The third faction of Ganehfrel is the Thelbeckans, a religious power who claims to know the true story behind the disappearance of the gods. The members of Thelbecka are devout and deeply spiritual, with a strong belief in the power of their gods.
Thelbecka''s influence extends beyond the city walls, as their followers can be found in many neighbouring regions. They are known for their charitable works, and many of Ganehfrel¡¯s poorest residents have received aid from Thelbecka in times of need.
Despite their good works, Thelbecka is, of course, not without its controversies. Some members of the faction have been accused of using their religious beliefs to justify actions that are harmful to others. Additionally, their claim to know the truth behind the gods'' disappearance has been met with scepticism by other factions, who view Thelbecka''s beliefs as unfounded.
They are also known for their extensive ¡®Holy Army¡¯ that use secret training methods to produce some of the strongest fighters in any known world. They deny any such methods exist and instead claim their army is ¡®Blessed.
Despite this scepticism, Thelbecka continues to wield significant power within Ganehfrel. Their followers are numerous, and their influence is felt in many aspects of daily life. Whether their claims about the gods are valid or not, there is no denying the impact that Thelbecka has on the people of Ganehfrel.
- Excerpt from ¡®The Trials¡¯ Chapter 1, The Factions
Chapter 36 - Nettlewood
¡°You¡¯re late, Mr Hughes,¡± Nays said as Mason entered the Inn.
¡°I am not!¡±
¡°Well, not quite, but you were cutting it pretty close!¡±
Mason rolled his eyes at her and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think I ever told you my last name.¡±
¡°Perks of being a receptionist. We know things,¡± She said, trying to be mysterious.
¡°Oh, is that right, Miss Nettlewood?¡±
Her eyes went wide, and she paled slightly. ¡°Where did you hear that name?¡±
Oblivious to her reaction, Mason said, ¡°Perks of being awesome.¡±
Nays spoke slowly and deliberately, ¡°Mason, that¡¯s my clan¡¯s name. You really shouldn¡¯t know that.¡±
¡°Oh shit, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s just an ability I have. It gives me information basic about people.¡±
¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I know your name? It seems like it¡¯d be pretty common knowledge.¡±
¡°I can¡¯t talk about it here¡ maybe on the way to wherever we¡¯re going¡.¡±
They made their way out of Town in relative silence. Mason tried making conversation a few times, but from her curt answer, Mason could tell she was agitated.
As they approached the farm that the contract had specified, Mason slowed and turned to face Nays, who had been trailing behind him. ¡°Are you okay? Is this about me saying calling you that name?¡±
She sighed and sat down where she was, ¡°When I was young, I ran away from home. It was all just too much; I don¡¯t know how much you know about Elves?¡±
Mason sat opposite her, ¡°A little, but not much.¡±
¡°In Elf communities, your clan is everything. It¡¯s your family, your identity, your heritage. When I ran away, I didn¡¯t just leave my family. I left my clan. And that¡¯s a big deal. It¡¯s like I lost a part of myself.¡±
Mason listened intently, sensing the weight of her words.
¡°Nettlewood was my clan. I haven¡¯t told anyone that in years, not since I left. And then you just come along and say it like it¡¯s nothing.¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t mean to upset you. I really am sorry.¡±
Nays looked up at him, her eyes softening a little. ¡°I know you didn¡¯t. It¡¯s just a sore spot for me.¡±
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Curiosity got the better of him, ¡°If your clan meant so much to you, then why did you leave?¡±
Nays hesitated before answering as if considering whether or not to share this part of her past.
Seeing that she was uncomfortable, Mason spoke first, ¡±I¡¯m so sorry. You just said it was a sore spot, and here I am asking you to talk about it. Forget I said anything.¡±
She hesitated a few more seconds before she spoke up. ¡°No, It¡¯s okay. I left because¡. It wasn''t just about my clan. It was about the way things were in my community. There were expectations placed on me that I didn''t want to fulfil. I wanted something more than just a life of tradition and duty. I was shocked when you said the name because¡ If anyone from my clan knew I was here, I¡ don¡¯t know what would happen.¡±
Mason nodded, sensing the gravity of her words. He saw a single tear make its way down her face. ¡°I understand. You can come to me if you ever want to talk about it or need help with anything. But for now, shall we go kill some slimes?¡± Mason grinned at her trying to cheer her up.
Nays stood up, brushing off her pants. ¡°Yes,¡± She said with a smile ¡°, let¡¯s do this!¡±
Mason nodded, standing as well. They made the rest of the way to the farm.
Before long, they spotted the culprits. The contract has said three or four slimes. Mason scoffed. Looking around, he counted 19 of the things. They were about the size of basketballs and were a pale green colour. Their bodies were slimy and gelatinous, with a texture that reminded Mason of Jello. They didn''t seem to have any discernible features except for two small black dots that served as their eyes.
Their movements were slow and clumsy, but they were relentless in pursuing anything edible. Mason watched as they oozed around the farm, leaving a slime trail behind them.
These things shouldn¡¯t do much damage at all, so I¡¯m going to distract them so that you can shoot them that way, you¡¯ll get most of the experience points.¡±
¡°Experience points?¡±
¡°Err, Chaos energy, whatever, just try not to shoot me!¡±
He turned to Nays, "Are you ready for this?"
Nays nodded, drawing her bow and pulling an arrow from her quiver. ¡°I¡¯m ready. Just don¡¯t let them get close to me.¡±
¡°Why? Are you scared?¡±
¡°No¡ they just look really gross.¡±
Mason drew his dagger and charged towards the slimes, with Nays following close behind. As they closed in on the first slime, it turned to face them, its two black dots locking onto Mason. With a wet squishing noise, it lunged towards him, its slimy body jiggling as it moved.
These slimes were fearless. For a moment, Mason worried he¡¯d made a mistake, and these were actually super powerful ancient elder slimes.
He side-sidestepped the slime¡¯s lunge and swung his dagger, slicing the slime in half. The slime let out a high-pitched squeal as it dissipated into a pool of goo.
You have slain ¨C Monster - Level 2 Nature Slime.
You have received a share of 20 XP.
For your contribution, you have received 15 XP.
Never mind, they were just normal slimes.
¡°Hey! I¡¯m the one who is supposed to be killing them!¡±
¡°Sorry!¡±
Nays took aim and fired her arrow at a slime, hitting it squarely in the centre. The slime shuddered before it popped like a bubble at a toddler¡¯s birthday party.
Mason and Nays continued their assault, Mason dodging and weaving as the slimes tried to attack him and Nays, shooting them one by one.
Mason threw out his hand, trying to knock away a slime that had been heading towards Nays, ¡°OUCH.¡± An arrow was sticking out of his palm.
¡°Sorry, my bad! Squeaked Nays.
Gritting his teeth, he pulled it out. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± He called back.
It didn¡¯t take them much longer to finish up the rest of the slimes.
Mason grinned, looking over at Nays. "That was fun, apart from when I got shot.¡±
Nays smiled back, wiping the slime off her face. "Yeah, it was. We make a good team, and I already said I was sorry!¡±
¡°Yeah yeah, I know. It¡¯s all fine now, all healed up.¡± He held up his hand, showing Nays.
Out of nowhere, his ring vibrated, alerting him that he was in danger. Without thinking, he shoved Nays to the ground, thinking he was about to be attacked.
She landed and looked up at him with hurt in her eyes. ¡°Mason! What was that for?¡±
¡°Crap, I¡¯m sorry, I thought¡¡± he trailed off. ¡°Can you hear that?¡±
There was a low buzzing noise.
Monster - Vespara Level 12
Slimes are what happens when liquid is left somewhere with high magical saturation. A Vespara is what happens when that liquid is royal jelly from a Monarch Wasp.
Its body was a sickly yellow that glistened with a viscous slime that oozed from every pore. At the end of its body was a sharp needle-like stinger. Its eyes were a bright, piercing red, glowing with a fierce intensity. It hovered there, watching them.
Mason called back to Nays, not taking his eyes off of the wasp monster. ¡°It looks pretty scary but isn¡¯t actually that strong! Do you want to have a go at it first?¡±
No answer. He chanced a look back and saw a bundle of clothes on the floor. Standing on top was a doe. Mason smiled and started to let out a laugh before he saw the death glare the doe gave him.
He faked a cough to cover his laugh. ¡°It¡¯s fine! I can deal with this one!¡±
The wasp slime was still hovering a few hundred meters away. Mason took out his bow and started shooting arrows at it. The first few missed going wide. The next few hit the creature but seemed to have no effect. The arrows entered the beast and deteriorated in the liquid that formed the body of the monster.
Ok, this might be slightly trickier than he had thought.
He ran towards the Vespara and shot a Magic Missile at it soon as he got close enough. It hit, and the wasp slime exploded. What was left of it rained down on Mason and doe Nays. Everywhere the goo landed started to itch terribly.
You have been inflicted with the Delirium of the Royal Jelly. For the next 60 seconds, your Intelligence is lowered by 20%. Your Perception is lowered by 20%, Your Agility is lowered by 20%
Your willpower has lowered each effect to 15 %.
The remains hit the ground and immediately started to merge together, reforming the Monster.
For a second there, he had thought the last attack had finished it. ¡°God Dammit.¡±
Chapter 37 - Fucking Run!
¡°God dammit.¡±
If all of his attacks were just going to pass straight through the Monster, then how the hell was he suppo-, wait, what the fuck.
Mandatory Quest Received! Fucking Run!
Quest Objective - You have, for the second time, invoked a Taboo. Whatever the result is, you will not be ready for it. Hence the running.
Reward - You get to not be wiped from existence.
Everything seemed to still. The colour seemed to drain away from the world around him, leaving everything looking dull and lifeless. The breeze that had been, up until moments before, causing the leaves on the tree trees to rustle was now absent. Even the Vespara started backing away.
Mason was confused. He wasn¡¯t sure what was happening. He had Invoked a taboo? What could he of possibly done to cause that? He doubted that these Vespara things were considered holy¡.
He had shot a Magic Missile, and the attack had gone right through the giant wasp. He had gotten annoyed, and then he had said¡oh, God dammit.
Ohhh. Oh fuck.
As realisation struck him, the ground started to shake. He didn¡¯t exactly trust his system, he thought its advice of ¡®Fucking Run¡¯ might be the best course of action. He turned to look where doe Nays was. Still in animal form, she was staring at him with terror and accusation in her eyes. Evidently, she had heard what he had done.
As the world shook, he dashed over to Nays, scooped her up into his arms and started to run. Chancing a look behind him, he saw a crack appear in the ground, a giant hand emerging from its depths.
¡°What the mother fucking fuck is that.¡± He shouted as he ran.
He felt Nays tremble in his arms as he sprinted faster, trying to put as much distance as possible between them and the emerging creature. The ground continued to shake violently, making it difficult to keep his balance. He could hear the sound of rocks and debris crashing against each other as the creature made its way to the surface.
The sky turned dark as clouds of dust and ash filled the air. He felt himself coughing and choking as he tried to take in the air.
Achievement Unlocked! Accidental Demon
Through nothing but your own idiocy, you¡¯ve managed to temporarily awaken a Demon.
Reward: Quickfire history lesson.
There were 15 Gods. The 10 minor gods rebelled against the 5 greater gods. This resulted in an all-out war throughout the cosmos. The greater gods cursed the lesser gods and turned them all into horrible, disgusting beasts. Demons.
The war bought with it death, destruction and unimaginable horrors to mortal kind. Eventually, the 5 realised the only way to stop the pain and suffering they were causing was to curse all 15 divine beings to eternal sleep.
Each time the word ¡®God¡¯ is spoken, it weakens the curse, resulting in more and more of the Demon¡¯s power being awakened.
The result of invoking the Taboo is caused by this power and can vary from a small inconvenience to what you are now experiencing, an echo of a Demon¡¯s consciousness that has temporarily slipped through the curse hold.
He chastised himself for his stupidity. Mayry had warned him not to use the word, yet he had still done it. Now, he was running for his life with a terrified Nays in his arms as a monstrous creature, apparently a demon, emerged from the depths.
As he ran, he couldn''t help but wonder if the gods and demons of this world bore any resemblance to one of the pantheons of earth. He had always been fascinated by the myths and legends of ancient civilisations of his home world, but he had never really believed in any god or gods, and now he was probably going to be squished by one.
He stumbled over a loose rock, nearly losing his grip on Nays. She yelped in fear, and he knew he couldn''t afford to make any more mistakes. With renewed determination, he pushed himself harder, running faster and faster.
Figuring he was far enough, he slowed to a stop and turned to look at the horrifying creature he had summoned.
Mason had sprinted as fast and as far as he could away from where the Demon had first appeared, but now fully emerged, he could see as if it were standing right in front of him. It stood hundreds of feet tall, its skin was black as coal, its eyes glowed an ominous red. Its body was muscular and covered in sharp spikes, its limbs were long and twisted like the branches of a long-dead tree. It let out a deafening roar and locked eyes with Mason. He had definitely not run far enough.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
When Its gaze met his own, he felt every muscle in his body freeze up. He couldn¡¯t so much as twitch his finger. When the gargantuan entity lifted its foot and took one huge step towards him, all he could do was watch on in horror. With every passing second, the Demon drew closer. With all his heart, he willed Nays to run away and save herself, but just like him, she was paralysed.
He knew he was screwed, but out of morbid curiosity, he wanted to know how screwed.
Brobdingnagianthos - Level ??? Lesser Celestial.
I feel your scan. I know you¡¯re there. I see you.
Well, that was creepy. Surely it knew that Mason knew that it could see him. If that really had been the demon communicating with him, why did it feel the need to state the obvious? He felt like he was missing something.
As it got closer, his brain started to feel like it was vibrating, his vision blurred, and a pressure that felt similar to his Mana started to build within his chest.
Now with the Demon only a few steps away, Mason started to think about all of the regrets he had. He regretted the way he had left things with Mayry. He had assumed he would see her again soon and be able to make up with her. He regretted he had never gotten the chance to say goodbye to his family on earth, he had still been holding out hope that one day be able to return and tell them of his journey. They wouldn¡¯t believe a word, but he would have still liked to share it with them.
You are level 15, and h h h have 4160 experience points. 2 levels levels levels worth of Chaos Energy would-
The notification faded. What the heck was that? His system had glitched. That was strange. He had never really thought of it as an actual game system that could glitch.
You are level 15 and have 4160 experience points. 2 levels worth of Chaos Energy is required to break the divine paralysis. Spend? Y/N?
Without a second thought, Mason mentally smashed the Y.
The Demon stopped midstep and lowered its foot. It stared at Mason and almost imperceptively cocked his head to the side.
He could move again. In his arms, Nays was still paralysed.
Knowing for an absolute fact that nothing in his repertoire of abilities could so much as Itch the Demon, Mason turned and once again ran for his life.
He heard a noise behind him. It wasn¡¯t the booming footstep of the Demon pursuing him. No, those never came. It sounded like a baby¡¯s cry mixed with the engine of a car failing to start with a hint of distortion. It was laughing. The demonic entity that he was certain would be his end was laughing at him. That truly horrifying sound would haunt his dreams for the rest of his life.
The laughing suddenly stopped. Mason turned to see the Demon was gone.
Mandatory Quest Fucking Run! - Completed
Quest Objective - You have, for the second time, invoked a Taboo. Whatever the result is, you will not be ready for it. Hence the running.
Reward - You still exist. Congrats.
Now he was relatively safe, he wanted some answers.
¡°Help, Spending level,¡± He said to the air. Nays looked up at him weakly. The poor thing had been terrified and barely had the strength to shoot him dirty looks.
His attempt at getting a help Notification failed. He was already dreading the moment Nays turned back into herself, but he figured in for a penny¡ ¡°Help? Spending Levels against Demons?¡±
Help - Using XP
XP is used to level up and gain new abilities. With each new XP threshold you reach, you will gain a level. Levelling up will unlock stat points-
¡°You know that¡¯s not what I mean!¡± Mason shouted, making Nays shift in his arms. He started to pet her to calm her down, momentarily forgetting that she wasn¡¯t really an animal.
He pulled up his Menu and checked his character sheet.
Name: Mason Hughes
Level: 13
Current XP: 3550/4200
Race: Human
Class: Hunter
Health Points (HP): 260
Mana Points (MP): 285
Stamina: (SP): 185
Stats
Strength: 24 (+15) 39
Agility: 19
Endurance: 17
Vitality: 16
Resilience: 12 (+26) 38
Intelligence: 34(+10%) 37
Perception: 24
Willpower: 14
Free points: - 4
Skills:
Identify (Basic), Magic Missile - INT (Advanced), Emotional Outburst - PER (Advanced), Camouflage - PER (Advanced), Random Summon (Advanced)
Class skills, Basic Monster tracking.
He was missing 4 points in each stat, and his free points sat at minus 4. He really had lost two levels but the system was refusing to acknowledge that it was even possible.
It really sucks losing those levels, but he was alive, and so was Nays, so things could be a lot worse.
Thinking of Nays, he looked down and realised the doe had fallen asleep in his arms. His petting her had indeed calmed her. It was strange she hadn¡¯t transformed back yet, perhaps she had run out of energy.
Not wanting to disturb the sleeping doe girl, he stayed where he was and shimmied over to the nearest tree so he could rest his back against it.
It had been a strange day. Just once he¡¯d really like to experience the good of this world instead of the worst. This time, he had to admit it was entirely his fault. He had to remember never to say that word again. He had read that when children were just learning to speak, parents often got a ritualist to perform a ritual that would prevent them from saying the word. He wondered if he could get the same done. Though, if he ever got back to earth and his mum forced him to go to church as she often did, that was going to get pretty awkward.
He found himself stroking the doe in his lap again. What was he going to say to her when she woke up, that he accidentally said a word that every living being on this planet knows not to say?
He was pretty screwed there, but at least this was pretty nice. He was probably jinxing himself by thinking it, but this was a nice little break from the madness that was this world.
He paused, half expecting a hydra to appear out of nowhere and attack him. Thankfully he wasn¡¯t that unlucky, nothing happened, and he got to enjoy his peaceful bliss for a little¡ while¡ longer¡
He felt something move. he snapped awake.
The doe he had fallen asleep with on his lap had woken up and was no longer a doe but a naked woman. A naked woman who had been trying to covertly get off of his lap without waking him. When he had been nudged awake, his hands had come up in case he was being attacked. While he wasn¡¯t currently being attacked, judging by where his hands had ended up, that could change pretty soon.
They both blushed. Mason apologised, but surprisingly, Nays didn''t mind and even flirtatiously said she might let him do it again if he behaved himself.
Chapter 38 - Of Elves and Demons
Thousands of years ago, In the land of Thalassia, where the oceans were as vast and mysterious as the sky, there lived a man named Finn.
As a child, Finn had always been fascinated by the sea. He spent hours watching the waves crash against the shore and dreaming of what lay beneath the surface. One day, while exploring a rocky beach, Finn slipped and fell into the water. But instead of drowning, he found that he could breathe normally. It was as if the sea had taken him into its embrace.
Over the years, Finn honed his ability, diving deeper and deeper into the ocean. He discovered a world of wonder beneath the waves: schools of shimmering fish, forests of swaying seaweed, and even ancient ruins lost to time.
His parents knew of his ability and warned him to be careful and not swim too deep, as the fishermen had been telling tales of the sea monster they had seen.
Despite his parents'' warnings, Finn couldn''t resist the call of the ocean. He spent every free moment exploring the depths, pushing himself to go deeper and deeper. But he always kept an eye out for any sign of danger.
Out swimming late one afternoon, he came across an ancient ruin and decided to explore it. Finding nothing of note, he left the ruin to find the ocean far darker than when he entered the ruin.
Finn looked up and saw that a giant sea monster was floating above him, blocking out the suns light.
Finn''s heart pounded with fear as he realised the monster was one of the creatures his parents had warned him about. Its scales shimmered in the sunlight, and its eyes glinted with a fierce intelligence that chilled Finn to the bone.
For a long moment, Finn and the sea monster regarded each other in silence. Finn wondered what the creature was thinking, whether it saw him as a friend or a foe. But then, with a sudden surge of movement, the monster swam towards him, its jaws gaping wide.
- Excerpt from ¡®Chaos Abilities: Cautionary tales ¡¯. Page 14 - Finn
Chapter 38 - Of Elves and Demons
They hadn¡¯t slept long, apparently. According to Nays, It was just after 4 in the afternoon.
¡°How do you not know how to tell the time?
Defensively Mason replied, ¡°I can tell the time! Where I come from, it¡¯s just a little different.¡±
Nays smirked. ¡°Uh-huh, I¡¯m not judging you. You¡¯re rich, powerful, and a Hunter I knew there just had to be something wrong with you.¡±
Glaring at her, Mason explained. ¡°Where I¡¯m from, they use little mechanical machines to tell the time. Here, it feels like everyone just always somehow knows.¡±
¡°You need machines to tell you the time? Thats weird. Where are you from? I thought all sapient races had an innate sense of what time it I.¡±
He didn¡¯t want to give too much away, so he replied, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m from quite far away. I was bought here by an ACT, but I only remember bits and pieces.¡±
It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t trust Nays. It was more that he already kind of regretted telling Mayry everything the moment he met her. It was probably the combination of being overwhelmed by his appearance in this new world, being so relieved to find another person and being so desperate for answers that had resulted in the verbal diarrhoea. He knew he had to do better.
Seeing that Demon also reminded him he desperately needed to train, level and get stronger. Today was a net loss of two levels, so he needed to kick it up a notch. Hadn¡¯t Mayry mentioned a trainer? He really needed to get back in her good graces.
They were on their way back to Town and were chatting about this and that, mostly small things. Mason was enjoying the conversation until Nays asked, seemingly out of nowhere, ¡°Why did you say it?¡±
¡°Nays I-¡± Mason hesitated, not knowing how to answer.
Nays continues, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of people saying it as like a last resort. When things were so bad that any change would be a good one, that wasp scared me, but you didn¡¯t look fazed. Then you said what you said, and then¡ I.. You. I don¡¯t know¡. Demons and Elves have a long history. Elves can live a long, long time, and some can even remember the war. That thing, it was a Demon, wasn¡¯t it? A real one?¡±
¡°It was an echo. Not really truly a Demon, but hopefully, it was as close as we¡¯ll ever see. I didn¡¯t mean to say it. Nays, Im so sorry I put you in danger.¡±
After a few moments of silence, Nays replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I mean, you also saved me, so I guess I can¡¯t be that mad at you. It s just it was the most scared I¡¯ve ever been.
¡°Me too, but we¡¯re okay now. We¡¯re safe.¡± In an attempt to change the subject, Mason asked, ¡°Did your ability upgrade?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think so, I haven¡¯t noticed any changes.¡±
¡°That¡¯s a shame. Would you want to go hunting again sometime?
Nays looked like she was deep in thought before she answered, ¡°I¡¯m up for it. IF you don¡¯t invite the demon.¡±
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Mason chuckled. ¡°Deal.¡±
¡°¡Or the echo.¡±
Mason gave Nays a questioning look until he realised she was calling Mayry a demon.
He rolled his eyes and said. ¡°You know, you two would get better if you both tried a little.¡±
¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know, there¡¯s just something about her I don¡¯t like. Plus, she doesn¡¯t like me either, so¡.¡± She finished with a shrug.
As they walked, the Town came into view. From what he could see, there was a lot of panic. He thought that maybe another ACT Monster had appeared but then considered that the Towns residents probably saw the Demon¡¯s huge form even from this far away.
He looked at Nays, ¡°Would you mind maybe not mentioning the whole demon summoning this to anyone?
It would probably cause unnecessary panic.¡±
Nays nodded in agreement. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think people would take it too well. Don¡¯t worry. Your secret is safe with me.¡±
Mason let out a sigh of relief as they continued their walk towards the Town. He couldn¡¯t wait to get back to training. Hopefully, Mayry would forgive him for whatever it was he did and introduce him to the trainer.
Thinking of Mayry, she appeared from the Town gate and ran towards him, looking frantic. She ran right up to him and hugged him. Pulling back, she asked, ¡°Did you see it?¡±
Mason opened his mouth to answer, but Mayry cut him off. Her eyes narrowed and aimed at him, she asked in a whisper. ¡°Mason, please, please tell me you didn¡¯t summon a demon!?¡±
==========================================
She had been waiting at the Town gate ever since the massive figure had appeared. There had been whispers that it was a Demon. The Town was in a total panic, far worse than when the Basilisk had been spotted. The Towns guard were running around trying to keep the peace while also preparing for an unwinnable fight. They had even started arming some civilians with bows and swords as if that would be any help against an actual Demon.
She had been out getting lunch when it appeared. She had instantly dropped to her knees, an awfully loud high pitch noise blaring inside her head. She gritted her teeth and looked around, but she seemed to be the only one who had been affected. Everyone else was staring at the disgustingly terrifying creature who was just standing there back to the Town.
When it started running, it created shockwaves that made the buildings of the Town shake even with it being so far away.
The high pitch noise didn¡¯t let up or change but stayed painfully ringing in her head. If she focused on the noise, she could almost hear wor
¡
¡
She knew Mason was out there with that Elf. She was worried that if he saw the Massive Monster, he¡¯d try and start a fight with it, a fight which would get him killed instantly.
It was strange, Mason did end up in the middle of things a lot. If he got involved here, it would be just his luck¡
Now that she thought of it¡he couldn¡¯t of¡ no, that was ridiculous¡. Although¡he did have that ability that summoned a random creature¡ that wouldn¡¯t have been able to summon a Demon, surely?
¡For fuck sake Mason. She hadn¡¯t known the man long, but it was definitely the sort of crap that would happen around him. If he had actually managed to summon a fucking Demon, she was going to kick the crap out of him.
Maybe she was overthinking this. It was probably just an ACT, and the thing was just a Giant and not a Demon. She kept telling herself that, but for some reason, her brain brought her back to her Mason theory.
With no warning, the noise in her head changed. It became an indescribably awful noise that she somehow recognised as laughter. It continued for a while. Then the Demon was gone and the noises in her head along with it.
She was losing her mind. She went for a quick visit to Viv¡¯s alchemy shop for something to soothe her aching head, then returned to the Town gate, hoping and praying that Mason wasn¡¯t the cause of the Demon and he was completely uninvolved with the whole ordeal.
She scoffed at her own thought and continued to wait.
It had been a few hours since the Demon had disappeared. She was debating with herself whether or not she should go out and for Mason when she finally caught sight of the two of them. Seemingly uninjured, they walked leisurely toward the Town.
Mayry ran towards them, practically tackling Mason into a hug. She needed to know. She pulled back from the hug slightly and asked. ¡°Did you see it?¡±
He kept a perfectly straight face and opened his mouth to answer her. Nays, fortunately for Mayry, was particularly bad at keeping her emotions from her face.
She cut Mason off before he could say a word. She narrowed her eyes at him and whispered, ¡°Mason, please, please tell me you didn¡¯t summon a demon!?¡±
His eyes widened a fraction, which she took as an admission of guilt, until he chided her defensively, ¡°Mayry!¡±
Her shoulders sagged a little in relief. If he said he didn¡¯t, then she would believe him.
¡°Of course, I didn¡¯t. I wouldn¡¯t even know how to start to do something like that.¡± Mayry took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, the tension leaving her. ¡°I summoned the echo of a Demon, totally a different thing.¡±
Her jaw dropped. She stared at him incredulously.
After the staring continued past the two-minute mark, Mason looked down at her and asked, ¡°Are you okay? Oh shit, I think I broke her.¡±
Mayry opened and closed her mouth a few times, a mix of confusion at his words and anger at his blas¨¦ attitude, trying to get words to come out. Eventually, she managed to growl out, ¡°Tell me everything.¡±
And so he did. He explained everything up to the Vespara appearing, and then he paused.
Mayry spoke up when his story seemed to end without a single mention of the Demon.
¡°Okay, so the Vespara appeared¡ Nays went all doe-eyed, fine. But how did this end up with a Demon appearing?¡±
=========================================
Mason didn¡¯t want to lie to Mayry, but he just couldn¡¯t bring himself to admit that he¡¯d accidentally said the word she had warned him never to say, and by warned, he meant threatened to kill him if he ever said it.
¡°Well, I tried to shoot the wasp thing with a Magic Missile, but it went right through it¡± He chanced a look up at her face to gauge her reaction. ¡°so I used my summon creature ability and poof, an echo of a Demon appeared. We ran, got away, and it disappeared after a while.¡±
She frowned but looked up and hugged him again. ¡°It wasn¡¯t your fault. No one got hurt. That¡¯s what matters. The Town is crazy at the moment, so I¡¯ll have to introduce you to the trainer I found tomorrow. You should probably go back to your room and lay low for a bit. I¡¯ll meet you there later?¡±
Mason nodded and headed off toward the Inn.
Nays followed him, ¡°For someone you insist isn¡¯t your girlfriend, she tells you what to do a lot, and she¡¯s going to meet you in your room later?¡± Nays asked with raised eyebrows.
¡°Yeah¡ I think she¡¯s just used to being the one in charge, and you¡¯ve been in my room too, you know.¡±
Nays rolled her eyes, ¡°Yeah, when we were hiding from the guards searching for you, it wasn¡¯t exactly a romantic encounter, was it?¡±
¡°Well, either of you is welcome anytime, ¡¯Romantic encounter¡¯ or not.¡±
They entered the inn and walked over to the stairs leading up to Mason¡¯s room, they hugged goodbye, and Mason headed up the stairs while Nays stayed behind to gossip with the receptionist working the desk.
The last thing Mason heard before he turned the corner was the receptionist asking Nays, ¡°Did you hear? Apparently, the Mayor collapsed when the Demon appeared.¡±
Chapter 39 - Lyvan
Chapter 39 - Lyvan
¡°Does your family just not understand the concept of doors?¡± Mason said while yawning.
It was the next morning, and Mason had been poked awake by Mayry, who had once again climbed in through his window.
¡°I could use the door, but then I wouldn¡¯t get to see the face you make when you wake up and see me in your room.¡±
Pulling the covers over his head in a weak attempt at getting more sleep, he asked, ¡°What do you want?¡±
I was going to introduce you to your new trainer, but if you wanted to get more sleep, I could always come back¡?¡±
¡°No, I¡¯m up, I¡¯m up. Who¡¯s the trainer?¡±
¡°You met him just before the Basilisk attack, General Lyvan. He owes me a favour and said he¡¯d train you a few hours a day before his shift. He¡¯s tough, but he¡¯ll teach you what you need to know.¡±
Grumbling something to Mayry as a reply, he made his way to the shower. As the hot water cascaded down his body, Mason couldn''t help but feel a mix of excitement and anxiety about the upcoming training. He knew he needed to improve his combat skills if he wanted to stand a chance against higher-level Monsters, not to mention all the seemly all-powerful ¡®Others¡¯ that he was supposed to eventually defeat. However, he just knew this training was going to consist of him being beaten up over and over again.
After quickly getting dressed in clothes other than his armour, Mayry led him to the training area that was just behind the guard barracks, where he was greeted by General Lyvan. The general was a tall, imposing Gnoll with a stern expression on his face.
He had forgotten how big he was. He had seen him very briefly before the Basilisk fight but hadn¡¯t paid much attention, his mind preoccupied with the rapidly approaching fight.
He was at least half again as tall as Mason and several times more muscular.
¡°You must be Mason.¡± His voice was low and came out sounding like a growl.
¡°Yes, sir, I really appreciate you taking the time to train me.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot about you. You killing the Basilisk when you did, saved a lot of my men. I figured I owed you at least this much. I will warn you; this isn¡¯t going to be fun¡.¡± He paused, looked at Mayry and then back at Mason before adding. ¡°for you.¡±
Two hours later, Mason was tired and bruised, certain that Mayry had purposely found him the biggest, meanest, and most sadistic trainer she could. Sometimes he wondered if that woman liked him or hated him. Right now, he was definitely leaning toward hate.
The training had gone fine for the first 30 seconds. Lyvan had explained to him that he was there to learn to fight and was not to use any of his triggered abilities. Everyone in Town had heard of his fight with the Basilisk, and there were all sorts of rumours about him and what sort of powers he had.
After explaining the ground rules, Lyvan shouted, ¡°DODGE!¡± and attacked Mason with no holds barred.
It took him a few punches to the face to process what was happening. Mason had expected Lyvan to go easy on him, at least to begin with. But no, Mayry had seen fit to tell the General that he had enhanced regeneration and resilience. The General had, apparently, taken that as a challenge.
The Gnoll looked possessed as he moved around Mason, throwing punches and kicks with lightning-fast speed and ferocity. Mason did his best to dodge and block, but it seemed Lyvan was always one step ahead.
Mason was confused. How was this sadistic bastard hitting him so hard? How was he hitting him at all? His Agility stat was only at 19, but surely that was enough that the Gnoll shouldn¡¯t be kicking the crap out of him so effortlessly.
This couldn¡¯t be a normal Gnoll, he was sure. General Lyvan must be some special breed of war Gnoll bred or something!
General Lyvan - General Level 31
Master of martial arts and head of the Town Guard. His mastery of multiple martial art styles makes him an extremely formidable opponent on the battlefield. He has a reputation for being almost unbeatable in one-on-one duels.
In his spare time, Lyvan enjoys long walks on the beach and reading romance novels.
Just a normal Gnoll, then¡ great. Mason''s body was covered in bruises, and sweat poured down his face. Lyvan seemed to be enjoying himself immensely; a fierce grin was plastered on his face as he continued to attack. Mason attempted to dodge each strike, but Lyvan always seemed to know exactly what Mason was thinking.
Finally, after what felt like hours, Lyvan stopped and stepped back, a satisfied look on his face. "Not bad," he said, "but you''ve got a long way to go. See you back here same time tomorrow. We¡¯ll step it up a notch.¡±
Mason collapsed to the ground, panting and exhausted. "You did well," she said, "Lyvan is one of the best trainers in Town. He seemed¡ impressed.¡±
Looking up at her, he croaked out, ¡°I hate you.¡±
Mayry put a hand on her chest and, acting deeply offended, said, ¡°Well then If you hate me so much, I guess I¡¯ll keep this Stamina potion for myself.¡±
Mason''s eyes widened, and he quickly sat up, holding out his hand. "Give it here," he said, a hint of desperation in his voice.
Mayry smirked and handed him the small vial, which he quickly drank, immediately feeling the potion¡¯s effects. He felt a surge of energy run through him. He took a deep breath and let it out, feeling worlds better.
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¡°So, what are you doing with the rest of your day?¡± Mayry asked.
¡°I need to complete some contracts. Fancy tagging along?¡±
¡°It¡¯s my day off, and I have nothing better to do, so sure. What are we hunting?¡±
¡°Well, there weren¡¯t many good contracts, so we could either exterminate a small tribe of goblins or track down a pack of Dire Wolves. Your pick.¡±
Mayry considered for a moment before deciding. "Let''s go after the Dire Wolves first. They''re a bigger challenge, but nothing too drastic.¡±
Mason nodded in agreement. After they both got changed into their amour, the two of them set off towards the outskirts of Town, looking very strange in their matching set of pink scale armour.
Once they arrived at the location, the contract stated, It didn''t take long for them to find the wolves. They were big vicious and very aggressive. Mason drew his sword in one hand and his dagger in the other and charged towards them. The contract had estimated there to be between six and eight wolves. Mason counted 16. While he charged ahead, Mayry stayed back to protect their flank. Dire wolves were known to be smart creatures that used tactics to trap their prey.
While the battle was intense, it was nothing compared to the ¡®training¡¯ he had endured earlier that day. He dodged and weaved, blocking the wolves'' attacks and striking back, mostly using his dagger but also getting a few good hits with his sword. Mayry was just as deadly, darting in and out of the fray and taking down wolves with quick, precise bursts of fire and spikes of ice.
Once they dispatched the last of the wolves, Mason noticed Mayry was frowning. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±
¡°That was really easy. With Wolves, there is usually an A-¡°
A noise from behind them cut off whatever she was going to say. They spun and saw nothing. They heard the noise again, and then suddenly, Mason felt something huge slam into him from behind, knocking him to the ground. He rolled and managed to land on his feet. Before he stood a wolf far bigger than the ones they had just fought.
Monster - Alpha Dire Wolf Matriarch level 21
Dire wolves always appear in packs led by an alpha. The Alpha is far bigger, far tougher and fiercely protective of her pack.
¡°-Alpha¡±, Mayry finished needlessly.
*DING*
Quest Received! The big bad wolf
Quest Objective - You killed her children while she was out hunting. Now she¡¯s pissed and wants to eat you. That¡¯s fair enough in my eyes.
Reward - Medium item box (Rare).
Accept? Y/N
After accepting the prompt, Mason shouted to Mayry, ¡°Do you have any ideas?¡±
She shot a fireball at the Monster, thinking maybe it would be vulnerable to fire. It wasn¡¯t. It tanked the hit and was only pushed back a few steps. It looked over at Mayry.
¡°No! They¡¯re not usually this big.¡± She shouted back, dodging out of the way as the Monster pounced at her.
¡°Okay! Keep it busy for a few minutes il try and summon something! Maybe we¡¯ll get lucky.¡±
She caused the ground below the wolf to shoot up, sending the wolf into the air. ¡°Okay, but no Demons, please.¡± The wolf came back down and darted towards her.
Trusting Mayry to take care of herself for a few minutes, he turned his attention to using his summoning ability. He held out his arms, and the crack appeared.
He lost focus when Mayry shouted, ¡°MASON! WATCH OUT!¡±
He looked over and saw the wolf running over to him, probably wanting to stop whatever he was doing.
He jumped away from the crack. The wolf had been too late. The summoning had worked, and whatever was going to come through would emerge any moment.
As the wolf drew near, it seemed to ignore Mason in favour of the portal. It started sniffing it frantically until it jumped back at a noise.
A snorting sound was coming from the other side of the crack. A fat pink pig waddled through. It looked at the wolf and seemed to disregard it as a threat. It waddled closer and started sniffing the floor, looking for food.
The wolf just stared at it, stunned at the animal¡¯s appearance. It sniffed it a few times, then backed away as if suspecting it to be a trap.
¡°What the fuck is that!¡± Mayry called.
Well, it was obviously a pig, but maybe it was some really powerful, super pig? He winced as he read the description.
Pig level 1
It¡¯s a pig.
¡°It¡¯s a pig!¡± Mason called back.
Mayry got closer, shouting, ¡°I can see it¡¯s a pig, Mason. Why the fuck did you summon a pig?!¡±
Before Mason could answer, the wolf did a sort of wolf shrug and decided the pig wasn¡¯t a trap, just a very strange attack. It bit down on the pig and started to eat the creature.
Mason, seeing a chance, turned invisible and snuck over to the distracted Monster.
When he was close enough, he simultaneously plunged his dagger into the Monsters neck and shot a Magic missile at the back of its head.
The sneak damage from the dagger had been enough to kill it instantly, but he didn¡¯t want to take any chances.
¡°That¡¯ll do, pig, that¡¯ll do,¡± Mason said sadly, looking at the half-eaten pig.
Mayry gave him a strange look as he walked over but didn¡¯t comment.
They had been successful, but not without a few injuries. Mason was bleeding from a deep gash on his arm, and Mayry had a nasty bite mark on her leg.
Mason was fully healed within a few minutes, but Mayry needed to take a healing potion.
Once they were both okay, Mason checked his notifications.
Notification 1/3
You have slain ¨C Monster ¨C Level 10 Dire wolf x 5
You have received a portion of 500 XP.
You have received 250 XP.
Level up!
Stat points allocated
You have slain ¨C Monster ¨C Level 11 Dire wolf x 8
You have received a portion of 880 XP.
You have received 440 XP
You have slain ¨C Monster ¨C Level 12 Dire wolf x 3
You have received a portion of 360 XP.
You have received XP 180.
Level up!
You have slain ¨C Monster ¨C Level 21 Dire Wolf Alpha Matriarch.
You have received a portion of 210 XP.
You have received XP 150.
He was back where he was before the Demon, he had no points to spend, but progress was progress.
Notification 2/3
You have absorbed 1 stat point of Intelligence from Level 21 Dire Wolf Alpha Matriarch.
Notification 3/3
Quest update - The big bad wolf
Objective: You killed her children while she was out hunting. Now she¡¯s pissed and wants to eat you. That¡¯s fair enough in my eyes.
Quest Complete
Reward options ¨C A. Medium Weapon box (Rare) or B. Medium magic item box (Rare).
Naturally, without a second thought, he chose the Magic item box.
The box appeared before him, and he excitedly ripped it open.
Wearable Item - Ring of the All-knowing Eye (Rare) - He knows all and sees all.
Effect: While wearing the ring, your Identify skill is boosted. It will allow you to identify beings stronger than you and will allow you to see an approximation of their HP bar.
¡°Ever heard of the ¡®All-knowing Eye?¡± Mason asked Mayry.
Mayry shook her head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. Why?¡±
¡°I got a new Magic ring. It¡¯s got a weird description.¡±
Mayry just shrugged. ¡°Are you nearly done? It¡¯s really boring when you zone out like that.¡±
Rolling his eyes, Mason replied, ¡°All done, just need to the bodies, then we can head off.¡±
He walked over to each dead wolf and looted the corpse. He had gotten almost a silver in iron and bronze coins which he split with Mayry. He had also gotten dozens of wolf teeth and loads of slabs of what the system called Monster meat.
¡°So, are you up for some goblin slaying?"
Chapter 40 - Goblin Orgy
Chapter 40 - Goblin Orgy
Mason and Mayry arrived at the last known location of the goblin tribe to find nothing but an empty campsite. Mayry walked over to the campfire and held a hand over it. ¡°Cold. It looks like they¡¯ve been gone a few hours at least.¡± Their tents were still set up, and food hung over the fire pit. ¡°They must have left in a hurry.¡±
Mason used his Monster Tracking skill, causing dozens of small footprints to start glowing in the dirt. Unfortunately, they all seemed to lead off in different directions, making them useless.
¡°Damn, I¡¯ve got nothing, any ideas? Mason asked Mayry.
¡°I know a basic ritual that will point us in their general direction,¡± She started looking around the camp more thoroughly. ¡°but we need something that came from one of them. Hair or spit would work best.¡±
Mason stuck his head into one of the tents. He withdrew it and immediately fell to his knees, gagging. Wiping his hand furiously on his leg.
Mayry ran to his side, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you okay?¡±
In between long, deep breaths, Mason managed to say, ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± pointing at the tent, ¡°Smells horrible.¡±
To his surprise, Mayry¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s what I was looking for.¡± She explained, ¡°Goblins tend to breed like rabbits, so in every camp, there is usually one or two tents where all the goblins go to¡ err, get it on.¡±
Mayry picked up a stick from the floor and used it to collect a sample of the green goo Mason wiped on his leg. She placed it on the floor and walked a circle around it while muttering something under her breath.
Mason frowned. He looked at the tent, then at Mayry, then at the stick, then back to the tent.
Mayry needed something that came from a goblin¡. The goo she was using came from the sex tent¡.
The disgusting revelation finally dawned on him.
Mason once again fell to his knees. This time covering the floor in front of him with vomit.
Wiping the puke from his mouth, walk walked over to Mayry, ¡°We need to go back to the Inn. I feel dirty and desperately need a shower.¡±
Mayry looked up at him with a grin on her face, Ignoring what he had said, ¡°I think I know where they are.¡±
¡°Mayry! I just got goblin jizz on me I need a sho-¡°
Mayry rolled her eyes and cut him off by shooting a high-pressure stream of ice-cold water at him. ¡°Better?¡±
The now-drenched Mason gave her a dirty look. ¡°I¡¯m seriously regretting rescuing you from the ¡®Others¡¯, you know!¡±
Chuckling, Mayry started walking east, ¡°Yeah, yeah. Come on, let¡¯s go.¡±
Five minutes into their walk, Mayry gave in and summoned a fireball to help dry Mason off, saying the squelching of his boots was driving her nuts.
======
After walking for only an hour, they found the second campsite. Mason activated his invisibility and scouted ahead. He returned a few minutes later, ¡°This one looks abandoned too. The fire is still lit, so they must still be close.¡°
Entering the camp, It did indeed seem to be completely empty.
Mason paused just a few steps in, ¡°Wait, do you hear that?¡±
¡°No, what is it?¡±
Mason¡¯s face had gone green, he looked moments away from puking again. ¡°Good news is the camp isn¡¯t abandoned.¡±
¡°And the bad news?¡±
¡°I think all the goblins are in there,¡± Mason said, pointing to the largest tent. Now they were actively looking at the tent, it did seem to be rocking back and forth far more than the others.
Mayry turned her back to him and covered her face in an attempt to cover up her laughter.
==================================
It was good to be chief.
He eat when want eat, drink when want drink and fuck when want fuck.
All he need worry about is hunters but with new camp they no find.
Chief special, Chief very powerful.
In new sex tent he fuck all day. Guards outside watch for hunters.
Many goblins in sex tent fucking. Bad smell smell good.
Bored, kick off girl goblin. New girl goblin better.
Need breed for new goblins be made. More goblin more fighters. More fighters no fear hunters.
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Big family, no fear, no fear goblins safe.
Wait, why guard fucking too? Guard should be guarding! Who guarding?
Throw rock at guard, guard run away. Bad guard not leave tent still no guard.
Not matter, safe.
Bad smell smell different. Tent too hot.
Fire. Big boom. Lots of fire.
¡°UNDER ATTACK!¡±
==========================
In order to prevent the goblins from getting to their weapons, Mayry had first set all of the empty tents on fire. Once that was done, the sex tent had already caught fire. None of the goblins had run out, probably too preoccupied with what they were doing.
Mayry held out her hand and closed her eyes. A ball of fire appeared in her palm. At first, it was the size of a pebble, but from the moment it appeared, it began to grow. After two minutes, it was the size of a football and still growing. Once it reached the size of a volleyball, Mayry flicked her wrist, and the giant ball of fire went shooting off to disturb the goblin orgy.
Seconds after it hit, Mason received notifications letting him know that that single strike had killed dozens of the goblins.
The rest ran out of the tent like ants from an anthill and charged at them in various states of undress. Mason¡¯s eyes bulged as he saw the ridiculous penis-to-body ratio the majority of the remaining goblins possessed. Some of them had blades, but none had any armour.
It was almost too easy to finish off the rest of the little green assholes. They were about the size of an average 5-year-old, but their height was the thing they shared. Both the males and females were hairy, disgustingly ugly and very aggressive.
One managed to sneak up behind him and jump on his back. It tried to stab him in the throat, but his armour stopped the blade from piercing every time. The thing was also trying to stab his lower back. Wait. The goblin was stabbing at his throat with one hand and clinging to Mason with the other, so what was stabbing him in the lower back¡?
OH EW! Mason threw the goblin off of him and saw that it was completely naked, green goo covering its lower parts.
The image of the goblin flying through the air was being burned into his mind. He knew that his nightmares were going to involve naked goblins from now on.
He shot it was a Magic Missile, and it exploded.
He looked over at Mayry. No more goblins were emerging from the tent. They both crept closer and saw that the biggest, fattest goblin he assumed was the chief had been the epicentre of Mayry¡¯s fireball and so had most likely been killed instantly.
Checking his notifications, he saw that they had killed 67 goblins.
Notification 1/3
You have slain ¨C Level 11 Goblin x 6
You have received a portion of 66 XP.
You have received 25 XP.
You have slain ¨C Level 12 Goblin x 24
You have received a portion of 288 XP.
You have received 130 XP.
You have slain ¨C Level 13 Goblin x 37
You have received a portion of 481 XP.
You have received 230 XP.
You have slain ¨C Level 20 Goblin chieftain
You have received a portion of 200 XP.
You have received 90 XP.
Notification 2/3
Level up!
Stat points allocated
In total, they had earned just over 1000 XP, Mayry got the Majority of it as she had been responsible for killing most of the goblins in the initial explosion. Mason received just under 500 XP and levelled.
What surprised him most was that according to his last notification, at least one of the goblins had possessed a Chaos Ability.
Notification 2/3
You have absorbed the ability. ¡®Mental Manipulation¡¯
Mental Manipulation (Basic) - The minds of others bend to your will.
Active effect: Twice a day, you can twist a target¡¯s mind filling it with an emotion of your choice for 30 seconds X your Willpower. Scales with Willpower.
Terror, loyalty or lust. Which will you choose?
Oh crap, this was dangerous. Terror and loyalty would have great battle utility but lust¡
With terror, he could cause Monsters to flee anytime he got in over his head. With loyalty, he could make groups of enemies turn on each other. But Lust¡
Dammit, he was a lot of things, but he couldn¡¯t go around manipulating people into jumping into bed with him¡ Damn his morals.
He, begrudgingly, chose loyalty. He didn¡¯t feel the usual rush of information. He looked at Mayry and tried to will her to be loyal to him, he assumed she already was pretty loyal, or he wouldn¡¯t be testing it on her.
He had decided not to tell her about this particular ability as he could imagine people might start acting weird around him if they knew he could influence their minds. They would always be questioning if they were doing something because they wanted to or because he was forcing them to.
He told Mayry he needed to rest. While she looked through the burnt tents he stared at her and tried to make his ability work.
After a few attempts, he whispered, ¡°Help, Mental Manipulation.¡±
Help - Mental Manipulation
Error - Information on absorbed abilities unavailable.
A few more attempts in, and Mason figured out he could sort of lock onto Mayry¡¯s mind. When he did this, he felt a presence in his own mind that he could feel he would be able to push if he tried. He held off, not knowing if a sudden burst of loyalty would cause Mayry to suspect something was up. He tried pushing just a tiny bit of it into her.
Her head whipped around to stare at him. Her head cocked to the side, and after a few seconds, she smiled.
That seemed like it was a success. Maybe? It was a weird reaction to loyalty, but maybe he shouldn¡¯t be testing new powers on his friends.
He put his two new stat points into Willpower. He was curious as to what the Advanced version of the ability would do. Would it give him a second emotion to choose from, or would it increase how many times he could do it per day? Maybe something entirely different.
Wanting to take a look at his progress, he bought up his character sheet.
Name: Mason Hughes
Level: 16
Current XP: 5015/5600
Race: Human
Class: Hunter
Health Points (HP): 290
Mana Points (MP): 305
Stamina: (SP): 200
Stats
Strength: 27 (+15) 42
Agility: 22
Endurance: 20
Vitality: 19
Resilience: 15 (+26) 41
Intelligence: 38(+10%) 41
Perception: 27
Willpower: 19
Free points: 0
Skills:
Identify (Basic), Magic Missile - INT (Advanced), Emotional Outburst - PER (Advanced), Camouflage - PER (Advanced), Random Summon (Advanced), Mental Manipulation (Basic)
Class skills, Basic Monster tracking.
He would commit the next few points into willpower unless he gained any other abilities that were more useful.
Coming out of his menu, he saw Mayry standing in front of him, arms crossed.
¡°If you¡¯re done trying to mess with my mind, maybe we should head back to Town?¡±
Chapter 41 - Fuck This Guy
Chapter 41 - Fuck This Guy
Mason looked up at Mayry, eyes wide, ¡°Me? Mess with your mind? Never! I¡¯m insulted you would even accuse me of such a heinous act!¡±
Sighing deeply, she replied. ¡°Mason, how many times do I need to tell you, I can sense magic.¡± She took a step closer to him, pointing a finger at his chest. ¡°So, imagine my surprise when I feel a burst of magic coming from you hit me and then suddenly have my mind filled with thoughts about how great you are.¡±
Mason''s face fell as he realised he had been caught. "Okay, fine," he admitted, holding up his hands in surrender. ¡°I got a new ability and tried it on you.¡±
He swatted him on the head, ¡°Asshole, what was it supposed to do? Make me think of you? That a pretty shitty new ability?¡±
Defensively he replied, ¡°No, It¡¯s supposed to make the target loyal to me for a while. I tried on you because I couldn¡¯t figure out to activate it, and I didn¡¯t think it would do much to you because you¡¯re already loyal to me! Or so I thought.¡± He narrowed his eyes at her, dramatically rubbing his head where she had swatted him.
¡°Oh¡±, she looked thoughtful, ¡°you could have just asked. Now, come on, it¡¯s getting dark, and you need to be up early tomorrow for training!¡± Grinning at the defeated look that had appeared on his face at the mention of ¡®training¡¯, she turned and started to head back to Town.
================================================
The next three days went by in a blur. In the mornings, he trained with Lyvan, who was, in fact, a sadist. The more pain Mason was in, the happier and more ferocious the man got. Mason had to admit, though, the training was helping. He had been hit by the Gnoll so often that he had gotten noticeably better at dodging.
One time he had even managed to land a hit on the Gnoll¡ once. Apparently, that had been a mistake.
The Gnoll¡¯s grin had just widened, he had said something about kiddie gloves and ever since, he hadn¡¯t come near to landing a hit again.
After every training session, he would be a sweaty, exhausted mess, feeling as if he was dying. Honestly, he was considering asking Lyvan to fight Gael when she returned, If only to satisfy his own desire of seeing one of them on the receiving end of being beat the fuck up.
Once he had regained the will to live, he would go to the hunters association building and pick up new contracts. He would then set off and try to complete as many as he could before coming back and restarting the cycle. Mayry had gone with him the first day, but the next two days he had gone alone.
Over the last three days, Mason had completed another five contracts netting him a decent amount of coin and a butt ton of experience. He had hit level 19 and was on the brink of reaching Level 20 and getting a new Skill Selection. He was also very close to upgrading his Mental Manipulation skill once his Willpower got to 25.
Name: Mason Hughes
Level: 19
Current XP: 7330/7500
Race: Human
Class: Hunter
Health Points (HP): 330
Mana Points (MP): 320
Stamina: (SP): 215
Stats
Strength: 30 (+15) 45
Agility: 25
Endurance: 23
Vitality: 23
Resilience: 18 (+26) 44
Intelligence: 41(+10%) 41
Perception: 30
Willpower: 24
Free points: 0
Skills:
Identify (Basic), Magic Missile - INT (Advanced), Emotional Outburst - PER (Advanced), Camouflage - PER (Advanced), Random Summon (Advanced), Mental Manipulation - WIL (Basic)
Class skills, Basic Monster tracking.
The five contracts he completed had levelled him several times in his class and gained him the Class Ability he had so desperately wanted.
New Class Ability unlocked: Evaluate Monster.
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Class Menu
Class: Hunter level 8
Local rank: 50/87
National Rank: ???
Continent Rank: ???
World Rank: ???
Class skills: Basic Monster tracking, Evaluate Monster
Evaluate Monster
Passive Effect - See the HP bar of any Monsters you engage in combat.
Waking up on the fourth day was no different than the previous three. He woke up, got ready, and left his room ready to get beaten up.
The only thing that kept him going to see Lyvan every morning was the knowledge that with his constant stat increases and new abilities, he would one day be able to wipe the grin off of the sadistic bastard¡¯s face. He had a long way to go, but he would like to see Lyvan fight him when he was Level 50 or 75! There would be no way he¡¯d stand a chance.
Busy daydreaming, he failed to notice the figure creeping up on him. A sweeping kick knocked Mason¡¯s legs out from under him, causing him to hit the floor ass first.
¡°What have I told you? Always be ready for an attack!¡± Lyvan said as he stood over him, grinning.
¡°You have literally never said those words to me.¡± Keeping an eye on the Gnoll, he got to his feet, ¡±The only instruction you ever give me is shouting DODGE before you try to kill me.¡±
¡°Fair enough, well I¡¯m telling you now¡ DODGE!¡°
So it began, Lyvan threw a punch at Mason¡¯s head which he managed to duck under by a hair¡¯s breadth. He sprung back up, flinging himself at his opponent, desperate to land a hit. Lyvan effortlessly moved out of the way as if Mason was moving in slow motion.
Lyvan launched a kick at Mason¡¯s stomach, which sent him flying onto the dirt floor. Mason was back on his feet and, on instinct, took a quick step to his left. A fist from behind appeared in the exact spot his head had just been. He spun around and saw Lyvan had somehow gotten behind him.
Before he could go on the offensive, he heard a giggle, momentarily distracted he chanced a quick look and saw Mayry was in the corner watching them, laughing at him getting knocked around. Annoyed, Mason turned back to Lyvan. The distraction had allowed another strike to slip by his defence and land on the side of his head. Mason once again hit the floor.
Hearing another giggle from Mayry, he felt something within him click. He saw red and felt everything around him slow. His Emotional Outburst Skill had triggered. His mind emptied, focussed on one thing. He charged toward a grinning Lyvan.
He lunged toward the Gnoll. He felt far stronger and moved far faster than he did mere moments ago. Somewhere in his subconscious, he held himself back just enough that he didn¡¯t think he would kill the man.
He threw a punch, but his fist found empty air.
He felt a presence behind him and kicked, but again nothing. He spun and saw the Gnoll standing there, giving him a curious but somewhat bored look. Mason stopped holding himself back. Fuck this guy. He attacked with everything he had. The longer he fought, the angrier he got. He punched him again and again, but every punch found nothing but empty space. It was infuriating! The more frustrated Mason got, the faster he moved and the harder he hit.
After what felt like hours of throwing endless punches, kicks, elbows and knees, Mason let out a carnal roar and threw himself at the Gnoll one final time. His mind now was filled with nothing but an intent on killing his trainer fuck the consequences. He finally felt something connect. A fist plunged into Mason¡¯s stomach knocking the air out of him and stunning him for a moment. He sank to his knees and looked up at Lyvan. The Gnoll was no longer grinning.
¡°What the fuck was that?¡± He growled.
Thankfully, the punch to the stomach had knocked some sense back into him. He wheezed out, ¡° Sorry, sir, I got carried away.¡±
Surprising Mason, Lyvan let out a bellowing laugh. ¡°Sorry? Don¡¯t be sorry, lad! That was brilliant! It was the hardest anyone has made me try in years! You almost had me there a few times!¡± He lifted him up off of the floor, patted him on his head, and walked off shouting back, ¡°Same time tomorrow?¡±
Mason stood there for a few moments staring at the Gnoll¡¯s back as he walked away. Mayry walked over and stood beside him, ¡°That was insane! For the last few minutes, I couldn¡¯t see either of you, you were moving too fast.¡±
¡°What the fuck is he? There is no way that normal people should be able to do that.¡±
¡°Oh¡ Did I really never tell you?¡±
Mason turned his head to look at Mayry. She backed away, startled for a second at the insane look in his eyes, but continued, ¡°Err, yeah, Sorry, I thought I had told you. Lyvan has an ability that makes him faster and stronger than whoever he fights. It¡¯s why he¡¯s never been beaten in a duel. No one really knows if it¡¯s Family Magic or Chaos Magic.¡±
Mason, hit with so many new powerful feelings, felt himself sink to the floor.
On one hand, at least he knew why he hadn¡¯t been able to beat the man. It wasn¡¯t that he was progressing too slowly or that the Gnoll was better than him¡ it was basically just hacks.
On the other hand, No matter what he did or how much he progressed, Lyvan was always going to be that much faster, that much stronger than him, meaning he would never get to enact his revenge.
On the other other hand¡ If Mason killed the man and took his ability, it would be one hell of a way to up his game, he could imagine fighting Gael and the look on her face, and Mason was always just one step ahead of her. Oo, wouldn¡¯t that just be grand? He would need to figure out where the Gnoll lived, he could use his invisibility sneak attack and¡ Wait, what? He was planning to kill Lyvan? The bastard was a sadistic prick, but he was really only just trying to help him. What the hell was wrong with him?
Shaking his head, he looked back at Mayry, who had been staring at him. ¡°What?¡±
She looked away when she realised he had noticed, ¡°Nothing¡ you just looked¡. You looked weird for a second. Never mind.¡±
¡°Okay¡ Well, I¡¯m going to go do a contract, I think I¡¯m going to do this one solo if you don¡¯t mind. I have a lot to think about, but I¡¯ll see you later?¡±
¡°Yeah, no worries, I have loads of work to do. Maybe come find me if you get back early?¡±
Smiling, Mason waved and replied, ¡°Yeah, For sure.¡±
Mason, deep in thought, made his way to the Hunters Association building. He was wondering if his system was affecting him more than he thought. He was fully trying to kill Lyvan during that fight and then afterwards¡ planning on killing the Gnoll in his sleep. That couldn¡¯t have been him, could it? He wasn¡¯t a murderer. Apart from Trolls¡. And Goblins¡ and¡ you know what? Shut up.
After the morning he¡¯d had, he wanted an easy afternoon. He found the easiest-looking contract and stuck with it. All he needed was something to push him into Level 20, and he¡¯d be happy.
New Contract:
Monster Hunt
Target: 1 Unicorn - Adult, White
Danger Level: Unknown
Last known location: Umlilo Forest
Reward: 85 Iron
When he heard unicorn, all he could think of was My Little Pony. In all the reading he had done, he hadn¡¯t come across anything on unicorns. He assumed it was because they were harmless creatures that very rarely needed to be dealt with by Hunters.
But Mason was shocked at how high the reward was. The highest he had seen before this was 50 Iron, and that was for a Hydra someone had supposedly spotted. This was just a unicorn¡ they were just glorified horses, weren¡¯t they? Easy money!
Chapter 42 - A Bucket of Sunshine and Daisies
Given the nature of several documented Chaos abilities, it is widely believed that the universe we live in is not the only one.
There have been cases where a person would gain an ability that would let them travel to these other universes, but in every case on record, the Individual with the ability soon stopped coming back. Whether this is because they couldn¡¯t or didn¡¯t want to come back is unknown.
What is known is that many of these other places have different Magics, different kinds of people and different Monsters. The last is most significant as Monsters tend to be taken from other worlds and bought here through ACT¡¯s. Some of these other places must be horrible indeed if these are the types of Monsters that roam freely.
In further chapters, we will explore the Multiversal theory of Monster displacement and explore whether Multiversal travel through rituals might one day be possible.
Excerpt from ¡®Multiversal Theory¡¯ Page 2
Chapter 42 - A Bucket of Sunshine and Daisies
¡°Ah, the Umlillo Forest, where it all began. This is where I first appeared in the world.¡± Mason announced as he and his new ¡®friend¡¯ entered the forest.
¡°Oh wow, how fascinating.¡± The man said, obviously bored.
¡°You know, you could try to be less of an asshole!¡±
¡°Yeah, and you could try not to summon random people while they¡¯re just minding their own business¡ I didn¡¯t even know I could be summoned! What¡¯s up with that?!¡±
The man was tall, had a well-defined jawline and spoke with an over-the-top British accent, almost as if he was trying to badly imitate someone he¡¯d seen in a film. When he first appeared, Mason had thought he might have come from Earth, but after using Identify, he found that pretty unlikely.
Alan Slackering - Level 23 Human (Mostly)
Alan is a Human who was sent to his world¡¯s version of Hell while still alive by mistake. For the last few months, he has been trying to kill as many low-level demons as he can in order to gain their power and make it to the lowest level of Hell, where there is a rumoured way out back to the world of the living. He was summoned just as he was about to get some rest after a long demon-slaying day.
¡°I already told you! It¡¯s random! I used an ability, and you appeared. I¡¯m sorry if I interrupted something! If I knew you¡¯d be so fucking whiny, I wouldn¡¯t have bothered.¡±
The man rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed with Mason''s excuse. "Look, I¡¯m sorry, I haven¡¯t been around people in a long while. I don''t know who you are or what you want from me. So can we just cut the small talk and get to the point?"
Mason sighed, realising that he wasn''t going to win any favours with his attitude. "Alright, fine. The reason I summoned you here is that I need your help."
"My help? With what?"
¡°Im hunting a Monster; I¡¯ve been wandering around for hours, my tracking skill has picked up nothing, and my summoning was the last thing I was going to try before just going home. I don¡¯t suppose you know anything about tracking Monsters, do you?¡±
The man looked thoughtful, ¡°Ok, fine, My name is Alan, and since I have no other choice, I will try and help you. What kind of Monster are you hunting?¡±
Mason muttered something under his breath.
¡°I didn¡¯t quite hear that, mate. Speak up?¡±
¡°Im hunting a Unicorn, okay?!¡± Mason blurted out, annoyed. ¡°I know how it sounds, but dumb, the fucking thing is really good at hiding! I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve seen it in the corner of my eye a few times, but-¡°
Mason trailed off as he saw the look on Alan¡¯s face. His eyes were wide, and his whole demeanour had changed to radiate fear and suspicion.
¡°Fuck,¡± He started pacing, worriedly muttering to himself until he turned to Mason and said, ¡°Okay, you said you thought you saw it? How long ago? Why do you look so calm? You have no idea how fucked you are, do you? If these Unicorns are anything like they are in Hell, then we¡¯re both fucked.¡±
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¡°Um, I thought I saw it just before I summoned you¡ Err, so you really were in Hell? What were the Unicorns like there?
Alan stared at him before answering, ¡°They¡¯re some of the worst things I¡¯ve come across. They look like stereotypical Unicorns, all love and kindness, but once you get closer, the illusion breaks, and you see them for what they really are.¡±
By this point, Mason was seriously doubting the man¡¯s sanity but asked, ¡°Okay, so? What are they really?¡°
¡°They¡¯re-¡° Before he could continue, his eyes focused on something behind Mason. Spinning, Mason saw it for the first time. He turned back to look at Alan, ¡°It¡¯s just a fucking horny horse, dude. Relax.¡±
Mason took a step towards the Unicorn, who was staring at them curiously. A hand grabbed his shoulder, ¡°Look at it, really look at it. Try and look past its illusion and really see it.¡±
Mason shook off the hand and turned back to look at the Unicorn. He looked at it for a full minute before he started to notice something off about the creature.
The first time he had looked at it, it had been pure white. Now it was a pinkish colour. Its pure black eyes seemed to draw in his eyes, so no matter where on the creature he looked, he always found himself back to staring into its soulless eyes.
Something changed, He got a notification, and the air around the creature began to flicker.
New Skill unlocked - Mental Resistance
Mental Resistance - Your body is a fortress, and your mind the drawbridge.
Passive Effect - You are now far more likely to see through Illusion magic and resist mental manipulation.
A trickle of memories entered Mason¡¯s brain. Most were to do with the Unicorn, but a few others he would need to seriously go over later. He remembered what the books had actually said about Unicorns. One in particular warned of the Unicorn¡¯s most esoteric abilities. With his enhanced Intelligence, he could now remember it perfectly.
While most people will gloss over this segment of the page, I believe it is still of great importance that it is included.
The Unicorns have a wide-reaching mental effect ability, which will make anything written or spoken about them be glossed over or forgotten unless it feeds into the false image they project of themselves. Certain people, like myself, who have been gifted with mental resistance Chaos Abilities will be able to read and remember this, so please, please know Unicorns are not all sunshine and rainbows. They are awful, horrid creatures who take pleasure in ripping the flesh off of people. They are vegetarians by necessity, so they do this not to survive but to play.
¡°Well, Alan, I think you might be right about our friend here. Just out of curiosity, did you happen to pick up a way to kill Unicorns in Hell?¡±
¡°Um, no¡ I always avoided them or ran like fuck.¡±
Quest Received! Run like fuck?
Quest Objective - You have encountered a Unicorn. These guys are no fun at all, you could either run or fight. It¡¯s totally up to you, but honestly, your agility is piss poor, and you¡¯ll never manage to get away from it, so you might as well fight.
Reward - Idk. You can use its horn as a wand or some shit. Just fucking go kill it.
Accept? Y/N
Accepting the prompt, he looked back at the Unicorn. The flickering had stopped. What he saw was an abomination. It was covered in matted fur that was no longer white but a dirty grey. Its eyes had gone from pure black to glowing red. It seemed to smile at him with a menacing grin filled with razor-sharp teeth. .
Mason took a step back, feeling his heart racing in his chest. This was not at all the beautiful, majestic creature he had been expecting. This was something else entirely.
The moment the illusion had fully broken, the ring on his finger began to vibrate violently before stopping suddenly.
The Unicorn let out a low, menacing growl. Mason could feel his palms start to sweat, and he began to regret ever taking this contract. All he had wanted was something easy, so he could level up and get a new ability. Was that really too much to ask?
The atrocity of a Unicorn slowly walked over. When it got close enough, it barred its teeth as either a threat or an awfully disturbing smile.
¡°Well,¡± Mason said, ¡°ain¡¯t you just a bucket of sunshine and daisies?¡±
The Unicorn reared up on its hind legs. A cut appeared running down its body. It oozed a black tar-like substance.
Sarcastic Prick (Advanced) successful. Critical damage inflicted upon ¡®Unicorn Level 27.¡¯
A red bar appeared above the Unicorn, showing about a quarter of the bar empty.
¡°What the fuck was that?!¡± Alan shouted as he dove back, avoiding the creature¡¯s kick.
¡°Just another ability of mine. There¡¯s a chance I do damage anytime I¡¯m sarcastic.¡±
¡°Fucking Hell, man, the best I¡¯ve gotten so far is this.¡± Alan pulled a gun out of the air and shot the Unicorn several times. Each bullet that hit caused a mini explosion, leaving tiny holes in the creature¡¯s body. The holes closed up far quicker than Mason would have liked. Fucking hell, did all Monsters have regeneration, or was he just really unlucky?
Mason was going to reply that Alan¡¯s attack was actually pretty fucking cool, but before he could, the Unicorn lowered his head. For a moment, Its horn glowed before shooting out of its head at an impossible speed, piercing through the Basilisk armour and sinking deep into Mason¡¯s stomach.
Mason doubled over in pain. Alan stepped in front of him, shielding him from any further attacks. Continuing to shoot the unicorn with an endless barrage of bullets.
With both hands, Mason grabbed the foot-long horn currently embedded in his torso and began to pull. He stopped when the horn suddenly flared with heat, burning his hands and insides. Closing his eyes, he grabbed the horn again, fought through the pain, and with a sickening squelch, managed to pull it out. He groaned in agony, blood oozing out of the wound.
¡°Are you gonna be okay?¡± Alan asked in between firing at the horrific horny bastard of a Unicorn.
In reply, Mason spat out some blood.
He groaned again as he forced a healing potion down his throat, then sighed as he felt the rush of it taking effect.
Standing up, he announced, ¡°Okay, now I¡¯m pissed! Nobody penetrates me without my consent.¡±
Chapter 43 - Hokey Pokey
Chapter 43 - Hokey Pokey
Charles was excited. He so rarely had new people to play with, and anytime he did find someone, they always ended up running away or falling asleep before he was finished playing with them.
But today was obviously his lucky day! He had two new friends that wanted to play with him. He wasn¡¯t sure where they had come from, but he was happy nevertheless.
These friends seemed quite strange. They were already looking at him the way people did after he started playing with them, but he hadn¡¯t done anything yet, which was very odd.
He lowered his head in a bow, letting them know he was eager to play, he let out a purr, but they just stood there staring at him.
He took a few steps over to them and smiled widely at them. One of them said something, and suddenly he felt a sharp pain run down his body. Ouch! That was not how he wanted to play! He was the one who was supposed to be opening them up, not the other way around! They obviously didn¡¯t know how to play this game properly, but not to worry, Charles would be happy to help them understand. He quite liked it when his friends in the past needed to be taught, so he expected this would still be fun!
Before he could start explaining the rules, one of the friends held a toy out for Charles to see. Charles took a good look, wondering what the toy could be for. It was black and shiny and was making loud noises that Charles didn¡¯t really like. It also made his body tickle in a not-nice way. Charles was getting annoyed at these friends for not letting him show them how to play. He lowered his head and performed one of his favourite tricks. He concentrated, and his horn popped right off and shot right into one of the friends! Yay, the friends seemed to like the gift that Charles had given him. He made noises that Charles remembered other friends had made too! He liked those noises a lot!
He liked one of the friends, but the one with the shiny black toy was getting on his nerves; Charles just wanted to play, but this friend wasn¡¯t acting much like a friend at all. All he was doing was playing with that silly black toy that made Charles tickle in a not-nice way! And now! He was standing in front of the other friend, stopping Charles from playing with him anymore.
Charles didn¡¯t understand! He was a good Unicorn and was good at playing! Why was this friend being so mean? All his friends in the past screamed with happiness when he played with them, so why was this friend not giving Charles a chance?
Charles was a really good player, he made friends, made lots and lots of nice red juice and made them make lots of happy noises! He even removed his last friend¡¯s legs so he wouldn¡¯t ever have to stop playing and go home. Eventually, he had fallen asleep, but Charles was sure he would wake up sometime soon! Though people did seem to sleep for a really, really long time!
Charles decided that this friend was not a friend at all! He would make this not friend go away so he could play with the nice friend!
Suddenly the friend that was a nice friend stood up, but to Charles¡¯ shock, all of the nice red juice was all gone and so was the gift Charles had given him! This was unfair! All Charles wanted was to play. He was sure that this must be the not friend¡¯s fault. Charles was going to say bye-bye to the not friend, and then the nice friend and Charles could play together.
Before Charles could say bye-bye the nice friends said some people¡¯s words and started running towards Charles very fast. Good! The nice friend was leaving the not-nice friend and coming over to play with Charles.
Charles was very happy he was going to make the nice friend make a lot of the red juice and make a lot of the nice happy noises people made. His sharp head stick was regrown now, and so, as the nice friend ran toward Charles, Charles started running toward him too, wanting to play with his new friend for as long as he could before the friend fell asleep or ran away from Charles as all his friends did.
This new friend looked like he wasn¡¯t tired at all! Charles hoped he would be able to play for a long, long time! This was definitely going to be the best day ever!
==================================
Mason charged towards the Unicorn, dagger in hand and Magic Missiles ready to shoot off when needed. When he had made it halfway, the Unicorn lowered his head and charged towards him like a bull trying to impale a matador on its horns,
Mason quickly sidestepped and rolled away, narrowly avoiding the Unicorn''s charge. He scrambled back to his feet, readying his dagger and Magic Missiles once again. The Unicorn snorted and pawed the ground as if daring Mason to come at him again.
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Undeterred, Mason took a breath and charged forward, his dagger gleaming in the sunslight. The Unicorn lowered his head and charged again, but this time, Mason was ready. He dodged to the side and stabbed his dagger into the Unicorn, using its momentum to pull the dagger through its body.
The Unicorn let out a piercing cry of pain and reared up, thrashing its hooves wildly. One hoof kicked into Mason¡¯s face making him stagger backwards and leaving his face looking like it had collapsed into itself. Dizzy but still able to see, he managed to dodge when the Unicorn spun around, using its horn to attempt to decapitate him.
While this was happening, Alan had been using his finger to draw something in the dirt. There was a golden flash of light, and Alan was standing there holding what Mason recognised as a shotgun. Being British, Mason didn¡¯t know a whole lot about guns, but he maintained a working knowledge through his gaming. He knew enough to know that the shotgun in Alan¡¯s hand was for sure not one that could be found on Earth. It was almost as big as the man holding it, though he didn¡¯t seem to be struggling to wield the weapon. It glowed faintly with a golden aura. The man ran over and stood next to Mason.
¡°Dude, this is supposed to be way more powerful. It should draw energy from any local Gods¡± Mason turned to stop him far too late, but Alan ignored him. ¡°Do you guys not have those here?¡±
Even the Unicorn paused momentarily when it heard the word, Alan took the chance to shoot the distracted Monster with the shotgun he had just conjured, knocking it to the floor.
Once the shooting stopped, Mason grabbed him by the shoulders and exclaimed, ¡°Fuck man, you just made this so much worse¡ The G word is taboo here!!¡±
Alan, who didn¡¯t seem phased in the slightest, nonchalantly replied, ¡°What G word? God? Nah, we¡¯re good. Gods can¡¯t hear or see anything I do¡ trust me, it¡¯s more of a curse than a gift.¡±
Mason frowned, but nothing seemed to be happening, so he turned his attention back to the fight. The Unicorn was getting back to its feet after the shotgun blast had knocked it a dozen or so feet back.
The already hideous beast was now covered in holes that were not only oozing the Monster¡¯s black blood but also had smoke coming from them. Its HP bar was over halfway empty, but its regeneration, while slow, was slowly filling it back up.
¡°How many more shots do you have with that gun?¡±
¡°Just two. Then I have to re-summon it.¡±
¡°Ok, if you get any clear shots, take them.¡±
The Unicorn looked pissed. Its eyes were narrowed into slits, staring right at Alan as if it were trying to kill him with the sheer force of its will. It started acting erratically. It put one of its hooves forward, then brought it back then, shook it before it repeated the gesture, and then did the same with its back leg. It then spun in a circle.
It took him a moment, but when it did click, Mason¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°Did¡ did it¡ just do the¡ hokey pokey?
Alan squinted at the Unicorn who was repeating the moves, ¡°You know¡ I think it might be. Well, shit, that¡¯s not something you see every day.¡±
The two of them were so entranced by the creature¡¯s odd behaviour that they didn¡¯t notice that as its hooves moved, there were slight distortions in the air.
When the Unicorn finally seemed to be finished dancing, the floor beneath it glowed red. It stepped back, and from the glowing earth crawled a much smaller unicorn, first one, then a second, then a third. They just kept coming.
Once fully emerged, they moved fast. The first couple of mini Unicorns dashed towards them before Mason could use Identify on them. When they closed the distance, they each leapt into the air so they were within arms reach of the two men. Then they promptly exploded into a rainbow-coloured gas that floated in the air and burned when it made contact with Masons and Alan¡¯s skin.
The Mini Unicorns finally stopped pouring out of the ground. At a guess, Mason would say there were maybe a hundred of the little shits. Apart from the few that had exploded, they gathered around the original Unicorn, all staring in their direction with wide, dreadfully terrifying smiles on each of their faces.
Mason and Alan stood frozen, unsure of what to do next. Without any discernable reason, all the Mini Unicorns shot off, running at them. Mason shot a Magic missile which killed several of them right away, but there were just so many. Alan shot more as they jumped towards them, and Mason used his dagger to cut a few more out of the air. The ones that they didn¡¯t manage to kill exploded when they got near enough, some left behind the rainbow gas, but others shot small bits of razor-sharp horn in all directions like frag grenades.
Alan had gone back to using his pistol, even producing a second one so he could shoot the mini Unicorns twice as fast. Mason was cleaving through the little fuckers using a combination of his dagger and his Magic Missiles. There were a lot of them, but they were really easy to kill.
=========================================
Charles had been angry at his friends, who were now both not nice friends. Now Charles was having the time of his life. He had used a super secret Unicorn dance his mother had shown him long ago to summon so many new friends who were going to help him teach his human friends how they were supposed to play!
This was very exciting! The rainbows his small friends made were so pretty and had a lovely effect on his people¡¯s friends. The people¡¯s friends said bye-bye to his small friends really fast, but it would be okay. There were lots and lots of them. Oh, where did one of the people¡¯s friends go? He had been right there! Oh no! One of his new friends had run away. Why did this always happen?!
Charles heard a noise behind him. Maybe the friend had wanted to play with him and not the smaller friends! He turned to look, but there was nothing there. The last things Charles felt were a sharp pain at the back of his head and then sadness when he realised that one of his friends had snuck up behind him and put him to sleep.
Chapter 44 - Hard Hat Required
Chapter 44 - Hard Hat Required
As the Unicorn lay dying at Mason¡¯s feet, he saw a single tear run down its face.
Mason knew it was dead when he received an onslaught of notifications. He pushed them aside for now, looking over at his companion, who was covered in black blood, having finally killed the last Mini Unicorn prick.
Before making his way over, he looted his kill.
Loot Received:
3 vials of pure unicorn blood
1 Silver coin
Item - Unicorn Blood (Very Rare)
Unicorn Blood is a very effective cure-all potion which instantly heals all injuries, afflictions, sicknesses, diseases or ailments. Side effects include headaches, nausea, spontaneous combustion and dizziness.
Apart from the possible spontaneous combustion, that sounded useful. Too bad there were only three.
The Unorn fight had taken a lot longer than he had expected. With his current Intelligence stat, Summon Random Creature only lasted around 25 minutes, so he was expecting Alan to poof out of existence pretty soon. He ran over to the man and held out his hand, ¡°Thanks for your help. I could have managed it on my own, but it was far more fun working with you.¡±
¡°Thanks? I guess. I assume It¡¯ll be back to hell for me then?¡±
¡°Yeah, sorry, man, nothing I can do.¡± Mason paused, opening his menu for a moment, ¡°Actually, take these. Maybe they¡¯ll help some?¡±
Mason held out a bunch of potions and a spare set of Basilisk armour.
Alan looked up at him with a look Mason struggled to read; he assumed the man was probably just overcome with gratitude.
He took the potions, which disappeared into his inventory equivalent. ¡°Oh, um, the potions are great, thank you so much¡ the armour, though¡ it¡¯s a bit¡. Pink?¡±
Mason frowned, ¡®Yeah, it comes from a Basilisk. It¡¯s pink, but it¡¯s super tough and gives you a major strength boost!¡±
¡°Yeah, that sounds cool and everything but¡ I¡¯m sorry. It just looks ridiculous. You look like a giant naked mole ra-¡°
Alan popped out of existence, leaving Mason standing there, unable to defend his injured ego.
¡°Yeah, well, fuck you!¡± Mason said after a few seconds, failing to come up with anything wittier.
He opened his menu and began to work through the mountain of notifications.
Quest update - Run like fuck?
Notification 1/5
Quest Objective - You have encountered a Unicorn. These guys are no fun at all. You could either run or fight. It¡¯s totally up to you, but honestly, your agility is piss poor, and you¡¯ll never manage to get away from it, so you might as well fight. Objective complete.
Reward - Clop Wand.
Item - Clop Wand (Very Rare)
This Clop wand comes from the body of a Unicorn. It contains 50 charges of the ability Rainbow Acid. Pointing the wand at an enemy and using the activation phrase, ¡®Clop clop¡¯, will trigger the spell.
Mason was certain he had heard the word clop used before, but for the life of him, he could not remember where. The wand was really oddly shaped. He had seen the Unicorn¡¯s actual horn, and this ¡®wand¡¯ looked nothing like it. The horn had been hard and made from what Mason assumed to be keratin, but this, while still pretty hard, felt more fleshy.
The rainbow acid was a decent addition to his offensive repertoire. It would have been very welcome back when he had fought the Trolls.
Notification 2/5
You have received experience from party members¡¯ kills.
Alan killed 42 Level 1 Mini Unicorns - You receive 420 XP.
You have slain 72 Level 1 Mini Unicorns - You receive 720 XP
You have slain Level 27 Unicorn - You receive 270 XP.
Level up
Level up
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Level up
Wow, he got to experience for every one of the smaller Unicorns? Awesome! He¡¯d levelled three times! It almost made him want to hunt down another Unicorn, almost. Three levels meant he had unlocked a new skill select and had reached the WillPower threshold! No wonder he had so many notifications.
Notification 3/5
You have reached level 22.
Stat points allocated
Notification 4/5
Level 20 skill selection available.
Available skills:
Short-Range Teleportation (Advance) - See there, be there.
Effect: You are able to teleport instantly to anywhere you can see. 60-second cooldown between use. Scales with Agility.
Ballistic touch (Advance) - You become the gun.
Effect: While this Ability is active, you imbue any object you touch with kinetic energy, making it shoot off at bullet-like speed in the direction of your choice. Scales with Strength.
Digestion Mimicry (Advance) - You are what you eat.
Effect: Consuming part of a creature will allow you to take on its form temporarily. Duration depends on the amount of the creature you eat, which part of the creature and your Intelligence Stat. Scales with Intelligence.
For once, Mason wanted to be tactical about his choices. As well as the three new options, he also had the skills he hadn¡¯t picked last time. He was only really considering three of those, Healing, Piercing Gaze and Martial Arts.
Right off, while he knew martial arts would be incredibly useful. He didn¡¯t want to waste a skill on something he could learn himself.
That left him with five options. He remembered promising himself that he would get a movement skill and that teleportation would be really cool, but he passed. Mason was a prick and didn¡¯t get a say. The restrictions on the teleportation skill just seemed like too much. If he could use it in quick succession, then maybe, but the minute cool-down made him put it aside for now.
He expanded the descriptions of piercing gaze and healing.
Piercing Gaze (Advanced) ¨C Gaze upon your enemies and strike fear into their hearts.
Active effect: Moderate chance of damaging an enemy by looking at them, scales with Intelligence and Willpower.
The advanced version didn¡¯t seem much better and still didn¡¯t give any hint about how much damage could do. Mason was still considering it, but the fact it needed WillPower and Intelligence in order to upgrade made him move on.
Healer (Advanced) - Love hurts, and so does healing.
Active Effect: Drain your own HP to heal another. You will temporarily feel the pain of what you are healing. The advanced skill also allows the healing of afflictions, diseases and severe injuries, Scales with vitality.
This was definitely on the maybe pile. His regeneration made healing himself pretty easily, but if someone he was hunting with ever got hurt and he found himself without a potion, he would likely never forgive himself. On the other hand, he was pretty good at stocking up on healing potions whenever he started getting at all low, and now he even had the Unicorn blood¡
He found the idea of shapeshifting into all sorts of beasts and Monsters really enticing. In his inventory right now, he had some Drake hide left, some Basilisk, Troll and all sorts of other bits of Monsters he had killed, but even just the thought of eating some of them was enough to make him gag. If he were to take the ability, he would only use it when absolutely necessary. He¡¯d much prefer a skill like Magic Missile that he could rely on in pretty much any situation, so while he would love to scare the shit out of Mayry by sneaking up on her while in the form of a Crack Hen, he was going to have to pass on this occasion.
Finally, Ballistic Touch. Being British, he didn¡¯t have much experience with guns. What he did know came from video games. Being able to touch something and have it shoot off at the speed of a bullet sounded pretty OP, but when it came right down to it, offensively, depending on how the ability worked, it was pretty similar to Magic Missile. If he were restricted to small things, then using Magic Missile would probably be the better option. However, if he could use it on, say, a boulder, then that would be a different story entirely. He could have all sorts of things ready to go in his inventory that he could shoot off at bullet speed, boulders, daggers¡ he could probably even get the blacksmith to make something bullet-shaped. The options were endless.
Every guy, at some point in their life, has made a decision entirely because they had an idea they couldn¡¯t get out of there head. Mason was no different. Having chosen Ballistic Touch, he started searching the area for what he needed.
After searching for 20 minutes, he came across a clearing in the forest. In this clearing was a pile of particularly big rocks, exactly what he had been looking for. He took the biggest one and, with his supernaturally sharp dagger, sliced the top and bottom off, leaving it roughly disk-shaped.
He was glad Mayry wasn¡¯t here. He was sure that she would not be a big believer in this brilliant idea. Taking a deep breath, he jumped into the air holding the stone disk. When he started to descend, he slid the disk under his feet and activated his power.
¡°HOLLLYYYYY FUCCCCCCCCCCK¡±
He shot through the air at an insane speed. Holding on for dear life, he could feel the air resistance pushing back the skin on his face.
The clearing he was in was pretty big, but the longer Mason was airborne, the more he started to think he may have made a small miscalculation. If he maintained his current speed and trajectory, he was going to hit one of the humongous trees that he had just gotten over his hatred of. He was going to splatter against it like a bird flying into a freshly cleaned window.
At the last second, he let go of the disk and flew backwards. He landed hard on the ground but was mostly uninjured, apart from having the breath knocked out of him.
¡°That¡ was¡ awesome!¡± He wheezed out.
While uninjured, he was in a decent amount of pain. He stayed lying there for a few minutes deciding to check his last notification.
Notification 5/5
Your Willpower stat has reached 25.
Your skill Mental Manipulation (Basic) has been upgraded to Mental Manipulation (Advanced).
Mental Manipulation (Advanced) ¨C Active effect: Three times a day, you can twist a target¡¯s mind filling it with an additional emotion of your choice for 45 seconds X your Willpower. Scales with Willpower.
Which emotion will you choose? Terror or Lust?
That was a bit underwhelming when compared to Ballistic Touch¡but oh well. Lust or Terror, fighting Monsters was his thing right now, and he hadn¡¯t yet come across a Monster he had wanted to bang¡ so Terror. Though Gael was kinda hot, ah, it probably wouldn¡¯t work on her anyway.
He received a notification.
Achievement Unlocked - Hard Hat Required.
You have been hit on the head by a falling tree. Wait for it.
Huh? He felt his ring buzz; he looked up just in time to see one of the massive trees slam into him. He had just enough time before being knocked unconscious to figure out that his stone disk had cut through one of the trees.
Chapter 45 - Pinned
Chapter 45 - Pinned
As he regained consciousness, he could feel a great pressure weighing on him. Opening his eye he realised the tree he had accidentally cut through had landed on him. The tree hit him as he had turned, knocking him to the ground. It had landed on his shoulder, pinning him to the ground.
The tree was big enough that even with his enhanced Strength and Resilience, the impact dislocated his shoulder. He didn¡¯t feel any pain, a fact that was actually making him worry more than if he had been in agony.
He attempted to push the tree off of him and then tried to shimmy his arm out, but neither budged an inch. He tried again, but the tree seemed to be rooted to the ground.
Status effect: Pinned - You will slowly lose HP until you free yourself.
Lovely. Just lovely. Ever since he came to this world, a part of him had known these trees would be the death of him.
No problem, he would just use his dagger to¡. Why wasn¡¯t his dagger in his inventory? Oh, he had t be the dumbest son of a bitch in the universe. After using his dagger to make the stone disk, he had placed it beside him, intending to pick it up before trying out his flying disk idea. He, being an idiot, had gotten distracted by the thought of Mayry¡¯s reaction to him flying through the air at high speed, so really¡ this was Mayry¡¯s fault!
Looking around, he saw the suns were setting, and the darkness was starting to creep in. He knew he had to do something fast, or he would be stranded there all night, and he could only defend himself so much with half a body.
One possibility was he could use a Magic Missile to blow the tree up, but that risked blowing up his arm along with it. His HP was ticking down, but at a rate that didn¡¯t worry him much. He decided that if his HP made it below halfway, he would reconsider blowing the asshole tree up, his arm be damned.
He discovered that his Ballistic Touch did indeed have a size limit. Somewhere between the size of a stone disk and the massive dumb tree was where the power stopped working.
Mason closed his eyes and opened his menu, hoping it would inspire a genius idea.
Name: Mason Hughes
Level: 22
Current XP: 8740 /9200
Race: Human
Class: Hunter
Health Points (HP): 360
Mana Points (MP): 335
Stamina: (SP): 230
Stats
|
Strength: 33 (+15) 48
|
Agility: 28
|
Endurance: 26
|
Vitality: 26
|
|
Resilience: 21 (+26) 47
|
Intelligence: 44 (+10%)
|
Perception: 33
|
Willpower: 27
|
Free points: 6
Skills:
Identify (Basic), Magic Missile - INT (Advanced), Emotional Outburst - PER (Advanced), Camouflage - PER (Advanced), Random Summon - INT (Advanced), Mental Manipulation - WIL (Advanced), Ballistic Touch - STR(Advanced)
Base Skills:
Universal Translator, Inventory (Advanced)
Class skills:
Basic Monster tracking, Evaluate Monster.
Damn, nothing. He slightly regretted not picking the Digestion Mimicry ability. No matter how big this bastard tree was, he was certain Mason the Basilisk could shift it with no problem.
He could have possibly used Summon Random Creature, but he had wasted that on Alan¡.
He did have six points free to spend. The way Mason saw it, he could put all six points into Strength and hope that it would buff him up enough to free himself. Alternatively, if he put them all into Intelligence, it would bring the stat up to 50, upgrading Magic Missile and Random Summon from Advanced to Expert. That could possibly be his saving grace. Of course, there was the possibility that the upgrade would be shite and completely unhelpful.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
He was leaning more towards Intelligence. As he was now, the tree was practically immovable; an extra six points probably wouldn¡¯t change that much.
He mentally allocated the points and read through the subsequent notifications with bated breath.
Notification 1/2
Your Intelligence stat has reached 50.
Your skill Magic Missile (Advanced) has been upgraded to Expert rank. You have 2 abilities to select from.
Magical Barrage (Expert) Call upon your immense, mystical power and unleash it to strike down your foes with a barrage of magical destruction.
Active effect: Focus a large portion of your Mana into an attack in the form of a barrage of Magic missiles of kinetic energy, which explode on contact. Mana cost increases with the number of projectile Damage, dependent on Intelligence. Scales with Intelligence.
Or
Mana Control (Expert) Call upon your immense, mystical power. Let it pour from you and shape it to suit your needs.
Active effect: Focus a large portion of your Mana into a stream of kinetic energy which you can shape and mould as you please. Mana cost increases with complexity and size of creation.
Those two were pretty decent¡ but he wanted to reserve judgement until after he saw what the next ability upgrade did.
Notification 2/2
Your Intelligence stat has reached 50.
Your skill Random Summon (Advanced) has been upgraded to Random Greater Summon (Expert).
Random Greater Summon (Expert) Call forth a powerful creature from the cosmos and have them join you in battle.
Active Effect: Once a day, summon a random creature from a random time and place to fight for you. Creature has a much higher chance to be useful for your particular need at the time of summoning. Summon time 10 minutes + 45 seconds for each point of intelligence. Scales with intelligence.
Well, that was a bust. It was a good upgrade, but it was still limited to once a day. It hadn¡¯t reset as he had hoped.
The Magic Missile upgrade had potential. That second one¡ might actually work! The first option was cool and all, but he was definitely going to go with the second. The way he read it, it would be like almost having a Green Lantern ring. He would be able to use it to create a buzz saw in the air and cut himself free! Or maybe a giant axe! Oo, this was going to be awesome!
This was so bloody annoying! He had chosen Magic control, and as usual, a rush of information had entered his head, telling him all about his new ability. Luckily he found he still retained the original Magic Missile ability, he had feared he would lose it in favour of the upgraded version. The new upgraded Mana Control ability was very similar to Magic Missile in the way he felt the Mana move within him, accumulating in his fingers. Unfortunately, that was where the similarities ended. The moment the Mana left him, it became incredibly unwieldy and difficult to do anything with. Each time he tried, he felt like he was growing a brand new limb he had no idea how to move or control. It moved and changed shape at his slightest thought.
Trying to start off with something easy, he let the Mana flow from him and tried to imagine a ball. At first, the blue Mana moved and created a very lumpy volleyball-sized, almost sphere-like shape. For a first attempt, it wasn¡¯t terrible, but then as it does when staring at anything even remotely round, his mind wandered, very briefly, to¡boobs.
The change was instant, and his lumpy sphere started to change into a pair of boobs. This made him panic a little, making his mind go from boobs to ass to Mayry to a sort of demon-looking creature to, for some reason, his nan¡ before he finally cut off the mana supply.
¡°That was definitely not worthy of a Green Lantern.¡± He knew he needed to keep the picture in his mind clear, but he was a very easily distracted guy. When choosing this ability, he thought it would be super intuitive like all of his other powers! But no, this was way more effort than he signed up for.
Sighing, he started to try again. He went even more simple this time and attempted to do a Trump and build a wall! Surprisingly he was relatively successful. It wasn¡¯t particularly strong or detailed, but a wall was a wall! He found that if concentrated, he could move the projection and even rotate it. It was like he was in a Sims game. Trying to make anything more complicated than a wall was a lot more effort, but after a few attempts, he managed to create a shovel-like manifestation that he used to dig a small hole under the trunk. He then turned the shovel into a long thick stick he intended to use as a lever. The long thick stick, unfortunately, made his mind wander, and it turned into a giant penis. In the end, he couldn¡¯t get the penis to turn back into a lever, so¡ he was saved by a giant penis¡
He vowed to himself that he would never tell Mayry about any of this.
When he was finally free, he stretched and went to see if he could find his stone disk. He walked passed the stump of the tree that had fallen on him and gave it the finger. He could see the trail of destruction his disk had caused. It had gone straight through the first tree and then deflected off another three before it finally stopped. It seemed to be, somehow, completely unharmed. If he commissioned one of these made out of metal, he was going to be unstoppable.
He picked the disk up and added it to his inventory. He walked back over to where he had left his dagger, picked it up, and whispered to it, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll never leave you again.¡± Before he added it to his inventory as well.
By this time, the suns had well and truly set. The darkness wasn¡¯t quite pitch black, but it was getting close. He withdrew his Trunk and decided he would just camp out until dawn and then make his way back to Town before his dreaded training session with Lyvan.
Just as he stepped through the entrance, the skies opened up, and a biblical rainfall began.
====================
Mason was in his bed. He could hear the thunder and torrential downpour of rain outside. Mason was Level 21 and, even by the standards of this world, pretty damn powerful. Mason was the champion of Chaos and would most likely have to kill the ¡®Others¡¯ of legend.
Mason was a slight bit scared of the thunder.
To be fair, it wasn¡¯t just the thunder. It was a culmination of things, being somewhere other than his nice cosy inn room and the fact he had just been trapped under a godforsaken tree! But¡ mostly, it was the Thunder and lightning...
No matter how great and powerful he was, every single time the lightning struck, and he heard thunder, he jumped. He considered going back to the Inn but decided against it. If he was scared in a relatively safe magical Trunk, then he would be terrified out in the open in the pouring rain.
After what seemed like an eternity, he fell asleep.
He dreamt that he was being pinned by a tree while a group of other trees took turns kicking him. Each kick was accompanied by a loud clap of thunder, which shook the ground beneath him. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the tree that was pinning him down, and it burst into flames. The other trees retreated in fear, and he was able to break free and run away.
As he ran, he felt he was being chased. He looked back and saw that he was being chased by a pair of disembodied boobs that were somehow riding a Unicorn.
Chapter 46 - Bored
Chapter 46 - Bored
Mason woke and immediately noticed the storm had stopped, he exited the Trunk and saw the suns had already risen.
He had recently been getting better at judging what time it was. As world clocks and watches had yet to be invented in this world, most people developed an Internal clock and always knew what time it was. As Mason had only been here for a few weeks he unfortunately lacked this skill. He had read that there was a very easy, quick ritual he could do to find out the exact time but he had yet to commit any time to learn it.
Judging from the suns position, he made a super rough guess that it was about 5 Am. If he was even slightly correct then he was going to be very late to his early morning torture session Lyvan liked to call training. His training usually started at 5:30, if he could run straight there it would only take him about 20 minutes to get back to town but he would need to navigate the forest and completely avoid any Monsters in order to make that time.
Apart from being a sadistic wookie wannabe, Lyvan was pretty decent and most likely wouldn¡¯t mind if he was slightly late, so Mason wasn¡¯t too bothered.
Mandatory Quest. Get to Town as fast as you can.
Objective: Your presence is needed in Town. Get there in the next 30 Minutes.
Reward: Experience Boost. The faster you get there, the more effective this reward will be.
Dammit, that was irritating. He was still absolutely knackered and didn¡¯t particularly want to rush back to Town, but as always the system felt the need to call the shots. It seemed the System didn¡¯t want him to miss training; that or it was just being an asshole. On the plus side, an experience boost sounded pretty decent. Mason, with a second read-through, noticed the quest was tagged as mandatory. That was strange. The other mandatory quests he had been issued were always life and death, whereas this was just a matter of him being slightly late. Weird.
After yesterday¡¯s questionable results using his disk as a travel method, he had been planning on waiting a bit to try it again. However, he had a general idea as to which direction Sparksford was and the fastest way he could think of to get there was by Disk.
He currently had 335 Mana points. Yesterday when he used Ballistic Touch on the disk, it had cost him 50 Mana. Meaning he could use it 6 times in a row without needing to pause to recharge. If he had more time, he would have liked to experiment a bit more, find out how far the disk travelled per time he used the ability and if the ability cost more when used on things bigger, heavier or of a different material. Ah, well, experiments for another time. Right now, he needed to get a move on.
As he was going directly to training, he decided against wearing his armour and changed into his normal workout outfit, which consisted of this world¡¯s version of joggers and a comfortable shirt.
Ready to leave, he launched himself several feet in the air. Once airborne, he landed on the disk, angled it slightly upwards so it was aimed above the trees and activated his ability.
He once again shot through the air at a tremendous speed. He remembered once watching a documentary back on Earth that mentioned most bullets moved at around 1800 miles an hour. Assuming the speed was reduced because of his added weight, he was still moving so fast that even with his enhanced Intelligence and Perception, he was finding it difficult to make sense of what he was seeing and judge whether he was going in the right direction.
His speed started to dwindle slowly almost immediately, as it did, he started to get used to moving to fast and was able to process the rush of information his senses were feeding him. Utilising his Perception stat seemed to almost slow down time and speed up his thoughts making the whole process far easier.
From up so high, he could see that he was moving towards the Town but needed to veer slightly to the right or risk zooming right passed it.
Unfortunately for Mason, the stone disk hadn¡¯t come with a steering wheel. He waited until he felt himself start to slow enough to start to lose altitude, then used his Ballistic Touch again, this time willing it to move in the slightly altered direction. Apart from the sudden jolt that accompanied the change in bearing and the slight speed increase, it was far easier to handle than the initial burst going from a standstill to full speed.
After a few more uses of his ability, he approached the Town. He had gotten there far faster than he would have ever thought possible.
Seconds later, he finally saw what had caused the alarm. From his bird¡¯s eyes view, he saw a dozen people all fighting a single seemingly unarmed combatant. All around them lay the bodies of the fallen. He started his descent, but just before he lost line of sight, he recognised the lone fighter.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
¡°Fuck.¡±
===================================================
Mayry was started to get worried about Mason.
She hadn¡¯t been able to get much sleep, so before dawn had even arrived she had climbed up to his room. She was eager to wake him up in the most annoying way she could think of, but she saw the bed hadn¡¯t been slept in at all. It was annoying but it wasn¡¯t unheard of for Hunters to stay out over night while on a contract, Mason even had his magic Trunk. That wasn¡¯t what worried her. The last time she had seen him she was sure that she had seen¡ something in him as he fought Lyvan. The Gnoll hadn¡¯t noticed but she was certain Mason was doing all he could to kill the General. She had seen madness in his eyes and then it was gone so fast she thought he had imagined it.
He¡¯d then left to complete a contract and said he had a lot to think about.¡¯ He had said something after fighting the Trolls about foreign emotions taking over. She recognised what he had said as being a symptom of Chaos sickness but wanted to wait to see if it wore off or got worse before telling him. People tended not to react well when they found out.
Trying to kill Lyvan and now staying out all night on contract? She was going to have to talk to him about it soon. If he missed the training session, she decided she would go out and look for him. Knowing Mason, he was either out somewhere fighting an elder Dragon or talking shit to a tree.
Hoping to meet him at the training field, she left his room, using the door this time, making sure to wave at Nays on her way out.
She was halfway to the training grounds when she felt a powerful Magical energy approaching the Town. That was strange. Two Monster ACT¡¯s this close together, it was almost unheard of. No, not a Monster. She had felt this Magical signature before. It had changed slightly, but, it was definitely the same person.
Panicking, she sprinted to the guard barracks. Lyvan exited the building as she got close.
¡°Ah, Mayry. I was just heading to-¡°
She cut him off, breathlessly she said. ¡°No time, sound alarm. It¡¯s bad. Really bad.¡±
Lyvan knew of her ability to sense Magic and so didn¡¯t hesitate to turn around and run back inside. She flinched as the alarm started. A few moments later, Lyvan returned.
¡°I checked all the Monster detection instruments, they aren¡¯t picking up any abnormal Monsters nearby-¡°
She cut him off again. As the Mayor¡¯s daughter and a member of the family who owned the Town, she was one of the few people he would allow to get away with talking over him. ¡°Not a Monster. Far far worse. I need you to get everyone off the street, I would say evacuate, but it¡¯s too late for that. Gather every Hunter and guard you can.¡±
The Gnolls eyes were wide. He looked at her seriously, ¡°Mayry, what is it? You look terrified. What is coming?¡±
She looked him in the eyes, and her whole demeanour changed into that of someone in charge, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t believe me if I told you. Just trust me and do as I say. Gather all the guards and Hunter at the Town gate.¡±
Lyvan stared at her for a second longer, then turned to leave.
Before he could, there was an explosion. Part of the Town wall exploded.
¡°Fuck. She¡¯s already.¡± She turned and shouted at Lyvan, ¡°Go now!¡±
¡°Maaason¡ where aarree youu?¡± The chilling voice was being projected directly into her head. She looked around. Judging by the confused looks on people¡¯s faces they too had heard the voice.
¡°Maaaason. Come out and plaaay.¡± When the smoke cleared, she saw exactly who she had feared she would see. Standing there was Gael, a maniacal smile on her face. The only difference from the last time MAyry had seen her was a scar that ran diagonally from the right corner of her forehead all the way down her face disappearing below her chin.
The woman¡¯s black-as-night eyes looked from person to person, searching for her target. If Mason didn¡¯t get here soon, they were absolutely fucked.
The insane woman casually waved her hand, and a tiny bolt of red energy shot out, causing another section of the wall to explode.
On second thoughts, even if Mason did get here, they were probably still fucked.
Gael pouted, shrugged then started pointing at people at random. Each person she pointed at died. Nothing seemed to happen, they just suddenly stopped living. This woman was what true insanity looked like.
Luckily most people who had been awake at this early hour had heard the ACT alarm and returned home. The few who had ignored the alarm were now fleeing the ¡®Other¡¯.
Summoning a strength she didn¡¯t realise she had, she ran towards the woman and shouted. ¡°He¡¯s coming! Mason is coming, he¡¯s on his way!¡±
Gael didn¡¯t even bother looking at her. She just pointed her finger at her, intending to kill whatever worm had dared speak to her. Mayry flinched, expecting to die. Nothing happened.
Mayry tried her luck again, speaking calmly and slowly so as not to annoy the woman further. ¡°Remember me? I¡¯m the one you took a few weeks ago.¡±
Gael whipped her head around at the words. She frowned at Mayry, then inspected her finger. She used her other hand to tap the finger a few times as if to make sure it was working right. She once more pointed it at Mayry, but again nothing happened. She looked at her finger again and shrugged.
She disappeared, reappearing directly in front of Mayry. She leaned in close, staring at her face. ¡°Oh yeah. I do remember you. You say Mason is coming?¡± She asked, her face still inches away from Mayry¡¯s.
¡°Yeah, he¡¯ll be here within the hour.¡± I hope, she mentally added.
Gael moved away from Mayry¡¯s face and sighed dramatically. ¡°Ugh, fine. You can entertain me while I wait, but if he isn¡¯t here within an hour¡ I get to kill you and everyone else in this Town. Deal?
Mayry¡¯s heart felt like it had stopped. She was going to kill¡ everyone?
She hesitated before asking, ¡°Entertain you how?¡±
¡°Oh, relax! I was only joking, I¡¯d definitely kill you, but I¡¯d probably get bored before I killed everyone. Do you have anyone worth fighting? Bring them here, and you can all try and kill me while I wait for your boyfriend to get here.¡±
Reflexively she opened her mouth to say Mason wasn¡¯t her boyfriend but just nodded, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll gather our fighters and bring them here,¡± She turned to leave but turned back to face Gael and added, ¡°Please don¡¯t kill anyone else while I¡¯m gone.¡±
Gael rolled her eyes, ¡°Ugh, no one here is any fun.¡± She made a shooing gesture, before saying, ¡°Fine, no killing, but hurry up, or I¡¯m gonna get bored.¡±
Chapter 47 - Bigger Fish
Chapter 47 - Bigger Fish
She ran faster than she ever had before, pushing her body to the limit to get to the Town gate where she prayed to the sleeping Gods Lyvan had gathered the Town¡¯s fighters.
From what she had seen of Gael and with what Mason had told her, it would take every Hunter and every guard to have even the slightest chance of defeating the crazed ¡®Other¡¯.
They had one secret weapon that might hold Gael off for long enough, but even that, she wasn¡¯t sure about.
They needed Mason, If anyone was going to pull something out of their ass last minute, It was him, but he wasn¡¯t here. He would come. She was sure of it.
Arriving at the Town gate, she was less than impressed. A quick count showed there were 15 Guards, including Lyvan and 42 Hunters, she recognised a few, but most weren¡¯t note worth enough for her to remember what they could do. Apart from Malika, who she spotted standing in the back of the crowd scowling at her, most of the hunters there were low-ranking Hunters.
She rushed over to Lyvan, demanding, ¡°Is this it? Where are all the higher-ranking Hunters?¡±
¡°This is everyone I could get at short notice. Listen, I know that woman blasted through the gate, but do we really need this many fighters? She was just one person¡.¡±
Mayry sighed and turned to face the crowd with a shout. She started, ¡°Listen up.¡± The crowd went quiet, ¡°The aim here today is to hold out as long as we can,¡± She shot a glance at Lyvan, ¡°It may look like this is just one person, but she is far more. She is one of the ¡®Others¡¯ from legend. I have it on good authority that she has many powerful abilities, some of which can kill instantly. The only thing we have going for us is she, too, wants to be entertained. She is waiting for someone I believe may be able to defeat her, but until he gets here, we must keep her busy an-¡°
Malika swaggered forward, cutting her off mid-speech. The Elf stood directly in front of her and struck a pose, hands on hips. ¡°If this person you are waiting for is Mason, don¡¯t bother. I am certain I can handle anything he can. Give me 30 seconds with this,¡± he rolled his eyes and spat out the word, ¡°Other, and you¡¯ll see why I am the number one ranked Hunter.¡± He started walking off.
Half the crowd of fighters cheered while the other half looked at Mayry sympathetically.
She put a hand to her forehead, ¡°Malika¡ Where are you going?¡±
He laughed, ¡°To kill the intruder, of course!¡±
¡°Well, if you insist on dying, then maybe you should wait for me to tell you where she is?¡±
¡°Of course, my dear, lead the way.¡±
Gritting her teeth and holding in annoyance, she led the way over to where Gael waited.
When the woman saw them approach, she looked downwards and held her hands behind her back. She looked¡ guilty?
Mayry got closer and saw bodies on the floor behind her that hadn¡¯t been there when she left.
Seeing what Mayry was looking at, Gael said defensively, ¡°They started it!¡± she looked at the group behind Mayry, and her demeanour completely changed. Her eyebrows raised, and she adopted a sceptical look. ¡°This cannot be everyone you¡¯re bringing, right? Surely others must be on their way?¡±
¡°Enough of this,¡± called Malika. He sauntered over like he had no cares in the world. He swished his hands, lighting them with green fire. ¡°Mason might be on his way, but you won¡¯t live long enough to see the swine.¡±
Gael paused, looking Malika up and down as if judging whether or not to buy a piece of meat.
¡°Okay, I¡¯ll bite. Who are you?¡±
Malika placed one hand on his hip and used the other to point at Gael. ¡°I am Malika! Number 1, Hunter! And the man who will kill you this day!¡±
Mayry just watched the scene unfold, not willing to step in to try and save the showboating prick. Honestly, she was almost rooting for Gael on this one. Malika was full of himself to the point that she was surprised he spent enough time away from the mirror to fill any contracts, but there was always the chance that he would get a lucky hit in and slightly weaken Gael for the rest of them.
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Gael seemed to be enjoying his pointless showboating. She nodded along as he spoke, smiling softly. When he finally finished a detailed retelling of the last three contracts he had completed, she perked up. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re done? Great!¡± She lifted her hand towards Malika, causing the Elf to shoot in her direction. He struggled in vain to stay on his feet. He fell to the floor and was dragged by an unseen force to the open hand. He shot a stream of green fire at the ¡®Other¡¯, but they bounced off uselessly, having no effect. Once the Elf¡¯s head landed in the woman¡¯s hand, she closed it into a fist crushing his skull, killing him instantly.
The effect on the other fighters varied. Some recoiled in shock, while others went as far as throwing up. Most at least took a step back, reconsidering the choice of volunteering to be there.
Gael inspected her blood-covered hand. She shrugged and stuck out her tongue to taste it. She raised her eyebrows, ¡°Huh, not bad. Anyone else want to play?¡±
Mayry looked around. It had gone dead silent. Malika hadn¡¯t so much as touched her, and she had killed him without the smallest effort. What chances did any of them have?
She was considering stepping forward herself. The crazed woman¡¯s death by finger attack had failed to work on her, maybe others would too? Her Family Magic was strong, but she knew Gael was on a whole other level. All they needed was to buy time, Mason was coming. He had to be.
Just as she was about to attack the woman, Lyvan shouted, ¡°Form up! She can¡¯t kill all of us!¡±
Lyvan marched forward. The remaining Hunters and guardsmen moved to surround her.
¡°I can¡¯t kill you all? Why ever would you tell your men such an awful lie?¡± She smiled at Lyvan as he got close enough to her to attack.
Gael pouted, spinning to observe the mass of people moving from a circle around her. ¡°Well, this seems a bit unfair.¡± She knelt and touched the ground. For the briefest of moments, Mayry thought the woman was surrendering. Suddenly she felt a pulse of Magic leave the woman¡¯s hand, travel through the ground, split into many smaller pulses. They all resurfaced at once, slamming every single one of her attackers.
80 per cent of those who were hit instantly went stock still, all falling to the ground completely unmoving. It was unclear if they were dead or merely knocked out. Only the strongest seemed to have been unaffected. Among them were Lyvan, Mayry, and ten Hunters.
Gael reexamined the remaining people around her. ¡°Now that seems better, don¡¯t you think? Now where were we? Oh yeah, you were all about to be slaughtered. Like the cattle you are.¡±
With a roar full of anguish at the loss of so many of his men, Lyvan threw himself at Gael, sword in hand. After the initial clash, where Gael blocked Lyvan¡¯s two-handed sword strike with a dagger, she produced from nowhere, the two were instantly a blur to almost all onlookers, moving so fast that none of the other Hunters or guardsmen knew what to do to help.
With her ability to sense Magic, Mayry had a vague idea of what was happening. Usually, she felt a Chaos user as a flicker of a candle. Gael was a blazing inferno. While it was terrifying to feel, it did make it slightly easier to keep track of the fight.
Lyvan was one of the greatest fighters on the continent, but his fighting skills were, unfortunately, just that, fighting skills. The Gnoll didn¡¯t possess any additional abilities that would help him against someone who fought using more than just physical attacks, and for all, Mayry knew, the crazed ¡®Other¡¯ could have picked up any number of new abilities while she¡¯d been gone.
From what Mayry could make out, Lyvan was winning. Gael was pulling out all the stops. She moved faster and faster as the fight progressed, but Lyvan¡¯s ability allowed him to stay just ahead of the woman. For the moment, Gael seemed to be enjoying the fight, limiting herself to physical attacks. However, Mayry suspected that as soon she grew bored or frustrated at being unable to win, she would resort to less honourable ways of fighting.
Things suddenly slowed down. Gael appeared to have been knocked to the ground, Lyvan was standing over her with the point of his sword pressing against her throat. Lyvan gestured to the men on the floor, ¡°Are they dead?¡± he demanded.
Gael grinned up and him and shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure. It depends on how weak they are¡ or, were.¡±
Lyvan scowled, pulled his sword back and swung it at Gaels¡¯ neck, intending to decapitate the horrid creature he had bested. As the blade came closer, an orange barrier appeared an inch above Gael¡¯s skin, deflecting the sword with a loud clang.
Lyvan swung again, this time putting all of his considerable strength behind the strike. The barrier flickered but held as the sword made contact. The blade shattered upon impact, sending fragments flying in all directions.
Lyvan stumbled back, his eyes widening in shock. He had never seen a barrier so strong before.
Gael, on the other hand, looked pleased with herself, a smug grin spreading across her face.
¡°Looks like my barrier held up pretty well, didn¡¯t it? It¡¯s pretty new, and I wanted to try it out, but most people don¡¯t actually make it this far. ¡± Gael said, still grinning. ¡°so good for you! But I can a sense bigger fish will be arriving soon, so¡ you know¡.¡±
Lyvan narrowed his eyes, realising what Gael was implying. He raised his broken sword, ready to defend himself, but before he could make a move, Gael had already launched into action.
She conjured a powerful blast of energy that sent Lyvan flying backwards. He crashed into a nearby tree with a sickening thud, his body crumpling to the ground.
Gael approached Lyvan¡¯s motionless body, placed an open hand on his chest, pushed it all the way through and withdrew it, holding a heart.
She looked up, cocked her head to the side and asked, ¡°Did you enjoy the show?¡±
Chapter 48: Old "Friends"
Chapter 48: Old "Friends"
Mason landed just in front of the Town gates. Still invisible, he stored the stone disk away and moved quickly towards the fight.
Gael was here. She had given him an entire year but had come back. Barely a few weeks later. He didn¡¯t think he was slightly ready to face her again. He had gotten stronger, but he had no doubts that Gael had picked up just as many new abilities as he had.
Suddenly he felt the ground beneath him shake.
Hunter Class Rank up
New Rank - 24/52
New Hunter Skill - Gather Intel
Gather Intel
Watching a creature fight will allow you to form better instincts while fighting that creature yourself.
24/52? The last time he had bothered to check, he had been ranked 50/87. Had Gael killed 35 Hunters already? How long had she been here? He needed to hurry before the psycho bitch killed anyone else.
The Gather Intel skill might be useful if the system considered Gael a creature, but he was unsure as to whether he had seen her fight enough for it to count.
As he ran through the Town gates, he checked his notifications.
Notification 1/2
Mandatory Quest. Get to Town as fast as you can.
Objective: Your presence is needed in Town. Get there in the next 30 Minutes. - Quest completed in 7 minutes and 42 seconds.
Reward: Experience Boost. Gain 100% more XP for your next kill.
In the unlikely that he could actually kill Gael, that XP boosts would be insane! He hadn¡¯t been able to get a good read on her level the last time they had fought, but it had been far above the level 12 he had been at the time.
Notification 2/2
Quest updated! Kill an Other
Quest Objective - Not all others are as strong as the one you faced. Some are stronger, some are weaker. I suggest finding a weaker one to kill.
Update: Gael has come back stronger than ever. She gave you a year but has come back weeks later. Find out what she wants and kill her before she destroys the entire Town.
Reward -
1. A new ability to absorb.
2. She probably has some sweet loot on her.
The first thing he needed to do was get close enough to watch her fight. He didn¡¯t think he was ready for this, so he was going to need every advantage he could get. He needed a few moments to prepare something, then he was going to head in and find Gael and do everything he could to kill her. Mason had no doubt in his mind that Mayry would be involved in that fight. He hadn¡¯t seen her, his attention had been immediately drawn to Gael. He could only hope she wasn¡¯t already dead.
Happy with the little surprise he had prepared for the upcoming fight, he ran towards the fight. From the air, he had seen the Hunters surrounding Gael in the guard¡¯s training yard, where Mason had been training with Lyvan every morning for the past few days. He raced through the Town, trying to get there before anyone else was killed.
He hid and watched the ongoing battle. He knew Lyvan was good, but wow, the Gnoll moved like lightning, always at least three steps ahead of his opponent. Gael could barely keep up. They were both moving far faster than any normal human could make sense of, but Mason was able to follow along just fine. He relaxed slightly, maybe he wouldn¡¯t need to fight at all. As long as the Gnoll ended it quickly and didn¡¯t give Gael any opportunity to use her other abilities, Lyvan was clearly going to be the victor.
As he watched the two fight, he felt something in the back of his mind. It was as if he was memorising and analysing every second of the fight. After a few minutes of this analysis, he instinctively knew that if he were to fight Gael using only hand-to-hand combat, he would win 6 times out of 10.
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When Lyvan finally pinned Gael, Mason thought it was over, but no, the two of them spoke briefly, then enrages Lyvan swung the sword at Gael¡¯s throat and from there, everything went wrong. A barrier appeared, and before Mason could react, Gael was wrist-deep in Lyvans chest, pulling out the man¡¯s heart.
Mason was too shocked to react, he had been winning. Then out of nowhere, he had been brutally killed, his body desecrated by the psychopath.
She raised her head and looked directly at his invisible form. She stared for a moment and cocked her head to the side. ¡°Did you enjoy the show?¡± she asked him with a mad smile.
Mason reached deep inside himself and pulled out every morsel of courage and confidence he could. He removed his invisibility and stepped forward.
Within seconds Mayry was at his side. Her eyes were puffy and red. She and Lyvan had been close, and she had just watched him die in a truly horrific way.
She swallowed, took a breath and punched him hard in his shoulder. ¡°Took you long enough!¡± She whispered.
He smirked and whispered back, ¡°Yeah, I got pinned down on a contract¡.¡±
¡°Excuse me!¡± Gael demanded. ¡°I am standing here waiting to kill you, and you¡¯re both being very rude!¡±
Mason looked at Gael and blinked several times as if only now remembering she was there. ¡°Oh yeah, you. What do you want? You said I had a year! I do not know how time works on Babybel or wherever it is you are from, but here a year is 365 days!¡± Mason frowned and shot a sideways glance at Mayry, whispering, ¡°That¡¯s right¡ isn¡¯t it?¡±
Mayry whispered back, ¡°Yep.¡±
¡°Exactly and here I find you came back early to kill half the Town¡¯s Hunters and most of its guards! What the heck!?¡±
Gael had the decency to look slightly ashamed, she avoided making eye contact with him, staring mostly at her feet. ¡°I was going to give you a year to train and get stronger, so killing you would be more fun and more rewarding¡ but I got bored, so here I am. It¡¯s not my fault you weren¡¯t here when I arrived! I had to do something, I wasn¡¯t just going to wait for you patiently!¡± Gael looked into Mason¡¯s eyes. For a moment, he felt vulnerable, as if she were looking into his soul. Her demeanour suddenly changed; she became more serious, dropping her mock playful attitude. ¡°You seem more confident than last time. What is it¡ ah, you have something planned, don¡¯t you?¡±
Crap. Oh well, Allons-y. ¡°Now!¡± He shouted. At his words, a giant creature lumbered forward, barrelling into Gael at high speed.
Beast ¨C Level 45 - Adult Giant Drake ¨C This Giant Drake has reached adulthood and is fiercely loyal. Hopefully, this one doesn¡¯t try to eat you.
After his last encounter with a Giant Drake, Mason had done some reading on the species. The adult grew to be far larger and far more powerful. The baby had been the size of a small car, and the adult he had summoned was the size of a Monster truck. Its scales were also thicker, and its rows of teeth looked more like a shark than any lizard Mason had ever seen. The last physical difference was a small curved horn that protruded from just above the creature¡¯s nose.
As Drakes got older, they developed racial skills that made them especially formidable in a fight. This specific breed could breathe fire and, despite its size, was very skilled in stealth.
Gael, taken by surprise, was impaled by the creature¡¯s horn. Although it did not penetrate deep, it did manage to get through whatever barrier Gael had been using while fighting Lyvan. The Drake didn¡¯t stop its charge until it slammed Gael into the wall of the guard¡¯s barracks. The woman barely grunted as the horn was pushed deeper into her chest.
She grabbed a hold of the side of the Drake¡¯s head and started to slowly push it back. It was working until the beast opened its jaw and blew a jet of blue fire on her. She screamed in pain furiously, punching the Drake in its face in an attempt to force it to release her. The beast took the hits without much of a reaction apart from the blue flame turning purple.
While this was going on, Mason, who was quite pleased with how the fight was going so far, withdrew a sword and used his ballistic touch on it, shooting towards the ¡®Other¡¯. The blade pierced through the woman¡¯s skull. Her struggles ceased.
There was silence. He had just managed to kill the woman who had single-handedly massacred some of the best fighters the Town had to offer.
Mayry opened her mouth to speak, but Mason held up a hand forestalling her.
¡°Somethings wrong. That was far too easy.¡± He said whispered, only loud enough that Mayry could hear.
He pulled up his menu and saw that he had received no new notifications. By now, he should of at least gotten the ¡®you have slayed blah blah blah¡¯ notification as well as the ¡®quest complete¡¯ one.
Mayry¡¯s head shot towards Gael¡¯s dead body. ¡°There is a crap load of magic coming off her corpse.¡±
Oh shit. ¡°It¡¯s a bomb. Get away from the body!¡± Mason shouted.
Two particularly brave Hunters had crept closer to the body, either in an attempt to loot it or just take a look at the body of a legendary ¡®Other¡¯. One of them looked up at Mason, ¡°What¡¯s a bomb?¡±
The body erupted in a blaze of white energy that scorched everything it touched, It killed the two Hunters, the Giant Drake and left a huge hole in the building Gael had been pinned to when she died.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
As the dust cleared. Gael was standing there plain as day with an intrigued look on her face. ¡°I must say, you did far better than I have expected.¡± She bowed her head slightly and continued. ¡°I was certain my clone would be more than enough to deal with you, but you, Mason, kill it with hardly any effort at all. I am impressed. You have come a long way.¡±
¡°I was starting to think that you weren¡¯t as strong as I had thought. Are you the original or just another clone?¡± Mason used his Mana Control ability to shoot a spear of pure Magic at Gael. It bounced harmlessly off of Gael as she laughed, ¡°I can assure you I am the real deal. I can only make the one clone until I get my Intelligence stat to 50. That was a nice attack, and the summoned Drake was not what I was expecting. What else do you have, I wonder.¡±
¡°You killed my friend. You won¡¯t have to wonder for much longer.¡± Mason said his temper starting to boil over.
Gael chuckled, ¡°Oh, I am absolutely terrified, Why don¡¯t you give me your best shot.¡±
Mason didn¡¯t hesitate. She was mocking him, Terrified was she? She would be soon. He activated his Mental Manipulation skill and projected Terror into Gael¡¯s Mind. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder how different this fight would go if he had selected Lust instead of Terror for his skill upgrade.
Chapter 49 - 1v1 Me IRL
Chapter 49 - 1v1 Me IRL
The Mental Manipulation took hold of Gael. She took a step back, her eyes widened, and her mouth hung open. Despite her eyes being pitch black, Mason could see the fear in them. The effect lasted only a second before Gael¡¯s Willpower stat started to repress it. Luckily the second was all Mason needed to start his onslaught of attacks.
First, he withdrew his stone disk from his inventory and shot it at her head using his Ballistic Touch ability. It closed the gap between them almost instantly, but at the last possible moment, she completely overcame the Terror effect and her hand shot up, intercepting the path of the disk, the force behind it pushed her back several paces and caused her HP bar to appear above her head, the attack draining it almost imperceptibly.
While she was distracted, Mason pulled out dozens of daggers, swords and arrows that he had managed to collect during his time on this world and sent them all shooting at Gael. Adding in as many Magic Missiles as his rapidly diminishing Mana pool would allow.
The woman was fast, but not even she could dodge the entire barrage, though she did make an impressive attempt. She managed to avoid all of the Magic Missiles, and two of the daggers impacted her barrier, bouncing off harmlessly but fortunately, her barrier ability had its limits as two of the arrows penetrated her lower stomach and one short sword made a deep gash on her upper thigh.
Currently very low on Mana he brought out a potion from his inventory and brought it to his lips. Before the miraculous liquid could enter his mouth the bottle exploded in his hand. He looked up and saw Gael standing there hand outstretched.
¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± The normally overconfident Gael looked pissed. ¡°You¡¯ve had your fun. Now it¡¯s my turn.¡± The anger in her voice sent shivers up Mason¡¯s spine.
Her fists glowed, and tiny arcs of electricity spiked around them. She launched herself at him at full speed, Mason was ready to counter-attack but didn¡¯t need to. As Gael approached, a wall of stone was erected. Her fist slammed into it, destroying it in a single blow, before the detritus even hit the ground another wall appeared. Again this one was torn down by the crazed woman. Again and again walls appeared, each time Gael grew more enraged until finally, she stopped.
She looked around and saw Mayry. In an instant, Gael was next to her, hand hands wrapped tightly around her throat. Looking back at Mason she spat, ¡°If the little girl interrupts again I¡¯ll gut her.¡± She dropped Mayry who fell to the ground gasping for breath.
It was Mason¡¯s turn to be enraged. Through gritted teeth, he called out to Mayry, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I can deal with her. Just stay back with the other Hunters for now.¡±
Gael reappeared in front of him. He glared daggers at her. ¡°Enough tricks. How about we settle this hand-to-hand?¡± Mason smirked, trying to goad the woman. ¡°Unless you don¡¯t think you can beat me?¡±
The last time they had fought Mason was lucky to scratch her but he had come a long way in the pitiful amount of time she had allowed him to train. He would still be unsure as to whether or not he could beat her but his new Gather Intel Hunter skill was now taking into account his current rage and the buffs it was giving. The skill was now giving him a 50/50 chance of winning if they stuck to martial arts, but that dropped significantly if they started throwing around their respective abilities, from what the ability was telling him, Gael was marginally faster than he was, but he had the strength advantage.
She sighed, ¡°Fine, we can play you¡¯re game but keep it interesting, or I¡¯ll pull your heart out like I did the doggy over there.¡± She waggled her eyebrows at him, her demeanour returning to a more playful one. ¡°I kinda want to see how you taste, so I¡¯ll probably do that anyway.¡±
Mason only growled in response, he didn¡¯t know if she was trying to bait him or if the woman was genuinely insane, but he suspected a bit of both was the most likely scenario.
They circled each other, looking for an opening. They both moved at the same moment dashing towards each other at high speeds. They both threw punches that collided in mid-air, causing a loud boom, and a shockwave that knocked them both backwards.
Mason, recovering quickly followed up with a kick, but Gael dodged it easily and countered with a roundhouse to his side. Mason winced internally but didn''t let it show on his face. He went on the offensive with a flurry of punches, but Gael evaded them all with ease, moving like a dancer.
He felt the now familiar feeling of something in the back of his mind, pushing him to move faster and hit harder, it fuelled the fire in him that was his rage, which with Emotional Outburst made him faster and stronger still.
He charged at Gael, who was waiting for him. They grappled, their muscles straining against each other. Gael tried to sweep his leg, but Mason anticipated the move and flipped, landing behind her. He used the opportunity to land a few quick blows to the back of her head trying to stun her.
Gael spun around swinging her fist, but Mason was ready for it. He blocked her punches and landed a few of his own. They were both panting now, their faces bruised and bloodied. Gael spat out a mouth full of blood.
¡°Let¡¯s make this more interesting.¡± A dagger appeared in each of her hands. She gestured to him to do the same, but after the dozens of blades he had shot at her earlier, he only had his favoured Drake tooth dagger remaining.
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Mason eyed Gael warily, knowing that the odds were now stacked against him. But he couldn''t back down now, not after everything they had been through, not after she had killed Lyvan and threatened Mayry. He pulled out his Drake tooth dagger.
Gael narrowed her eyes at the blade. ¡°Feeling a little overconfident are?¡±
Mason said nothing, not wanting to admit that the blade in his hand was his last.
Gael was the first to attack, lunging forward with both daggers. Mason dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the sharp blades. He countered with a swift strike, but Gael parried it easily with one of her daggers. Mason had hoped that his Magical blade would slice right through Gael¡¯s daggers but unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t the case. The two fighters circled each other warily, both waiting for the other to make the first move.
Suddenly, Gael darted forward, her daggers flashing in the air. Mason blocked her initial strikes, but she was relentless, attacking him with a flurry of quick jabs and slashes. Mason was forced to backpedal, his movements growing slower as his stamina was slowly depleted.
Gael saw her opportunity and struck out with her left dagger, aiming for Mason''s unprotected side. He managed to deflect the blow with his own dagger parrying and followed up with a quick jab of his own aimed at her chest, Gael was too quick, dodging to the side and countering with a swift kick to his midsection.
Mason stumbled back and fell to the floor gasping for breath. Gael advanced on him, her daggers held at the ready.
The presence in the back of his mind was screaming at him to rip her to shreds. For once, Instead of fighting it, he embraced it. His eyes filled with rage. He sprang to his feet and landed a punch so strong to Gael¡¯s stomach that she doubled over, the wind knocked out of her Blood dripping from her mouth.
Mason knew he had to act fast in order to end it, otherwise, she would just heal or pull out some other trick. He lunged forward, feinting with his dagger to draw Gael''s attention, then struck out with a powerful punch to her face.
She stumbled back, her daggers dropping from her hands. Mason wasted no time, seizing the opportunity to strike. He lunged forward, his dagger flashing in the air, aiming for Gael''s throat. He landed on top of her. Her hands shot up and wrapped around his in an attempt to stop him from slitting her throat.
Mason pushed his dagger towards her throat, using all the strength he had. Slowly he was winning their reverse tug-of-war game. A small trickle of blood appeared as the blade pierced her skin and sank a few millimetres into her throat. She sneered at him and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky. This is the deepest you¡¯ll ever be in a woman.¡± Until now, pure rage had been what was pushing him forward. Her ridiculous taunt suddenly threw him off, bringing him back to his senses. He kept a firm grip on his dagger and pressed as hard as he could but no matter what he did he couldn¡¯t reawaken the rage.
Gael¡¯s whole body started to vibrate. Fearing that she was going to blow herself up in a last-ditch kamikaze attempt at killing him, he released his hold on her and jumped back.
She vibrated more violently, creating distortions in her voice as she spoke, ¡°I had thought you¡¯d be dead by the time this cooldown was over, but lucky you, you get to experience my favourite ability.¡± Her hand was suddenly torn in two. Then her other hand did the same. A second Gael seemed to step out of the original.
Within moments of the second Gael appearing, both Gaels launched themselves at him. Mason noticed that they were moving significantly slower than the original had.
Gael A attacked him from the left and Gael B from the right. They both went for punches, but A went high, aiming at his face, while B went low, aiming for his stomach. He let the blow to his stomach land in favour of protecting his face. The hit landed and made Mason wince, but it was only about half as hard as the original Gael had hit.
The two of them were slower and hit a lot less hard, but with there being two of them, it made it far more difficult to keep track of where they were about to strike and plan how to block.
If he tried focussing on one Gael at a time, the other would immediately become more brazen, attacking more ferociously and recklessly. They were slowly wearing down an already exhausted Mason.
Gael had broken the rules by using her clone ability, so Mason decided it was his turn.
He focussed on Gael A, and as he expected, Gael B flanked him and tried to attack him from behind, This time, instead of allowing it, he used his Mental Manipulation Skill and filled Gael B¡¯s mind with loyalty to him. So when he dove out of the way, Gael B tackled Gael A to the ground and started pummeling her with punches.
By the time Mason Picked himself up, the effect was starting to wear off, Gael B still sat on top of A but had stopped punching her. While they were figuring out what had happened, Mason managed to chug down a Stamina potion. He had been running low on both Mana and Stamina, but his Mana had been slowly ticking up while his Stamina had barely had the chance.
He felt the euphoria of energy fill him, as the potion worked its magic. The process took a few seconds, in this time, his mind wavered he let down his guard.
While his focus had been disrupted, the two clones had gotten themselves up, retrieved a dagger each and closed the distance to him. Gael B had raised her dagger and was about to stab it into his neck when a stream of black fire slammed into her chest, the flames seemed to devour the clone within an instant.
Mason regained his wits and saw a shocked Mayry standing there, staring at her outstretched hands.
The remaining Gael roared in fury, ¡°I FUCKING WARNED YOU BITCH¡±
The ¡®Other¡¯ threw out her own hands and shot out a fast-moving torrent of blood-red energy toward Mayry. Mason could sense the power within the attack and knew if it hit Mayry, it would kill her instantly.
Mason tried to intercept the attack but found he was unable to move. Gael B must have inflicted him with some sort of Paralysis affliction while she had been behind him.
All Mason could do was watch as the powerful Magic attack rushed towards Mayry.
She was going to die. There was nothing he could do about it. Mayry was going to-
Suddenly, out of nowhere. The Mayor of Sparksford, Mayry¡¯s father, appeared standing in front of his daughter. The red rush of Magic enveloped him.
A useless gesture. Now they were both dead. No, the mayor seemed to be okay. He was actually tanking the hit without any effort at all.
Mason heard Gael roar in fury, pouring more and more Mana into her attack.
The Mayor remained steadfast in the midst of a red haze surrounding him. The energy seemed to be absorbed into his body, nourishing him and causing him to grow until he towered 15 feet tall and was as broad as a transit van.
As Mason stared on in astonishment, he noticed a notification waiting for his attention in the corner of his consciousness. He was planning on reading later but some of the words managed to catch his eye.
Hidden ability - Divine Detection unlocked
A sliver of the Lesser God Chaos has been revealed.
Identify Skill Upgraded.
Chapter 50 - Chaotic Revelations
Chapter 50 - Chaotic Revelations
The onslaught of energy coming from Gael continued to increase, but by the look on the terrified look on her face, it was not her intention. The Mayor was somehow pulling more and more energy from her and absorbing it into himself.
The rush of energy suddenly cut off, and Gael fell to her knees. She looked like a vampire had sucked her dry blood, her face had become thin, and her eyes had sunken deep into their sockets. Her skin was pale, almost translucent, and her lips were chapped and cracked.
Keeping an eye on the now much smaller Mayor who was talking frantically to a stunned Mayry. Mason warily walked over to Gael. To his surprise, she was still alive and conscious. Her lips moved, but barely a whisper left her mouth. ¡°G g go-¡°. Mason¡¯s fist shot out, almost without conscious thought. She had been about to use the taboo on the word ¡®God¡¯ to try and cause a big enough distraction so she could try to escape. As his fist stuck, her entire body turned to dust, she had been so drained of Mana and energy that she had been barely alive.
*DING*
With the 100% XP boost Mason had been expecting a. Unch of new notification when he killed finished off Gael, he was not disappointed.
Notification 1/5
Quest updated! Kill an Other
Quest Objective - Not all others are as strong as the one you faced. Some are stronger, some are weaker. I suggest finding a weaker one to kill.
Update 1: Gael has come back stronger than ever. She gave you a year but has come back weeks later. Find out what she wants and kill her before she destroys the entire Town.
Update 2: Quest complete. You technically killed her, even if someone else did the vast majority of the work¡
Reward -
1. Division Ability
2. Loot.
Notification 2/5
You have slain - Level 35 Gael - Other
XP Boost 100% used
You have received 700XP
Chaos system detected, additional XP received
You have received a total 3000 XP
Level up
Level uz
Level up
Notification 3/5
Level 25 reached
Stats Allocated
Notification 4/5
Reaching Level 25 has unlocked a Perk.
Perk Unlocked: Quarter Centurian
Effect: When defeating opponents who are at a higher level than you, you gain 1% more XP for every level above you they are.
Notification 5/5
You have absorbed the ability. ¡®Division¡¯
Division (Expert) - Divide and conquer.
Active effect: Once a day, split yourself into up to three copies of yourself. The more copies you have, the more your power is divided. With two copies, each will have half your stats, with three copies a third. Copies last Intelligence Stat X 5 minutes unless destroyed or recalled. Scales with Intelligence.
That was a lot to process, main points were he had gained three levels, a perk, and an ability. Checking his menu, he also noted that he had 10 points to spend instead of the expected 6.
Seeing Mayry and her father getting closer, he decided he would properly deal with all the new information later, he suspected he was about to get a whole lot more.
When the Mayor got within range, Mason used his new upgraded Identify skill on him. The effect was instantly odd. Instead of one name, the system gave him several, all of which overlapped and gave Mason a headache.
Julius Sparks, Sliver of the Lesser God of Chaos, Demon, Mayor of Sparksford, Mayry¡¯s Father - Level Incalculable - There are many secrets that are known to only a very few. Possibly, the biggest is what truly happened during The War of the Gods and Chaos¡¯s part in it.
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I think it¡¯s about time we spoke, Mason.
Mason jumped, most of that description had been weird, but that last line, he sensed it came from the Mayor himself. Looking up, he saw the man staring, not at Mason but into him. His gaze was so piercing it made Mason shiver.
The man looked as he had both times Mason had previously met him, but despite that, everything about him felt different. He radiated a strange power that felt familiar but also oddly foreign.
¡°Shall we find somewhere we can all sit and talk? I¡¯m sure you both have many questions.¡±
Mason nodded and started walking in the direction of the Inn. Before leaving he reached down and touched Gaels corpse, getting the loot prompt and selecting yes.
Loot Received:
Map
9 Daggers, Minor Enchantments
5 Long swords Minor Enchantments
7 Short swords
4 Healing Potions
6 Mana Potions
87 assorted books - Inventory Maximum storage reached - Deposited into Trunk Library
211 Other miscellaneous items - Deposited into Trunk Living room
8 Silver coins
19 Iron coins
47 Bronze coins
32 Copper coins
Jesus! He must have looted her entire inventory, he would need to sort through it all later, but wow, she had been carrying a hell of a lot of stuff.
Exiting his notification list, looked up, and they all headed over to his Inn room in relative silence.
Walking through the empty Town was strange, they didn¡¯t run into a single person. They were all still too scared to leave their homes until an official all-clear was given.
Reaching Mason¡¯s room, they all sat, and the Mayor started to speak.
¡°To start, how much do you know about the Gods,¡± the Mayor, raised his hands in a reassuring gesture as both Mason and Mayry started to react to the word, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the Taboo for now. Just tell me how much you know, and I will fill in any gaps.¡±
Mason opened his mouth to start regurgitating everything he had read on the topic, but Mayry was quicker, she was clearly shaken after the events of the day, but she jumped right into lecture mode. ¡°The Gods,¡± She started, then paused, waiting cautiously for something bad to happen. When nothing did, she continued. ¡°The Gods were powerful beings aeons ago, there were five Greater Gods and 10 lesser. The lesser gods betrayed the five greater Gods. This started a war that caused massive destruction and death all around the world. As part of this war, the 10 Lesser gods were turned into terrible creatures called Demons. After decades of fighting, the Greater Gods discovered the only way to stop the destruction was to curse both Gods and Demons alike, putting them all to sleep and, in doing so, ending the War.¡±
Throughout Mayry¡¯s basic retelling of the official history, the Mayor nodded. ¡°That was mostly accurate. What I am about to tell you Is something that has been kept secret for thousands of years. I am only telling you both now because things are changing, and it seems you,¡± He pointed at Mason, ¡°are going to be in the middle of it, and you,¡± he pointed at Mayry, ¡°are no doubt going to get caught up in his mess.¡±
Both Mason and Mayry leaned in closer, eager to hear what the man was going to say.
¡°You were right that in the beginning, there were 15 Gods. There was a¡ disagreement between the Greater and lesser gods. The war started, and the lesser gods were transformed into Demonic atrocities. Things happened, terrible, horrible things that.¡ Anyway, when the war was at its worse, one of the former lesser gods approached the Greater Gods and switched sides, revealing a powerful curse that would put all the Gods and Demons to sleep and end the war. The Greater Gods, at first, were sceptical of the Demon¡¯s plan, but as the war continued to get worse, they decided it was the only way to put a stop to the death and destruction.¡±
The Mayor paused to take a sip of water. ¡°Apart from the Demon switching sides at the last minute, nothing really changed, they all still went to sleep, and the war still ended¡ what the big secret?¡± Mayry asked.
¡°The secret, my dear, is that not all 15 of the divinities did go to sleep. The Demon who switched sides knew it was coming and so managed to escape the effects of the curse. In order to escape the curse, Demon, whose name had been Chaos, gave up the vast majority of his power and split himself into hundreds of iterations. This is where Chaos Magic and ACT¡¯s come from. I know all of this because I am one of the Iterations of Chaos.¡±
Mayry drew in a sharp breath, ¡°You¡¯re a Demon? ¡What does that make me¡?¡±
¡°I am so sorry Mayry, I just wanted you to live a normal life. You¡¯re a Demi Demon, but I¡¯ve had most of your power bound, so you didn¡¯t find out the truth.¡± He looked at Mason, ¡°Then you came along, and I could sense one of my counterparts within you. I tried to keep you away from her, but you wouldn¡¯t listen.¡±
Mayry was too stunned to speak, but Mason had already put together some of this thanks to his upgraded Identify skill. ¡°So the reason we can say god now, is because you are one?¡±
He rolled his eyes, ¡°No. Neither the Greater Gods nor the Demons knew that we managed to escape the curse. Each time the word ¡®god¡¯ is used, it weakens the curse and risks one of them noticing my presence here. Because of this, several iterations of chaos came together and placed the Taboo on the word. While you are near me, I can stop your words from having such an effect.¡±
Mason narrowed his eyes, ¡°You said you lost most of your power. You seem pretty fucking powerful to me, you managed to kill the ¡®Other¡¯ without much effort.¡±
¡°You mortals are all idiots, I gave up my power thousands of years ago, It spread across the world until there were traces of it in everything. Some of us collected as much as we could, planning on all of the iterations merging together once more and regaining our true power, but some were against that idea and wanted to live here among the mortal races as the empty shells of what we once were. I used to be one of the Iterations that collected what you call Chaos Energy, but now the ¡®Others¡¯ have managed to capture one of us there is no point.¡±
Mason¡¯s mouth fell open as he recalled a passage from his system guide.
The people of Ganehfrel have discovered a way to harness Chaos Magic, forcing it to work in ways that go against the fundamental concept of chaos.
The cogs in Mason¡¯s head were turning, things were slowly starting to click. ¡°The ¡®Others¡¯ captured one of you and are forcing it to power their champion¡¯s Systems for the trials!¡±
The Mayor stared at him as if he was stupid, ¡°They¡¯re using him to power their armies to conquer worlds. The Trials are just games they run to train their soldiers. How do you not know this? Why hasn¡¯t the Iteration in your head told you this already?¡±
Mason¡¯s frown deepened, ¡°It isn¡¯t exactly chatty. Apart from insulting me and giving me quests, it doesn¡¯t really say much at all. How did it end up in my head in the first place!?¡±
¡°The Chaos iteration in you was one of the strongest of us. He never gave up on collecting power. He used up most of it, bringing you into this world. We are only able to absorb so much Chaos Energy at once, but if we have a vessel, we are able to gain power far quicker. When he discovered the ¡®Others¡¯ had captured one of us and what they were using him for, he spent years trying to get enough power to summon someone to bond with. If what you say about him not speaking to you is true, then perhaps it wasn¡¯t enough power after all.¡±
Chapter 51 - Chaotic Revelations Part 2
Chapter 51 - Chaotic Revelations Part 2
Mason took in a deep breath. ¡°Let me get this straight. You¡¯re a tiny bit of a super-powerful Demon who is a former Lesser God. I have a tiny bit of that same Demon in me; that bit sacrificed most of its power to bring me to this world and give me a system so I can kill the ¡®Others¡¯ and rescue the kidnapped bits of Chaos so you can become a real boy again. Did I miss anything?¡±
The Mayor opened his mouth, but Mayry shot him a dirty look and cut him off, ¡°Yeah, actually, I think you missed the part where my Father never thought to tell me that I¡¯m a fucking Demon!¡±
¡°Well, Demi Demon¡±, The Mayor volunteered. ¡°I just wanted you to have a normal life, your powers manifested at such an early age and your Mother.¡¡± He trailed off.
¡°Mother? She knows about this? Wait¡¡± Mayry stood and pointed her finger at the Mayor, ¡°Is that why she¡¯s always sick?! You told me it was Chaos Sickness!¡±
The Mayor uncharacteristically raised his hands in a defensive gesture. ¡°It is Chaos Sickness¡ She just didn¡¯t get it in the way most people do.¡±
Mason really didn¡¯t want to get in the middle of the fight and had plenty of his own crap to think through, but the mention of Chaos sickness piqued his interest too much not to ask, ¡°What is Chaos Sickness?¡±
Mayry¡¯s head shot in his direction. In her eyes, he saw literal flames for a moment before they vanished. She calmed and shook her head. Taking a breath to centre herself, she answered, ¡°Sometimes, when people absorb a lot of Chaos Energy in a short period of time, they find that they slowly lose control of themselves. It presents in one of two ways, the first starts with spontaneous spurts of bloodlust, then gradual changes in personality, and it usually ends in the person going on a murder spree. The second is, the person finds themselves bedridden with delirium. The second type is what my Mother apparently has. It¡¯s rare and usually only found in Hunters. My Mother doesn¡¯t have any Chaos Abilities, so for her to have it is very strange.¡± She finished by glaring at her Father.
Mason¡¯s eyes widened, and he suddenly felt his heart beating in his chest. That sounded an awful lot like the rage he felt when fighting. Did that mean the weird foreign presence in his mind was his bit of Chaos? Was that It making him sick, trying to take control? He could ask the Mayor, but as just another iteration of Chaos, there was no guarantee he would tell Mason the Truth. He decided he would think about it and possibly talk to the Mayor another time.
The Mayor sighed, ¡°I never wanted a family, but when I met your Mother... I would have done anything for her, and she so desperately wanted a child. Prolonged exposure to one divine presence is usually all a mortal can take, so when she was carrying you, she started getting sick. By the time we figured out what was going on you had already been born and we loved you so much we decided not to tell you lest you blame yourself.¡±
Mayry¡¯s lip was quivering. ¡°Are¡ are you saying, it¡¯s my fault? And what powers? The Family Magic? The Magic sense?¡±
¡°No, my child, It was never your fault. It was mine. Humans were never supposed to interact with divine beings as often as your Mother has. Your added presence was just too much for her.¡±
Mayry was pacing the room, but suddenly stopped, ¡°And the powers?¡±
¡°Demons and Demi Demons see differently than regular people. Your Magic sense is just your Demonic powers leaking through the binding I placed on you. The Family Magic is much the same but was left out of the binding, so you were able to protect yourself. You shot black flames at the ¡®Other¡¯ earlier. That was hellfire. Somehow, you managed to break through my binding and access all of your powers. They should all slowly reveal themselves over the next few days.¡±
¡°If I were to leave¡ would Mother get better?¡±
¡°Yes, after a while¡
The discussion devolved into a much more heated argument. Mason slipped out of his room while they were distracted so as not to get pulled into the fight.
He went downstairs and found a table, and ordered some water. He closed his eyes and brought up his menu. He had a lot to process and appreciated the relative quiet.
Name: Mason Hughes
Level: 25
Current XP: 11740 /12000
Race: Human
Class: Hunter
Health Points (HP): 390
Mana Points (MP): 390
Stamina: (SP): 245
Stats
|
Strength: 36
|
Agility: 31
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|
Endurance: 29
|
Vitality: 29
|
|
Resilience: 24
|
Intelligence: 53 (+10%) 58
|
Perception: 36
|
Willpower: 30
|
Free points: 10
Skills:
Identify (Advanced), Magic Missile - INT (Advanced), Emotional Outburst - PER (Advanced), Camouflage - PER (Advanced), Random Summon INT (Advanced), Mental Manipulation - WIL(Advanced), Ballistic Touch - STR (Advanced) Division - INT (Expert)
Base Skills:
Universal Translator, Inventory (Advanced)
Class skills:
Basic Monster tracking, Evaluate Monster, Gather Intel.
Firstly, he needed to allocate his 10 stat points. He added 1 point to Resilience as it was 1 point away from 25 and the last to reach 25. He suspected he might get a perk when all of his stats hit that miles stone, next, he added 4 to strength, bringing it up to 40, the last 5 he threw into Intelligence as that seemed to be the stat his current build relied on the most.
As he had expected, once he confirmed his choices, he received a notification.
Upgrading each stat to 25 has unlocked a Perk.
Perk Unlocked: 25 and Still Alive
Effect: Your Vitality is increased by 25%
Not too shabby! That brought his vitality up from 29 to 36 and his HP from 390 to 460, which was a pretty decent jump!
Next, he wanted to see if he could figure out his new cloning ability.
After spending five points on his Intelligence, its current value was at 63, which meant he could produce two copies of himself for just over five hours. However, just like with his absorbed Mental Manipulation ability, division hadn¡¯t come with the knowledge of how to use the ability. Keeping his eyes closed he tried a few different ways of activating the ability.
When Gael had used the ability, she had started to vibrate. With this in mind, Mason tried to will himself to split into a copy. He waited for the telltale vibrating to let him know it was working, but nothing happened. Next, while staying as still as he could he tried to push mana out of him in a roughly him shape.
He heard a yelp and opened his eyes.
¡°JESUS CHRIST.¡± He shouted. When he had sat down, the chair in front of him and the entire dining area had been completely empty. Now sitting opposite him was a wild Boar. The strange sight had shocked Mason and almost triggered his fight or flight response but at the last moment, he noticed the familiar feel of the animal in front of him.
¡°Dammit, Nays, don¡¯t sneak up on me like that! I almost turned you into pork chops!¡±
To his surprise, the naked Elf appeared, ¡°Oops! I was trying to find you to show you my Ability upgrade! Now I can control when I change... mostly, and I can work out how to keep my clothes when I change!¡± She said proudly.
Mason had been blushing from the moment she had appeared, but she hadn¡¯t noticed as she had been busy speaking. Mason covered his eyes with his hand and said, ¡°I think you might need a little extra practice on that last bit.¡±
She frowned, ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡± She looked down and finally realised she was naked. Her eyes bulged, and she ducked under the table to hide. ¡°Well! I can do it! Whatever you did with your Magic just startled me!¡±
This was the point that the waiter decided to bring him his water. He eyed the talking table suspiciously but decided it wasn¡¯t worth the effort to investigate, and so just walked away.
Moments later, a fully clothed, slightly pink Elf appeared from under the table and continued speaking. ¡°Anyway, I came to find you to show you! I now turn into bigger and more useful creature and have more control over when I change! Isn¡¯t that cool!¡±
Mason wasn¡¯t sure it would be at all similar but asked, ¡°So you can change whenever you want now? What does it feel like when you do? Like how do you make the change happen?¡±
Nays furrowed her eyebrows in thought. She changed into a small wolf and then back, then to a large bird, then back. ¡°I hadn¡¯t really thought about it. It just feels natural¡ I guess it feels like, you know how you don¡¯t really consciously blink, but if you think about it too much you¡¯re suddenly really conscious that you¡¯re blinking? It kind of feels like that. It¡¯s like I consciously blink but with my mind, and I¡¯m all of a sudden something else. Does that make sense?¡±
Mason thought about it and chuckled lightly, ¡°No, not really. But it¡¯s helpful. Give me a few minutes?¡± He closed his eyes and tried to blink mentally. Nothing happened. He tried a few more times in slightly different ways. Finally, when he tried focusing Mana into the odd mental blink, he felt himself start to vibrate slightly.
¡°Are you okay?¡± Nays asked.
Realising he hadn¡¯t told her what he was doing, he opened his eyes and mouth to explain when he was overcome by an oddly familiar feeling. For a few moments, he felt as if his whole body was just on the verge of a sneeze¡ and then it was gone. When it had passed, he saw Nays¡¯ wide eyes darting from him to something to his right. Looking over, he saw an exact copy of himself staring back at him. They both jumped back a bit at the sight. ¡°It worked!¡± They spoke in unison. ¡°Okay, this is strange.¡± They both lifted a hand and waved it.¡±
He could feel that he was the original and hoped that other Mason didn¡¯t also feel the same. He knew instinctively that he had the power to recall the copy. He did so and felt the same sneeze-like feeling he had before, he blinked, and the copy disappeared. He felt woozy for a split second and then found he had two sets of memories from the last 30 seconds, one from himself and one from the copy. This was going to do wonders when researching and training. Thinking of training prompted a pang of guilt over the death of Lyvan. If he had intervened, perhaps the Gnoll would still be alive.
Nays was still staring at him, waiting for an explanation.¡°Sorry about that, I got a new ability and was trying to figure out how to use it. Your mental blink thing really helped, thank you.¡±
She shook her head. ¡°How are you getting all of these abilities?! I can barely manage the single one I have!¡±
Mason grinned at her. ¡°I guess I¡¯m just special!¡±
Just then, Mayry came storming into the room with a harrowed expression. She ignored Nays, speaking to him directly in a tone that contained a hint of pleading. ¡°I¡¯m going to Trilil for a few days to clear my head. Come with me?¡±
Mason assumed she wanted to get away from her Father but didn¡¯t want to be on her own. He had not yet had the chance to travel much since getting to the world and didn¡¯t want Mayry out there alone, so he agreed. ¡°Of course. When are we leaving?¡±
Her lips curved slightly into a smile that faded quickly. ¡°I¡¯m going to go and pack, I¡¯ll meet you back here in a few hours?¡±
¡°Okay, sounds good¡± Mason answered. She turned and left. He thought it was pretty short notice, but he understood her need to get away. He saw Nays glaring at him.
¡°What?¡± Mason said defensivley. He knew that the two of them didn¡¯t like each other, but he really could not fathom why.
¡°What was all that about?¡± The Elf asked.
¡°Eh, it¡¯s nothing, just family stuff,¡± Mason answered.
Nays¡¯ expression changed, ¡°Oh no, was the Mayor hurt in the fight earlier? People are saying it was an ¡®Other¡¯. Were you involved? ¡What am I saying of course you were.¡±
Mason stood and stretched, ¡°The Mayor is fine, Mayry just got some odd news.¡±
Nays smirked, ¡°Oh, she finally found out she¡¯s half Demon? Took her long enough.¡±
Chapter 52 - Just Gonna Get Weirder
Chapter 52 - Just Gonna Get Weirder
¡°What do you mean, half Demon¡?¡± Mason carefully asked.
She rolled her eyes, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just an expression! I didn¡¯t peg you as the religious type!¡±
Mason¡¯s heart was beating so fast he thought for sure it must be visible. He laughed, and it came out sounding very forced. ¡°Haha yeah¡ I mean, I¡¯m not really¡ I¡¯ve just never heard that expression before.¡±
She gave him a considering look. ¡°Huh, it¡¯s pretty common. It just means she¡¯s a bit of a-¡± Nays lowered her voice, ¡°-bitch. Some of the more religious types think it blasphemous, but It¡¯s not like I¡¯m saying the G-word.¡± She cocked her head at him. ¡°You didn¡¯t really think I thought she was a half-Demon, right?¡±
¡°Haha, no! Of course not! Mayry¡¯s definitely not a half-Demon that would be crazy! Haha, I have to go. I¡¯ll see you around!¡± Before she could reply, he was up out of his seat and gone.
He got to his room and leaned back against the door. ¡°Well, that could have gone better.¡± He said to himself.
¡°What could have gone better?¡± A voice said.
Mason jumped and reflectively shot a Magic Bolt at the speaker, who caught it in his hand, causing the magic to fizzle out.
¡°Dammit! People have got to stop sneaking up on me!¡± he shouted.
The Mayor ignored his outburst. ¡°I believe it¡¯s time we had a chat, Mason. Just the two of us.¡± He gestured for Mason to take a seat.
Mason considered. Up until today, he had thought if push came to shove, he could probably take the old man in a fight. Now that he knew the man was apparently a God and could obliterate him without much effort, he was far more on edge around him.
He took the seat anyway. This was his room, so he didn¡¯t really have anywhere else he could retreat to.
¡°Firstly, I would like to apologise. You were brought into this world and dragged into a mess you can only begin to understand, and for that, I am sorry. Being an act of Chaos, you would have been a random choice. It isn¡¯t fair, but here we are.¡±
They sat in silence for several moments. Mason wasn¡¯t sure if the Mayor expected him to say something or what, but Mason stayed silent. Eventually, the Mayor continued speaking as if there was no pause. ¡°The ¡®system¡¯ inside of you is unique and will allow you to grow far fast than any ¡®Other¡¯ as long as you continue to push yourself. You are going with my daughter, correct?¡± At Mason¡¯s nod, he went on. ¡°While I expect you to keep her safe, that isn¡¯t what we need to discuss. There are things you need to know before you leave.¡±
Mason nodded, the man had always been very serious, but the way he was acting now was on a whole other level.
¡°The power inside of you gives you almost limitless potential. Your ¡®System¡¯ is far more powerful than the ones the ¡®Others¡¯ use. The more power you gain, the more obvious this will become.¡±
¡°Why?¡± Mason found himself asking. He had been planning on keeping his mouth shut and just listen, but that had never really been ¡®his thing¡¯. ¡°Why is my ¡¯System¡¯ different from theirs?¡±
The Mayor paused for a moment, considering how best to phrase his next words, ¡°The System inside of you was made willingly by a fraction of the god of Chaos; all the power that he had left after bringing you here went into creating it. Your system is essentially a blend of your personality, vast amounts of Chaos Energy and the consciousness that belonged to that iteration. On the other side of things, the Systems that the ¡®Others¡¯ use is made by continuously ripping apart a captured iteration¡¯s essence and using it to scaffold together a mass-produced imitation of what a system could be.¡±
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Mason looked sceptical. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Gael seemed to be using her system pretty well. The first time we met, I barely scratched her.¡±
¡°Yes, well. You are a random person from a world without Magic who had probably never been in a real fight. She is-¡° He smirked and corrected himself, ¡°-was, from a world with magic, where she was no doubt trained as a warrior from a young age and taught all about how to exploit the Systems. The fact remains that your system is a thoroughbred stallion compared to the ¡®Others¡¯ three-legged donkey with enough effort, you can make it work, but one will always prove significantly better than the other.¡±
Mason was still unsure but was open to the idea that the partial divinity in front of him might know more on this subject. ¡°Okay, fine, I¡¯m great. I was already aware. You mentioned system exploits? Are there any I could use?¡±
¡°Again, your system is based on you. Your personality and your experiences. If there are any exploits, you would be the one to know. Your subconscious essentially created your system, and the iteration guided the creation to ensure it would work.¡±
Mason had a few ideas he wanted to try out, one of which could not wait. He immediately closed his eyes and opened his menu. ¡°In my world, we have something called video games, they¡¯re like moving pictures you control. They tell a story by having you overcome obstacles. A lot of those games use systems similar to mine. A few of these games have something called the Konami code¡.¡± In his menu, he cleared his mind and thought, ¡®Up, Up, Down, Down, B, A, Start.¡¯
Instantly he heard the *DING* of a notification.
Excited, he bought it up, eager to see what his subconscious would award him.
Achievement God Mode Unlocked!
You have entered the ultra-secret Konami code
Before reading on, Mason gasped out loud. Holy fuck, he was grinning so much that his face was starting to hurt. His subconscious was awesome!
Reward: Only joking Dickhead. Here have a free stat point instead.
His grin disappeared in an instant. His subconscious was a wanker.
¡°What happened?¡± He heard the Mayor ask. Mason opened his eyes and saw the Mayor leaning forward with an intrigued expression.
In a deadpan voice, Mason replied. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡±
He had gotten a single stat point, which sucked, but it did mean that there might be cheats that actually worked. Of course, those could also just turn out to be his subconscious trolling him as well... He would need to think on it and write out a list of things to try.
The Mayor stood, ¡°Before I leave, I need you to understand, regardless of how powerful you think you are, there are ¡®Others¡¯ out there who have been feeding their Systems Chaos Energy for a very long time. If they become aware of your existence, they will come for you long before you are ready. Your unique situation would make killing you like slaying a level 1 rat, looting it and finding it had 100 gold coins on it. You would give out an extraordinary amount of Chaos Energy to anyone who killed you.¡± He made to leave, but hesitated, trying to decide whether or not to say something. After a moment, he looked Mason in the eye and said, almost pleadingly. ¡°Keep my daughter safe.¡± And with that, he left.
Despite everything, Mason found himself feeling bad for the guy. Yeah, he was a bit of a dick but just like Mason, he hadn¡¯t asked for any of this. All he had wanted was to live a normal life with his wife and his daughter and forget all about his origins. Now his daughter was angry at him and was leaving with probably the one person in the world most likely to get into trouble.
Mason sighed and rubbed his temples, trying to push away the headache that was starting to form. He knew that he couldn''t fix everything, but he could at least try to do what the Mayor had asked of him. Keeping the man''s daughter safe wasn''t going to be easy, especially considering he was kind of a magnet for trouble, plus her developing Demonic powers were going to be an issue.
He considered talking to her to try to convince her to stay for a few more days so her father could guide her through using her powers, but he knew that convincing Mayry to do something she didn''t want to was an exercise in futility.
How had he gotten to this point? A few weeks ago, he was just some guy, but now he was talking to ex-gods travelling with a Demi-Demon, and nearly dying what seemed like every five minutes! What¡¯s more, he was fully expecting that this was only the beginning. His life was just gonna get weirder from here on out.
Epilogue/ Chapter 53
Epilogue
It turned out that Mayry had never actually been to the City of Trilil and was only going there as it was far away enough from her Mother that they could test whether she could recover from her Chaos sickness.
She had assured Mason that she knew the way and it would only be about a day¡¯s walk. Mason had shown her his Ballistic Touch method of travel but, after thinking about it for less than a second, flatly refused and insisted they walked.
It was halfway through day two, and Mayry was still not willing to admit that they were lost.
Mason had his mini-map, but unfortunately, it only showed where they had been, not where they needed to go.
It wasn¡¯t too big of a deal. They had plenty of food, and the Magic Trunk for when they needed to rest. For now, he kept following the stubborn woman.
After two days of walking and not killing a single monster, Mason was going a little crazy with boredom and had resorted to annoying Mayry.
¡°Are we there yet?¡± Mason asked.
¡°What? No!¡± Mayry answered.
¡°Aaare we there now?¡± Mason asked 30 seconds later.
¡°Mason! We are walking on the same road we have been walking on for the last 3 hours. Does this look like a city to you? Why do you keep asking that!?¡±
Mason chuckled, ¡°No reason. We are definitely lost, though. Maybe we should stop and ask for directions.¡±
Mayry stopped walking and turned to face him. She spread out her arms and gestured around. ¡°Stop and ask who Mason!? We haven¡¯t seen a single person! And we are not lost! It¡¯s just taking longer than I thought it would! Now shut up and keep walking. It¡¯s this way.¡±
Mason grinned to himself. Some pleasures are just universal he couldn¡¯t imagine a world where annoying people wasn¡¯t fun.
They walked in silence for a few minutes.
¡°Mayry?¡± Mason asked.
Sighing deeply, she answered, ¡°What, Mason?¡±
¡°You know, if you got in the Trunk, I could just carry you there.¡±
¡°No. We¡¯re walking I don¡¯t trust you not to use your Ballistic Touch thing and end up pinned under a tree!¡±
¡°What! How did you kno- I mean¡ Haha, I wouldn¡¯t do that. That¡¯s crazy¡¡±
Mayry stared at him and narrowed her eyes before she just continued walking.
She sighed and turned to him. ¡°I know you¡¯re just trying to distract me from my thoughts, but do you have to be so damn irritating?!¡±
Mason considered for a moment before answering. ¡°Yes.¡±
An hour later, they had wandered through a particularly scenic grove of trees. Mayry declared that they needed to stop for lunch, and so they did.
Mayry dug through her rucksack and bought out some sandwiches, she handed one to Mason, but he declined and instead bought out his Magic KFC box. He had used the box a few times but had yet to show it to Mayry.
He placed his order and withdrew his meal. He looked over at Mayry, and as he had expected, she was staring at him in amazement and wonder. Her mouth was hanging open, and just as some drool was about to escape, she shook her head and came back to her senses. ¡°Mason, what is that phenomenal smell?¡±
Mason frowned, ¡°Oh, this?¡± He asked dramatically. ¡°Some would say this is the greatest food my world has to offer. It¡¯s called KFC.¡±
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She looked on in awe. ¡°KFC? And what¡¯s that?¡± She said, pointing to the cup of Cola.
¡°Ah well, do you remember when I told you about coffee? Well, this is sort of like that but cold¡ and fizzy.¡±
¡°Fizzy?¡±
¡°Just try it!¡± He said, offering her the cup.
She took a sip and recoiled in shock, ¡°Oh wow, it kinda hurts, but it¡¯s nice. It¡¯s so sweet!¡±
Mason laughed at her reaction, ¡°Ok, now try this.¡± He handed over half his meal, chips, chicken and some gravy.
Mason watched as she took a bite and then almost inhaled the rest of it. With her mouth partially full, she managed to say, ¡°Dish ish weally good Mashon what ish it?¡± She swallowed her mouthful and looked at him, awaiting his response.
Barely able to contain his laughter, he said, ¡°Okay, don¡¯t freak out. It¡¯s chicken
Her eyes bulged and she shouted, ¡°What?! Mason! Holy crap.¡±
Unable to contain himself any longer, he let out the laughing that had been building since he bought out the meal.
¡°How did anyone even catch a chicken to cook it? This is from your world? How is it so amazing!? Mason! Stop laughing at me this is serious! Do you even know how dangerous Chickens are?! They are ridiculously hard to kill, I guess you would know about that, but did you know that¡.¡±
A few minutes into Mayry¡¯s rant, where she detailed how dangerous Crack Hens were, how lucky Mason had been to kill one and the possibility of him ditching his quest and somehow opening his own fried chicken shop, Mason started to phase her out. He covertly opened his menu and started to peruse his character sheet to see if he could spot anywhere he could improve.
Name: Mason Hughes
Level: 25
Current XP: 11740 /12000
Race: Human
Class: Hunter
Health Points (HP): 460
Mana Points (MP): 335
Stamina: (SP): 230
Stats
|
Strength: 40 (+15) 55
|
Agility: 31
|
Endurance: 29
|
Vitality: 29
|
|
Resilience: 25 (+26) 51
|
Intelligence: 57 (+10%) 62
|
Perception: 36
|
Willpower: 30
|
Free points: 1
Skills:
Identify (Advanced), Magic Missile - INT (Advanced), Emotional Outburst - PER (Advanced), Camouflage - PER (Advanced), Random Summon INT (Advanced), Mental Manipulation - WIL (Advanced), Ballistic Touch - STR (Advanced) Division - INT (Expert)
Base Skills:
Universal Translator, Inventory (Advanced)
Class skills:
Basic Monster tracking, Evaluate Monster, Gather Intel.
He noticed he still had a single free point from his failed cheat code. He had forgotten about it completely. He considered for a few minutes while half listening to Mayry, still ranting about Chickens and how they might be able to get Viv to make more Cola. Eventually, he threw the point into resilience as not including the buffs he got from his armour, it was his lowest stat, plus you could never be too resilient when everyone and their mum wanted to kill you.
Suddenly Mayry went deadly silent. He quickly closed his menu and opened his eyes, searching for what had interrupted the woman¡¯s rant.
Where before, there had been nothing but an empty space surrounded by trees, a man had appeared standing in front of them. Mason didn¡¯t recognise him, but something about the man put Mason on edge.
To look at, he wasn''t anything special. He was tall and had a fairly average build. It was the way he stood that bothered Mason. The man was standing with an air of confidence and superiority, his posture relaxed and unconcerned, as if he didn¡¯t have a care in the world. It unsettled Mason, who couldn''t help but feel a sense of unease in the man''s presence.
¡°Mayry.¡± The man said jovially, ¡°How lovely to see you again.¡±
Mason shot a sidelong glance at his companion, who had started radiating anger. The longer she stared at the man, the angrier she got. The angrier she got, the more she seemed to change. Her eyes turned black, and her skin darkened to a reddish hue. She bared her teeth at the man revealing a mouth full of sharp fangs. She summoned balls of hellfire to each of her hands and slightly lowered herself in preparation for a fight. As she did, Mason could see two small bumps on her head, which he assumed were the beginning of a pair of horns.
¡°You know him?¡± He asked.
¡°That¡¡± Her words came out as a deep growl instead of her natural feminine voice, and for a second, she paused, shocked at how she sounded, before she continued. ¡°That¡¯s Aiden, the ¡®Other¡¯ who kidnapped me. He was working with Gael.¡±
Aiden, who showed no surprise at Mayry¡¯s partial demonic transformation, shrugged and said, ¡°Now, now, kidnapped is such a gruesome word¡ we had fun, didn¡¯t we? I like to think of it as temporarily borrowing you.¡± He grinned, totally oblivious to the aura of rage and killing intent that Mayry was giving off. ¡°Speaking of Gael, have you seen her? I seemed to have lost track of the silly girl.¡±
Mason stepped in front of Mayry defensively, ¡°Well, you see, about that¡.¡±
END OF BOOK 1
Chapter 54 - Mister Moneybags
Chapter 54 - Mister Moneybags
¡°What do you mean she¡¯s dead?!¡± Aiden shouted.
Not for the first time, Mason wished that there was some sort of Charisma stat that could help with situations like this, one that would allow him to just know the perfect thing to say. But alas, there was no such thing.
¡°Um, yeah, she kinda turned to dust.¡± Mason embarrassedly scratched his head, ¡°Sorry ¡®bout that.¡±
He had been in the world almost a month now, after being selected at random and bought here to embark on a quest for a sort of ex-god of chaos who was now a Demon but only a tiny part of a demon¡ yeah, to be honest, he didn¡¯t really understand either.
He was in a whole new world full of Monsters and Magic and cute Elves. He had been given all sorts of abilities, but sadly none of them allowed him to deal with non-violent confrontations any better.
After a whole ordeal with an ¡®Other¡¯, which was sort of an alien the locals had myths about, he had left on a journey with his friend Mayry who had recently found out she was part Demon. They had immediately gotten lost, eaten some KFC from a magical KFC box, and now they were being confronted by another ¡®Other¡¯ named Aiden, who was (probably) banging the other ¡®Other¡¯ that they had killed a few days prior.
¡°Ah. shit. I am well and truly fucked now.¡± The man¡¯s haughty demeanour dropped, replaced with one of worry and fear, but oddly not one of grief. After muttering a few words that Mason couldn¡¯t hear, the man ran his fingers through his hair. Starting to pace back and forth, the man started ranting just loud enough for both Mason and Mayry to hear. ¡°Shit shit shit. Just go and watch the girl, they said! You¡¯ll be fine, They said! At least now I know why the bastards didn¡¯t go themselves!¡± He suddenly stopped, looked at them both and asked, ¡°Do you know who killed her? Was it one of the cult crazies? The wankers.¡±
Taken aback by the man¡¯s radical personality change, Mason took a moment to realise he had been asked a question. Before answering, Mason surreptitiously moved his hand behind his back and summoned a dagger from his inventory. ¡°Actually, It was me who killed her.¡±
Aiden, who had once again started pacing, stopped, and stood dead still. He looked at Mason, saying nothing for a full minute before his lip twitched, which then turned into full-blown hysterical laughter. ¡°You? You killed Gael? Okay, sure, but seriously¡ it was the Cultists, right?¡±
Feeling pretty insulted, Mason took a step forward and brought his dagger into view, pointing it threateningly at the man. ¡°No¡ It was me! I mean, I had some help from¡ someone, but¡ Why is that so hard to believe?!¡±
Aiden frowned, ¡°Oh, you were being serious? No, sure, of course. Are you sure¡ It¡¯s just, after the last time you fought her, she talked for days about how she beat you so bad that you looked like a panda who had lost a fight to a bottle of ketchup.¡±
Mason heard a snicker from behind him and turned to see Mayry holding back a smirk and a smile. He turned back to Aiden and sneered at him. ¡°It was not that bad! And I¡¯m far stronger now than I was back then!¡± Pointing his finger towards the man, he continued, ¡°Don¡¯t miss your girlfriend too much; you¡¯ll be seeing her again as soon as we¡¯re done here.¡±
¡°Wait. What? She definitely wasn¡¯t my girlfriend¡ and you said she was dead. How would I see her if she¡¯s dead?¡± Aiden said, confused.
Mason had thought that he had sounded pretty cool. He looked back at Mayry, who, for some reason, had her hand against her face. He sighed, ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to kill you now, so I meant you¡¯ll be seeing her because you¡¯ll be dead too. It sounded cool!¡± He said defensively.
¡°Oh,¡± Aiden said. ¡±About that, I¡¯m not really a fighter¡ I¡¯m more of what they call a support class, so thanks, but I¡¯m going to pass.¡±
Mason summoned a ball of pure energy to one, and hand gripped his dagger tightly in the other. ¡°You kidnapped my friend, and your partner tried to kill me twice! There is no possible way in this or any other world I¡¯m going to let you leave!¡± he growled threateningly.
The ¡®Other¡¯ opened his mouth to say something, but instead, he held up a hand and gave a little wave. Not sure what was happening, Mason shot the ball of energy at the man. Just as it was about to hit the man, he grinned and disappeared with a POP!
The ball slammed into the ground, creating a small crater.
¡°Fuck.¡± Mason exclaimed.
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¡°What¡¯s the big deal?¡± Mayry said from behind him. He turned to look at her and saw she had completely reverted back to her human form. The red hue, sharp fangs and extra height had gone as if they had never appeared. ¡°Isn¡¯t it good we avoided another fight with one of them?¡±
¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± he started to explain. Your father warned me not to let any of them get away. If word gets back to the elites of their world of what I am and what I can do, I¡¯m probably fucked. I need to become far more powerful before that happens. If one of the really powerful ¡®Others¡¯ comes looking for me, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d be able to do anything.¡±
¡°Ah, that does sound like you''re fucked,¡± Mayry agreed. ¡°But does Aiden even know anything about you? For all he knows, you could just be another ¡®Other¡¯ out here for the trial thing.¡±
Mason considered, ¡°I was dumb enough to tell Gael a bit. I let slip I was from Earth and that I appeared on this planet. Seeing as I¡¯m still alive, I¡¯m thinking she either didn¡¯t understand what was going on or didn¡¯t tell anyone important. But there is no way of knowing what she told Aiden. If he does know anything, the information will probably get back the Ganehrel one way or another unless we kill him.¡±
Mayry placed a hand on his shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to find him then. There is only Sparkstown and Trilil anywhere close to here. We¡¯re heading there anyway, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find him before anything bad happens.¡±
¡°Yeah, you¡¯re probably right. Thanks.¡±
¡°No worries, now, more importantly, do you have any more of that KFC?¡±
After another two hours of walking, they could finally see the city of Trilil in the distance, only an hour walk away. With each step, the city drew nearer, its details becoming more easily discernable. The towering spires, bustling streets, and the hint of lively activity within its boundaries beckoned them forward.
As they approached, the sounds of civilisation grew louder, carrying on the wind. The distant hum of voices, the clatter of hooves on cobblestones, and the occasional ringing of bells filled the air. The city definitely had a sense of busyness that the small Town of Sparksford lacked.
As they walked, their conversation turned to their purpose in the city. Mason, curious about their plans, voiced his question to Mayry. ¡°So, apart from finding Aiden, what are we doing here?¡±
Leaning slightly against a nearby lamppost, Mayry took a moment to collect her thoughts. "Well, Mason," she began, her voice laced with a mix of determination and uncertainty, "I just needed to get away from my father for a bit, but beyond that, I think it''s time for us both to take a breather, maybe we could just relax a while and see what the big city has to offer.¡±
Mason was quiet for a few seconds too long, Mayry noticed and asked, ¡°Is¡ that okay?¡±
Mason thought for a few moments longer before saying cautiously, ¡°Yes¡ I mean, of course, a vacation would be amazing¡ but I need to get stronger fast. I don¡¯t think now is the time to start taking it easy.¡±
¡°Trilil has a huge Hunters Association. You could pick up a few contracts and relax in your downtime. How does that sound? I might even tag along with you, see if I can figure out how to control my Demon side better.¡±
¡°That works! Any idea where we¡¯re staying? Or do you want to use the Trunk?¡± Mason asked.
She, in return, looked disgusted, ¡°Ew, no way, that thing doesn¡¯t have running water, and you always come back from contracts smelling like a Hogfarthen. You¡¯re Mister moneybags, I¡¯ll let you treat me to a nice Inn room.¡±
Mason stopped walking and opened his mouth in mock outrage, ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll let me, will you? You know, sometimes I think you¡¯re only friends with me for my money.¡±
¡°Mason! Don¡¯t say that! I¡¯m obviously your friend for your power, the money is just a nice side benefit¡ why do you think I invited you?¡± Mayry replied smoothly before walking off.
¡°Hey!¡± He chased after her. ¡°You better be joking!¡±
They made it to the city gates, and Mason marvelled at the sight. The gates stood twice as tall as the ones surrounding Sparkford. Their intricate stone carvings and ironwork evoked a sense of grandeur and power. Mason couldn''t help but feel a mix of excitement and apprehension as he took in the bustling streets beyond.
Mayry glanced back at Mason, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Well, come on, Mister Moneybags. Let''s not keep the city waiting."
With a grin, Mason quickened his pace to catch up with her. As they entered the city, the vibrant tapestry of sights, sounds, and scents engulfed them. The streets were teeming with people from all walks of life¡ªmerchants hawking their wares, street performers captivating the crowd with their skills, and individuals bustling about with a sense of purpose.
The duo wandered through the busy thoroughfares, their eyes darting from one intriguing sight to another. Colourful stalls lined the streets, displaying an array of goods, from sparkling jewellery to exotic fruits Mason had never seen before. The tantalising aroma of street food wafted through the air, tempting their taste buds.
After walking around for a bit, Mason couldn¡¯t contain himself, he ran from street to street just to see all the various denizens of the city. As well as Humans and Elves, he also saw Dwarves, people with cat-like features and tails that swished as they walked. He saw what he thought was a Gnoll, but it was bigger, and its face had a more lupine look as opposed to the canine Gnoll. Mayry, who was chasing after him, explained that these were Wolfmen and that comparing them to their Gnoll cousins was a big no-no unless he wanted a fight.
He saw dozens upon dozens of other beings, but one, in particular, caught his eye. In each street, he always noticed that there were hooded figures that he never seemed to see move. He asked Mayry about them, but she didn¡¯t know what he was talking about, and anytime he went to point one out, they were always gone.
After exploring for an hour, Mayry''s eyes lit up as she spotted a bustling ¡®Magic Market¡¯ square ahead of them. "Let''s check that out!" she exclaimed, tugging at Mason''s sleeve.
Mason nodded, his gaze following Mayry''s enthusiastic gesture. Together, they navigated their way through the lively crowd, their curiosity guiding them towards the heart of the market.
Chapter 55 - The Kethul
Chapter 55 - The Kethul
Walking through the Market, they were both taken aback by the sheer size and atmosphere of the place. There were stalls by the hundreds, each with merchants doing their utmost best to outshout their neighbours and attract the attention of any possible customers. While Mason often felt quite out of his depth in this world, Market shopping was something he felt he was a pro at.
Mayry had initially been excited to visit the Magical Market and see what there was to buy. This quickly changed when she saw the gleam in Mason¡¯s eye that she had learned by now meant trouble was afoot.
Back on Earth, Mason lived nearby to a very popular market which was well known for its outrageous prices when selling to tourists but great deals when dealing with locals. Mason had grown up haggling for the very best deals. He hadn¡¯t had the chance to use this talent in Sparksford as he found actual shops tended to be quite rigid with their pricing while people at markets often tried to squeeze you for every penny.
Things went quite well until Mason spotted a stall with several sphere-shaped artefacts that looked similar to the flashbang he had bought in Sparksford¡¯s Magical Item shop, just several times bigger. Using his Identify skill confirmed that these were, in fact, just bigger versions that packed a bigger bang. The trouble started when the Merchant, a seven-foot tall humanoid Snake-like creature, saw him looking at the orbs and grinned at him. ¡°Ahhh young massster hass impeccable tassste, for one sssuch asss yoursssself I can offer you thessse exxxquisite orbsss of powerr for jussst an Iron each.¡± The lizard man hissed as he reached towards the orbs intending to slide them into a bag for Mason, assuming by Mason¡¯s smile he had already made the sale.
Going with a hunch, Mason asked innocently, ¡°What do they do?¡±
The Lizard man¡¯s head slowly looked up at Mason, eyes slightly wider, ¡°Why, they are orbs of power, of course, they, um, contain Chaosss Magic, and through carrying them, you increase the power of your abilities?¡±
Mason narrowed his eyes at the man and shook his head, ¡°You have no idea, do you? How about I give you 5 Iron for all 20 and tell you what they actually do?¡±
¡°Well, I¡ ¡° This went back and forth several times before they finally agreed on 10 Iron and Mason Identifying 2 other objects for the salesman, both of which turned out to be fake imitations of various magical items.
The merchant seemed annoyed but let them leave with the orbs.
As they walked away, Mayry whispered to him. ¡°Mason! That was a Draconi, I can¡¯t believe you managed to get away with that. They¡¯re the most vicious Merchants out there. Very few people even attempt to barter with them, and did you see the way he was eyeing our Armour?¡±
¡°Nah, he was nice! Come on, let¡¯s see what else we can find!
It was an hour later when Mayry finally managed to drag Mason away, ¡°Please, Mason, let¡¯s go! If you ¡®haggle¡¯ any more, I think they¡¯re going to ban us! I¡¯m sure that last guy had tears in his eyes!¡±
Mason, in reply, let out an exaggerated breath, ¡°That guy had no business being a merchant! He crumbled almost immediately!¡±
¡°Mason!¡± Mayry said sternly! ¡°That was the merchant¡¯s eight-year-old son! The actual merchant saw you coming and hid!¡±
¡°Oh¡ well, whatever! I got a good price, didn¡¯t I?!¡± Mason said smugly. ¡°But fine, we can go; we¡¯re coming back, though!¡±
With a sigh of relief from Mayry, they exited the Market with Mason having pissed off no less than nine merchants. Most, he just haggled down a whole lot, but the others, he managed to embarrass in front of other customers by using his Identify skill to correct their sales pitches.
On the plus side, he managed to walk away with a butt ton of healing potions, a few other simple magical items and even managed to find a ring of protection which he paid a full silver coin for.
Wearable Item - Ring Of Protection (Rare) - A very well-made ring often used to protect family members and loved ones.
Effect: A mid-grade barrier will protect the wearer against physical and magical attacks. Once the barrier is broken, a 24-hour recharge time is required.
He wanted to give the ring to Mayry but was unsure how to do it in a way that wouldn¡¯t be misconstrued as something else.
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Before he could bring up the topic, Mayry spun him around and pulled him into a deserted alleyway.
¡°Woah there,¡± Mason protested, ¡°I know my haggling skills are good, but they ain¡¯t that good!¡±
¡°Oh shut up,¡± Mayry said, swatting him on the arm, ¡°I spotted trouble.¡±
¡°Oh yeah? Aiden?¡±
¡°No, that first guy? The one you bought the orbs off? I knew he was checking out our armour¡.¡±
Mason adopted a confused look. ¡°Okay? What¡¯s that got to do with anything?¡±
Mayry started to explain, ¡°The hooded people you said you saw earlier? I think they might have been the Kethul, I saw two of them walking towards us just now.¡±
Mason cut her off before she could continue, ¡°The Kethul? Where have I heard that before? Kethul, Kethul¡¡±
She just rolled her eyes, ¡°If you would let me finish¡ After you killed the Basilisk¡.¡±
¡°OH! The Basilisk was called the Kethulhu Basilisk. That¡¯s where I heard it¡ I¡¯m sorry. Please continue.¡±
¡°¡After you killed the Basilisk, I did some research but couldn¡¯t find much. The only giant snake that I kept finding references to was the snake deity of the Kethul. I assumed they worshipped the Basilisk, not knowing what it really was. The book said they¡¯re a primitive tribal society that live on a whole other continent, so I never bothered saying anything.¡±
Mason¡¯s eyes narrowed at Mayry, ¡°So you¡¯re saying these people worshipped the Basilisk as some sort of Go¡ G word, and now they¡¯re here searching for it? How could they possibly know it was sent here?!¡± a thought occurred to him, ¡°Oh fuck, do you think the Merchant somehow recognised what the armour is made from and called those guys?¡±
¡°Hmm,¡± Mayry replied, ¡°I mean, maybe¡ the merchant was a Draconi, they¡¯re pretty snake-like, maybe they thought he had something to do with their deity¡ but still, that wouldn¡¯t explain why they were already in the city and what they were doing¡ Maybe one of them has a Chaos Ability to do with the Basilisk? Either way, I think it¡¯s definitely better if we avoid them for now and change out of the armour.¡±
¡°Agreed, I mean, I think we could probably take them, but I¡¯m not really into killing people¡ Even if they are weird snake-worshipping people. Should we just change here? I still have a few sets of your clothes in my inventory.¡±
¡°Yeah, I think the sooner we change, the better. Give me an outfit.¡± Mayry said before adding, ¡°If you peek at me while I change, I will go demon on your ass so fast you¡¯ll wish you were still in the in that goblin orgy village!¡±
Mason threw up his hands in surrender. ¡°Ok, ok, no peeking, got it!¡±
He tossed over a bundle of clothes, checked the coast was still clear, and then quickly got changed himself.
Once they were both fully clothed, they headed out of the alley, back onto the main street.
After walking for a few moments in silence, Mayry blurted out, ¡°It¡¯s so unfair that you get more muscular every time you level up! Do you know how long it takes me to lose any weight at all!?¡±
Mason stared blankly at her for a beat before making sense of what she was saying, ¡°You watched me as I changed?! You hypocrite!¡±
Mayry went bright pink, ¡°I err¡ How else would I make sure you weren¡¯t peeking at me!¡±
Mason dramatically covered his chest with his arms, ¡°I feel so violated!¡±
¡°Oh shush, It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t see all you had to offer in the first 2 seconds of meeting you!¡±
¡°Oh yeah¡ I forgot about that- shhh¡± They abruptly stopped talking as they passed a pair of hooded figures who were trying and failing to blend in. Their heads moved as each person past them then one of the two would shake his head ever so slightly.
Mason and Mayry walked past them and held their breath. When they were far enough away, they let out a sigh and continued towards the city centre in hopes of finding an Inn.
As they continued their walk, they couldn''t help but feel a lingering sense of unease. Though they had managed to avoid an encounter with the hooded figures, the experience had reminded them that Monsters and the ¡®Others¡¯ weren¡¯t the only things in this world they had to worry about. They quickened their pace, trying to put some distance between themselves and the mysterious individuals.
After a few minutes, they spotted a signpost directing them towards a nearby inn. Relieved to have found a potential safe haven, they made their way towards it. The inn''s exterior had a rustic charm, with a cosy-looking tavern on the ground floor and rooms on the upper levels.
This Inn looked nice, but compared to his luxurious room back in Sparksford, it was a dump. Mason had grown quite used to that level of comfort and tried to steer Mayry towards a more expensive-looking Inn across the street.
¡°No! We are supposed to be laying low and trying not to draw attention to ourselves! Flaunting your wealth is probably not a great idea to do right now, and knowing you, you¡¯d probably tip the receptionist a silver if she was pretty enough and smiled at you.¡±
¡°Oi!¡± Mason snapped back, ¡°It was an Iron and I didn¡¯t understand the currency! It had nothing to do with Nays being pretty and smiling at me!¡±
Mayry glared at him, ¡°Ugh!¡± she stormed off towards the cheaper-looking Inn, leaving him confused.
When he caught up to her, she was talking to a fat human man who was wearing an apron. As he approached, they both looked at him expectantly.
¡°Err, hi?¡± Mason tried, unsure what had been said.
¡°They only have one room available, It¡¯s 15 Bronze a day.¡± She explained.
¡°Oh, okay, Guess we¡¯re sharing?¡± Mason said.
¡°Yup,¡± She replied as both she and the innkeeper stared at him.
¡°Err, are you mad at me?¡± Mason asked hesitantly.
¡°Nope, not at all. I¡¯m just waiting for you to pay, so I can go up to the room and rest.¡± She explained curtly.
¡°Oh, yeah, right, of course,¡± Mason forked over a handful of coins to the man, and he, in turn, handed over a key to Mayry, who hurried off up the stairs leaving him standing wondering what was going on. He looked at the Innkeeper, about to ask if he said anything but stopped himself as he saw the man was just slowly shaking his head at him.
Mason frowned and hurried up the stairs after Mayry.
Chapter 56 – Demony
Chapter 56 ¨C Demony
After a somewhat awkward early evening, with Mayry insisted that nothing was wrong, that she wasn¡¯t mad at him, but continued to act like something was wrong and as if she was very mad at him, they both decided to head to bed early.
Mason stood by the bed, uncertain as to what Mayry had in mind for the sleeping arrangement. The bed was quite large, but judging by how annoyed she was acting, Mason assumed she would probably appreciate some time away from him.
¡°I¡¯ll sleep in the Trunk, give you some privacy,¡± he said uncertainly.
Mayry looked up at him and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s fine. You might as well sleep in the bed you paid for.¡±
¡°Oh, okay, sure,¡± Mason got into the bed and looked up at Mayry, who was just standing there, staring at him with a frown on her face.
"Do you genuinely not know why I¡¯m annoyed at you?¡± She asked, her expression changing from a frown to one of bewilderment.
¡°Ah! So you are annoyed!¡± Mason exclaimed.
Her frown instantly returned. ¡°Never mind.¡± She got into bed facing away from Mason and ran a finger over the rune that extinguished the light.
¡°Huh?!¡± was all Mason could think to say.
¡°Just drop it and go to sleep, Mason.¡±
¡°Err, okay, See you tomorrow I guess? Goodnight.¡± Mason said trying to figure out how they had gone from hiding from crazy snake worshippers one moment to an awkward evening with Mayry acting weird.
He knew he had never been amazing when it came to women and he fully suspected he had made some sort of social faux pas that he had been completely oblivious too but for the life of him, he could not figure out what it was.
While he wasn¡¯t entirely sure what he had done, he didn¡¯t want Mayry to still be pissed off when they woke up so he spent the next few minutes trying to psych himself up to say what he wanted to say.
¡°Mayry, you awake?¡± He whispered.
He got no reply but his enhanced perception did let him hear a change in her heart rate when he spoke which made him think she probably wasn¡¯t yet asleep.
¡°Erm, I¡¯m sorry for whatever I did. I¡¯m pretty shitty at these sorts of things and I¡ err just wanted you to know that I really like you and I¡¡±
Before he could finish there was a huge bang outside which caused them both to jolt upright in bed as the whole building shook; their attention was immediately diverted to the commotion outside. Startled, Mason made to quickly get out of bed but stopped as Mayry grabbed his arm. ¡°Ignore that for a second! What were you saying?!¡±
He looked over at the window for a second before looking back at Mayry. ¡°Oh, I was saying¡.¡± A bang interrupted him a second time.
¡°Dammit!¡± Mayry shouted. She got out of bed and rushed towards the window, mentally swearing vengeance against whoever it was making the commotion outside. She flung open the curtain and tried to identify the source of the noise but from the angle she could see there was nothing out of the ordinary. She was about to turn back when she noticed an orange hue coming from a few streets away. There was another bang, and she saw a massive fireball shoot into the building across from the Inn.
Mason was by her side in an instant. Mayry glared at him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t think this gets you off the hook. We are going to talk later and you will finish what you were going to say!¡± With a sigh, she added, ¡°We better take a look at what¡¯s happening¡ Chaos knows it probably has something to do with us.¡±
They made it to the front door of the inn and peeked out, they saw six of the hooded figures. They stood right outside the inn as if they knew exactly where they were and had just been destroying things to get them to come out.
Six voices spoke in unison, creating a discordant harmony which made Mason¡¯s hair stand on end. ¡°We know where you are. We know what you are. We know what you did. Come out, so we may speak."
Mason glanced at Mayry who just shrugged. ¡°There are only six of them. If it comes down to a fight I¡¯d put my money on us.¡±
They exited the Inn and stood opposite the Kethul.
Everything about this encounter was putting Mason on edge. It was dark out, and they were being confronted by mysterious hooded figures who all spoke at once. What about this situation didn¡¯t sound like a horror film?
He used Identify on one of them at random.
Kethulli Priest - Level 15
The Order of The Kethul Worship the Basilsk. They are from a very distant land and not much is known about them. Most who seek to learn more are never seen again. They would be pretty angry if they ever found out what happend to their lord and saviour¡
Reading the description made Mason wince internally. He quickly used Identify on the rest of them and got similar results. They were pretty strong, and had good reason to not like Mason. This just kept getting better and better.
Summoning his courage he stepped forward and asked in as bold of a voice as he could, ¡°What do you want?¡±
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There was silence for a moment, then twelve voices replied. Mason spun as they spoke and spotted six more that had somehow gotten behind them. ¡°We are here for the ones who our lord has chosen. He has blessed you with his defence has he not?¡±
That wasn¡¯t what he had been expecting. Blessed with their lord¡¯s defence? What the heck did that mean? ¡°I don-¡° Mayry stepped forward and cut him off by elbowing him in the side.
¡°Yes,¡± she called out, ¡°Your lord appeared to us and shed his hide so he may protect us as his chosen.¡±
Mason was lost. He had no idea what was going on but decide to just let Mayry do her thing and bullshit her way out of the confrontation. He still thought he could take them if he had to but the second six had appeared so suddenly that it made him cautious, he had no idea how many of them there may be.
¡°Yet you do not wear his protection now?¡± The voices asked incredulously. ¡°Do you turn from him and shun his gift?¡±
¡°We only wear the protection in battle, to wear it any other time would be an insult to your¡ lord.¡± Mayry sounded uncertain but from the way the hooded figures seemed to relax as her words it seemed to be working.
¡°Ah, it is good to hear that you are still on the path. We came to deliver a message from our lord¡¯s most trusted servants, his seers.¡± As one, the figures removed their hoods to reveal their faces. Each of them was bald, with serpentine features and every one of them had had their eyes removed, leaving only empty holes in their place. Mayry took a step back in horror.
Mason just sighed, at least this explained the creepy hoods, If he was bald and had empty eye holes he would wear a hood too.
One of the Kethul stepped closer to them and he alone said. ¡°For us to deliver unto you the message you must first prove yourself as worthy.¡±
If they wanted him to shave his head and cut his eyes out they were even crazier than he had thought. Mason was about to tell them where they could stick their snake worship when the single Kethul continued, ¡°We are many. If you defeat us in combat, we will consider you to be worthy to be our lord¡¯s chosen.¡±
There was a pause, where nobody spoke. Of course, there was going to be a fight, there is always a fight but these guys had no eyes. Fighting them and winning would just feel kinda wrong.
Mason finally spoke up, ¡°With all due respect, fighting the¡ visually impaired doesn¡¯t seem like the best way to prove our strength.¡±
Mayry shot him a look that he interpreted as, ¡¯Will you shut up I¡¯m handling this.¡¯ She opened her mouth, probably to apologise for his comment but the leader Kethul spoke first. ¡°We gave up our eyes for our lord and so he guides us, we assure you we have no need for sight.¡±
Before Mason could say anything, using her best diplomatic voice Mayry said, ¡°We agree to a fight but not here. If it is acceptable to you we will meet you outside the city tomorrow at dawn.¡±
The single Kethul stepped back in line with the others and all twelve in unison said, ¡°Agreed.¡± The next moment they pulled their hoods back up and disappeared into the darkness.
While they had been talking, people in the distance had been getting control of the fires the Kethul had started. Checking there was nothing they could do to help they went back to their Inn room.
*****
¡°Well, that happened,¡± Mason said dryly. They were both sat on the bed trying to digest what had just happened.
¡°Yes, it did¡ I think in the future maybe you should let me do the talking in situations like that.
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°I mean, they challenged us to a fight and your first response was to say you couldn¡¯t fight them because they were visually impaired! What the heck Mason, why would you think that was a good thing to say?!¡±
¡°Well, they have no eyes! They ARE visually impaired. How are they supposed to fight? Do you often beat up blind people, Mayry?¡±
Not sure if Mason was serious or just acting the fool Mayry rested her face in her hand and shook her head.¡°They obviously have some other way of seeing, otherwise, how would they of found us?¡±
¡°That¡¯s¡ actually a pretty good point. Why do they want to fight us anyway? I don¡¯t get it, you¡¯d have thought killing their ¡®Lord¡¯ would be enough to prove our ¡®worthiness¡¯.
¡°Were you not listening at all?¡± Looking at him now, she continued, ¡°They don¡¯t even know we killed the basilisk. They think we¡¯re its holy chosen, or something. They definitely would not have been so nice if they had known. I think one of them must have some sort of link with the basilisk which still works on its scales. That must be how they found us.¡±
It made sense. The Kethul vastly outnumbered the two of them. If they had known that the Basilisk was dead then they would have most likely would have just ambushed them. He hadn¡¯t used Identify on them but he was pretty confident that, with Mayry¡¯s help, he could take the 12 of them, any more than that he was less sure of.
Mayry had said she had done some research on the so he asked her, ¡°How many of them do you think there are? Do you think they came here with their full force or were they just the vanguard of a bigger group?¡±
She looked thoughtful then replied. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find a ton of information about them. I don¡¯t know how many are here but I would guess there are far more out there.¡±
Yawning, Mason shrugged, ¡°I still reckon we could take them¡ if all else fails you can just go all demony and turn them into ash,¡±
With her signature eyeroll, she shot back, ¡°Har har, you know I don''t have that much control yet and besides you¡¯re supposed to be the muscle not me!¡±
¡°Oh is that right? So what does that make you?¡± Mason asked.
¡°I''m obviously the brains,¡± she said, putting far too much emphasis on the word ¡®obviously¡¯.
Feigning outrage, Mason nudged her with his elbow, ¡°Hey! what do you mean obviously! Are you calling me dumb?¡±
"No! Not dumb¡ Just¡ Err¡ You know what? I¡¯m hungry, should we see if the Inn is still serving food?" she suggested, trying change the topic..
¡°Oh, no no. You can''t just change the subject!" Mason protested
"Oh, can¡¯t I? Well, how about we go back to what you were saying earlier before all the drama started."
¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± He said innocently, catching sight of Mayry¡¯s death glare, he quickly added ¡°Um.. Actually yeah, food all of a sudden sounds good!,¡±
Her stern expression broke, laughing, she said, "Okay fine, but we are going to talk about it Mason, or I¡¯m going to go all Demony on you and turn you to ash."
With a grin, Mason replied, ¡°Don¡¯t you threaten me with a good time.¡± And patted the half Demon woman on the head and sprinted out of the room as he saw Mayry summon a fireball to her hand.
****
They spent the rest of the evening eating and drinking in the Inn¡¯s quaint little dining area. They talked about all sorts with both of them dancing around what was really on their minds. Mason made a few attempts at just blurting it out, but each time chickened out with Mayry none the wiser.
After a while they headed back up to their room. After the shutting door, Mason turned and nearly toppled over in surprise when Mayry pressed her lips against his.
After a few moments where Mason was unable to summon up a single thought, Mayry pulled away.
Mason stood there, opening and closing his mouth doing his best impersonation of a guppy.
Mayry chuckled softly at Mason''s stunned expression. ¡°I¡¯m that good ey?¡±
"No," Mason stammered, "I mean yes. No, I mean, I just wasn¡¯t expecting that¡ I thought we were just going to talk?"
"We were," Mayry replied with a playful smirk, "but I''m tired and this was faster. You were taking far too lon- Oof¡± Mason cut her off by giving her a taste of her own medicine and surpising her with a kiss. This time is lasted as long as it took for them to slowly migrate over to the bed.
Chapter 57 - 3v30
Chapter 57 - 3v30
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Clone Mason
Chapter 58 - The Prophecy
Chapter 58 - The Prophecy
Mayry
She shook her head as right before her eyes her¡ boyfriend? Split into two versions of himself and then started giving her and his copy orders. If anyone else had tried telling her to keep away from the action, she¡¯d be more likely to throw a fireball at them than actually do as they said. With Mason, she didn¡¯t really mind. He was a bit of an idiot at times, but when it came down to it, he was better at this kind of thing, and her sticking to ranged attacks was probably the right choice for this fight.
She rolled her eyes as both Masons ran off into battle. She noticed that the one she thought was the original shouted something, but Mayry had developed something she called the Mason filter. As the name implied, it filtered out most of the strange things he said, especially the earth references he knew she wouldn¡¯t understand but still insisted on using.
She couldn¡¯t endlessly use her Elemental Family Magic so she watched the battle unfold and waited for the perfect moments to attack. She watched as the original Mason¡¯s energy attacks killed a Kethul and knocked two others to the ground. There. She launched a fire ball and incinerated them before they could regain their footing.
Three Kethul broke away from the main ground and edged their way around, trying to get behind her. Just before they got close enough to attack, she conjured a spray of water, drenched them in it and froze the water solid trapping them in a block of ice.
Turning back to the main fight, she saw Mason screwing with one of the Kethul¡¯s minds. His victim was shooting a red crackling energy into one of the other Kethul. It looked painful but didn¡¯t appear to be lethal. An ice spike piercing it through its heart put it out of its misery instantly
After confirming the kill, she looked around for her next target. The Mason clone suddenly flickered into existence and stumbled. She frowned. He was moving too slowly. It looked like he was in trouble. She spotted a Kethul with a hand outstretched toward him. She took aim and was about to shoot another ice spike at him to distrupt its ability, when something suddenly felt off.
She heard a noise behind her but before she could react, an excruciating pain exploded from her stomach and start to spread outwards. Her insides felt like they were being shredded. The pain was too much, her vision blurred, and she heard someone scream. Her legs gave out under her, and the scream was suddenly cut off. Had she been the one screaming? The pain spread until she could feel it everywhere, it was too much¡ too much¡.
The last thing she saw before she succumbed to the darkness was Mason fall to the floor and evaporate into nothing.
Mason
Everything slowed. To him, it seemed like Mayry fell to the floor in slow motion. A pool of blood was forming from under her. He glanced over at where he had last seen his clone, and watched as he suddenly evaporated into nothingness.
Memories came rushing back to him all at once, as did his full strength. He made to move towards his fallen, unmoving girlfriend. A health potion would fix it. Everything was going to be fine. She was going to be fine.
He felt his danger sense ring vibrate. He spun and saw that the remaining Kethul had all emerged on him. No. He needed to get to Mayry. He didn¡¯t have time for this!
Something tried to stab him. Between his Basilisk armour and his Resilience stat, Mason barely felt anything.
He felt a heaviness, that he now knew was a gravity ability, pulling down on him. His strength allowed him to move mostly unhindered, but it was too much of a distraction. He needed to get to Mayry NOW.
He blacked out.
****
Slowly, he regained awareness and only half registered the carnage around him. He sprinted over to where Mayry lay. Franticly he felt for a pulse. Even with his enhanced senses, he felt nothing.
Panicking, a health potion appeared in his hand without conscious thought. He uncorked it and poured the liquid down her throat. For the longest moment of Mason¡¯s life, Nothing happened. He started to give up hope when he felt a presence next to him¡ªthe Kethul Leader. ¡°You did well, come with me¡ª¡° Mason stood and looked at him. He flinched back and stopped speaking.
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His vision darkened. His awareness once more starting to slip away he heard a faint, ThumpThump ThumpThump coming from Mayry. Forgetting all about the the single remaining Kethul, he hoped against all hope that he wasn¡¯t imagining it. He knelt back down and pressed his hand to her chest.
She opened her eyes and whispered something so faint that Mason couldn¡¯t hear. He kept his hand on her chest, as if to reassure himself that her heart would scontinue to beat, lowered his to her mouth. Coughing slightly, she said weakly, ¡°Not now, Mason, we¡¯re in public.¡± She placed her hand on his and let out a coughing wheeze of a laugh.
He didn¡¯t understand and thought maybe she had someone how damaged her brain, until he realised his hand was on her breast. He let out his own little laugh as he began to sob.
******
Kethul Leader
He watched the battle begin, his curiosity piqued. He tried to split his attention between the three of them but found his time watching the woman to be a waste. His real interest lay with the two identical men.
The fight went on, and he so, as almost a dozen of his group fell in the first few minutes. No less than he expected from the chosen of the Lord.
His most promising Kethul had been gifted with the ability of teleportation; he knew if anyone had a chance of doing some real damage, it was him. Moments after he had the thought he was proved to be correct. The Kethul had appeared behind the woman and stabbed her with his enchanted dagger. Almost at the same instant, he watched as one of the men turned to dust.
By his count, it was now one versus 14. Maybe these hadn''t been their Lord chosen after all. How could they have made the mistake? They wore his skin. They had needed this test, but it had been mostly a formality.
The man stared at his most likely dead companion and stepped towards her. One of the remaining Kethul tried to stab the man, but he barely reacted. He must have accepted his death.
His head dipped for a single moment before his demeanour changed. Where he had been tense and stiff, grieving for his loss, he was now relaxed and loose, with a wide grin on his face.
In one fluid movement, he punched out at the nearest Kethul. His arm moved through the Kethul¡¯s chest as if it weren¡¯t there. The man swung his dagger through the air, seemingly at nothing. The teleporting Kethul appeared in the dagger¡¯s path and was headless before he knew he was even in danger.
What was happening? He had never experienced this level of power, which seemed to be radiating off the man in waves. It was terrifying. It pained him to admit, but he had never even witnessed his lord wield power like this.
The man''s eyes had turned black. He moved with such incredible speed that it was difficult to comprehend what was happening.
The man raised his hand, and a whip made of pure blue energy formed in his hand. The few remaining Kethul fell as the whip moved like lightning, striking them down one by one.
Once not a single Kethul remained, the man''s head dipped again, and his previous demeanour returned. He ran over to his fallen ally and poured a potion into her mouth.
Terrified, the Kethul leader cautiously walked over; he had to fulfil his duty, regardless of his fears.
He would relay the prophecy and leave as soon as he could: ¡°You did well, come with me s¡ª¡°. The man¡¯s head shot up, the look on his face terrifying him to the bone. The man¡¯s eyes started to darken.
In a moment of panic, he took a step back, duty be damned. He was saved when the man knelt back down.
The Kethul leader had abandoned human emotions long ago, but a massive wave of relief filled him when he saw the woman was alive. He needed to survive this, long enough to report back to The Order, the power of this man possessed was insane.
Mason
¡°Give me one reason why I shouldn''t kill you¡±, Mason growled.
"T..th..the prophecy,¡¯ The Kethul leader stuttered. He had looked into Mason¡¯s eyes and gazed upon a void that contained everything and nothing. It tore away at the mysterious cult leader¡¯s facade and left behind a whimpering, stuttering mess.
¡°I don''t give a flying fuck about the prophecy, you threaten to send your cult into Trilil to slaughter people, and then they almost kill her. Me killing you would make the world a better place.¡± Mason hated bullies, and this man¡¯s whole cult was full of them; he was seriously considering killing the man and being done with it.
¡°You¡ you¡ you need to listen,¡± The man begged, ¡±I have to tell you. Kill me afterwards if you must, but what I have to tell you might save the world.¡±
Mason rolled his eyes at the cliche but decided he might as well hear the prophecy; he could always kill the man later. ¡°Fine.¡±
¡°Okay, hit me with this prophecy. I¡¯m warning you, if it sounds made up, I will still kill you.¡±
¡°I assure you, this prophecy was spoken and confirmed by our seers. We travelled a long way to find you, our Lord¡¯s chosen; you must find the one the prophecy speaks of.¡±
Clearing his throat, he recited,
¡°Both the Greater and the minor, asleep now, but not much longer.
A man from beyond can stop their rise; if he fails, a loved one dies.
While they¡¯re weak, he can fight, before they regain their full might.
Fail again; all hope will fade, darkness eternal, the worlds ablaze.¡±
As Mason listened, his mind was in overdrive as he processed the words. Despite his scepticism, he couldn''t dismiss it outright, especially not when so many things in the prophecy made sense to him.
When he had finished reciting the prophecy, Mason asked to hear it again. This time, he focused on memorizing it word for word. When it was finished for the second time, he asked, ¡°Do you know what any of it means?¡±
¡°As far as we can tell, the heretic divinities are returning, soon. A traveller from another world will be able to stop it¡ we don¡¯t know much more than that. That¡¯s why we needed to find you, so you can find this traveller and ensure that he does his part! That¡¯s why our lord chose you!¡±
Mason had had enough, Mayry¡¯s near death had put him foul mood and hearing the prophecy, hadn¡¯t helped. ¡°Oh, for fuck sake, I¡¯m so sick of this our ¡®lord crap¡¯; we weren¡¯t chosen! The basilisk appeared and we killed it! Okay? And It¡¯s a damn snake, not a G¡¡±
¡°MASON!¡± Mayry yelled, stopping him from finishing his sentence.
He really needed to calm down; he had almost made everything worse. ¡°Sorry.¡± Turning back to the Kethul, he continued. ¡°My point still stands, it¡¯s a damn snake. It tried to kill us, and we killed it first.¡±
The Kethul stared at him with empty eyes. His mouth moved a few times, but nothing audible came out until a faint, ¡°You lie. You are heretics of the order. YOU LIE!¡± Drawing a sword, he attacked Mason wildly.
Unflinching, Mason used his hand to redirect the blade and punched the man in the face, his head snapping back with a loud crack.
¡°I don¡¯t enjoy killing people, but I have to admit, that one felt good.¡±
Chapter 59 - It’s the end of the worlds as we know it.
Chapter 59 - It¡¯s the end of the worlds as we know it.
Back at the Inn, Mayry was napping, but Mason couldn¡¯t sleep. He had too much on his mind. In an attempt to distract himself, he finally looked at the mountain of notifications he had been ignoring.
Notification 1/7
You have slain ¨C Level 15 Kethuli Priest x 2
You have received 300 XP
You have slain ¨C Level 19 Kethuli High Priest
You have received 190 XP
Notification 2/7
You have received partial experience from party members¡¯ kills.
Your clone has slain ¨C Level 15 Kethuli Priest x 8
You have received 1200 XP.
Notification 3/7
You have received experience from party members¡¯ kills.
Mayry Sparks has slain ¨C 6 Level 15 Kethuli Priest.
You have received 300 XP.
Notification 4/7
*Error* has slain Level 15 Kethuli priests x 14
You have received 2100 XP
Notification 5/7
Level Up
Level Up
You have reached Level 27
Notification 6/7
You have absorbed the ability. ¡®Teleport¡¯
A tourist¡¯s best friend
Teleport (Advanced) - Active effect: You can travel to anywhere within sight. Scales with Agility.
Notification 7/7
You have absorbed the ability. ¡®Sacrificial Healing¡¯
The healer role is a dangerous one, especially when using this skill.
Sacrificial Healing (Advanced) - Active Effect: Drain your own HP to heal another. You will temporarily take on what you are healing. Scales with vitality.
He skimmed through the loot he had received, but none of it seemed worth a special look, so he dumped all of it into his Trunk. It mainly consisted of coins, some weapons, and various hooded robes.
With two levels and two new skills, he had gotten a lot out of the fight. He finally had a movement skill! And with no mention of a cooldown, he could use it to travel long distances. Healing was great, but it would have been a lot more useful when Mayry was lying there dying. That fact that he got it right after felt like a slap in the face.
To make the most of his new skills, he put 3 points into Agility and 3 into Vitality.
Feeling like he had missed something, he read through the notifications again and paused at, ¡®*Error* has slain Level 15 Kethuli priests x 14¡¯
What the hell was Error? He had gotten skills from the clone and Mayry, so who¡ aaagh, a jolt of pain shot through his head when he tried to think back to the battle. He remembered watching Mayry fall, then his clone and then-
This prophecy was really giving him a headache. The bits he had figured out worried him, and the bits he hadn¡¯t worried him even more
¡®Both the Greater and the minor, asleep now, but not much longer.¡¯
This bit was pretty obvious: the gods were going to wake up soon.
¡®A man from beyond can stop their rise; if he fails, a loved one dies.¡¯
It was almost definitely referring to him because, of course, it just had to be him like he didn¡¯t have enough to do, and a loved one dies? What the hell!? That could only really be Mayry¡ Maybe Nays? Really depends on what it means by loved ones.
¡®While they¡¯re weak, he can fight before they regain their full might.¡¯
This is where he started to lose it. Was it saying that if he failed to stop them returning, then he would have to fight gods? Like actual gods?! Imagine the abilities and XP he¡¯d get for killing a god!
¡®Fail again; all hope will fade, darkness eternal, the worlds ablaze.¡¯
And, of course, if I fail, it¡¯s the end of the world as we know it. Oh no, wait; worlds are even better.
He groaned, and Mayry, who was lying beside him, stirred. He put his arm on her and rubbed her back, ¡°Shh, go back to sleep.¡±
He felt like he needed to get up and do something, anything, but he also knew Mayry was tired, and if he left, she would insist on going with him.
He pulled up his stat sheet to take a look at how far he had come and how he might measure up to fighting a fucking god
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Level: 27
Current XP: 15,830 /19,000
Race: Human
Class: Hunter
Health Points (HP): 430
Mana Points (MP): 375
Stamina: (SP): 255
Stats
Strength:37 (+15) 52
Agility: 36
Endurance: 31
Vitality: 33
Resilience: 28 (+26) 54
Intelligence: 55 (+10%) 60
Perception: 31
Willpower: 32
Free points: 0
Skills:
Identify (Advanced), Mana Control - INT (Expert), Emotional Outburst - PER (Advanced), Camouflage - PER (Advanced), Random Summon - INT (Expert), Word Smith - INT (Expert), Mental Manipulation - WIL (Advanced), Ballistic Touch - STR (Advanced), Division - INT (Expert), Sacrificial Healing - VIT (Advanced), Teleportation - AGI (Advanced)
Base Skills:
Universal Translator, Inventory (Advanced)
Class skills:
Basic Monster tracking, Evaluate Monster, Gather Intel.
He had come a long way from the scared naked man running terrified from a Drake, but it was safe to say he had a long way to go before he would be fighting any gods, big ¡®G¡¯ or small. After reading his sheet, he came to the conclusion that if he were to fight a god right now, he would be obliterated before he even realised he was in a fight.
He had no idea how he was supposed to stop the gods from waking up. He highly doubted singing them a lullaby would work, especially not if he was the one singing. He knew Mayry wasn¡¯t going to like it but there was only one person, he could think of that might have any insight on the problem.
******
An hour later, Mayry was awake and acting much more like herself. She was sitting at the end of the bed, running a brush through her hair. It was the perfect time to tell her the bad news.
¡°I think we need to go back to Sparksford,¡± Mason said, seeing her tense at his words, ¡°just for a quick visit. We need to speak with your father.¡±
¡°But we just got here, and we¡¯re supposed to be on holiday!¡± she complained.
¡°I know, I know, but the prophecy is too specific not to be true. Your dad might know something.¡±
Sighing, Mayry responded, ¡°I know... he might be able to tell us how to keep, you know who, asleep.¡±
Genuinley confused for a moment. ¡°¡Voldemort? Wait, no, ooh¡¡± Mason paused, then said, ¡°Never mind. I''m an idiot. Carry on.¡±
Mayry glared at him and rolled her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s true he might know something. But we aren¡¯t staying in town. I¡¯m worried I¡¯ll keep making my mum sick, and I¡¯m still mad at him for keeping everything a secret for so long.¡±
¡°Okay! We¡¯ll talk to your dad and figure out what we can do from there. I¡¯m sorry you never got that holiday; I promise I¡¯ll make it up to you. We¡¯ll even spend the rest of the day here and leave tomorrow. How does that sound?¡±
Looking thoughtful, Mayry asked, ¡°Are you sure we can wait? The prophecy says ¡®soon¡¯, which could mean months, years or even decades when talking about immortals, but it could also be days. We have no way of knowing.¡±
¡°I think we have some time,¡± Mason said, shrugging. ¡°Anyway, if they were to wake tomorrow, there would be nothing we could do about it. If it¡¯s in a few years, then who knows? If we are going to go fight all-powerful deities, then I think we deserve a day of relaxing without Others, without snake worshippers and without Monsters trying to eat me.¡± He sighed, ¡°Then we can go save the universe.¡±
*****
The rest of the day was spent trying to take in as much of the city as they could. They passed Trilil¡¯s Hunter association, but the line to register as a National member was long enough that they decided to give it a pass.
They visited a restaurant that served all sorts of flavoured living slimes. Mayry absolutely loved it, while Mason refused to take a single bite of the wiggling thing starring at him.
By the end of the day, they hadn¡¯t scratched the surface of Trilil, but Mayry seemed more relaxed and happier than he had ever seen her.
It was nice to take a break and put off worrying about the fate of the universe for a few hours.
At the end of the day, they saw a theatre show that Mason was shocked to see resemble a children¡¯s film he had seen on Earth. He mentioned it to Mayry, but she brushed it off, saying the show had been a classic for over 100 years.
The night ended, and they made their way back to the Inn. Mayry looked deep in thought as they walked. ¡°I think we should leave now.¡±
¡°Really? Now, why?¡± Mason asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired?¡±
Sighing, ¡°I''m scared if we stay any longer, something bad will happen like it always does. I want to remember today as a nice day. It was not because a giant octopus fell from the sky, and you had to run out and kill it or something.¡±
Mason laughed, ¡°Oh, now you''ve jinxed us. If we go outside and there''s a giant octopus, I''m going to blame you.¡± Mayry slapped his shoulder, and he continued, ¡°Yeah, we can leave now, but first.¡± He leaned over and kissed her, ¡°I hope we have many more days like this.¡±
She kissed him back, and a long while later, they exited the end and walked to the city limits.
*****
¡°It''s pretty dark. Do you want to travel in the trunk?¡± Mason asked. "I think I''m going to test out my new teleport skill. If it works the way I hope it does, then the trip back should be a lot faster than on the way here.¡±
Mayry considered and asked, ¡°Do you know if you can take other people with you when you use it? I''d rather stay out here with you, just in case anything happens, and it''s really boring in there.¡±
¡°I don''t actually know, but it shouldn''t be too hard to test¡± Mason grabbed her hand and willed himself to teleport. Nothing happened. just like the other abilities he had absorbed it hadn''t come with any instinctual knowledge on how to make the ability work.
Trying again, he imagined himself and Mayry a hundred yards away. Again, nothing happened, but this time, he felt a pull, as he almost had it.
Trying one last thing before he tried it without Mayry, he closed his eyes and pictured where he wanted them to be and then used his Mana to take them there. Sighing, he thought nothing had happened until he opened his eyes and saw that they were both standing exactly where he had envisioned. He let out a whoop of excitement and tried it again. It took a bit of practice, but after a few minutes, he was blinking in and out of existence in quick succession. Suddenly feeling dizzy, he stopped and was hit as a jolt of pain shot through his head.
*DING*
Status effect: Affliction - Mental exhaustion has been added ¨C Mana regeneration -50% for 5 minutes.
It had been a long while since he had seen that. Teleporting must have taken far more Mana than he had thought. He would need to be careful using it while in combat; it was probably why the teleporting Kethul had only used it a few times during the fight. His Mana pool was quite large, so once he was full, he could still use it to travel, just not as far as he would have liked.
Mayry looked at him with concern, ¡°Are you okay?¡±
¡°Yeah fine.¡± He explained what had happened and took out a Mana potion and downed it. It mostly refilled his Mana but the regeneration was still far slower.
Once his Mana was full and the affliction was over, they were on their way. They would teleport a few times in one direction, and then Mason, using his mini-map, would make sure they were still on course. They would walk for a while while his Mana recharged.
All in all, the journey back was proving to be a lot quicker than the journey there. They were over halfway back, walking, waiting for Mason¡¯s Mana to recharge, when Mayry held out a hand, signalling Mason to stop.
¡°Hold up; there''s someone over there.¡±
¡°Where? I don''t see anyone.¡±
¡°I¡ I think they''re invisible, they''re definitely there, but I can only see them through my magical sense not my eyes.¡±
¡°Do you think we should follow them? It could just be a coincidence.¡±
¡°Mason, when will you learn. nothing with you is ever a coincidence, you''re the literal definition of a trouble magnet.¡±
*DING*
Quest Received! Ooo mysterious
Quest Objective - Follow the mysterious stranger and see what they¡¯re up to.
Reward - Dependent on performance.
Accept? Y/N
Mentally selecting yes, he sighed audibly and replied to Mayry, ¡°Whatever, let¡¯s go, I can¡¯t see them so you''ll have to guide me.¡±
Mayry took Mason''s hand and pulled him forward. It wasn¡¯t long before they stopped in front of a deep hole in the ground. They walked right up to its hole and peered in.
¡°They just jumped in?¡± Mason asked.
The hole looked like man-made; it was about 9 feet wide and was too perfectly round to be natural. Mason considered throwing a coin in but didn¡¯t want to tip off whoever was at the bottom.
¡°Yep, didn¡¯t hesitate in the slightest, just jumped right in¡±, Mayry replied.
Mason frowned, ¡°surely, that must mean it''s safe, right?¡±
¡°Yeah, or that they have the ability to negate falling damage,¡± Mayry suggested.
¡°Ah fair, or that.¡± With a cheeky grin he added, ¡°Ok, Ladies first?¡±
Chapter 60 - Its dangerous to go alone! Take these!
Chapter 60 - It''s dangerous to go alone! Take these!
¡°Oh no, no, no, there is no chance! If you think I¡¯m jumping into that hole before you do, you¡¯re out of your mind!¡±
Mason couldn¡¯t help but laugh at how worked up she had gotten. She turned the same shade of red when she was angry as she did when she was embarrassed, and he found it adorable.
Smiling fondly at the crazy woman before him, he cut her off mid-rant, ¡°Oh hush, you know I was only joking. I have a few ideas, but none are particularly great.¡±
¡°Oh, you fill me with such confidence.¡±
Mason stuck out his tongue at her, closed his eyes and started to concentrate. His first idea involved using his expert-level Mana control ability.
Mana Control (Expert): Call upon your immense, mystical power. Let it pour from you and shape it to suit your needs.
Active effect: Focus a large portion of your Mana into a stream of kinetic energy, which you can shape and mould as you please. Mana cost increases with the complexity and size of creation.
He hadn¡¯t yet had much chance to play with it, but he hoped to use it to create a platform and then slowly lower the objects down.
It took a lot of focus, but after a minute, a disc appeared big enough for the two of them to stand on. He gestured for Mayry to get on, and then he did the same. Experimentally, he moved them up and down, but he had to stop when he suddenly started feeling extremely tired. Checking his Mana bar, he saw that using the ability required a huge amount of Mana.
He quickly lowered them back to the ground, explained why it wouldn¡¯t work, and then presented his second idea.
¡°I could send a clone down there while he¡¯s invisible? Once it gets destroyed, I¡¯ll get its memories, and we¡¯ll know exactly what¡¯s down there. It won¡¯t help us get down there but will give us the lay of the land.¡±
¡°I feel kind of bad for the clone, but better you than me,¡±
Mason shrugged, ¡°My last idea is we get in the trunk and have my clone throw it down the hole. The Trunk would probably be fine, but we would probably alert whatever is down there. At least the clone can try and be sneaky.¡±
Sighing, Mayry replied, ¡°Okay, fine, clone it is.¡±
¡°Lovely, well then,¡± Mason looked at him with concentration until he split into two. In unison, both Masons said, ¡°Shall we?¡±
The Mason clone was about to start his descent when the biggest grin spread across original Mason¡¯s face as he said, ¡°It''s dangerous to go alone! Take these,¡± and handed him a pair of sunglasses, the Drake tooth dagger and one of the big flash spheres he had gotten in the market.
Wearable Item - Night Shades (Rare) - A pair of sunglasses found in the remains of an abandoned assassin¡¯s guild.
Effect: Allows the wearer to see in the dark. Makes you look like a nob if worn inside.
Clone Mason
There was nothing to hold onto in the hall, so clone Mason resorted to punching into the wall and creating his own handholds as he descended bit by bit. It was pretty boring but at least he could see what he was doing, compared to what it would be like without the glasses.
He hadn''t gotten a handle on the whole instinctively knowing the time thing yet, so he had no way of telling how long he had been scaling the wall.
With nothing else to do, his mind automatically came up with all sorts of horrible things that could be waiting for him at the bottom of the hole; giant moles that had drills instead of heads, worms that spat acid, and his mind being an asshole, half convinced him that he would find a dragon¡¯s lair at the bottom of the hole.
His daydreaming was interrupted when his latest punch met solid metal instead of dirt. A loud crack reverberated through the hole. Pain spread as he realised he had broken his hand.
With one hand hanging on and one hand broken, he had no real choice. He couldn¡¯t climb down any further and he couldn''t climb back up. Looking down all he saw was more hole. If he dropped and died this would have been a colossal waste of time, he would be absorbed back into the original Mason with nothing but the memories of him breaking his hand. Ah well, even at half power he was still pretty resilient and might be able to tank the damage.
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Taking a breath and activating Invisibility, he whispered, ¡°Allons-y.¡± Then he let himself drop and instantly regretted it.
Instinctively, he began flailing his arms, causing his body to flip over. After a few agonising minutes, when he finally landed, his head inevitably made contact with the hard ground.
Mason
¡°He''s been down there ages; if I could see through his eyes, this would be a lot easier; at least I''ll know if he dies. How long should I leave it before I recall him?¡±
¡°Relax, it''s only been like half an hour; you''re so impatient.¡±
¡°It''s only been half an hour? Ugh, I¡¯m not impatient; I¡¯m bored.¡± Walking over and looking into the hole, ¡°What do you think is down there? I¡¯m going with huge Moles with drill faces oo or worms that spit acid!¡±
¡°You¡¯re such a child!¡± She laughed, ¡°Acid worms have been extinct for decades.¡±
¡°Wait, what?¡±
Mayry kept laughing, leaving Mason unsure whether or not she was joking.
Mason frowned, ¡°Did you hear that?¡±
¡°No, what did you hear?¡±
¡°I thought I heard a cracking noise¡ ah, maybe I imagined it.¡±
Clone Mason
Opening his eyes, he groaned in pain.
His head throbbed as he struggled to remember what had happened. Then, like a flood, the memories rushed back. He maintained that he had no other option, but still, he vowed to always have a metric fuck ton of rope everywhere he went from that point on.
Gingerly pushing himself up to a sitting position, he looked around and saw that he was in a dimly lit room with metal walls. The air felt heavy, and an earthy scent lingered. His night vision sunglasses had fallen off during the fall, so as his eyes adjusted to the low light, he noticed several metal doors leading off in different directions. He rested for a few minutes, waiting for his HP to refill. Once that was done, he made sure his Invisibility was still active, chose a door at random and opened it. Naturally, the first one was locked, so he chose another. As he was about to push the door, he heard a click from behind him.
He panicked for a moment, eyes darting around and looking for somewhere to hide before remembering he was invisible. Doors opened, and a head popped out. Its eyes darted around the room, looking for something. The man was slightly red in the face as if he had been running.
Could he have heard the noise that Clone Mason¡¯s body had made when it landed? Hmm, possibly, or maybe they had some sort of alarm system.
Even in the dark, Mason recognised the man, the head belong to it was Aiden. Why the hell was he hiding in a hole? With all the drama with the Kethul Mason had almost forgotten about the ¡®Other¡¯.
The last time they had spoke Aiden had said that he was a support class but at half power he wasn''t entirely sure he could take him on his own. He used identify and saw.
Aiden Salvadon - Level 29 - Aiden, healer and body guard to the late Gael. Why is he down here in a damp gross hole in the ground, well, that''s not for me to say, but, for you to find out, I can¡¯t do everything.
Rolling his eyes at the system being an ass, he considered what to do next. If he tried to fight the man, there was no guarantee he would win. He was at a higher level than Mason, and being a clone meant he was only at half power. The best thing to do now would be to follow him and see why he was down here; if he got an opportunity to slit the man¡¯s throat, then¡ he would consider it.
Creeping forward slowly, he got a glimpse inside of the door and teleported behind the man. It was a very narrow hallway, so Clone Mason had to press himself tightly against the wall as the ¡®Other¡¯ was about to pass him. He was inches away from where Mason was standing when he stopped, sniffed the air and scrunched up his nose before continuing on.
Mildly offended, Mason sniffed himself and found that the slow climb down the hall had left him sweaty and gross. Apparently, the invisibility didn''t extend to hiding his smell; that was good to know, at least.
He followed Aiden into a room and Mason was shocked to see multiple futuristic TV screens all over the wall. A few were showing mostly text, and some were playing what looked to be tv shows, none of which Mason recognised. He had never really thought about it much, but he had assumed that Ganehfrel was at a similar technological level as this world, but looking at the screens it was more likely they were even more advanced than Earth.
Aiden settled into a chair and stared at the screen¡¯s. It didn''t look like he was going anywhere any time soon, so Clone Mason left the room and went back to the room with many doors.
He could either kill himself and let his memories return to the original, or he could look around and see if there was another way out. The idea of killing himself felt wrong somehow; he knew he would do it if he had to, but it felt like more of a last resort.
He quickly checked each door and found only one of them to be locked. Clone Mason figured that if only one of the doors was locked then there must be something behind that door worth seeing. Holding the handle firmed he pushed down with all his strength, there was a creak but the door remained locked. Okay, it¡¯s time for a more subtle approach.
In his years on earth he had been down many YouTube rabbit holes. During one of these he had found himself watching videos on how to pick locks, he never had any intention of learning how to do it but he had found the process interesting. Now that he had an gotten his intelligence stat to 55, remembering and even understanding the videos was now far easier.
While he lacked any tools for the job, he thought he might be able to use his Mana control to open the door. With another massive amount of concentration, a thin beam of Mana slowly seeped into the lock; he found that while the Mana was still attached to him, he got a general sense from the Mana, almost like touch.
For the next ten minutes, Clone Mason focused on using the Mana to push and prod at the tumblers inside the lock, trying to find the right combination to release the mechanism. The longer he tried, the more frustrated he got until he lost his patience and made the thin stand of Mana expand rapidly and burst outwards. The door creaked and clicked, and with a slight push from Mason, the door swung open.
Dammit, he shouldn''t have lost his patience; now he was on a time limit. The moment Aiden discovered the broken door, he knew someone was there who wasn¡¯t supposed to be there. Creeping into the room, he found a bed, a chest and a desk. This was probably Aiden¡¯s bedroom.
He crept inside and scanned the room, knowing he had an uncertain amount of time before Aiden discovered the broken door. He quickly checked the desk for anything he thought might be useful and found a few papers with scribbled notes on them. With no time, he stuffed them into his pockets.
Moving on, he opened the chest at the foot of the bed; he found it mostly contained clothes but also found a small bag of coins and several books, most of which seemed to be handwritten. He opened one at random and started to flick through it.
As he skimmed through, he remained vigilant for any signs of Aiden''s approach. The man had looked like he was content watching the screens but he had no way of knowing if this room was alarmed too. If he had had access to the inventory, he would have just taken everything in the room and left.
The book he was flicking through seemed to be a journal. He was appalled at the man¡¯s handwriting, but it was still mostly legible. One of the latest entries caught his attention.
¡®I¡¯m in a lot of trouble. Gael is dead, and I¡¯m scared the elders will use me as a scapegoat to appease her family. Once news reaches Ganehfrel, I¡¯m sure an Elder will be sent to find me. If this happens, I¡¯m dead. My last hope is they won¡¯t be able to track me to this Trial cache. The guardian was already long dead when I found it, but the supplies remained. Maybe if I can get Gael¡¯s real killer and bring him back through the gate with me, they¡¯ll let me live.¡¯
Chapter 61 - Acting
Chapter 61 - Acting
Mason
¡°Where the heck did these even come from?!¡± Mason shouted as he shot another Magic Missile and missed.
¡°I have no idea. I¡¯ve never seen anything like them before,¡± Mayry shouted back, trying to knock one out of the air with a strong gust of wind.
Though they had been pretty chilled out while waiting for Mason to regain his clones¡¯ memories, their guard was still up, but they hadn¡¯t expected a fight. Mason had been practising with his Mana Control, and slowly he was getting the hang of making more complicated constructions when Mayry had spotted something high in the sky that was getting bigger fast.
It turned out that a group of winged, half-bird, half-women-looking Monsters had been passing by and had decided that they just had to come and say hello.
Monster ¨C Level 31 Harpy ¨C Ferocious and violent, hell hath no fury like an angry bird woman. Usually found near the tops of mountains these semi sapient Monsters will attack anything they think might be weaker than them, lucky you.
Of course, they were above his level! Why the hell were they even here!? They weren¡¯t anywhere close to the mountains as far as he knew.
The harpies had the upper bodies of women, but their faces were twisted with sharp beaks where their noses should be; their eyes were thin slits and were void of colour. Dark feathers covered their arms and heads while their legs were thin and bird-like, ending in talons. They attacked by shooting razor-sharp feathers from their wings and dive-bombing them with their razor-sharp talons.
For Monsters that were above his level, they didn¡¯t seem very durable; when Mason or Mayry managed to hit one, even just a single attack was enough to kill them. Actually hittiing them was the hard part. They moved through the air like military attack pilots flying in complicated formations that they had hammered into their heads. For the harpies, it seemed effortless, as if it was all instinctual. If they hadn¡¯t been attacking, Mason would have thought it looked awesome. It was hard to tell how many there were as they moved so fast, but Mason guessed about 20.
A harpie dive-bombed Mayry, but a conjured gust of wind managed to redirect it enough for Mayry to jump out of the way and set it on fire as it change directions before it hit the ground. Air had always been the trickiest element for her to manipulate, but since Mason had given her the Ring of the Elements,
Clone Mason
Clone Mason had ripped the sheets off of the bed and laid it out in the middle of the floor. He was putting all the books and everything else he could find into the middle. He needed to get out of there quickly, preferably without dying. Aiden¡¯s journals were bound to contain tons of important information, and he didn¡¯t want to leave them behind.
A faint footstep from behind him made him freeze.
Turning slowly, he saw Aiden standing there. His face was pale, drained of colour, looking like he was about to face down a dragon.
¡°E-e-elder?¡± he whispered uncertainly.
Clone Mason stayed quiet and didn¡¯t dare move. He had a choice to make; he could attack, but being a clone meant he was effectively closer to Level 13 than he was to Aiden¡¯s level of 27, meaning he didn¡¯t stand a chance. He could still kill himself and risk Aiden getting away before the original Mason found a way down here. His last option was incredibly stupid and had very little chance of working.
In the deepest, most authoritative voice he could muster, he said, ¡°Aiden.¡± He hadn¡¯t thought it possible but Aiden¡¯s face got paler and the poor man looked like he was going to wet himself. Clone Mason had no idea what he was doing but decided to wing it. ¡°Why do you hide here, did you think we would not find you?¡±
He sank to his knees, ¡°Please, spare me. I tried to keep the girl alive, but she kept running off. I know who killed her! I can show you! Please, don¡¯t send me to the pits.¡±
After pausing for dramatic effect, in which he enjoyed watching the man who had kidnapped Mayry squirm, he asked, ¡°The man who killed Gael, what do you know of him?¡±
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His eyes widened as if he was surprised he was still alive. ¡°I don¡¯t know which faction he¡¯s with, Gael wouldn¡¯t tell me. I know his name is Mason, and he travels with a woman, Mayry.¡±
¡°What else.¡± Mason snapped, really getting into the character, maybe he should give up this whole saving the universe thing and be an actor?
Aiden found his voice a little, becoming slightly more confident, as he said, ¡°He¡¯s gained power fast; he fought Gael a few weeks ago and barely survived, but now he claims he killed her. Last I saw, he was nearing my own level.¡±
Deciding he needed to wrap this up and find a way out, Clone Mason asked, ¡°Who else have you told of him?¡±
¡°NoOne?¡± he said hesitantly, seeming confused by the question.
Last question, then he would get the hell out of there. ¡°Do you know where any other ¡®Others¡¯ are?¡±
Head snapped up, stands up cautiously. ¡°I don¡ Err¡ Others?¡¡± The look on his face slowly changed from fear to confusion to realisation until it settled on rage. His face was red; he stood up and held out a hand towards the clone and demanded. ¡°Who are you really?! How did you get in here?!¡± A pulse was emitted from his hand that caused Clone Mason to start feeling dizzy.
Ah dammit. He was an idiot. Of course, ¡®The Other¡¯s¡¯ didn¡¯t call themselves ¡®The Other¡¯s¡¯. He pushed his luck too far. Oh well, it had been fun while it had lasted.
Fighting the sudden fatigue that was creeping up on him, Clone Mason, still invisible, slit his own throat and an instant later was gone.
Aiden, seeing none of this, withdrew a sword and started waving it wildly through the air, all the while shouting insults and threats at empty air.
Mason
With just one Harpie left to deal with, both Mason and Mayry are covered in deep scratches, bruises and dirt. The Harpies talons are somehow able to cut through even their Basilisk armour with ease, something neither of them had experiencd before.
The last Harpie is the by far the largest, but after killing the others the duo had fallen into a rhythm. Mayry would distract with blasts of fire and air, drawing the attention of the bird Monsters and while they were¡¯t paying attention to him Mason would teleport mid air and attack their flank.
They tried this method a few times on the last harpie, but as well as being the biggest, it was apparently much smarter than the others to boot. It had some way of detecting Mason every time he teleported behind her.
It mostly ignored Mayry and concentrated its attacks on Mason while either tanking or dodging Mary¡¯s elemental attacks.
Mayry, was starting to run low on energy, so her attack started coming less often, meaning it was now mostly between Mason and the Bird woman.
He was shocked when it opened, and it squawked out actual words, ¡°You killed my children! Needed food! Mountains not safe. You will feed other children!¡±
The Harpie didn''t give me a chance to reply, instead, she flew away. At first Mason thought she was trying to run for it, but when he could almost no longer see her, she turned and flew as fast as she could at him. Mason was ready and braced himself, he would wait until the last second and teleport out of the way, if he was fast enough, he could then send a barrage of Magic missiles at her and finally finish it.
She got closer and closer; Mason prepared to teleport when he was hit with a sudden wave of dizziness; he felt memories of his clones start rushing back into his head. He had just enough time to think what terrible timing his clone¡¯s return had been before the bird woman slammed into him, Talon piercing deeply into his chest.
There was a wave of immense heat and then the smell of burning chicken. the smell made him hungry and then made him feel sick.
Mayry stood above him, trying to pull the Harpie off of him. He screamed in pain as the talons were ripped out. she summoned a potion to his hand, but lacked the strength to put it to his mouth. he check on his HP bar showed that he was very low. Mayry unstoppered the bottle and poured it into his mouth. he relaxed as he saw his health stop decreasing and slowly start to increase.
¡°Does this mean we¡¯re even now?¡± Mayry asked.
After he felt his lungs had been sufficiently knitted back together, he protested, ¡°No way! Remember the trolls?¡±
¡°Remember what? When you were getting the crap kicked out of you until I stepped in?¡± She replied smugly.
¡°Oi! I told you I was just about to make my move!¡±
¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah¡±, Mayry Laughed. ¡°Are you okay?¡±
Coughing up a little leftover blood, he spat on the ground and replied, ¡°Yep, I¡¯m just great! Though we need to get down that hole now.¡±
He gave her a very quick run down of Clone Mason¡¯s memories and explained what he wanted to do. Now that they knew what was at the bottom of the hole he wasn''t too bothered about jumping in, it would probably still hurt like hell, but he knew it wouldn''t kill him, especially if he used the wall to slow down his momentum. But first he ushered Mayry into the Trunk.
Once she was inside, he took out his Drake Tooth Dagger, which had thankfully returned when his clone had and jumped into the hole. Holding the trunk in one arm, he stabbed into the wall with the dagger, which slowed him down enough that he had time to skim through his notifications.
*DING*
Notification 1/3
You have slain ¨C Beast ¨C Level 31 Harpie x 11.
You have received 3410 XP.
You have slain ¨C Beast ¨C Level 40 Harpie.
You have received 400 XP.
Notification 2/3
You have received partial experience from party members¡¯ kills.
Mayry killed Level 31 Harpie X 8 - You receive 1100 XP.
Notification 3/3
Level up
Stat points allocated.
Only a single level?! The amount of experience needed to level was rising ridiculously fast! In a few levels, he would need to single-handedly destroy armies to progress or¡ kill some ¡®Others¡¯.
With no time to spend any of his stats, he saved them after he gave Aiden the beat down if he hadn¡¯t already legged it.
With the dagger the only thing slowing his fall, the time it took to get to the bottom was drastically reduced. By the time he got to the metal part of the wall, only a few minutes had passed. Not even the Drake Tooth Dagger would cut through the metal, so he again let himself drop. He hit the ground hard, but the impact only took about 10% of his HP.
He looked around for any sign of Aiden, but all he saw was a glowing red rune that hadn¡¯t been there before. Doubting it was anything good, he raised his hand to shoot some mana at it, but nothing happened.
*DING*
You have triggered an advanced Rune array and have been inflicted with Vulnerable.
Vulnerable.
Effect: Chaos Abilities are suppressed until you leave the area affected by the Rune array.
Chapter 62 - Clop clop Mother fucker
Chapter 62 - Clop clop Mother fucker
Again? He¡¯d gotten caught by the rune again? He had hoped it was just a thing that Gael did, instead of a common defensive measure. Aiden must have thought he was too well hidden to need it before now. Which was pretty stupid since hiding in a random massive hole in the ground was pretty fucking conspicuous.
¡°Well, well, well, look who came to visit.¡± Aiden stepped out of a doorway dramatically as if it was a huge reveal that he was there. ¡°At least you saved me the effort of trying to find you.¡±
Mason rolled his eyes and smirked. ¡°You can knock off the cool evil villain¡¯s entrance routine. It doesn¡¯t work quite so well after I watched you nearly piss yourself, not even 10 minutes ago.¡±
Aiden¡¯s face reddened, the rage from earlier returning, ¡°So it was you!¡±
The man had grovelled and begged to someone he saw as lesser than him and now he was incredibly embarrassed. Mason couldn¡¯t help but egg him on.
¡°Yeah, no duh, how about you get rid of the rune and fight me like a man,¡± Mason shouted, subtly opening the life of the Trunk so Mayry would hear the commotion. In a mock baby voice, he added, ¡°Or are you too scared?¡±
Nearly frothing at the mouth now, Aiden shouted back, ¡°Or, how about I keep the rune active, and you die like the pissant little shit you are.¡± Aiden lifted his hand, and a wave of a now familiar dizziness hit Mason.
He had been expecting it this time and powered through. With most of his Chaos abilities unavailable, he would need to rely solely on the training he had gotten from Lyvan, his stats and anything he had in his Inventory. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure what Mayry was doing or how much she knew about what was going on. He could really use her help, though, as at least some of her Elemental abilities were linked to her demonic side, and he doubted the rune was powerful enough to stop them from working.
Aiden charged towards Mason brandishing a long sword, using the instincts battered into him over and over again by Lyvan, Mason managed to dodge and slash his dagger at the man, catching him in the side.
The ¡®Other¡¯ grunted in pain and held his hand over the wound; his hand glowed, and a moment later, all the damage was gone.
He could heal himself; of course, he could bloody heal himself.
Deciding he needed to see what the hold up was with Mayry, he shut the lid of the Trunk and kicked it through a doorway into an empty room. He threw one of his flashbang spheres and dived into the same room as the Trunk.
The sphere went off, followed by a grunt of pain from Aiden.
Mason quickly stuck his head in the chest and shouted, ¡°Mayry, where the bloody hell are you.¡± Straining his neck he saw that she was passed out on the couch snoring. The absolute audacity! He was out here, with no powers, fighting for his life, and she had decided to take a power nap!
Mason heard Aiden kick in the door to one of the other rooms.
¡°Where are you, you little bastard?! There is nowhere to run, only one way in or out.¡± Aiden shouted.
¡°Mayry! Wake the heck up! I need you!¡± Mason shouted into the Trunk. No answer came back, so he stuck his head further into the trunk. Now he could see Mayry better, and he realized she was partially transformed into her demon state. Her Father had said something about her powers slowly revealing themselves, and this was probably a part of that. A heads-up about the random narcolepsy would have been appreciated, though.
Okay, okay. He could get them out of this. What did he have? He had his stats and his Inventory.
Aiden seemed to be about as fast as he was, but he had told them that he considered himself a support class, meaning he probably didn¡¯t have many attack-based abilities.
So far, he had seen him use a dizziness-inducing ability and a self-healing one. Apart from that, his abilities were completely unknown. He also had at least some training with the sword. If it were just a sword fight, with no abilities on either side, he would put his money on himself coming out on top. With all the training he had done with Lyvan, he had become pretty good with the blade, while Aiden seemed competent at best. The problem was Aiden could surprise him at any time by pulling out an ability Mason hadn¡¯t known about.
Before he could come up with any sort of plan, the door to the room he was in was kicked out. Another wave of nausea hit him, almost making him puke.
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A short sword appeared in his hand just in time to deflect a strike from Aiden that would have cut his head clean off. Thanks to his encounter with the Harpies, his once amazing armour was full of holes and tears. It left him feeling far more vulnerable than he had in a long while. He slammed the hilt of the sword upwards at Aidens nose. A cracking noise let him know he had managed to break it. The ¡®Other¡¯ fell back and held a glowing hand up to his face; Mason took a step forward, intending to take advantage of the injured man before he healed. Aiden held up his other hand, and Mason walked into an invisible barrier. Mason growled in annoyance. This must be what it is like to fight him. How many abilities did this asshole have.
He started punching the invisible barrier, trying to break through. Aiden scurried out of the room, his hand still glowing over his nose. It seemed the man wasn¡¯t much of a fighter and couldn¡¯t handle being in pain, probably stemming from an overindulgence in his healing ability.
The invisible barrier finally broke, and Mason made to follow the other man out of the room to continue the fight. He was hit with a wave of golden light that scorched his skin where it hit. He clenched his teeth, trying to power through the pain, but the longer he was exposed, the worse it got. Checking his health bar, he saw the attack wasn¡¯t doing much damage, but damn, did it hurt.
Fine, if Aiden wanted to attack from a distance, Mason could play that game. too.
He withdrew his depression-inducing Bow.
Bow of the Dreadwood Tree (Uncommon) - In a distant land, there exists a graveyard. In this graveyard, a single tree grew. This tree absorbed all the hatred and sorrow of the dead buried below it. From a branch of this tree, this bow was crafted. Landing a hit on an enemy with this bow will either cause rapid necrosis or spontaneous depression. Undead are immune to these effects.
Aiden had really pissed him off. If he did manage to hit the fucker he wasn¡¯t sure which effect he was hoping for. Necrosis would hurt like a bastard but would be a relatively easy heal; depression, however, would mean the man would suffer before Mason ended him.
Where had that thought come from? Damn, he was really getting malicious; if he wasn¡¯t careful, this world was going to have its very own supervillain.
Peeking out from behind his cover, Mason immediately ducked his head back to avoid getting hit with the golden light. Thankfully, the attack didn''t move at this speed of light; otherwise, dodging it would be pretty much impossible. It was strange to see slow-moving light; it was as if he was watching a video slowed down a million times.
He peeked over again and saw Aiden duck behind a door on the opposite side of the room with the hole in the ceiling. Hah got him. Mason placed an arrow into the bow and drew back as far as he could, aiming at the wooden door; the arrow should be sharp enough to pierce the door. If Aiden had his back against the door. The arrow should still hit him and inflict one of the two effects.
The first arrow disintegrated mid-air as it passed through the golden light. The second arrow he shot hit the door but bounced off. It wasn''t until the third that Mason realised that Aiden had put up another invisible barrier.
Annoyed that giving Aiden depression was suddenly not going to happen, he instead aimed at the glowing rune that caused the Vulnerable affliction and tried shooting it, only for that arrow to also be deflected by another barrier.
God, this was frustrating. When he killed Aiden, he really hoped he would get the barrier ability. He felt like he could get pretty creative with it, in combat and out.
He wanted to test out the reward he had gotten after killing a unicorn, and now was as good a time as any. The item was called a Clop Wand, but what it actually was still confused him. At first, he thought it was the Unicorn¡¯s horn, but while it was hard, it was more fleshy than the bone-like protrusion that had been on the unicorn¡¯s head.
Clop Wand.
Item - Clop Wand (Very Rare)
This Clop wand comes from the body of a Unicorn. It contains 50 charges of the ability Rainbow Acid. Pointing the wand at an enemy and using the activation phrase, ¡®Clop clop¡¯, will trigger the spell.
Sticking his head around the corner, he aimed the wand at where he knew Aiden was hiding and shouted, ¡°Clop clop, Mother fucker.¡± He couldn¡¯t see the barriers that were protecting Aiden, but he doubted they were airtight, so the acidic rainbow gas should still get to him. If his barrier was air tight, he would still need to come out for air, eventually.
The wand pulsated in his hand and a large amount of rainbow coloured goop shot out. As it made contact with the air it fizzed and turned into a gas that spread through the room and towards Aiden¡¯s hiding place.
There was a shout of pain, several very creative curses and then screaming. Aiden came out from behind his cover covered in burns and blisters.
He watched as the acid continued to make contact with Aiden¡¯s flesh, making it sizzle and melt. He screamed out at the pain and kept to trying to heal himself. A glow emanated from his hand, but each time, it flickered after only a few moments. The pain from the acid was too intense for him to concentrate enough for the healing ability to function. Pretty certain there was no way for Aiden to make a comeback, he stopped watching the grotesque scene and instead looked at the wand, impressed at its effectiveness.
He heard a creak and saw Mayry stick her head out of the Trunk. She had gone through several slight changes. Her eyes had gone from blue to pink, her red hair had darkened to auburn and her skin had gained a slight reddish hue.
She yawned and stretched her arms, revealing that she had also gained a small amount of muscle that hadn¡¯t been there before. Mason decided not to point out the change right away and instead wait until they were somewhere less filled with acid.
Of course, now that the fight was over, she had woken up. ¡°Did you get enough sleep, princess?¡± he asked with an amused smile.
Ignoring his words completely, her eyes immediately locked on to the wand in his hand, her mouth open and closed in amazement. ¡°Mason¡ How¡? Where¡?¡°
She struggled to formulate sentences more than a single word long. She was probably in awe at how awesome a weapon he had. She mumbled a few more things to herself before she finally settled on. ¡°Mason, why do you have Unicorn¡¯s dick in your hand?¡±
Chapter 63 - Overpowered
Chapter 63 - Overpowered
¡°I¡¯m telling you, It¡¯s not a Unicorn dick!¡± Mason argued. At this point he was pretty convinced that it was indeed a Unicorn dick but there was no way he was going to admit that to Mayry.
¡°And I¡¯m telling you it is!¡± Once she had gotten over the initial shock of waking up, coming out of the Trunk and seeing her boyfriend wielding a Unicorn¡¯s penis as a weapon, she had been unable to stop laughing at him.
Mason felt like such an idiot, he was blushing deeply and incredibly embarressed. The system had even named it a Clop Wand! Mason had been around the internet he knew what the word ¡®Clop¡¯ meant. He should have known the instant he had seen the name. He froze and facepalmed, he had even shouted ¡®clop clop mother fucker¡¯ thinking it sounded cool. Thank god Mayry hadn¡¯t heard that bit! If he ever went back to earth he vowed to leave that part out of his autobiography.
¡°How did you even know it came from a Unicorn!¡± Mason asked genuinly interested, it wasn¡¯t as if she could have seen it in a book. The nature of Unicorn magic made anyone looking at something to do with their true nature gloss over the details and only remember them as all rainbows and lollipops.
¡°I um¡ May have been a little bit obsessed with them when I was little.¡± She saw the surprised look on Mason¡¯s face and got defensive. ¡°I was a little girl! And I still thought they were wonderful peaceful creatures!¡±
Mason didn¡¯t know where this was going but he quickly checked his notifications just to confirm Aiden was actually dead and wasn¡¯t going to attack them mid story. He saw the kill notification but willed it away to read later.
¡°I used to draw pictures of them on paper I would steal from my fathers office, he always dissaproved and I never knew why until I got older.¡±
¡°What happened?¡±
¡°I heard some hunters talking about a sighting of a unicorn. They said they were going to kill it, I later remembered hearing them talk about the carnage and destruction it had caused. I went looking for it and found one. It was the day my Family Magic and Chaos ability first manifested. The moment I saw the unicorn I could see what it really was. It attacked me and a second later it was on fire.¡±
Mason, was horrified by the story but was still a bit confused. He interrupted without thinking, ¡°and you remembered what its dick looked like?¡±
She shot him a glare and he looked away suitably chastised, she continued. ¡°The hunters I had heard talking found me a little while later, the Unicorn had died but the fire hadn¡¯t really damaged to body much. I remember what its penis looks like because I remember seeing them cut it off so they could sell it. It is apparently an incredibly rare alchemy ingredient. They took me home and even gave me a cut of the bounty. I was so upset to find out what Unicorns really were that i didn''t realise that they only gave me a few Iron when the bounty was probably far more.¡±
Mason listened intently to the story and when she was finished he didn¡¯t have much to say so he just gave her a hug, the memories of the experience had upset her enough that he said, ¡°Fine, It is a Unicorn dick.¡±
She perked up immediately, her demeanour reverting back to how it was before she started telling the story, ¡°Hah I knew it! You were so funny waving it around at Aiden and then you were all like, Clop Clop Mother fucker.¡± She restarted her bouts of laughter unable to stop for a good few minutes.
¡°You little shit! Was any of that story even true, or were you just trying to get me to admit that it was a dick?!¡±
The question made her laugh even harder, in between laughs she managed to say, ¡°Viv showed me one once in her shop, and then showed me some sketched of real unicorns. I couldn¡¯t see them at first but after a while the illusion faded.¡± The laughter died down and she added, ¡°Man, you are gullible.¡±
He growled at her and threw the Clop Wand at her, she shrieked and tried to dodge it but it smacked her lightly in the face with a plop. She threw it back, missed by a mile and started vigorously rubbing her face.
¡°I may be gullible but at least I don¡¯t fall asleep right before a huge fight !¡± Mason accused.
She looked guilty as she said, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about that, I really don¡¯t know how that happened. I was waiting for you to tell me to come out and next thing I know I was waking up. ¡±
Mason shrugged as he went to retrieve the wand, waving it the air he said. ¡°Ah don¡¯t worry, me and cloppy handled things, if it makes you feel better I quite like the new look!¡±
Mayry¡¯s looked thoughtful for a moment, as if trying to understand the joke, until she shook her head, and said
¡°New look? I don¡¯t understand?¡±
Oh damn, Mason knew he had fucked up, he had assumed she had noticed the changes she had gone through, but apparently not.
Not really, knowing what to say, he pulled a full sized mirror out of his inventory and gesture for her to take a look.
With a frown she did she looked into the mirror, and for a few minutes didn''t say anything. Mason was about to say something when Mayry finally broke the silence, ¡°What the fuck!?!¡± She touched her face as if she could feel the difference in colour with her fingers. ¡°why am I red?¡±
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Mason tried to calm her down, ¡°you''re not¡ that red.¡± A death glare made him shut up. She stared at herself in horror and started to visibly panic, ¡°How am I supposed to go anywhere looking like this? I''m going to kill my dad how did he not warn me?!
Feeling out of his depths, he closed one eye and started going through his notifications,
Notification 1/4
You have slain - Level 31 - Chaos System User Aiden
You have received 620 XP
Chaos system detected, additional XP received
You have received a total 2100 XP
Inwardly Mason scoffed at the lack of a level up.
Notification 2/4
You have absorbed the ability. ¡®Nausea¡¯
Nausea (Advanced) - looking at you makes them sick.
Active effect: With a gaze, you can Inflict a feeling of nausea onto an enemy, making them feel sick. At higher levels, enemies will be unable to stop themselves from spontaneously throwing up. Scales with Vitality.
Notification 3/4
Status effect: Affliction ¨C ¡®Overpowered has been added ¨C all ability¡¯s effectiveness is reduced by 50%
Mason muttered, ¡°What the hell.¡± There was a limit on how many abilities he could have? ¡°This was bullshit.¡±
Mayry looked at him expectantly, ¡°What was that?¡± she asked.
Oh crap, he hadn¡¯t realised he had said that out loud. Thinking quickly, he said, ¡°Errr, oh! I was just saying how it was bullshit that your dad didn¡¯t tell you about this!¡±
She nodded and went right back to ranting, ¡°Right?! People are going to think I¡¯m a Monster! Maybe I could say it was an ACT¡¡±
Phew, that was a close one. He whispered as quietly as he could, ¡°Help, Affliction, ¡®overpowered¡¯.¡±
Help
The Affliction, ¡®Overpowered¡¯ is added when the system user gains more abilities than their current system can sufficiently power. Power is taken from all other abilities in order to power any new abiliites.
Affliction can be removed by replacing or removing existing abilities or by absorbing more pure Chaos Essence to upgrade your system.
The nausea ability didn''t seem worth getting rid of any of his other abilities, but it was good to know that there was a hard limit. how could he absorb more pure chaos essence? Another question for The Mayor.
He found it easy enough to get rid of an ability. He just focused on the nausea entry on his character sheet and willed it to be removed.
Are you sure you want to remove Ability, ¡®Nausea¡¯? Y/N?
The last notification was the loot he had gotten from killing Aiden. It wasn¡¯t nearly as much as from Gael but there were still a few interesting items.
Notification 4/4
Loot Received:
Map
Ring of suggestion
Various Alchemy ingredients
2 unknown potions
2 Chaos orbs
He wanted to use Identify on the unusual items but thought that he better give Mayry a little nudge otherwise they¡¯d be here for hours.
He gently interjected into what she was saying and explained that Aiden was worried about an elder trying to find him and that they should probably get out of there relatively soon, just in case.
Still a bit annoyed, she reluctantly agreed. they started searching the rest of the rooms; they took everything that wasn¡¯t nailed down and a few things that were. The doors that Mason hadn¡¯t been through turned out to all lead to storage areas. His inventory and Trunk were starting to reach their limit. They had found a room filled with dried meats, preserved fruits, and full meals with preservation runes etched into their containers. Since coming to this world, Mason had mostly eaten at Inns and restaurants, but he definitely wasn¡¯t going to say no to a massive amount of food; considering the sort of situations he found himself in, it would probably get used at some point.
Another room housed an incredibly unorganised library. They took all the books but dumped them into Mason¡¯s trunk without reading any of the titles. He was sure that, eventually, he would get around to sorting through them. Now that he thought about it, the books he had gotten from Gael still needed to be looked at¡. Maybe he would try and convince Mayry to do it for him.
The last room was Mason¡¯s favourite. He had walked in first and turned around to block Mayry¡¯s view. He grinned and said, ¡°Do you remember the day we met? When you were telling me about money? You said I should never tell you if I found Gold because you weren''t above killing me for it?¡±
Hesitantly she replied, ¡°Yes¡ I remember saying that.¡± she narrowed her eyes at him, and added, ¡°Why?¡±
¡°Do¡ you still stand by that?¡±
She pushed passed him saying ¡°Mason, with how much you annoy me you''re lucky I don''t kill you for a cop¡per.¡± She trailed off as she saw the contents of the room. Three see through boxes sat on a table, one contained Iron, one Silver, and the other, by far the smallest, contained several Gold coins.
Her mouth fell open, and she stared at the boxes. ¡°Mason, that is an insane amount of money. Do¡ do we take it?¡± She was so mesmerised that she had started stuttering.
Mason laughed, ¡°Of course we do! Finders keepers and all that!¡±
She stared at him bewildered. "Mason, are you serious? How can are you so calm about this? I don''t think you understand just how much this is! Even if we just took the Gold and left the rest! It would be enough to buy a small country, for Chaos¡¯ sake! I''m not even sure we could spend it all in a lifetime. And trust me, if we tried to use it in Sparksford, they wouldn''t know what to do with us. Maybe in Trilil or one of the larger cities, but here? It''s unheard of. They¡¯d think we robbed the Royal treasury or something!¡±
Mason held up his hands. ¡°Okay, okay, Breath. This is a good thing. Just think would you rather us have the money or leave it here for one of the ¡®Other¡¯s¡¯ to claim? I''ll keep it in my inventory and if we ever go to a bigger city, we can try and exchange it there for something smaller. Okay? Otherwise, we¡¯ll just hold onto it.¡±
Mayry nodded slowly and started to calm down. They walked closer to the table and inspected the three boxes. They seemed to be made of glass but try as he might Mason couldn¡¯t figure out how to open any of them.
After trying for a few minutes, Mason tried using his enhanced strength to just break it open.
A sudden flash of light caused him to blink, when he opened his eyes he was standing at the top of the hole again, empty-handed, with half of his HP gone.
Five minutes later he was back in the room. According to Mayry he had been there one moment and gone the next.
The next hour was spent with Mason and Mayry coming up with different ways to get into the boxes. Mason was always the one to try the methods as he didn¡¯t want to Mayry get hurt.
Finally, they gave up and called it quits, accepting that with the methods they currently had at their disposal, they weren''t going to be getting into the boxes. Instead, he picked up the entire table and threw it into his Trunk, hoping that eventually, they would figure it out.
Chapter 64 - Home Again
Chapter 64 - Home Again
Getting out of the hideout was by far easier than getting in. Daylight streamed in, making it possible for Mason to teleport all the way to the surface without trouble.
Finding the hole had proved to be a pretty big detour from their journey to Sparksford, but with another ¡®Other¡¯ dead, a whole lot of loot and a level from the Harpies, he didn¡¯t think it had been a complete waste of time. It had distracted them from talking to the Mayor about the prophecy, but progress was progress.
The rest of the journey was uneventful. Mayry was quiet the entire way back, and as the gates came into view, she slowed down, a look of concern etched on her face.
She opened her mouth, hesitating, before saying, ¡°Can I get in the trunk? I don''t want anyone to see me like this, not yet.¡±
Mason was going to argue that she looked fine and that it wasn''t even that noticeable, but the look on her face told him it would be better to just go along with it for now for the sake of her mental health. He knew having sudden massive changes to your body could stir up all sorts of emotions, and he understood that she was probably going through a lot.
Without a word, he took out the trunk and opened the lid for her, before she got in though, he grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. The smile she gave him made feel a little less unsure about the whole situation.
Walking the rest of the way to the gate, he was stopped by a guard, one he hadn''t seen before. The guard, a bulky man with a stern expression, stepped forward, blocking his path with a raised hand.
¡°Name and reason for entry?¡± He said in a bored, monotone voice.
Mason felt a flicker of annoyance at the guard''s stern demeanour but quickly composed himself.
¡°Mason Hughes," he replied, his voice steady despite his slight irritation. "I was here just a few days ago. I have a room at an inn here."
The guard regarded him for a moment, his expression unchanged.
¡°That isn¡¯t what I asked,¡± The guard said, his tone still flat. ¡°What is your business in Sparksford today?¡±
Rolling his eyes, Mason decided on trying the truth. He answered, ¡°I¡¯m here to see the Mayor. ¡±
The guard looked Mason up and down sceptically, his eyes lingering on Mason''s tattered, torn armour that still had splatters of Harpie blood on it.
¡±I highly doubt the Mayor is taking meetings with the likes of you," the guard remarked bluntly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I cannot let you in, the town isn''t allowing people in without good reason, and you do not have a good reason.¡±
The man was getting on his nerves now, but instead of arguing further, he nodded at the man and teleported to the other side of the gate, leaving the guard blinking in surprise.
Mason appeared just beyond the gate, his frustration quickly vanishing as he watched the guard searching for him, waving his sword around as if he thought Mason might just be invisible. He adjusted his armour, brushing off some of the dried blood; he didn¡¯t look that bad¡ Okay, maybe he should change before meeting the Mayor.
Before he managed to make it to the Inn, he heard a gruff, thickly accented voice shout out to him, ¡°Basilisk slayer! What in the name of chaos did you do to my armour!¡± Recognising the voice, Mason turned and saw the half-giant armourer, Geraint, walking towards him from across the street.
Mason raised his hand in greeting as the man approached. The huge man didn¡¯t stop but picked Mason up in a hug and squeezed. Mason, who was a fair bit stronger than the last time this had happened, squeezed back. The half giant taking it as a challenged squeezed harder until Mason was certain his ribs were about to snap. ¡°Okay, I give I give,¡± he managed to weeze out tapping the mans arm.
When Geraint finally released him from the bone-crushing hug, Mason coughed and eventually filled his lungs with air. "Good to see you too, Geraint," Mason said, massaging his sides where he had almost been crushed. "And, yeah, sorry about the armour. It has saved my life more times than I can count. I guess my luck must have run out; I went up against some Harpies, and they nearly tore me to shreds.
Geraint grunted, giving Mason a playful punch on the shoulder that nearly knocked him off balance. ¡°Harpies?! Yeah, that would explain why the self-repair function hasn¡¯t started. What the hell were you doing up a mountain?¡±
¡°Mountain?¡± Mason asked, confused.
Before Geraint could say more, a young blonde woman interrupted, rushing up to him. "Dad? What are you doing? You''re supposed to be helping me with gauntlets!¡± She was much smaller than her father, cute but with a stern expression aimed directly at her father. Spotting Mason, she wrinkled her nose. "You should change your clothes... If the guards see you, they''ll think you''re up to something." She sniffed the air. "And you really need a bath."
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Well, that was blunt, but somehow in her scottishesque accent it didn¡¯t feel like she was actively trying to be rude.
"Nina! That was rude!" Geraint scolded her, then added in a hushed tone, "This is the customer I mentioned, the one who bought us the Basilisk Hide to work with.
Her eyes widened as she got a better look at his armour, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I thought you were a beggar bothering my dad.¡± She blushed and quickly added, ¡°Not that you look homeless¡ except you kind of do¡.¡± She seemed to take a second and consider her next words before she said, ¡°I¡¯m Nina; I¡¯m the ritualistist who worked on your armour. It was a lot of fun to play wi¡ work on.¡± She looked back at her father, ¡°We really do need to go unless you want the shop to burn down.¡±
As he was somehow dragged away by the much smaller woman, he called back, ¡°Come see me in the shop. I¡¯ll see what I can do to patch up your armour.¡±
****
Mason felt a bit conflicted. He was about to walk into the inn, and he couldn''t decide whether or not he wanted Nays to be there or not. On the one hand, they were friends, and he would enjoy catching up with her, but on the other hand, he suspected that she liked him, and if he was being honest, he liked her too. But he was kind of officially with Mayry; they never really had that chat, but due to Nays¡¯ Chaos ability, she had the habit of accidentally ending up naked around him. He also knew that Mayry wasn¡¯t the elf¡¯s biggest fan and that the feelings were mutual.
He pushed open the door and sighed in relief when it was somebody else sitting at the front desk. His room was keyed to him, so he walked right up. The receptionist gave him a brief look, but didn''t say anything.
Sitting down on the bed, he opened up the trunk he had been carrying and shouted for Mayry to come out.
¡°What are we doing here? We''re supposed to be seeing my father.¡± she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. ¡°and what took you so long? Did you¡ stop to chat to anyone?¡± The last bit sounding just a tad bit forcefully innocent.
Yeah, he had definitely dodged a bullet not bumping into Nays; he wasn''t about to stop talking to her altogether, but he would need to speak with Mayry about it first. It wasn''t a conversation he was looking forward to having, and it definitely wasn¡¯t one he was going to have now. It wasn''t that he was scared of his girlfriend, but he¡ was a little bit scared of his girlfriend.
Fighting Monsters was easy; it was simple and something he was equipped to do. Having an argument with someone he was in a relationship with, however, was a whole other matter. He had never been very good at it and usually ended up caving immediately. He thought he knew Mayry pretty well but wasn''t sure how she¡¯d react.
With a smirk, he replied, ¡°Yes, I bumped into someone, and we are here because it''s been pointed out to me multiple times that I am filthy and apparently stink.¡± Seeing Mayry about to say something, he quickly added, ¡°I bumped into Geraint, the half-giant armourer who made our Basilisk armour? Did you know he had a daughter?¡±
¡°Yeah, actually, Nina, right?¡± She asked, ¡°She¡¯s only a few years young than me, never really interacted with her much, but seemed nice enough. Go have your shower, you¡¯re right you do stink.¡±
Feeling like pushing his luck a little, he asked, ¡°Care to join me?¡±
To his surprise, she actually walked towards him, but as she got close, she leaned in and whispered in his ear, ¡°With you smelling like this? Not a chance.¡± Mayry said with a playful smirk, pulling back to look him in the eye. "But maybe later if you behave." She winked before turning away, leaving Mason to go wash off the grime, blood and dirt on his own.
*****
Once they were both clean, Mason changed into one of the sets of Basilisk armour he hadn''t yet used. he had been putting it off for awhile because it took awhile for the leather to fit right and it ended up very uncomfortable. He would have worn something else, but he didn''t have that many clothing options, he really should have bought some new clothes while they were in Trilil. He made a mental note to get some before they left.
Mayry got back into the Trunk still not keen on anyone seeing her in her new partial demon form. There were guards outside of the Mayors office, and to Masons annoyance. He recognised one of them, of course it was the same guard from the front gate who acted all high and mighty about letting him in.
He considered just teleporting into the building but didn''t want to alarm anyone. Instead, he walked up to the door, hoping the man wouldn''t recognise him now that he was clean and not covered in blood.
¡°Oi, you!¡±
Mason sighed, why was it that nothing could ever just be simple? ¡°Who let you through the gates!¡± The bulky man stormed up to him and got up in his face. ¡°don''t you try your disappearing act this time cus I''ll find you; when I do, I''ll-¡°
Mason teleported right behind the man and walked calmly towards the door to the Mayor¡¯s office. The guard spun and yelled at him, ¡°I fucking warned you.¡±
He could use Mental Manipulation on the man, but he felt that would be letting him off too easy. He didn''t like bullies, and this man really felt like a bully to him. He turned to face the man, put the trunk down and, with a smile on his face, said, ¡°I told you I have a meeting with Mayor. Now, either you let me through that door, or you''ll be going through that door.¡±
The calm tone in which Mason made the man hesitate, just for a moment, perhaps, if he had hesitated a little bit longer, he would have realised that it was the tone of a man that could back up his words.
The man''s face contorted in rage, his fists clenching at his sides. "You think you can threaten me, boy? I''ll show you!"
*****
Mayor Sparks was ready to go home for the night, he had had an okay day, nothing special. He was a bit sad that his daughter was still gone but he was confident that with time she would understand everything that happened and why they had to happen the way they had. he didn''t fully trust the man she was with, but he did trust her.
Things were going to change in the next few years; he could feel it. Being a God, or at least an iteration of one, didn''t really affect him day-to-day. It did, however, give him a sense of what was to come, not the whole picture, just a feeling, and this particular feeling wasn''t good.
He was just hoping that it didn''t come too soon, as he was still quite weak from protecting Mayry from that woman, Gael. He remembered when his powers were infinite, and now killing a mere mortal would leave him tired for months if not years.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a commotion coming from outside. He stood and opened his office door just in time to see one of his town guards come flying headfirst through the doors. Behind him, in walked the man who was supposed to be with his daughter.
The man held up in hand and waved.
The Mayor sighed; it was going to be a long night.
Chapter 65 - Gods, Demi Demons and Me
Chapter 65 - Gods, Demi Demons and Me
The Mayor ushered him into his office and shut the door behind him. ¡°Was that entrance necessary?¡±
¡°Not entirely, no. You should really get better guards. That one was a dick!¡±
He sat down on his trunk, opened it, and watched as Mayry emerged, not looking particularly happy.
The Mayor¡¯s face brightened as he saw her, and then, almost immediately, he darkened as he got a better look. ¡°Wha-¡°
Before he could finish his first word, Mayry stormed up to him, ¡°How could you not tell me about this?¡± She shouted, gesturing to herself! ¡°how am I supposed to go outside looking like this? A warning would''ve been nice! First, you didn''t tell me I was a fucking Demon, and then even when I do find out, you don''t tell me it would change the way I looked. What is wrong with you?! You''re supposed to be a fucking deity all knowing and powerful but yet you didn¡¯t know this would piss me off!?¡±
Wow, Mason had never seen her this mad before, he knew she had been pissed off, but he had no idea it was to this extent.. He took a step back, not wanting to get in between the father and daughter¡¯s argument. It already felt awkward just being there.
The Mayor tried to get a word in but Mayry continued her rant. The Mayor shot him a glance but Mason gave him a ¡®don¡¯t involve me in this¡¯ look.
Mayry finally took a breath and let the Mayor jump in, ¡°I didn¡¯t know this would happen.¡± He started defensively. ¡°not really.¡±
Damn, Mason couldn¡¯t help but think, even gods were scared of Mayry.
¡°You are a child of Chaos¡ the effects are chaotic. Usually a few abilities present themselves but physically changes are rare and usually take months to present themselves!¡± Seeing that Mayry was gearing up for another rant, the Mayor continued. ¡°The good news is you can probably change yourself back. Mason? You have a skill that lets you see information on a person yes?¡±
Grimacing slightly at being bought into the conversation Mason nodded.
¡°Use it on her and tell me what it says.¡±
He glanced at Mayry, and seeing her give a slight nod, he did as he was told.
Mayry Sparks - Demi Demon - Beserker - Level 32 - (Girlfriend)
The description confused him. How was she still a higher level than he was?! When did she become a beserker, and since when did the ability start labelling people¡¯s relationship to him?
He read out what the description said, leaving out the girlfriend part.
After the Mayor had heard the description he took in a deep breath and ran a tired hand down his face. ¡°Okay, unfortunately think I know what happened.¡± He closed his eyes and made a disgusted face. ¡°I need you to tell me everything that happened while you¡¯ve been gone.¡±
Mayry look at Mason expectantly and so he started to explain. He started with their encounter with Aiden on the way to Trilil, then talked about the hooded figures at the Market place, which led into the confrontation with the Kethul. When Mason got to the part about the prophecy the Mayor ran a hand through his hair and looked distressed, but motioned for Mason to continue. He finished by going over how they discovered the hole in the ground and him killing Aiden while Mayry fell asleep.
He left out a few more intimate things that happened, but he highly doubted Mayry¡¯s father wanted to hear about their sex life.
¡°And that is everything that happened is it?¡± He narrowed his eyes at Mason, who just nodded.
¡°Okay, I can¡¯t believe Im asking this and I really don''t want to know the answer, but as it is relevant...¡± He looked visibly sick as he asked, ¡°Have you two had sex?¡±
Out of all the things the Mayor could have asked, Mason was absolutely not expecting that. There was silence for a moment.
Mason looked at Mayry. She looked furious, her skin seemed redder and she was definitely taller than when they had arrived. She started shouting at her Father, ¡°How is that any of your business! How could that possibly be relevant!?¡± As she got angry she started to grow taller, her skin got redder and visible steam started coming off of her.
Mason jumped in between the two of them before Mayry tried to actually hit the man.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
¡°By unlocking your abilities, you unlocked your Demi-Demon type, Berserker,¡± the Mayor explained, unfazed by his daugters aggression.
"Your demonic physicality is linked to your emotions. The angrier you get, the more your body will change, enabling you to deal more damage. And as a Berserker, you''re going to be angry¡ªa lot."
He poured some amber-coloured liquid into a glass and took a sip. "Demi-demons link themselves to the first being they have sex with. With Mason essentially brimming with Chaos essence, when you... linked with him, it hastened your physical transformation."
The Mayor turned to look at him. "Mason, because of the quality of your system, you''re essentially far more powerful than your level would suggest. Because of this, when you linked with my daughter, you brought her power level up too. When Mayry calms down enough to listen, I will explain how she can hide the changes."
Mason turned to his girlfriend, hugged the now significantly taller woman, and squeezed her. As he held her, he tried to digest all the information they had just been given and work out what it meant for them.
From what he understood, Mayry was going to Demon out anytime she got mad. This made Mason worry a little as he knew his greatest skill in life was pissing people off.
Usually, the physical changes she was experiencing would have happened over a longer period of time but because Mason was so full of Chaos energy when they did the deed; it made those changes happen a lot faster.
The upside to all this was, it seemed that the link between him and Mayry would make her grow stronger as he did. He wondered how far that would work. If he ever got to God-killing levels of power, would their link bring Mayry to that level too? That was insane! If that were true, he would never need to worry about leaving her behind.
That level of power was so far away that Mason had only briefly thought about it, but if he ever was out there slaying Gods, Demons, and fuck knows what else, then he couldn¡¯t imagine that Mayry would want to come along just to cheer him on. Considering all they had been through together it would feel wrong to leave her behind. If the link worked the way he hoped, then he wouldn¡¯t have to.
When Mayry was back to her regular size, Mason let go of her and took a step back.
She smiled at Mason, ¡°Thank you.¡± Her smile faltered, her lip curling upwards as she looked at her father still clearly frustrated with him but trying to keep her emotions in check.
The Mayor sighed heavily, setting down his glass. "I know this is a lot to take in, both of you. I wish I had told you everything earlier, but I just wanted my little girl to live a normal life. I¡¯m sorry.¡±
Mayry¡¯s expression softened slightly at her father¡¯s words. She would forgive him in time, Mason knew.
At that moment, the man, for once, looked as ancient as he likely was. He looked scared and vulnerable, his usual air of authority momentarily replaced by an almost tangible sense of dread. His hands shook slightly, betraying the seriousness of the situation that was obviously heavy on his mind. It was a glimpse into the vulnerability of a man accustomed to strength and power.
¡°I do not know much of the Kethul, but I can attest to the quality of their seers. If they believe the gods are at risk of returning, then it is safe to say it is probably true.¡±
He looked up at Mason, ¡°I assume you believe the man from another world is you? That would make the most sense. There have been travellers from other worlds, but I do not know of any other than you that could even dream of facing a God, let alone all of them.¡±
Mason had been holding in his anxieties since they arrived, but now they all spilt out. ¡°Do you know how we could stop them from waking in the first place? The idea of fighting Gods is insane! Is it even possible? Aren¡¯t they supposed to be all-powerful and all-knowing? How am I supposed to go up against that? Only a month ago, I lost a fight with a tree!¡±
Finally, getting that off his chest felt good; he had been holding it in since they first heard the prophecy. He would have talked to Mayry about it, but at first, she had been injured, and then there was the whole turning into a demon fiasco. He had been worrying constantly that he would never be powerful enough to do what he was expected to.
The Mayor stared at Mason for a long time, considering how to respond. ¡°Killing a god is theoretically possible.¡± He started to explain, ¡°If they were to wake, they would likely do so one by one. After centuries of disuse, their powers will have atrophied, and they will be at their weakest, vulnerable to even death. If they were to be attacked in this state by another god or sufficiently powerful person, they could be killed. Even so, the weakest god is still a god and the amount of power it would take¡ well, you have a long way to go.¡±
Nodding, Mason followed along. He had no grand delusions about him lasting even a second against the weakest of gods. It would be akin to an ant fighting the sun. He was hoping against hope that he wouldn¡¯t have to fight them. The prophecy implied there was a way to stop them from returning.
¡°Of course, I have a long way to go! I don¡¯t even want to fight the gods! The prophecy says if I fail to stop them returning, someone I love will die. If I¡¯m at the point where I have to fight them, then I¡¯ve already lost.¡± He looked at Mayry, a tear in his eye, ¡°I can¡¯t lose her. She¡¯s all I have in this world.¡±
He knew he was being a tad dramatic. It was likely he would end up the most powerful person on the planet, likely one of the richest people on the planet, and he would probably eventually find someone else if she were to die, but she meant a lot to him. She was the first person in this world he had met. She had stayed with him and helped him. She was also his friend, and he would do anything within his power to stop her from dying.
¡°You¡ Love me?¡± Mayry asked, the shock obvious on her face.
¡°Err, yeah¡? You heard the prophecy. Who the hell did you think it meant?¡± He spent almost all of his time with her. He knew that it had been less than a month, but they had done a lot in that month.
¡°I don-¡± she started but was cut off.
Mason¡¯s face fell. What was she about to say? ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯?, ¡®I don¡¯t love you¡¯? Mason didn¡¯t know, but he worried he had just made a mistake by implying that he loved her so soon.
The Mayor spoke over her, likely not feeling comfortable with the intimate direction the conversation was heading.
¡°As for how you could prevent them from returning, I¡ don¡¯t know¡± Masons heart dropped at the words. If the god of chaos didn¡¯t know then¡ ¡°But, I do know someone who does.¡± The Mayor finished.
Chapter 66 - Chaos Theory
Chapter 66 - Chaos Theory
Mason leaned forward, eager to hear what the Mayor had to say.
He briefly considered his words before asking, ¡°What do you know about the Trials the ¡®Others¡¯ participate in?¡±
¡°Not a lot, just bits I¡¯ve managed to piece together. I know there are several factions who give their young systems like mine and then send them here to get stronger. They even call this world the ¡®Trial World¡¯.
Nodding along to Mason¡¯s explanation, The Mayor added, ¡°Good, that is part of it. Yes. In the most basic terms, 12 factions of Ganehfrel all fall under the Emperor. Every so often, the factions come together to select a number of their promising young to be infused with Chaos and given systems. They are all then sent here to their ¡¯Trial world¡¯. The ¡®champions¡¯ then have to reach a certain level before they are allowed back to Ganehfrel.¡±
He understood what the Mayor was saying but not why. Confused, he asked, ¡°Okay, but what does that have to do with me stopping the gods from returning?¡±
Ignoring Mason¡¯s question, the Mayor continued, ¡°I have told you of the Iteration that the ¡®Others¡¯ are using to make systems? I believe you have a quest to save him?"
He narrowed his eyes at the man; how could he know what quests he had? Nodding, he confirmed, ¡°I do.¡±
¡°The Iteration in your head was by far the strongest of us. He had spent most of his time collecting Chaos and trying to bring us to our former power. Now that most of that iteration¡¯s power has been spent on getting you here, the iteration in Ganehfrel is the most powerful and complete. If anyone knew of a way to keep the gods from returning, it would be him.¡±
Sighing deeply, Mason rested his head on the table. ¡°Great, another thing for me to do to stop the world from ending. Anything else? Want me to slay all of the dragons? Ride a unicorn into battle?¡±
Mayry stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. She didn¡¯t say anything, but the gesture did make him feel better.
To his credit, the Mayor waited for Mason to stop whinging before continuing, ¡°Getting to their world won¡¯t be easy. Firstly, in order to even be allowed there, you¡¯ll need to be at least level 50. They¡¯ll have someone with the ability to check. Secondly, you¡¯ll have to be able to pass yourself off as one of them. If you can do all that, you¡¯ll still need to figure out how they travel between worlds.¡±
*DING*
Quest Updated! Bring Chaos to Order.
Quest Objective - Save Chaos.
Update - The Chaos iteration in your head (Me) gave up his power to bond with someone who would be able to rescue the captured iteration of Chaos from the ¡®Others¡¯. Gain power, free Chaos, and stop Ganehfrel from using one of us for its own gain.
Update 2 - Journey to Ganehfrel and rescue the iteration of chaos held captive there. He is the best chance you have of finding out how to stop God¡¯s return.
Reward 1 - Choose whether to stay in this world with unfathomable power or go home.
Reward 2 - The knowledge of how to keep the Gods from returning and destroying all of existence.
Accept updated quest? Y/N
"Yep. The quest just updated." Annoyed with life in general, Mason asked, ¡°Is there anything you can tell me about their world?¡±
"My memories from my godhood are hazy at best," he replied, " But I do know they are more technologically advanced, they are a far more amoral civilisation than you are used to, and there are System users there who are hundreds of years old and have a level of power that reflects that.¡±
Fixing Mason with a stern look, he added. ¡°If you were to come face to face with one of their elders as you are now, you wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. Their systems are limited while yours isn¡¯t, but their limits are magnitudes higher than your current power.
"How the hell am I supposed to save this chaos guy? I don¡¯t know where he is; I don¡¯t even know how to get to Ganehfrel¡ Wait." A memory was brought to the forefront of his mind, ¡®Maybe if I can get Gael¡¯s real killer and bring him back through the gate with me, they¡¯ll let me live.¡¯
¡°There¡¯s a gate somewhere; I¡¯m going to have to finally read through all the books I looted from Gael and Aiden. There¡¯s bound to be something in them.¡±
"The gate doesn¡¯t matter so much right now; you need to get stronger. That should be your priority. I really don¡¯t like putting all of this on one person, but the truth is, If you die prematurely, then there isn¡¯t anything anyone will be able to do, and we will all be pretty much fucked. My power Is limited. I can¡¯t help you find and hunt ¡®Others¡¯, but there might be something I can do to help keep you alive."
The Mayor looked hesitant but held out his hand for Mason to take. ¡°I¡¯ve been alive a long time and have collected a lot of Chaos Essence. It should help.¡±
He didn¡¯t entirely trust the man; he was Mayry¡¯s father, and that earned him some goodwill. But he was also an ancient self-proclaimed betrayer of gods, so naturally, Mason was a tad wary.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
¡°My system has mentioned Chaos essence before. What is the difference between the energy and the essence?¡±
Lowering his hand, the Mayor went into lecturer mode, showing Mason exactly where Mayry got it from.
"The simplest way I can put it is that Chaos Essence is the primal form of Chaos Energy. A god¡¯s essence is near infinite, and that is what makes them gods. Chaos Energy is what happens when it is diluted and left on its own to follow its nature; this is the source of ACT¡¯s and Chaos¡¯ abilities."
"Now, your System is already mostly made up of Chaos Essence; when you kill a monster or beast, you absorb the Chaos Energy in them, which will make you stronger but very slowly, as most beings only have a tiny amount of energy. When you kill an ¡®Other¡¯, you¡¯ll notice an increase in the power you gain as you are also absorbing the tiny amount of Essence that their system is made up of."
"As an iteration of chaos, I am almost entirely made up of essence and constantly absorb it from the world around me. Defeating Gael took a lot from me, but I can spare you some; it will do you a lot more good than it does me, as I¡¯m vastly limited in what I¡¯m able to do with my power as just a single iteration."
Playing a hunch, Mason asked, ¡°Do you know what these are?¡± he took out the Chaos Orbs he looted from Aiden.
The Mayor¡¯s eyes grew hungry, and his hand reached towards them without really meaning to.
¡°Dad?¡± Mayry asked uncertainly. She had been mostly quiet throughout the conversation, but seeing the look in her dad¡¯s eyes worried her. Mason put them back in his inventory, and the Mayor looked away.
"Huh, I¡¯m sorry. Er, yes, Those¡ feel like orbs of concentrated Chaos essence. When the complete version of myself scattered his power to the world, iterations like myself and these orbs held his power. But I haven¡¯t seen a Chaos orb intact in¡ a long, long time.¡±
¡°They were on Aiden''s body. Do you think they made them from the iteration they have captured?"
¡°¡possibly, it would mean that they did far worse to the iteration they captured than just steal his power¡. I¡ªyou could absorb them, and over time, they will increase your power. You should be able to guide the essence of which part of your system you want to improve. It won¡¯t be pleasant in the slightest but they¡¯ll help increase the rate of your growth. ¡±
A moment passed, and the Mayor stared at where Mason had held the orbs before he carried on like nothing had happened. ¡°I¡¯ll still offer you some of my essence, as you¡¯ll notice a far more immediate change. I will warn you that it is going to hurt a lot. You won¡¯t enjoy the process, but once it is done, you¡¯ll want more and more. Essence, especially Chaos Essence, is very easy to get addicted to. So be wary.¡±
The Mayor held out his hand again; this time, Mason took it.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then he felt a tingle in his fingers, so slight that, at first, he thought he was imagining it. As it started to spread, it incrementally got more and more painful until it felt like fire was being forced through his veins. The pain was bad enough that, paired with the look on the Mayor¡¯s face when he saw the orbs, Mason thought the Mayor might actually be trying to kill him.
It spread faster and faster until the pain was too much. Mason fell to his knees and collapsed to the floor.
Mayry ran forward to check on him, shooting a look at her father, who just shrugged. ¡°I gave him all I could spare. He¡¯ll be fine. This is just his body adjusting to the increase in power. I have somewhere we can keep talking.¡±
The Mayor walked to a door, stepped through and gestured for his daughter to follow. She followed, leaving the sleeping Mason to rest.
The door had led to a much more comfortable-looking room.
"Now that¡¯s out of the way, back to you. How are you feeling?¡±
"I¡¯m calmer. I¡¯m still mad at you, though. How could you not tell me any of this!¡± Realising she was on the verge of working herself up into a rage again, she stopped and took a breath.
¡°I am truly sorry, my dear. All I ever wanted was for you to live a normal life, but it seems you¡¯ve stumbled into something much worse than I could have imagined.¡± To the man¡¯s credit, he did look ashamed.
Mayry hadn¡¯t fully forgiven him but knew she would in time. ¡°How do I change back to being human?¡±
¡°Mayry¡ the first thing you need to understand is you were never and will never be human. Now that you¡¯ve come into your demonic powers, the changes may seem bad, but you¡¯ll come to accept them and lean on them.¡±
Mayry understood that she wasn¡¯t human, but a part of her still clung to the belief that she was.
The Mayor continued, ¡°However, with some practice, the physical changes can be hidden. The process is quite simple. All you need to do is close your eyes,¡± He closed him, and Mayry copied him.
¡°Now, I want you to imagine two images of yourself, making them as perfect as you can: one of what you look like now and one of how you used to look. Once you do that, you should be able to choose which form you want to show.¡±
Mayry did as instructed and tried to conjure the two images. She had a great memory, so the task wasn¡¯t difficult. However, she did wonder if she could make a slight alteration to one of the forms.
¡°Keep in mind, if you are using your human form, it will only last while you are calm. The moment you lose your temper, you¡¯ll revert back to your Demonic form, unable to switch back until you calm yourself.¡±
She felt her body start changing. She got shorter, her skin lightened and changed colour, and another change happened, one she regretted trying out in front of her father.
The man frowned at her, ¡°You look different¡ Did you change something?¡±
Going her usual shade of bright pink, she swiftly redirected the conversation.
She asked, ¡°Aren''t there any good gods that would help us against the others? If they did return, I mean.¡±
He narrowed his eyes slightly but chose to ignore whatever it was he noticed. ¡°The way humans remember the gods is in some way biased and in other ways blatantly wrong. The gods were incredibly powerful and were the embodiment of concepts like order and chaos, but none were ever good or bad. They were always far closer to being amoral, only caring about their power and their domain, never those who lived in them as long as they showed the proper deference and respect.¡±
Mayry was slightly taken aback. From what she read, The Greater Gods had always been portrayed as the good guys and the Minor ones as the bad guys. If what her father said was true, things were much worse than she had thought.
¡°It took hundreds of years, forced to live here among mortals, to give me any sense of what was good or bad. As Chaos, it¡¯s still in my nature to do the unexpected, but I¡¯ve learned to tone that down, mostly.¡±
¡°The war ended because the level of destruction was too much even for the gods to handle; my opposite, Order¡¯s domain, was in pieces. They only agreed to the sleep spell so that when they woke, they could begin their war for dominance anew in a world that had had a chance to repair itself from the destruction. If the gods return, even the best of them will want Mason dead. He has the potential to threaten their power, and because of that, they would never let him continue to exist.
¡°You are one of them. Why are you helping us? You¡¯re my father, and I know you love me. I get that, but you¡¯d go against others of your kind and even help Mason to kill them?"
The Mayor chuckled, ¡°You are my daughter, and of course I love you, but I¡¯m doing this mostly out of self-preservation. If the Gods came back and realised what I did, they¡¯d erase me and every iteration of me from existence. Then, they would fight over my domain and what little power I have left. If that happens, there would be no more chaos abilities. Admittedly, there would be no more ACT¡¯s either, but if we get that far, there will be far more to worry about than some random monsters.
Chapter 67 - Upgrades
Chapter 67 - Upgrades
Mason awoke, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. Bolting upright, he looked around and relaxed as memories came flooding back to him.
The talk with the Mayor had been terrifying and had added even more weight on his shoulders, making Mason fear for the future. But the Chaos essence he had absorbed from the man had made Mason wake up feeling amazing. It felt as though raw power coursed through his veins instead of blood. The new power buzzed in him, making him crave a fight so he could stretch it like a muscle he didn¡¯t know he had.
The boost was pretty massive! The essence had pushed every single one of his stats over 50! He would really need to start absorbing those chaos orbs as soon as he could.
Before he could even look at his updated character sheet, a rapid series of dings sounded as a wave of notifications came through.
Notification 1/7
Unique Ability Absorb has been upgraded. You can now absorb more skills and better understand how to use them.
Notification 2/7
Your Strength stat has passed 50.
Your skill Ballistic Touch (Advanced) has been upgraded to Ballistic Control (Expert).
Ballistic Control (Expert) - More precision = More damage
Active effect: While this Ability is active, you imbue any object you touch with kinetic energy, making it shoot off at bullet-like speed in the direction of your choice. You can control its trajectory and velocity to some degree, improving precision and overall damage. Scales with Strength.
Notification 3/7
Your Agility stat has passed 50.
Your skill Teleportation (Advanced) has been upgraded to Greater Teleportation (Expert).
Greater Teleportation (Expert) ¨C Fast Travel.
Active effect: Using your mini-map, you can now teleport to anywhere you have been in the last three days. You are unable to bring others using this ability; normal teleportation remains unchanged.
Notification 4/6
Your Willpower stat has passed 50.
Your skill Mental Manipulation (Advanced) has been upgraded to Mental Fuckery (Expert).
Mental Fuckery (Expert) ¨C The minds of others bend to your will.
Active effect: Twice a day, invade an enemy¡¯s mind and cause them to see their allies as enemies and enemies as allies. Previous abilities are still available. Scales with Willpower.
Notification 5/6
Your Perception stat has passed 50.
Your skill Lesser Invisibility (Advanced) has been upgraded to True Invisibility (Expert)
True Invisibility (Expert) ¨C Unseen, unheard, unscented, almost unknowable.
Active Effect: While the ability is active, you will be invisible, silent, and easily forgotten. You will be impossible to perceive with almost any mundane sense. Those with strong enough magical senses may still see through the ability.
The easily forgotten aspect will not work on anything that is at a higher level than you.
Attacking an enemy while undetected will boost damage. Scales with Perception.
Notification 6/6
Your skill Emotional Outburst (Advanced) has been upgraded to Emotional Therapy (Expert)
Emotional Therapy (Expert) ¨C It¡¯s okay to have emotions that hurt, just as long as you use those emotions to hurt others more.
Active Effect: The more emotional you become while in combat, the stronger and faster you become. While fighting, you give off a physical aura powered by your emotions; the stronger your emotions are, the stronger the aura. The aura will empower your allies while striking fear into the hearts of your enemies.
He was in awe of his upgrades; some of these upgrades were going to be game-changing! The Ballistic Touch upgrade seemed only so-so, but he would need to test it out to be sure. Teleportation would make his life a lot easier if he were ever to travel alone again, though he wondered if he could use his trunk to get around the no-passengers limitation.
Mental Fuckery and Emotional Therapy looked like they would be incredible, but his favourite had to be the new upgrade to his Invisibility skill. It would make taking down higher-level Monsters and others much easier, even if part of the ability wouldn¡¯t work on them.
He wondered if Mayry¡¯s magic perception was strong enough to see through it still.
He eagerly checked his character sheet, wanting to see how it looked now.
Name: Mason Hughes
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Level: 28
Current XP: 23460 / 26000
Race: Human
Class: Hunter
Health Points (HP): 850
Mana Points (MP): 500
Stamina Points (SP): 370
Stats
Strength: 63 (+15)
Agility: 65
Endurance: 54
Vitality: 75
Resilience: 56 (+26)
Intelligence: 80 (+10%)
Perception: 59
Willpower: 55
Free Points: 3
Skills
Identify (Expert), Mana Control ¨C INT (Expert), Emotional Outburst ¨C PER (Expert), Lesser Invisibility ¨C PER (Expert), Random Greater Summon INT (Expert), Sarcastic Prick ¨C INT (Expert), Mental Manipulation ¨C WIL (Expert), Mental Resistance, Ballistic Touch ¨C STR (Expert) Division ¨C INT (Expert),
Teleport ¨C AGI (Expert) Sacrifial Healing ¨C VIT (Expert)
Base Skills
Universal Translator, Inventory (Advanced), System Guidebook (Basic)
Class Skills
Basic Monster Tracking, Evaluate Monster, Gather Intel
Seeing all of the great upgrades he got at the expert level made him throw his 3 free points into Intelligence just so he would be able to see what the Master level upgrade would bring when he got the stat to 100.
Mason¡¯s study of his newly upgraded abilities was cut short when a door opened, and a very human-looking Mayry stepped in. His eyes bulged as he looked at her. He couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on it, but she looked great, even more than she usually did. Her human form had changed somehow. He couldn¡¯t tell how, but he knew he very much liked it.
¡°Wow, you look amazing! Not that I didn-¡° He cut himself off as she almost imperceptively shook her head at him.
She smiled at him and asked, ¡°You¡¯re awake? How do you feel? You worried me there for a moment.¡°
Mason laughed, ¡°I am not going to say it didn¡¯t hurt like an absolute shit, but I feel incredible right now! The upgrades to my abilities are crazy, and I can¡¯t wait to test them out!¡±
The Mayor, standing behind Mayry, said, ¡°I¡¯m glad you are okay. Just remember, power gained from essence, especially Chaos Essence, is addictive, so just be careful not to take risks to get more.¡±
¡°I think I¡¯m okay. I don¡¯t have any uncontrollable need to go out and slaughter any ¡®Others¡¯ right now, but I¡¯ll be careful.¡±
******
They had left the Mayor and gone back to the Inn room. Mason needed time to process the boosts to his stats and the upgrades to his abilities. He also needed to figure out what to do next, but as he sat there, he felt an intense urge to go out and do something. Not necessarily immediately go out and hunt a bunch of Others, but something! Sitting in the inn doing nothing just felt wrong.
A part of him suspected this was the addiction that the Mayor had warned him about, but he wasn¡¯t too concerned; he was still in control, and if he were ever going to reach level 50, he would need to go out eventually.
He understood that even if they knew where the gate was, he wasn¡¯t nearly ready to enter and face a horde of others, let alone the elders, who likely had far more power and experience than he did.
What he could do, however, was go out and hunt some of the Others who were in this world training. In some way, he would be a lot like them, doing whatever was needed to reach level 50 and go through the gate. Of course, he wasn¡¯t a psychopath and had morals, so not exactly like them.
Taking out the map he¡¯d looted from Aiden¡¯s body, he laid it on the table for himself and Mayry to look at. The map showed a massive portion of the country.
There were circled areas with scribbled notes Mason could just barely make out. It looked like the names and factions of other ¡®Others¡¯. Aiden and Gael had been scouting out their competition. There were only 6 circles on the map, but there was no other information on levels or how many ¡®Others¡¯ were there. If he were lucky, which was unlikely, it would be the norm for them to be in pairs like Gael and Aiden instead of bigger groups.
He would need to take another look at Aiden¡¯s journal to try and figure out what they were planning. Were they going to try and kill them in their sleep or try and go for an all-out attack?
There were also 3 X¡¯s on the map, with one right on top of the hole they had found Aiden in. Mayry thought they were probably more hideouts and might be a good place to look for loot.
The plan right now was to get Mason to level 50 and beyond. The fastest way to do this would be to kill ¡®Others¡¯, but he didn¡¯t want to run into a battle like that without first testing his increase in power and new abilities as it could be a distraction in the midst of battle and get him killed; he needed something stupid to fight first so he could get used to his new power.
It would also benefit Mayry to at least try to test her new demonic powers before fighting any ¡®Others¡¯.
After hours of staring at Mayry, he finally asked what she had changed. Her reply was just to smirk at him and say that he would find out later if ¡®he was good¡¯.
*****
Their first stop had been the Hunters Association, where they hoped to take out some contracts for some powerful but not too-powerful monsters.
He and Mayry looked over the selection of contracts and took a few each that sounded interesting.
Next, they dropped off their Basilisk armour to Geraint. Mayry¡¯s wasn¡¯t nearly as ruined as Mason¡¯s, but repairs were definitely needed.
While they were there, Geraint mentioned that Nina was also a hunter and was currently out on a contract. Apparently, it was the younger girl¡¯s first solo contract; Geraint hinted that they should keep an eye out for her just in case she got into trouble she couldn¡¯t handle.
The last stop before they headed out was to see Viv, Mayry¡¯s Alchemist friend.
They didn¡¯t really need any more potions, as Mason still had a pretty decent stockpile in his Trunk, but Mayry wanted to visit her friend and get the latest gossip.
Mason was curious to see if the woman was still mad at him for accidentally collapsing the cave she used to gather ingredients. If the woman was still holding the grudge, then Mason had a plan to distract her.
Opening the door to the shop, he was hit with the now-familiar scent of herbs, spices, and brewing potions. It wasn¡¯t a bad smell, but it wasn¡¯t exactly pleasant.
An old man hobbled out from the backroom, saw them and rolled his eyes. He returned to the back, and then a young girl walked out.
Mason discovered the first time he had come to the shop that Vivenya Gracetone was apparently one of the greatest Alchemists alive. She had been drinking at the local tavern when she stumbled back and accidentally reset her age to 5. It had been years since then, and still, she could recreate the amazing feat.
¡°What do you want?¡± the question was directed at Mason. The look of disdain she was giving him looked questionable on the face of a young girl, but Mason gave her a wide smile. ¡°I come with a peace offering.¡±
He removed the various materials and ingredients from his inventory and laid them out on the table.
Adding the Clop wand had crossed his mind, but he didn¡¯t think he could take any more giggling from Mayry, and it had proven to be an effective weapon.
He included the crack he had procured from the Crack Hen, the Troll snot, and a few other things he had looted from various monsters, as well as Aiden¡¯s stuff.
She looked over the things he had laid out, stopping and examining several. When she came to the Crack, she looked up at him, narrowed her eyes, and asked suspiciously, ¡°What do you know?¡±
Mason blanked at the question, not understanding. ¡°Err nothing¡ I thought it might be useful in Alchemy, is all.¡±
¡°Hmm,¡± Was the only response he got.
When she had finished examining all the materials, she nodded and smiled at him. ¡°My favourite customer! What can I do for you?¡±
Mason assumed that meant she was letting the grudge go. He had been hoping to get Some Money for all of the stuff, but it wasn¡¯t like he needed the cash. They ended up buying a selection of potions from her for very good prices. She even went through a few things she had been working on that she hadn¡¯t had a chance to test. He was a bit wary about trying them, but as long as they didn¡¯t actually kill him, he would probably be fine.
Chapter 68 - Bargain
Chapter 68 - Bargain
They each chose a contract. That way, even if one turned out to be a bust, they could practice their new abilities on the other. Neither looked like they would pose a massive problem for either of them, but it would allow them some much-needed time to experiment. As long as no problems arose, they planned on it only taking a few days.
First, Mason had taken out a contract to investigate and kill an unknown Monster who had been terrorising a farm just south of Sparksford. The only details in the contract were that the Monster attacked only at night, nobody had actually seen it, and every time it attacked, paw prints and dead animals were the only signs it left behind.
They had chosen this contract to do first as it had the potential to be the one that took the longest. If they couldn¡¯t find a way to track the Monster, then they¡¯d be stuck waiting around for it to attack. The only problem with that is that it attacked most nights but not every night, meaning that, at worst, they could be there for a few days. In an ideal world, Mason¡¯s Basic Monster tracking Hunter skill would be enough for them to find whatever it was.
Chatting with the farmhands who worked in the fields just confirmed what the contract already said. The Monster was thought to have some sort of stealth ability; it struck only at night and usually attacked only a single animal each time.
They were shown one of the paw prints the creature left behind. If this were Earth, he would say it came from a large dog or cat, but here, it could be any number of things with similar paws.
His Basic Monster Tracking ability gave them the vague direction the monster had gone and the vague sense that it had been a while ago.
After scouting out the area for a while, they found nothing, but on their trek back, Mayry stopped and stared at something.
She stood there stock still until Mason asked, ¡°Do you see something?¡±
It took a few more seconds for her to reply, ¡°No¡ maybe? There is a faint trace of magic, but it¡¯s old.¡± She got closer and bent down to pick something up.
Mason got closer and saw her hand was empty.
¡°Err, did you find something?¡±
¡°Yes¡.¡± She replied, not volunteering any extra information.
He put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly and said, ¡°Mayry, you know there¡¯s nothing in your hand, right?¡±
She turned away from staring at her hand and glared at him, ¡°It¡¯s invisible, dumbass; hold out your hand.¡±
Mason felt something fall into it; rubbing it against his fingers, it felt like fur. ¡°Well, I guess that explains why nobody ever sees the Monster when it attacks.¡±
*****
It was late evening, and Mason and Mayry were taking turns keeping watch for Monster. One would stay awake while the other slept in the Trunk. It was far easier for Mayry as she had magic sight, but she insisted he would know if the creature attacked, as it would probably try to maul him before he noticed.
Mason wasn¡¯t happy about the current situation. He felt like they should be out hunting down the ¡®Others¡¯, not on a stake out waiting for a monster that may or may not attack. Taking out the contracts had been his idea, but he had really just wanted something he and Mayry fight; he wasn¡¯t a fan of all this waiting around.
It was only a half-hour into his watch, but he was already feeling very¡ very¡ sleepy¡.
A terrified mooing sound woke him. He looked up and saw an annoyed Mayry looking down at him.
¡°Fell asleep, huh?¡± She asked.
¡°No, I was just resting my eyes,¡± he replied defiantly.
Standing up and stretching, he looked over at the noise that had woken him. In the misty night, he could see a vague outline of a big creature over by the cow field. He tried to Identify it but failed as he was either not close enough or couldn¡¯t see the creature well enough for the ability to work.
He held out his hand to Mayry; she took it without question. Mason Teleported them both closer to the Monster, who was now chowing down on a cow. They were hiding behind stacks of hay a few metres away from the creature. He still couldn¡¯t see it, but the blood splatters let him see the creature¡¯s outline well enough for his Identify skill to work.
Monster¡ªLevel 53 Cat Sith¡ªThe Cat Sith is a stealthy and mysterious creature known for its sleek black fur and piercing yellow eyes. It is whispered that it may be of the Fae.
Okay, if the Fae did exist, then he wasn¡¯t entirely sure he wanted to fuck with this thing. A lot of the stories he had read about the Fae painted them as trickster fairy creatures like Tinkerbell, but there were also the other stories, older ones, that showed them as beautiful, proud beings that were very powerful and very easily offended.
¡°Mayry,¡± Mason whispered, ¡°I¡¯m not so sure we should do this.¡±
¡°What? Why not?!¡± She demanded, ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting here all night, and now that it¡¯s here, you want to back out?¡±
¡°Its description says the creature might be of the Fae!¡± Mason whispered back, urgency evident in his tone.
¡°The fuck is a Fae?¡±
¡°The Fae? The Fair Folk, no? Okay, well, there are a lot of stories on Earth about The Fae! If we mess with them now, they¡¯ll steal our firstborn child or something!¡± Mason said, trying to emphasise his point.
Mayry was silent for a moment. Mason looked at her and saw that her eyes had gone wide. Mason whipped his head around, looking for whatever danger she had seen, but he saw no incoming attack.
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¡°Wh- what?¡± he asked confused.
¡°Nothing¡ haha, Just¡ our firstborn child? You think of things like that?¡± She asked.
Mason¡¯s face turned pink, ¡°Yeah, no, well, I mean, it was just an example, but¡ but can we focus on the giant invisible cat and come back to this later?¡±
Looking back up at the now Cat Sith, she nodded.
¡°Well, we can¡¯t just leave it here. What happens when it runs out of cows and starts attacking people?¡±
That was a good point; he would feel horrible if he left it here and it started killing the farm worker, but what could he do? His only real options were to kill it and risk pissing off some fairies or leave it alone for it to start killing the locals. A very lose-lose situation.
If it was a fae creature, then maybe it could talk. Perhaps it could be reasoned with?
¡°I think I¡¯m going to try and talk to it,¡± Mason said, his voice filled with uncertainty.
¡°Mason. It¡¯s a giant fucking cat. It¡¯s going to eat you.¡± Mayry said frantically, trying to dissuade him.
¡°If it is of the Fae, then it will probably have at least some sapiance. If it isn¡¯t and it attacks me, I¡¯ll just kill it, and our first kid can just be a write-off.¡± He joked but hurriedly teleported closer to the Cat Sith when he saw the glare on Mayrys face.
Now that he was only a few feet away, he could see that the creature¡¯s invisibility was not as perfect as his own ability. He could see it shimmer slightly in the moonlight.
The creature¡¯s actual size was quite intimidating. It was nothing compared to the Basilisk or even the Crack Hen, but something about it that resembled a cat freaked him out. Growing up on Earth, the scariest thing he had even the slightest possibility of running into was something like a lion or tiger¡ or bear, but that wasn¡¯t relevant. The fear he felt from the creature in front of him seemed deeply ingrained in his psyche.
Scared or not, Mason took a breath and said, ¡°Hi.¡± The giant cat froze still as stone for a moment before it went right back to devouring the cow.
Okay, well, that didn¡¯t work. Err¡ ¡°Meow?¡± he tried.
Again, the cat¡¯s outline froze. This time, it turned to look at him. Its stealth ability turned off, and it appeared. Its fur was as black as the night that surrounded it. Its yellow eyes were fixed on Mason with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance. Long claws protruded from its massive paws, ready to attack at a moment¡¯s notice.
As Mason looked into its eyes, he heard a deep, rumbling voice in his head. ¡°Human. Did you just meow at me?¡±
Mason wasn¡¯t sure how to reply mentally, so he just spoke out loud. ¡°Well, yeah,¡± It had mostly been a result of letting his intrusive thoughts win, one he felt a bit embarrassed by now. ¡°I did, yeah, but in my defence, I said ¡®hi¡¯ first. You didn¡¯t react. I wasn¡¯t sure if you could speak.¡±
It lowered its head so its eyes were level with his. It narrowed them at him. ¡°What do you want?¡±
¡°Well, my friend and I are here on a hunter contract-¡° Before he could finish his sentence, the Cat Sith disappeared again, this time without the slightest shimmer. Mason shouted, not knowing whether it was really gone or not, ¡°We aren¡¯t going to hurt you! I don¡¯t want any problems with fae!¡±
There was a pause, and then just the cat¡¯s head appeared, seemingly floating in mid-air. ¡°You know of the Fae?¡± It asked in his head; the projection of the voice was accompanied by a sense of amusement and surprise.
"I do!" Mason said. ¡°So you are of the Fae?"
The Cat Monster rematerialised fully, its form imposing in the moonlight. "I am. If you hunters do decide to attack me, it won¡¯t end well for you. Your friends got in a lucky strike. They weren¡¯t so lucky a second time."
"Friends?" Mason''s heart quickened, a sense of unease creeping over him.
"Other Hunters who came and attacked. They injured me, and they paid the price."
"They injured you? Are you okay now? I can heal you." Mason offered, concern etched into his voice.
"It was nothing." The Cat Monster turned, revealing a large gap in its black fur, swollen and green with infection. "I have been hungrier since the attack."
Mason gestured to where Mayry was still hiding, beckoning her to come over.
When she got closer, he said. ¡°It¡¯s okay. He isn¡¯t going to attack us if we don¡¯t attack first.
Mayry¡¯s eyes were wide in amazement. She reached out and touched it. Mason was about to stop her, but the giant cat didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°You are beautiful,¡± she said, mesmerised by the Cat Sith. ¡°My name is¡ª¡°Mason elbowed her, cutting her off. She shot him an annoyed glare but saw him wide-eyed, staring at her and shaking his head.
It was nice knowing things that she didn¡¯t. Usually, it was the opposite, with him being absolutely clueless. He was just glad he had stopped her.
The creature let out a rumble that Mason interpreted as a laugh. ¡°Hah, so you do truly know of the Fae. You are wise not to share your name. You can call me Azra; it is not my name, but it will do.¡±
¡°Okay, Azra, we need you to stop attacking the cattle here; let me heal you and take you somewhere else, somewhere no hunters will bother you, and you can¡¯t hunt all you want.¡±
The Cat Monster narrowed its eyes. ¡°Heal this wound, and I can leave this place on my own. There is Magic in the cut that has anchored me to this world. I tire of this realm, heal me, and I will go.¡±
This was great. He probably wouldn¡¯t be able to collect the bounty, but the Cat Sith will be gone, and he can move on to the next contract and actually fight something! He knew from stories that deals with the Fae were often not what they seemed, but this one seemed pretty straightforward. ¡°Okay, deal.¡±
¡°Hmm. No. Not a deal. Not yet. The bargain must be equal on both sides. If you heal me and I go, I will still be in your debt. That can not be allowed. You must ask for more.¡±
Mason paused, considering his options. He needed to come up with something that would balance the deal. He glanced at Mayry, who looked back at him and shrugged; she had less of an idea than he did.
The only thing he could think of was his possible battle with the gods¡ a level 52 giant cat probably wouldn¡¯t be that helpful, but it couldn¡¯t hurt. Anyway, he was confident that he would get in plenty of fights between now and then and having a Fae on his side couldn¡¯t hurt.
"I understand," Mason said, his mind racing. "In exchange for healing you and helping you to leave this place, you must aid us in battle if we ever call upon you. Is that acceptable?¡±
Azra''s eyes narrowed as it considered the proposal. After a moment of silence, it nodded. ¡°You may call on me once. I will come. Heal me, and let the bargain be struck."
Mason could not believe the first time he would use his healing ability was on a Giant Cat Fae creature. He thought the deal was a pretty good one. Healing didn¡¯t cost him a thing, and he would get a badass cat, Sith Summons, to help him out. He would save it for when he needed it or at least try not to use it impulsively.
He placed his hand on the cat¡¯s surprisingly soft fur and activated his healing ability. The cat¡¯s muscles instantly relaxed, and healing flowed into them. As Mason¡¯s Mana started to decrease, his side exploded in pain.
He had known that he would have to take on the pain of what he was healing, but he hadn¡¯t realised the extent of the pain. The fact that the Cat Sith had been enduring this for who knows how long was crazy. The longer he healed, the worse the pain got; he felt his side split open, the bleeding enough that it leaked through his armour into his boots.
He let go of the cat with one of his hands and pulled a healing potion out of his inventory. He downed it and felt the potion and the wound battling for dominance inside him.
The Cat Sith seemed indifferent to his pain. It seemed to just be enjoying the sensation of being healed.
As soon as the wound on the cat was healed, he let go and stepped back, panting and falling to his knees. The pain hadn¡¯t yet stopped, and he wondered how long it was going to last. The skill¡¯s description said, ¡®You will temporarily take on what you are healing.¡¯ But how bloody temporarily?!
Now fully healed, the Cat Sith turned to him and bowed its head low. ¡°Thank you, Human,¡± it said, raising its head and disappearing, this time for good.
Mason fell the rest of the way to the floor and lay there, willing the wound to go away. Mayry rushed over and heard her say something to him, but he couldn¡¯t make sense of the words. After a few minutes of torment, the pain started to recede.
¡°Remind me to think twice before using my healing ability on mysterious infected wounds again.¡±
Chapter 69 - Happy Little Hunter
Chapter 69 - Happy Little Hunter
¡°Okay, one down and one to go,¡± Mayry said, taking out the last contract they had taken out. This one has even fewer details than the last; I chose it because it sounded interesting and mysterious. Three other Hunters have already been out here, but two returned and rejected the job, the other never returned.¡±
¡°Oo yeah, that is mysterious. Does it say why they rejected it?¡±
¡°No¡¡± she replied, looking closer. ¡°All it says is there have been sightings of monsters coming in and out of a cave. It¡¯s not that far. Depending on what the monsters are, we can probably get it done by the end of the day! Then we can relax for a while.¡±
¡°Relax? Now you¡¯re speaking my language!¡± Mason moved behind her, put his hands on her shoulders and started massaging. He put his mouth close to her ear and whispered, ¡°How should we relax?¡±
A shiver ran through Mayry before she shrugged him off, ¡°You¡¯ll just have to wait and see. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s get this done¡¡± winking, she added, ¡°as fast as possible.¡±
*****
With Mason able to teleport them around, it only took a few minutes for them to find the specific cave in question. He was starting to run low on Mana when they were a five-minute walk away, so they walked as he recharged. They could see the cave just up ahead; it looked disappointingly normal.
He didn¡¯t know what he had been expecting¡ maybe ominous lights, strange runes or even a ton of booby traps that might have put off the other Hunters, but looking at it, it just looked like any other normal cave.
No matter! As his mother always said, it¡¯s what¡¯s on the inside that counts, and as long as there was something he could fight on the inside of the cave, he would be a happy little hunter.
They made it to the mouth of the cave and still saw nothing out of the ordinary.
¡°Are you sure this is the right cave?¡± Mason asked.
Mayry took a moment to answer. Mason looked over at her and saw her staring at the contract again. ¡°I think so? All these caves look the same! And you were no help navigating!¡±
¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry; maybe next time we use your teleportation power.¡± He shot back. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m not so great with maps. We¡¯d probably end up somewhere in southern France if I were in charge of the map.¡±
¡°Where¡¯s¡ªnever mind. Let¡¯s check it out, and if anything in there has mouths bigger than their heads, we can probably assume it¡¯s the right cave. Fair?¡±
¡°Aye, aye, Cap¡¯n Sparks! Lead on?¡±
¡°Oh, so you¡¯re a pirate now?¡± She smacked herself in the face, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, ¡°I can¡¯t believe I have sex with you.¡±
The moment they entered the cave, the most horrendous stench they had ever experienced hit them so hard that it felt almost like a physical force.
They scrambled back out of the cave as quickly as they could, each of them emptying the contents of their stomachs on the ground.
¡°That was-¡± Pausing to puke again, he finished ¡°-horrible.¡± For once, Mason cursed his high Perceptions Stat. He reckoned the only reason the smell hadn¡¯t knocked him out was his Resilience Stat working overtime to counteract his enhanced sense of smell.¡±
¡°No wonder none of the other Hunters who took this contract completed it; I don¡¯t know if I want to find out what kind of creature makes that kind of disgusting stench.¡±
Quest Received! The smell of the Dungeon
Quest Objective - Kill all monsters in the dungeon and rescue the test subject before it is too late.
Reward - Loot the dungeon for a unique potion.
Accept? Y/N
He mentally accepted the quest and relayed it to Mayry.
¡°There is a person trapped in there with that smell?!¡± Mayry exclaimed.
¡°There is. We need to figure out what to do next. I could send in a clone, but I doubt he¡¯ll enjoy the smell any more than we do¡¡±
"I could start a fire and put it out from here before it starts to spread. See if anything or anyone comes to investigate."
"That could work. Just make sure to put it out, or you could hurt whoever is trapped in there."
Mayry summoned a small fireball to her hand and shot it into the cave. Mason wasn''t sure if the fire would spread at all, as the cave was made of stone, but as the fireball landed, Mason could see that there was moss covering the cave floor.
The fire started to grow slowly. Mason and Mayry waited, hoping that either the fire would be able to burn away some of the smell or that one of the creatures would come and investigate. The former worked to an extent. Mason experimentally stuck his head into the cave and took a very cautious sniff that made him cough and choke. The smell was marginally better, but now it was mixed with the smell of smoke.
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The latter part of the plan worked, and a few minutes after the fire had started, they saw what they could only call a blob monster emerge from deeper in the cave. It looked like something from a truly terrifying nightmare: mostly a mass of flesh with limbs poking out at random¡ªsome human, some not¡ªstretched and twisted into jagged angles. The sight was almost as bad as the smell it brought with it.
Up until now, Mason hadn¡¯t thought it was actually possible to see stink lines, but this creature proved him wrong. Wavy green lines leaked out from all over the creature. It had multiple sets of eyes scattered all over its body as if it were an amalgamation of several people and creatures squashed into one entity.
The creature undulated forwards toward the fire like a snail, leaving behind it a wet, shimmering trail of slime.
It was almost painful to look at, but Mason did so for long enough to use his Identify ability.
Monster - Level 28 Cronenburgian Monstrosity - Once human, these horrifying freaks of nature have been changed by Magic, Science or simple Dumb luck into Monsters, with only the barest hint of their human form remaining. I would really recommend against letting one touch you.
It was some sort of experiment, meaning that the Test Subject the quest referred to was in danger of being turned into one of those things. This one was only level 28, but fighting them would be difficult if they couldn¡¯t do something about the smell.
At least they could lure this one outside and kill it to see what it was like in a fight. It looked slow, and he couldn¡¯t imagine it being very smart.
Picking up a stone, he used his Ballistic Touch on it and shot it towards the Monster as fast as a bullet. With the ability¡¯s latest upgrade, he found he had a sense of where the stone was going to hit; it was currently telling him that the stone was going to miss. He tweaked its trajectory slightly while it was still in the air and ensured it hit the creature in the dead centre of its mass.
It reeled at the hit and, faster than he imagined possible, crawled towards them.
Before he could do anything, Mayry stepped in front of him, turned and, with determination in her eyes, asked, ¡°Let me have this one?¡±
He smirked and teleported himself off to the side to keep from getting in the way.
Mayry moved out of the way as the monster reached her and, already partly transformed, raked her claws against its flesh.
It was durable, but its huge mass of flesh was thick and difficult to penetrate. However, her razor-sharp claws managed to get through, opening a long wound that intensified the smell in the air. She scrambled away, trying to escape the horrific smell and shot an Ice spike at it. The smell that permeated the air managed to melt her attack before it close close, leaving only a puddle of water on the ground.
It turned and, again moving faster than either of then expected it to be capable of lunged at her. Mason took an involuntary step forward wanting to intervene back managed to hold hmself back, hoping that she would be able to recover. He to her, ¡°Don¡¯t let it touch you!¡±
At that exact moment, one of the creature¡¯s limbs wrapped around her arm, but his shout caused her to turn and look at him, making her unable to see it coming.
To his horror, the creature pulled her off her feet towards it. The moment her body made contact with the creature flesh it ripppled and sucked her in.
Caught off guard, he froze for an instant, not knowing how to react. What was it doing to her? Was she being digested in the thing¡¯s stomach, or was it something more nefarious?
Snapping out of his stupor, Mason concentrated on using his Mana Control to make ropes of Mana and wrap them around the creature. Where the mana touched the creature¡¯s flesh, it started smoking and bubbling. He wrapped it up as tightly as he could and then mentally pulled on the rope being cautious at first, not wanting to accidentally hurt his girlfriend, but soon enough he was pulling on the ropes as hard as he could only barley managing to get through its tough hide.
In his panicked state the concentration it took to maintain the ropes was immense, but he endured. The creature thrashed around violently, but he was able to keep it contained. Mason just hoped all the movements weren¡¯t hurting Mayry.
His heart raced with panic as the Monster¡¯s struggles grew more and more aggressive, and it took more concentration to keep it contained. Mayry''s life was at stake; he couldn¡¯t let this freak experiment overwhelm him.
With every fibre of his being focused on the task, he kept tightening the Mana ropes, feeling a surge of relief as they sliced through the creature''s flesh.
But as the ropes cut deeper, the creature''s thrashing intensified. Mason could hear Mayry''s muffled cries from within its grotesque form. Gritting his teeth, he pushed harder and harder, noticing his mana draining fast. He knew he needed to act fast before it was too late.
Summoning all his strength, he grabbed the end of the Mana rope, feeling pure energy burning his hand; he pulled on it now mentally and physically hell-bent on increasing the pressure of the ropes, willing them to slice through the creature''s body just a little bit more. The monster let out an unearthly howl, and finally, with one last powerful tug, the disgusting creature exploded in a torrent of flesh, blood, guts and slime. The smell seeped into everything and almost made him throw up again, but seeing Mayry on the floor allowed him to push the feeling away.
He ran over to her and checked her pulse. Mayry was almost dying, and it was becoming more and more frequent. He needed to get stronger, not only so he could protect her but also so she would get stronger and be able to protect herself. Her pulse was strong, and she seemed fine, but she wasn¡¯t moving. He lifted an eyelid and saw it move around erratically. He thought that might mean she was conscious, but being inside the creature had some sort of paralytic effect.
He wasn¡¯t sure if it would work or not, but he reached out and laid his hands on her, activating his Healing Ability. With his high Vitality and Resistance stats, the paralysing effect he absorbed from Mayry only made him feel a bit sluggish, and the few cuts and bruises disappeared as fast as they appeared.
As soon as he was done healing her, she sat up and immediately puked. The next thing she did was pull him into a hug, covering him with even more of the creature¡¯s slime and guts.
¡°Thanks for the hug and all¡ but you reek.¡±
She pulled back and swatted him, ¡°So do you! I am never going to get this stink out of my hair.¡± She pointed a hand to the sky and shot a powerful jet of water upwards, causing gravity to bring it back down as if it were heavily raining. It only took a minute or two to clear most of the creature¡¯s putrid remains from the surroundings, but clumps of it still clung to their bodies.
¡°What the heck do we do now?¡± Mayry asked. ¡°I think I could fight a few of those things if my Demon side got the chance to kick in. The moment it touched me, though, I couldn¡¯t move an inch.¡±
¡°I¡¯m going to summon something and get it to go in and draw them out one at a time.¡± He looked over at her with a grin. ¡°If you could try not to get eaten this time, that would be great.¡±
The glare Mayry gave him made him chuckle. The fireball she threw at him did not.
Chapter 70 - Super clean
Chapter 70 - Super clean
He hadn¡¯t used his Random Summon ability since it had been upgraded and was very curious to see what would happen. The new description said, ¡®Creature has a much higher chance of being useful for your particular need at the time of summoning.¡¯ This gave him hope that whatever appeared wouldn¡¯t have a sense of smell, but the ability had been very hit-and-miss in the past, like when it had summoned a perfectly normal pig to help him fight Dire Wolves
As usual, when Mason used his Random Summon ability, a crack in reality appeared mid-air. This time, however, instead of something immediately appearing, a loud hissing crackling sound emitted from the hole.
The sound grew louder and louder until liquid started pouring out from the crack. The pungent smell reminded him of hospitals and laundromats. It was a tad overpowering, but was a very welcome change from the horrible smell of the Flesh Monsters that had been left behind. The liquid continued to pour out but wasn¡¯t behaving like regular liquid.
It moved as if it had a mind of its own. Slowly, it took shape, becoming a humanoid figure around 8 feet tall. It was translucent, with swirling patterns that looked almost like mist. The hissing crackling sound continued as the figure solidified, its features becoming more defined as more liquid poured into it. Mason watched on in amazement as the figure formed. Based on the smell, he had a hunch about what it might be, but he checked with his Identify anyway.
Monster - Bleach Elemental Level 25
What do you get when you expose a bottle of toilet cleaner to raw cosmic power? A bleach elemental, of course! Gaining sapience, this bottle of bleach had sworn an oath to cleanse the world of filth and grime! It sensed your need and answered your summons¡ This may be its hardest clean yet!
If his system truly was created by his personality, then some of the things it came out with really made him worry about his sanity. Its description made the summoned monster sound like a superhero!
Was the backstory it gave real, or had the system just made it up on the spot? Huh, the way the liquid had formed made it sort of look like it had a cape.
The bleach elemental turned its head as if to survey the area. It obviously didn¡¯t like what it saw, so it started methodically making its way over the blood and guts-covered stone ground, leaving spotless, almost shiny stone behind it as it advanced. Mason watched in awe as the Bleach Elemental seemed to purify everything it touched; everything that had once covered the stone floated into the creature and then dissolved as if in acid.
The elemental moved deeper into the cave, following the trail of slime the Cronenbergian monstrosity had left. Mason walked after it cautiously, keeping a safe distance, allowing the fumes to dissipate a bit first before he followed. Mayry helped by using her air elemental powers to cycle in clean air while pushing out as much of the fumes as she could. The look on her face told Mason it was taking a fair bit of concentration, so he refrained from making a fart joke and turned his attention back to the elemental.
He couldn''t help but gawk at the creature''s utter dedication to cleaning. More than once, it whipped its head back and shot a spurt of bleach at a spot it had missed before continuing on.
At the rate the elemental was moving, finding the test subject was going to take ages. He wanted to hurry the elemental up but doubted he could convince the creature to rush its cleaning process, going by the dedication it had shown thus far.
As they got deep enough into the cave that the light from outside was blocked, Mason noticed a slight glow that seemed to emanated from the air itself was enough for him to see pretty clearly, especially with his enhanced senses.
It was a while before they ran into more of the flesh abominations. As they came into view, the bleach elemental started to twitch erratically as if the sight was too much for it to process.It opened its mouth and let out an odd hissing battle cry before charging at the monsters and viciously attacking them.
When it reached them, It exploded outwards, causing bleach to rain down from the cave¡¯s ceiling. While the elemental¡¯s bleach only made Mason¡¯s and Mayry¡¯s skin tingle, it immediately started eating away at the monster¡¯s flesh, leaving them as nothing but puddles of goop on the ground.
As summoned creatures go, the bleach elemental was a perfect counter for the flesh monsters. They continued on, exploring the vast cave system. Each time they entered a new open space, they were set upon by more of the monster. While the elemental did the majority of the fighting, the sheer number of them meant that Mason and Mayry did their share of fighting.
Mason had just finished destroying one of the monsters when he turned around and watched as the elemental got too close to one of the creatures. As had happened with Mayry, one of its tentacle-like appendages shot out and pulled the elemental into its body. For a moment, nothing happened. The flesh monster managed to somehow look smug despite not having any one set of facial features. It made to advance towards Mason when the flesh all over its body started bubbling and melting away. A hole appeared, and the bleach elemental poured out, leaving the monster to melt away from the inside out.
The Ding of a notification broke his trance, staring at the gruesome sight he had brought on.
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Quest updated! The smell of the Dungeon
Quest Objective - Kill all monsters in the dungeon and rescue the test subject before it is too late.
Update: In 5 minutes, the test subject will begin the irreversible transformation process. Rescue them before the transformation begins. Time remaining 04.58
Reward -Loot the dungeon for a unique potion.
¡°Crap.¡± He looked over at the elemental, who was still reforming into its humanoid form. ¡°any chance we could hurry this up at all?¡±
He didn¡¯t get a response from it but did get a questioning look from Mayry.
He relayed the quest update to her. He knew he should help whoever it was, but he also didn¡¯t want to leave Mayry. Her expression turned grim as she processed the urgency of the situation. ¡°You don''t have time to waste. Take a deep breath and go! We¡¯ll be fine here,¡± she said, her voice resolute. Before he had the chance to follow her directions, she pulled him into a kiss and added, ¡°Be careful.¡±
Flashing her a grin, he turned and ran further into the cave. Just before he passed the elemental, who was still cleaning up, he took a deep breath and held it.
Even with his breath held, he could feel the air change around him, the stench almost a physical force trying to force its way into his nostrils.
He turned a corner and immediately came face to face with a hoard of abominations; with the timer running, he was feeling more and more stressed; usually, this would be a bad thing, but with his Emotion Outburst ability, it just made him stronger. He blasted through the first couple of monsters, but when a limb wrapped around his leg and yanked him towards being almost absorbed, he teleported and dodged past the rest of them, heading towards where he hoped this test subject was.
While the cave system was big, it wasn¡¯t very complex. So far, it had been one cave connected to another by a short tunnel without any forks going off in other directions, meaning that if he kept going, he should find what he was looking for eventually. He dodged through cave after cave of monsters until he felt his vision start to blur, and his lungs burst. He stopped, took out his trunk and stuck his head in. The few breaths of fresh air he got were glorious before the stink started to creep in. With one last deep breath, he withdrew his head, slammed the lid shut, and continued on before the stink could ruin his beloved trunk.
He advanced through a long, narrow cave but didn¡¯t see a single monster. Suspicious, he teleported to the end just in case there were traps and then paused. He got a strange feeling, the sort you get when you find a save point right before a boss fight. At the end of the long cave was the biggest cave he had seen so far; the ceiling was high up enough that he was unable to see it, even with the strange glow that filled the air.
He checked the timer and saw he only had about half the time remaining. Stepping forward, he was unsurprised when something huge fell from above. It was so cliche he half expected battle music to start playing.
The boss monster resembled the regular abominations in that it was a huge mass of flesh; beyond that, it was very a whole other, far more grotesque creature. It was magnitudes bigger, with a body that was an amalgamation of mismatched parts from various sources. Most looked to be human, but there was also the lower body that looked like it belonged to a horse, the head of several creatures Mason couldn¡¯t identify, and several pairs of antlers as well as evidence of hundreds of its other poor unfortunate victims.
Dozens of eyes dotted the mass of its body, all with unsettling intelligence and all staring at him.
Mason felt his stomach lurch just by looking at the monster; he didn¡¯t dare think of how it might smell.
Monster¡ªLevel 57 Cronenburgian Boss Abomination¡ªThis is the mummy of all the other monsters you¡¯ve killed today, and she is not happy with you.
Once she has eaten enough live biomass, she internally squishes them together until they¡¯re nice and horrifying and then craps out a whole new widdle abomination baby. The whole process is quite traumatising for everyone involved. Lucky for you her latest meal hasn¡¯t yet been digested so you still have a little bit of time to save the poor bastard.
***
Mayry wondered how her life had come to this. She was in the middle of nowhere, in a cave that smelled worse than death, fighting creatures so disgusting that she lacked the words to adequately describe them.
No matter how she thought about it, the blame was easiest to direct toward Mason. Her life had been relatively normal until she had met him. No Others, no daily monster encounters and no caves that stunk to all chaos.
But even with all the bad, she still wouldn¡¯t have changed a thing¡. Okay, maybe that wasn¡¯t entirely true. She most definitely would have chosen a different contract. She just knew that the smell would linger for days on end.
Maybe she could find a ritualist who knew some sort of deep cleaning rite. Once they were done here, she would need one. Usually, the brain eventually gets used to bad smells, but this one never seemed to fade from her awareness, not even a little bit. The smell of the elemental helped a lot, but every time one of the monsters died, the smell intensified; their insides smelled a whole lot worse than their outside.
Throughout her time in the cave, her fighting had caused her human form to slip away and her true demon self to take over. Every abomination she killed made her a little taller, a little stronger, and her fire burn a little hotter. For the first time, she felt like she might able to get used to the change.
After her experience outside, with the first of the monsters she had encountered, killing the things had gotten a lot easier. Her black demon fire burned the abominations¡¯ flesh a lot better than her normal fire. But with the pros of her demon form came one irritating con. The further she let herself slip into her berserker form, the better her sense of smell got. Between each fight, she forced herself to relax and calm down just to get a break from the overwhelming bad smell.
In each fight, she took out a few at a time, but the elemental Mason had summoned was on a whole other level. The thing seemed to hate the freakish flesh monsters with a passion; it burned through the creatures like the abomination¡¯s existence was a personal affront.
Mason had run off ahead a few minutes earlier to try to save whoever else was here, but she had stayed back, mostly because she hadn¡¯t wanted to slow him down. Also, the smell wasn¡¯t nearly as unbearable where she was.
After killing what felt like hundreds of the damn things, she and the elemental came to an empty, much narrower tunnel. Sounds of fighting echoed from the other side. She had been worried that she would struggle to find Mason, but as usual, all she needed to do was follow the sound of chaos.
She ran through the tunnel, the elemental right behind her. She emerged into a huge cave just in time to see Mason, unconscious, being roughly dragged along the cave floor towards the biggest monster she had ever seen.
In the space of a second, her body filled with power as she fully let herself succumb to her rage.
Chapter 71 - Girl Talk
Chapter 71 - Girl Talk
Looking up at the giant pulsating mass of flesh, Mason gulped.
The monster¡¯s many limbs shot out seemingly at random, making it almost impossible for him to doge effectively. He was still holding his breath, but it got a little bit more difficult each time he had no choice but to take a hit.
He didn¡¯t want to test his theory, but judging by the green aura surrounding the massive monster, he suspected it smelled even worse than its smaller counterparts. Usually, he had no time to focus on the HP bars of the monsters he fought, but on this occasion, his eyes were glued to it.
Feeling silly, he pulled out what he now knew to be a unicorn¡¯s penis and activated the weapon with a muttered, ¡°Clop clop,¡± he cursed himself for wasting his breath but watched with hope as the acidic mist approached the monster.
He grinned as he watched the HP bar go down. The monster¡¯s flesh started to bubble and melt. This had been an easier fight than he had thought it would be.
The HP bar was draining rapidly when it suddenly stopped, only slightly below halfway. The green stink aura that had surrounded the monster was pushing against the acid mist and forcing it away from the boss abomination monster.
No! He had been so close! Was it actually using the smell as a weapon? Up until now, he had assumed it was just an unfortunate side effect of the creature¡¯s existence, not an actual weaponised stink.
His vision blurred, the edges of his surroundings blending into a hazy blur. He felt his heart pounding against his skull, each thud intensifying the pressure in his temples as he fought to maintain his grip on consciousness.
Panicking, he pulled out daggers, swords, and anything even remotely sharp from his inventory and used his Ballistic Touch to shoot them at the creature, desperately hoping that its HP bar would decrease further. As the projectiles reached the monster, however, it opened a huge gaping maw, and the weapons disappeared inside.
He couldn¡¯t hold it any longer. He desperately sucked in a breath of air. The taste of decay and rot overwhelmed him, but he had deprived his body of air for too long and had completely lost control.
He couldn¡¯t help but fill his lungs with more of the noxious air. The effect was instantaneous: the rest of his vision faded, his knees buckled, and his face impacted the ground.
Delirium slowly took hold of him, but the tiniest part of his mind noted the feeling of something long and slimy wrapping around his ankle and dragging him along the cave floor.
***
Mayry lost herself. She watched her body move as if she was merely a passenger being piloted by something other than herself. The fire she wielded once again had changed colour, this time from black to dark purple.
The flame shot out of her hand as a thick rope, and she curled her hand around its end to transform it into a whip. She directed it towards the limb holding Mason¡¯s ankle, and it cut right through like a demonic knife through butter. The fire whip hadn¡¯t hit Mason, but it had come close.
The rage-drunk Mayry in control cared only about killing her enemies; she had no time to worry about anything else. Mayry tried to wrestle back control but was pushed aside as if she was a bothersome fly being swatted away.
The boss abomination shifted its attention, now fully focussed on her. It sent impossibly fast limbs shooting at her; they tried to grab her but melted away before they came close to making contact. An aura of purple hellfire surrounded her, hot enough that the stone she stood on began to crack and melt from the intensity.
Every second the fight went on, her movements became more precise and fluid, almost as if she knew what the monster was going to do before it did. She danced around the attacks with uncanny grace, each step guided by an instinct she couldn¡¯t imagine possessing. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the purple fire whip snaking towards the abomination, each strike disintegrating whatever flesh it touched.
The monster¡¯s head turned towards an opening on its side of the cave as if contemplating a retreat. Even with its monstrous features, the creature somehow managed to look fearful. The berserk Mayry, sensing its fear, pressed her attack, not willing to let it escape.
She leapt onto the creature and used her now claw-covered hands to rip chunks of flesh from its body. It thrashed around in agony, but the enraged Mayry persisted long after the Monster was dead.
She was snapped back into control of her body when the latest chunk of flesh that had been ripped away revealed a human¡¯s face.
Wobbling slightly from the disorientation gained from the sudden change, she reached in and, as gently as she could, pulled out the body and carried it away from the monster carcass. The person was in a translucent cocoon that looked like it was made from hardened slime; tearing at the slime, she slipped her hand in and felt around until she found the neck. Pausing for a moment, she felt a pulse. At least they hadn¡¯t been too late.
Running over to Mason, she checked him over and saw he was fine. She shook him and slapped his face, but he didn''t wake up.
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Not for the first time, she wished she could access his inventory or, even better, had a storage power of her own so she could force a health potion down his throat, even if just to alleviate her own concerns. There was nothing she could do, so she returned to the body of the person she pulled from the monster
She sat next to the body and placed its head in her lap. She summoned a trickle of water and tried to remove as much of the goop as she could until she could make out a face. One she was surprised to see, she recognised
Nina¡¯s eyes opened, startling Mayry. Her head still in Mayry¡¯s lap, she opened her mouth and tried to speak.¡°Ma-Mayry?¡± she coughed and spat out a few mouthfuls of sludge before trying again. ¡°Mayry, what?¡±
Mayry opened her mouth to try and reassure the girl that everything was okay, but before she could, Nina wrinkled her nose in disgust. ¡°Mayry... You really need a shower. You reek!¡±
The moment the boss monster died, the horrible smell drastically improved, but in no world did the cave smell good, especially since it was not so close to the monster.
Mayry, slightly offended after she had just rescued the girl, snapped back, ¡°The smell isn¡¯t me! You¡¯re the one covered in slime! The smell is coming from the giant fleshy abomination over there.¡±
She sat up, took in her surroundings and recoiled in shock at the sight of the mutilated monster corpse. She shot to her feet as if scared the monster would suddenly reanimate and attack them again.
¡°Relax. It¡¯s dead. I made sure of that.¡± Mayry revelled in how cool she sounded. She had definitely been spending too much time with Mason.
Nina¡¯s head darted all over the place. She started hyperventilating and fell back. ¡°Where the hell am I? What the fuck is going on? Di- did you kill that thing?!¡±
Just then, the bleach monster elemental came cruising into the cave. It had been too preoccupied cleaning the tunnel to help with the boss fight but decided now was the time to make its entrance. It had probably been for the best; in her enraged state, she didn¡¯t know what she might have done to Mason¡¯s summoned ally.
Nina stiffened as she saw the creature shifting into a more offensive stance. Her skin immediately started to change, taking on a scale-like look, before Mayry waved her hands at her and shook her head. ¡°Hey! No! It¡¯s okay. He¡¯s an ally.¡±
The elemental looked around the massive cave and almost seemed to sigh, its chest getting bigger momentarily before deflating. It started shooting off its bleach, like a pressure washer, cleaning the cave bit by bit. Mayry and Nina watched on as it progressed to where Mason lay. It paused as if to consider what to do and then proceeded to clean around its unconscious summoner, flipping him unceremoniously to one side and then cleaning under him before flipping him back. It gave a small nod to itself before it continued on with its self-imposed mission.
The two women shared a look at the creature¡¯s odd antics. Mayry noticed a smile forming on Nina¡¯s face that soon turned into a fit of nervous giggles. Mayry soon joined in, unable to help it. The bizarreness of it all after being exposed to such a horrible experience was too much.
As the laughter died down, neither of them knew what to say. While they knew of each other, they had never really talked before, let alone been friends.
¡°How did you end-¡°
¡°How did you kil-¡° They both started speaking at the same time. They giggled a bit more, and then Nina motioned for Mayry to go first.
¡°How did you end up here? I knew you were a hunter, but taking on a contract with so many unknowns on your own is crazy!¡± Mayry couldn¡¯t help but let a little admonishment leak into her tone. ¡°Maybe with a team, ¡° she continued before cutting herself off. Then, a thought occurred to her: ¡°You weren¡¯t with a team¡ were you?¡±
¡°I can take care of myself,¡± The young girl replied reflexively before letting out a sigh. ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t with a team; I was on my own, but I never even took out a contract in a cave! I have no idea how I got here.¡±
She shot a look over at the elemental, who was hissing to itself softly before she came and sat back down next to Mayry. ¡°It was supposed to be my first ever contract¡ It was one that was supposed to be really easy. All I had to do was scope out a suspicious-looking tree that a local had been complaining about. Then, out of nowhere, something grabbed my leg, my face hit the ground, and the next thing I knew, I woke up here with you.¡±
Mayry smirked, ¡°A tree?¡±
Nina rolled her eyes, ¡°Yes, a tree. Someone reported that they saw it moving suspiciously. It was supposed to be the easiest contract for my first one. I guess I somehow screwed it up anyway.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not like it was your fault! It sounded like one of those things ambushed you, ate you, and then gave you to their boss.¡± Seeing the look on the girl¡¯s face, Mayry added, ¡°Once Mason wakes up and we get out of here, how about we go find that tree with you?¡±
She smiled, ¡°You¡¯d do that? Are you sure your boyfriend won¡¯t mind?¡±
¡°He¡¯s not my-¡° She started to say before she returned her smile and replied. ¡°He won¡¯t mind. He has a thing about trees.¡±
As Mayry and Nina huddled together, waiting for Mason to regain consciousness, Mayry talked Nina through how they had ended up in that cave. She glossed over a few details, like Mason getting a quest and her going all demon explaining it away using chaos magic as an excuse.
By the end of her story, Nina stared at her in awe. ¡°You killed that humungous monster all on your own? Oh wow, Mayry. I never knew you were so powerful! How did you do it?!¡±
Not wanting to have to lie, she deflected, ¡°Mason¡¯s the really strong one, he was fighting the monster for much longer than me, he must have weakened it a lot before I showed up.¡±
Before anything else could be said. Mason finally started to stir, groaning as he slowly regained consciousness.
He struggled to sit up, his movements sluggish and disoriented. Mayry moved to his side and offered him a steadying hand.
"Mason, you''re awake," she said, her voice full of relief. ¡°Are you okay?¡±
He let out a long groan. Wincing as he touched a tender spot on his forehead, he muttered. ¡°Everything hurts.¡±
Nina, who had been watching silently, spoke up, her voice tinged with concern. ¡°Hey again, I heard you were trying to save me. Are you okay?¡±
Mason managed a weak smile. ¡°Hey Nina¡ how¡¯d you get here?¡± he replied, still slightly groggy. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine. Believe it or not, I¡¯ve had a lot worse," he replied, though his words lacked their usual conviction.
Winking at Nina, Mayry scoffed. ¡°He tried to save you, but then I had to step in and save him. So, really, I think I deserve all the hero worship. Thank you.¡±
Letting out another longer groan, he pushed himself to his feet. ¡°You killed the monster? I was hoping it was the elemental¡damn it.¡± Looking at Nina, he continued in a stage whisper, ¡°Now I¡¯m going to have to listen to her gloat about it!¡±
Looking down, he saw that while most of the cave was now clean, his front was still covered in foul-smelling sludge. He grinned and looked back at Mayry, ¡°Actually¡ I¡¯m so proud of you. Come give me a hug!¡±
Mayry squeaked and ran away, with Mason chasing after her. Nina just watched the two of them, confused.
Chapter 72 - (Almost) Over 9000
Chapter 72 - (Almost) Over 9000
Mason skimmed over the dozens of kill notifications he had received, noting that with the experience he had gained from his kills, Mayry¡¯s kills and the elemental¡¯s kills, he had gained just under 9000 experience! That felt like a buttload of XP, but it only equated to two level-ups bringing him to 30; he immediately dumped the 6 six points he got into Intelligence.
Making any sort of progress felt amazing, but he was concerned; the amount needed for every new level was growing worryingly fast. Almost 9,000 experience felt like it should be enough to net him four or five levels, not two! He dared not think about how much experience it would take to level when he was in the 50s or even 100s.
He felt like he was making good progress but wondered how he was going to be able to maintain it in the long run.
The fact that he gained all the experience from both his summon¡¯s kills and now from Mayry¡¯s kills, too, made him feel slightly better. Especially given that the elemental had killed by far the most abominations and Mayry the second most.
To be fair, he had needed to run off early to save Nina¡ even if Mayry had finished the boss off for him as well¡.
Ding!
Quest updated! The smell of the Dungeon
Quest Objective - Kill all monsters in the dungeon and rescue the test subject before it is too late. - Complete
Reward - Even though you had your woman do most of the fighting, you still get the reward! Loot the dungeon for a unique potion.
He had gotten distracted. He turned his attention to the update and relayed it to Mayry.
At first, he had hoped that he would just need to loot the boss monster¡¯s corpse to get the potion, but the list of loots only contained the decapitated parts of the various creatures the monster had been made up of. The length of the list and the disturbing amount of detail it provided made him nauseous.
His next thought was that maybe there was an illusionary wall somewhere, but annoyingly, Mayry¡¯s magic sense didn¡¯t reveal anything.
The three of them started searching the old fashion way, using nothing but their eyes.
¡°I still don¡¯t understand!¡± Nina complained, ¡°How do you even know that there is a potion!?¡±
For the first while, Nina happily chatted away with them while helping them look around. It took a surprisingly short time before she grew bored, stopped helping search and started peppering them with questions.
¡°I told you, I have an ability that tells me when there are good items nearby,¡± Mason tried not to let any annoyance he felt leak into his voice; the girl had just gone through something pretty traumatic, so he felt like cutting her some slack. ¡°It just isn¡¯t very specific.¡±
She replied with a grunt, then went quiet and wandered off to keep looking.
They continued to search the cavern. Mason''s mind raced with possibilities. Maybe the potion wasn''t physical but a metaphysical concept¡ªa source of power hidden within the boss monster''s remains? No, that was stupid. Or maybe it was a concoction brewed from rare ingredients scattered throughout the dungeon. No, that didn¡¯t sound right either¡. He inwardly swore to his system that if, after all this, the potion was the friends they made along the way, he was going to give himself a lobotomy just to get rid of the system.
Lost in thought, Mason barely noticed when Nina''s voice broke the silence again. "Hey, guys? I think I might have found something!" she shouted over to them excitedly. The girl was staring up at the cave¡¯s ceiling.
Mason snapped out of his reverie and followed Nina''s gaze, trying to discern what she had spotted. The cavern ceiling was adorned with stalactites, some of which were dripping with moisture, but apart from that, he didn¡¯t see anything.
"What is it?" Mayry asked, joining them, squinting up at the ceiling.
Not answering, Mason studied the ceiling intently. He scanned the area carefully, his eyes darting from one formation to another, searching for any irregularities or signs of manipulation.
Then, just as he was about to tell Nina that he didn¡¯t see anything, he noticed a faint glimmer of light reflecting off a single stalactite. It was subtle, easily overlooked amidst the cavern¡¯s dim illumination, but once he caught sight of it, he could tell it was distinctly different from the others around it.
Nina pointed excitedly at the stalactite. "There! Look, do you see it?"
Mayry followed Nina''s gesture, frowning. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything. It¡¯s too dark and way too far away.¡±
¡°I¡ think I see what you mean¡¡± Mason said distractedly, trying to see if any of the other stalactites had the same glimmer to them; as far as he could tell, none of them did.
¡°I don¡¯t suppose either of you can fly?¡± Nina asked hopefully.
Both Mason and Mayry replied that they couldn¡¯t. The question did make Mason wonder what Nina¡¯s ability was. If she was able to see so high up, one of them had to be some sort of enhanced sight, but surely the girl hadn¡¯t become a hunter with that as her only ability.
He was about to ask her about it when the girl sighed and asked, ¡°How important is it that you get this potion?¡±
¡°It¡¯s not life or death¡ but it¡¯s probably pretty valuable.¡±
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¡°Urgh, okay¡ I can get it for you, but I really, really hate doing this, so I want a cut of whatever the potion is worth. Deal?¡±
¡°Hate doing what?¡± Mason asked before deciding it didn¡¯t matter. ¡°No, never mind. Yeah, okay, deal. I don¡¯t know what the potion does until we get it, so I don¡¯t know how valuable it is, but I¡¯m sure we can work out a fair price.¡±
The girl still seemed very unsure and hesitant. She almost seemed scared when she added, ¡°And you¡¯re going to have to fight me¡¡±
He stared at her, not entirely sure he had heard her correctly. He knew that she didn¡¯t know much about him, but she must have heard about his fight with Gael or even the Basilsik. Even if she hadn¡¯t, the girl was tiny, 5¡¯1, maybe 5¡¯2 and didn¡¯t look like she had an ounce of muscle on her! He didn¡¯t want to be that guy¡ especially since he didn¡¯t know what her ability was but¡ ¡°Nina, there is no way I¡¯m fighting you,¡± he tried to hold it back, but a bit of a chuckle made it through.
She scowled at him. Her expression immediately changed from reluctant and shy to irritated and annoyed.
She took in a deep breath and let it out. ¡°If you¡¯re worried about hurting me, don¡¯t be. I¡¯m tougher than I look. I need to fight so my power- you know what?¡± She smiled, ¡°It¡¯s easier to just show you.¡±
The girl lunged at him, her hand transforming into a claw midway. The girl was bloody fast, but compared to some of his other fights, she just didn''t measure up. He dodged her almost without a thought. He smirked at the surprised look on her face, which, in turn, seemed to annoy her even more as she attacked him again, this time more viciously.
He dodged each of her attacks repeatedly. ¡°Why¡ are¡ we¡ doing¡ this¡ again?¡± Mason said after each successful dodge.
He had to hand it to her that she was very fast and definitely knew her stuff; if she ever managed to land a hit, he was sure he would feel it. Apart from the sudden appearance of claws, he still wasn¡¯t sure what her ability was or how it was going to help her get the potion. He was quite enjoying how mad the girl was getting.
The more they fought, the faster the girl seemed to get; maybe she had a power like Lyvan¡¯s; the longer they fought, the stronger and faster she got. Though that wouldn¡¯t explain the claws¡.
Nina¡¯s stance changed, and the next punch she threw came at him like a bullet; he dodged it barely, but the sudden dramatic change in pace left him open, so when she launched a kick at him, he had no choice but to take it in the chest.
The kick pushed him back a few steps and made him look at her in a new light. Had she been holding back? No¡ She had definitely come at him with everything she had right from the start. Her ability was making her more powerful the longer they fought. That had to be it.
¡°Ouch,¡± Mason said, half annoyed, half impressed. This would be the last time he underestimated someone because of their size. In a world with all sorts of magical abilities, it had been incredibly dumb of him to make the assumption.
Mayry had wandered over to the boss abomination¡¯s corpse, used a jet of water to wash it off and sat cross-legged on it enjoying the fight. She shouted, ¡°Woo! Nina kick his ass!¡±
Now that there was a slight pause in the fight, he noticed the changes were far more significant than just her strength and speed. Her skin had started to take on a greenish hue and become more scales-like.
Her 5¡¯2ish frame had grown by at least a foot and had bulked out, so she now looked closer to a woman wrestler than the small, timid girl that she had been before.
He wasn¡¯t usually a prideful person, but he really didn¡¯t want to be beaten up by a girl in front of his girlfriend. This wasn¡¯t a real fight, but still, he needed to up his game. He went on the offensive.
He ran at her. She let out a squeak of surprise when she saw he was going to stop just dodging and actually fight back. He threw a punch at her, starting at 10% of full strength. He expected her to dodge, but she didn¡¯t. The punch landed and hit Nina squarely in her stomach. She barely even flinched.
He looked up at her and, for a split second, saw her smugly grinning before her fist hit him squarely in the face.
The strike knocked him back but hadn¡¯t hurt. Despite just being decked in the face, he found he was actually having fun. He hadn¡¯t really had a friendly fight with anyone since he trained with Lyvan, and that always just consisted of his getting the absolute crap kicked out of him while Lyvan shouted at him to dodge.
He jumped back into the fight; every time he thought he was getting a handle on how she moved, the girl surprised him. She was always a second faster than he anticipated or hit just a bit harder.
The fight intensified. Each exchange of blows pushed Nina further into her transformation. With each strike, she grew stronger, her once-human form shifting bit by bit into one more monster than human. Now fully covered in green scales, she was hunched over with what looked like a tail starting to form behind her.
Part of him wanted to go all out just to see what the end result of the transformation would be, but the other, larger part of him was afraid that if he really went all out, he would end up hurting or even killing the girl.
The fight stretched on; Nina was now taller than he was, and despite her massive increase in size, she was just as fast, if not faster, than she had been before.
Nina¡¯s last attack had left Mason no choice but to teleport out of her way. His instincts told him that if that particular strike had landed, it would have been bad. He was giving back as much as he got. He was hitting her hard enough now that she was definitely feeling it; some of her scales were cracked, blood trickling from them.
Mayry, still perched on the boss abomination¡¯s corpse, watched the confrontation with amusement, occasionally cheering on Nina or booing Mason whenever he managed to land a hit.
Mason was doing his best to stay calm and focused, not wanting his Emotion damage skill to activate. He wanted to see how far long he could last with just his fighting skills¡ and teleportation
Having to teleport again, he appeared behind her where he noticed tiny wings had started to ground from her back. The scales, the tail and the wings¡ no fucking way. If she was turning into what she thought she was turning into, then he was very jealous.
He was just about to launch another series of attacks when Nina roared, ¡°Rhoaarp!¡± Her face and throat were too far transformed for her to form words properly. It took him a moment to figure out she was trying to say, ¡®Stop¡¯. He was slightly disappointed; he had really been getting into the fight. She had said she hated doing this, so he doubted he would get many more chances.
He relaxed, breathing heavily. He rested his hands on his knees and stared at the thing in front of him, which used to be Nina. He didn¡¯t think the transformation was fully complete, but he was right. She had transformed into a fucking dragon!
While he had never seen a dragon before, he assumed real ones would be a lot bigger. Still, at the size of a small car, Nina had absolutely lucked out when she got this ability. Sure, it took a very long time to fully ramp up, but once it did, she would be almost impossible to beat.
She beat her wings a few times before jumping into the air. The ceiling was pretty high, but it only took her a few seconds to reach it. Her hands were completely inhuman now, but Nina surprised him by showing great finesse. She couldn¡¯t grab in her giant claws, but she could use them to slash through the stalactite, sending it falling to the ground.
Mason jumped out of the way a moment before he would have gotten impaled and sent a dirty look up at the dragon, who he thought was grinning at him.
Nina landed and rapidly started to change back to her human form. He watched on with awe at the very strange sight. He looked away when he remembered he wasn¡¯t sure what had happened to her clothes when she had transformed. He sneaked a peak and saw she mostly back to her old self and fully clothed. It seemed her ability transformed her clothes along with her body.
He walked over to Mayry as Nina started her descent. ¡°Did you know she could do that?!¡±
¡°Did I know that someone living in my Town could turn into a dragon? Yes, Mason, I was aware.¡±
Chapter 73 - An Unfortunate Affliction
Chapter 73 - An Unfortunate Affliction
Thankfully, the potion had not shattered when it had fallen. Now that he was looking at it up close, it really didn¡¯t look like anything special. The bottle was well made and beautifully crafted but had the tiniest crack in its bottom, where he suspected the liquid had escaped through over the last gods knew how many years.
Elixir of Pana (Legendary) is an incredibly powerful regenerative potion that can regrow limbs and cure any injury down to the cellular level. This elixir is so potent that if given enough time, it will slowly regenerate itself, creating a limitless supply. WARNING: Prolonged or continuous exposure to this potion can do some extremely weird things to biological creatures.
Nina, having completed her transformation back to human, was lying on the cave floor. He saw her chest still moving, so he didn¡¯t worry; anybody going through a change like that was bound to need time to recover.
¡°I think I figured out how the Abominations were created,¡± he whispered to Mayry. He read her the description, making sure not to let Nina hear. The girl seemed trustworthy, but he didn¡¯t know her well enough to tell her the whole truth about his abilities.
¡°I reckon the potion must have been what started this whole mess. Slowly leaking out of the crack for who knows how long. The abominations probably started out as¡ rats, Insects, maybe moss, then exposed to the potion over years and years, slowly mutated them into this fucker.¡± He said, pointing to the abomination Mayry sat on
A crease formed on Mayry¡¯s forehead, ¡°If it¡¯s that dangerous, should we even keep it?¡±
He thought for a while before answering, ¡°I think It¡¯s worth keeping. We just need to not rely too heavily on it. Whatever the abominations started out, were probably exposed to this for years and years.¡± He looked at the monster again, then added, ¡°On second thought¡ maybe we¡¯ll have Viv take a look at it first, just to be safe.
¡°I¡¯m exhausted, can we all just take a nap in the trunk before we head off?
He laughed, ¡°There is no way I¡¯m letting anyone get in the trunk smelling like this. I¡¯d never get it clean!
¡°Grr fine. Where is the elemental?¡± She looked around, but it was nowhere; it had either wandered off or its summons time had run out. ¡°Maybe we can find a ritualist in a town nearby?¡± She added after deciding she didn¡¯t have the energy to look for the creature.
A mumble came from Nina¡¯s prone form, still lying on the floor.
¡°What was that?¡±
¡°I said I¡¯m a ritualist. I can do the cleansing spell¡ I don¡¯t have the stuff I need with me, though, so yes, on the town¡ just give me a few more minutes¡¡± She yawned and went silent for a while before forcing herself to stand up with what looked like a great deal of effort.
Mason took the opportunity to check out his character sheet. He¡¯d levelled twice and wanted to see how close he was to pushing his intelligence to 100 and those sweet, sweet upgrades.
Name: Mason Hughes
Level: 30
Current XP: 32000 / 32420
Race: Human
Class: Hunter
Health Points (HP): 890
Mana Points (MP): 610
Stamina Points (SP): 390
Stats
Strength: 67 (+15)
Agility: 69
Endurance: 58
Vitality: 79
Resilience: 60 (+26)
Intelligence: 93 (+10%)
Perception: 63
Willpower: 59
Free Points: 0
Skills
Identify (Expert), Mana Control ¨C INT (Expert), Emotional Outburst ¨C PER (Expert), Lesser Invisibility ¨C PER (Expert), Random Greater Summon INT (Expert), Sarcastic Prick ¨C INT (Expert), Mental Manipulation ¨C WIL (Expert), Mental Resistance, Ballistic Touch ¨C STR (Expert) Division ¨C INT (Expert),
Teleport ¨C AGI (Expert) Sacrifial Healing ¨C VIT (Expert)
Base Skills
Universal Translator, Inventory (Advanced), System Guidebook (Basic)
Class Skills
Basic Monster Tracking, Evaluate Monster, Gather Intel
Progress was being made; it was slow, but it was at least somewhat consistent. Hopefully, once he got to taking out some others, he would be able to speed it up.
He wouldn¡¯t mind so much about the speed of his progression and would be more than happy to take his time and plan out his every move; only there was the small matter of him maybe having to fight god, demons, and who knows what in only a matter of years. He still needed to absorb the chaos orbs but unless those boosted him by an unbelievable amount, he was going to have to figure out a way to move forward faster.
Maybe if he could absorb more iterations of chaos¡
This thought was interrupted by Nina letting out another yawn, pushing herself up, and reluctantly calling over to them that she was ready to leave.
***
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¡°It¡¯s really not that bad,¡± Mason insisted, ¡°Please just let us in and we¡¯ll-¡°
¡°No, no, I assure you, sir, it is that bad,¡± The guard said bluntly. ¡°You smell worse than my grandma does, and she died before I was born. You can¡¯t come in. You¡¯ll stink up the entire town, and I simply refuse to take the blame for it!¡±
Why did it seem that every single guard in this world hated him? Every single time he came across one, it felt like there was trouble. At least this one had a valid reason.
The guard in question was a slightly hunched, older man who spoke in a blunt yet eloquent manner that surprised Mason. He didn¡¯t seem like he was suited for guard duty as he walked with a limp and held a cane.
Mason could quite easily bypass the gate by teleporting them, but the guard didn¡¯t seem like a bad guy; he was just doing his job and didn¡¯t want to get in trouble.
¡°Okay, my friend here is a ritualist. She can do a cleansing ritual on us, but she needs a few things. Is there any way one of us could quickly grab the stuff from the apothecary and then come back? Then we can get all clean, and you can let us in, right?¡±
The man thought about it but shook his head slowly. ¡°I know the owner of the apothecary. She¡¯s a mean old hag. She¡¯d kick you out before you said two words smelling like that!¡± He scrunched up his face as if considering something. ¡°What is it you need? My shift ends soon; if you write me a list, I can get you anything you need.¡±
Mason removed some paper from his inventory and handed it over to Nina, who scribbled down a list and handed it to Mason, who passed it on to the man along with a few coins. ¡°This is very kind of you. Thank you so much.¡±
Just then, a much younger man wearing the same guard uniform approached. The moment he came close enough to smell them, he made a face and shouted. ¡°No. No way, Alfred, there is no way we¡¯re letting them in!¡±
¡°I already told them that, you buffoon,¡± he knocked his cane against the man¡¯s head and then started to hobble off.
Before he got more than a few steps, Mason called him back over. The man sighed, turned and came back. As soon as the man was within reach, Mason reached out and put his hand on his shoulder. His hand glowed, and the younger guard started to draw his sword, but before he could, the previously hunched-over older guard stood up straight, staring at Mason with wide eyes. ¡°What did you do? I-i feel- I don¡¯t feel. The pain, it¡¯s gone¡¡±
¡°I healed you; sorry, I probably should have asked first.¡± He hadn¡¯t really thought about it. He had seen how much pain the man was in and had acted.
The man laughed and did an experimental jump in the air. ¡°I feel amazing, I¡¯ll get you those ingredients right now,¡± he handed back the coins, ¡°Take this back.¡±
Mason tried to refuse, but the man skipped off down the road, telling anyone who would listen about the foul-smelling healer who had fixed the back pain that had been making his life miserable for decades.
The younger guard eyed Mason suspiciously. ¡°Can you heal anyone, or is it just old folk pain?¡±
***
He was annoyed with himself; he had gotten a healing ability a while ago and had never even considered going around healing people who needed it. The limitation of him taking on the damage of whoever he healed was annoying, but with his Resilience and Vitality stats, he doubted anything these people could handle would put him in any sort of danger.
The ritual had been pretty straightforward. Mason had been very excited to see one done finally but had ended up disappointed, as it was very simple. All that had happened was that Nina placed a few things around them and said a few words, and then there was a flash of light, and they were clean. She promised him that she would show him a flashier ritual some other time.
After they were clean and no longer smelled like rotting carcasses, they were finally allowed into town. The two women went off to find an Inn while Mason stayed behind.
Thanks to the guards, word had spread about the ¡®healer¡¯ that was in town. It only took a matter of minutes for the village people to form a line in front of him, each of them waiting for their turn to be healed. The guards had even brought a chair out for him, saving him from having to stand.
He was tired, but he wouldn¡¯t feel right turning any of these people away. He¡¯d hardly noticed anything he had absorbed so far, so he was more than happy to do what he could. These people needed help, and while a health potion would have probably fixed most of these people¡¯s ailments, a lot of them didn¡¯t look like they could afford such luxuries.
Before he started the healing, he wanted to make sure he wasn¡¯t going to accidentally cripple himself with something he wouldn¡¯t be able to get rid of from himself. He made sure everyone could hear him as he announced. ¡°Hi, everyone! If you could all let me know what you need healed before I start, that would be great; the way my power works is I temporarily take on whatever I heal, and I¡¯m not sure how it reacts to anything magical and I don¡¯t want any surprises! So let me know beforehand if you have anything that might be particularly painful or anything that might linger! Thanks!¡±
The vast majority of people only had simple things like the flu or a persistent stomach ache, but a few were a bit more serious. One older person had the beginnings of dementia, which left Mason feeling quite out of it for a few minutes after he had absorbed it.
When an adorable little old lady, wearing a vibrant yellow dress, asked him if he could do anything about her arthritis, he immediately assured her that he would do his best. Like usual, he took her hand in his and activated his ability. Mason felt something from the woman move out of her and into him and was surprised when he got a notification.
Status effect: Affliction¡ª¡®Super Herpes¡¯ has been added¡ªIntelligence -5% Vitality -5% + 500% itchy genitals.
His eyes widened as he read. He squirmed as a sudden and urgent itchiness struck him.
The old woman he had just healed innocently asked, ¡°Are you okay there, young man?¡±
He narrowed his eyes at her and, through gritted teeth, said, ¡°I¡¯m just fine. Was it just arthritis that was bothering you?¡±
The old woman barely managed to hold back a grin as she replied cheerily, ¡°Yep, that was all deer; I feel much better now, thank you.¡± And hobbled off, entering the nearest pub and exiting less than a minute later with, surprisingly, a much younger man.
There were still dozens of people in the queue waiting to be healed, but the affliction wasn¡¯t disappearing as the others had; the itchiness was only getting worse.
He stood suddenly as the urge to scratch himself intensified. He muttered an apology to the next in line and turned to rush off when he came face to face with Mayry and Nina.
¡°Heya! We found an inn¡¡± Nina said, trailing off when she saw the look of urgency on his face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±
¡°Err, that¡¯s great,¡± he replied, using every ounce of willpower he had to avoid giving in and scratching himself. ¡°I jus- excuse me for a second.¡± He teleported away, leaving Nina confused.
She turned to Mayry and asked, ¡°How many abilities does that man have?!¡±
Reappearing on the opposite side of the street, he ducked into an empty side street and downed a healing potion. His HP was already full, so it had no effect. He whispered desperately to his system, ¡±Help, Super Herpes not fading from Sacrificial Healing.¡± He begged his system to take pity on him just this once. After a few agonising moments where nothing happened, he finally got a pop-up.
Help¡ªSacrificial Healing is fully functional. Due to their increased complexity, magical afflictions fade over a longer period of time.
Crap. Did that mean he just had to wait it out? How long was that going to take? He was going to find that old lady and¡ probably not do anything, but he wanted to! How the bloody hell did someone even get magical super herpes?!
He was in extreme discomfort and was considering using the Elixir of Pana to get rid of it. Surely a single use wouldn¡¯t have any negative side effects? The only thing stopping him from dousing himself in the elixir was the horrifying image of the abominations still burning into his mind. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure the potion would help as the description states it could ¡®regrow limbs and cure any injury.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t worth the risk, maybe after Viv had taken a look at it.
Right now, he just needs something to occupy his mind. He took out one of the chaos orbs he had taken from Aiden and forced his mind to focus on trying to draw from it.
At first, he didn¡¯t feel anything. Then, a slight tickle presented itself in the back of his mind and started to grow into a headache, then that spread downwards. The pain intensified as it moved until intense pain filled his mind and body, completely replacing the discomfort from the herpes. It wasn¡¯t at all an improvement, but it was more bearable than the pain he had felt when absorbing essence directly from the Mayor. That had felt like he had swallowed hellfire; while this felt more like his insides were boiling, painful, it was far more tolerable. He was only pulling from it as slowly as he could, he could pull harder, but he got the feeling that doing so too soon could cripple him. While holding the orb, he could tell how much essence it contained, and at the rate he was currently pulling, it would take months to empty it.
The pain suddenly spiked, making him drop the orb. Mason opened his eyes and was surprised to find that he was facedown on the ground. He pushed himself up and looked around to find that it was dark out. How long had that taken? It felt like a few minutes at most, but it must have been hours.
*DING*
Achievement unlocked! Power hungry!
You have absorbed chaos essence from more than one external source without needing to kill it!
- Reward: New system guidebook page, Essence distribution, unlocked.
Chapter 74 - You Sex Pest You!
Chapter74 - You Sex Pest You!
He reread the notification; he¡¯d completely forgotten about the system guidebook. He had unlocked it pretty soon after arriving on this world. It had given him a few basics about his system, like at what level he would be able to get new abilities and how high a stat needed to be in order for it to upgrade. It had promised new powers would be unlocked, but up until now, it had remained silent.
The urge to take a look at the new page was strong, but he was aware that he had been gone for quite some time, and Mayry was probably freaking out, probably worried that he had been kidnapped by the others or eaten by some monster. Besides, Mayry would probably be just as interested in the new page as he was.
He stepped out of the side street only to realise that, one, he had no idea where he was, and two, he had no idea where the inn was. He kicked some dirt in annoyance and cursed under his breath. ¡°All of this just because some old hag gave me herpes.¡± Replaying what he just said in his head he vowed he would never speak of it again. At least the affliction had gone, as had the unbearable itch.
He set off and started to wander. The town was smaller than Sparksford so surely there couldn¡¯t be that many inns to try, right? Anyway, it was a beautiful night, and he might even enjoy the walk.
With no warning, It began to pour with rain.
***
He didn¡¯t mind the rain, not really, but he did feel like if there were a luck stat, his would be in the negatives. He wandered around, half looking for the inns and half trying to get his Mana Control ability to do what he wanted. He was currently trying to shape it into an umbrella-like shape and have it follow him as he walked.
His control was good enough to get the shape right, but holding it in place and having it follow him required a tremendous amount of concentration.
When he had first gotten the ability, he had hoped it would be like a green lantern ring, taking the shape of whatever he wanted with the only limit being his imagination. His ability wasn¡¯t quite that good. If his concentration lapsed for more than an instant, the form broke apart and took on a different shape that depended on what his mind had drifted to. Usually, something embarrassing. With the skill being at expert rank, he had hoped it would be more instinctual, but he felt he was missing something.
It took over a half hour to walk in the rain, but he finally got the ability to follow him along and protect him from the rain; he was already thoroughly drenched, but that was the principle of the matter. It still took a lot of concentration, but he found that if he did it for long enough, it became almost second nature.
Walking into the third inn he¡¯d come across; he decided that if the girls weren¡¯t staying there, he would get a room and find them in the morning. He desperately needed a shower, food, and sleep.
The warmth of the fireplace hit him the moment he walked in, the interior was simple but cosy and reminded him of the sort of wooden cabin you¡¯d find deep in the woods for a romantic getaway.
He walked over to the front desk, dripping water as he went. It was late at night, so he wasn¡¯t surprised that no one was working. There was a bell, which he assumed would summon a worker, but he didn¡¯t feel like waking up the poor sod just for them to tell him that he had the wrong inn.
He withdrew his trunk from his inventory, set it up by the fire, and got inside. If the girls were here, Mayry would see the trunk and realize it was him; if not, he would find them when he woke up.
He was asleep before his head even hit the pillow.
***
He stood in what felt like an impossibly vast space; if there were walls, they were too far away for him to see. The ceiling was nonexistent, a mesmerizing view of deep space the only thing visible when he looked upwards.
The floor was made of millions of tiny tiles, each placed to be a small part of an intricate and complex pattern. The only things in the room were huge empty thrones. Five stood on the right, and ten stood on the left. No, not ten, nine thrones, and one that looked to have been thoroughly broken down and purposefully vandalised.
Each was incredibly beautiful in its own way. He felt as if he could stare at each indefinitely and never not be intrigued.
The entire place felt as if it hummed with power, one that was faintly familiar yet, at the same time, completely beyond his comprehension.
He stepped towards the closest throne, the first on the right. It felt wrong to him, and the feeling grew stronger as he approached. He walked to the next throne, and the feeling changed. It still felt wrong but in a different way. It was as if he was sending out a signal, and the first throne was sending out a different signal, one that clashed with his own. The second throne had yet another signal that wasn¡¯t right.
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He walked passed each of the first five, and every time, the ¡®signal¡¯ they gave off felt wrong. Crossing the room, he came to the first of the ten thrones. This time, the wrongness felt lesser, still not the right ¡®signal¡¯ but closer to his. It wasn¡¯t until he came to the last throne, the one that looked like it had been destroyed, that he felt like the ¡®signal¡¯ it gave off was right. He reached out a finger and touched it.
The pile of debris that used to be a throne vibrated and hummed at his touch, almost as if it purred.
A loud booming voice emanated from all around, ¡°YOU-¡° The single word was full of so much power that it pierced into his consciousness, ripping it away from wherever it had been and sending back to his body.
***
Mason groaned. He opened his eyes and immediately closed them again. He had a headache the likes of which he had never before experienced.
There was no way it could be morning already. He felt like he had just closed his eyes, and he was waking up, barely rested. His heart was racing, and he was covered in sweat, but he had no idea why.
He got up and stuck his head out of the trunk. He was surprised to find that he was no longer in the lobby but in a room.
He was disorientated for a moment, but the trunk had enchantments which made it difficult for anyone not keyed into it to move it. The only person other than him who was keyed in was Mayry. Looking around, his suspicions were confirmed when he saw the two girls lying on a bed fast asleep, both snoring loudly.
Not wanting to disturb them, he went back inside the trunk, leaving the lid open so they knew he was up.
Opting to perch himself on the sofa instead of the bed so as not to fall back to sleep, he pondered what was ahead.
He remembered Mayry mentioning something about a suspicious tree contract that they were apparently going to help Nina with. He was absolutely down for a chance to get some revenge on a tree. The whole Tree thing had started as a joke but after fighting the Arboroth and the time the massive tree fell on him, his hatred had become far more serious.
After they had finished with that, they would probably escort Nina back home to Sparksfor so they could all cash in their contracts. Not that they really needed the money, but the cave contract had at least given him a chance to test out a load of his upgraded abilities.
He wasn¡¯t sure what they would do from there. He itched to go out and fight some others, and even knew where some might be, thanks to the map they had nicked from Aiden.He was Level 30 now and needed to reach at least Level 50 before he was able to somehow get to the others¡¯ home world, Ganehfrel. The only problem was he was scared. Once he got to that level, he would have to leave this world, and he had no idea how long it would take or even if the quest was possible.
He was expected to infiltrate a world full of enemies without being caught. Somehow, he finds out where the iteration of Chaos is being held and rescues it, all while trying to fit in on a world where he knows nothing about the culture or day-to-day life.
The more he thought about it, the more anxious he felt. It was a big ask for a guy chosen at random and thrown into the deep end, but still, that wasn¡¯t even the worst part.
The worst part was, although they hadn¡¯t talked about it, he knew that once he reached level 50, he would most likely have to leave Mayry behind. He had a system and could theoretically pass for another, even if it would be a challenge; Mayry, on the other hand, didn¡¯t. Bringing her along would be just too great a risk, and he wasn¡¯t even sure if it would work without her having a system.
¡°Mason? If you¡¯re awake, I¡¯m going to come and kill you now.¡± He heard Mayry call down to him. He thought she sounded like she was joking, but even after all this time, he struggled to
Unable to think of a good comeback, he just shouted back. ¡°I¡¯m awake; please don¡¯t kill me; I¡¯ve still got to save the world!¡±
Mayry emerged and started down the stairs. She did not look amused in the slightest. She stormed up to him,¡°What the fuck happened yesterday? You were healing people, then randomly ran away. Do you know how long we looked for you!? And then you just turned up in the trunk!?¡±
Mason wanted to jump in and defend himself, but once Mayry started ranting, he had learned it was better to let her get it out of her system. So he just looked back at her, trying to look sufficiently scolded.
¡°We got soaked! While we looked for you, we had no idea what had happened! There was a lovely old lady who kept asking where you were, saying she needed healing. She looked so disheartened when we told her we didn¡¯t know where you were!¡±
Hearing this, he couldn¡¯t help but jump in and cut her off. ¡°Wait, an old lady? What did she look like?¡±
Looking even more annoyed, she answered, ¡°Mason! Why is that important? I don¡¯t know! She seemed really cute and friendly. I think she was wearing a yellow dress?¡±
¡°That crazy¡ How the bloody hell did she already need healing?! How could she of possibly already gotten something else? There is no way I¡¯m healing her again after she gave me-¡±
He realised his mistake the moment the words left his mouth; he had vowed never to let Mayry know that an old woman had given him super herpes. Seen the look of terror and embarrassment on his face, Mayry pounced, all irritation gone from her face. It was as if she could smell that he was hiding something funny from her that she could hold against him. With a mock innocence, she asked, ¡°Gave you what, Mason?¡±
Another voice came from behind him, and he turned around to see Nina standing at the top stairs, stifling a laugh. ¡°Yeah, Mason, what did that old lady give you?¡±
¡°Noth-¡° he started to retort but stopped when Mayry raised her eyebrows. Something wasn¡¯t right; she looked too smug. Did they already know¡? How could they possibly already know?
He turned back and made eye contact with Mayry; they both stared at each other, him, with eyes narrowed suspicious that she already knew, but not certain, and her barely holding back a smirk.
Swallowing hard, he tried to regain his composure. "Look, it''s nothing, just a misunderstanding. I¡¯m starved. Is it too late to get breakfast?¡±
Mayry''s smirk widened, and she exchanged a knowing glance with Nina before turning back to Mason. "Oh, don''t worry, Mason. We¡¯ll eat. But first, you have some explaining to do, you sex pest.¡±
Mason felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, which had nothing to do with hunger.
Chapter 75 - Mayrys Boobs
Chapter 75 - Mayry''s Boobs
¡°She what?!¡± He couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing.
¡°Yeah,¡± Mayry was loving every second of this and hadn¡¯t stopped grinning since he had given in and admitted that the old woman gave him super herpes. ¡°She came up to where you had been sitting, asking if anyone knew where you were. Someone pointed her towards us, and she came hobbling at us and told us she felt horrible because she gave you herpes and didn¡¯t tell you.¡±
¡°That¡¯s not- we didn¡¯t - It¡¯s not what-¡° He stammered, worried that the two women had jumped to the wrong conclusion.
¡°Oh, stop it,¡± Mayry said, finally deciding to show him mercy. ¡°I know how your healing ability works. It¡¯s still hilarious, though.¡± Suddenly, she frowned as if a thought had just occurred to her, ¡°It is gone now, though, right?¡± she glanced downwards towards his junk and shivered.
He placed both his hands over his crotch as if shielding it from her gaze, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s gone! It didn¡¯t last that long, but it was so bad, like so so so bad. ¡±
She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to decide whether to believe him. ¡°Then why were you gone for so long? We really did look for you for most of the night.¡±
Without thinking, he answered truthfully, ¡°The itching was so bad I started absorbing one of the chaos orbs and passed out because it hurt like hell.¡±
¡°What¡¯s a chaos orb?¡± Nina asked, reminding Mason that she was in the room.
They exchanged looks; though they hadn''t known each other for very long, their relationship had progressed to the point where they could pretty much tell what the other was thinking through expressions alone. Whether it had something to do with them being linked through Mayry¡¯s demonic side wasn¡¯t something he wanted to think about quite yet.
If he was reading her right Mayry was thinking that she trusted Nina, but she wasn¡¯t sure how much.
From the look on his face, he was trying to convey that he agreed and that they could let her in on some things but not everything, at least not yet. With a slight nod, she showed she understood.
Nina was still standing at the top of the stairs to the trunk, looking down at them. ¡°Come in and shut the lid. There are a few things we want to tell you about.¡±
The younger girl gave a little jump of excitement before slamming the trunk¡¯s lid and skipping down the stairs, almost tripping and falling due to her eagerness.
Once she got to the bottom, she turned to Mayry and asked, ¡°Does this mean you¡¯re finally going to tell me how he had so many abilities? And why you smell so strange?¡±
He couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at the look on Mayry¡¯s face at that last bit.
Mayry started, ¡°Yes, we can tell you som-¡± She cut herself off when her mind caught up with what Nina had said. ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t smell strange!¡± She whirled on Mason and repeated, ¡°I don¡¯t smell strange, right?!¡±
Mason, without hesitation, replied, ¡°I mean, I didn¡¯t want to say anythi¡¡± After a glare from his girlfriend, he cut himself off and reconsidered his answer, ¡°I mean, no, of course you don¡¯t!¡±
Nina had frozen at the glare Mayry had shot at her. She started ranting, ¡°No, no, no, oh my gosh, I didn¡¯t mean it like that! Part of my chaos ability is I have a dragon¡¯s sense of smell, and they can kind of smell magic, and yours smells different from other chaos abilities¡ it smells like, I don¡¯t know, it sort of like the smell after a bonfire, if that makes sense? I¡¯m sorry! You don¡¯t smell strange, I swear!¡±
Mayry raised her hands to reassure the girl, ¡°Oh, well, okay, that makes sense¡.¡± She took a breath and shook her head to try and regain her flow. ¡°We can tell you some things, but it probably isn¡¯t safe to tell you everything.¡± Pulling her down to sit on the couch next to her, she continued, ¡°Even the things we do tell you could be dangerous. Are you sure you want to know?¡±
She sat still for a moment and thought before slowly nodding, ¡°I think¡ Yeah, I do.¡±
***
They spent the next hour telling Nina a slightly altered version of everything that had happened to them since they had met. They left out that he was from another world and instead told her that when they met, Mason had lost his memory. They explained that he had made a contract with a remnant of g-o-d and was now on a quest to kill all the ¡®others¡¯ in this world. In return, he was given the capability to have many chaos abilities.
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They gave a run down of most of what he could do, but they left out a few things, just in case. For Mayry, they explained that her ¡®strange smell¡¯ was probably a result of her original ability evolving into her now having the ability to shift into the form of a demon, similar to what Nina could do with a dragon.
He and Mayry each took turns explaining things as Nina sat and watched on, taking in as much as she could. Her expression wasn¡¯t giving anything away and he wasn¡¯t sure how she was going to react once they had finished.
They went on to give her a quick rundown of everything that had happened so far, from the Basilisk fight to the crack hen, his rescuing Mayry from being kidnapped by Gael, and then her turning up in Sparksford. They glossed over the Kethul and the prophecy and told her about the hole and the other he had fought and killed. Finally, they arrived at them, taking out the contract to check out the suspicious cave and then finding her.
It wasn¡¯t the best cover-up story they could have come up with, but he thought it did a pretty decent job. Telling her about his being from another world or Mayry¡¯s demon heritage just had too much potential to come back and bite them in the ass. The prophecy was also skipped over because he didn¡¯t want it getting out that he was supposed to save the world; being treated like some sort of messiah didn¡¯t sound like much fun, plus it would almost definitely go to his head, and nobody wanted that.
They finished talking, and a heavy silence settled over the room. Nina just sat and stared off into the distance as if not realising they had finished speaking.
Finally, she let out a long breath, breaking the silence. "Wow. That''s... a lot."
Mason and Mayry exchanged a glance but stayed quiet, wanting to see if she had anything else to say.
Nina turned to Mayry, her eyes wide with curiosity. "So, you can turn into a demon? Like, an actual demon?" She gasped, then added, ¡°That demon that appeared near Sparksford! Was that you?!¡±
Before Mayry could reply, Mason coughed awkwardly, ¡°Err, no, that was actually my fault¡ I accidentally said a word I shouldn¡¯t have said, but in my defence, it wasn¡¯t an actual demon; it was just an echo!¡±
She looked at him like he had grown a second head, like he was the absolute dumbest person in history, ¡°You managed to accidentally say a taboo word that summoned a demon?¡± She looked over at Mayry as if to say, ¡®You¡¯re dating this fool?¡¯
She just shrugged and answered Nina¡¯s previous question, ¡°My demon form only turns me half-demon, so it isn¡¯t nearly as big or as scary as the one that dumb summoned.¡±
Nina leaned forward and whispered. ¡°Can you show me?"
Mayry hesitated. It would be the first time showing the form off to anyone who wasn¡¯t Mason, but the excitement the girl had was infectious. "Alright, sure!¡±
With a flicker of concentration, Mayry''s form began to shift; she grew taller and more muscular, her skin darkened to a deep shade of crimson, and small horns sprouted from her head.
Nina''s jaw dropped in amazement, her eyes wide with wonder. ¡°Wow¡ you look¡¡±
Mayry inwardly cringed, waiting for the words ¡®scary¡¯ or ¡®horrible¡¯ to come out of the girl¡¯s mouth.
¡°Hot!¡± she finished, prompting Mayry¡¯s jaw to drop.
¡°Really?!¡± Mayry asked. He knew her ego had been bruised since her true form had changed from human to demonic, but with the wide-eyed girl staring at her, he could see it being healed.
¡°Yes! Is the whole demon thing what made your boobs bigger in your human form?!¡±
Even in her demonic form that was red, he could see that she was blushing.
It took him a second for his brain to put things together. ¡°OH, THAT¡¯S WHAT YOU CHANGED!¡± Mason blurted out suddenly. He had noticed that she had changed something about herself back in the mayor¡¯s office after she had learned how to regain her human form. He hadn¡¯t been able to figure it out, but now it was super obvious.
Mayry transformed back into her human form with her face bright pink. ¡°Stop staring! Both of you!¡±
Nina¡¯s head snapped away, but he stared on until Mayry swatted him upside the head.
Mayry turned to Nina, exasperated, ¡°Really?! Everything we just told you and you¡¯re main concern is my boobs!?¡±
¡°I was just curious! He¡¯s the one who made it weird!¡± she defended. In a weak attempt to change the subject, she added, ¡°So, Mason, you were saying something about passing out from chaos orbs?¡±
Happy to take the attention away from an embarrassed Mayry, he answered, ¡°Yes! Chaos orbs, I found them on the body of the other I killed in the hole. Absorbing them lets me progress my abilities without having to kill things. It is horribly painful, though, so it knocked me out.¡± It wasn¡¯t really a lie. Logically it made sense that if someone who had a chaos ability but not a system tried to use the orbs, the essence would for sure help evolve their ability, as long as they could withstand the pain long enough.
He wanted to tell Mayry about the new guidebook page, but with what they had revealed to Nina, he couldn¡¯t think of a way to make it work. They hadn¡¯t mentioned anything about the system as it wouldn¡¯t really make sense to anyone not from Earth; he knew even Mayry still didn¡¯t really get the appeal of video games. If he didn¡¯t get a chance to talk to Mayry about it soon he was just going to take a look at it on his own.
Nina¡¯s eyes went wide at the description of what the chaos orbs did. She stared at him like a dog stared at a juicy steak. As innocently as she could, she asked, ¡°Would the orbs work on, I don¡¯t know, say, my ability?¡±
There was a long pause, during which he and Mayry exchanged a look. Again, he thought that it would probably work, but was it a risk worth taking? Hesitantly, he replied, ¡°Possibly¡¡± He sighed and decided to be blunt. ¡°Yeah, it would probably work on you to an extent if the pain didn¡¯t kill you first.¡± He saw her about to object, but he raised a hand to stop her. ¡°The only reason I can take it is one of my other abilities lets me handle pain better.¡±
She pouted for a moment but let it drop, ¡°Did Mayry ever talk to you about the contract I was on before the fleshy monster thing got me?¡±
A grin spread across his face, ¡°She did yeah, said you needed some help? Something to do with a suspicious tree, right? I¡¯d love to help.¡± He said a bit too enthusiastically.
She glanced at Mayry, ¡°Wow, you were right. He really does have a thing for trees.¡±
¡°I do not have a thing for trees!¡± Seeing the look on the girl¡¯s faces, he added, ¡°They know what they did! Do you want help or not?!¡±
Chapter 76 - Dragons Hoard
Chapter 76 - Dragons Hoard
Before they set off, Nina announced that she was starving and was going to get breakfast. Mayry tried to follow her, but he held her back. ¡°We¡¯ll meet you down there in a bit,¡± he said to Nina before she left.
At a questioning look from Mayry, he told her about the new system guidebook page.
¡°Have you already taken a look?¡± She asked.
¡°No, not yet; I wanted to wait for you so we could look together.¡±
She looked a little surprised but smiled and kissed him, ¡°You¡¯re sweet. Okay, whip it out.¡±
It took real effort not to make a crude joke, but he prevailed. He didn¡¯t want this to take too long because he was also starting to get hungry.
He bought out his guidebook and flicked to the second unlocked page. He felt Mayry next to him, peering over his shoulder as he read.
Essence Distribution.
This page will help the user choose how to distribute any essence they have gained to either strengthen themselves or their system.
Chaos Essence is the purest form of Chaos¡¯s power and can be:
- Converted into experience points (Default)
- Used to Increase stat points.
- Used to increase the amount of abilities the user is able to possess.
- Used to overclock certain abilities.
History of Essence use.
- Two levels of Chaos Essence used to break divine paralysis.
- 3000 Chaos Essence taken from System user, automatically converted to experience.
- 3000 Chaos Essence taken from System user, automatically converted to experience.
- 10,000 Chaos essence taken from an iteration, used to increase each stat by 15 and increase the number of abilities able to be used.
- 500 Chaos Essence absorbed from chaos orbs, unspent.
The page was interesting; it explained how he had managed to spend levels when facing the echo of the demon and why the essence he had taken from Gael and Aiden had just converted into experience. Looking at how his system had spent his previous essence gains, the 500 he had gotten from the chaos orbs didn¡¯t seem like they were worth the incredible pain he had gone through; he hadn¡¯t stuck with it for long, but still! Going forward, he would allocate more points to his Willpower to help him push through the pain and his Resilience to hopefully take the edge off of the pain.
¡°Am I missing something?¡± Mayry asked hesitantly, ¡°It doesn¡¯t actually say anything about how to use the essence.¡±
She was right, of course. It really only told him what essence could be spent on, not how to spend it. After looking through his menus to see if anything had been added, he answered, ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t. Let me try something.¡±
He closed his eyes and tried to will his 500 Essence to increase his Resilience and Willpower stat. After a few seconds of concentration, he felt something spread through him. Starting from the back of his head, it felt as if icy water was being pouredhim, slowly spreading through his body.
Checking his stats, he saw both had increased by 3 points. Running some mental calculations, he couldn¡¯t figure out if there was any sort of standard XP to Stat exchange rate, 500 essences for 6 stat points seemed odd when compared to 10,000 essences for 15 points in each of his 8 stat points, even when considering a cost for adding extra ability slots. It was Chaos Essence, after all; it made sense for the costs to be somewhat random, as was its nature. It was still very annoying.
After spending the Essence, he started to feel the slight push in the back of his mind to absorb more from the orbs or to go out and find and kill more others and take their Essence; he easily pushed the urge away, ignoring it. It was slightly worrying that the addiction was making itself known so obviously, but as long as he kept his Willpower stat high enough, he was sure it wouldn¡¯t become a problem.
¡°Sorted, it was just a matter of concentrating on what I wanted to spend it on.¡± He explained to Mayry.
¡°You know, I think I felt something when you did whatever you did¡ It was like I got colder for a moment¡ must be our Demon bond thing¡ strange.¡± She blushed and rapidly segwayed the subject, ¡°What does your character sheet look like now? It¡¯s been a while since I had a look.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll show you, but then let¡¯s eat; I feel like I haven¡¯t eaten in days. ¡± He gave her a quick run down,
Name: Mason Hughes
Level: 30
Current XP: 32000 / 32420
Race: Human
Class: Hunter
Health Points (HP): 890
Mana Points (MP): 610
Stamina Points (SP): 390
Stats
Strength: 67 (+15)
Agility: 69
Endurance: 58
Vitality: 79
Resilience: 63 (+26)
Intelligence: 93 (+10%)
Perception: 63
Willpower: 62
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Free Points: 3
Skills
Identify (Expert), Mana Control ¨C INT (Expert), Emotional Outburst ¨C PER (Expert), Lesser Invisibility ¨C PER (Expert), Random Greater Summon INT (Expert), Sarcastic Prick ¨C INT (Expert), Mental Manipulation ¨C WIL (Expert), Mental Resistance, Ballistic Touch ¨C STR (Expert) Division ¨C INT (Expert),
Teleport ¨C AGI (Expert) Sacrifial Healing ¨C VIT (Expert)
Base Skills
Universal Translator, Inventory (Advanced), System Guidebook (Basic)
Class Skills
Basic Monster Tracking, Evaluate Monster, Gather Intel
After he had finished, they headed downstairs as they discussed. ¡°I¡¯m very curious about how this bond thing works. I feel a lot stronger since coming into my Dad¡¯s side of things, but I¡¯m certainly not as strong as you are, at least not unless I¡¯m fully ramped up. It¡¯s so unfair you have a system that explains everything to you!¡± She complained.
Shrugging, he said, ¡°Eh, it has its moments; most of the time, it isn¡¯t actually that helpful, just kinda sassy."
¡°Huh, that¡¯s exactly how I¡¯d describe you.¡± She replied with a smirk.
He shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m definitely a bad influence on you.¡±
They got to the dining area and searched for Nina. They finally spotted her behind a massive heaping plate full of breakfast stuff, waving at them. They sat down opposite her, and he couldn¡¯t help but gawk at the amount of food on her overflowing plate. There were piles of sausages, bacon, eggs, tomatoes and all sorts of other things he couldn¡¯t identify. Nina was shovelling it in at a pace that even he would struggle to maintain.
Mayry, confused, asked, ¡°Did you get food for us too?¡±
Pausing her meal for a second, she glared at Mayry, her eyes momentarily becoming dragon-like, and she growled, ¡°No. Mine.¡± Before she continued her feast, inching her plate of food ever so slightly closer to her side of the table.
¡°Ok¡¡± Mayry replied, getting up and walking over to get herself some food; Mason followed. ¡°What was that all about?¡±
¡°I have no idea. Did you see her face when I reached for her food? I thought she was going to bite my hand off.¡± Mayry laughed.
¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s fine; maybe she really is just very hungry.¡± He wasn¡¯t too concerned; mostly, he just found it funny that Nina¡¯s small frame was somehow able to contain all the food she was shoving into her face.
He filled his plate with slightly more breakfast than he would usually eat and headed back to the table, Mayry following behind him. He did a double take as he saw the plate that had been in front of Nina was empty. She sat there with a satisfied look on her face, humming a happy tune.
They sat down and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Where¡¯d all the food go?¡±
Nina looked genuinely puzzled as she looked back at them, idly wiping away a bit of egg that had been clinging to the corner of her mouth. "What?" she asked, confused.
He exchanged a bemused glance with Mayry. "The food," Mayry prompted, pointing at Nina''s empty plate. ¡°That was piled higher than I was tall less than two minutes ago, and now it¡¯s empty!¡±
Nina''s eyes widened as if she was only then realising what they were talking about; she shrugged and said, ¡°Oh, that, I ate it. Duh.¡±
Mayry massaged her temples in an attempt to coax her brain into making sense of the situation. "You¡¯re telling us that you¡ ate all of that?" She asked, gesturing towards the crumbless plate.
Nina nodded, a proud grin plastered across her face. "Yup¡±.
"But... how?" Mayry sputtered, her fork halfway to her mouth.
Nina shrugged again. "I was hungry," she said simply as if that explained everything.
Both he and Mayry Gawked at her, and she just stared back until he noticed the corner of the lip twitch upwards, and she broke out into a chuckle. ¡°You two are really easy to mess with. No, I¡¯m not just needlessly gorging myself with all this.¡± She kept laughing at her own joke as she wiped a tear from her eye. Her laughter died down, and she explained, ¡°It¡¯s just a quirk of my ability. Anytime I use it, I need to eat a lot before using it again.¡± She shot Mayry an apologetic look, ¡°Sorry for snapping at you. I can get really territorial over whatever I¡¯m eating; It¡¯s like a dragon¡¯s hoard or something. Sometimes I think I¡¯m more Dragon than girl.¡±
She frowned and, as an afterthought, added, ¡°You guys are good to pay for all this, right? Because I am, like, so broke.¡± She gave a hopeful grin while waiting for their answer.
Subtly nudging Mayry, he pulled his eyebrows together into a frown. ¡°Oh¡ We thought you were paying for everything¡ Isn¡¯t that what we agreed? We help you with your Tree quest, and you pay for the Inn room and food?¡±
¡°The Inn room?!¡± Her eyes grew wide, and she darted to Mayry. ¡°I thought you paid for that last night! And we never agreed to that!¡±
Mayry jumped in, ¡°No¡ I distinctly remember asking you last night, and you nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll pay for everything because I¡¯m an all-powerful dragon.¡±
¡°What?! I never said that-¡° She sighed, ¡°You¡¯re messing with me, aren¡¯t you?¡± Seeing their matching grins, she growled and added, ¡°That was so not funny! I was thinking I was going to sell my kidney just to cover the room!¡±
Through her fit of giggles, Mayry managed to say, ¡°That¡¯s what you get! You should have seen the look on your face!¡±
¡°You guys are assholes!¡± she said, pouting, which just made them laugh harder.
After they finished the food, they went back up to their room and grabbed their stuff. It was time to hunt down this suspicious tree.
****
They followed Nina out of town and towards the area her contract specified. The way she led them had them passing the caves that had held the Cronenburgian abominations. Shivers ran down his spine as his enhanced senses detected the faint lingering smell of the cave, which brought back memories of the horrible monsters they had fought the previous day.
¡°Okay,¡± Nina said as they approached a grove of trees. This is the last place I remember before that thing grabbed me. The tree we¡¯re looking for is apparently the biggest and a slightly different shade than the rest of them, so keep an eye out. The report was vague, but quite a few people have been reported missing around here recently.¡± She frowned, ¡°Although, now that I think about it, that could have just been the flesh monster things¡.¡±
He wouldn¡¯t say this out loud because he knew the girls would make fun of him but he had been looking forward to this. He would always jump at any chance he had to kill some trees. Did this make him worry about his mental health? Sure. Would a therapist probably say that he had developed a complex aimed at trees because the incredibly tall Kathan Trees had been amongst the first things he had seen upon arriving on this world, and anytime he knocked down a tree or killed a tree-themed monster, it gave him comfort because it proved he had power and control that he previously lacked? Maybe! But screw therapists; they were almost as bad as trees!
¡°Let¡¯s split up, and each take a different section of the grove. Mason, you go that way; I¡¯ll go this way, and Nina, you go that way. If any of us see anything even slightly out of the ordinary, we should shout, and the rest of us will come running.¡±
Knocked out of his mental ramblings, he shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good idea; splitting the party rarely works out well. The moment we split up, one of us is going to get eaten.¡±
¡°You think a tree is going to eat one of us?¡± Nina asked, her voice thick with doubt.
¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe!¡± He looked around at the nearby trees suspiciously, as if daring them to do something. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t put it past them! My point is we should stick together. In Dnd, you never split the party! Something bad always happens!¡±
¡°What¡¯s Dnd?¡± Nina Asked.
¡°Nina, what did I tell you? Don¡¯t take the bait-¡° Mary was cut off as he started excitedly explaining the concept of tabletop games. ¡°Mason! Focus!¡± She scolded. ¡°If none of us dies, you can explain later. Right now, splitting up is the best option otherwise, it is going to take us hours to search the entire area. Okay?¡±
¡°Fine! But you¡¯re gonna look pretty silly if Nina gets eaten by a tree!¡± Shot back in a sing-song voice.
¡°Hey! Why do I have to be the one who gets eaten?!¡± Nina asked with mock outrage.
¡°Because you¡¯re the shortest. Duh!¡± He replied as if it was the obvious answer.
She crossed her arms, ¡°I am not short!¡± She thought for a second and added, ¡°At least I¡¯m not ugly!¡±
¡°How dare yo-¡° He started before seeing Mayry¡¯s glare.
She smacked her hand into her forehead and then looked up at them exasperated, ¡°Children! Break it up,¡± She pointed at Nina and then at him, ¡°You go that way. You that way!¡±
Yes, Mother,¡± Nina said innocently before sticking out her tongue at him while Mayry couldn¡¯t see.
¡°Mason, you really are a terrible influence on that girl.¡±
He flashed her a grin and then laughed as he walked off, leaving Mayry wondering if helping him save the world was worth all the hassle.
Chapter 77 - One, Two, Tree.
Chapter 77 - One, Two, Tree.
Nina
Wandering around a grove staring at trees was not the exciting time Nina had imagined. She wasn¡¯t even entirely sure what she was looking for; the contract specified the tree was bigger and a slightly different colour than the rest, but apart from that, she was just walking around the grove, waiting for something to happen.
She managed to stay focused for the first few minutes, but try as she might, her mind kept wandering as to how she had gotten to this point.
As the daughter of a blacksmith, her life had mostly been filled with helping her father in the shop, delivering orders and adding her enchantments to her father¡¯s work. It got a bit boring a times, but it was a good life. The customers that visited the blacksmiths were usually hunters or adventurers looking to have their weapons and armours repaired or to commission new items. She often found herself daydreaming about the lives they led, where they were heading off to next, the monsters they would fight and the incredible places they would see.
She had begged her father for years before he finally allowed her to take out a hunter contract of her own. She was so over the moon when he gave in that she excitedly planned and prepared for days before she even looked at the available contracts.
Despite how it sometimes made her feel, she knew that her ability didn¡¯t make her invincible, so for her first contract, she made sure to choose one that sounded easy.
In the last few days, she had been ambushed by a stinking flesh monster, taken to a cave and fed to an even bigger flesh creature, all of this before she had even found the target of her contract! After all of that, she knew she should be dying to go back home to her life of simplicity, but in reality, she found she was loving it. She had been majorly freaked out when she had awoken in the pile of goop with Mayry staring down at her, but since then, she had been having the time of her life. She found travelling with Mason and Mayry to be exciting and fulfilling, and when she had fought Mason in her almost fully ramped dragon form, it had been the most fun she remembered having.
A soft rustling came from behind her, but being surrounded by trees and her mind being elsewhere, the sound barely registered.
Her ability had manifested at a young age. She had gotten into a fight with a young boy over a toy they had both wanted and accidentally grown claws. Luckily, her father had pulled her away from the boy before she accidentally eviscerated him. Ever since then, she had always done her best to keep her emotions in check, only using her ability when training, so being able to almost go all out against Mason had been such an amazing experience.
The pair¡¯s air of secrecy just fed her intrigue and made her want to stay with them for longer. She even enjoyed bickering with Mason. The fact that it annoyed Mayry was a plus.
The sound behind her grew louder, suspicious. She whirled around, claws instinctively extending from her fingers. Nothing. The sound had ceased, and all she saw were more trees.
She was almost certain something was following her. She opened her mouth to call out to the others but stopped herself. What if she was wrong? What if she was just imagining things? If she called out and they came running, what would they think? Maybe she shoul-
Her train of thought was interrupted as the floor fell out from under her. Her head hit the ground, and all the air was knocked out of her lungs.
No fucking way this was happening to her again! Her dragon ability made it far harder to knock her out, so instead of losing consciousness, she stood up and turned to face her attacker.
Mayry
She rolled her eyes at the pair¡¯s bickering and shook her head as she watched Mason walk away. Despite his many, many flaws and the many little things he did that annoyed the shit out of her, she was falling more and more in love with him.
Mason had a point about splitting the party possibly not being the best idea, but she¡¯d never admit that. A few minutes on her own was worth the risk; she always loved the time they spent together, but some time alone with her thoughts was way overdue.
She walked passed the trees, inspecting each one as she did, looking for anything that looked out of place or that felt different to her magic sense. All the trees seemed to have a small trace of magic, but that wasn¡¯t that unusual; most living things had some magic if you looked hard enough, but none of the trees she saw had enough to worry her. She half suspected that this contract was just someone making things up. Mason loved blaming things on trees, but she had yet to figure out why he was so obsessed. It was one of the many things that made Mason Mason.
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She would scope out all the trees in her area, then circle back and wait for the others. If none of them found anything strange, then they would head back to Sparksford, and the contract would be put up again. Once nothing had been found three times, the contract would be voided, and each other hunter that attempted it would be given a portion of the bounty. It was rare but did happen from time to time, but for it to happen to Nina on her first contract was really unlucky.
Getting bored of the monotonous tree-watching, she got an idea. She could climb one of the taller trees and see if she could spot anything strange from higher up. Before she came into her demon powers, she would never have given the idea a second thought, but with her claws, her enhanced strength and resilience, she should be completely fine even if she fell. If there was a tree monster to be found, she knew it would really annoy Mason if she found it first, and so naturally, that was her new goal in life.
Using her demonic claws was still quite a surreal experience for her. It didn¡¯t take much effort to summon them; all she had to do was partially release her human form veil and flex her hands, and they popped right out. Quite a bit had happened since she got her demon form, and she hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to really inspect her new form; at first, she had been disgusted by it and then anytime she used it, she had been a little too preoccupied to get a good look. Now that she had gotten accustomed to it, she was actually growing quite fond of it; the sudden jump in height still threw her off, but apart from that, she thought it made her look dangerous in a sexy kinda way. Nina, having said she thought the form was hot, had really helped her see it less as a negative.
She watched the long, razor-sharp claws protrude from her fists and experimentally pushed them into the base of a tree. From there, she found it took almost no effort to climb the tree.
Once at the top, she had a good view of the entire area; what they had thought was just a small grove of trees was actually much larger, far closer to a forest than a grove. She looked out, waiting for something strange to jump out at her. She was hoping she could use her magic sense to get an idea of where her two companions were. Mason was easy to spot as he radiated magic like nothing else she had ever met, but Nina was more difficult; Mayry was only able to see her when she was actively using her ability.
Mason was making his way through the forest at an astonishing speed, leaving destruction in his wake; as far as she could tell, he wasn¡¯t fighting anything; he was just being a destructive git.
That was strange. There was another strong magical presence in the direction Nina had gone, but it didn¡¯t feel like her. She stared in the direction she felt the magic coming from and saw that one of the threes was moving, slow enough that she wouldn¡¯t have noticed if she hadn¡¯t already been looking, but definitely moving.
As she looked on, trying to get a better look at the moving tree, she almost lost her grip and fell as she felt the sudden familiar, powerful magic of Nina¡¯s ability flare up right beside it.
Mason had definitely been right about splitting the party being a bad idea. Now Nina was miles away in a fight on her own, she would take at least a few minutes to reach her. Mason was closer but likely had no idea what was going on.
Panicking slightly, she let herself drop from the tree. She hit the ground and immediately started running in the direction she had sensed the magic coming from. She had no doubt Nina could take care of herself, but still, just in case, she would be there as soon as she could as a backup.
Mason
Mason was having a great time. He walked through the forest, knocking down each tree as he passed. He liked to vary his method of deforestation, but punching and sending out mana bolts were his favourites.
Still, he wasn¡¯t completely insane. This was just the best method he could think of to make sure he didn¡¯t accidentally miss the tree he was looking for. He even planned on doubling back and adding the fallen trees to his inventory¡ if he had time. Who knows? They could come in handy at some point.
¡°Chop chop chop, chop down the trees, chop chop chop chop down the treeees.¡± He sang as he skipped along. He briefly wondered how the other two were getting on but discarded the thought as he knocked down yet another tree. This was the life; nothing was currently trying to kill him, there was no one in need of saving, and all there was for miles around were trees aplenty waiting to be slain. Even better, if he did happen upon the Tree monster they were here to hunt, he would even get to assert his dominance over a tree that could fight back; he wondered if it would be another Aboroth or perhaps something entirely different, not that it mattered, a tree was a tree.
A ding of a notification sounded in his head; he was enjoying himself enough that he was tempted to ignore it but thought better of it. He paused his slaughter for a moment and bought up the new message.
Quest Received! The monster hunting Tree-o
Objective: The girls have stumbled upon the Tree monster before you. They could probably do with your assistance, you know, if you aren¡¯t too busy with your mindless slaughter of innocent trees.
Locate your friends and help them slay the monster.
Reward ¨C A Lumberjack box
Accept? Y/N
The idea that his system was based on his personality was obviously false if it was spouting nonsense about innocent trees. Regardless, he mentally selected the yes option and headed back in the direction he had come. Luckily, he had left a pretty easy-to-follow trail.
Chapter 78 - Freak of Nature Spirit
Chapter 25 - Freak of Nature Spirit
This had to be the weirdest fucking tree he had ever seen. The trunk looked like it was made from bark, the same as any tree, only in the centre, there was a giant eye surrounded by dozens of smaller ones. They looked around and blinked independently of each other as if each had a mind of their own. Just when he thought that trees couldn¡¯t get any worse, this thing shows up.
As he approached the scene, he saw both Mayry and Nina doing their best to defend against the giant tree¡¯s attacks. The tree flailed its countless branches around like whips. His two friends were covered in cuts and scrapes, but they looked to be mostly okay.
He got closer and saw the look of relief on their faces when they caught sight of him. Appearing next to them he grabbed ahold of them and teleported them away, just far enough that the creature would have trouble getting to them quickly.
¡°Thanks¡±, Mayry wheezed, ¡°That thing is bloody strong.¡± She looked over at Nina, who was catching her breath, ¡°Really? This is what you chose for your first contract? This!?¡±
Defensively, Nina snapped back, ¡°I didn¡¯t know it would turn out to be a tree from the depths of hell!¡±
He tuned their arguing out. He was excited; this seemed like it was going to be a really good fight, and it was against the thing he hated. This overgrown weed was about to be demolished by him and his friends. He would savour every moment. Before he turned back to their argument, ready to come up with a plan, he used his Identify skill on the monster, eager to learn the name of what would soon become his latest kill.
Monster - Shizen -Level 72
Shizen or Nature Shapeshifters are rare monsters with the power to disguise themselves from anything found in nature. They are thought to be powerful nature spirits and, much like Mimics, often lay dormant for extended periods of time until some poor unfortunate creature ventures too close and becomes their prey. These creatures have no need for food, and so kill their victims either for fun or for sport.
Wait¡ did that mean? ¡°It isn¡¯t even really a tree.¡± He muttered.
The girls stopped bickering; Nina asked, ¡°Huh?¡±
He turned and looked at her with a great sadness in his eyes. ¡°It isn¡¯t even really a tree.¡± He repeated, this time mostly just speaking to himself. ¡°The power to shapeshift into almost anything¡ and it chose a tree?¡±
¡°Mason, we really have no clue what you¡¯re going on about. Its a shapeshifter?¡± Mayry asked him, worry creeping into her voice.
¡°Yeah¡ We need to kill it. Nothing that stupid should be allowed to live.¡±
¡°Well, yes, that was kind of the idea. Do you have any sort of plan on how we kill it, or have you not gotten that far yet.¡±
Rolling his eyes, he replied, ¡°Mayry, love, you know I don¡¯t do plans. I hit things really hard and hope for the best.¡±
***
Despite his insistence that he didn¡¯t need a plan, they had managed to come up with one that he hoped would be pan out and have them kill the freak of nature spirit.
When they had stayed out of sight for more than a few minutes, the creature settled in and became almost completely indistinguishable from any of the other trees in the forest. The only telltale sign was the slight discolouration and the way that its branches did not seem to sway or move at all in the breeze.
Once they confirmed that the shapeshifting tree would go dormant if left alone for long enough, their plan boiled down to several stages of trial and error.
First up, he took out his Bow of the Dreadwood Tree. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure the bow¡¯s effects would work against the nature spirit. The thought of the depression effect working was a long shot, but he had hopes that it could be particularly susceptible to the possible necrosis effect.
The three of them crept as close as they dared, and he used his Mana Manipulation ability to put up as strong a shield as he could manage. He was getting better at using the ability but it still took a massive amount of concentration. While he was busy holding the shield, Nina got into position, and Mayry drew the bow. Nina¡¯s job was to distract the tree monster if the attempt failed. She was already partially ramped up due to a quick fight with Mason.
Mayry let loose several arrows in a row. The first three hit their target, but the creature didn¡¯t as much a flinch; the arrows bounced off without any apparent effect. The fourth and fifth arrows hit and immediately the bark around where the arrows hit turned black and started showing signs of decay. The creature writhed in pain. A thin line appeared and split open to reveal the monster¡¯s gaping mouth. It took in a deep breath and let out a huge roar. Sharpened wood chips flew out and pelted against the shield, almost breaking through.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Mayry cocked and pulled back another arrow ready to send it flying, just before she let it go, every single one of the tree monsters¡¯ eyes locked on her, It let out another roar and threw itself towards them.
He panicked. His shield was pretty terrible. It had barely lasted against the wood chips. There was no way in hell he would be able to keep it up when the monster¡¯s full weight was moments away from slamming into it.
If he timed it perfectly, he might be able to drop the shield, grab Mayry and teleport them both away.
An enormous form slammed into the tree just as it was about to hit, knocking it off course. Nina, her ability fully empowering her had come to their rescue. Her size didn¡¯t compare when put up against the tree, but it was enough to give him the time he needed. Dropping the shield, he grabbed hold of Mayry and teleported them to a safe distance. He was about to go back and get Nina when he saw her shoot into the sky. She landed next to him moments later with a wince. Her transformation had changed her physique too much for her to talk, but he could tell she was hurting.
He put his hand on her and pushed his mana into her; he squeezed his eyes shut and grimaced as he absorbed her damage onto himself. Once it had passed, he opened his eyes to see Nina back in her human form, looking at him with concern. ¡°Thanks for the heal. Are you alright?¡± she asked.
¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine,¡± He yawned, apparently also having absorbed the fatigue that Nina always got after using her ability. ¡°Okay, so what did we learn?¡±
¡°The bow¡¯s necrotic effect hurts it a bit, but mostly just pisses it off,¡° Mayry answered.
¡°Even as far into the transformation, as I was, I¡¯m not even close to its match.¡± Nina offered, ¡°I don¡¯t think I was at my limit, though I¡¯ve never managed to push my ability any further than that.¡±
Nodding, he added, ¡°This isn¡¯t looking great, but there are a few more things we can try.¡±
¡°Couldn¡¯t we just¡ you know, just leave it be and leave the contract to someone else? The reward for this really wasn¡¯t much, definitely not worth all this.¡± Nina asked, not sounding scared, more considering whether this was worth the effort.
Mayry approached and put an arm on her shoulder, ¡°We could just leave, tell the association that we couldn¡¯t manage it, but if we don¡¯t do everything in our power to put it down, then the next time it kills somebody, their blood would be on our hands.¡± She told Nina softly, adding, And besides, Its corpse alone is probably worth a fortune.¡±
The talk of what the body could be worth perked the younger girl right up. She shot to her feet and, looking at him, asked, ¡°Okay, what¡¯s next?¡±
***
Back in their positions, it was time for the next round of tests. Nina was circling in the air above, ready to intercede if things went badly. He had split himself into three clones. One was ready to cast shields where they were needed. The other was invisible, closer to the tree with the Clop Wand in hand, ready to spray the tree with the acid, and the original Mason had taken Mayry¡¯s place and was holding the bow, ready to let loose a volley of arrows as soon as the signal was given.
Mayry was a little too close to the action for his liking, but she had insisted she would be fine. She was crouched out of sight, just out of range of the tree. She had her hell fire summoned in each of her hands and was ready to shoot streams of it into as many of the monster¡¯s eyes as she could, hopefully blinding the creature and making it easier to kill. When he had arrived, he had seen how ineffective the hell fire had been, but he hoped that it would at least serve as a distraction and the monster would be confused by multiple attacks coming at it from different directions all at once.
He shouted, ¡°Now!¡± and all hell broke loose.
***
It turned out that in their haste to come up with a plan, they had failed to consider three things.
The Arrows hit first, and the tree reacted the same way as before. Its eyes and mouth shot open, and it let out a roar, spewing out its wood chip attack. At the same time Mayry¡¯s fire hit and as he had hoped, the hell fire making direct contact with its eyes seemed to cause it a great deal of pain.
The first thing they had failed to consider was that the wood chips were made from, well¡ wood and so, of course, set alight very easily. This meant that the clone in charge of shields had to throw up multiple shields in order to stop the barrage of hellfire-covered wood from killing everyone and burning down the forest.
Meanwhile, the clone that had been ready with the acid wand shouted, ¡°Clop clop!¡± sending the mist-like acid towards the monster. The second variable that they had failed to consider was similar to the first, albeit much less obvious¡. Turns out that Unicorn jizz acid was highly flammable. Who would have thought!?
The acid moved through the air and made contact with the tree. It flailed about in pain as the acid started to slowly melt through its bark and eat away at whatever was underneath, but the moment the slow-moving acid made contact with the hellfire, the original Mason immediately regained the memories of the clone. The force from the explosion had knocked him back so hard that it had snapped his neck in less than a second.
Even from his relatively safe distance away, the original Mason staggered back from the shockwave. Once he recovered, he frantically searched for Mayry. She was supposed to cover the tree in fire and then move back to a safe distance. Had she moved? Where was she?!
After several frantic minutes of searching, he found her on the ground, far from where she should have been. He checked her pulse and felt a strong beat. She¡¯d would be okay but was quite injured. He healed her as much as his rapidly decreasing mana would allow. She opened her eyes, hurt but in no danger.
The first word out of her mouth was, ¡°Wow.¡± She sat up and pointed over his shoulder. He¡¯d been so busy looking for Mayry that the Shizen had completely slipped his mind. He turned to look now and saw what had caught her attention; it had reverted to its dormant state, but where it had been brown before, it was scorched black and seeped red blood like sap. Patches of its bark had melted away to reveal that the shapeshifter had an exoskeleton-like inner shell. The big eye in the centre, along with most of the smaller eyes, had shrivelled been burned away. If the sight of the creature before had been scary, what was left was a true natural horror.
He hadn¡¯t received a notification signalling its death, so it was apparently still somehow clinging to life. He focused on it, and its HP bar appeared above its head. He was shocked and annoyed to see that even after the beating it had taken, the bar was still slightly over a third full.
Chapter 79 - Timber!
Chapter 79 - Timber!
Its HP still being over a third full was insane; this was one tough son of a bitch. He didn¡¯t have too many cards left that he could play, but there were a few.
Waiting a few seconds for his Mana to refill completely, he activated his random summon ability and crossed his fingers, hoping that it would be something that didn¡¯t totally suck, for if there were ever a perfect moment for his system to screw with him, it would be now.
As the crack in reality appeared, the tree shapeshifting reacted as if it could sense what was happening and knew it needed to stop it. Up until this point, he had been unsure whether the creature had any sort of sapience, but the urgency with which it moved now that it felt threatened proved it was at least somewhat self-aware.
Whatever he had summoned had leeched away the majority of his mana, leaving only a sliver to power the shield he through up to protect himself and Mayry from the angered monster. Gritting his teeth and willing whatever he had summoned to hurry up and be summoned, he chanced a look at Mayry, who was lying on the floor behind him. The amount he had been able to heal had not been enough to restore her fully. It had been a stupid mistake; he should have taken a mana potion or even given her a healing potion, but the fight had rattled him, and he wasn¡¯t thinking clearly.
BANG! BANG! BANG! Again and again, the tree monster slammed its weight against his shield, each time sending a jolt of static-like feedback through his head, leaving him with a raging headache.
A crack appeared, and he thought it was over. Killed by a tree! After all he had been through. Killed by a damn tree¡ not even a real tree! A fake one!
Another crack splintered down his shield, and he felt himself give in. The entire shield shattered. He squeezed his eyes shut and hoped in vain that he would wake up in his bed on Earth, all of this having just been a dream. Nothing happened. He opened one eye and was surprised to see that the shapeshifter had been bodyslammed by what appeared to be a giant.
Monster - Huntsman Giant -Level 69
From the birds in the sky to the fish in the sea, the ants in the hills to the veggies in the ground, in the world of the giants, everything is bigger, and everything more monsterous. As such, the giant you summoned has become quite proficient at killing giant tree monsters, as it is the most efficient method of gathering firewood. The difficulty in obtaining such basic resources has made technological progress in his world slow.
It was pretty incredible how many other worlds there seemed to be. If everything was bigger in the giant¡¯s world, it sounded like the perfect place to power level. Taking another look at the huge axe-wielding giant, he reconsidered; maybe if he ever got to a higher level¡
As the fight between the two behemoths continued, it looked as if the giant would claim an easy victory over the severely weakened tree; however, as the giant raised his axe for a blow that looked like it very well could finish off the tree, a root burrowed it¡¯s way out of the ground, wrapped around the giant¡¯s leg and pulled.
The giant, caught off guard by the sudden attack, sunk into the floor until nothing below his waist was visible. Another check of the tree¡¯s HP bar showed it almost empty, with just a sliver of red remaining.
At that same moment, Mayry got to her feet and looked to be seething with anger. Her eyes glowed red and an aura of rage emanated from her. She gave Mason a look and he nodded in reply. In unison, they charged the tree monster, determined to finish it off.
As if sensing their plan, Nina also leaned into a dive from where she circled up above and attacked the tree with her claws, keeping the fire breathing to a minimum, having learned her lesson earlier.
The giant, still trapped in the ground, did not give up on his attack either. Even while stuck in the ground, he swung his axe at the monster as much as he could and even landed a few hits.
Mason was half worried that the tree monster, being weak, burned to a crisp and on the edge of death, might have tried to retreat, but no, it stood its ground and fought like a cornered animal. It let out a deafening roar and, in the space of a second, turned the battle in its favour.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Mason, who was sprinting towards the fight, watched helplessly as two vines moved quick as snakes; one wrapped the giant¡¯s neck and squeezed until his face turned blue; with the giant distracted, the other vine wrapped itself around the handle of the giant¡¯s axe and yanked it out of his hands and in the same motion managed to use it to knock a nose-diving dragon out of the sky.
Everything slowed as he watched the dragon fall from the sky. His mind numbed, and the turmoil of emotions that had filled him stilled. Idly, he noticed a wave of heat beside him; Mayry seemed to have exploded. Black flames were dancing across her body as she ran. A look of rage distorted her face, making her look, for the first time, truly demonic.
They attacked as one, but Mayry¡¯s black flames were doing the vast majority of the work, melting away the bark-like skin of the monster until the nature spirit barely knew what hit it. Mason, of course, attacked too, with newfound vigour, eager not to be outdone by his girlfriend, but try as he might, nothing he did came close to doing as much damage as the enraged demi demon seemed to be doing.
He held back a moment and watched as the tree monsters¡¯ HP got lower and lower until- BArely a slither of red remained when the tree went stock still and started to fall to the ground with a speed that felt unnatural. He thought that maybe it had given up and accepted its fate, but no, it only took him a second, but, too late, he realised what the monster was doing. The way it was falling, it would land directly on Mayry. He opened his mouth to shout a warning, but before any sound escaped, it was too late. Mayry, so blinded by her fury, hadn¡¯t been able to get out of the way of the falling tree in time and had been crushed. He watched as Mayry¡¯s black flames flickered out; he felt around inside of himself and felt the vague connection they had due to their bind and sighed in relief as he felt that she was hurt but still alive.
He had half hoped that this had been the nature spirits dying move, but no. It pushed itself off of the injured Mayry and turned to face his.
This was fine¡ it was already on its last legs, basically already dead. Or¡ so he thought. The bastard tree threw itself backwards into an area where the sunslight trickled in and bathed the forest floor in its ray. He was confused as to what it was trying to achieve until he saw its HP tick up ever so slightly. Jesus damning bloody Christ! The bloody thing used photosynthesis to heal!
Not having a better idea, he focused on his mana-shaped, shovel-like construct and began an attempt at digging his summoned giant out of the ground it had been trapped in. Sensing the imminent return of the being that had so far done the most damage to it, it wasn¡¯t long before the Shizen put a stop to his plan. Staying where it was, bathing in the sun, it sent several vines shooting towards him. The attack broke his focus, and his mana construct dissolved. Dagger in hand, he slashed at the vines, and although he sliced through them over and over, more and more came a never-ending attack. Having had enough, he gave up on the rescue and teleported to the creature¡¯s main body. He appeared in mid-air beside the tree and raked his Drake tooth dagger down as he fell. The tree could regenerate, but it was slow. The damage done by the dagger brought its HP bar back down to where it had been before it had retreated into the sun.
He landed on his feet and panted. It had been a long while since his Stamina had been quite this low; he was tired, but as long as he kept up his attack, he knew he would be the victor. Nothing could kill him; he was the alpha and ome- he pushed the odd thoughts aside, shaking his head. He made a mental note to see if this world had therapists and forced himself to focus. Unfortunately, the moment of distraction was all it took for the tree to swing a huge hardwood fist at him and knock him to the floor. The force of the attack was insane. He flew back hundreds of feet and crashed into the base of another, thankfully non-sentient, tree. In his daze, he had a flashback of his first-ever fight. The Giant, apparently baby Drake, had also slammed him into a tree; good times. Just like then, he was in no condition to move. He tried, but every attempt shot jolts of pain throughout his entire body.
He spat out a mouthful of blood as he noticed his own HP was almost mirroring the Shizen¡¯s, but he wasn''t worried. As long as it left him alone for a few minutes, he would regenerate and be back in the fight in no time. ¡°Oh, hello again.¡± He said as he saw the tree had immediately followed him; he had hoped it would be enough for his sarcastic prick ability to be active, but no, of course not. That would be far too easy.
He lay there and watched in slightly concussed amusement as the tree repeated its falling down on its enemy¡¯s attack; he really wanted to shout ¡°Timber!¡± but thought that it would be the last word he spoke slightly to put him off.
Time seemed to slow once again and he started to wonder if his slowing of time was an actual ability he had or whether it was a normal thing. A last-ditch idea came to him, and he thought Fuck it, if he was going to die he may as well try the free of nature with him.
He remembered the first time he had ever used magic. It felt so long ago.
- Used to overclock certain abilities.
That¡¯s what it had said when he had unlocked the Essence distribution page. So, this time, instead of pouring mana into his mana manipulation ability, he willed pure chaos essence into it. With mere seconds until the tree crushed him, he had no time for the usual will-work suspense his system seemed so fond of, so he pushed every scrap of willpower he had into forcing it to work. And it did.
Instead of the normal tickle of mana, he always felt this was like lava burning in his veins as it built up. It built to a point where Mason almost wanted the Shizen to kill him just to end the pain. Time sped up again, and just before the tree monster was about to land on Mason, crushing him to death, the essence poured from his hands like a burst water pipe. It shot towards his attacker and pierced through its thick skin like it didn¡¯t exist. As the essence touched the Shizen, the nature spirit began to unravel, disintegrating like a video of rotting fruit sped up a thousand times. In mere seconds, the monstrous body crumbled into a pile of dust.
The outpour of essence ceased, and there was nothing but silence for the few moments it took for his raddled mind to put together what had happened without warning; his stomach convulsed, ejecting its contents on the ground in front of him. He fell to his knees and felt empty in both body and spirit. His Mana bar was relatively full, but it was as if there was another, unseen bar that was dangerously empty. He half expected an affliction notification, but none came.
Chapter 80 - Super Maisan
Chapter 80 - Super Maisan
*DING*
Notification 1/3
You have slain - Monster - Shizen - Level 72
You have received 720 XP plus an additional 40% from Perk: Quarter Centurian.
You have received 1008 XP
Notification 2/3
Quest Update - The monster hunting Tree-o
Objective: The girls have stumbled upon the Tree monster before you. They could probably do with your assistance, you know if you aren¡¯t too busy with your mindless slaughter of innocent trees.
Quest Complete
Quest reward - A Lumberjack box (Rare)
The box appeared in front of him; he immediately touched it and added it to his inventory without much thought before reading the rest of his notifications.
Notification 3/3
Level up.
You have reached level 31
Stat points allocated.
It was the first time that a Perk had given so much extra XP; it was a lot, but it still didn¡¯t seem like enough for all the effort he had just gone through. The level-up was nice, every little helped.
Perk: Quarter Centurian
Effect: When defeating opponents who are at a higher level than you, you gain 1% more XP for every level above you they are.
Covered in blood and sweat, he stood over where the Shizen had fallen, panting. He had wondered whether the shapeshifter would naturally revert back to its original form when it died; now that it was nothing but a few smears of sap and a pile of sawdust, he would probably never find out if it even had an original form.
The fight had been the closest one yet, and he only managed to beat it due to a combination of the accidental explosion, his summoning of the giant and pure luck. Looking around, he saw the giant had disappeared. Hopefully, it just went back to its own world; he¡¯d feel bad if his summoning it was the reason it died.
Standing, he saw his boots covered in the Shizen¡¯s blood sap¡ªwhich made the situation even worse! The boots had been with him a long while and were extremely comfortable.
Reward ¨C Boots of the Lucky Bastard (Uncommon) ¨C These boots were once worn by a leprechaun who travelled the world stealing gold and treasure until he one day met his end at the hand of a king who didn''t appreciate having his treasury plundered.
Effect - while incredibly comfortable, these boots also make you marginally luckier. That may sound like a shitty effect, but when whether or not getting hit by an arrow comes down to luck, you''ll be sure to appreciate them, you ungrateful bastard. They also slightly increase the amount of coins you find when looting.
He had received them on his first day here and had never even considered trading them in for something better. As well as being comfy, anything he got that improved his luck would be worth keeping, no matter what. He had no luck stat, so he had no idea if the boots had ever actually done anything, but he would rather have them than not.
With such high Vitality and Stamina, it didn¡¯t take him long to catch his breath and mentally recover from the battle. He hadn¡¯t seen his HP bar so low in a long, long time. He had been mere seconds away from losing everything. If he died, it wouldn¡¯t just be his life that came to an end; it would be his friends, too and after the gods returned in his absence, it would also mean the end to countless other lives.
Once he had checked on and fully healed his companions, he sat down. While they recovered, he bought out his Chaos orbs and started to pull from them.
He felt the tickle in the back of his mind and braced himself for what he knew was coming.
The pain increased as he let more and more power flow into him; gritting his teeth, he forced his body to relax. He was determined to absorb as much as he could manage. If his death would lead to the death of multiple planets worth of people, then he would make damn sure he was not put down easily.
He welcomed the pain with open arms and let it take hold of him. It surrounded and filled him like a sponge thrown in an ocean. For anyone else, pain like this might have driven them mad or even killed them, but for him, it just served as a new barrier he had to break through in order to get stronger. Each time he thought he was at his limit, he held on for one extra second.
A pained roar was torn from him as his muscles swelled, and every cell in his body was infused with the Chaos Essence. The air around him crackled with energy as his power grew, illuminating the surroundings with an otherworldly glow.
With each passing moment, Mason''s transformation grew more intense, his determination driving him beyond his limits. Then, with a final surge of power, he unleashed a deafening roar that echoed through the air, a manifestation of his newfound might as he broke through to the next level of power.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°Holy shit,¡± he said to himself as he opened his eyes and found himself with his head in Mayry¡¯s lap. ¡°Did¡ I just go¡super-¡no.¡± He pulled a mirror from his inventory and was slightly disappointed to see his hair was still black. In the moment and in his pain-induced delirium, he had been convinced his hair would turn blond.
*Ding*
Achievement Unlocked - Super Maisan
You have risen beyond the limits of this world and into the realm of legend, a legend that is feared! A legend is known throughout the entire universe as the greatest warrior to ever exist. You, Mason, have become a Super Mason!
Reward: You can now infuse your body with any available Chaos Essence temporarily boosting all stats.
Really? We¡¯re just copying things off of an abridged anime series now? That¡¯s what we¡¯re doing? Too tired to really care that his system could possibly be violating copyright law, he passed out, missing the other notifications.
***
Mayry
The fight had really taken it out of them, they had both been injured and were exhausted. Mason staggered over and, without a word, healed the two of them, perking them up immediately.
Mayryr let out a sigh of relief until she saw the look on his face. Where she had expected to see anguish or even pain, she saw a lack of anything. His expression was completely blank. He wandered away from them and sat cross-legged in a patch of grass that had miraculously survived the fight unscathed. He held something in his hands and closed his eyes.
There was a moment where she considered saying something reassuring to him or even going over to him, but before she could make any decision, his face changed. It started as a slight crease in the forehead that developed into a grimace. His teeth clenched, and she began to feel a wave of force coming from him. It emanated from him, and as it hit her, the link they shared allowed her to feel the emotion that was fuelling the power. Determination, at first, was all she felt, but under all that, there was fear and doubt and a lot of anger.
The force of the wave pushed her back, but she fought against it, trying to get to Mason¡¯s side. Her human form slipped away as her body transformed in order to give her the strength she needed to reach him. Nina, who had been sitting beside her, was struggling against the wave as well, but her power did not seem to see this as a fight and so did not activate. ¡°Go! Get away!¡± She shouted at the younger girl.
Reaching Mason was almost a fight that her ability almost wasn¡¯t enough to win, but the moment after she reached out and touched him, the wave pushing against her suddenly stopped. He was muttering nonsense things about death and the end of the world, face still showing the agony he was still going through. She crawled over, put his head in her lap, and stroked his hair. It was painful for her to be thins close to him while he was going through whatever it was he was going through, but she ignored the pain and told him it was going to be okay.
Moments later, his eyes opened. He muttered some more stuff she didn¡¯t understand; he sat up, checked himself out in a mirror that appeared in his hand and, with a look of disappointment, passed out.
It was no secret that Mason was strange. It was even one of the things she loved about him, but usually, he was just a dependable kind of strange. This, while strange, was entirely out of character for him.
By the time she had managed to fight through the wave and get over to him she had figured out what had happened. He had been scared by how close to dying they had come and, on a desperate bid for more power, had absorbed more essence from the Chaos orbs. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought that the orbs contained that much raw power; it was insane to think Mason had drawn all of that into himself.
¡°Is it over?¡± A small voice called from a distance.
¡°It¡¯s over!¡± she called back.
¡°Okay, good, because I think we might have company.¡±
Nina
It had all happened so fast. One minute, she was relaxed, believing the danger was over, and the next, Mason had become the epicentre of a weird ACT that was pushing everything away.
Mayry had told her to get away, and, as much as she liked Mason, she had listened. She had left the clearing they had created and didn¡¯t stop until she no longer felt the push of power. The ground under her still rumbled, but no longer in danger, she looked around.
Tired, scared and worried about Mason, she waited, hoping that whatever was happening would be over soon and Mayry would be able to stop whatever was happening. She liked Mason; he had been nice to her, and he was fun to be around, but she just didn¡¯t know enough about everything to know whether she would be any help.
Mason had healed her, but she was still feeling some of the fatigue that came with using her ability; with nothing else to do, she leaned against a tree and let herself slide to the ground. Try as she might to avoid it, sleep slowly took hold of her and dragged her into unconsciousness.
***
She was woken up by muffled voices, ¡°Are you sure It was coming from this way? I don¡¯t feel nothin¡¯ no more!¡± One voice said. The voice was definitely feminine and sounded very unsure.
¡°I¡¯m sure! The power readouts say that there was a massive burst of Chaos Essence around here somewhere; if we find that, it¡¯d be a fucking gold mine! We¡¯d be back home to Ganehfrel in no time and finally be out of this shit ¡®ol.¡± The other voice, male, called back, sounding excited and as if he was ahead of the other voice.
Ganehfrel? This wasn¡¯t good. She and Mayry hadn¡¯t really been friends during their childhoods, but there was one story every child knew, the stories about the others who came from Ganehfrel. Ever since she could remember, there had been an almost religious debate as to whether they were real. Some believed that they had lived and the stories were based on actual events, while others argued that they were completely mythical. One thing that most did agree on was that they were not around today. That was until one showed up in Sparksford.
If she had overheard this conversation only a few weeks ago, she would have assumed the pair were playing a game or perhaps rehearsing for a play, but after hearing the (mostly) full story from Mason and Mayry of what had happened, Nina knew that the people she could hear most likely were others. Panicking, she turned and ran back the way she had come. She had lost track of time and had become disorientated when she had fallen asleep, but luckily, she was able to follow her tracks back to the clearing with the now-dead tree monster and her two friends. She stayed a safe distance away as she could still feel trickles of power in the air, calmer but still very noticeable.
¡°Is it over?¡± she half shouted, half-whispered over to the two.
¡°It¡¯s over!¡± Mayry¡¯s voice called back.
At least they were both okay. Bracing herself, knowing that the day was far from over, she started to walk towards them, shouting. ¡°Okay, good, because I think we might have company.¡±
***
Mason
He didn¡¯t regret doing what he had done, though he did regret making his friends worry, not to mention the danger he had put them in. Even now, he could feel a noticeable difference in every aspect of his power. He had taken much more chaos essence from the chaos orbs than should have been possible. It had filled his system to the brim, but he kept taking more and more. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure what he had done, but he had a suspicion that once the essence had nowhere else to go, it began to infuse with his mana and body, making it stronger and denser. According to the notification he had gotten, he could now use any essence he had to boost his stats, which was likely only possible now because of the forced essence connection his system, mana and body now had. It seemed the boosting ability was the system¡¯s way of taking advantage of what could have been a very stupid move.
He had been desperate for more power, and the universe had obliged him, though he wasn¡¯t sure if he would have gone through with it if he had known the amount of pain he would endure. He was still quite out of it and barely acknowledged Nina had returned; he snapped to attention, however, when he heard what she had to say.
Chapter 81 - Rhott and Shazi
Chapter 81 - Rhott and Shazi
¡°Are you certain that¡¯s what they said?¡± Mason asked for the third time.
¡°Yes! There were two of them, and they definitely referred to Ganehfrel as home.¡±
While he had never felt stronger, he wasn¡¯t quite up for jumping head-first into another fight; if he was smart about it, maybe he could gather some info from the two. Besides, he was mentally exhausted, and physically, he didn¡¯t feel great either. With this new surge of power, he was sure he would win the fight but was worried that in his current state, he might make a mistake that would get one of his friends killed. It had happened time and time again, almost like it happened every time he fought. Mayry had come so close to death so many times, and now he was endangering Nina. If he thought it would work, he would have told Mayry to leave him and go back to Sparksford ages ago. He knew she would refuse, but he hoped Nina might not.
She opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Mayry got there first. ¡°Nina, If there really are Others around, then I think you should go back to Sparksford¡¡±
He chanced a look at her, but where he expected shock, all he saw on her face was a forced smile he could tell was covering up hurt. ¡°Of course!¡± She said cheerfully, ¡°Now the tree thingy has been killed; I guess I¡¯ll just go collect the bounty. See you guys later then.¡±
Mason put an arm on her shoulder as she turned to leave. ¡°Nina, It isn¡¯t like that. We just don¡¯t want you getting hurt. We¡¯ve fought people like this before, and while we¡¯d appreciate your help, it just wouldn¡¯t be worth the danger we¡¯d be putting you in.¡±
She turned back and opened her mouth, but Mason raised a finger to his lips as he enhanced sensing and started picking up voices. ¡°They¡¯re coming now. Look, Nina, I¡¯m really sorry. I wish I had more time to explain, but once we sort this out, I promise we¡¯ll come to find you in Sparksford, and we can talk properly, but right now, I need you to go.¡±
The hurt broke through her mask, and without a word, she turned and walked off. He wished he had the time to help her up her ability so she could fly back, but he could hear two sets of footsteps getting closer.
He wanted to avoid a confrontation, so he took out his trunk and motioned for Mayry to get in. Then he took it and teleported to a secure-looking branch high up in a tree. Even if the branch broke the trunk, Mayry would most likely be fine inside, but he didn¡¯t want to risk damaging his very expensive trunk, so he checked its stability before teleporting back down and turning invisible.
Not a moment later, a rustling of leaves signalled the arrival of the two Others. A man and a woman stepped out and looked around.
The woman¡¯s jaw dropped as she surveyed the scene of broken trees, blood sap and the pile of dust that used to be a nature spirit. ¡°Damn¡ What in the name of the All Great happened here?!¡± She was tall and thin and looked like she had been living in the wilderness for the past decade. She was covered in dirt, and all of her clothes had various tears and stains in them.
¡°This has to be where all that energy was coming from.¡± The man said, with an equal look of shock on his face. Compared to the woman, he looked like he was born to live out in the wild. He was shorter and more muscular than the woman and far cleaner. Where she looked like she would rather be anywhere but here, he looked like he was walking from the car park towards Disneyland.
¡°Rhott! Please! Whatever was putting out that sort of energy is obviously far strong than we can handle. What¡¯s the point of going out of our way to find something that is definitely going to kill us?¡± The woman whined. The man turned to her and sighed. ¡°The point, Shazi, is if something gave off that much energy, then surely it¡¯s now weakened, probably not to the point where one of us could take it down, but together, we probably had a decent chance.¡±
Mason couldn¡¯t fault his logic. He was definitely wrong; Mason was probably stronger than he had ever been. The only reason he didn¡¯t kill them right now was he wanted to see if he could gather some info, maybe even find out where the gate between worlds was.
The woman harumphed and shrugged, not willing to agree but not going so far as to disagree with the man. ¡°Whatever, let¡¯s just hurry this up so we can try and get through that door. I just know there is some good stuff in that place.¡± For the first time, Mason saw something other than a look of anxiety and disgust on the woman¡¯s face. She looked as if she was one number away from winning the lottery.
The two looked around for a while; they tapped away at instruments. Mason couldn¡¯t make heads or tails, but from the way they pointed them at what was left of the Shizen, he assumed they were some sort of scanners. Interestingly, the woman, Shazi, pocketed a handful of the dust when the man wasn¡¯t looking, patting her pocket and allowing herself a quick smile.
After a couple more minutes of growing more and more annoyed, Shazi confronted her partner and, as if scolding a young child, spat. ¡°I really hope you are getting more from this than I am, Rhott because I¡¯ve still not got the foggiest idea of what happened here or what was giving off so much energy.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
He took her verbal abuse with a shit-eating grin that even Mason would be proud of and replied cooly, ¡°It¡¯s obvious, ain¡¯t it?¡± he paused and took a long, slow drink from the water skin that had been hanging from his side, one eye cracked open a tiny bit so he could watch his companion grow even more irritated. The man, Rhott, walked forward, pointing to various things around him. ¡°Judging by the destruction, the blood and the pile of ash, I¡¯d say there was a pretty hectic fight here. Very recently, I¡¯d say.¡±
Shazi raised her palm to her face in frustration. ¡°I got that much, you numbskull. But who was fighting, and with what?¡±
Rhott stretched his arms up in a yawn and replied. ¡°Well, now, hear me out. I could be wrong, but I¡¯d bet my left nut that the winner of the fight is the guy standing over there under an invisibility skill.¡±
It took Mason a moment to process the man¡¯s words, but when he did, he acted immediately and tried to teleport away, but nothing happened; he tried to move, but he found he was paralysed.
The man smirked and walked closer to him, arms still raised to the sky as if in some sort of perpetual stretch.
The woman gasped, ¡°Holy shit! How did you know he was there?!¡±
Looking back for a second, he answered, ¡°I¡¯m just that good.¡° He turned back and was confronted with a fast-moving fist that was inches away from his face.
The impact knocked the man so far back that Mason had lost sight of him. He pulled back and stared in awe at his fist; he had had no idea that a single punch would be so effective. The ability the man had used had covered his body in a layer of invisible restraints. It had been a cool attack, even somehow stopping him from using his own abilities, but it had only worked on him for a few seconds before he managed to brute force his way out of it.
Once he was somewhere safer, he really needed to take a look at all the notifications he had gotten; if he kept gaining power at this rate, maybe he really could fight a god. He looked up from his musings to find the woman Other had run after her companion. Mason let them go. He wasn¡¯t going to kill them just yet; something the woman had said had piqued his interest.
¡°Let¡¯s just hurry this up so we can try and get through that door. I just know there is some good stuff in that place.¡±
That was what she had said, and while he wasn¡¯t currently wanting for money or even for stuff, he had a gut feeling that wherever those two were trying to get into, it would be worth following them, getting into wherever it was first¡ and then killing them. He was slightly surprised at how bloodthirsty he had become towards Others. They were still people, after all, but he reasoned they would have killed him if they had the chance. Besides, he wanted their sweet, sweet essence.
He stuck his head into his trunk and, for the second time, found Mayry fast asleep, snoring like a wild boar. He was worried for a moment that something was wrong or that she was going through another transformation, but no, she had just gotten bored waiting and had fallen asleep. Did they have an understanding of narcolepsy in this world, he wondered.
He was so mentally drained that he could understand how she had fallen asleep. His exhaustion was bad enough that he resisted the urge to tickle the sleeping woman and instead settled for poking her until she woke up.
She spluttered awake, flailing her limbs as if she was being attacked. ¡°What was that for?!¡± she asked him crossly once she had oriented herself.
With a mock, stern look, he answered, ¡°I could have been out there fighting for my life, all while you were in here fast asleep, snoring so loudly I¡¯m amazed the sound-muffling runes still work!¡±
With a yawn, a stretch and a shrug, ¡°Were you in a fight for your life?¡±
¡°I mean¡ no. But it¡¯s the principle!¡± he whined.
¡°Eh, I was pretty sure you could handle it¡ plus, I was sleepy, so¡ how about I make it up to you? We could celebrate two more dead others?¡± She grinned at him and pulled him into a kiss.
Exerting all of his considerable Willpower stat, he pulled away from her. ¡°Actually, about that. I let them get away.¡±
¡°Mason! How the heck did you manage that? I could sense them coming, and there is no way they could have beaten you! Why¡¯d you let them get away?!¡±
¡°Well¡¡± He explained everything that happened as they exited the trunk and started to head in the direction the two Others had gone.
Mayry had frowned right up until he mentioned what the woman had said. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s another one on those hideouts? Like the one Aiden was in?¡±
He nodded at her, ¡°That was my hope. I¡¯m thinking we follow them there, take them out, maybe leave one alive and see what they know.¡±
¡°Oo, do you think they¡¯ll know how to open those glass money boxes? If we ever get into that box of gold, we¡¯d be the richest people ever.¡± She said excitedly.
She turned sharply and headed in another direction; he followed her, depending on her magic sense to track them.
¡°Honestly, I¡¯m not too bothered about the money, Trilil was great, but your world kinda sucks with how little there is to buy once you get over the magic trinkets. I¡¯m more hoping they know where ¡®The gate¡¯ is.¡±
She glared at him as they walked and pointed, ¡°Hey, screw you, this world has loaded; you¡¯ve never even been to a really big city! With my share, I¡¯m gonna get a pet dragon! Bet they don¡¯t have those in your world.¡±
He stopped so suddenly that Mayry was a good dozen feet in front of him before she noticed his absence and turned around.
¡°Can you really buy pet dragons?!¡± He asked, completely shocked. How was he only finding out about this now? If he could have his own pet dragon, he would have sold his kidney to Viv in his first week here to be able to afford one!
The look on Mayry¡¯s face as she walked back to him broke his heart and crushed his short-lived dreams. She grabbed his hand and pulled him along while trying to control her laughter. ¡°You¡¯re an idiot. Of course, you can¡¯t buy a bloody dragon. Firstly, dragons are super, super rare, and secondly, I don¡¯t care how powerful you get, if you went up to a mother dragon and asked to buy one of her eggs, you¡¯d be dead before you even finished the sentence.¡±
¡°But you said¡¡± he started, but she cut him off.
¡°I was joking!¡± her laughter subsided, and she added, ¡°Plus, they¡¯re sentient! I don¡¯t know about your world, but here, we don¡¯t keep sentient beings as pets.¡±
At this, he thought he better keep quiet, and not get into the more nefarious parts of Earth¡¯s history.
Chapter 82 - Elder Mason
Chapter 82 - Elder Mason
Shazia
Rhott D¡¯linra and Shazia Henlr were a duo that, in all rights, should not work well together. He loved to be out on adventures, fighting and being in the thick of things, while she, in contrast, was far happier with her nose in a book, somewhere safe and out of trouble. The mere thought of sleeping outside was enough to make her want to throw up; needless to say, their current predicament was not in any way ideal.
Despite all this, the pair had managed to claim success after success in everything they did, from their days in the academy to the few fights they had been in since they arrived here. They somehow managed to shore up each other¡¯s weaknesses. If asked, Shazia would describe her partner as ¡®just as dumb as the day he popped out.¡¯ Rhott would, in return, describe her as ¡®softer than a wet nurses tit.¡¯ These were, of course, exaggerations; she was fully capable of defending herself just as he was not some mindless brute.
Having met at their faction¡¯s academy, they had become fast friends when Rhott had defended Shazi from some of the more vicious attendees. Fast forward to graduation, they had both been selected to be the champions of the Talmorans.
The past few months, Rhott had been having a great time while Shazia had been in hell. They had both reached Level 35, but for Shazia, it was more due to the fact that Rhott had carried her through the majority of fights they had been in. She was a capable fighter but often found it easier to let her partner do the heavy lifting. If she levelled anyway, then what was the problem? They had been on the Trial world for a good few weeks, and they hadn¡¯t come across many things that Rhott couldn¡¯t handle himself, so when the man, with just a single punch, had sent him flying past her, she was concerned.
She stared in awe for a second at the strange man, who was now examining his fist as if he had never seen it before. For an instant, she had considered attacking him while he was distracted, but the thought was pushed away almost instantly. If he could do that to Rhott, then he would annihilate her without effort. Every self-preservation instinct she had was screaming at her to flee, and so she did. She found Rhott and slapped him until he woke; he spluttered awake, babbling noncoherently for a second before he came to his senses.
¡°Bastard took me by surprise; he did.¡± He stood and attempted to step towards the clearing where the man was. He stumbled, and Shazia smacked him again.
¡°You damn imbecile! You¡¯re lucky you¡¯re alive. We¡¯re leaving right now before he comes for us!¡±
Rhott tried to protest, but Shazia grabbed his arm, twisted it and began to pull him away. ¡°We are going to head to the cache, and we¡¯re getting inside even if it kills both of us. Maybe, MAYBE there will be something inside that can help us fight whatever that fucking thing was.¡± Rhott heard the fear in her voice and, for a change, made the intelligent decision to follow her without further argument.
Rhott
He would never admit it to her face, but she was right; she usually was with these sorts of things. He was lucky to be alive, more than she knew, in fact. If it weren¡¯t for his system¡¯s emergency protocol activating at the last second, he would be deader than dead. It was a useful ability and one that Shazi did not know about. Once a day, if he were dealt a blow that would have killed him, he instead only suffered half the damage. Since arriving here, he¡¯d only needed it a handful of times, but each time, it was literally a lifesaver.
As he half ran, half limped after his partner, he reveled in how much pain he was in despite only taking half the damage he should have. He cursed himself for his idiocy; he had almost immediately noticed very fresh tracks in the mud that had come to a sudden stop. With all sorts of abilities and magics possibly in play, he knew that the tracks suddenly stopping didn¡¯t necessarily mean there was an invisible person there, but it was his first thought. If he had been wrong, he would have looked stupid, but Shazi had said what she said, and it was just too good of an opening not to take.
He¡¯d been cocky and overestimated his abilities, and now he was in a world of pain, praying to every god he knew that he would never encounter that guy again. His only comfort was that he didn¡¯t seem to be chasing them.
¡°Who¡¯d you think it was?¡± he asked as he caught up to the much faster woman.
¡°I have no idea, but¡¡± She started to say but drifted off.
¡°What?¡±
¡°You don¡¯t think it could have been one of the other faction¡¯s elders, do you?¡±
He stayed quiet for a while. It hadn¡¯t been something he had considered. He had assumed it was just some freak from another faction who had lucked into an ancient artefact or unlocked some sort of ultimate ability. Shazi¡¯s idea was far, far worse. ¡°No¡¡± he answered slowly, only half convinced of what he was planning to say. ¡°If it had been an elder, then surely we¡¯d both be dead, and besides, he looked way too young. Elder A¡¯eln is probably older than most dragons; the guy back there didn¡¯t look a day over 20.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
She slowed down and stared at him, ¡°Who are you trying to convince me or yourself?¡± she retorted, picking apart his argument. ¡°He could have been holding back, and he could have an ability or something else that keeps him young.¡± She sighed and came to a stop in front of an old decrepit shack, ¡°All I¡¯m saying is that it¡¯s better for us both if you don¡¯t run off and pick a fight we both know you¡¯ll lose.¡± She turned to the door of the shack and started fiddling with the lock.
Angry at her dismissal, he growled out, ¡°If I had thought the guy was an elder, I wouldn¡¯t have attacked. I¡¯m not stupid, you know.¡±
The only reply he received was an ¡°Shhh.¡± Which only served to make him angrier.
¡°Y¡¯know you-¡± he began before she spun around and clamped her hand over his mouth. His eyes bulged, thinking maybe she had heard something he hadn¡¯t, but instead, she fixed him with a glare and whispered to him, voice full of venom. ¡°I just watched someone nearly kill you; the last thing I want now is for that someone to catch up with us and finish the job. Now, please, please shut up so I can get us in here before we both end up dead.¡± The moment her tirade finished, her eyes widened a fraction, and a slight tint of pink crept into her cheeks as if she hadn¡¯t meant for all of that to come out. She spun back around and fiddled a bit more before the door clicked and opened.
Rhott was stunned and impressed. In the entire time he had known her, Shazi had never confronted him in such a direct way. They argued all the time, sure, but never like that. He wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.
The shack they were heading into was a location that their elder had given to them. The structure apparently hid an old Ganehfrelian base, one of several scattered around the trial world. According to the elder, it would contain everything they needed to reach their goal and get back home. They had been there earlier that day and had struggled to get past the guardian of the place. They had given up for the day, planning to come back another time when they had sensed the impossible amount of chaos essence coming from nearby. Shazia had been wary, not wanting to mess with something that powerful, but had followed when he had run off, eager to get a taste of that power himself.
Mason and Mayry
Mayry stopped and held out her arm in front of Mason.
Despite his many abilities and enhanced senses, Mason managed to miss the obvious stop signal and bumped right into her.
¡°Oi, this,¡± she whispered, shaking her still outstretched arm to emphasise her point, ¡°Means stop walking. It doesn¡¯t mean, please keep walking!¡±
Unable to think of a good comeback, he went with the classic strategy of sticking out his tongue and giving her the finger.
Shaking her head, she muttered, ¡°Honestly, if you weren¡¯t supposed to save all mankind, I¡¯d probably have killed you myself by now.¡± Louder, she said, ¡°I think they¡¯re up ahead, so If you want them to know we¡¯re coming then keep being an idiot otherwise,¡± She raised a finger to her lips, ¡°Shh!¡±
He whispered back, ¡°You can not be this annoyed just because I woke you up!¡±
The glare he got back was proof enough that she could, and was, annoyed at him because he woke her up.
They crept forward, slowing their pace, until they reached a small clearing with a dilapidated shack. In any other situation, the building would fit right in with the spooky forest they were in. It was covered in a thick layer of moss, all of its windows were boarded up with planks of wood, and a massive tree root had grown beneath it, causing the building to tilt precariously. It was exactly the kind of forgotten structure you''d expect to stumble upon in the depths of the forest.
Even staring at the house from a distance as they were, something tickled in the back of his head. He couldn¡¯t tell what, but something felt off about the place. Getting a closer look was currently off the table for now as they watched the two Others arguing outside the door. He wanted to know for sure that there was no trick to getting inside.
He could hear their argument clearly and smirked when he heard them referring to him as a possible elder. He was almost definitely younger than them both it still felt nice to hear people acknowledge how strong he had gotten.
A short while later, the two Others entered the shack. Mason made to follow them; he assumed they would follow them in, attack them and then take any loot they found. Mayry stopped him; this time, she didn¡¯t bother holding out her arm. She just grabbed the back of his shirt as he tried to walk away. He struggled for a few seconds, but the woman was freakishly strong; he knew she was a part demon, but damn!
¡°I think we should wait out here.¡± She said as she let his shirt go. ¡°I sense a lot of magic in there; it definitely isn¡¯t human, but I don¡¯t think it wise to run into the unknown.¡±
Mason twitched as he fought the urge to run in any way, shouting, ¡®Leeroy Jenkins!¡¯ His inner voice of common sense, which sounded shockingly like Mayry, managed to convince him to hear the real Mayry out.
She continued, ¡°I think we wait out here and confront them when they come out. What do you think?¡±
Hesitating slightly, he answered, ¡°I think you¡¯re right. After that bastard of a tree, I could really use a break before another fight, and who knows what they have in there? It could be anything.¡±
It seemed that his life had become a never-ending series of situations he had to confront with very little time for anything else in between, so any time he had where he didn¡¯t have to fight was a moment he would enjoy. He laid down on the grass and stretched out.
¡°What are you doing?!¡± Mayry whispered to him sternly, ¡°I said we should wait out here, not that we should take a nap!¡±
He shrugged and pulled a hat from his inventory and placed it on his face at a tilt so it covered his eyes. She growled at him and spat, ¡°It doesn¡¯t even look comfortable down there. Come on we need to stay alert.¡±
¡°It would be a lot more comfortable if you joined me down here.¡± He said cooly, not bothering to move the hat to look at her. A moment of silence passed before he felt the weight of her lying down next to him.
***
An hour passed with nothing to disturb them apart from a nosy wild deer that only left them alone when Mason fired off a mana bolt in its direction. He kept a proverbial eye on the shack, but most of his attention was captured in relaxing. They chatted about everything and nothing and enjoyed the small time together.
When they heard a slam of a door opening and voices coming from the shack, it was with great reluctance that they got up and refocused on their situation.
Chapter 83 - Trouble in Paradise
Chapter 83 - Trouble in Paradise
The two Others hadn''t looked great when they had entered the shack. After the fight between Mason and Rhott, they ran through the forest and were covered in dirt and leaves and looked pretty freaked out by what had happened. Watching them exit the shack Mason and Mayry saw they looked far worse. Rhott was battered and bruised, clothes torn and missing one shoe. Shazia only looked slightly better with her hair sang and covered in dirt; she was also covered in bruises, but Rhott had undoubtedly taken the brunt of whatever they had faced.
The two of them rushed out of the shack and worriedly looked around. ¡°Do you think he¡¯s still out here somewhere?¡± the woman, Shazia, asked.
¡°Eh, I doubt it, too powerful. We¡¯re probably too far down on the food chain for him to wait aroundfor the likes of us.¡± Rhott answered, sounding pained to admit such a thing.
His words made her visibly relax but she still grabbed him by what was left of his shirt and started pulling him away. ¡°Still, let¡¯s get as far away from here as we can, just in case. We can try and get past the guardian again another time. There has to be a way.¡±
The two of them walked off, talking more, but Mason soon stopped listening. ¡°Sound they didn¡¯t get what they came for.¡± He considered, ¡°Do we check the shack or keep following them?¡± On one hand, he was dying to know what was inside and whether he could take whatever the guardian was. But on the other hand, if they got away, there was a good chance they wouldn¡¯t run into them again, and he needed their essence¡ if he wanted to get stronger, yeah. If he wanted to get stronger he would need their essence.
¡°There is obviously something they want in there, and if Others want something, it''s probably worth making sure they don¡¯t get it. I vote we explore the place, you ¡®Mason¡¯ whatever is in there, we ransack the place, then go after them. If we can¡¯t find them, we just hang out here till they come back.¡± She smirked and started walking towards the shack before. Not left with much of a choice he walked after her,
¡°Hey, wait up! What does me ¡®Mason-ing¡¯ whatever is in there even mean?!¡± He said as he caught up to her.
She reached out an arm, putting it behind him and pulling him into a squeeze. ¡°You¡¯re a smart man; I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll figure it out.¡± He shrugged her arm off and bumped his body into hers, causing her to stumble. She tried to imitate the manoeuvre once she had regained her balance, but he anticipated her and stopped walking just at the right time, causing her to stumble again. She growled at him but her revenge was halted as they reached the door to the shack.
Looking at the door with fascination, she trailed her fingers around the tiny symbols decorating it. ¡°Runes¡¡± she muttered. ¡°I don¡¯t know a whole lot about runes¡ I wonder if these are Ganehfrelian or if they originated her- ¡± Before she could finish her sentence, the door caved in. With irritation on her face, she glared at Mason.
He was hunched over slightly and looked guilty as all hell, with his fist where the door used to be. ¡°Oops, crap, were you not done looking at that?¡±
¡°You know I hope whatever is in here eats you!¡± She huffed in annoyance as she stormed through the now-empty doorway into the Shack.
Since when had she been so interested in runes? He had thought that was more Nays¡¯ thing. For a split second, she left his sight, and so he ran after her and called, ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Come back! You¡¯re going to get yourself killed!¡± He doubted that was true; with her Demi demon body and the fact she grew in power as he did, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she were more durable than he was, but still, it was the only thing he could think to say. As he crossed the entrance, he added, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, okay? What¡¯s wrong?¡±
She stopped at his words and spun around, finger already raised in his direction. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Mason, what do you mean ¡®what¡¯s wrong¡¯?!¡± Her frustration left her in an instant as she started sobbing. ¡°That tree nearly killed all of us. I¡¯ve almost died so many times in the last few months, and that¡¯s okay, but you and Nina¡ I just¡ I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do if I lost you, and Nina; I¡¯d never forgive myself if she died because of us.¡±
The interior of the shack looked even worse; the air was musty, and everything in sight was covered in mould. She sank to the floor, trying to control her crying. Mason walked over, used his foot to move as much mould as he could off of the floor and sat beside her. ¡°I know it¡¯s hard, but you know I¡¯d never let anything happen to you, and besides, you¡¯re a badass demi demon! Nina is a damn dragon, and I¡¯m, well, I don¡¯t know exactly, I guess still human? But I¡¯m pretty fucking amazing. I promise we¡¯ll make it through all this.¡±
He elbowed him gently and wiped away a tear. ¡°Yeah, I know. It all just happened so fast, you know? Only a few months ago, my biggest issue was Malika being a creep; now I¡¯m fighting monsters on the daily, stalking Others and Jesus knows what else! I just don¡¯t know. It all gets to me sometimes. I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s not your fault.¡±
Mason let out a small laugh as he pushed himself up, ¡°Don¡¯t apologise! I couldn¡¯t tell you how many times I¡¯ve had internal panic attacks since I got here.¡± Pulling her up and into a tight hug, he whispered, ¡°It¡¯s all going to be okay. If anything ever happened to you, I¡¯d break into hell itself and drag you back, kicking and screaming, if I have to.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Mayry smiled and swatted him on the arm, rolling her eyes. ¡°How romantic!¡± She looked around, taking in the interior of the shack, and grimaced, ¡°Come on, stop moping around. Let¡¯s split up and look for clues.¡±
Mason froze. ¡°What did you just say?¡± He asked, frowning.
¡°Err, stop moping?¡± She repeated with a tilted head and slightly creepy smile.
Eyes narrowing, he asked again, ¡°No, not that, the other thing.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s split up and look for clues?¡±
¡°Yeah, where did you hear that?¡± he asked suspiciously, taking a caution step back.
Letting out an unsure laugh, she answered, ¡°I didn¡¯t hear it anywhere¡ I just thought that if we split up and looked for clues, it would be faster. It felt like a good way to communicate that¡What¡¯s wrong? You¡¯re acting weirder than usual.¡±
He stared at her. After a few seconds, he looked away. Shaking his hand dismissively, he said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Forget about it. Yeah, you¡¯re right. Why don¡¯t you check that side of the shack, and I¡¯ll check this side; shout if you find anything.¡± Mayry shot him a confused look as she turned to go and investigate her side.
As he looked around, Mason couldn¡¯t shake the feeling something was wrong. It wasn¡¯t only that she had said, ¡®Let¡¯s split up and look for clues.¡¯ It was that she had said it in a way he had heard it a thousand times before, down to the exact cadence. It was strange. First, she had brought up almost every single thing he worried about in their relationship, and then she, accidentally or not, referenced something she had no way of knowing about. He was probably just overthinking things; he walked over to the fridge and took out a bottle of water; with the bottle only an inch away from his lips, he paused. He had been replaying their entire conversation in his head when he realised. Had she said ¡®Jesus¡¯?
Panicking now, as he knew for sure there had never been any mention of Jesus in this world, he spun around and started to notice other inconsistencies around him. The shack from the outside had been tiny whereas, he was looking at the interior of a much bigger building. If it had only been that, it could be explained away by magic but the more he looked around and the more he focussed, the more he managed to look past whatever what messing with him. The house was modern to the standard back on earth, he had taken a water bottle out a fridge for goodness sake! How had he not realised? Now that he had broken through the effect, he could see that the bottle that had been inches from his mouth was actually a fat maggot creature that was now attempting to flee. With a shudder and a grimace of disgust, he brought his foot down on it and squished it.
He had been so close to putting that thing in his mouth that it made him want to puke. Why did he have a bloody mental resistance ability if not to prevent things like this? Dammit! ¡°Oh man, that was gross.¡± He muttered to himself before shouting, ¡°Mayry!? Where are you?¡± he only heard silence back. Very cautiously, he headed the way he came. Would the imposter Mayry know he had broken the illusion, or would she still be trying to trick him? And where the heck was the real Mayry?!
Mayry
The runes in front of her were absolutely fascinating. She trailed her fingers around them as if they were a work of art ¡°Runes¡¡± she muttered, only really talking to herself, before remembering Mason was with her. ¡°I don¡¯t know a whole lot about runes¡ I wonder if these are Ganehfrelian or if they originated her-.¡± It was true; she wasn¡¯t interested in runes in the slightest but that didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t completely clueless. She had, of course, read Barrow¡¯s Syllabary, Basic Runes and What They Mean, and the Real Runes Rubicon, but only because she went through a phase¡ who hadn¡¯t gone through a runes phase when they were younger?
Before she could fully finish her sentence, the door in front of her vanished in a puff of dust.
She took in a deep breath, summoned all the irritation she could, and channelled it into a glare.
He at least had the good sense to look like he regretted it. She loved him, but he was infuriating. She had obviously been looking at the runes, so why the heck did he do that?! She was too annoyed to care; those runes could have triggered a trap; they could have revealed secrets about the Others, but now they would never know.
¡°You know, I hope whatever is in here eats you!¡± Not thinking, she stormed into the shack. She turned a corner, expecting him to follow her in, but after a few seconds of not hearing any movement, she stormed back out, ready to yell at him some more for not running after her and apologising, but what she saw stopped in her tracks when all she found was an empty hallway.
Weird, she had just yelled at him, but there was no way he would have taken it so bad as to leave her there. ¡°Mason?¡± she called. When no reply came, she wandered over to the doorway, cautiously looking around. She shouted, ¡°Mason, I swear if you¡¯re messing with me¡¡± When her voice echoed unnaturally around the house, unsettling her even further. She peeked through the door but saw no sign of him. She had a decision to make. Should she leave the shack or venture further in?
She turned from the entrance and, against her better judgment, wandered deeper into the shack; with each step, her concern grew. Mason could be a dick at times but she thought she knew him well enough to know he would never just abandon her on a whim. This place was really freaking her out, which was a strange experience for her as ever since she was a kid, Crack Hens and Others aside, nothing truly scared her. Her mother and father told her all sorts of scary stories, some that were just retellings of real events and some that she was sure they just made up on the spot, but somehow, instead of being scared, she enjoyed the thrill and knew the good guy would prevail.
Right now, in this creepy shack, Mason suddenly having disappeared, she was really struggling to convince herself to stay positive. She had fought monsters and been inches away from death on multiple occasions, but for whatever reason, this felt far more real than those other times, as if this was the first time she was genuinely in danger.
Growing up in a world where magic was real, the fact that the shack was bigger on the inside barely registered, and lots of rich people had similar enchantments on their houses like Mason had on his trunk. What did register was how run down the place was; the walls were lined with splintered wooden panels that were more rot than wood in some areas, cobwebs hung in every corner and every crevice, but she had yet to see a single spider, it seemed even they knew better than to stay in this place.
¡°Okay, okay, okay,¡± she whispered to herself. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Mason will sort out whatever is going on and be back in no time.¡± To her surprise, the thought actually made her feel a little better. She was by no means a damsel in distress, but Mason did have an often annoying knack for saving her.
As if on cue, she heard a shout. ¡°Mayry!? Where are you?¡±
Hearing Mason¡¯s voice, she felt all of her anxiety and fear that had been slowly building, instantly leave her body.
Chapter 84 - Ew
Chapter 84 - Ew
¡°Mason, I¡¯m here!¡± Mayry shouted back.
¡°Mayry! Where are you?¡± The voice said again.
¡°I¡¯m here! I¡¯m here!¡± she replied, frantically trying to follow the sound of the voice. ¡°Mason? Mason? I can¡¯t find you!¡± The fear that had briefly left came flooding back at the lack of a reply.
She had searched every room and had seen nothing that hinted anyone else was in the house.
¡°He isn¡¯t coming for you, you know.¡±
She whipped around and saw nothing. The words had been whispered to her as if the voice and been right next to her ear. The voice had sounded somewhat familiar but yet also completely alien; it was as if something had taken Mason¡¯s voice and twisted it to sound¡ wrong. ¡°Mason isn¡¯t coming; Daddy isn¡¯t coming. Nobody is coming to save you, Mayry.¡± Using her magic sense produced no more results than her eyes did. The voice she was hearing was seemingly coming from nowhere.
Adrenaline was taking over her body, ¡°Shut up, shut up, shut up!¡± She shouted the last words and allowed her human form to slip away, leaving her half-demon form on display. Skin scarlet with black flames that danced across her skin, licking and tickling at her flesh, causing the air around her to warp and twist. She heard the whispering voice again, but this time it was quieter as if it had less of a hold on her while she was in this form. ¡°Chaos? Interesting¡ Still, just half of a whole.¡±
Her mind cleared by the second. It was obvious to her now that the voice was merely in her head. It had been pulling and twisting her fears and insecurities, causing her to act like a scared little girl. She had faced down far worse than whatever was invading her mind. She was not afraid of anything! With that thought, her mind briefly flickered to the one thing she was scared of, the one thing she had been scared of ever since she was a little girl.
¡°BUKARK.¡±
Her heart felt as if it had stopped. She had heard stories all her life about the creature that made that noise. She had hoped that after hearing about how Mason had fought and killed one of the creatures if she ever came face to face with one, she would be as able to face it. But now, she was hearing its horrendous sounds; she huddled in the corner of the room, unable to move.
¡°BUKARK.¡± It sounded closer this time. Her mind was racing, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn¡¯t force any semblance of order to her thoughts.
Oh no, oh no, oh no. This isn¡¯t real. It can¡¯t be. It¡¯s all in my mind.
The more distraught she got, the less of a hold she had over her powers; the wood of the building around her was being scorched and catching fire, and the metal was turning red hot before starting to melt.
Mason
There was no sign of Mayry anywhere, real or fake. Every now and then, he¡¯d hear the creak of a floorboard or what sounded like a whisper, but the moment he turned around, the noise stopped, and there was nothing the see.
¡°Mayry? Where are you?¡± he called hesitantly, still unsure what he would do if he found her. How would he know if it was really her or just another illusion this place was showing him?
¡°Mason, I¡¯m here!¡± he heard Mayry¡¯s voice shout. The panic and fear in her voice made him forget his caution and start running towards the sound of her voice. Room after room he searched. He stuck his head into a grimy-looking bathroom and saw nothing; he was about to leave when he noticed that this room was significantly warmer than the rest he had checked. ¡°Mayry? Mayry, are you in here?¡± He whispered. He waited, straining his ears as much as he could. He thought he heard something¡ It was quiet, but he was pretty sure he had heard a faint, shuddering breath, almost like a whimper.
"Mayry?" he called again, moving cautiously towards the sound.
Suddenly, the temperature in the room spiked. The walls seemed to pulse with heat, and the air shimmered around him. He could feel sweat starting to form on his forehead and trickling down his back, which was impressive as his tolerance to heat had improved exponentially with the level he¡¯d gained. He was certain he could hear whispering now; it was louder, but he still couldn¡¯t hear it clear enough to make out words. ¡°Mayry, if that''s you, I need you to try and stay calm. I''m going to get you; I¡¯m going to figure this out¡±, he said, trying to keep his voice steady. Taking another step forward, he felt the temperature in the room spike again, this time to a point that was unbearable even for him. All around him, the air seemed to ignite, searing his skin. He took a step back instinctively, retreating from the intensity. The moment he stepped out of the room, the temperature dropped slightly, giving him a momentary relief, but before he left the room completely, something caught his eye. The walls that, moments ago, had looked completely normal were beginning to melt. As the paint and wallpaper slid down in a molten mess, it revealed something he definitely was not expecting: it wasn¡¯t wood or plaster but a mound of what looked to be some sort of living pulsating mass of thin strands of fabric. The surface looked damp and spongy and had dark fibres writhing through it like the roots of some ancient, buried plant. Strange, bulbous growths poked out from the whole, resembling swollen, disfigured mushrooms that seemed to throb and move with a life of their own. The entire thing was covered in a shiny, slimy coating that caught the light, making it glisten in a way that made his stomach churn.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
It pulsated and thrashed about, unable to get away from the heat. He stared at the thing in the wall for a moment and wondered if it inhabited the entire building and whether it was responsible for the mental attack he had fought off. He took a few more steps out of the room, escaping the heat further; he needed to save Mayry and killing this thing seemed like it would be a good starting point.
He didn¡¯t want to attack the part of the creature in the room as he wasn¡¯t sure whether he could accidentally hit Mayry, but if his hunch was correct, he wouldn¡¯t need to. He turned to a wall in the hallway he was in and shoved his fingers into it. As strong as he had become, it hardly took any effort at all for him to rip a chunk of the wall away. His suspicions were confirmed when behind the wall was more of the strange being. Now that he was able to get a look at the monster without the intense heat affecting it, he could see that all around it were what looked like clouds of dust that were circling in the air, almost as if they were orbiting it. Half disgusted and half intrigued, he used his Identify skill on it.
Monster - Mycelythe -Level 49
This one requires a bit of backstory. The shack you are in was used by visitors from Ganehfrel many years ago as one of their go-to bases for when Elders needed to come to the trial world to intervene on their student¡¯s behalf; it was a lot nicer back then. The last Elder to visit was a bit of a slob and carelessly left half a sandwich unfinished on the kitchen table. A few days went by, and as you¡¯d expect, the sandwich went bad as mould started to grow on it. After a few weeks, the mould had completely sucked the sandwich dry of all nutrients, and as mould tends to do, it sent out spores looking to spread itself and find more sustenance. After the spores found nothing, the small mound of mould began to die. It sent off one more batch of spores as a last-ditch effort at survival, and this time, while it didn¡¯t find food, one single spore landed on a rune. It found that while it was on the rune, it felt energised and was able to grow itself with the need for food.
While not unique, the Mycelythe is an incredibly rare monster that only occurs when buildings with a strong magical infrastructure get a mould infestation, it is unintelligent but is driven by powerful instincts. The longer the mould feeds on the building magic, the stronger the monster becomes. Its spores are able to spread over a wide area. Inhalation or even exposure to these spores causes those affected to experience vivid hallucinations that can tap into the deepest fears of the victims, manifesting as horrific visions that feel incredibly real. Mental Resistance may cause the effect to be less effective and more easily broken.
Pulling his shirt over his mouth in disgust, Mason reread the oddly long description. So gross, a mold monster. It seemed this world was intent on throwing the most disgusting monster it could at him. The bleach elemental would have been pretty perfect right now. The description did explain a few things. The spores were obviously what had been affecting his mind, making him see all the weird crap and were probably doing the same to Mayry. The only thing that had saved him had been his resistance against mental attacks, which had probably done a fair bit to weaken the effect.
Judging by the incredibly hot room he suspected Mayry was in, he didn¡¯t think Mayry shared his mental resistance. At least her demon fire was enough to protect her from the mould getting any closer.
The only thing left unexplained was why he couldn¡¯t see Mayry, and she couldn¡¯t see him. It could be a lingering effect of the spores¡ but that didn¡¯t seem right.
Sticking his head back into the swelteringly hot room, he shouted, ¡°If you can hear me, just know nothing you¡¯re seeing is real! I¡¯m going to kill the monster doing this to you!¡± Unsure as to whether she could hear him, he added, ¡°Just hold on!¡± He gave her one last worried look and turned back to the hole in the wall he had just made.
Focusing on the disgusting mass of the Mycelythe, he worked on formulating a plan. The description his Identify skill had given him had yielded crucial information, but he was struggling with how he could use what he¡¯d learnt to kill the monster and save Mayry.
If the creature was as pervasive as he thought it was, it could be embedded in every wall, every floorboard, and every ceiling tile. Destroying it in a full-out attack could cause the whole place to collapse; usually, that would be fine, but he had no idea what it would do to the building¡¯s magical infrastructure; he already couldn¡¯t see Mayry, so for once, blowing stuff up didn¡¯t seem like the best option. There had to be a way to weaken it without accidentally harming Mayry.
The only thing he knew about mould was that it had trouble growing in places that were too hot or too cold and didn¡¯t like sunlight. This all applied to mould back on Earth, but there was no way to tell if any of that even applied to this monster. If Mayry was him, he¡¯d get her to use her elemental magic to burn the creature away bit by bit, but as she was currently indisposed, he would have to make due.
Holding his hand out in front of him, he used his mana manipulation ability to make a small orb of mana. It started as a speck but, within a few seconds, grew to the size of a basketball. Straining his mind slightly, made the ball of mana spin. After its failed attempt at ensnaring him earlier, the Mycelythe had mostly been ignoring him; as soon as the ball of mana got near enough to burn it, however, the monster split open. Each half of its body tried to flee in a different direction, one half compressing itself, trying to escape through the various cracks and holes in the building, the other half, with nowhere else to go, came rushing straight at him in a flood.
Chapter 85 - Deja vu
Chapter 85 - Deja vu
Mayry
Things weren¡¯t looking good for Mayry. It had been two weeks since she had been taken.
Things had become hazy, but she remembered watching Mason leave town. She had been trying to sort out her feelings for him as she watched him go when, suddenly, a hand grabbed her shoulder, and an instant later, she was standing in what she recognised as Mason¡¯s Inn Room. A sudden wave of dizziness hit her, and she felt herself start to slip into unconsciousness.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself lying in a dimly lit room that resembled a prison cell. Apart from the bed she was on, the only other things in the room were a small table and a chair. The only way in or out was a large, thick wooden door.
She heard a man¡¯s voice on the other side of the door. ¡°We have no more use for you. Stay here and shut up.¡±
Mayry glared at him, feeling a mix of fear and anger. "Who are you?" she demanded.
He gave her a devilish smile and answered. "You can call me Aiden.¡±
With that, she heard him as he walked away. Mayry sat up, feeling trapped and helpless. She didn''t know where she was or what Aiden was going to do with her, but despite that, somehow, she knew Mason would come for her. It was strange as she hadn¡¯t known him that long, but she was absolutely certain he would come. A pulse of pain shot through her head, bringing with it an almost overwhelming sense of deja vu. Hadn¡¯t this happened before?
***
She examined the room thoroughly, looking for anything she could use to escape. The lone window in the room was far too high for her to reach. The door wouldn¡¯t budge an inch no matter what she did, and for whatever reason, her abilities still refused to work.
After checking every nook and cranny of the room, she sat on the bed and wondered what Mason was doing.
In the first few days of her capture, she was confident she wouldn¡¯t be there long. She made several escape attempts, none of which were at all successful; in fact, each attempt was more disastrous than the last, but despite that, she still hadn¡¯t given up hope.
By the end of the first week, the attempts stopped as she found herself lacking the energy, mentally and physically, to keep trying. All she could do was cling to the hope that Mason was coming to save her. By the time the second week started, she¡¯d even given up on that.
In the first few days she¡¯d been there, she had managed to pick up snippets of conversation between Aiden and another but never managed to glean much of what was said, only that they argued a lot, but that felt like it was forever ago.
The third week started, and mostly, she was just tired of it all. She was alone, exhausted, and just ready to be done. She had started seeing things just out of the corner of her eye. Every so often, a flicker in the air or a slight movement caught her attention. The first few times it had happened, it had given her something to focus on, but eventually, she just ignored them, pegging the occurrences as a symptom of her rapidly declining sanity.
She was lying on the bed, doing her best to zone everything out, when she heard the voice.
¡°If¡ hear me¡. know nothing¡. Seeing¡. real! ¡kill the monster¡ you!¡± it was echoey and distorted but it was the first voice she had heard in weeks.It hadn¡¯t been so long that she didn¡¯t recognise the voice as Mason¡¯s but she barely reacted. She knew he wasn¡¯t coming for her. She had been naive to believe he would. Nobody was coming. She was going to rot away in this bed. ¡°Just hold on!¡± the voice added. Unlike the rest of the rest of what the voice had said, the last few words came through crystal clear, as if the words were spoken into her soul. It was enough that a small portion of the parts of her that had slowly faded away during the long, empty days, woke up. Her analytical mind repeated the words, trying to figure out what they were trying to tell her.
The first part, ¡°If¡ hear me¡¡± she thought, was most likely meant to be ¡°If you can hear me,¡± or ¡°I don¡¯t know if you can hear me.¡± The next bit was trickier: "Know nothing¡.¡± What could he have been trying to say? She strained her mind, trying to come up with something, but her newly awoken brain was just not up to the task. It was infuriating, as she usually prided herself on her intelligence.
For the briefest of moments, everything around her shifted. She wasn¡¯t lying on a bed she was huddled in the corner of an empty room and was absolutely covered in demon fire. In a blink, she was back on the bed. It happened so fast that she could almost bring herself to believe she had imagined it, but with the hallucination having been broken once, memories started slowly clawing their way back into her head.
Mason had saved her when she¡¯d been kidnapped; she¡¯d only been there for two days, not nearly three weeks! Everything else came back, and she started to see the inconsistencies of the world around her. Despite not having been fed in weeks, she wasn¡¯t hungry or thirsty. She hadn¡¯t slept at all and couldn¡¯t really say why she had thought she had spent weeks there.
It was all fake¡ the shack! She must still be in the shack; something really messed up had happened. Mason was on the outside, trying to fix it all.
¡°If you can hear me¡±, she muttered out loud, her voice hoarse, ¡°Know nothing you¡¯re seeing is real!¡± that made sense, or knowing Mason, the rest of it was probably, I¡¯m just going to kill the monster, and then I¡¯ll save you!¡± or something like that.
More and more, her mind was clearing. Just like that, she blinked, blinked again, and everything around her had changed. It was intensely disappointing that after what seemed like weeks of being in a small, dank room, she woke up to realise none of it was real, only to find that she really was in a small, dank room. The room she was in now wasn¡¯t the same one, but still.
Disorientated and confused, it took her a few seconds to realise that she was currently in her full demon form and absolutely radiating demon fire. The walls, ceiling and floor all around her were black and melted away to such a degree that she was amazed that the house¡¯s magic had been enough to keep the whole place from being completely destroyed. She was awake, and while she had regained all of her memories, she was still felt overwhelmed. She knew that, eventually, she would need time to process what had happened and try to accept that none of it wasn¡¯t real, but right now, all she could think of was that she needed to find Mason. If she was going to have a breakdown, she knew she was going to need him with her.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
She shakily got to her feet, stumbling before finding her footing. Physically, she felt fine, but reliving a messed-up version of her capture had really screwed with her mentally. Her only goal now was to find Mason and get out of this nightmarish place. The moment she stepped out of the room, she knew finding him wouldn¡¯t be difficult; the trail of destruction was impossible to miss.
She followed the wreckage through the narrow hallway, furniture and broken glass crunched under her feet. Her heart pounded as she pushed forward, her eyes scanning for any sign of Mason. The farther she went, the more the destruction intensified¡ªwalls scorched, deep gashes torn through the wood, as if something large had been repeatedly smashed into it.
She turned a corner and froze. Mason was there, leaning against the wall, breathing heavily. His shirt was torn and smeared with blood, though she couldn''t tell if it belonged to him or whatever it was he had fought.
¡°Mason? Is that really you?¡± she whispered, her voice shaky.
He looked up, eyes filled with exhaustion, but there was relief in them, too. ¡°Are you okay?¡± he said, his voice rough.
She took a second and considered lying, but when tears filled her eyes, all she could do was shake her head. Without another word, he rushed over and pulled her into a tight hug. She sobbed into his shoulder, trying to speak, to explain what had happened. Her words tumbled out between gasps, jumbled and hysterical. She wanted to tell him everything¡ªthe hallucination, the fear, how real it had all felt¡ªbut the more she tried, the more her sobs made her an incoherent mess.
Mason held her tighter, his hand gently running through her hair to calm her. "Shh, it¡¯s okay. You don¡¯t have to explain right now," he whispered, though the worry in his eyes was clear. He couldn¡¯t understand her words, but he didn¡¯t need to. He just held her and let her cry. Though he¡¯d never admit it, there might have been a tear or two on Mason¡¯s face as well.
****
Once they had both calmed down a bit, they started exchanging stories. Mayry told Mason about her hallucination, describing how vivid and terrifying it had been. Mason listened intently, his expression shifting from concern to understanding.
When it was Mason¡¯s turn, he recounted the fight he¡¯d had. "During the fight," he began, ¡°One thing I couldn¡¯t get out of my head¡ this place, my system said it was used for storage, but compared to where we found Aiden, there¡¯s pretty much nothing here.¡±
Mayry nodded. "Yeah, I doubt the two Others outside would have been so desperate to get in if this is all there is. It feels like we¡¯re missing something."
Mason frowned, thinking. ¡°Exactly! I don¡¯t know; maybe there¡¯s a secret area hidden somewhere.¡±
¡°Yeah, maybe," Mayry said. "It would explain why this place is here in the middle of nowhere. I hope we find something¡ at least then everything that happened would be somewhat worth it.¡± Her eyes were unfocused, and her expression became grim before returning to normal. ¡°We should definitely have a look around, but could we maybe stay together and search?¡±
He gave her a sympathetic look and replied. ¡°Of course, We¡¯ll search together. We¡¯ll figure this out." He knew she had been through something horrible but he had no idea as to how to help her work through it. For now, he decided, he would act as if everything was normal, hoping that it would put her at ease. They stood for a moment, letting the silence settle between them.
Mayry looked around the room, her eyes narrowing as if she was already scanning the room, planning on where to start. "Let¡¯s check the walls and floor first. Maybe there¡¯s a hidden door or something."
¡°That is a great idea, but I actually want to try something that might save us some time if it works.¡± Mason raised both his arms and a flood of Mana left him; it had a consistency similar to water but was a deep blue and glowed as it started to pool in the room.
As it got closer to her, Mayry braced herself, expecting the odd liquid-like Mana to get her feet wet. Instead, it circled around her, leaving about a foot around her completely untouched.
¡°Err, what are you doing?¡± She asked, not wanting to interrupt but too intrigued not to ask.
With a look of intense concentration on his face, he explained. ¡°My Mana kind of works like an extension of myself. I¡¯m hoping if I push it out enough, I¡¯ll be able to feel it if any of the Mana finds its way into a hidden space.¡± There was a long pause where the seemingly neverending amount of Mana poured out of him. ¡°And¡ there!¡± pointing out of the room, he walked out, with Mayry following close behind. As she walked, The Mana on the floor moved out of the way of her feet. It amazed her that he had such great control over his ability so fast. When she had started learning her elemental abilities, it had taken years for her to gain even a fraction of the control he seemed to have.
They made a few turns until they stood just in front of the entrance. To her eyes, everything looked as it had before, but Mason knelt, inspecting the wooden floorboards intensely. All at once, the Mana that covered the floor surged, as if responding to his focus."Right here," Mason muttered, tapping on the floor. "There¡¯s something under this spot."
Mayry knelt beside him, staring at the seemingly ordinary floorboards. "Are you sure?"
Mason nodded, his hand pressing down as if testing the weight of the boards. "I can feel it¡ªthere¡¯s a space beneath.¡±
¡°Okay, great. Now we just need to figure out how to access it." She glanced around, scanning for any kind of latch or opening, but nothing stood out. "It¡¯s probably hidden really well," she murmured, running her fingers over the wood, hoping to find some kind of secret mechanism. After a few moments of looking around, she turned back to see Mason giving her a look.
¡°No, c¡¯mon. You can¡¯t just smash everything the moment you can¡¯t figure something out. There¡¯s gotta be another way in." She glanced at the nearby walls, hoping she¡¯d instantly spot the solution and be able to rub it in his face.
¡°Ugh, fine. We can do it the boring way if that¡¯s what you want.¡± Mason said before getting up and joining her in her search. ¡°first person to find it gets first dibs on any loot!¡±
Mayry smiled at him, the act feeling slightly foreign to her after everything that had happened. She shook off the strange feeling and replied, ¡°You¡¯re on!¡±
Together, they moved through the space, scanning the walls for any irregularities. Mayry''s fingers traced the edges of the dusty wooden panels, feeling for any cracks or gaps that might give away a hidden door or switch. Mason¡¯s focus was on the corners of the room, looking for any sign of a mechanism that might reveal an entrance.
Five minutes of searching passed when Mayry exclaimed, ¡°Aha! I think I found it!¡± her hand brushing against a slightly raised section of wood just inside a half-collapsed fireplace. It was very subtle and would be very easy to write off as just a mistake.
Mason walked over and crouched next to her. ¡°Let¡¯s have a look then.¡± He pressed his hand against the raised spot, and after a moment of silence, there was a faint click.
Both of them froze as a hum reverberated around the room. Slowly, the floor beneath the area Mason had been looking at earlier sank and then slid away to reveal a small hatch. ¡° Would you like to do the honours, my dear?¡± Mason asked, gesturing at the wooden panel.
She reached out and pulled it open, and a rush of stale air hit her face. She wrinkled her nose at the smell before peering into the inky blackness below.
¡°Well, that¡¯s ominous,¡± Mason said dryly. All they could see was a ladder that descended a few feet before being swallowed by darkness.
The sight of the ladder leading into the unknown sent a chill down her spine, but she quickly pushed the feeling away. "So, are we going in?¡± She asked.
¡°Well, duh¡± he replied. He looked at her and then back to the hole. ¡°Ladies first?¡±
Chapter 86 - Another hole
Chapter 86 - Another hole
¡°You¡¯ve made that joke before, you know,¡± Mayry said with a teasing grin.
Mason raised a hand to his chest in mock outrage. ¡°What? No, I haven¡¯t! I would never reuse a joke!¡±
¡°Yep, you have! Right after we found that hole in the ground Aiden was in.¡±
He looked thoughtful for a second before smacking himself on the forehead. ¡°Holy crap¡ you¡¯re right. Shit. I need new material.¡±
¡°Yeah, you really do.¡± She pointed to the ladder with a forced, stern expression. ¡°Now get in the hole.¡±
He gave a mock salute, ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± and descended the ladder.
As he disappeared into the darkness, his voice echoed up, ¡°Nothing has attacked me yet, so it¡¯s probably safe for you to come down.¡±
¡°Do you see anything?¡± Mayry called after him.
¡°Mayry, it¡¯s pitch black down here! No, I don¡¯t see anything. If only one of us had some sort of ability to produce fire that could provide some light,¡± he muttered sarcastically from below.
¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m coming, I¡¯m coming,¡± she shouted back. With a flick of her wrist, she summoned a ball of normal, non-demonic fire to her hand. Just as she was about to descend, she hesitated and added, ¡°Hey, wait a second! Your mana gives off light, doesn¡¯t it?¡±
There was a long moment of silence pause, and then, all at once, the darkness lit up with the bluish glow of Mason¡¯s mana. It emitted a bit of light but not enough that Mayry would be comfortable walking around down there. Holding her summoned ball of fire in one hand, she managed to shimmy down the ladder until she was standing next to Mason.
Now that the place was somewhat lit, they could see that they were in a huge cavernous space that looked to be carved out of the ground.
They stood side by side, taking in the massive underground cavern. The rough stone walls were covered in a thin layer of moss, and the air was dry and smelled of dust and decay. The floor was littered with debris¡ªbroken crates, scraps of cloth, and the remnants of what seemed to be old machinery, long since rusted away. Mason walked over to the machinery, wanting to take a closer look. Try as he might, he was unable to make heads nor tails of any of it and got the feeling that even if it had all been brand new, he¡¯d still have no idea. It was very odd to finally be confronted with technology in this world, only for it to be completely foreign to him.
He spun around sharply as Mayry, who had been standing nearby, gasped. Nothing immediately jumped out at him as a potential threat, so he looked at Mayry in confusion to see that she was staring at something Mason had initially missed. The ancient remains of what he assumed was a human were sat in a corner against a wall, it was essentially just a pile of bones and tattered fabric. ¡°Are you okay?¡± He asked, concerned, something so small wouldn¡¯t have usually have made her so much as blink.
¡°I¡¯m fine; it just startled me, is all.¡± She replied unconvincingly.
He was about to push a little but decided to drop it until after they¡¯d left and were somewhere safer. He knew he needed to really talk with her about what had happened, but he was hoping it could wait a few hours.
He bent down and took a closer look at the body. Just to be safe, he reached out and gave it a hard poke, just to make certain it wasn¡¯t about to come alive and try and eat them. The moment he came into contact with the bone, it turned to dust. ¡°All safe.¡± He said, smiling up at Mayry. ¡°Hmm,¡± he added as an afterthought. ¡°Dya reckon whoever this was had anything on them when they died?
She thought about it for a moment before scrunching up her face, ¡°There is only one way to find out, and you can believe me when I say I¡¯m not doing it.¡±
He scoffed and grimaced as he reached his hand into the remains; his fingers immediately touched something hard. He grabbed onto it and pulled out a pristine-looking book. It looked like a notebook or journal. On the front was a handwritten title, written over and over again so many times that, in places, the pen seemed to have pierced through the thick leather cover and onto the first page.
The truth about the Gods
He flicked through it and saw that it was filled with information about the gods. It started in neat cursive handwriting, but page by page, it slowly devolved into a madman¡¯s frantic scribbled¡ªwords written in a dark, crusty brown that could only be blood, symbols scratched in the margins, and chaotic diagrams that would take a platoon of scientists to make any sense of. Flicking back to the first page, he began to read.
From what I have gathered from my delves into the lost libraries of Dvelmbry, the 5 and the 10 were peaceful for aeons before the fall. Petty squabbles over power happened but were rare. I have recorded everything I have managed to learn to the best of my ability in hopes that one day, we may be guided by the 5 and the 10 once more, and may they help me leave this hell.
The 10 Minor GodsStolen novel; please report.
The minor gods are not just representations of their domains; they are the forces themselves. The Goddess Knowledge is the embodiment of knowledge, as Time is the embodiment of Time, each drawing power from and embodying the essence of their nature.
The 5 Major Gods:
The major gods are similar to the minor gods in that they also embody that which they govern. The most significant difference is the size and scope of what falls within their domains. Often, much of a minor god¡¯s domain will also fall within the domain of a major god. The most interesting example of this is Balance, whose domain includes that of both Chaos and Order.
Putting the book away for a moment, he asked, ¡°Mayry, are you seeing-¡° Before he could finish his sentence, she grabbed the book and started flicking through it, only glancing at each page before moving on to the next one.
Having not grown up in this world, he wasn¡¯t sure how big of a deal the book was, but seeing as Mayry was ignoring him, he assumed it was quite a big one.
¡°Mayry, Mayry, Mayry, Mayry.¡± After a gentle nudge, she seemed to snap out of her reverie.
¡°Oh, yes. Um, sorry. Wow ¡if any of this is true, then it¡¯s information that hasn¡¯t been known for a really long time. Most people only really know about Chaos as Chaos magical is still something people use and experience every day. Some worship other deities, but¡ ¡° She trailed off as she started reading again. He gave her a few seconds and cleared his voice. Her only reaction was to hold up one finger and keep reading.
A few more seconds passed, and she finally closed the book. She turned it over in her hands and examined it. ¡°It¡¯s spotless. For the body to be in that condition, it must have been down here for hundreds of years¡ and yet the book is completely clean. No rot, no mould, nothing.¡±
Mason cut in, jokingly saying. ¡°Well, that¡¯s magic for ya. That-¡°
Mayry spoke over him, glaring at him for cutting her off. ¡°That¡¯s the thing, I can¡¯t feel a single bit of magic on it.¡± She books the book down and looks at him, confounded. ¡°To my magic sense, this is a completely normal book.¡±
¡°Well, that¡¯s impossible; there must be something on it; let me use identify,¡± Mason muttered,
He reached for the book and used his ability. He was surprised when not only did no notifications show up, but an intense pain shot through his head and made his eyes blur. He staggered backwards and grabbed his head.
Mayry was by his side in an instant, ready to catch him if he fell. ¡°What is it? What happened?¡±
He let out a long groan and rubbed his head. ¡°I¡¯m fine. That just really hurt.¡± He said through the pain to reassure her.
She looked confused, ¡°It hurt?¡± she put a hand on his shoulder, glanced at the book and added, ¡°Did it work though?¡±
The pain faded, and he answered, ¡°No, I got nothing from that but a horrid headache. There is absolutely no way this is just a normal book.¡±
He summoned his dagger and scratched away at the thick leather cover, at first lightly, but then harder and harder as he saw he wasn¡¯t leaving any mark. A few moments went by, and Mayry watched as Mason¡¯s face grew redder as his efforts grew. He finally gave up and threw the book to Mayry. ¡°Nothing, not even a scratch. I know I¡¯m still kinda new to this, but if that isn¡¯t magical, then I think I need to start working out. ¡±
Mayry let out a small chuckle as she stared at the enigma that was the strange book. Seeing her start to zone out, he spoke up. ¡°I think maybe we should read it through more when we¡¯re someayry¡¯s fire. A ring. He was cautious about using Identify again but ultimately judged it would probably be worth it.
Item - Ring of Elders
Simple in design but incredibly rare, this combination of advanced technology and magic is given to the elders of Ganehfrel and acts as a symbol of their power and authority.
This is a Ganehfelian artefact and can only be used by System users.
Effect: As well as its use for showing high status, it is also a powerful ward breaker and is able to open almost any lock, magical or mundane.
He knelt and picked up the ring. As the Identify had said, it was a very simple design: just a silver band with various runes carved onto it.
¡°Holy crap, this guy must have been a Ganehfrelian elder.¡± He called over to Mayry, who had taken a few steps away in order to explore more of the cave.
¡°Oh yeah? How¡¯d you figure?¡± As she replied, she turned to look at him, only to see him knelt down, holding a ring up for her to see. Her eyes widened, her face went bright pink, and she took on an air of extreme panic. ¡°Mason! What the hell are you doing?! Now? You¡¯re doing this now!?¡±
Mason liked to think that he was a pretty intelligent guy. Add to that his Intelligence stat, and he theoretically should be well-prepared to respond in pretty much any circumstance. Despite all that, it took him several seconds to put together in his mind why Mayry was suddenly freaking out. He looked at the ring in his hand and then back to her; he repeated the motion several times before it clicked. ¡°Oh no, no, no, no, no. This isn¡¯t- I¡¯m not- not that I wouldn¡¯t, but -you know - I didn¡¯t think-¡°
By this point, Mayry had calmed down and figured out what had happened; now, she was just enjoying watching Mason squirm.
She smirked at him, and he relaxed. He had also gone bright pink and was avoiding eye contact his her. ¡°You found a ring?¡± she asked.
¡°Yeah¡¡± He replied sheepishly.
She elbowed him in his side, which seemed to break the tension between them. He explained what the description of the ring said and how he assumed that it meant the dead body was that of an elder.
¡°I think you¡¯re probably right.¡± She said after listening to his reasoning. ¡°But if that¡¯s true, how did he end up down here.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe he got trapped or something. I mean, he did write a book; he probably mentions it.¡±
They searched the area thoroughly, finding little of interest beyond boxes of decaying food and a few far less interesting books. The ring and the book were exciting finds, but both had hoped for something more to make their hours in this foul place feel worthwhile."
As their light began to reveal the far walls of the cavern, it began to seem like they had found everything worth finding. The ring and the book were great finds, but they had both been hoping to stumble upon something that would make the last few hours seem more worth the lousy experience.
In the furthest corner of the space, very easy to miss, was a table. They got closer and saw that on the table lay a sword. The moment Mason laid eyes on it, he found that he could not look away. It wasn¡¯t a magical effect; as far as he could tell, it was more that the sword called to him.
The blade was as dark as the shadows around it. Its hilt was crafted from dark wood and intricately carved to resemble a grotesque, twisted face.
Besides the sword, there was a folded note. Ignoring the note, Mason reached for the weapon. He slashed it through the air a few times and gave an approving grunt.
Mayry, who had been watching, shook her head and picked up the note. ¡°Err, Mason? I think you should probably put that down.¡±