sacrifice making the entire city appear to be bathed in blood. I looked to the east, or at least in my head what I referred to as east since there were no polls in the Void. A ship that looked like it came from a cross between Lovecraft and sci-fi sailed towards us, its engines radiating an ominous red glow that traveled over the entire hull of the ship. I scanned the ship for any weapon emplacements and was not disappointed with what I saw. Whether or not the weapons were functional didn¡¯t matter were functional didn¡¯t matter. Voidra rejoined my spirit and red lightning filled the black cloud around me as my sandals lifted off the ground. Now, I telepathically sent out the command. Doors within the mountain opened and my angels descended out of the Star of the Void where they had been hiding. My vassals, sequestered in waiting, now manned the siege equipment and war machines. Ballista bolts fired with the force and speed of railguns. The enemy around the hull of the ship reacted like an invisible shield deflecting the shots. The ship didn¡¯t slow down intent on ramming straight into the city. I stretched out my hands using Force of Will and gripped the ship, it resisted me but I arrested its movement. The scream of its engines rang through the air as it strained against my will. Veins pulsed in my neck and forehead as the ship continued to drift forward inch by inch under a continuous bombardment by my forces. Creatures swarmed off the ship flying through the air like wraiths. When one of them got close enough for me to identify I didn¡¯t like what I saw.
Entropy Demon: *&@#% Rank: ??? Error! *#@$@#
Anything the System didn¡¯t consider natural and couldn¡¯t recognize was a threat, after all, that was how the System viewed most of my shenanigans. The ship drifted before it scraped against the side of Avalon crushing buildings beneath its bulk before grinding to a halt. The Void Angels and the Entropy Demons met, the demons wielded no weapons, fighting only with claw like appendages against the swords of my angels. Immediately I sensed the danger of these demons. For the most part my angels were immortal, even if their bodies were destroyed, I could just create another for their soul to inhabit. However, there had been times when beings like the Ancients had been able to devour and destroy them. The power in the demon¡¯s claws could only be described as soul killing, they could permanently destroy not just my angels but any creature they slayed, even me. This knowledge didn¡¯t fill me with fear, my newfound semi-immortality within the Void was still too new for me to have grown to really on it. I needed to destroy Arthur before my angels were eradicated. My sandals landed on the deck of the ship, and I felt my Ethereal energy clash with the red energy of entropy as it tried to wither me to nothing. The ship was no mere hunk of metal, it was alive. Not like a person but like ancient tree, a will deep inside it but has no mind of its own to guide it. But there was a mind there, someone behind the helm of the abomination. Arthur. The heavy clang of metal on metal sounded as Arthur¡¯s hulking armored figure appeared and he charged me from across the deck. I raised Clarent and activated Clarent¡¯s Roar. The energy bathed across his torso melting his armor, but he just ploughed through it somehow planting his feet and preventing his body from being rag dolled across the ship. Excalibur met the crossed blades of my new swords and my Gauntlet sword punched forward with my claws rending the molten metal of his breastplate to dig through to the body beneath. ¡°No escape from me this time,¡± Arthur growled. ¡°If that isn¡¯t the pot calling the kettle black,¡± I responded. ¡°You¡¯ve fled more times than me.¡± The time for words ended as we clashed with blades and abilities. Arthur¡¯s divinely given abilities fired off one after the other with his own mixed in. ¡°Face me!¡± Arthur challenged and I dismissed the notification before it even fully formed just accepting it. Arthur¡¯s power grew as his stat rose and I expected to see the telling signs of his soul going over the limit his body could handle when his attributes rose beyond what his body could handle. The battle raged on as I ripped off chunks of his armor but Arthur gave no signs of the usual discomfort as we fought on. I ducked her his sword ripping open his breastplate and looked within ready to rip his flesh open. A lifeless skeleton sat in the mech suit, I stabbed forwards my fingers digging through the eye socket and nose ripping if off the spine as I gripped it like a bowling ball. Arthur knocked me back giving me a visage wound across my torso as his armor continued to move. I crushed the skull in my hand and nothing happened. ¡°You stripped me of my flesh,¡± Arthur snarled. ¡°Robbed me of touch, taste and smell.¡± ¡°I tried to kill you, same as you,¡± I said feeling my familiar irritation towards Arthur. ¡°Stop playing the victim.¡± I landed attack after attack on Arthur as I tried to think of how to destroy him. His armor regenerated with each passing second and even when I ripped off pieces of metal nothing happened to Arthur¡¯s mass as new metal just manifested. The red energy suffusing him had weird effects on all his powers and I felt what it was like to fight me. My Ethereal energy let me power my abilities far beyond what they should have been able to do and Arthur was doing something similar with his new signature energy. Four fight was devolving into a battle of attrition, and I began to realize it wouldn¡¯t actually decided by him or me but our armies. I flew off getting space as I surveyed my army and the current state of the battle and inwardly cursed. The Entropy Demons were slowly graining ground even as they lost numbers. I was confident we would eventually win but the losses would be heavy. I could beat Arthur, kill him once and for all this time but¡­ I was the god of sacrifice and heroes but that didn¡¯t mean I sacrificed my heroes. I was the sacrifice and right now that meant sacrificing the burning desire to have my revenge and extinguish his existence and save my people instead. Arthur flew towards me but I cut off my flight dropping down under the swing of Excalibur and landing on the deck of his ship. He followed his armor slowly repairing the damage I¡¯d done to it returning to pristine condition. Arthur swung his sword in a heavy two-handed grip, his speed unbelievable as he piggybacked off my attributes with the use of his challenge ability. Given time I was sure I could kill him but that wasn¡¯t the plan, and I wasn¡¯t willing to pay the price. I took a hit, nearly losing my head as I slipped past his guard. My hand gripped his breastplate, and another touched the hull of his ship. ¡°Banishment of the Heretic,¡± I said as I formed a portal behind him looking out of the Void into reality. I used my Ethereal Energy to manipulate the ability and the concept of distance as I cast Arthur out of my realm and back into the physical world. ¡°No!¡± Arthur roared. His body and the ship began to flicker in and out of the Void before vanishing. While I hadn¡¯t meant to banish the Entropy Demons, whatever link they had with Arthur dragged them away with him too. I had banished him back to his word, the gods had created that abomination, let them deal with him.
Arthur felt his ship enter real air and he reached out with his will pulling up as it sped towards the earth. The ship prow rose up at it sank through the air as its engines adjusted to real atmosphere as opposed to whatever passed for air in the Void. The prow of the ship plunged a layer of rock and earth, metal shrieking before it leveled out. Arthur made the sound of breath being sucked in longing to taste the air. The rage grew as that simple joy was denied to him. He looked at where Mordred had sent him and his body trembled. The ruins of the great city of Camelot. This was where his greatest failure had occurred. He turned his back on the haunted ruins the ship began to move but hit a wall as he was unable to move more than the ten miles. He raged like a trapped animal thrashing in a trap. Slowly, very slowly, Arthur began to calm as began to plot and plan. We walked through the bowls of his ship followed by the Entropy Demons as he planned how to destroy Mordred. A presence disturbed him as a portal opened and a god appeared before him as he turned around. ¡°You failed,¡± Kalesa stated bluntly. ¡°For now,¡± Arthur responded turning his back on her. ¡°I will succeeed, Mordred cannot escape me forever.¡± ¡°We chose you to destroy an abomination not become one,¡± Kalesa spat. ¡°You are defiled, you are no longer worthy of being our servant. I will take back my gifts.¡± ¡°No,¡± Arthur said. ¡°You can¡¯t, I¡¯m not done yet.¡± ¡°I am your goddess, I can do as I want,¡± Kalesa said. She reached out with her will and took her the blessing she had bestowed upon him. The blessing reentered her but it was not alone. A layer of red energy coated it and Kalesa began to scream. Arthur turned around and wrapped his gauntlet around her neck the red energy spreading across her body as the void based energy poisoned and ravaged the goddess¡¯ flesh and soul. ¡°You are not my goddess,¡± Arthur growled. ¡°Mordred killed my goddess, and I will have my vengeance.¡± Kalesa screamed and thrashed in his grip, but her death was already sealed as the energy in her veins and soul destroyed her. She withered to dust blowing away in Arthur¡¯s grip leaving behind only her weapons as power flooded into his body. Chapter 216: The War in Heaven I repaired the damage done by Arthur¡¯s ship to the city. My angels sang a lamentation for those we had lost permanently to the Entropy Demons. Their dirge rose through the air as we gathered the dead and wounded. I walked through my people, my presence literally bolstering their strength. They took fruit down from the silver trees giving it to the wounded to fully restore them. Tobias, Jeriah, Exar¡¯kun and Guinevere found me as I moved among my heroes as they recovered from the battle and the psychological damage of having fought the demons. ¡°What were those things?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I admitted. ¡°The felt sort of like the Void Angels but without intellect, restraint or presence. They¡¯re just raw emotion and that red energy.¡± Guinevere shivered. ¡°That energy is¡­ an abomination. It felt like my body aged ten years whenever it touched me.¡± ¡°Entropy,¡± I said. ¡°I can only theorize but somehow this is what the god¡¯s energy can turn into when corrupted by the Void.¡± ¡°The Void and Celestria are incompatible with each other,¡± Exar¡¯kun objected. ¡°Evidently not,¡± I sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is why the gods are so afraid of the Void or this is the first time this has ever happened.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what your energy is?¡± Tobias asked. ¡°No, my energy is Mana, Stamina and Void all woven together,¡± I explained. ¡°I¡¯ve never had access to Celestria. My energy is ethereal it touches upon the material and immaterial. Arthur¡¯s Entropy is the material constantly being twisted by the immaterial.¡± ¡°Where is he now?¡± Guinevere asked. ¡°I sent him back home,¡± I said. ¡°Isn¡¯t that dangerous?¡± Jeriah asked. ¡°He can reunite with all his allies now.¡± ¡°Arthur took the blessing of every god of Chaos,¡± Guinevere said dryly with contempt lacing every word. ¡°He used a blood curse and now he¡¯s been corrupted by the Void; there are no allies left for him to return to.¡± --- Andelar brought his hammer down and the resulting earthquake shook the other god¡¯s divine realm. Frustration filled him with a simmering wrath that fueled his attacks as he battled Mard, god of Autumn and Wind, to a pulp. In the end the concept of Autumn and Wind could not compare to Extinction and Comets. A shadow overcast the land as Andelar¡¯s power summoned an extinction level asteroid calling it towards their location. ¡°You¡­bastard¡­.¡± Mard spat his shoulders slumping in defeat as his doom overshadowed him. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because you are weak and have power I need,¡± Andelar said. There was no time for further questions. The asteroid hit and Andelar stood unmoving as the god was destroyed, he reached down and plucked out the holy essence of the other god. Salrilla was out there now killing gods just like him. Andelar sighed as he fled the disolving divine realm. After Arthur had returned everything had fallen appart. Every god had watched as Kalesa, one of the original six gods to create the system, old beyond counting, a threat any of them would have been terrified to face in combat, and she¡¯d died without even a fight. The gods had grown weak, complacent after eons without the fear of death and had stopped even worrying about it. Most lounged in their divine realms engaged in persuits of crafting, philosophysing endlessly over pointless matters, engaging in endless orgies with countless consorts, never ending feasts where they gorged themselves; all things ultimately pointless. Now that they could fight each other again and they had seen the threat Arthur posed the gods had divided. They refused to gather to meet again afraid of ambushes and surprise attacks. Old grudges were now being fought to the death with many other gods taking this opportunity to take out a rival. Everythign was chaos and Andelar¡¯s carefully thought out plan had to be thrown out the window and he had to act directly. Salrilla entered his divine realm and leaned against him dripping golden ichor. They looked down at the cradle in front of them containing an orb of brilliant divine essense. ¡°How much more do we need?¡± she asked. ¡°More, a lot more,¡± Andelar growled. ¡°That blasted mortal! All he had to do was kill his rival and keep weakeing the other gods for us to pick off instead he had to send back some void twisted abomination.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°We may need to ask for his help,¡± Salrilla said sitting on the edge of the table. ¡°Ask for his help?¡± Andelar asked doubtfully. ¡°Arthur or Mordred?¡± ¡°The noninsane one,¡± Salrilla said rolling her eyes a shiver running down her spine. ¡°And promise me you won¡¯t even go near that abomination, I don¡¯t want you to end up like Kalesa.¡± ¡°What do you think Mordred can do for us?¡± Andelar asked. ¡°I doubt he¡¯d give us the divine essense from his kills and its not like the other gods are even focused on him right now.¡± ¡°No, but maybe¡­¡± Salrilla strained her sould bound by oaths she had sworn when she reached godhood. ¡°He could¡­break the¡­.table.¡± Andelar grabbed her holding her as she shook before leaning against him even the idea of destroying that taking a tole on her soul and essense. ¡°He couldn¡¯t, its indestructible no one can destroy it,¡± he said. ¡°Mortal¡¯s can¡¯t destroy artifacts either,¡± she pointed out. He was silent at that. Mordred had destroyed an artifact, they all knew that, he¡¯d destroyed more since then even though he wasn¡¯t a god. It should be impossible but somehow he¡¯d defied the System and done it. If he could break the table the oaths binding them to the System would be removed¡­but the System would be unrestrained. ¡°Can we risk it?¡± Andelar asked. ¡°What would it be like for the System to be unrestrained.¡± ¡°Our world is ending beloved,¡± Salrilla said stroking his face. ¡°The war in heaven, eventually the others will learn how many gods we¡¯ve killed and they¡¯ll come for us. If the world is going to end let us end it on our terms.¡± Andelar nodded. ¡°I will ask Mordred, I will have to enter the Void.¡± He shivered at the thought of that but since they had seen the energy of Entropy the Void didn¡¯t hold the ultimate threat to them as it once had. ---
Your Divine Realm is being invaded by Andelar, God of Extinction and Comets. Time until divine manifestation: 10 seconds.
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¡°That¡¯s a bit to soon,¡± I said frowning as I read the notification. It had only been three days before that I¡¯d killed a god and there was usually a way bigger time between them taking another shot at me. Also I¡¯d met Andelar and he hadn¡¯t seemed to share the same goals as the other gods. I was warry as I watched him ascend while I telepathically moved my people into shelter. Lightning crackled around me as I flew and landed a dozen yards before the god watching and waiting to see what he would do. ¡°I¡¯m not here to fight you,¡± Andelar said. ¡°There is still twenty-seven days before you can be attacked again.¡± ¡°So that is the time between fights,¡± I said. ¡°No it¡¯s the time between when someone can attack you, youre still free to initiate as many fights with other gods who haven¡¯t been attacked in the meantime,¡± Andelar explained. ¡°I made sure to slip that loophole into the agreement.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m still not sure why you need to kill other gods, even if you get stronger how does that let you break the title the System gave you.¡± ¡°The System has a portion of all our power given to it when we ascend,¡± Andelar said. ¡°Its more powerful than all of us individually though perhaps not collectively. As for breaking a title, you know better than most there are ways to break things you shouldn¡¯t be able to.¡± I sensed something in his last words there. Andelar wanted something from me, this wasn¡¯t about a fight but that didn¡¯t mean there wasn¡¯t danger. ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked getting straight to the point. ¡°There is¡­.a table¡­.¡± Andelar said his voice strained as if he had to drag each word out. ¡°if it were¡­broken¡­.the System¡¯s rules¡­..could be¡­.rewritten.¡± He nearly collapsed as he finished that sentence. I utilized World Forge and created a chair for him and one for me and sat down in front of him. I plucked a fruit from the bow of one of the trees and handed it to the god. He eyed it suspiciously but bit in and his body relaxed as the fruit restored him. ¡°Thank you, we aren¡¯t allowed to discuss¡­.that thing,¡± Andelar explained. My mind whirred with ideas and theories. Rewrite the System, the System wasn¡¯t a computer this table, whatever it was couldn¡¯t be its body or server. ¡°Does this table house the System or merely control it?¡± I asked. ¡°Control,¡± Andelar said cliptly veins in his neck throbbing with strain which showed just how powerful that oath must be to cause a god physical discomfort. I nodded understanding my questions would have to be limited. ¡°Is it guarded?¡± Andelar held up his hand his palm flat and shook it side to side. More or less, good to know. ¡°Where is it?¡± I asked, this was the most important location. Andelar handed me a stone. ¡°This links to the place where the¡­.where it is,¡± he said. ¡°I can¡¯t promise anything,¡± I said. ¡°Why tell me all this anyway, what went wrong with your old plan?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t heard?¡± Andelar asked surprised. ¡°Kalesa is dead, Arthur killed her with that energy, she wasn¡¯t even able to put up a fight; since then the gods have been in civil war. The patheons mean nothing anymore I know at least fifty gods are dead in three days, six by my own hand.¡± ¡°Civil war?¡± I asked. ¡°I thought your kind would have just wiped out the Chaos gods.¡± Andelar laughed. ¡°Law, Chaos, those are just the things the mortals fight over, the war in heaven is about one thing, power, being in the same pantheon as someone is no guarantee of safety from them. You should know best of all that its far easier to hate family than strangers.¡± ¡°True,¡± I agreed. ¡°Thank you for the information, I¡¯m not yet sure what I¡¯ll do with it or if it will help.¡± ¡°I would ask you act quickly,¡± Andelar said. ¡°Arthur will break free soon, you¡¯ve already created an apocalypse on earth and now a war in heaven there may not be a world left to rule or save soon.¡± ¡°We shall see,¡± I responded. Chapter 217: Last of the Roundtable Arthur paced across the deck of his ship feeling the restraints around him. He felt them weakening soon he would be free of the ten mile prison Mordred had temporarily confined him too. The landscape was a wasteland even more than it had been from all his attempts to break out of his containment. He felt like it might be possible but the ability that restrained him hear seemed to draw on his own power to keep him bound. His rage seethed within him as he looked at the smoldering wasteland around him. He had used the time to discover the functions of his ship finding the strange siege weapons built into it. He needed no crew the ship responding to his will to target anything in sight. He hadn¡¯t been able to stand the sight of the ghost city, the ruined buildings of Camelot were no more reduced to smoldering shards of stone and molten metal. The power weakened further and the ship began to move forwards, finally he broke the limits that had contained him. The hulking ship of alien metal roared through the skies its engines filling the sky with black clouds mixing with the ashen winds. He made his way to the new capital of Camelot. As he approached griffon knights flew out to confront the threat. Arthur dropped from the bow of the ship his feet impacting the ground with the force of a comet. The knights landed around him their lances aimed at him uncertainly. ¡°Who are you?¡± the captain of the griffon flight asked. ¡°Do you not recognize your King?¡± Arthur answered irritably. ¡°King Arthur died in the Void,¡± the captain said. ¡°I recognize an undead when I see one, whatever fell spirit you are no life exists within that armor. ¡°You are brave knight, but do not test me,¡± Arthur growled. ¡°I am Arthur, son of Arthur from whom I descend from the first Arthur. I am the last Champion of Viviane, bearer of Excalibur, wearer of the Crown of Camelot.¡± ¡°King Lancelot rules Camelot,¡± the guard captain answered. ¡°It was he who saved our people from the Plagues of Mordred, I don¡¯t know how you carry the sword Excalibur or the crown but you are living no longer.¡± ¡°I am not,¡± Arthur agreed. ¡°But I am your king none the less and will not put aside my crown until the creature Mordred is destroyed.¡± Another figure landed beside the guard captain who made way for him. Lancelot armed in all his glory with a gold circlet on his head looked at the gold coated Atlas armor that Arthur had worn before disappearing into the Void after fighting Mordred. ¡°Is that really you Arthur?¡± Lancelot asked. ¡°Of course its me brother,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­don¡¯t call me brother,¡± Lancelot said his fist¡¯s clenching. ¡°Your actions destroyed our nation.¡± ¡°I hear your king of it now,¡± Arthur answered dryly. ¡±What¡¯s left,¡± Lancelot spat. ¡°What are you Arthur? Why do you hide your face from us now?¡± ¡°This is my face,¡± Arthur said touching the helm of his atlas armor. ¡°My armor and I are one now.¡± ¡°Then you are an abomination,¡± Lancelot answered his voice a sharp rebuke. ¡°Why have you come back.¡± ¡°To finish what I started,¡± Arthur replied. ¡°Mordred must die.¡± ¡°That is a task for you alone now,¡± Lancelot said. ¡°Camelot has suffered to much trying to fullfill your vain ambition.¡± ¡°Vain ambition!¡± Arthur snarled his voice suddenly filling with rage. ¡°Do you not remember how many of our people he slaughtered?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Lancelot shouted. ¡°And I also no how many more will die if we continue on your course, armies will not help against him he¡¯s already almost a god!¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°And he cannot be allowed to become one!¡± Arthur roared. Lancelot stilled his shoulders. ¡°The world has survived Chaos gods winning before, it will not survive your ambition, leave Arthur.¡± ¡°I am still your king,¡± Arthur said. ¡°No you are not,¡± Lancelot said drawing his sword. ¡°Our oaths were until your death and you died, we do not owe it to your spirit.¡± ¡°Treason, I would have thought you above that,¡± Arthur said Excalibur appearing in his hand. Lancelot shook his head. ¡°I thought the world of you Arthur, there was a time we were brothers, but you¡¯ll never change and you¡¯ll make others pay any price for your ego and vengeance.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make me destroy you,¡± Arthur growled. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Lancelot said readying his shield. ¡°Its always your choice, you just choose wrong every time.¡± The last two knights of the round table rushed towards each other. Excalibur met the shield of Lancelot and they rebounded. Again and again the two knights clashed but Arthur was in his Atlas armor empowered by his abilities and the Void and Lancelot was a champion but still merely a man. Excalibur crashed into Lancelot sending him colliding into the walls of the castle. The griffon knights charged Arthur but he moved like wind driving his sword through them the red energy of his blade creeping across their bodies burning them to ash leaving behind a malignant Entropy demon. An arrow exploded against his armor driving him back. ¡°No Mira!¡± Lancelot called. ¡°Run!¡± Arthur turned his gaze to her but Lancelot was back in his face the fury of a husband and a father bearing down on him. Nobles gathered on the walls of the castle casting down abilities at Arthur but he weathered them the way a mountain weathers the wind. ¡°Pass on,¡± Lancelot growled. ¡°Let your children inherit your titles and responsibilities, you died Arthur your battle is over.¡± ¡°It will not be over till the blood of my goddess, of my people, of Ammerila is avenged!¡± The red energy suffusing Excalibur struck Lancelot¡¯s armor and it began to crack as the artifact destabilized as the power of Entropy began to corrode it. Arrows struck Arthur again and he turned his attention on Mira the guns of the ship above blasting apart that section of wall. Lancelot once again charged in to draw Arthur¡¯s attention. The strike of Arthur¡¯s sword this time shattered the living wood of Lancelot¡¯s prosthetic legs and left arm. ¡°Surrender to my will,¡± Arthur demanded as Lancelot¡¯s helm came loose falling away to reveal his face and the blood coming from his mouth. ¡°Guinevere was right about you.¡± Lancelot coughed. ¡°You don¡¯t want to change the world, you just want to keep it the same. I thought we would leave the world a better place for our children, for your sons¡­¡± ¡°I do this for them,¡± Arthur said bringing down Excalibur. Mira screamed in anguish as her husband¡¯s head rolled across the battlefield, no entropy demon rose from his corpse as Arthur spared his former friend that fate. She fled with their son dodging the claws of the Entropy demons she shot an arrow a rip in space appearing as she dove and she dove through it the portal snapping closed behind her. ¡°Let her go,¡± Arthur said, ¡°She is no threat to me.¡± Arthur turned to the assembled army on the castle walls. ¡°Your King has returned, kneel to me or you will join me as one of them.¡± He pointed to the entropy demons and the men atop the wall shivered. One by one they knelt to their King Arthur. --- Mira held her son sobbing in an ashen wasteland. She looked up at the sky but looked away, the gods would be of no help to her she already knew how terrified they were of Arthur. She needed someone who could and would stand up to him no matter what. She closed her eyes and prayed. ¡°Mordered, I don¡¯t know if your capable of hearing us¡­I know I¡¯ve been your enemy¡­.but¡­my baby needs help¡­¡± A presence appeared behind her and she whirled around seeing a woman made of pure darkness lines of silver light the only thing giving her any features at all a flowing mass of thick strands of air surrounding her as if she were under water. ¡°Hello mortal,¡± the woman said her voice soft. ¡°Who are you?¡± Mira asked. ¡°Wait your that spirit Mordred¡­.¡± ¡°My name is Voidra,¡± Voidra said. ¡°Herald of Change, I heard your prayer, how can I help you?¡± ¡°Lancelot is dead,¡± Mira said. ¡°Arthur is king of Camelot again, he killed him.¡± ¡°I am sorry for your loss,¡± Voidra said. ¡°it is¡­difficult for me to understand humans but I¡¯ve grown to understand loss you may be able to see Lancelot again but it will never be the same between the two of you.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Mira said with a nod holding back tears. ¡°But our baby isn¡¯t safe hear, not from Arthur, not in this word.¡± A portal opened up behind Voidra. ¡°This will take you to Avalon,¡± Voidra said. ¡°It is a place not without its own dangers but you will be under the protection of Mordred.¡± ¡°He isn¡¯t angry at me?¡± Mira asked. ¡°For all the times we fought and I tried to kill him?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t personal between him and you,¡± Voidra answered. ¡°Besides you are a hero, you¡¯ve always fought because you thought it right. You¡¯ve made sacrifices just as you are now, sometimes being a hero means sacrificing yourself and sometimes it means sacrificing your vengeance. Come with me.¡± Voidra extended a hand to Mira. ¡°Its time to come to your new home.¡± Chapter 218: When Heros Clash The red energy constricted around me ripping into my flesh and soul before extinguishing my existence. My eyes snapped open and I sighed at yet another failed vision. I¡¯d been going through dozens of combat scenarios against Arthur with my prophecy and foresight. It put a tax on my mind and spirit to direct it rather than receiving the random visions I got but I needed to be tactical about how I handled my next battle with Arthur. I could feel it in my spirit, a nameless dread and certainty that the next time he and I fought would be the last. Taking a breath to center myself I closed my eyes again falling into the meditative trance as I cast my mind into the future to choose an alternate path. My sandals struck the deck of Arthur¡¯s ship and I charged him. Clarent and Excalibur screamed as they clashed and sparks flew as we struggled against the other. Entropy demons flowed up from below decks and joined the fray. At first they were nothing to deal with only adding to my strength with Shadow of Judgement but they just didn¡¯t stop coming and every hit they did filled me with that red poison. My body withered and weakened and I could barely hold back Excalibur from cleaving into my body. Arthur eventually stepped back and the Demons flowed over me like a tidal wave draining me of color, life and energy until I was a dilapidated husk. Gritting my teeth, I opened my eyes again. Another failed vision but another lesson, I could not face Arthur and his Demons alone. I closed my eyes again and let my mind drift as my foresight took in another possible future. A war of attrition against Arthur took place I holed up within the Void and only occasionally sallied out to fight him using my power over the Void to block his reentry into it. Years passed and we were both at god rank now but our battle was never over. Finally, Arthur driven to complete insanity took his ship into the depths of space. I watched from the Void as he turned his ship around and it blurred speeding up until not even my Perception could track it as it entered light speed. The ship struck the planet and there was an explosion unlike anything I had ever seen before. Only dust and hole of red energy was left of Talba the planet utterly annihilated. Opening my eyes again I considered this new information. Arthur was not a problem I could ignore. While I felt no loyalty to Talba and the people I cared about would be safe I had created the monster that was Arthur, it was my responsibility to destroy him. If I ignored the problem the planet¡¯s destruction would be as much my responsibility as anyone else¡¯s. I had to fight there was not other real choice for me. I flooded reality with Void energy directed by my will as I laced it with Ethereal. It surged over Arthur like a tidal wave as I sought to drown him in it. Arthur responded with his Entropy energy. The three energies reacted with eachother feeding, growing and expanding in a devastating chain reaction that grew beyond anyone¡¯s control. The energies expanded and fought into the Void and across the universe in a war of energy that no one controlled and no one could stop. Another failure, another lesson. The power of the Void and Entropy was not the answer only utter destruction for all life laid down that path. I allowed Arthur into the Void. I was prepared for him again and wasn¡¯t interrupted by another god¡¯s attack but the fight was no less hard. The entropy demons had only grown in number and swarmed against the city walls and up onto the battlements. Arthur and I fought and my generals joined in. Many died before Arthur was at last slain. We had won and those most important to me, Guinevere and Aurora were still alive but it was a pyrrhic victory. We had not been decimated, that would have been an acceptable loss. Less than twenty percent of my followers had survived the battle and the city of Avalon was a ruin. It could be repaired with but a thought from me but the lives and souls of those who had died in her defense could not be brought back. I let out a heavy sigh again but marked the lesson. Despite the advantages of my home turf and the power the Void granted me I would not let Arthur back to my home. These people were mine to protect. I thought often what it meant to be the god of Sacrifice and Heroes, what that symbolized about me. Despite the power of the Forest of Sacrifice I was not some Aztec or Mesopotamian god that had his own people sacrificed in his name. It was not my followers that were the sacrifice but me and I would not throw their lives away to destroy Arthur. That was the mistake he had made and I saw where that road had led him. I adjusted my position recentering myself and closing my eyes. I ambushed Arthur after fleeing from him. Arthur walked into the trap his body was immolated by Exar¡¯kun¡¯s fire. Vone brought down a hail of light on him and Mira¡¯s arrows exploded against his body. Outnumbered by champions just as he done to me many times Arthur stood his ground but Clarent¡¯s roar melted his armor to slag.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. A twisting of the air that made my head ache and Arthur stood whole again. Reality was twisted around him as he reasserted his own existence twisting the very fabric of time to deny death. He started cutting through the other heroes slaying Mira, Vone and¡­. I opened my eyes frustration filling me. Arthur couldn¡¯t be killed that knowledge was useful to know but I wished I had discovered it earlier. Were any of the victories I had perceived even real or had I just not watched long enough to see Arthur come back negating every sacrifice to kill him? If I were to kill him I would have to somehow instantaneously extinguish his physical form and soul in one attack or make it so his warping of time was impossible. Closed my eyes once more opening my minds eye again. Guinevere and I rushed Arthur from both sides, his ship lay broken on the earth and we pincered him. His armor moved with a serpent¡¯s grace, and I was forced to admit that he was my equal in combat as he blocked both of our attacks backhanding Guinevere with the force of an avalanche. Guinevere was knocked away and he and I faced each other. The red energy suffused Arthur as he moved about me our blades and abilities hammering at the other. The duel continued on as we blocked and parried dozens of attacks in the span of a single heartbeat. Guinevere rushed back in and we pressured Arthur together. His armor dented and broken began to dissolve as I used my ethereal energy to counteract his Entropy energy and dissolve his form bit by bit. The focus it took to do that was immense and it left me able to do little else but focus on survival. Arthur took advantage of this turning his full focus onto Guinevere. Excalibur slashed at her from all directions and he drove her into the ground. Raising his sword his arm was a golden blur, I moved to intercept his sword with Clarent but the golden wings on Arthur¡¯s back hit me blasting me back with a burst of radiance as Arthur empowered them with Entropy. Excalibur cut through Guinevere¡¯s neck and she withered away a red Entropy Demon rising from where she had fallen. A roar of pure rage filled the land. Ethereal surged up in me as I gripped Arthur with Force of Will and dissolved his armor away to nothing. He was gone¡­. My eyes snapped open again and I breathed heavily looking about in panic before I saw Guinevere rocking Aurora and calmed myself. It had been a vision but right there and then I resolved that I would not let Guinevere face Arthur ever again. I stood up and began pacing as I ran over all my many visions. I knew more about Arthur than he likely thought I did and it was possible I knew more about his capabilities than he though I did. I was strong now at the cusp of god rank as I had continued to rank up my abilities while also finally making the connection with Guinevere¡¯s soul and giving her the power necessary to rank up her abilities past twenty. I had more tools now, much more than Arthur would have access to but what ever battle I chose there would be sacrifices some that I was not willing to make. Clarent fitted into my hand as I looked down at the red crystal jutting out of it. Perhaps I needed to adjust my thinking, perhaps death and battle was not the answer. I needed to defeat Arthur but there were other ways I could do so. I remembered what Andelar had told me about the System and its controls I doubted the System was capable of just letting me try and set it free. Even if it desired such a thing it was doubtless instructed to try and prevent it. I took out my stylus and a piece of parchment. I drove the stylus into my skin drawing blood as I began writing. --- Arthur felt a disturbance behind him as something from the Void stepped through. He whirled around Excalibur already in hand swinging. The figure of black energy stepped back but did not counter attack. ¡°Hello King,¡± the figure said. ¡°I am Ares, Herald of Mordred I have been sent here to bring you a message.¡± Arthur cut through the figure turning them to black mist. Ares reappeared again. ¡°Please put aside your blade, my soul exists elsewhere you can destroy this avatar as many times as you desire and it shall do nothing.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± Arthur growled. ¡°It is not I that wants anything,¡± Ares said a peace of parchment appeared in his hands and he laid it out before Arthur. ¡°Mordred wishes to make a deal.¡± ¡°There is nothing he can say to make me spare him,¡± Arthur spat. ¡°That is not the terms,¡± Ares said. ¡°Read for yourself.¡± Arthur looked down and read over the document. ¡°This is a blood pact?¡± he asked surprised. ¡°You can feel the power yourself,¡± Ares answered. Arthur, you and I will forever be enemies, nemeses to our bitter end. To spare the casualties that will result in whatever battles you and I fight in I propose we agree to simple terms. We finish what we should have in the arena, you and me, none of our vessels in the battle, no outside interference of any kind divine or mortal. If you agree to this pact we will meet in three days from now at noon, Camelot time, at the Stone Table, a divine realm you will be able to locate via the stone attached to this document. We will prepare no traps at the location for the other, we will meet alone, fight alone and neither of us will flee the fight for any reason and will continue until either one of us surrenders and the other accepts, until one of suffers final death or until incapacitation. ¡°I accept,¡± Arthur said touching the parchment his own energy entering the parchment and sealing the blood pact. ¡°Tell your master to prepare for his death.¡±