《Game World (The Game Masters Saga)》 The Awakening His head hurt when he woke up. The bright sunlight hurt his eyes and he put his hand in front of them. His mouth felt dry. Everything felt as if it was on fire. He checked himself to make sure and evidently he was not on fire. Then why the hell was everything hurting? He gingerly got up in a sitting position. He examined his body to find himself completely naked. Fuuuuuuuuuck, he thought. What had happened to him? He tried to get up but fell down. The world was spinning now. He waited for it to stop spinning. Then he got into a sitting position again. He looked around. He seemed to be in a clearing in a forest. He was sitting on grass. The clearing seemed to be about ten feet across. Lush green trees surrounded him. The forest seemed dense as he could not see much through the trees. There was not even a path. Now what?, he wondered as he got up. This time the world did not spin and he was happy. He started off towards the forest and then stopped. Wait, why was he going that way. He needed to go¡­ he did not know where he needed to go. He looked up at the bright sun with squinted eyes. It was almost overhead. So it must be either almost mid noon or just past mid noon. He could not guess more than that from the position of the sun. Out of habit he tried to look at his watch. There was no watch. He cursed mentally. Then he looked again. He did not see a tan line for the watch. Then he examined himself. ¡°What the fuc¡­¡±, he said. His body seemed to have changed. He remembered he had body hair. Currently, his skin was smooth. Ok, this was weird. He felt his face and felt a jolt of shock. His beard, and his moustache. His pride and joy. Gone. He was clean shaved. At least he had hair on his head. He felt it. It seemed short. What the hell had happened to him? He was also shocked to see his six packs. Did he have six packs? He could not remember developing them. What was going on? He started off in the direction which he thought was West. Maybe there was civilization that way. He knew he did not have much survival skills but he persisted. After walking for an hour in the dense forest he was tired, sweating and covered in scratches and dirt. He was feeling disgruntled and wondering why he had decided to go through the forest. The forest showed no signs of ending and currently he was not even sure whether he was going West. He was now feeling thirsty and a little bit hungry. He still continued to walk. He did not know for how long he walked. The sun was now getting low. He was now staggering while walking. The forest was thinning though and he considered this to be a good sign. Next moment he heard a low growl. What!, he wondered and turned around. He could see eyes glowing in the dark. There were many. That was not good. He looked around and found a tree with a low hanging branch. He did not think. He was exhausted but adrenaline pushed him. He knew what those eyes were. Wolves; and wolves hunt in packs. He heard scuffling behind him but he rushed and climbed up the tree fast. He felt a claw scratch his leg as he climbed and he cried out in pain. He did not look down till he had gotten to a particular height. Then he looked down. He was met with a curious sight. What he thought to be wolves were not in fact wolves. The animal had similar structure but the face was different. It was spherical with a single eye in the centre. Below the eye there was a round nose and a mouth which showed sharp fangs. There was a mane of dark feathers around the animal¡¯s face. It was completely black in colour. ¡°What the fuck are you?¡±, he said to the animals at the base of the tree. The animals put their front paws on the tree and snarled. It seemed that they could not climb and that was good. He found a comfortable branch and lay there. He did not sleep but kept dozing off. The animals kept on snarling and growling at the base of the tree. He wondered why they did not give up. It went on all night. He was feeling really fucked up now. He had no food, no water and now no proper sleep. He was getting pissed at the animals. He wondered many times whether he should break off a thick stick, get down and whack the shit out of the animals below him. He vetoed his idea as soon as he got it. Considering the number of animals below him, he was sure he would be eaten before he could do any damage. He could now see the sun over the horizon. He felt delirious. Suddenly the animals stiffened below him. An arrow struck one of them, killing it instantly. They scattered as more arrows struck. He did not know what was happening but hoped that someone had come to help him. However, arrows! Who the fuck hunts with arrows?, was his last thought. Then he saw no more. *** Silas Cornerstone had been running the facility successfully for over a 100 years now. He was the Director of the New Adventures Induction Facility or NAIF for short at Solaris and was happy with his job. Silas was an elf, in his mid five hundreds. He was tall and thin with dark skin, pointed curved ears and a pointed nose. He knew he was not as beautiful as the other elves but he was always focused on practicality rather than beauty. That had always set him apart from his fellow elves. He got up, got ready and went down to eat his breakfast. His wife had already left. He knew she would have. She had to reach the clinic earlier than him. The breakfast was cut fruits and plain milk. He smiled. As he ate he thought about his only daughter who was currently studying in the capital. She had not decided whether she wanted to be an adventurer or not. Silas finished his breakfast and checked himself in the mirror one last time before leaving home. His blue and green suit was immaculate. His utility belt was fastened properly across his waist and his hair was perfect. He left. He took his mechanical quadruped or MQ for short to the facility. He was humming all the way. Today was going to be a good day. He reached the NAIF facility and entered his office. He asked his secretary Dimor whether there were any messages for him. Dimor was an orc; a very efficient orc. Dimor said, ¡°Some of the hunters came here early in the morning. Some of the locals had complained about Zagui on the edge of the forest and were scared. Hunters were dispatched by the police and they took care of most of the Zagui. However, they came across a man. Human. Completely naked.¡± Silas raised an eyebrow at that, ¡°And how does this concern us?¡± Dimor said, ¡°He did not even have a utility belt on him. Police are trying to identify him but he is not in the system. They do not know what to do. So they came here to ask for your help.¡± Silas had frozen at those words. No utility belt! How was that possible? Had he misheard? ¡°Are you sure the hunters said there was no utility belt? The human could have taken it off but it still would have come back to him¡±, said Silas, ¡°Hmm. This is weird.¡± Dimor said, ¡°The hunters told me they had found the human at around 6 am. It is currently 9 am. The hunters had come at around 8 am. There was no utility belt.¡± Silas said, ¡°Cancel any appointments for today (¡°You have none¡±, muttered Dimor). I am going to the police station. Are the hunters still around?¡± ¡°No, they left about half an hour ago.¡± ¡°All right then¡±, said Silas going back the way he had come, ¡°This is going to be interesting.¡± *** He woke up to hear something beeping. He seemed to be in a hospital of some sort. He was lying on the bed and was hooked on to some machines which were monitoring his status. As soon as he woke up, the door to his room opened and the strangest creature walked in. The creature was humanoid and was wearing a doctor¡¯s uniform. However, it was completely green. The creature had a pointed face which had no hair. There were two tube-like protrusions on the top of its forehead and it was wearing spectacles. It was smiling. As the creature came close it spoke something in a language that he did not understand. ¡°What?¡±, he said a bit groggily, ¡°What are you saying?¡± The creature tilted its head as if it did not understand what he was saying. Then it put some entry in the clipboard it was carrying and left speaking further nonsense. He calmed once the creature left. What was going on? Was that an alien? Had he been captured by aliens and then brought to their planet and then the aliens had lost him and then recaptured and brought him to a hospital. Nothing was making sense to him. He was supposed to be... Wait. Where was he supposed to be? Where was he? And finally the question he never considered; Who was he? He tried to recall something, anything but it was all blank. ¡°Fuuuuuuuuuuck¡±, he said out loud. He wondered what he was going to do. As he lay there thinking what was going to happen to him, the door of his room opened and a nurse came in this time. She was human; thank god. She smiled at him and said something in the same language the creature had spoken. He said, ¡°I do not understand what you are saying. Does no one speak English here?¡± The nurse tilted her head and said, ¡°So no one has put the spell of [Common Speak] on you have they?¡± He jumped a bit. The nurse spoke English. It was with a lot of accent which he could not place but he could understand her. He gave a short laugh. ¡°Finally¡±, he said, ¡°And what spell? Are you talking about magic?¡± The nurse said, ¡°Calm down. There is much you need to know. Also there are many questions that even we need to answer. Could you please lie down. I will give you further sedatives. You need to rest a bit longer. The next time you wake up, we shall have some clarifications. Is that alright with you?¡± It took him some effort to understand what was said but he nodded in the end. Some more rest would not hurt. He was still tired. He said, ¡°Before you put me to sleep again, how long was I out?¡± ¡°For two days only¡±, replied the nurse, ¡°You did not have any major injuries; minor cuts and bruises only. However, you were dehydrated and malnourished. That was not good.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The nurse now injected something into him and then again he saw nothing. *** The next time he awoke he saw the doctor creature standing in front of him. The human nurse was with the creature and with them was; Is that an elf?, he thought. The doctor said, ¡°How are you feeling?¡± He felt a little startled. He could now understand the creature. It sounded male because of the deep voice but he could not be sure. He said, ¡°I feel amazing. Except for the fact that I am hungry. And a bit thirsty.¡± The doctor nodded and noted something in a piece of paper on a pad. The nurse gave him a glass of water asking him to drink slowly. He complied. After he had drunk he started to say something but the doctor interrupted, ¡°I am sure you have questions. I am not the right Umaru for the job. I am merely a doctor who is giving you a clean chit now. We have healed you completely. The good director here¡±, it said, ¡°Mr Silas will take you from here. He will explain everything to you¡±, it turned to the director and continued, ¡°However, feed him first. He does need something inside of him.¡± The elf, who was apparently named Silas nodded. The nurse helped him dress. She wheeled him out of the hospital and once they had exited he got up. He did have a moment of trouble getting his bearings but he was soon able to walk normally, though slowly. Silas said, ¡°Wait here. I shall get my MQ.¡± He wondered what Silas meant but he waited. Thousands of questions were running in his head but he knew he would get answers soon. Hopefully. He examined the clothes he had been given. It was a simple sleeveless V-neck t-shirt and comfortable track pants. They had given him boxers too. All of it was black in colour. Ominous. Soon Silas came back with an interesting car. It was definitely a convertible, greyish in colour. It was a four seater with its hood down and it was hovering about a foot from the ground. ¡°What! Is this a flying car?¡± he asked. Silas rolled his eyes at the question and said, ¡°It is a mechanical quadruped or MQ for short. I am aware of this car you are talking about. It is your mode of transportation on Earth. This is not, however, Earth. Come on then. Hop in.¡± He did not, however, hop in. He opened the door to the MQ and took the seat beside Silas. It was a right hand drive. He did not understand the buttons nor the controls but Silas seemed to be an expert. As they drove, he looked around. The sights and sounds were overwhelming at first, but then he got used to them. He could see many people going about their daily routine. They were not all human. Nor all elves or the species the doctor was. He saw many species. He gulped and forced down the panic rising inside of him. He hoped this Silas guy would be able to answer his questions. Silas drove them to a dome shaped building which seemed to be outside the city they were in. They had to pass a security check manned by species which he could not identify. Silas led him into the domed shaped building. They had to pass many security checks before Silas led him to Silas¡¯ office. He had been looking around everywhere and everything he saw increased the number of questions he wanted to ask. The feeling of panic he was suppressing threatened to come out from time to time but he was managing it quite well. They had not talked the entire way. Once they were in Silas¡¯ office, Silas asked him to wait and called someone into the office. After some time a creature, no, a person, he decided to start considering everyone as a person now, walked in. They were the same species as the doctor. He tensed, then took a deep breath as the person entered. Then he turned towards Silas. Silas said, ¡°I assume you have some questions. We have some questions of our own. However, let me introduce you to the Assistant Director of this facility, Ms Sumira Untu. She is an Umaru. From the looks on your face, I am guessing you have never seen an Umaru.¡± He shook his head and said, ¡°I have never seen an elf either.¡± Silas raised an eyebrow at that. He said hurriedly, ¡°You know. The pointed ears. I am sorry if I said something wrong.¡± Silas gave a short laugh and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The pointed ears are a dead giveaway but elves are not the only ones with pointed ears. Anyway I should continue. You are a human. We conducted tests on you to confirm that while you were unconscious.¡± He must have looked uncomfortable with that statement because Silas said, ¡°I am sorry but we had to do it. We have no records of you and you did not even have your utility belt.¡± He frowned at that, ¡°Utility belt?¡± ¡°I am getting to it¡±, said Silas, ¡°Please be patient. As I was saying, you are a human. That means you are from Earth. That is the only planet currently where the human species are present. As you may have realized by now, you are not on Earth anymore. You are on a planet called Una. It is a planet which can sustain multiple species at a time. It is also called Game World.¡± Silas paused to let all this sink in and he took a deep breath. He nodded to indicate Silas to continue. Silas said, ¡°There are many sentient intelligent species residing on this planet. This planet is called Game World for a reason. All of these species come together because this planet acts as a live MMORPG. Yes, that is the term you would be familiar with. Consider this planet as a MMORPG you play with just the difference that the NPCs are actually different species with different personalities and the quests are more... adaptive.¡± ¡°What?¡± he asked. A MMORPG. He was in a game? No. The elf. Silas. He said that the world was designed like a game. That was what he meant right? Thoughts swirled in his mind. Silas said, ¡°Sumira. Would you like to take over?¡± Sumira nodded and said, ¡°You are familiar with the concept of games, right? Did you play video games while back on Earth?¡± He thought back. He knew of video games. Did he play them? He was not sure. He said, ¡°I am not sure. You see. I am having memory problems.¡± Silas and Sumira looked startled. They looked at each other and then back at him. ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Silas. ¡°It means¡±, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t remember who I am, where I am from, anything. I just don¡¯t remember anything.¡± Silas said, ¡°Well you do remember how to function normally. Also you integrated with our language pretty well. It means you definitely do not have brain damage. Are you sure you have amnesia?¡± He said, ¡°Wait. What do you mean integrated with your language?¡± Sumira said, ¡°We speak Loquella on Una. We have a spell through which you can learn how to speak, write and read Loquella in a jiffy.¡± He swallowed as he digested this new information. He said, ¡°So I have been speaking Loquella?¡± Silas nodded, ¡°As if you have been speaking from birth. You can switch back to English but you have to make a conscious effort. Loquella shall now come naturally to you first. English is now your secondary language.¡± He started, ¡°How could you-¡° Silas raised his hand, ¡°I am sorry but this needed to be done. Normally we do not do things this way but your circumstances are unique. We do not know whether you are an ally or threat and we are ready to give you the benefit of doubt. That is why you are here and not being interrogated in a prison.¡± He nodded. He tried to imagine the situation from their point of view and failed. He was not sure what was happening. He said, ¡°Okay. So this is Game World. Una. Many species live here. We all speak Loquella. So what next?¡± Silas said, ¡°The world is divided into adventurers and non-adventurers. The non-adventurers live a normal life. However, we have developed a game type system for adventurers. These adventurers travel from one place to another, completing quests, levelling up and following a major plot line which ends in a final quest. I am not going to give you any spoilers but if you were an adventurer, you would start to understand.¡± ¡°So am I an adventurer or non-adventurer?¡± he asked. Silas and Sumira shared a look before Sumira answered, ¡°We do not know. We have every person here on Una registered through our utility belts. If you do not have your utility belt, it means you have taken it off and put it somewhere nearby. You cannot lose your utility belt. It is your whole identity and moving without it is a crime. You did not have a utility belt on you when you were found. Also, you are a human. And from the way you were speaking only English, it means that you had just somehow arrived on Una. This raises a lot of questions for us. You are, what we call, an anomaly.¡± He felt as if everything was spinning. ¡°Breathe¡±, said Silas. He took a deep breath. He took a few more deep breaths. The world started to right itself. Few moments later everything looked back to normal. ¡°What does this all mean?¡± he asked. Sumira replied, ¡°We do not know. It simply means we need to design you a new utility belt first of all. However, if we cannot, it means you have a utility belt in existence already. That would mean we need to search for it. Then we shall discuss how to best integrate you in our society. But before all that, I recommend you rest. All this must be hard for you. We want you in a better condition, physically and mentally before you make any decision.¡± Silas said, ¡°Sumira is right. Rest for now. We shall talk tomorrow. Is this okay with you?¡± He nodded. Silas smiled and said, ¡°Sumira shall take you to your room for now. Also, while you are there, think of a name for yourself. I am hoping that you have simply lost your utility belt and can¡¯t remember where because of your amnesia. However, if we have to make a new one for you, we shall need a name.¡± With that parting message, Sumira took him to his room. It was a small room with a bed to the left side of the entrance, a study table in front of the bed, a window to the right which he later discovered was a projection of some sort showing the view of a garden, and bathroom door exactly opposite to where they had entered from. Sumira bid goodbye to him and left him alone with his thoughts. There was also food on the study table. It was a sandwich which he devoured considering how hungry he was. He now had a lot to think about. He was on a different planet. He did not remember his life on Earth. He was in sort of trouble over here and he did not even know why. Everything was just messed up. He still had many questions but he believed that they would not be answered quickly. He needed patience and for some reason, he believed that he could be patient for the answers he needed. His eyelids were now starting to feel heavy. He really needed sleep. He had no idea he was so tired. The last thing he thought about before he passed out was a name. He liked that name. He was not sure whether it was his name but it was the one he would give if they would be making a new utility belt for him. Marcus Blank. *** King Rauros Shadowfang was awakened from his sleep by one of his assistants. He could not remember the name of the assistant. He blamed it on the lack of sleep because the assistant had awakened him up in the middle of the night. He looked at the time. It was six o¡¯clock in the morning. Yes. As he thought. The middle of the night. He looked to the right to find his wife stirring. Leyda Lightweaver. His better half. She woke up and asked what was happening. The assistant said that both the royal highness had been called by Charles Bushford. Charles Bushford was the president of NAIF. He aided his king and queen to ensure that the game world was running smoothly. Rauros and Leyda quickly got dressed after the assistant had gone. Rauros grumbled a lot while Leyda chastised him from time to time. Finally, they were ready. Rauros looked just as if he had gotten up from bed and put on some clothes hastily while Leyda looked resplendent as usual. Damned elves and their eternal beauty. They can look radiant any time of the day, even the middle of the night, thought Rauros. Rauros Shadowfang was a human and the game master of the game world. He was in control of the game part of the world. He was helped by his wife Leyda Lightweaver who was an elf. He had his support staff but he and his wife were the main personnel looking after the entire thing. Rauros Shadowfang had been a game master for a long time. He looked as if he was in his mid twenties but was over a thousand years old. He had dishevelled short hair, scrubby stubble and a roundish face. He was tall, about six feet three and had a lanky athletic frame. He was currently wearing a black robe and pants. He had forgotten his crown, again. Leyda Lightweaver was, what Rauros considered, his exact opposite. She stood at five feet ten, dark skinned with a long face and pointy ears which curved at the tip. She radiated the ethereal beauty of the elves. She was the most beautiful elf according to him, even when they had been married for over nine hundred years now. She was dressed in a long flowing peach dress and glided across the room by his side. She was wearing her diamond studded tiara on her braided hair, when did she get the time to braid it, and looked ready for the day. He was jealous of her for this purpose. They walked up to the study of their castle. Well, according to Rauros, Leyda glided and he stumbled along like a drunk fool. In his defence, he considered the time, six twenty now, to be slightly after the middle of the night. They walked into the study to find Charles pacing nervously. Charles was an Umaru, over a hundred years of age. He had a jovial feeling around him, usually attributed to the paunch he carried. He had the normal oval face of the Umarus with their tubes protruding out, slightly greying skin and he stood just over six feet. He was wearing a pinstripe suit, very businesslike which made Rauros wonder as to when Charles had woken up. Charles bowed when they entered. A servant shut the door behind them and Leyda performed a spell. ¡°There¡±, said Leyda, ¡°Now we won¡¯t be scryed upon or be heard. What is it Charles? You look highly nervous. Quite unlike you.¡± Leyda was speaking in a gentle soothing tone. And it was good that she spoke first. Rauros would have started swearing the minute he spoke. Charles said, ¡°I am sorry to have woken up so early. (¡°It is an ungodly hour, no doubt¡±, muttered Rauros receiving an elbow jab from her wife) But I would not have come if this was not urgent.¡± ¡°And what¡±, said Rauros trying to speak in a calm tone, ¡°is this urgency?¡± ¡°There is an anomaly¡±, said Charles. There was pin drop silence for some time. Then Rauros said, ¡°Are you one hundred percent sure Charles.¡± Charles nodded and started to explain about the naked person found in the woods near the town of Solaris but Rauros had stopped listening. He was wide awake now. He was grinning. Finally, Rauros thought, he had come. Adventurer? He woke up with a headache and he did not know why. Maybe the events of yesterday were too much for him. He felt as if a lot had happened since he woke up on Game world. He got up and got ready for the day. As he was going to exit his room, thinking of getting breakfast he froze for a bit. Where was he supposed to go? Silas and Sumira had not told him anything about the dining facilities of NAIF. As he was thinking about what to do, there was a knock on the door. He opened it to find an Umaru standing in front of him. ¡°Hi¡±, said the Umaru, ¡°My name is Krona. Nice to meet you. I will be your guide for the day. Director Silas sent me. You must be hungry. Come, let us go for breakfast.¡± And she turned and started walking. He was stunned for a bit. Then he hurried after her. Krona was taller than him, and had the greenish blue skin of the Umaru, more green than blue. However, it was her eyes that captivated him. He did not see anything other than her large oval bright pink eyes. She was walking fast and he hurried after her. He said, ¡°Slow down. What¡¯s the rush?¡± She slowed down and said, ¡°Pardon me. This is my normal speed. I shall slow down for you.¡± They walked through the residential part of the facility and outside. Then she took a left and walked to a large one storied rectangular building. She said as they approached, ¡°This is the mess. You will be getting breakfast, lunch and dinner over here. As you do not possess Una currency, I will escort you for the time being.¡± He wanted to ask further questions about the currency on Una and other things but Krona simply charged in or it looked as if she charged in. He thought this pace must be normal for an Umaru. He followed in. The mess hall was big with counters for food on the other end from where they had entered. The kitchen was behind the counter and the access to it was through three doors behind the food counters; the door on the left, the door on the right and the door in the middle. The rest of the mess hall was filled with tables of twos, fours, sixes and eights. Krona led him to one of the food counters. There was another Umaru working there. When they approached Krona said, ¡°One human breakfast please.¡± The Umaru behind the counter asked, ¡°Vegetarian or Non-vegetarian?¡± Krona looked at him inquiringly and he replied, ¡°Any will do.¡± The Umaru behind the counter handed him a plate filled with food. He did not recognize all the items but it looked good. There was something looking like a sausage and toast with a bowl filled with what he hoped were beans. Krona went to another counter and he followed. Once she had taken her plate, she paid with a card which she had procured from her utility belt. Then she led him to a table for two. They focused on their breakfast first. The food was good. It did not look like the vegetables or the meat he had on Earth but it was delicious. Then he frowned. How did he know about the vegetables and meat from Earth? They finished their breakfast. They did not talk much during and mostly focused on eating. After breakfast, Krona took him back into the facility and into a room. There was a single machine hooked to a computer in that room. There was a chair beside the machine and a few chairs behind the computer. He did not identify the machine. For some reason it looked to him like an MRI machine. Silas and Sumira entered the room. Krona sat down on the chair at the computer. Silas smiled at him and said, ¡°Good morning. How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Well enough¡±, he said, ¡°Less confused than yesterday. Still have many questions.¡± Silas laughed a bit and said, ¡°The answers will come. But first, we need to get a utility belt for you.¡± ¡°And this machine is for that?¡± he asked. ¡°That is correct¡±, Silas nodded and gestured to Sumira who pulled out the bed from the machine. She said, ¡°This machine will analyze your entire body. It will give us an idea whether you were bonded with an utility belt before or not. If you were, we would be able to get its signature from your¡±, she stopped contemplating the correct word, ¡°essence and then track it. Do not worry. You won¡¯t even feel a thing. It is perfectly safe.¡± He complied. He lay on the bed and they put him in the machine. The machine hummed for some time and then they pulled him out. The expression on their face told him something was wrong. He asked, ¡°What is it?¡± Silas said, ¡°You did not have a utility belt. It is highly baffling. We will now need to make one for you.¡± ¡°Okay then¡±, he said, ¡°Shall we start?¡± They gave him a form to fill. He filled it up as much as he could remember. He filled his name last. He thought for a bit before writing down what he had decided last night. He would now be officially Marcus Blank. He liked it. Silas took the form from it, read it once and then passed it to Sumira. She took the form and exited the room followed by Krona. Once they were gone Silas said, ¡°They will take care of the generation of the utility belt. It will be given to you tomorrow. Till that time you have a decision to make.¡± ¡°What decision?¡±, Marcus asked. Silas said, ¡°Marcus Blank. You need to decide by tomorrow. Do you want to be an adventurer or non-adventurer?¡± *** The rest of his day passed too quickly for Marcus. Silas asked Krona to help Marcus make the decision. Krona explained to him what being an adventurer and a non-adventurer entailed. The more he heard about it, the more he felt that he had somehow awoken in a world which was a live version of an MMORPG i.e. a massive multiplayer online role playing game. The adventurers were like a player of an mmorpg. They were given quests and they travelled all over the world to fulfil these quests. There was a main storyline which needed to be completed and he would get to know about it only after he became an adventurer. Non-Adventurers were like NPCs i.e. non playable characters. If he decided to be a non-adventurer, then he would be integrated into the Una society. There, he would be further assigned a role. Further details would be provided to him if he chose to be a non-adventurer. Marcus felt that this was too little information for making such a big decision. Krona had replied to that, ¡°Most of the people coming to Una already have made their decision. As soon as they come to Una, they register themselves as either adventurers or non-adventurers. You are a special case. Normally, we do not need to explain anything to new people coming to our planet.¡± After that, Krona had also shown Marcus where the new people coming to planet Una come from. It was called the teleportation room. It was a very big and high room. In the centre of the room there was a large circular platform, covered with runes and symbols Marcus did not recognize. Krona had explained, ¡°Each NAIF facility has one. A new incoming person notifies his date and time of arrival through our representative who is with him at that time. They are given a new utility belt as they are not a part of our planet and using that utility belt we summon them here. They could be summoned to other NAIF facilities based on their preference or decision of our higher ups.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Is this some sort of summoning spell on the platform over there? And how do you decide who to accept in your world?¡± ¡°Those are no concern of yours now. You just need to decide whether you want to be an adventurer or non-adventurer. I am simply showing you this room because you asked how normally people come to this planet.¡± Marcus had frowned and said, ¡°What about people already residing on this planet? Do they choose to be adventurers or they are simply non-adventurers?¡± Krona had smiled, ¡°Yes they do select to be adventurers. Umaru are not the only species living on this planet. There are other non-adventurer species whose progeny decide they want to be adventurers.¡± That had concluded their meeting as Krona was needed somewhere else. She had escorted Marcus to his room promising that she would come find him there for lunch and dinner. She had also advised him not to roam around that day as he still did not have his utility belt and the belt also aided in communication. She would have a hard time searching for him if he wandered around and that might delay eating which Marcus got a feeling Krona would not be happy about. So he stayed in his room and thought about what he wanted to do. It did not take him long to make a decision though. He knew what he was going to be. It was a feeling he had in him which told him what he needed to do. He fell asleep that night with a smile on his face. Tomorrow was going to be a good day. *** Marcus woke up to someone knocking at his door. He looked at the clock in his room to check the time. It was 7 o¡¯clock in the morning. He frowned. He realized he had not set an alarm because he did not know what the normal time for getting up in the morning was. He somehow felt that 7 o¡¯clock was just right though. So who had woken up earlier than seven and was now knocking at his door? The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. He got up and opened the door. It was Krona. Krona said, ¡°Come on, sleepy boy. Director Silas is looking for you. Come on, follow me.¡± And she shot off. Marcus had to jog a little in order to keep pace with her. He considered her to be definitely weird. But then he did not know anything about other species. So this could be normal behaviour on Una and maybe he was the odd one. He shook his head and thought that he was definitely the odd one as he was after all, what they called an anomaly. Krona led Marcus into one of the offices. It looked like a medical ward. There was a bed with some devices beside it. Silas was standing talking to someone Marcus did not recognize. It was another elf. He remembered an expression, ¡®tall, dark and handsome¡¯. The description fitted the elf Silas was talking to perfectly. Krona had to prod him in his back to make him walk again. He had not realized he had frozen at the door. Krona said, ¡°Every elf has ethereal beauty which dazes those who do not know much about it. Ah! You would not know it too, wouldn¡¯t you? Anyways, come on. You¡¯ll get used to it.¡± Marcus frowned. Every elf had ethereal beauty. What did that mean? Also Silas was an elf and Marcus had not been dazed by him. As Marcus approached Silas said, ¡°Ah excellent Marcus. Please sit. We shall be fixing your utility belt on you.¡± Marcus sat on the bed. The second elf took out a belt out of his, well, belt. The belt was made up of a material Marcus could not tell. It was silvery in colour and had vertical grooves along its entire length. There was a buckle and clasp at the centre. The elf put the belt around Marcus¡¯ waist. It snapped on with a clank. Then everyone looked at him expectantly. Marcus asked, ¡°Is... is this it?¡± Then he felt something prick at the back and he had a sensory overload. He could not remember much about what happened afterwards. He must have blacked out because he suddenly shot up from a sleeping position with a gasp. He looked around confused and then remembered. He looked at his waist to see a utility belt tightly bound. Marcus tried to open the buckle but a voice said, ¡°Easy there. Don¡¯t remove it immediately after we have gone through all the trouble of putting it on.¡± Marcus focused on the source of voice and found himself looking at Silas. ¡°What happened¡±, asked Marcus. Silas took some time before answering, ¡°To explain that you need to understand something fundamental. I shall give you a brief version.¡± Silas paused thinking about what to say next, ¡°As you may know that the entire universe is made up of energy.¡± Silas looked at Marcus to confirm whether he knew this. As his sharp eyes bored into Marcus, Marcus nodded. Silas continued, ¡°Living beings are also made up of energy. However, in the case of living beings, this energy is a mixture of various energies. We call these energies life energy, magical energy and body energy. Life energy is what sustains your life. Magical energy gives you magical powers and the ability to perform spells. Body energy maintains and enhances your body. These three energies harmoniously exist in any living being¡¯s body. The quantities may differ based on the species but each living entity has these three energies. The combination of these three energies is called the essence of a living person.¡± Silas paused again to give Marcus time to digest what he had said. Marcus was glad Silas did. Because his head was spinning again and he did not think this was the after effect of putting on his utility belt. Marcus swallowed many of the questions he wanted to ask and said, ¡°What has this got to do with the utility belt?¡± Silas replied, ¡°Your utility belt bonds with your essence. Especially your magical energy. It requires a fraction of it to function.¡± Marcus nodded. He understood what Silas was saying. Then he asked the question he really wanted to ask, ¡°Are you saying I can perform magic now?¡± Silas laughed and said, ¡°It depends on various factors. Let us not dwell into that for now. Let me explain how your utility belt works.¡± Silas stood up and placed a hand on the left side of his belt. Marcus could see an interface pop out. Marcus could read it but it took some effort. Silas¡¯ interface looked reversed to Marcus as he was sitting in front of him. Silas looked at Marcus¡¯ expression and muttered, ¡°Oh! Right.¡± Then he shifted so that Marcus could see Silas¡¯ interface. Name: Silas Cornerstone Race: Elf Designation: Director, NAIF, Solaris Facility There were some other lines after this but all were redacted. Marcus could not see what they were. It seemed that Silas could hide the information that he wished. Marcus said, ¡°How do I do this?¡± Silas replied, ¡°Touch your belt and think ¡®Status¡¯.¡± Marcus did as he was told. His status screen opened. It was a lot more information than Silas which was understandable as it would be weird if he could not see his own screen. He read his Status Name: Marcus Blank Race: Human Designation: Undetermined Age: Undetermined Description: Labelled as the anomaly, Marcus Blank is currently under inspection. Further decisions shall give in depth knowledge regarding his status. Marcus frowned as he read his status. He looked up at Silas and said, ¡°What is this? This is so minimal.¡± Silas said, ¡°Can you share your status with me. I cannot see it until you share it with me. Also if you do not want to share the entire status, then you can share a part of it.¡± ¡°How do I do that?¡± ¡°Touch your utility belt and think about sharing your status. Think about only sharing it with me, otherwise you may broadcast it to other living beings nearby.¡± Marcus nodded and complied. Silas could now see Marcus¡¯ status. Silas asked, ¡°So, what seems to be the problem?¡± ¡°My designation, age and description¡±, said Marcus, ¡°Why are they so vague?¡± ¡°You have not yet determined whether you wish to be an adventurer or not. That is why the designation and description are vague. As for your age, we were not able to determine it. You seem to have the body of a male human in his mid twenties. However, there was something in our analysis which did not make sense. It looked as if you had been alive for over five hundred years which is not possible for a human. That is why your age is undetermined.¡± ¡°Can you not just put it as twenty five?¡± ¡°Very well¡±, said Silas slowly. He touched his utility belt and another screen popped up which Marcus could not read again. Silas typed something in it and then paused, ¡°What do I put in as your date of birth then?¡± ¡°The date I was found in the forest¡±, said Marcus, ¡°Simply subtract twenty five years from it. I think that will do.¡± As Silas started to make the changes, Marcus said, ¡°What is the calendar system here? I mean on Earth it was¡­ it was¡­ Well I forget but I do remember it was something to do with twelves and sixties and all that.¡± ¡°Someone will explain to you the system. I am here to explain your utility belt. Check your status now. Your age should be shown.¡± Marcus did as told. He could now see his age at 25 but not his date of birth. He decided to ask about that later, once he had an understanding of how time worked on Una. Next Silas explained to Marcus about inventory. It worked the same way as the status screen. Marcus needed to touch the utility belt and think about inventory and his inventory screen would open. Marcus examined it. It was divided into various categories which seemed to be locked for now. Currently he could access only the Clothes category, the Currency category and the Other Items category. The clothes and currency categories were empty. There was a card in the currency category. Silas explained about the card, ¡°This card stores your money. The money system is simple here. The currency is known simply as units. I hope you remember how money works. Units is the only denomination for the sake of simplicity. There are no larger or smaller denominations. Moreover, this card uses digital currency and can be linked to your bank account if you open one. Physical notes of units also exist. These include the 1 unit, 2 units, 5 units, 10 units, 50 units, 100 units and 1000 units notes. You currently have no units. As long as you stay in this facility, you will not have to pay anything as of now. Just swipe your card. However, it is not free. Charges shall be accrued as per your usage. Repayment plans shall be considered once you decide on your profession.¡± Marcus took some time to take in the explanation. He then said, ¡°Are these the only functions of the utility belt?¡± ¡°Oh! It also acts as a communication device¡±, said Silas. Then he showed Marcus how to make calls and send messages and add contacts. Marcus had Silas as his first contact. Then Silas also gave him the contact information of Krona. He then told Marcus that they were other functions but they depended on his profession selected. Marcus was starting to get a bit antsy. Majority of things on Una depended on whether you were an Adventurer or not. Silas then left Marcus telling him to get acquainted with his utility belt. He told Marcus that he would come back in the evening and finalize Marcus¡¯ profession. Marcus nodded as Silas left. Marcus remembered then. He had forgotten to ask Silas whether he could remove the utility belt. Silas had also not mentioned anything regarding it. Marcus decided not to take it off at that moment. He would wait till evening. He lay down and went to sleep. *** He was woken up by Krona. Sumira was with her and Silas was also present. He was getting special treatment. Yipee! Silas said, ¡°Very well Marcus. It is time to make a decision. Adventurer or non-adventurer?¡± ¡°Face washer¡±, said Marcus a bit groggily. He laughed at the confusion on their faces. He said, ¡°Let me use the restroom. Freshen up. I will tell you my decision then.¡± After he was back, they all settled down. Marcus could feel some nervous energy in the air. Marcus said, ¡°I have decided to be an adventurer.¡± He could see no one was surprised with his decision. The others simply nodded as Krona input something in the interface opened in front of her. Marcus could not see what was written. Sumira said, ¡°Well, if you are an adventurer, then you need to be integrated accordingly. The orientation is in a week. Till that time, get used to the new status information that will now be unlocked. Krona will guide you for tomorrow and then you can spend your time however you want in the facility.¡± Silas said, ¡°We will not meet you much now Marcus but do not hesitate to call us if there is any need. Krona shall be your first point of contact. Your orientation shall be at 7 am in a week as Sumira mentioned. Welcome to Una. Welcome to Game World Adventurer Marcus Blank. Hope you enjoy questing around the world.¡± With that everyone departed. Krona escorted Marcus to dinner and then to his room. She told him that she would come at 7 am for breakfast and taught Marcus how to set an alarm with his utility belt. Back at his room Marcus thought about viewing his updated status screen but decided not to. He was tired and decided that he needed a fresh mind to understand the new clump of information that was thrown his way. ¡°Fuck my life¡±, he said to no one as he went to sleep. The next week was going to be a long one. *** Rauros was looking at the file in front of him. It was the file of a human named Marcus Blank. He was grinning as he read it. Charles, for some reason, was looking nervous. He was seated across Rauros and was perspiring like anything. ¡°Calm down Charles¡±, said Rauros, ¡°You do not have anything to worry about.¡± ¡°Yes, my lord¡±, said Charles but he did not stop being nervous. Rauros finished the file and said, ¡°Keep tabs on this guy. I want to know his progress.¡± Charles nodded. Rauros continued, ¡°Charles. I think it is time to play the War Scenario. It has not been done for quite some time now.¡± Charles spluttered, ¡°The War Scenario my lord? There is a reason for that. The last time, a hundred years ago, things got out of hand, it was not¡­ My lord, I need permission from both you and lady Lightweaver for executing this scenario as per the guidelines set.¡± ¡°You will get your fucking permission¡±, growled Rauros, ¡°Just start making preparations.¡± Charles looked as if he wanted to protest but one look at Rauros and he scampered out of Rauros¡¯ office. Rauros grinned as Charles left. Soon after his wife arrived. ¡°Did you have to scare Charles so much my love?¡± Leyda asked. Rauros snorted, ¡°He is the one who is uncomfortable with us even after so many years of service. I enjoy making him squirm. Let me have some guilty pleasures. I have so few these days.¡± ¡°You will apologize to him later¡±, said Leyda in a voice that brooked no argument, ¡°And what is this I hear about a War Scenario?¡± Leyda had a sweet smile plastered on her face but Rauros knew he was screwed. He braced himself for the argument. This was going to be a long day, but he would definitely have his way. Orientation The week before the orientation passed quickly for Marcus. He got into a routine. Every morning, he woke up at 6 o¡¯clock and then went for a run around the facility for an hour. Then he would get ready and have his breakfast. After breakfast, he would explore his utility belt as much as he could. Then he would have lunch, do some research, dinner and then sleep. He could have done more but the exploration of the utility belt did not take long and it was boring. His status screen had changed. It now read, Name: Marcus Blank Race: Human Designation: Adventurer - Rank 1 Age: 25 Current Location: Solaris Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 1 Experience: 0/100 Strength: 5 Dexterity: 10 Intelligence: 10 Vitality: 5 Agility: 10 Wisdom: 3 Luck: ??? Health: 110 Mana: 106 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Stamina Regeneration - Level 1 Well Rested - Level 1 Description: The anomaly is now not just an anomaly and is taking his baby steps on being an adventurer. Best of luck to him! The description of his status was the weirdest according to him. He had also asked Krona regarding his Luck Stat and she had said that no one knows their luck. The adventurers can go on a special quest to unveil the luck stat but it was a difficult and long quest, not only for completion, but also to discover. Mostly the adventurers did not mind not knowing their luck stat. There was also another page in the status interface and Marcus had to swipe it to see. The second page of status showed the following, Spells known: None Spells Equipped: None Spell Slots: 0 Physical Attack: 10 Magical Attack: 15 Physical Resistance: 3.75 Magical Resistance: 4 Critical Attack Chance: 5% (max 25%) Critical Attack Damage: 7.5% (max 47.5%) Status: None The critical attack chance and damage was confusing for Marcus and he had asked Krona about that. The percentage shown was the normal critical attack chance and extra damage that would be done. The max percentage showed up to how much it could go and it depended on the luck stat. Krona had said, ¡°Such a high percentage rate without any weapon normally means that you have high luck. However, considering the max rating, the luck must be really high.¡± ¡°How high?¡± Marcus had asked. ¡°Really high. If you want to know, you can do the quest after all.¡± Krona had not elaborated further after that. Marcus also discovered that you could understand in depth what each parameter of his status meant. He just needed to touch the parameter for explanation. He had read the details of his passive abilities. [Stamina Regeneration] meant that he did not tire easily and could perform more actions than a normal person. He wondered how that worked but realized something. His morning run around the facility. It did not tire him as much as it should have. It had to be the effect of [Stamina Regeneration]. The second passive ability was [Well Rested] and it was not always present as [Stamina Regeneration]. It only came into effect if Marcus had had eight hours of good sleep during the night. It increased the rate at which he received experience points by 20%. This was good. It just meant he would need to have healthy sleeping habits. There was also a third page in his status interface. It was a page about reputation. Currently he had no reputation. The page showed, Social: 0/1000 (Neutral) NAIF: 0/1000 (Neutral) Solaris: 0/1000 (Neutral) It looked like a lot of hassle to build a reputation. He had selected the explanation for it and had found the reputation levels included Neutral, Good, Excellent and Legendary in the Positive side and Poor, Horrible and Villainous in the Negative side. He did not know how he would receive reputation and how much reputation it would take to reach Legendary reputation. This was all about his status screen. He had also studied his inventory screen which now contained categories like Weapons, Armors, Clothes, Currency, Other Items and Quest Items. Almost all were empty. The exceptions were Currency and now Clothes. Currency category still held the card while Clothes now contained four pants, four t-shirts, two shirts and two night suits. He also had two training pants and t-shirts which he alternated for his run. He had bought them all at a shop in the NAIF facility which Krona had shown. They were monocolor, either black, blue or white. He had also bought some socks and two pairs of shoes, one formal and one sports. He shuddered at his debt now. It was at thirty thousand units. He wondered how he had accrued so much but Krona had told that it was the combination of the shopping that he had done, the food he was eating and his rent for staying at the NAIF facility. It was cumulative for the week and would not increase unless he needed to stay at the facility for a longer period. Marcus still felt that he was ripped off. However, he could not be certain as he had no idea about the regular rates of commodities and services on Una. Other than the inventory, he had also found a screen about spells. However, it was not useful to him as he did not have any magic as of now. There was also the internet equivalent of an interface on the utility belt and Marcus spent quite some time researching Una and Game World. After breakfast, he mostly spent the day either exploring the interface or during research and in the evenings, he did some socializing with NAIF employees. He could not find other Adventurers in the facility. He found out that adventurers living in the facility was a rare occurrence as most of them had sponsors. Even those who did not have sponsors had some living arrangements made outside of the facility. The week passed and it was time for orientation. Marcus finished his run early, had an early breakfast and reached the conference hall where the orientation was supposed to take place. There were four other people present. There was a dwarf, Marcus could tell from his height and his stock. Maybe, he should not be profiling. Felt racist, speciesist. Was that even a word? There were two figures shrouded in black cloaks and Marcus could not tell who they were. The fourth person present was of a species Marcus was not aware of. The person looked like a lioness but humanoid. She had two hands and two paws instead of all four paws. All of them looked clawed and Marcus could see clearly for she was not wearing any boots and had her feet up on the table. The two cloaked figures were sitting close to each other, almost touching each other but far away from the others. The dwarf was looking bored and sleepy. And he kept nodding off. He was sitting closest to the central podium of the conference room. As Marcus entered, all eyes turned to him briefly and then they all went on doing what they were doing before. Marcus hesitated. He did not know where to sit and so he started towards the dwarf. When he reached near he could hear the snores. Marcus sighed. It seemed that he would not be able to socialize with him. He turned to look at the cloaked figures. He could definitely sense a feeling of hostility from them. So he marched up to the lioness like humanoid. ¡°Hi¡±, he said as he approached her. The lioness looked at him lazily, as if she was trying to analyze him. She said, ¡°Hello.¡± She was definitely a female as Marcus had guessed. ¡°I am Marcus Blank. A new adventurer. Pleased to meet you.¡± The lioness looked at Marcus for some time. She did not speak for some time. Then she said, ¡°You are not afraid of me.¡± ¡°Honestly¡±, said Marcus, ¡°I am more afraid of this orientation. I don¡¯t know what to expect.¡± The lioness stared at him for some moments and then said, ¡°You are the anomaly!¡± ¡°I am famous; and I still do not know your name.¡± ¡°I am sorry. Where are my manners? I am Nadia Shortclaw. It is an honor to meet you, Marcus Blank.¡± And she gave Marcus a short bow. Marcus felt a bit awkward as she did that. Marcus said, ¡°There is no need to bow. It is just¡­ Just don¡¯t bow to me. Also, how did you know I was the anomaly?¡± Nadia replied, ¡°The news of an anomaly in Game World discovered in Solaris has spread across the internet. Everyone is talking about it these days. They just have your name though. No other information. Silas has been keeping quiet about a lot, keeping you out of the reporters¡¯ grasp. I must say you should consider yourself lucky considering how many media houses want to interview you.¡± ¡°They would be disappointed. I am a font of knowledge with no ink.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡­ wait, that did not make sense. In short, I won¡¯t be much of interest to the media houses. I am a blank slate.¡± ¡°What?¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Never mind. Tell me about you. I have not met someone of your own kind. Could you tell me what species you are, if that is not rude.¡± Nadia stared at Marcus for quite some time before she answered, ¡°I am a Feliur. We are what you humans call a feline humanoid.¡± ¡°Ah!¡±, said Marcus, ¡°So we have already labelled you. We humans are great at labelling are we not? I remember. We invented a label maker for this purpose, you know.¡± Nadia frowned and said, ¡°Do you talk like this normally?¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Nadia gestured and then let go. Then she said, ¡°Let¡¯s just wait for the instructor.¡± But I have so many questions, thought Marcus but did not say out loud. He could tell Nadia would not be forthcoming now. Her body language had closed off. Wait! He knew how to read body language. What the fuck was wrong with him. How could he know such things when he could not remember his own name. This was just frustrating on a different level. Marcus sat in silence beside Nadia. No one was saying anything. This was going to get boring very quickly. About five minutes later the door beside the podium opened and Marcus saw Silas come in with another person. It was an Umaru. The dwarf woke up as soon as Silas entered and looked alert as if he was not sleeping at all. The cloaked figures shivered a bit, Marcus did not know why but they did not say anything. Nadia simply shifted a bit. She looked bored. Silas said, ¡°Ah! Good. Everyone is present. Sorry for the delay. Let me introduce myself. I am Silas Cornerstone, director of this lovely NAIF facility at Solaris. With me is instructor Sawar Sawknee who will be taking your orientation. I will be leaving you in his capable hands. Good luck new adventurers.¡± Sawar was dressed in a three piece suit. He had his arms around his back and was looking at each of his students with a slight smile on his face. He had an air of authority and Marcus felt as if Sawar was more of an on-field guy rather than a teacher. However, appearances could be deceiving as he had learnt from experience. Wait, what experience? he thought. He shook his head as Sawar cleared his throat, ¡°Good morning adventurers. As director Cornerstone stated, I am Sawar Sawknee. I am in charge of training certain adventurers.¡± There was a short start as they heard the word training. Marcus understood why he would require training but the others. He looked at each of them closely. They looked well trained to Marcus but as he had mused earlier, appearances can be deceiving. The dwarf spoke up, ¡°Excuse me Mr. Sawknee but why do we need training? I am already extensively trained in the battle arts by my family. What do I need to learn?¡± ¡°Excellent question Mr.?¡± ¡°Gurnhold. Orin Gurnhold.¡± ¡°As Mr. Gurnhold stated, I believe you are all well versed in the battle arts except for Mr. Blank here I believe.¡± All turned to look at him. Sawar continued, ¡°I am not here to train you how to fight. You already know that. I am here to teach you how to fight as an adventurer. There is a difference before you ask. With the exception of Mr. Blank, you will all be undergoing training which will help you become a proper adventurer on Una. Mr. Blank here will be undergoing training not just to become an adventurer, but he will also be learning how to fight. Now, on to the orientation. Any questions are to be asked at the end of the presentation.¡± Sawar pressed a button on the remote he was holding and a white screen unfurled behind him. An overhead projector turned on and a presentation started. Marcus felt this was all too corporate and shifted a bit uncomfortably. The presentation was about Una, the Game World. The initial slides had information that Marcus already knew. Then there were slides on how to get a quest, how to complete a quest, types of quest, about the storylines and various other world information. There were also slides about the utility belt and functions of various screens. There was also a slide on the time system of Una. As they were all from different planets, it was important to understand it. The basic unit of measurement was second. One second of Una was equivalent to one second of Earth according to Marcus¡¯ understanding. Sixty seconds made a minute and sixty minutes made an hour. Each day was thirty hours long. Approximately fifteen hours of day and night. The number of hours varied with seasons. There were ten days to a week named Henaday, Diday, Triday, Quadraday, Pentaday, Hexaday, Heptaday, Octaday, Nonaday and Decaday. The last three days of the week were considered to be the weekend. There were sixty days in a month and there were ten months to a year. The months were named Unusar, Duosar, Tressar, Quattresar, Quinqesar, Sessar, Septesar, Octasar, Novesar, Decesar. It seemed that Una took about six hundred days to revolve around the sun and their system was based in that manner. The orientation continued on till lunch and Sawar told them to meet him back in the conference hall after lunch. The two cloaked figures were the first to shuffle out of the room. They were the only ones whose name Marcus did not know. Orin and Nadia exited together and Marcus was the last to leave. They went to the cafeteria. Marcus could not see the cloaked figures in the cafeteria. Even though the cafeteria was usually crowded during lunch, Marcus could clearly see who was where and those two definitely stood out. He took his meal and joined Nadia and Orin at a table. They looked at him but did not say anything. They ate their food in awkward silence for some time. Finally, Marcus could not take anymore and introduced himself to Orin. Orin raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°You are the anomaly.¡± ¡°And I am famous, apparently.¡± ¡°I apologize. I did not want to make you uncomfortable. It is just that, you are the most interesting news on Una right now. Don¡¯t worry, it will all pass after some time.¡± ¡°True. But now I am thinking I should have named myself Marcus Anomaly rather than Blank. People are expecting it, it seems.¡± Both Nadia and Orin stared at him uncomprehendingly to which Marcus said, ¡°I have amnesia.¡± Nadia said, ¡°That makes sense regarding what Mr. Sawknee said. About your training.¡± ¡°That is indeed rough¡±, said Orin. Marcus nodded and they continued to eat in silence for some time. They made some small talk and then went back to the conference hall. The cloaked figures were back. Even Sawar was back. As Marcus, Nadia and Orin entered, Sawar said, ¡°Excellent. Everyone is here. Follow me.¡± Sawar led them out of the conference room to a training hall. Marcus had seen it but had not visited it during his hiatus week. The hall was huge. Marcus could not guess how far it was spread. They went inside and Marcus saw white. He literally saw white. The theme that the NAIF facility went for for the training hall was white. There was a reception which was small compared to the hall but it was still quite large. The desk was right in front of the entrance, about fifty feet away from it. There were ten receptionists present behind the desk. There was a waiting area to the left of the reception desk and a small caf¨¦ to the right. There were doors on each side of the reception desk. Marcus assumed that they took them to the training hall proper. five out of the ten receptionists present were free. The rest were engaged with someone. It seemed that the training hall was a popular place for the adventurers of Solaris to train. Sawar led them to one of the receptionists. Marcus observed that all of the receptionists were Umaru. It seemed that a majority of the Umaru were non-adventurers. He had not seen or heard of an adventurer Umaru yet. After finishing the formality, Sawar led them through the door to the left. It was a crisscrossing passageway with doors on which numbers were written. Each of this would be a training hall but what was inside it, Marcus could not see. Sawar led them to door no 99. How huge was this place? They entered. The lights turned on automatically as they entered. The training hall was a large open area with a gym and acrobatic equipment in one corner. Weapons, wooden, were lined up in one of the corners. It was on the opposite side of where they had entered. Sawar led them to the centre of the training hall. There he said, ¡°We shall be training here for the next month.¡± There were collective groans and Sawar raised a hand, ¡°If your performance is satisfactory by the end of the month, then you will be allowed to start your life officially as an adventurer. Otherwise, you will need to stay some more time training under me.¡± Marcus raised a hand and at a raised eyebrow from Sawar said, ¡°Will I be spending a month at NAIF facility? And will I be paid for the training? I mean, I do not know about the others but I am already in a lot of debt.¡± Orin and Nadia looked strangely at Marcus. Marcus did not know what was wrong with what he had asked. Sawar gave a sigh and said, ¡°Do not worry about your debt Marcus. Adventurers earn a lot from their quests. Moreover, NAIF does not loot the adventurers. The debt is interest free and can be paid in fifty years. Whatever debt you accrue in the next month, you can easily pay off in a few years. Do not worry. Any other questions before I proceed?¡± There were no other questions. Sawar then proceeded to tell them their schedule for the day. It included coming to training hall 99 after breakfast every morning at 8 am. There would be warm up exercises according to the species followed by a short break. Then they would be practicing with weapons preferred by them up to lunch time. After lunch, it was theoretical study to enhance their adventurer capabilities and then they would be free by 5 pm in the evening. It was still a long time according to Marcus. 8 am to 5 pm including an hour for lunch. That was a total of 12 hours they would be spending training. That still gave Marcus 10 hours of free time if he considered 8 hour of sleeping. He frowned as he thought about this. Why the fuck he was planning is day so methodically? He then focused on what Sawar was saying. Sawar said, ¡°Well, today we shall not be doing much. So, I think we need to have an ice breaking session. I am sorry I should have done this earlier but I am new at this. Let us start by telling our name, our species, a little bit about ourselves, our hobbies and what we think we are good at. It would help, especially if we are to spend at least a month together.¡± He looked at others expectantly. When no one spoke up he said, ¡°Oh! I should start. Shouldn¡¯t I?¡± He gave a short cough and said, ¡°My name is Sawar Sawknee as you know and I shall be your trainer for the next month. I am an Umaru, part of the king¡¯s army until quite recently. I do not have any hobbies and I am open to discovering something which I would like. I am good with weapons.¡± ¡°[Weapon Master] passive?¡± asked Orin. Sawar gave a short start. Then he grinned at Orin and said, ¡°Of course you would know. Yes. [Weapon Master] passive.¡± Marcus made a mental note to research that particular passive. Sawar now gestured to Orin to introduce himself. Orin said, ¡°My name is Orin Gurnhold and I am a dwarf. I am the youngest of the quadruplets born. My hobbies include making masterpieces through needlework and I am good at it.¡± Marcus had some questions but he restrained himself. Nadia was next. She said, ¡°My name is Nadia Shortclaw and I am a Feliur. I am the sister of the legendary adventurer you all know as Nalka Shortclaw. My hobbies include the sport Clawfluke which I believe is a native to my world and I am good with agility based abilities.¡± Marcus looked at the others nodding. He was going to be so lost in this world. Everyone seemed to have more information than him. Even with the time he had spent researching, he had not learnt as much as he had hoped. He needed to do more research. Then Sawar turned to the cloaked figures. One of them sighed and went, ¡°My name is Noron Bladeluster. This is my brother Tymon Bladeluster. We are vampires. Tymon does not speak much. My hobbies include reading books while Tymon includes chasing women.¡± That earned Noron a smack on the head from Tymon but Noron continued, ¡°Sorry. The great Tymon¡¯s hobby includes chasing naked women.¡± That earned him another smack. The others were grinning now. Tymon signed something but no one could understand. It seemed that the spell [Common Speak] was not applicable for sign language. Noron continued, ¡°I am good at daydreaming while my brother is good with the ladies.¡± Tymon threw his hands up in the air and shook his head. It seemed that he had given up. If Marcus could see under the cloak, he would see a grinning Noron, he was sure. Sawar said, ¡°All right. Enough of this childish behaviour. You are next¡±. Sawar pointed at Marcus. Marcus simply turned to Noron and asked the first question that had popped into his mind, ¡°Bram Stoker or Twilight?¡± Then he frowned. ¡°What?¡± both Marcus and Noron asked at the same time. ¡°Why are you asking the same question as me?¡± asked Noron. Marcus replied, ¡°Well I should introduce myself. It will clear a few things. My name is Marcus Blank and I have been informed that I have become famous as an anomaly. I do not know my hobbies or what I like as I have amnesia and am simply taking one day at a time.¡± He turned to Noron, ¡°As to your question, I was simply surprised at my question. I do not know who or what Bram Stoker and Twilight is but it just popped in my head.¡± There was a short silence after Marcus introduced himself and then Sawar clapped his hands, ¡°Well then. Now we are all introduced. How about we do some fun team building activities? Or if you like, we could just go about our business.¡± All of them chose the later alternative and the group broke up. They all went their own ways. Marcus went back to his room to read up on Clawfluke, Feliurs, Dwarves and Vampires. He did not want to look like a fool and somehow he found reading up on things relaxing. Maybe that was his calling. He could have been a researcher. He certainly enjoyed the task and the internet through the utility belt was very fast and very informative. The group somehow met at dinner. Marcus entered the cafeteria to find out that he was soon followed by Nadia and Orin. The Bladeluster brothers were already present. They had the hoods of their cloaks down and Marcus could see their faces. They were pale and looked almost human to Marcus. They had sharp pointy ears, sharper than the elves and longer. The ears were definitely the prominent features of the vampires¡¯ faces, along with the fangs which protruded at least two to three inches out of the upper side of the mouth. Marcus realized that he was staring and Nadia and Orin had already got their food. They sat down on the table with Bladeluster brothers. Marcus took his dinner and joined them. Marcus said, ¡°You know. You are neither Bram Stoker or Twilight. You are something different.¡± Noron said, ¡°Thank you Marcus. It seems that you have read up on what you said. We did too. I cannot believe how humans view vampires.¡± ¡°Well, there are no vampires on Earth as far as I know. It is all some people¡¯s imagination put on paper.¡± ¡°It was still horrifying and funny at the same time.¡± The group talked about many things and Marcus found that he could talk with them more than he had expected. It seemed that not everyone knew everything about Game World and other species'' culture, just basic things and especially etiquettes to not insult the other species. Marcus gave himself a mental high five. Go research. The dinner went well and the group talked much into the night. The vampires were not nocturnal but sunlight did affect their powers, weakening them by about 20% according to Noron. Their cloaks negated the negative effect of the sun and so they wore them all the time, even while sleeping. They soon said their goodbyes. As Marcus went to sleep that night, he had a genuine smile on his face. *** Sawar was looking in detail at the files of all his trainees again. He had already gone through them five times but one more time did not hurt. He was especially interested in Marcus Blank. He was literally for the lack of a better word, a blank slate. Yet he intrigued Sawar. Marcus had the look and the body language of a fighter, but he had amnesia. So, Sawar did not know what to make of him. There was no prominent information in Marcus¡¯ file except the fact that he was an anomaly. Yet, Sawar could not shake the feeling that Marcus was dangerous. Sawar stopped reading after his seventh time and got up. His eyes were tired. His wife and kids would already be asleep. He was happy to be back home, back with his family. He liked the peace and quiet. Then why did he have the feeling that Marcus was here to shake things up? He went to sleep that night with a troubled mind. Training Marcus reached the training hall on time to find everyone already present. Sawar entered a minute after Marcus. He looked at everyone present and beamed. Sawar said, ¡°Good. Everyone is present.¡± And true to his schedule, he started with warm-up exercises. They were definitely unique according to the species and Marcus could not understand what the vampires were doing. Marcus was made to run ten laps around the field, then push ups, squats, crunches, some jumping exercises and a few other exercises which would loosen the muscles of his body. He observed that these were majorly stamina building exercises. He finished them fast as Sawar had given him smaller sets, thinking Marcus would not be up to doing larger sets. However, Marcus felt these smaller sets were not sufficient. Marcus could see that Sawar observed the same as Marcus was finished before anyone else. Sawar said, ¡°We will increase the time and numbers tomorrow. Rest for now.¡± Marcus did as he was told. The others were soon finished. It took them an hour though. Marcus did nothing but stared at different warm up exercises wondering whether he could copy them. After the warm up exercises, it was time for weapon practices. Sawar asked everyone about their preferred weapons. Nadia¡¯s choice of weapons were chakrams. From Sawar¡¯s reaction Marcus could tell that it was impressive. Nadia also said that she used her claws on those who got near. She elongated them from her fingers as she said that. Now, with that, Marcus was impressed. Orin preferred a flail and a shield. He specified he preferred small shields unlike the greatshields his brethren preferred. He was very specific about his preference of shield and would have gone into further detail if Sawar would not have stopped him. Noron preferred dual wielding a short sword and a dagger. Tymon used a glaive. Finally, it was Marcus¡¯ turn. He simply shrugged and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°We know that¡±, came the chorus of replies. Sawar said, ¡°There are many weapons in this room, wooden though they may be. Pick them up. Feel them. Give a swing around. See if you are comfortable with something.¡± Marcus looked at the different weapons lined up on stands. He picked a few. They just felt wrong in his hand. He started with daggers, then proceeded onto swords. He tried normal swords, curved swords, longswords and even greatswords. He was not comfortable with them. He tried dual wielding swords and daggers but rejected the idea. He tried flails and clubs. He even tried chakrams which confused him. He wondered how Nadia handled them. He switched and thought about ranged weapons. But the idea felt wrong to him. He then started picking up weapons and testing them. They all felt wrong. He finally picked up a boxing glove, put it on and gave a short punch. He liked the feel. He punched and kicked and went through different forms. He did not know how but this felt really comfortable. This was it. He was a close range fighter. ¡°All right¡±, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡± The others were staring at him now. Sawar said, ¡°I do not think that kick boxing would help you in the long run Marcus.¡± ¡°But this feels so right¡±, argued Marcus. Sawar did not comment on that. He said, ¡°Now let me see how proficient you are with these weapons. We shall fight in pairs. Nadia shall fight Noron. Orin shall fight Tymon and Marcus shall fight me. Let us see how good you all are.¡± The first fight was Nadia versus Noron. Nadia took wooden chakrams from the weapon rack while Noron picked up a wooden short sword and a dagger. Both walked up to the centre of the training hall. They took their stance, waiting for Sawar to tell them to begin. Sawar said, ¡°Fight.¡± Noron charged at Nadia. It was understandable. He was a close range fighter and would require to get close to Nadia, to hit her properly. Nadia threw her chakrams in a wide arc. Noron dodged them easily and closed the gap fast. However, before he could hit Nadia he was hit in the back by the two chakrams which then went back to Nadia¡¯s hands. Noron swore and tried to close the distance again. This time he was more cautious. He deflected the chakrams thrown at him and had now almost reached Nadia. Nadia slashed him with her claws and he jumped back. Sawar said, ¡°Nadia. I know the claws are your weapons but kindly do not use them for this fight.¡± Nadia nodded and started using her chakrams in dangerous patterns. Noron was not able to get close to Nadia much. He did find two openings and struck Nadia but it was clear Nadia dominated the fight, even after not using claws. Soon Sawar stopped the fight and declared Nadia to be the winner. Nadia was breathing hard. Noron did not seem winded but Marcus could tell that he was. He had read. Vampires do not need to breathe but they do expend energy and get tired. Sawar gave feedback on the fight, praising both the fighters. He was impressed with Nadia¡¯s skills and commended her well. It was then time for the next fight. It was Tymon versus Orin. Orin had his wooden flail and shield while Tymon had a wooden glaive. Marcus did not understand the purpose of a wooden glaive. It would technically be a quarterstaff. The fight began. Orin was somehow not defensive. He charged as soon as the fight began. Tymon looked a bit surprised. He had his hood down for the fight. Tymon attacked. Orin parried the glaive with his shield as if it was nothing and hit Tymon hard, on his head. Tymon went down and did not get up. So vampires could get knocked out. But with a wooden weapon! Sawar said, ¡°Well, that was interesting.¡± Noron rolled his eyes and went up to Tymon. He said, ¡°Get up idiot. You forgot the rules of the game world do not apply till we actually get on the field. You will get knocked out, you know.¡± Marcus did not understand what Noron was saying but after a few moments Tymon got up. He seemed dazed. He signed something to Noron to which Noron replied, ¡°Yes it hurts like a bitch. I know.¡± Then Noron turned to Sawar and said, ¡°Do we have a healer?¡± Sawar called one. It seemed that the training hall had few healers ready at site in case of emergencies. The healer simply cast a healing spell, examined Tymon, declared him okay and left. Marcus asked Sawar, ¡°What does Noron mean? What rules of the game world?¡± Sawar explained, ¡°In your status menu you would have noticed your health right?¡± Marcus nodded. Sawar continued, ¡°In the game world, when you get hit, your health reduces. A hit to the head would normally be a critical hit. It would daze you but you would not fall unconscious. However, you have not started your journey as adventurers. So, getting hit on the head on any other critical hit spots would be, well, for the lack of a better word, not good. It would not be fatal as we train with wooden weapons but it still hurts. That is why there are healers present in the training hall. For emergency healing. There are many injuries because the training adventurers forget that they are not in the game world part of Una yet.¡± Marcus nodded at the explanation. It somehow made sense to him. It was his fight next with Sawar. He put on his boxing gloves and went to the centre of the training hall. Sawar followed him. Marcus could see that Sawar was grinning for some reason. Sawar picked up a mace and a large shield from the weapon rack. They were both wooden but Marcus still gulped. It looked like it would hurt a lot if he got hit. Sawar took a defensive pose and told Marcus to begin. Marcus took a deep breath. He hoped that something would help him here. He knew that fighting with his hands and legs felt right but he had no idea how to do it. He walked forwards. As he walked something triggered in him. He put his arms up and his walk changed. He could not explain how he did it but he was now slowly skipping forwards ready for a fight. Marcus closed in, looking for an opening. He threw a test jab which Sawar immediately tried to block with his shield. Marcus jumped back a bit and swore. The shield was going to be a problem. He had to get Sawar to attack. He started taunting Sawar with jabs and kicks. They were weak and most of them did not even connect. Marcus saw Sawar frown for a bit and then Sawar smiled. It seemed that he had figured out Marcus¡¯ strategy. Marcus wondered how his fight looked from the outside. He was jumping around while Sawar was simply holding his ground. It would have looked boring. Sawar now advanced. He swung the mace and Marcus dodged the attack. An opening. However, something stopped him from charging. An instinct. He was right. He dodged at the last moment as the mace swung again. The opening was a trap. Sawar had been feinting. Marcus saw the slight look of surprise on Sawar¡¯s face before it melded back to the poker face as before. Sawar started to test him, attacking him, giving him openings and Marcus reacted to each of them. Soon he realized that he was mostly reacting to Sawar¡¯s attacks rather than taking the initiative. He changed his pace. Soon he did push Sawar back on the defensive but it was still tough getting an attack in. The shield was still frustrating. Marcus soon saw another opening. It was definitely another trap from Sawar but he took it, not in a way Sawar would expect. He rolled under the shield, stood up and pushed Sawar back with one hand. With the other, he punched Sawar¡¯s shield arm, hard, disabling it. Then he turned away from Sawar, pulling the shield while doing so. He pried the shield free from Sawar¡¯s arm, even with his gloves on, which was a feat. Sawar staggered forwards and Marcus hit him on the head with his own shield. Sawar fell hard on his back. He started to laugh. He got up. Marcus could see Sawar¡¯s nose was bleeding. ¡°I yield¡±, Sawar said, ¡°Call a healer someone.¡± The same healer as last time came and healed Sawar¡¯s nose. Then he left as fast as he had come. ¡°Well, that was interesting¡±, said Sawar, ¡°You fight well.¡± ¡°So does that mean I can use my fists to attack my enemies?¡± asked Marcus. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°That depends. What is your physical attack without weapons?¡± ¡°It is ten.¡± ¡°That is not bad. When you attack with your fists, the damage is basically your physical attack. So, if your physical attack is ten, you will hit your enemy with ten points of damage. Moreover, about half the damage that you deal is reflected back rounding off to the higher denomination. That would mean that you would be taking five points of damage too.¡± ¡°That is fucking stupid.¡± ¡°That is how the game world works. There are rules and if you are an adventurer, you would be following these rules by default. No other options.¡± Marcus pondered on what Sawar had said. He was not happy. He finally said, ¡°That would mean I would need to learn how to use a weapon.¡± ¡°Yes¡±, said Sawar, ¡°Do not worry though. We have a month. I can make you decently proficient with a weapon by the end of it. We may need extra classes though. You will not be as good as the others¡±, he pointed at the rest of the class, ¡°But you would be able to hold out on your own.¡± Marcus nodded and said, ¡°So what weapon do you think I should choose?¡± Sawar shrugged and replied, ¡°Depends on you. Think about it for now. I will not work with others on how to improve their fighting style. We shall work with fake enemies tomorrow. Select your weapon till then. You have the day off for that.¡± Marcus nodded and said, ¡°Can I at least stay here?¡± ¡°Only if you promise not to disturb anyone.¡± Marcus agreed to that. He observed the rest of the training in silence. He also started to research different weapons that would agree to his style of close range fighting. There were fist weapons but they all had high strength requirements. His dexterity and intelligence was high. He needed weapons based on those two attributes. However, this was confusing as intelligence based weapons were mostly ranged while dexterity based weapons were mostly sharp and melee. There were bows and crossbows but Marcus was not interested in them. He understood Nadia¡¯s use of chakrams. Chakrams were a dexterity intelligence hybrid weapon. Marcus thought about those and rejected them. Somehow he did not imagine himself fit to use them. He liked the idea of rapiers but the int stat bothered him. He read more and found that he could enchant his weapons as he levelled up, letting his weapon have a hybrid of two stats. There was a magic enchantment which was a strength intelligence and dexterity intelligence hybrid. There were also other magic based enchantments like fire, frost, dark, lightning and holy. It all primarily required good intelligence to enchant and with a high strength or dexterity, their physical attacks would be good too. However, Marcus had a difficult time finding a weapon which would be a dexterity intelligence hybrid by default rather than using an enchantment. Then an article held his interest. It talked about using a one hand weapon in the dominant hand and casting with the other hand. The main hand weapon would depend on dexterity while the casting would depend on intelligence. Playing with such a combination would be dangerous as the damage from both the stats would not live up to their full potential but the adventurer would have high mobility and flexibility. Marcus read that such a combination also required high agility for dodging and wisdom was not a major contributor, nor was strength. The Constitution would depend upon the choice of the adventurer. This felt like a tailor made adventuring guide for Marcus and he was immediately suspicious about it. He searched for the user who had set up this guide and found him immediately. Marcus decided to visit him. He lived as a non-adventurer and was now in Solaris itself. This was too much of a coincidence for Marcus. What did this mean? He excused himself from the training hall and called Krona. Krona gave him directions to the ex-adventurer¡¯s location. The name of the ex-adventurer was Dumas Lispitt. He was an elf. He was currently living in an inn about two kilometres from the NAIF facility. That was not far. Marcus reached the inn, The Whistling Wind, in about twenty minutes. He inquired about Dumas and was told by the innkeeper to wait in the common room. Marcus sat at one of the tables. Here he was on Una, a land of magic and advanced technology, yet the place of resting for visitors was still medieval. He could see the touch of magic and advanced technology but the ambience was that of what one may find in a medieval inn on Earth. ¡°I get the feeling I was a hoarder of knowledge on Earth¡±, muttered Marcus to himself, ¡°The most useless of information is being filtered through my amnesia, I fucking swear to God.¡± He waited for ten minutes before he was approached by an elf. For a moment Marcus was stunned by his ethereal beauty before he composed himself. Marcus stood up and said, ¡°Mr Lispitt I presume?¡± The elf grinned and shook his hand, ¡°You are correct. However, I do not have the pleasure of knowing your name, Mr.?¡± ¡°Oh! I am Blank. Marcus Blank¡±, Marcus spluttered. Somehow he was still being impacted by the ethereal beauty of the elf. ¡°You must be new to Una.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You are clearly human and your face shows the sign of not seeing too many elves. You are almost drooling.¡± Marcus bristled at that. He immediately stood straighter and fixed the expression on his face. Dumas laughed at that. He had a lovely laugh. Marcus shook his head. Dumas said, ¡°Follow me. Let us talk in private shall we?¡± Dumas led Marcus to a private booth. The private booths were beside the common room. There were five small rooms, big enough to sit four people on a circular sofa. It was not uncomfortable but it was not luxurious either. There was a table in the centre with a fancy lamp hanging overhead. As they entered, Dumas closed the door behind them and it hummed with some energy for a moment. ¡°What was that?¡± asked Marcus ¡°It is a spell¡±, said Dumas, ¡°Ensures complete privacy.¡± ¡°Handy.¡± ¡°So¡±, said Dumas as he sat down, ¡°I assume that you have come to talk about how to be a good adventurer with a high dexterity intelligence combination.¡± ¡°All right. That¡¯s it¡±, Marcus was now shouting, ¡°Who put you up to this? I want some fucking answers. Don¡¯t think you can mess with me because I have amnesia. I will fucking gut you. I swear.¡± ¡°Dude¡±, said Dumas, ¡°What the fuck?¡± Marcus was calm the next second. He said, ¡°Did not work, eh? It was my intimidating technique. You sir are not a pushover. That is good.¡± ¡°Are you all right?¡± ¡°No.¡± Dumas looked highly confused as to what was happening at that moment. He said, ¡°So are you here to talk about the combination or not? I was told by Silas that a new adventurer may need my help.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Aha! I knew it. The guide I found online was too good to be true. And Silas did call you here. You are not here just by coincidence. See, I was right.¡± ¡°What in the world are you talking about?¡± asked Dumas, getting frustrated with Marcus. ¡°Wait a minute! Have you read the guide online? Then why are you here? It was highly detailed and written in a way that even a dummy could understand. Did you not understand?¡± Marcus muttered, ¡°It was just too good to be true. Look from my perspective. I have amnesia. I am an anomaly. I don¡¯t know anything about anything. I have good dexterity and intelligence at my base level. And I found a guide tailored for me. Also the person who wrote this guide is at this moment in an inn in Solaris, where I am. Do you not find this suspicious?¡± Dumas was now gaping at Marcus. He tried to say something a few times but failed. Dumas finally said, ¡°Or, have you considered the possibility that NAIF is helping an adventurer out of his element to get acquainted with a system which will help him grow rather than stumble around like a blind person?¡± Marcus thought for a moment. Then he said, ¡°This sounds a lot like hand holding.¡± ¡°Say whatever you want but it is what it is. Now, do you want my help or not?¡± ¡°So¡­ Is the guide correct?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And no one is trying to deceive or manipulate me?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°They are just trying to help?¡± ¡°NAIF always helps adventurers. Sometimes directly or sometimes indirectly. Trust me. I used to be an adventurer before I took an arrow to the knee about eighteen years ago.¡± ¡°Is that why you were limping before?¡± ¡°No you dolt. It means I am retired now. A non-adventurer. But I do help adventurers who want to have a dexterity intelligence combination. The limp is due to the fact that I do not have the perks of an adventurer.¡± Marcus was now thoughtful for some time. Then he said, ¡°I am sorry. For some reason I was suspicious and I did not know why.¡± ¡°You could have asked someone from NAIF for help before accusing me, you know. Do you not have a point of contact?¡± Marcus thought about Krona and simply nodded. Then he said, ¡°Let¡¯s start over then. Hi, I am Marcus Blank. I am here because I read your guide. I do not have any questions now. Your guide was really good. Although, can I ask some other questions?¡± ¡°Sure¡±, said Dumas, ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°You retired?¡± ¡°Yes. You can retire any time you want. You become a non-adventurer leaving a mundane normal life. It is good though. Some people prefer it.¡± ¡°Okay. So when adventurers retire, they get integrated into Una''s society.¡± ¡°Is that a question or a statement?¡± Marcus shook his head. Then he said, ¡°Okay. So did Silas say I would be coming for your help?¡± Dumas said, ¡°Initially I was called to help a feliur named Nadia Shortclaw. However, after she came to Una, it was discovered that she was proficient with Chakrams and had her adventurer path planned out. She did not need help. I was going to go home when Silas asked me to stick around. He said an adventurer would come for my help though. I think he intended to make this visit as a tutorial quest. However, you went and read my guide online and did not even ask for help from NAIF. You visited me on your own initiative. I am impressed.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You know. As a non-adventurer, I can give you experience. You have done well to deserve it. Although, I warn you, it would not be much. Would you be interested?¡± ¡°I would be fucking honored.¡± ¡°You swear at the weirdest of times¡±, muttered Dumas and placed a hand on Marcus¡¯ head. There was a flash of golden light and Marcus felt something change. His utility belt also flashed blue for a bit. Then it did after five more seconds. Dumas said, ¡°This means you have a notification. Check your notification screen. I hope you know how to use the utility belt.¡± So Marcus opened the notification screen from his utility belt. He had not opened it before and had not explored it. It made little sense to him without notifications. Now his first notification read: You have earned 10 points of research experience He checked his status screen to see his experience points go up Experience 10/100 Only 90 points to go. Yay! Marcus said to Dumas, ¡°Thank you.¡± They then discussed more on the guide. Marcus was clear but he was still conflicted on the choice of weapon. He hoped talking to Dumas might help. It did. A bit. It was late at night when Marcus left. Tomorrow, he was going to finalize his weapon. Then his real training would start. *** Silas had laughed so hard that his secretary had to check up on him. Silar never knew when he had fallen on the ground. His conversation with Dumas was what left him in splits. He had not been able to stop his laughter during the call and had been laughing for five minutes straight after the call. When he had calmed down he thought in hindsight that he should not have laughed as much as he did during the call. Dumas was, after all, angry with him. It seemed that Marcus had paid Dumas a visit and had an interesting conversation with him. It had led Dumas frustrated and angry and he had called to chastise Silas. Silas, instead, had laughed at him. ¡°Well. Well. Well. What am I going to do with you, Marcus Blank?¡± muttered Silas to himself. Then he had an idea. He grinned as he called certain people to make it happen. *** Sawar looked at the weapon Marcus had requested to be trained with. ¡°Are you sure?¡± asked Sawar, ¡°You can change in the future but it would take time and you need to be proficient with it. The weapon you have selected is complex to learn and you are a beginner. Your martial fighting skills are good but do you think this weapon is really good for you?¡± ¡°Yes¡±, replied Marcus and grinned. He then gave Sawar the wooden version of the weapon from the rack. He had selected it after careful consideration and it was what he wanted to use in the long run. It was a twinblade. Quest? Marcus soon became proficient with the twinblade. Twinblades looked as if two short swords had been joined together at hilt to make one long blade. It could be used one handed and two handed and the forms for using it melded the two. It was beautiful. Or it would have been if anyone other than Marcus was wielding the twinblades. Marcus had a new passive, [Twinblade Proficiency], and he sucked at it. It took him some time to master them but slowly and steadily his proficiency increased. The extra classes with Sawar helped. As the month passed, he got to know other members of his training group. In particular, he got to know why each one of them was undergoing training when they were already proficient with their selected weapons and seemed to know much more about adventuring and Una than Marcus. Nadia was the most dangerous fighter of the group. However, she did not like to kill anyone. Adventuring led to killing of certain creatures and her psych profile indicated she might not be able to do so. She needed to be sensitized or desensitized regarding killing as an adventurer. Marcus found that kind of sad. Orin was a good fighter. Marcus also found out he was a prince, last in the line of the throne though. He was undergoing training as a method for anger management. He had anger issues and from the snippets he caught of Orin¡¯s life from Orin himself, Marcus understood why he would have anger issues. He was definitely a big ball of anger which needed to be calmed down by quite an amount before he was released into the adventuring wilds. Noron was there to support his brother. Tymon was undergoing treatment to get his voice. He had been mute since childhood and Una provided him with the opportunity to get his voice back. They had the combination of magic and technology to make this happen. Tymon would be speaking for the first time and he would definitely need help. Noron was here to provide and support his brother. They were also going to be adventurers together. Yes, this was another nugget of information that Marcus had gleaned with his research. Adventurers can form a team of maximum three people while questing. There were certain quests which would require a certain number of adventurers to complete but general quests can be done by either a single adventurer or a team consisting of a maximum of three adventurers. The division of experience was complex if it was a team of three adventurers so a majority of the adventurers usually formed a team of two. There were some adventurers who did adventuring solo but they were rare. The same was the case with a team of three. Mostly the adventurers did questing in a team of two. This presented Marcus with a conundrum. He needed to find a team member. Nadia was going to team with her husband. Yes, she was married and it came as a surprise to the group. Orin was going to team up with one of his brothers. Noron and Tymon were an already decided team. That left Marcus alone. He hoped he would get a decent adventuring partner when he started officially as an adventurer. However, that was a matter for later. For now he was focused on his training. The month passed faster than Marcus had anticipated. He had reached level 5 in [Twinblade Proficiency] by the end and Sawar had declared it adequate. After the month, all five of Sawar¡¯s students were declared to be fit for officially adventuring on Una. It was now the 60th of Sessar. It was a Decaday and the five soon to be adventurers partied all night. Marcus learned a new passive that night [Alcohol Tolerance]. He was amused by it. The next day, Marcus woke late. His head felt as if someone had passed it through a grinder. There was a knock on the door and he fell out of his bed with a groan. He slowly made his way to the door and opened it. Krona stood on the other side looking all cheery and energetic. That was rude. ¡°Good morning finally Marcus Blank¡±, said Krona with a cheery voice, ¡°Come on then. You have fifteen minutes to get ready. Today you will get your official Adventurer Batch. Come on. Come on. Get dressed fast. I will wait for exactly fifteen minutes and then take you in the state you are in.¡± Marcus slammed the door on her face saying, ¡°Fuck off.¡± Then he complied with what Krona had said. Ten minutes later he opened the door to find Krona grinning. She had a glass of some green liquid in her hand. ¡°Hangover cure¡±, Krona explained. Marcus shuddered. He expected that green bubbling drink to be horrible in taste. He drank it. Strangely, it was not bad. It had no taste. But it was effective. Moments later his head felt good. ¡°Halle fucking lulah¡±, he muttered. ¡°What was that?¡± Krona asked. Marcus shook his head, ¡°It was nothing. Come on.¡± Krona led him to one of the administrative offices. There she gave him a badge. The badge was golden in colour attached to a black square leather piece. The badge was shaped like a bird and had Adventurer written on it. The leather piece had Marcus¡¯ name stitched on it. It was simple and about as large as his hand. Convenient. Krona said, ¡°That is your emergency identification which you can use if you do not want to share much of your details with the other party. The badge also gives you access to adventurer¡¯s guilds and special adventurer inns. You can also use it at a NAIF facility to get help. Keep it in your inventory at all times and take it out only when needed. Do not give it to anybody. If it is lost, there is a large fee of ten thousand units to replace it. So, do not lose it. Are there any questions?¡± Marcus shook his head and placed the badge in his inventory. It was placed in the Other Items category of the inventory. Cool. ¡°Now what?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°Now¡±, said Krona, ¡°You are officially an adventurer. Get out of the facility and start adventuring.¡± ¡°Wait a minute. What about my equipment?¡± ¡°What equipment?¡± ¡°You do know that I¡­¡±, Marcus stopped at the expression on Krona¡¯s face. She burst into a laugh. ¡°Sorry¡±, she said, ¡°Could not help messing with you. You shall be given a basic armor coat but that is all you get. The twinblades, the weapon of your choice, requires at least 8 strength to wield. I am talking about the base version of the twinblades which are the iron twinblades. So, until you level up and get to that strength, it would not make sense to give you that weapon. We can give you an iron dagger if you want thought. However, that would be charged at ten thousand units as that is not your primary weapon registered. NAIF has already provided you with 10,000 units as your initial expenses. Your current debt to NAIF is 130,000 units. Do you wish to add to it?¡± Marcus refused. He did take the free armor coat. He equipped it. He opened the equipment menu and saw what all armor he could equip. The first was the chest armor which he had equipped. It had an armor rating of 2. Then there was helmet, bracers and leg wraps. They were primary armor that could be equipped. Other than that, he could equip two necklaces, four rings and something called an artifact. However, artifacts could be equipped after reaching level 50. So there was time for that. He thanked Krona and asked about the others. He then exited the facility and took a deep breath. It was now time to be an adventurer. The others were waiting for him. Marcus met Nadia¡¯s husband Nassir Shortclaw. He was a nice feliur. Marcus liked him. They said goodbyes to each other. Nadia and Nassir were going to start their adventures from a city near Solaris. It was called Ticity. Orin was going to find his brothers first. They were in Solaris and they would soon be questing from Solaris itself. Marcus felt a bit glad about it. The Bladeluster brothers were going to start their adventures from an underground city which was quite far from Solaris. The travelling adventurers were going to take the portal which was present in Solaris. Marcus had learned about the portal. It was expensive to use. As they all left, Marcus felt a bit sad. They had gotten close over the month and now they were going to be questing separately. They had promised to keep in touch and would do group quests if it was possible. Marcus started walking. He opened the map from his utility belt. He entered his destination, the adventurer¡¯s guild. He touched the command which would show him the route to the guild from his current location and started towards it. It was a long distance on foot but Marcus had no option. He had no money, no proper equipment and was in debt with NAIF. This was going to be fucking fantastic. *** Silas was on a call with Charles. He was giving him an update about Marcus Blank. ¡°So he has finally started his adventure?¡± asked Charles. Silas sighed and said, ¡°Yes. Are you sure we need to send him off without giving him any equipment? I mean, we just gave him a basic leather armor coat. That is nothing.¡± Charles said, ¡°Lord Shadowfang¡¯s instructions. He seems to be invested in this anomaly for some reason. We do not argue with him. Much. Lord Shadowfang is confident that Marcus Blank would find his way easily.¡± ¡°I admire his optimism but he has not evaluated him. Did he even look at the file I sent?¡± ¡°Yes. He was still adamant.¡± ¡°Very well. Now I wanted to ask about something else. What is this I hear about the War scenario?¡± Charles gave a long sigh as he heard the question. He said, ¡°Please do not ask me about that right now. I am gorking frustrated about it already. Lady Lightweaver is trying to convince Lord Shadowfang to not take this course but for some reason Lord Shadowfang wants to have a War scenario as the next major quest plot. The arguments I have been to. I feel like shit Silas. The stress is gorking killing me. I have put my team to come up with a plan which would please Lord Shadowfang and not cause the chaos that a war scenario would cause. I tell you, I have not slept properly since Lord Shadowfang declared, I gorking tell you, declared that he wanted the War scenario as the next main quest plot.¡± Silas could feel the stress and frustration in his head¡¯s tone. He pitied Charles at that moment. Silas said, ¡°Do you need help with anything?¡± Charles said, ¡°Not with the War scenario thingy. But can you gorking keep regular tabs on this Marcus Blank. It would help reduce my workload.¡± Silas frowned and replied, ¡°You do know I am restricted to the NAIF facility at Solaris. I can do till the time he is here. After that he is out of my hands.¡± Charles was silent for some moments. Then he said, ¡°Gorking fantastic. Do not worry. I am forming a new small team to track the progress of Marcus Blank. Congratulations. You are the new team leader. Start packing your gorking bags. You are coming to the capital.¡± Silas was ecstatic to hear the news. He always had the ambition to reach a stage where he would be working from Melancholia, the capital city of the landmass Turanous. This was a great opportunity for him. He said, ¡°Thank you Charles. I won''t let you down. I shall start packing immediately.¡± ¡°You better not¡±, came the reply, ¡°And it will take some time but I will start the formalities. We have time till Marcus is questing in and around Solaris.¡± They discussed the logistics of Silas¡¯ transfer and Silas¡¯ replacement after that and it was a long call. When he disconnected the call, he was grinning. ¡°Thank you Marcus Blank¡±, said Silas, ¡°You have made me very happy today.¡± *** Marcus reached the adventurer¡¯s guild. It looked like an inn from the outside. Then Marcus read the sign. The Flying Sow. He groaned. It seemed that in Solaris the adventurer guild and an inn were the same. He entered The Flying Sow. In front of him was a reception like area. There were stairs going upstairs to the left of it. There were three doors and they were closed as of now. Marcus wondered as to where they led. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He went up to the reception. It was managed by a short humanoid. The person was about three feet tall, old considering the greys of his hair and beard, and had a sharp face. The person was standing on a stool to be seen over the reception table. The person smiled as Marcus entered and said in a rich booming voice, ¡°Welcome to The Flying Sow my dear Adventurer. I am Destiduous Drire, the proprietor. What can I help you with? Do you require guild services or inn services?¡± Marcus tilted his head subconsciously as he spoke, ¡°Hello. I am Marcus Blank. I am a new adventurer and do not know much about Game World. I do have some questions.¡± Destiduous nodded and gestured to Marcus to continue. Marcus asked, ¡°If it is not so rude, could you tell me what species you are?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you see?¡± asked Destiduous. ¡°How do I see?¡± ¡°Press your utility belt and think of Options. There are certain User Interface or UI features you can enable or disable. Look at it.¡± Now this was something Marcus had neither explored nor known. He did so. He saw a bunch of options with a box at their right for tick marks. Marcus ticked the following: Display Health Display Mana Display NA Name Display NA Race Display NA Level (cannot see levels higher than 5 levels of adventurer) Display A Name Display A Race Display A Level (cannot see levels higher than 5 levels of adventurer) Display Spell Slot Display Weapon Slot Display Enemy Name Display Enemy Race Display Enemy Level (cannot see levels higher than 5 levels of adventurer) Display Enemy Health Display Enemy Status Display Enemy Buff Display Damage Numbers to Enemy Display Damage Numbers to Self Display Damage Numbers to Allies Display Healing Done Display Healing Received There were others which showed damage numbers, buffs active, passives active and some others but Marcus was not interested. As soon as he saved the options his vision changed. To the left top corner he could see his health and mana. The bottom centre portion held spell slots. There were ten of them which were all crossed out. The weapon slots were beside the spell slots at a distance from them. There were two of them as of now and both crossed out. He could understand that. Two hands, two weapon slots. However, he could learn ten spells as of now. Or was it so? Because in his Status it was shown that he had zero memory slots. So was ten the potential? Marcus looked at Destiduous now. Above his head was shown: Destiduous Drire Gnome Level ??? So Destiduous was over five levels higher than Marcus even though he was a non-adventurer. ¡°Fucking fantastic¡±, said Marcus, ¡°This is sweet. Thank you Mr. Drire. It is Mr. Drire right?¡± Destiduous nodded and said, ¡°Destiduous shall do. Or just Drire. Whatever you are comfortable with. Now what shall I help you with Mr. Blank?¡± Marcus replied, ¡°I want to set the guild as my respawn point.¡± Destiduous nodded. Adventurers could die while questing. When they die, they respawn at their respawn point. For that they need to set a respawn point and the Adventurer¡¯s guild is a default respawn point for the adventurers. However, the adventurers do need to set the guild as their respawn point, otherwise it would not work. If they did not, then they would be trapped in a limbo before being brought back by NAIF personnel. The NAIF personnel tracked the limbo space and they charged the adventurer for their services. Marcus thought, Are NAIF actually for adventurers if they charge for every fucking single thing? Well, they did give me this travesty of an armor coat for free. He did not expect much from them. However, with the armor coat, his Physical Resistance had increased to six. Destiduous let Marcus in through the door which was beside the stairs. It opened into a large hall filled with sofas, tables, fancy chandeliers and a bar at one side. Destiduous said, ¡°This is not the common room but a place for adventurers to gather and discuss business. You can get some drinks here if you are interested.¡± They walked past the tables and the bar till they reached the far end of the hall. There Marcus saw a monolith as tall as the hall. Destiduous said, ¡°And here is our Resurrection Stone. Please place your hand on it and the guild shall be your spawn point.¡± Marcus did as he was told. When he touched the monolith, he could feel the smoothness of the stone. It was light cyan in colour and glowed with a faint blue light when Marcus put his hand on it. ¡°It is done¡±, said Destiduous. Marcus nodded. ¡°Was there anything else?¡± asked Destiduous. ¡°I had a question. Is the internet the only source of information? I mean there are many topics available and so many things to explore. How can I verify the accuracy of the information? Are there any other sources of information?¡± asked Marcus. Destiduous told Marcus about libraries and Marcus¡¯ face lit up. He decided to go there next. He thanked Destiduous and exited the guild. He again took out his map and charted a path to the library. It was a standard rectangular building, two floors in height. Marcus entered. His adventurer badge gave him membership to any library on Una by default. Marcus felt like a kid in a candy shop in the library. There were so many books. He had researched the area around Solaris but decided he wanted to read some books on the same. He asked the librarian for help. The librarian gave him a long list and told him where he could find them. Marcus picked up three of them and started to read. He checked into the adventurer¡¯s inn after that and formed a routine. Every morning, he would wake up, get ready and have the complimentary breakfast the inn would provide. Then he would go to the library and read till lunch time. He would then have lunch at a nearby cafe. After lunch, he would go to the quest board at adventurer¡¯s guild to look for a quest which he could do without weapons. He did find a few quests like that. They included delivery of letters, passing of messages or general escort quests in which the non-adventurers were usually old ladies looking for company. After questing, Marcus would wander around Solaris, exploring it, getting the sights till dinner time. It was not a big town but Marcus had no memories of living in a town or a city for that matter and this exploration was new for him. He enjoyed it. After dinner he usually spent time at adventurer¡¯s guild common hall before retiring for the night. His questing did not yield much units but it did yield good experience. In about fifteen days he had levelled up twice doing mundane quests. Each level up gave him two points to spend. He put in three points in strength and one point in vitality. His health increased by two as he put points in vitality. He did not feel like this was good growth. After fifteen days Marcus¡¯ funds were running out. He had now exactly 1,500 units left to spend. He needed a quest which would give him more units. He needed them to buy a twinblade. An iron twinblade cost 5,000 units. An iron dagger had cost 2,000 units only. Marcus had checked. Which meant that NAIF had been looting him. He had also compared the lodging and food expenses outside NAIF with NAIF expenses and had found that NAIF charged double of normal rates. He was not surprised. He looked at the quests on the quest board at the adventurer¡¯s guild. All of the quests required some form of fighting. All the high paying ones did. There were few escort someone around the town quests and there was also a quest to settle a dispute which was weird. No quests which were high paying and did not require much fighting. Then he glanced at one of the corners and stopped short. There was a tiny quest. The quest was to retrieve a necklace from outside Solaris. The reward was a weapon of choice. The experience provided was 100 points. This was too good to be true. Marcus needed more details. He clicked on the quest to accept it. If it did not pan out as he required, he could cancel it later. However, he may suffer a penalty. It was usually in units and Marcus could think he could handle it. Marcus looked at the location of the quest giver. It was a blacksmith. The blacksmith had his workshop at the edge of the town. ¡°Must be not a well known blacksmith¡±, muttered Marcus as he set up the route towards his house. It took him an hour to reach the blacksmith¡¯s house. He read the sign on the workshop, The Tools of the Trade. ¡°That is a fucking weird name for a blacksmith¡¯s workshop¡±, decided Marcus, ¡°I don¡¯t have any idea but this should not be a name.¡± He entered the shop area. There was an old Umaru polishing a shield as Marcus entered. Marcus read the name over the Umaru¡¯s head. Sinanan Siantin. Sinanan¡¯s face brightened as Marcus entered. Sinanan said, ¡°Welcome to The Tools of the Trade. One of the best blacksmiths in Solaris. How can I help you?¡± From the voice, Marcus guessed Sinanan was a female. Although, as he observed closely, certain features gave it away. Marcus said, ¡°I am here about the quest.¡± ¡°Ah¡±, Sinanan said, nodding her head, ¡°Yes. I did put up the one on Adventurer¡¯s guild quest board. You will be needing the details I believe.¡± Marcus nodded. Sinanan continued, ¡°As you are aware, I am a blacksmith. Sinanan is my name. I am sure you would have read it by now, adventurer as you are. I was in the forest North of the Solaris. I had an errand to conduct. You need not know the details. I lost my necklace while I was in the forest. I tried to search for it later but now that region of the forest is slowly getting infested by goblins. I could search but the goblins are now a bother. I am looking for a brave adventurer to go and retrieve the necklace. Are you that adventurer?¡± Marcus thought for a moment, ¡°Do I need to fight those goblins?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Just retrieve the necklace.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And if I run into goblins?¡± ¡°It is your problem.¡± Marcus thought for a moment. Then he said, ¡°Do you have a description of the necklace?¡± Sinanan sent him a photo of the necklace. Fucking convinient. Marcus observed it. Something rubbed him the wrong way about this quest but it was too good of an opportunity to pass by. The quest provided him 100 experience points and he currently had 20. He did need 100 to level up and reach level 4. Also he would get a free weapon of his choice. But was going into a goblin territory without a weapon to retrieve the necklace worth it? He thought for some time. Sinanan was waiting for him. She had an expectant look on her face. Marcus asked, ¡°Were adventurers not keen on taking this quest? I saw the quest date. It is a month old? Are you sure the necklace is still in the area where you lost it?¡± Sinanan¡¯s face fell. She said hesitantly, ¡°There is a goblin encampment near where I lost the necklace. So it is just not a few goblins but a horde of them.¡± ¡°What were you doing near a goblin horde?¡± Sinanan¡¯s face fell, ¡°I was dealing with them.¡± Marcus was surprised at that declaration. He said, ¡°Care to elaborate?¡± Sinanan took some time before answering, ¡°I inherited this shop from my father. He was not a great blacksmith but he did well. He taught me in the arts. He passed away some ten years ago and I inherited the shop. Initially, it was well. I did some minor jobs, repaired equipment, made some weapons and armors for adventurers. Business was good. Not great, but good. Then about eight years ago, a new blacksmith came to town. You would have seen his shop, The Fire Forge. The owner started cannibalizing the blacksmithing market. Soon every other blacksmith had no choice but to work for him. Everyone did except me. You have no idea the slander I had to suffer. These days I am barely making enough to survive another day. I was desperate. I made a deal with the goblins living in the encampment. I was a fool. They betrayed me, betrayed our deal and I had to run away from there without the weapons I had prepared. I was not paid what I was supposed to. And I lost my necklace while running. It is not expensive but it has sentimental value. Normally, I used to give all the details but the adventurers simply rejected the quest. No one wants anything to do with the horde. I ask you. Are you interested?¡± Marcus digested what he had heard. The words escaped his mouth before he could stop, ¡°What the fuck! This is suicidal.¡± Then he took a deep breath and said, ¡°I am sorry. But what the fuck is wrong with you? Is working for another blacksmith so bad that you risk your life and deal with goblins rather than a fellow blacksmith? Are you fucking crazy?¡± Marcus was now shouting and could see that Sinanan flinched at his tirade. He started taking deep breaths to calm himself down. Fucking perfect. Scare the Umaru who is giving you the quest. Fucking perfect. Sinanan said, ¡°I know what I did was wrong. And I am planning to join The Fire Forge. However, I do need that necklace. Are you willing to help or will you reject the quest like other adventurers?¡± Marcus snorted and said, ¡°Fuck me but I accept the quest. However, I have a condition. You give me a weapon beforehand. I am weaponless. I cannot go against a goblin hoard unarmed.¡± ¡°What!¡± exclaimed Sinanan. Marcus repeated what he had said. ¡°I gorking heard you. I am just surprised¡±, said Sinanan. Then she thought for a moment and said, ¡°What weapon do you wield?¡± ¡°A twinblade.¡± She brought one out from the inventory and gave it to Marcus. Marcus touched the twinblade on his utility belt to check its information. Iron Twinblade Physical Attack: Base 10 + Strength 2 + Dexterity 5 Magical Attack: 0 Block: 20% Critical Attack Chance: 1% Critical Attack Damage: 10% Requirements: 8 Strength, 10 Dexterity Description: A simple iron twinblade. Twirl it to slash many enemies. Marcus rolled his eyes at the description. Then he looked at the additional damage. Other than base damage it seemed that the iron twinblade he held gave 25% additional damage based on his strength rating and 50% percent additional damage based on his dexterity rating. So the total physical damage was 17. Adding it to his 13 base damage, his total physical damage was 30 with the iron twinblade equipped. The critical attack chance and damage for the twinblade was pathetic according to Marcus. Adding his base critical attack chance and damage, it turned out to be 6% and 17.5%. He shook his head. Sinanan said, ¡°This is the basic twinblade. I am letting you borrow it for this quest only. Please return it to me after the quest is over. I will reward you with a higher version once the quest is over.¡± Marcus thanked Sinanan as he put the twinblade in his inventory. He had his first major quest. He exited the shop. Time to embark on a fucking suicidal adventure. The Goblin Horde Marcus looked at the map where the last known location of the necklace was given. He charted the way and started to walk. Before he exited Solaris, he shopped at a General Goods store to buy some bottled water and dried rations. He was sure the quest should not take more than one day but it was better to have some supplies. He did not buy a tent, thinking he would sleep on some tree if he needed to. He soon exited Solaris. It was the first time he was in the wilds. Well not the first time. He had woken up in the forest near Solaris and had been chased by fucking wolf like creatures which Marcus had learnt later were called Zagui. Solaris was surrounded by forests from three sides, North, South and East. Marcus had woken up in the Eastern Forest. Sinanan seemed to have lost her necklace in the Northern Forest. As Marcus exited Solaris, he got a notification. He looked at it. It said, Would you like to open your interface as you are exiting a safe zone? Marcus thought, Yes. At once his vision was flooded with information. On the top left corner of his vision Marcus could see his health and mana. It was 112 and 106 respectively. The bottom part of his vision was faded, as if it was not unlocked or something. It had to be his active spells. He did not have any. There was also another box. It was not faded though and it was empty. It looked the same as the box that would hold an artifact. So it had to be an artifact power but Marcus did not have any either. On the right side of his vision was a drop down menu labelled Quests. Marcus thought about touching the drop down and it dropped down instantly. It showed his active quest. Find the blacksmith¡¯s necklace Sinanan has asked you to find her precious necklace which she lost while dealing nefariously with the goblins. Go adventurer and retrieve it. Marcus rolled his eyes at the description. Seriously, who wrote those? He then thought of minimizing the current quest menu and it happened. He looked around and the interface remained constant. It would take some time getting used to. He wondered about the interface and looked for the option of its display. He touched his utility belt and thought, Options. The Options screen opened. He looked for the user interface options. He found them. There were three Adventurer UI Always On Adventurer UI Off in Safe Zones Adventurer UI Manual Selection Currently, the Adventurer UI was in Manual Selection mode and it was On as Marcus had just activated it. He chose the option Adventurer UI Always On and closed the options. He now started off into the forest. Marcus walked for what he felt like hours but it was mostly six hours. He was now feeling thirsty. He opened his inventory and got bottled water out. It was the same cool temperature when he had bought it. It seemed that the inventory of his utility belt stopped the perishability of perishable items. As he was drinking, he heard a sound. He quickly put his bottle back in the inventory and hid behind some bushes. Some time later three goblins came into view. Marcus checked them. Tashuk, Goblin, Level 2 Health: 50/50 Barthan, Goblin, Level 2 Health: 52/52 Tanin: Goblin, Level 2 Health: 46/46 The goblin, Tashuk said as he came to the place where Marcus had been standing a few moments before, ¡°So, is this the place you saw someone eh, Tanin?¡± The goblin had a high pitched yet gnarly voice. It hurt Marcus just to hear it speak. Tanin said, ¡°Argh. Yes. Yes. I am sure. It was here. There was someone. The eyes do no lie. Yes, there he was. Here. Here.¡± It seemed that Tanin did not have much intelligence or this was just his way of talking. Barthan grunted, ¡°Tanin is seeing things. Tashuk should ignore.¡± Tanin snarled at Barthan but the other goblin seemed unfazed. Tashuk snarled at both to be quiet and they did. He sniffed the air as if he was trying to catch Marcus¡¯ scent. He did it for a minute or so. Tashuk sniffed all around and Marcus was afraid he would be discovered. Tashuk finally said, ¡°There was someone here.¡± ¡°Aha¡±, said Tanin but Tashuk raised a hand. ¡°I do not know how long ago but there are many scents. Adventurers. Definitely. Warn the camp. We may have intruders.¡± Marcus did not like that. He could not let these goblins go. He was afraid they would come back with a larger party. These seemed to be some sort of scouts or were they out in the forest for some other purpose. He saw knives in their hands and no other weapon. That did not mean that they had no other weapon. They could be having one in their inventory. He had read about the goblins in his free time. They were stronger in groups but an individual goblin was not that strong. They had a weakness to fire and taking them out fast was advisable as they do not tire easily and are very fast. Marcus wondered whether he could take on these three or not. He made a split second decision. As soon as the goblins turned their backs and started to walk back, Marcus sprinted as silently as he could up to the nearest goblin. Tannin. He struck the twinblade in the goblin¡¯s back and saw its health fall down to 12. Another fast slash from the twinblade and the goblin was dead. His notification tab was blinking rapidly but he did not have time to check it. The other goblins noticed him. They charged him with a guttural snarl. Tashuk came from the left while Barthan came from the right. They attacked Marcus in sync and Marcus had to dodge their attacks. He got slashed twice. He lost 28 points of health and swore. He dodged back, sidestepped an attack from Tashuk and charged Barthan. He slashed and twirled fast, attacking Barthan aggressively. His slashes staggered Barthan and the goblin was dead in four slashes. Marcus lost 10 more points of health. Tashuk was the last goblin standing. Tashuk licked his lips and looked at Marcus cautiously. Marcus could tell that Tashuk was looking for a means to escape. Goblins, when alone, usually ran. Marcus was not going to let Tashuk escape. Tashuk suddenly started running to the right, away from Marcus and into the trees. Marcus followed. The goblin was fast but Marcus had long legs and he soon caught up to the goblin. He brought his twinblade down. Tashuk staggered at the blow and that was the opportunity Marcus was looking for. He made short work of the goblin. He was not panting. His hands were shaking. He looked at them and started to laugh. He was high on adrenaline. He had killed his first enemy. Three of them to be precise. He somehow enjoyed it. Wait, was he a fucking serial killer before amnesia? He put this thought aside. He was not going to go down that path. He had to learn to embrace his amnesia and stop worrying about what he was before all this. It was going to be tough. Marcus now looked at the blinking notifications. He opened them. He read them all. You have learned a new passive spell [Stealth] Level 1 You hit goblin with a critical hit 34 points You hit goblin for 12 points Goblin is defeated You get 10 points of experience Goblin hits you for 16 points Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Goblin hits you for 12 points You hit goblin for 20 points You hit goblin for 20 points Goblin hits you for 10 points You hit goblin for 10 points You hit goblin for 2 points Goblin is defeated You get 10 points of experience You hit goblin for 20 points, goblin is staggered You hit goblin with a critical hit 30 points Goblin is defeated You get 10 points of experience His experience now showed 50/120 points and he had learnt a new passive skill [Stealth]. He could guess what it did. So, performing certain activities did give you new passive skills. He would be able to level up by practicing them. That was good. He looked at the goblin corpses. What to do with them. He saw them glowing a bit. ¡°Huh!¡±, he said and went to examine them. As he approached them a short blue rectangular screen popped out of the bodies. Loot Cancel Those were the two options. Marcus selected loot. Another screen popped up showing the items. Goblin dagger 10 units He took them. He repeated the same with the other two goblins and received two more daggers and 32 units. Those were really less units. Maybe the daggers would be worth something. He sighed as he straightened up from the goblins. He checked his health now. He had lost a total of 38 points of health. Now, how the fuck was he going to regenerate it. He cursed as he remembered about a health potion. It would have helped. Well, it could not be helped now. He would rather go forwards than back. Time to search for the necklace. Marcus reached the area indicated by Sianan and opened the map again. A string of expletives escaped his mouth. The dot on the map had changed into a circular search area. ¡°God damn fucking quest. Can you not make this simple?¡± Marcus was feeling a bit pissed. He thought this would be easy. Where the fuck was he going to search for the necklace now? He heard a rustle behind him and turned. A goblin came wandering out of the bush. Farun, Goblin, Level 3 Health 56/56 The goblin stopped looking at the expression on Marcus¡¯ face. An evil grin had spread on Marcus¡¯ face. Marcus could see the goblin literally trembling. The knife fell out of the goblin''s hand. It started to run but Marcus caught it by the scruff of the neck. He slammed it to the tree and then pinned it down with his legs. Marcus said with gritted teeth, ¡°You are going to fucking talk or I am going to fuck the shit out of you. Do you fucking understand?¡± Farun nodded. He was literally shivering and squirming under Marcus¡¯ boots. ¡°So¡±, said Marcus, ¡°Where is your camp?¡± The goblin took some time to reply. He was opening his mouth but no sound was coming out. Finally he croaked, ¡°Map.¡± Marcus opened his map. Then he looked at the goblin and said, ¡°Now what? This is not helping.¡± ¡°You need to share your display with me, you idiot¡±, snarled Farun. Marcus was surprised at the outburst and put pressure on the goblin. The goblin looked terrified again. What the fuck was that? Marcus shared the map display. Farun scrolled a bit and marked a location. ¡°So this is the location¡±, mumbled Marcus. Then he turned to the goblin, ¡°Do you happen to know about a necklace which fell around here?¡± ¡°Chief¡±, replied the goblin, ¡°P-p-please let me go.¡± ¡°After you tell me if you know about the necklace.¡± ¡°I told you the chief has it, you gorking moron. Go get it from him and stop bothering me.¡± Marcus was surprised. However, he had got what he wanted. He killed Farun with three stabs. He looted Farun for another goblin dagger and this time a goblin armor. He checked his notifications and his confusion cleared. It seemed that he had intimidated the goblin and then he had also failed in intimidating him. The notifications alternated for a couple of times about the intimidation status before showing the damage points and experience points. He had earned 15 xp from killing the level 3 goblin. So, he could intimidate others. Marcus wondered how that worked. He would look into it after the quest was over. Now, he started towards the goblin camp. His quest log had also changed. It showed Defeat the Goblin Chief. Reclaim the necklace. Fucking perfect. He just had to go into goblin camp. Defeat the chief of goblins and loot the necklace from him it seemed. Marcus let out a string of more expletives and set off in the direction of the camp. The sun was low when Marcus neared the goblin camp. He checked the time. It would be one hour before the sun completely set. He looked at the camp and shook his head. He was hiding in a bush to ensure no goblin saw him. Because, this was not a small camp. It was a medium size encampment. Tall wooden spikes surrounded the encampment with a large wooden gateway to the South. The encampment was constructed on a cliff and he was sure that there would be no wooden spikes on that side. He could not see because his view was obstructed by the tall spikes. But he could not enter from the cliff side as he was sure he would fall off rather than successfully climb. Also, he had no climbing equipment. There were also six sentry towers. Marcus noted their position. He also did not know as to how the buildings or tents or whatever there was in the encampment was placed as it was all out of his view. He wondered how he was going to get in. He thought of scouting in the dark but he remembered that goblins had excellent night vision. He needed to do whatever he was going to do fast. After the sunset, he would not be able to do much and the goblins would make mincemeat out of him. As he was pondering what to do, he saw a cart approach the goblin encampment. It was slowly moving on the road and no one was driving it. Its cargo was covered. Marcus frowned at the sight. Was this magic? The cart came to stop at the encampment gate. There was a flurry of activities amongst the goblins. Marcus could not see clearly what was happening. Then the gate slowly opened. The cart started to move again. The cart went inside and the gate closed. ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± muttered Marcus. His question was answered the next moment as there was an explosion from the encampment. The gate and its surrounding spikes were blasted and Marcus had to take cover so as to not get hit by the flying debris. His ears were ringing. He got back up, still ensuring that he was hidden from the encampment and looked at the devastation before him. The gate and the front part of the wall were completely obliterated. He saw an interesting sight. Four short figures charged through the now devastated gate. They seemed to be shouting something but Marcus could not catch it because of the ringing. He saw this as an opportunity. He slowly made his way towards the encampment. The sentries were not present on their tower anymore. They seemed to have gone towards the fighting. Marcus could now hear the sounds and there were sounds of weapons clanging, goblins shrieking and some deep voices which Marcus could not identify. He ducked behind a large rock which was somehow near the entrance and looked at the scene in front of him. The front area of the goblin encampment looked completely obliterated. Whatever buildings or tents or structure would have been there had been completely blown off and Marcus could see only debris. Marcus started moving cautiously into the encampment, hiding behind cover as much as he could. He could see fighting near a large building. It had to be the barracks. It was almost to the West of the camp. He glanced around and saw another large building. Marcus had no other word to describe it other than posher than other buildings. It had to be the chief¡¯s place. There were no guards at the building. They seem to have somehow gone towards the fighting. That did not mean there would be no guards inside. He checked his health. It was 74/112. He did not have a healing potion. Was he going to do this? He decided to check out the building. He now went into a prone position and crawled towards what he guessed was the chieftain¡¯s headquarters. He met a few level 3 goblins on the way but he dispatched them fast. He levelled up once. He was now level 4. His health became full now. That was good. He put the points in Wisdom for now as he felt it was too low at 3. It was now 5. Marcus reached the desired building. He could see no goblins around. Moreover, it seemed that the fighting near the barracks was subsiding. Whomsoever had attacked the goblins seemed to be winning. There must be over a hundred goblins in the camp. Yet, the attackers seem to be killing them efficiently. Marcus ignored the fighting at the barracks at the moment and focused on getting inside the building without getting detected. The building was not well constructed and there were many hand holds Marcus could use to climb up. He did so and soon he was on the roof of the building. ¡°That was easy¡±, muttered Marcus as he searched for the door to get into the building. The door was on the floor of the roof. Marcus frowned as he looked at it. What sort of an entrance was this? He opened it and peered down. He saw no stairs. Only the wooden floor beneath him, about four feet down. He slowly jumped down and looked around. It was a closed room. This was ridiculous. Marcus heard a new sound now. There was someone shouting and pounding at the chieftain¡¯s building''s front door. Marcus explored the closed room and found another door on the floor. He opened it cautiously and looked down to see a large room beneath him. It looked like a throne room. There were wooden beams beneath the door and Marcus dropped down onto them. Marcus now looked at the room closely. It was indeed the throne room. It was the chieftain¡¯s throne room. The chieftain sat on a wooden throne adorned with skulls and bones of animals. There were two guards beside him. Other than that, the throne room was empty. Marcus was confused at this. Were the other guards hidden. He looked around the room, walking along the beams as slowly and cautiously as he could, without making any sound. It seemed that there were only three goblins in the room. This was highly confusing. Marcus focused on the goblins. Thanonudra, Goblin Elite, Level 4 Health 192/192 Goromash, Goblin Elite, Level 4 Health 250/250 Thanandara, Goblin Chieftain, Level 5 Health 502/502 Whoa, thought Marcus, what¡¯s with this fucking high health? How the fuck am I going to defeat them? As Marcus pondered what to do next, he heard commotion outside the throne room. The chief ordered his elites to check it out. They went as ordered. There was only the chieftain in this room. Marcus could attack him but was not sure whether he would be able to defeat him. As he was thinking what to do, the chieftain turned around and looked up, looked right at Marcus and grinned. Thanandara said, ¡°Come down little human. Let us talk.¡± The First Boss Battle Well, Fuck, thought Marcus as he looked at Thanandara, the goblin chieftain. How had the chief found him? Marcus was sure, even though his [Stealth] skill was not high, he was well hidden. Marcus looked at his notifications and scrolled down to the last. His [Stealth] skill had levelled up but it had failed as soon as the goblin elites left the throne room. Marcus wondered why that was. Marcus was not given much time to consider his next step as Thanandara said, ¡°Are you coming down or do I need to make you come down.¡± Marcus saw a bow appear in Thanandara¡¯s hands and he already had an arrow nocked in it. Marcus narrowed his eyes and looked around. Then he said, ¡°Wait a minute. I am coming down. I just¡­ don¡¯t know how.¡± Thanandara had an incredulous look on his face, ¡°You jump you gorking nitwit.¡± ¡°It is high.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t lose more than ten points of health.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a healing potion.¡± ¡°What sort of a gorking adventurer are you?¡± ¡°A bad one, apparently.¡± Thanandara snorted and said, ¡°Jump down or I will shoot you. Then you shall be hurt with more than just fall damage.¡± ¡°Okay, okay¡±, said Marcus sourly, ¡°No need to be grumpy.¡± Marcus jumped. He did not land gracefully. He fell with a big thud and let out a shout of pain. He checked his health bar to find out he had lost 19 points of health. Great fucking start. Marcus said, ¡°I am down. What now?¡± Thanandara looked at Marcus carefully. He did not say anything and Marcus wondered what the goblin chief was doing. Finally Thanandara said, ¡°It seems you are not with the party that is attacking my encampment.¡± ¡°Yes¡±, said Marcus slowly, ¡°It seems so.¡± ¡°So, what is your purpose here?¡± Marcus frowned at that. He was confused. Why was this goblin talking with him rather than attacking? Marcus was sure that if Thanandara wanted, he would be dead. Marcus said, ¡°I am on a quest to retrieve Sinanan¡¯s necklace. I believe you have it.¡± Thanandara widened his eyes. He said, ¡°Sinanan the blacksmith. She sent you on this quest?¡± Marcus shrugged, ¡°She sent me on a quest to retrieve her necklace. She said her deal with you had gone South and as she was running, she lost her necklace. I do not think that she has any idea that you have the necklace. She thinks she lost it in the forest.¡± Thanandara nodded and said, ¡°She is not wrong. However, there is more to the story than she told you.¡± ¡°I figured¡±, muttered Marcus but Thanandara continued, ¡°I will give you the necklace but you must do me a favour.¡± ¡°And what would the favour be?¡± asked Marcus. Thanandara took some time before answering. He then said, ¡°My tribe is doomed. Whoever is out there is killing all of my goblins very efficiently and very fast it seems. Soon, they would be here and kill me too. If that happens, the truth will not come out.¡± ¡°What truth?¡± ¡°You would not believe me if I told you. I am a goblin after all. A villain in your story. It is better if you talk with Sinanan. Tell her what transpired here today. Tell her to tell you everything. Maybe you could help her, help Solaris.¡± What the fuck was that supposed to mean? What was this goblin¡¯s plan? Was he stalling or trying to get Marcus on his side so that Marcus would stop the attacking party from killing him? This was weird goblin behaviour. It did not match with what Marcus had read about them. He was now starting to feel uncomfortable. He did not know what to do. Marcus said, ¡°Can you at least give me the necklace?¡± ¡°No¡±, said Thanandara, ¡°You need to defeat me to take it. Do not worry though. It will not be long.¡± Marcus suddenly focused on what was going outside. The sounds of battle had dissipated. It was like the quiet before the storm. What the fuck was happening? Suddenly the door to the chief¡¯s room was thrown off with force and four figures entered. They were dwarves. Marcus recognized one of them. ¡°Orin!¡± exclaimed Marcus. Orin was surprised to see Marcus too. ¡°By Gromlin¡¯s beard. Marcus Blank¡±, Orin laughed a bit, ¡°What are you doing here? And what the gork is with that level? How in the gork did you manage to reach the boss room with such a low level?¡± Marcus shrugged, ¡°Luck?¡± One of the dwarves beside Orin said, ¡°Friend or foe?¡± ¡°Friend¡±, replied Orin. ¡°Then let us finish the chief together. Then we can catch up, aye?¡± Orin nodded and then shouted, ¡°Marcus stay out of our way. We will talk as soon as this chief is down.¡± Thanandara said, ¡°Wow! As if I am not even here. You gorking butt chimps. Come on then. Let us see if you can even put a dent on me.¡± The dwarves charged and Marcus retreated into a corner. Orin was the one leading the charge with his shield up and his flail swinging. The dwarf to his left had two axes and the dwarf to his right had a greathammer. One of the dwarves held back and had a crossbow with him. They were all wearing heavy armor. Iron armor, Marcus guessed. As they attacked the chief, Marcus could see that they were well coordinated. It seemed initially that Orin would be the tank of their group but it was not so. It looked as if the three dwarves in the front were all damagers, with the crossbow dwarf being more of a controller or support. Not a healer though. Marcus wondered how it all work but seeing them in action, he dismissed that thought entirely. They attacked Thanandara from all sides and Thanandara hardly had time to attack or defend before the dwarves made short work of him. From 502, his health dropped to 0 in mere moments. Instead of bow and arrow, Thanandara had been fighting with two curved swords, but it was useless. The dwarves were too powerful. As soon as Thanandara fell, the dwarf with the crossbow muttered, ¡°This was too gorking easy.¡± Orin agreed, ¡°Yes it was. I know we are over levelled but the chief should not have gone down this easy. His army was tougher.¡± The others nodded their assent. Marcus was not listening to them though. He was focusing on the fallen chief. Something weird was happening with him. Shadows seemed to be swirling around him. He seemed to be changing. The dwarves had noticed it yet. ¡°Look out¡±, Marcus shouted as Thanandara was absorbed into the ground by the shadow. The dwarves jumped back. There was a blast and Marcus was blown back into the wall. He lost 40 points of health. He swore and vowed never to forget storing a health potion in his inventory before starting any quest. Thanandara had transformed. Initially he had been a four feet green goblin. Now, he was looming over everyone at about eight feet in height. His skin had gone several shades darker. Four limbs protruded out of his upper torso, each holding a different weapon; a curved sword, a dagger, an axe and a mace. His legs were long and bent. Marcus checked the status. Thanandara, Goblin Chief (evolved), Level 5 Health 2500/2500 What the fuck! Marcus was gaping at the transformed chief. The other dwarves also seemed to be frozen at the sight before them. One of the dwarves said, ¡°Of course. Phase 2.¡± Thanandara slowly shuffled towards the dwarves, ¡°I am now going to make you pay. All of you shall suffer for killing my tribe.¡± And he attacked. The dwarves jumped out of the way as the arm with the mace smashed into the floor, leaving a small crater. Marcus was sure Thanandara would one hit him to death. He just needed to survive till Thanandara was dead. Then Marcus would get his necklace, leave the rest to the dwarves and just go back. However, it seemed that Phase 2 was not easy for the dwarves. Marcus had checked their levels. They were already level 10, each of them. He could only see Orin¡¯s name and not of the other dwarves. It did not matter to him though. What mattered to him right at that moment was whether the dwarves would be able to defeat the phase 2 of Thanandara, and would he be able to help them? Marcus thought about getting a secondary ranged weapon at that moment. It would have helped. Maybe a short bow and some arrows. He would think about it once this was over. The dwarves charged Thanandara now but they were a bit cautious. Orin again took the lead and one of the dwarves started slinking around Thanandara. Marcus assumed that the dwarf was going to attack from behind. Marcus remained near the wall. He was happy and comfortable there. He did not want to die. Thanandara attacked when Orin got close. Orin tried to parry, but he could not parry two attacks. He parried the axe but the sword hit him. He was thrown a bit back. The dwarf with the greathammer took the opening Orin had provided and slammed his greathammer into Thanandara. It seemed to be a powerful critical attack as Marcus saw Thanandara lose 102 points of health. Whoa. That was some powerful attack. The dwarf dual wielding the axes had reached behind Thanandara and started chopping off the goblin¡¯s health. He jumped back as Thanandara focused on him. Orin took this opportunity to attack and rushed in. Thanandara did a spinning attack and the three dwarves had to dodge back. They did get though. At that moment, the dwarf with the crossbow performed a spell and Marcus saw red auras surrounding the rest three dwarves. Marcus observed that he was also surrounded with a red aura. He opened his notification to read the last line. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. [War Hymn] activated. Damage and Attack speed increased by 10% for 60 seconds. The dwarves took this opportunity to take a major chunk of Thanandara¡¯s health. Thanandara attacked back. He did not seem to care about dodging or blocking. It was understandable. He did hava big chunk of health. Five minutes into the fight, Marcus saw that Thanandara¡¯s health had reached 403. However, the dwarves were also not doing good. Each of their health was less than 40% at least except for the dwarf with crossbow as he did not seem to have lost much health. It was understandable as he was remaining out of the reach of Thandandara¡¯s attacks. Marcus saw Orin charge in as the two other dwarves used health potions. Then Marcus saw the two other dwarves charge in taking off chunks of Thanandara¡¯s attacks as Orin drank a health potion. Fuck, these dwarves were good. They were doing at least 50 points of damage on Thanandara on an average with each of their attacks. They did not seem to have many active skills but whichever skill they had at least doubled their attack. The dwarf with the crossbow had cast [War Hymn] two more times after the first time and the dwarves had capitalized much on it. Marcus did not know about the other three dwarves'' skills as they did not show up on his notification. The damage numbers did though. So, he had by default become a part of the group fighting the boss. When Thanandara¡¯s health reached less than 100, he let out a large roar. All of the dwarves froze. Marcus did not understand what was happening. Thanandara charged towards Orin with all his weapons raised. Orin was not moving. Marcus made a split second decision. Faster than anything, Marcus ran towards Thanandara and jumped on his back, burying his twinblade deep into the goblin chief. Thanandara froze mid way in his attack and turned suddenly. Marcus jumped back but his twinblade was stuck in Thanandara¡¯s back. Marcus saw that he had done only 30 points of damage. And that would be his critical attack. Fucking pathetic. And now he was going to die. Thanandara raised all his weapons again. Marcus put his hands up in defense. Thanandara gave a mighty roar and brought his weapons down. Marcus closed his eyes for his inevitable death. But it did not come. He opened his eyes. Thanandara¡¯s health had dropped to 0. Thanandara fell and Marcus rolled out of the way. Marcus looked at Orin who seemed to have dealt the final blow. ¡°Well¡±, said Orin, ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± Marcus nodded and pulled out his twinblade. The goblin chief¡¯s body dissolved in front of them. No one spoke for some time. A glowing bag had appeared in the place where Thanandara¡¯s body had been present. It was undoubtedly the loot. Orin looked at Marcus, ¡°I have some questions.¡± ¡°So do I¡±, replied Marcus. Orin nodded and said, ¡°Let¡¯s divide the loot and get out of here. Our campsite is nearby. We can talk there.¡± Marcus nodded and said quickly, ¡°I just want a necklace from the loot. It is part of my quest. Rest you can keep.¡± Orin raised an eyebrow and searched the loot. He brought out a necklace which Marcus identified as Necklace of Sinanan Last memento of her father to Sinanan Marcus took it and put it in his inventory. It was stored in the Quest Items section of the inventory. His quest was updated. Return the necklace to Sinanan. This was all it said now. Marcus was relieved. to see that somehow. No more complications. Hopefully. Marcus and the dwarves left the chieftain¡¯s building. Marcus looked at the carnage the dwarves had caused. No goblin seemed to have been left standing. Moreover, the dead bodies seemed to have disappeared. Maybe they dissolved like the chieftain, Marcus mused. The group carefully made their way out of the encampment. It was not much of an encampment. A fire had started somewhere and it was spreading. Soon, it would engulf everything. They increased their speed after seeing the fire. It took ten minutes of walking to reach the dwarves¡¯ campsite. It was in the forest, in a small clearing surrounded by some trees and under a large rock. It was a good place to camp according to Marcus. Once they settled down, Orin introduced everyone. It seemed that the dwarves were his brothers. The one with the crossbow was Orik. The one with the greathammer was Oril and the one with dual axes was Orim. ¡°They call us the Ori brothers¡±, said Orin, ¡°I think you can guess why.¡± Orin grinned at Marcus. Marcus grinned back and said, ¡°It is nice to meet you all. Orin talked about adventuring with his brothers when we were training. Did not give other details though.¡± ¡°Orin has always been a little shy, the little tyke, you know¡±, said Orim. Orin rolled his eyes but did not say anything to him. Orin turned to Marcus, ¡°So, out with it. What are you doing out here?¡± Marcus told the dwarves about his quest. They all waited for him to finish, and did not interrupt even once. After he was finished Orin gave Marcus a whack on his head. ¡°Ow! What was that for?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°That¡±, said Orin, ¡°was for being a twat you gorking dud monkas.¡± Marcus frowned and said, ¡°What does gork mean? And what is a monkas?¡± Orin explained what gork meant. Marcus considered it to be a crude equivalent of fuck. And apparently monkas was a monkey like creature but larger and more viscous. Although monkas were considered to be highly dumb. Getting the immediate doubts out of the way Marcus asked, ¡°And why am I gorking dud monkas?¡± Orin started counting on his fingers, ¡°One, you are at level 4 in a level 5 zone. Two, you have no health potions. Three, your equipment is shit. You have basic armor and a twinblade which can be used to kill max up to level 3 mobs. And four, you just got up and left Solaris on a quest without any strategy, back up or team member for that matter.¡± ¡°When you put it like that¡­¡± ¡°I do put it like that by Gromlin¡¯s balls. You are either the dumbest adventurer I have ever met or you are so skilled that you do not care about all this shit and are confident you can do quests in shitty conditions. Which is it?¡± Marcus shrugged, ¡°I guess I am lucky.¡± The other dwarves roared with laughter and Orin snorted, ¡°Lucky you most definitely are. Lucky that we came along. You would have never completed this quest on your own.¡± ¡°Well¡±, said Marcus, ¡°I would have failed once but I would have come back and you know thought of something better.¡± ¡°You like dying that much lad?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Use your head, you gorking monkas. Failing here meant certain death. And let me tell you something. Death, even as an adventurer, is not that pleasant.¡± Marcus was silent as he considered what Orin had said. He had not thought about dying or how it would impact him. He thought it would be okay as he had activated the resurrection stone and so he had thought it would be okay. He had not actually experienced dying these last few days. Marcus said, ¡°I am sorry. I am new at this and have not had much help. I should have thought more before taking a quest outside Solaris.¡± Orin shook his head and said, ¡°It is not wrong to take this quest. However, you should have done it after proper preparation. You saw the boss'' health did you not? Could you have defeated him on your own?¡± ¡°Yes. No. But I had not planned on fighting anybody. It was a simple fetch the necklace. I did not expect it to turn into such a bloodbath.¡± ¡°If not, then what were you doing in the chief¡¯s throne room?¡± ¡°Well, I had almost given up on the quest. I was thinking of going back to Solaris, and trying something new. If given some time to think, I would have also asked you for help. I knew you were here. Sort of. Not the others though. They are not here. And then I would see from there. However, you all just blasted that gate. You have to tell me how you did that. And I saw an opportunity. And I told you then what happened and how I infiltrated the encampment. It seemed to make sense at that moment. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush. It was mostly the adrenaline rush, I think.¡± There was a short silence after Marcus¡¯ words and then the dwarves started laughing. Marcus smiled. He could maybe see the humour. Oril said, ¡°By Gromlin¡¯s hairy ass you are crazy.¡± Marcus nodded. He thought he needed to spend some time reading about Gromlin. He seemed important to dwarves. Orik said, ¡°Well, so how much experience did you get in killing the boss. We each got 2000 experience points. We were at level 10, and now at least I am at level 17. This is 7 levels up and I am happy.¡± Marcus checked his notifications the first time after the boss fight. He had received 2000 experience points as well. That had him level up to level 14. That was quite the jump. It was 9 levels and he had 18 points to spend. He spent 2 on Strength, 5 on Dexterity and Intelligence each, 4 on Vitality and last 2 on Wisdom. He read his status screen again. It read, Name: Marcus Blank Race: Human Designation: Adventurer - Rank 1 Age: 25 Current Location: Solaris Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 14 Experience: 45/300 Strength: 10 Dexterity: 15 Intelligence: 15 Vitality: 10 Agility: 10 Wisdom: 7 Luck: ??? Health: 120 Mana: 114 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Stamina Regeneration - Level 3 Well Rested - Level 1 Twinblade Proficiency - Level 6 Alcohol Tolerance - Level 1 Stealth - Level 2 Description: The anomaly is now not just an anomaly and is taking his baby steps on being an adventurer. Best of luck to him! Spells known: None Spells Equipped: None Spell Slots: 0 Physical Attack: 18 Magical Attack: 23 Physical Resistance: 8 Magical Resistance: 8 Critical Attack Chance: 5% (max 25%) Critical Attack Damage: 11.25% (max 51.25%) Status: None Social: 300/1000 (Neutral) NAIF: 100/1000 (Neutral) Solaris: 700/1000 (Neutral) It seemed that his [Stamina Regeneration], [Twinblade Proficiency] and [Stealth] had levelled up. That was good. He was happy. Marcus now looked up at the dwarves. Marcus said, ¡°What about you? What are you doing here?¡± Orin replied, ¡°We got a quest from the owner of The Fire Forge. He said he was sick and tired of the goblins messing with his supplies and wanted them gone. It was a group quest. It required ten members at level 5 to complete it. However, there were not many takers as very few adventurers seem to be able to form groups at such a low level. We were at level 10 when we saw the quest. We thought it would be manageable. It was.¡± Marcus started at the name The Fire Forge. It was definitely the new blacksmith Sinanan had talked about. This was not a coincidence. Something was going on in the blacksmithing industry of Solaris and Marcus intended to find out. Orin noticed the thoughtful expression of Marcus and asked him what was bothering him. Marcus told him about his doubts. Orin nodded, ¡°Yes, it seems our quests are connected somehow. We need answers. I will ask our quest giver while you do the same with yours. Something is fishy. It could turn into a major quest. That would be exciting.¡± Marcus somehow did not find it exciting. He found it concerning but decided not to comment looking at Orin¡¯s excitement. Oril called a halt to their conversation, ¡°Let us eat. I have made stew.¡± Marcus¡¯ stomach grumbled. Orin said, ¡°Please tell me that you at least brought food before embarking on the quest.¡± ¡°I did¡±, Marcus showed him the jerky he had bought. Orin simply shook his head. Oril said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Orin. There is plenty for everyone.¡± And it was. It was meat stew with vegetables and seasoning. It was delicious. However, Marcus could only eat one bowl of it. The stew was filling. For the next few minutes there was only the sound of four dwarves and a human eating stew. After he was finished Marcus said, ¡°Oril, you are amazing. This was the best stew I have ever had.¡± Orin gave a short laugh, ¡°The secret is my special seasoning. It really enhances the flavour of the meat.¡± Marcus nodded to that. Orin said, ¡°We will be camping here tonight. What about you? Have you brought a tent?¡± Marcus shook his head. He said, ¡°I did not plan on staying in the forest at night. I think I will head back to Solaris.¡± ¡°That is stupid¡±, said Orin and the others agreed, ¡°Zagui come out at night.¡± Marcus shuddered at the memory of the Zagui. He did not want to encounter them again. Orik said, ¡°I have a spare sleeping bag. Use it.¡± Marcus thanked Orik and took the offered sleeping bag. The dwarves set up two tents very fast. Marcus would be sleeping outside though. He did not mind. He did feel he was intruding on their hospitality. The dwarves had been nothing but kind to him. Soon they went to sleep. They did not set watch as their campsite was considered to be a safe place. They would not be attacked at night. Marcus went to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. Tomorrow he would get some answers. The Major Quest Marcus woke up in the morning feeling refreshed. He checked his notifications to find that his [Well Rested] buff was activated. He smiled. Orin said, ¡°What are you grinning at first thing in the morning you ass.¡± Marcus could see that Orin was definitely not [Well Rested]. Or Orin could not be a morning person altogether. Marcus told Orin about his buff. That earned him a string of expletives from Orin. The dwarves soon broke their fast, boiled eggs and coffee, and packed up everything. The party soon started to make its way towards Solaris. It took about five hours of walking but they reached Solaris. They split up when they arrived. ¡°And remember¡±, said Orin, ¡°We are meeting at The Flying Sow at noon for lunch. We need to have a word about your adventuring future Marcus Blank. Also, I really want our quests to turn into a major quest.¡± Marcus simply shook his head and said his goodbyes to the dwarves. He started to make his way towards Sinanan¡¯s blacksmithy. He reached The Tools of the Trade in about twenty minutes. He could see Sinanan working at the forge. Marcus waited a few minutes before Sinanan noticed him. She had been really focused on her work. Sinanan stopped her work and walked up to Marcus, wiping her hands on the apron she was wearing. It took some moments for that to happen. Sinanan said, ¡°You are back. Can I hope? Were you successful?¡± Marcus handed her the necklace. There was a look of pure joy on Sinanan¡¯s face as she took the necklace. Marcus got a notification and he looked at it. It was the notification for completing the quest. He got 100 experience points as Sinanan had mentioned. ¡°Your reward then¡±, said Sinanan, ¡°Now I have two twinblades with me. One is the Fine Iron Twinblade and second is the Magic Iron Twinblade. I made the Fine Iron Twinblade. The magic one was given to me as a payment some years back. It is well maintained. Marcus checked the information of both the twinblades. Fine Iron Twinblade Physical Attack: Base 15 + Strength 5 + Dexterity 12 Magical Attack: 0 Block: 20% Critical Attack Chance: 2% Critical Attack Damage: 10% Requirements: 10 Strength, 15 Dexterity Description: A finer version of the iron twinblade. Twirl it to slash many enemies with higher damage. Magic Iron Twinblade Physical Attack: Base 10 + Strength 1 + Dexterity 3 Magical Attack: Base 10 + Intelligence 15 Block: 20% Critical Attack Chance: 2% Critical Attack Damage: 10% Requirements: 8 Strength, 10 Dexterity, 10 Intelligence Description: A twinblade with Magic attack. Scales more on intelligence and provides high magical damage. The Fine Iron Twinblade focused purely on physical attack. It scaled at 50% of strength and 75% of dexterity as Marcus could see. The Magical Iron Twinblade added magical attack to the twinblade and scaled a 100% on Intelligence. Its physical attack was low and magical attack was almost double the physical attack. He compared the attack rating and found that the Fine Iron Twinblade would have an attack rating of 32 while the Magic Iron Twinblade had the attack rating of 38. It would make sense to take Magic Iron Twinblade. However, there would be some catch, which he suddenly realized. The Fine Iron Twinblade¡¯s attack would be blocked only by the adventurer¡¯s physical resistance while the Magic Iron Twinblade¡¯s attack would be blocked by both physical and magical resistance. This would be offset by the high attack rating and that made sense to Marcus. Marcus chose the Magic Iron Twinblade. It was the best option for him. He had high dexterity and intelligence. With the magical twinblade equipped, he had the physical attack of 31 and magical attack of 48. This made a total attack rating of 79 which was quite a high number. Marcus said, ¡°Thanks. I am assuming our business is concluded.¡± Sinanan nodded, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good. Good. Good. You see though. I had an interesting chat with Thanandara you see. The goblin chief. He told me that you were not telling the entire truth to me.¡± Sinanan wore a look of confusion on her face. She asked, ¡°Why did you talk with the goblin chief?¡± So Marcus slowly started telling her what all had happened to him during the quest. Sinanan¡¯s face paled as she heard the story. At the end of it she was quivering with rage. She launched into a string of expletives and Marcus noted certain words for later research. It took some time but she did calm down. Sinanan said, ¡°The goblins did not deserve that. They were not evil, just trying to survive. Their bad luck was that they were near a town.¡± Marcus did not say anything. He felt that silence was best in the current scenario. Sinanan would tell him what he wanted to know in time. Sinanan asked, ¡°Do you know much about goblins?¡± Marcus replied, ¡°I have read about them on the internet. Is there more to them than what is written?¡± ¡°No, the internet basically sums up goblins in general. Their behaviour, their strengths, their weaknesses, their culture and other things. However, it does not talk about specific camps.¡± Sinanan paused, took a deep breath and continued, ¡°The camp near Solaris is not full of hostile goblins. Well there are hostile goblins elsewhere but this camp was not one of them. Their chief Thanandara ensured that. He used to deal with my father. You see, adventurers and non adventurers do not trust goblins by default as they normally are thieves and pillagers. However, this group under Thanandara was different. They just wanted to live their lives normally, away from everything. They did not bother us and so there were normally no quests to wipe them out or you know harm them in any way. Their camp was in the woods, far away from Solaris. So they were under attack from monsters of the wood on a regular basis. They had weapons but they were not up to the mark. I do not know how my father came in contact with them but he did. He felt pity for Thanandara¡¯s tribe and became their blacksmith on the side. No one in Solaris knew about it. After the death of my father, Thanandara asked me for my help the same way my father did. You know, make me their blacksmith but I refused. I did not feel the same way as my father felt. I just wanted to be a blacksmith for the adventurers. I wanted to save sufficiently so that I could get to Opulential City. It is the capital of this land mass, Umanahash. However, with the rise of The Fire Forge, I was out of work quickly. I did not have the savings I wished for. So, I reached out to Thanandara. However, Charthuk, the Umaru who runs The Fire Forge, came to know about this somehow. He also knew of my father¡¯s connection with the goblins. He threatened to smear my father¡¯s reputation and mine if I did not give the goblins inferior quality products. I got scared and caved in. The goblins figured out very fast. They can quickly tell if something is of inferior quality. Enraged, they tried to attack me and I ran. That is when I lost my necklace. I did not know Thanadara had found it. I also did not know that Charthuk had put on a quest to wipe out the goblin camp. That was excessive. And unnecessary. I do not understand his motive.¡± Sinanan stopped. She was thoughtful for some time. Then she turned to Marcus, ¡°Can you investigate this? What is Charthuk¡¯s true purpose in killing all the goblins?¡± Marcus knew what it was. It was a quest. He sighed and said, ¡°Yes, I will try and find out.¡± He got a notification. He studied it. Quest: Charthuk¡¯s Ambition Find out why Charthuk wanted the goblins dead and return to Sinanan. Reward: 500 experience points The reward was a bit disappointing this time. There were no weapons or armor or units for completing the quest. Only experience. He would take it though. It would be good to level up fast. Marcus soon finished his discussion with Sinanan and started off towards The Flying Sow. He would be meeting the Ori brothers there. He entered and went to the common area. The Ori brothers had not arrived yet. He sat down and waited for them. They entered in about an hour. Marcus grinned as he saw them bustle into the common area. They exchanged greetings and ordered something to eat. They discussed random things because Marcus knew that dwarves talked business only on full stomach. He had read about it. Once they were finished, the dwarves ordered drinks, ale specifically. Marcus ordered wine. He had [Alcohol Tolerance] at level 1 but he did not want to push it today. He needed a clear head. Marcus said, ¡°So, what did you find out?¡± Orin said, ¡°Nah-uh. Newbies first.¡± Marcus told them about his conversation with Sinanan. The waiter came with their drinks while he was telling the dwarves what had transpired. They all seemed to be deep in thought after Marcus was finished. Orin broke the silence, ¡°You know. There was something fishy about Charthuk but I could not put my finger on it.¡± ¡°That is because you did not care initially¡±, said Oril, ¡°You just wanted to kill lots of goblins.¡± ¡°Ha ha ha. Gork you. As I had said earlier, Charthuk was the one who had given us the quest. He had cited harassment from the goblins as his reason. That the goblins were raiding their merchandise which they sent to other villages. We did not ask questions at that time. However, once we had turned in the quest for destroying the goblin encampment, we did some research.¡± Orin took a drag from his mug of ale and continued, ¡°It seems that there have been no deliveries from Solaris to any villages for a long time. You know, no deliveries of weapons or armors or other blacksmith thingies. There have been other deliveries though and they have not had any problems. So, what in the gorking world was Charthuk talking about?¡± Orim said, ¡°So, we asked around. It seems no one had trouble with the goblin encampment. The goblins there mostly kept to themselves. Why did Charthuk make up the lie then?¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Orin rubbed his hands together, ¡°Charthuk told us to come tomorrow. He has another quest for us. I sense a major quest.¡± Orik said, ¡°This is the fifth major quest that you have sensed since you started adventuring.¡± ¡°But we have not had the major quest yet. It is supposed to start at the beginning and continue till the end. I am already at level 17 and there has not even been a peep of the major quest.¡± ¡°Have some patience, you gorking monkas. We will get the major quest soon. Some adventurers do not get till they reach level 30.¡± Orin groaned, ¡°I do not wish to wait so long. I just want to get started.¡± The other dwarves shook their heads. It seemed to Marcus that they had had this conversation before. Marcus said, ¡°What if I come with you tomorrow to meet Charthuk? I have to investigate the blacksmith after all. You can introduce me as your party member.¡± Orik nodded, ¡°We can do that. But first. Most important. We need to get you some decent armor.¡± The others nodded. Marcus said, ¡°So, let¡¯s go now.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we do it tomorrow?¡± asked Orim, ¡°We are going to a blacksmith after all.¡± Marcus shook his head, ¡°I do not trust this Charthuk. Let¡¯s go and see what Sinanan has for me.¡± They paid for their meal and drinks and left the adventurer guild. They walked up to Sinanan¡¯s smithy. It looked as if she had closed for the night but it seemed that she lived next to her smithy. Marcus knocked on the door and it opened to a surprised Sinanan. ¡°Marcus¡±, exclaimed Sinanan, ¡°What are you doing here so late? Is it something you found out about Charthuk?¡± ¡°Can we come inside?¡± asked Marcus. Sinanan nodded and let them in. Her house was simple in design. They stepped into a living room which had a few couches and a coffee table in the centre. There were doors and a passage leading to other parts of the house but Marcus did not give them much notice. Marcus and the dwarves sat down. Then they told Sinanan what they had discussed. ¡°So you are going to meet that bastard tomorrow¡±, said Sinanan. It was not a question so no one answered. She turned to Orik, ¡°You were right. He does need armor. I asked around after you had left Marcus. Apparently, Charthuk has given two more quests in line with eradication of the goblin encampment. There was an orc encampment to the South East of the goblin encampment and Charthuk has had that destroyed. There was a lizard folk encampment to the South of Solaris and Charthuk has had that destroyed too. I do not know what his plan is but he is becoming dangerous. I am also planning to move out of Solaris now. I do not want to join him.¡± Sinanan then led the others to the smithy. Marcus suddenly remembered that he had looted some goblin equipment. He had five goblin armors, five goblin knives, two goblin swords and a pair of goblin boots. Sinanan gave him thirteen hundred units for everything. Marcus was not pleased. ¡°So, now to the armor¡±, said Orin, rubbing his hands together. Sinanan asked Marcus a lot of questions regarding how he would like his armor, how it would affect his fighting and how much would he like to move while wearing it. She also asked whether he wanted to use more spells in the future. That would determine the weight of the armor. Apparently, heavier armor increased the mana cost of certain spells. So Marcus had to think. And he had to research fast on the side. He was not happy about not having time but it would do for now. Orin and the others strongly believed that Marcus really needed armor before meeting Charthuk tomorrow. After much debate, downright arguing and research, Marcus¡¯ armor pieces were finalized. He scanned them. Leather Cotton Armor Physical Resistance: 5 Magical Resistance: 2 Description: An armor made up of a combination of leather and cotton giving you the protection in the form of best of both worlds but actually has less resistances than pure armor. Marcus frowned at the description. He knew if he had selected pure leather armor, then he would have gotten physical resistance of 10 and the same would have been the case with magical resistance if had worn pure cotton armor. But he knew that hybrid armor would help him in the long run. He examined his pants. Pure Cotton Pants Armor Magical Resistance: 5 Description: Light, breezy and yet perfectly snug, the everyday wear for a combat mage. Marcus shook his head at the description. He had not bought a helmet yet but had bought bracers. Iron bracers Physical Resistance: 7 Description: Light and sturdy. Better than leather yet not quite in the category of heavy armor, these bracers would serve to protect an adventurer well. The description was almost normal according to Marcus. He now checked his defence stats. His physical resistance was now 20 while magical resistance was 15 after wearing armor. It was decent according to Marcus. The dwarves were satisfied too. Sinanan also gave Marcus a nod of approval when he donned the complete set. It had cost him twenty thousand units. Marcus wondered how he would pay such an amount to Sinanan but Orik had come up with a solution that Marcus did not like. Marcus had used his NAIF badge to pay, increasing his debt to NAIF. It was now 1,50,000 units. He was not happy but there was nothing he could do about it right now. He checked his balance. He had about 5,000 units with him. He needed them for his daily expenses. ¡°All right¡±, said Orik when they were finished, ¡°We meet tomorrow at 10 o¡¯clock in the morning at The Fire Forge. Let us see what all this is about.¡± Marcus and the dwarves said goodbye to Sinanan. The dwarves started towards an inn which was near the town¡¯s market. They were staying there. Marcus made his way towards the adventurer¡¯s guild. As he neared the guild building, he heard a commotion. Someone was talking. Marcus could clearly hear desperation in that person¡¯s voice. Marcus looked carefully at who was talking. It was an Umaru, clutching the robes of an adventurer elf. Marcus could tell the robed elf was an adventurer because the elf had his staff in front of him and was threatening the Umaru to let him go. The Umaru finally did it and Marcus approached him. The Umaru said, ¡°Oh thank god. Another adventurer. You got to listen to me. Please. It¡¯s urgent.¡± ¡°Okay¡±, said Marcus, ¡°But not here. Can we go somewhere else? I don¡¯t think you will be allowed inside the guild considering the commotion you just caused with the elf who went in.¡± The Umaru glanced at the entrance and Marcus did too. Destiduous stepped out. He said, ¡°Is this person bothering you Marcus?¡± Marcus said, ¡°He said he needs help. I am going to see what this is about.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Destiduous looked uncertain, ¡°This Umaru¡±, Destiduous checked his name, ¡°Tarkar Sunnik just harassed Gulzarn about a rubbish quest regarding demons. There have been many complaints from other adventurers that he is babbling nonsense and spreading unnecessary fear.¡± ¡°I am not lying¡±, said Tarkar, ¡°This is urgent.¡± Destiduous said in a heated voice, ¡°Talk of demons is not appreciated. You know the law. NAIF would be on your gorking ass if you continue like this.¡± ¡°But I am not lying. I have proof.¡± Destiduous looked at Tarkar for some time. Then he said, ¡°Come with me then. Let me see about this quest of yours. If it is official, then we can put it on the quest board.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Hold there Destiduous. Do you mind if I join you guys? I would like to accept it if it is an interesting quest.¡± Destiduous rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Your funeral.¡± Destiduous led Tarar and Marcus into a private meeting room. He closed the door behind them and sat on a chair. Marcus saw that the room was not that small and could seat at least ten people. There was a table in the centre with ten chairs surrounding it. They all took chairs facing one another. Destiduous had his back to the door, Tarkar sat facing the door and Marcus was on an end facing them both. Destiduous said, ¡°Talk.¡± Tarkar said in a slow voice, ¡°What do you know about demons?¡± ¡°That they were sealed by the game masters about 500 hundred years ago. Considering the death and destruction they caused, Lord Rauros and Lady Leyda prohibited anyone from talking about them as it would disrupt the hard earned peace. The scars of the demon war would fade over time but if we kept reliving them, there would always be a nutcase who would try to take revenge and get himself or herself killed and release the demons again.¡± Tarkar nodded. He said, ¡°There is a small army of demons sealed beneath Solaris. I do not know the exact count but it was sealed by placing three seals around the town of Solaris. The seals initially were guarded by specific guards chosen by Lord Rauros. However, with time, he did not want anyone to know about the seals. So, he made three encampments over there. A goblin encampment, an orc encampment and a lizard folk encampment.¡± Marcus started as he heard this and both Destiduous and Tarkar looked at him. Marcus explained to them what he and the dwarves had discussed. About the destruction of the three encampments and who had given the quest for their destruction. Tarkar nodded, ¡°I wanted an adventurer to investigate the same. There is a demon sympathizer in Solaris. Soon after the encampments were destroyed, someone went to where the seals were located in the encampment and destroyed them. All the three seals are broken. Now, someone just needs to open the gate and the demons sealed in Solaris would be free.¡± ¡°How would they open the seal in solaris?¡± asked Marcus. Tarkar said, ¡°The same way they destroyed the other seals. With lots of energy.¡± ¡°And how would they get this energy?¡± ¡°I am assuming sacrificing people¡±, said Tarkar but he seemed unsure. Marcus said, ¡°All right. Back up. How do you know all this stuff if it is not allowed?¡± Tarkar shifted a bit uncomfortably. He said, ¡°I am a librarian. I also research demons in secret. I know it is illegal but someone has to do it to ensure that there is no demon invasion in the future. Like the situation right now.¡± Destiduous said, ¡°So you think there will be a demon invasion in Solaris?¡± Tarkar nodded. Destiduous continued, ¡°So, instead of going to NAIF, you went searching for an adventurer to help you stop it? Are you insane?¡± Tarkar was looking really uncomfortable now. He said slowly, ¡°I did go to NAIF. They said to make this scenario a quest. A major quest.¡± Both Destiduous and Tarkar looked panicked now. Marcus was getting a bit of what was going on. However, he was still confused about certain things. Marcus said, ¡°Okay. So this is a major quest. Stop the demon summoning. This would lead to a further chain of quests for me. So, why does it seem that you guys are not really happy about this? I mean do you not like adventurers to get major quests or something?¡± Destiduous said, his voice barely a whisper, ¡°This means that the major quest for all adventurers this time is demon invasion. The last time it happened, many adventurers and non adventurers died, Marcus Blank. Permanently.¡± There was silence after his statement. Marcus said, ¡°How do we stop this Tarkar?¡± Tarkar said, ¡°I have identified the location of the final seal. It is in the centre of Solaris¡±, Tarkar shared his map and there was a location pointed on it. Marcus could not exactly identify the place marked though. Tarkar was still talking, ¡°I just wanted the name of the person destroying the seals. From what you have told us Marcus, it seems that this Charthuk seems responsible. I need confirmation though. We cannot condemn anyone based on speculation. We need solid proof. So, the next part of your quest is to get the proof and stop the breaking of the seal.¡± Marcus said, ¡°I have not accepted the quest though.¡± Destiduous sighed, ¡°You do not accept major quests. They are accepted on your behalf. You do not have the option of not doing the major quest.¡± Marcus looked at the interface he had hid earlier while entering Solaris. The right side showed Major Quest Stop Demon Invasion in Solaris Someone is planning to break the seal in Solaris and summon demons. Stop them or it would lead to destruction of Solaris. Beneath the major quest was his quest that he had received from Sinanan. Marcus said, ¡°Ok. But, what about the energy part? Are you sure this Charthuk would require sacrificing people to break the seal?¡± Tarkar said, ¡°At other locations, the encampments were destroyed and many goblins, orcs and lizard folks were killed. Whosoever broke the seals at those locations used the energy released from their deaths. However, in Solaris, they will need to kill a lot of non adventurers to get that much energy.¡± ¡°What about adventurers?¡± asked Marcus, ¡°Can someone kill adventurers for opening the seal?¡± Tarkar frowned, ¡°I don¡¯t know. It could be a possibility. But would it work? I mean adventurers resurrect after all.¡± Destiduous said, ¡°The point is not whether adventurers could be sacrificed or not. The point is to stop before the demons are summoned. Also, I need to have a word with NAIF and adventurer guilds everywhere. If we are going to have a demonic invasion as the major quest, then all the other major quests would have been cancelled and replaced by this one. Also, I would like to keep loss of life minimal. What are Lord Rauros and Lady Leyda thinking? They will not be game masters for long if they keep this up. Marcus you may go now. Investigate this tomorrow morning. You look like you need sleep.¡± Tarkar looked as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself. Marcus left the room while Destiduous and Tarkar continued to discuss the demons. Marcus could not sleep now. He knew he should not look into the demons on the internet. He went to the library. The librarian on duty looked at him funny when Marcus asked for information on demons. The librarian said, ¡°So Tarkar gave you the quest?¡± Marcus nodded and he was taken into a private reading room. There he was given ten thick tomes. He gave a large sigh and started with the first. He did not have much time. He needed to be as up to date about demons as possible before he went to meet Charthuk with the dwarves. He started to read. Solaris would not fall, he vowed. *** ¡°Are you mad¡±, shouted Leyda at Rauros. They were in their bedroom. Rauros had given the final instructions. The war scenario was activated. Soon, all the adventurers would have their new major quest or have their existing major quest replaced. ¡°Demon invasion. This was the war scenario you envisaged. We vowed not to have another demonic invasion after what happened the last time. We lost too many Umarus. The Umarus shall boot us off if we have another demonic invasion and it gets messed up like the last time¡±, Leyda shouted with her volume increasing with each word. Rauros said, ¡°I am taking precautions. This will not be like last time. I have been planning something like this for quite some time now. Only I did not tell you because you would get really really angry. Like right now. See, you are very angry. And I do not like you to be angry. There is something special that I have planned this time.¡± Rauros paused for dramatic effect. Seeing the anger on his wife¡¯s face he continued hurriedly, ¡°We both select champions. Champions that would help turn the tide of the battle against the demons. I have sent you some profiles of adventurers. Choose your champion from them. Give them special gifts. They would be leaders in the upcoming demonic invasion. Think about it. It will be fun.¡± All the while he was talking, Rauros was slowly slinking towards the door to their room. He opened the door and practically ran out closing it after him once he was finished talking. That¡¯s right, thought Leyda, he better run. He knows he is a dead man considering the shit he has just pulled. Leyda took a deep calming breath. She started looking through the files of the different adventurers Rauros had provided. She could not stop the demonic invasion scenario. But she was going to make it difficult for Rauros to cause further destruction. She would need help. Only two champions won¡¯t do. She needed an ace. She looked through the files and selected her champion. However, her memory jogged after she had gone through the files. She opened the file of the adventurer whose name she had thought of. ¡°Found you¡±, she said, ¡°My Ace.¡± The Destruction of Solaris? ¡°You look like shit¡±, said Orin to Marcus as Marcus met the dwarven brothers. Marcus yawned, took a sip of coffee which he had bought, and said, ¡°I had a long night.¡± ¡°We can see.¡± ¡°Yes, it does prove that you have eyes.¡± Marcus took another sip but it did not help. He still felt sleepy and his brain felt fuzzy. ¡°What I am asking you arsehole is what have you been up to the whole night?¡± asked Orin. Marcus shook his head and took another sip. The coffee felt scalding and tasteless. Why was it not waking him up? Maybe Una coffee was not as strong. But the barista had claimed that the beans were made from Earth technology with Earth like characteristics and were a hit among the humans. However, he felt like lying on a soft mattress and snoring his brain buzz away. Marcus said, ¡°I was researching demons.¡± And he told the dwarven brothers about the major quest he had received. Judging from their expressions and the flicked of their eyes, Marcus could assume that they got the major quest now too. Orin swore and said, ¡°I had hoped for a good major quest. But demons! Come on. What are the Game Masters playing at?¡± Marcus shrugged and said, ¡°Should we go meet Charthuk now?¡± ¡°Yes¡±, it was Orik who replied, ¡°But we need to be careful. I have a feeling that he wants to use us as sacrifices based on what Marcus told us. That means someone needs to scout ahead, get some information for us. We do not want to get caught unaware if there are demons involved.¡± Orin said, ¡°Marcus could be the scout.¡± Oril said, ¡°Yes, but Marcus is not the stealth expert even though he somehow managed to sneak in the goblin encampment. He was lucky at that time. These are demons that we are talking about. We cannot take any risk. I know someone. Give me an hour. I will get them.¡± The others nodded. ¡°What do we do in the meantime?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°We exchange notes¡±, said Orik, ¡°And we stock up on potions. And I have an idea. Let me tell you on the way to the store.¡± ¡°I already did stocked up on potions¡±, said Marcus in a small voice which no one heard. As Oril went to get their stealth expert, Marcus was herded off by the remaining dwarves to the General Goods store. Marcus hoped that they were not too late to stop Charthuk. *** Kyrie Shiningstar was getting bored. She was looking at the Adventurer versus Adventurer fights and she had not found one good candidate to fight with. It seemed that she had already exhausted the Solaris circuit. Kyrie was a nymph, a water nymph to be precise but she was not like a traditional water nymph. For one, she did not have the bright blue skin of her kin. Her skin had a greenish hue, making it more cyan than blue. She also chose to be an adventurer, something which her kin were not. Well, forest nymphs, air nymphs, land nymphs and many other nymphs chose to be adventurers but for some reason, water nymphs did not want to be adventurers or come to Una for that matter. Kyrie had travelled from her home planet of Tarados and had found Una a refreshing place. Here she was not judged for being different. Here she was not out of place. Here she had a reputation. She was ranked first in the Adventurer versus Adventurer activity in Solaris. She was still itching for a fight, tracing her finger on the bow, waiting for the right opponent but today had been boring. There were no more interesting opponents left it seemed. She sighed and got up. She exited the small stadium where the fights took place and decided to go to The Flying Sow. Maybe there she would meet someone interesting. She looked at her statistics as she walked. Name: Kyrie Shiningstar Race: Water Nymph Designation: Adventurer - Rank 1 Age: 83 Current Location: Solaris Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 15 Experience: 100/320 Strength: 10 Dexterity: 20 Intelligence: 7 Vitality: 10 Agility: 9 Wisdom: 7 Luck: ??? Health: 120 Mana: 114 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Fast Draw - Level 2 Precision - Level 3 Longbow Proficiency - Level 10 Stealth - Level 10 Water Proficiency - Level 100 Description: The outcast traveller from Tarados, flowing into Una, taking baby steps with a potential to sweep everyone away is enjoying herself by bashing other adventurer¡¯s heads. She is the water nymph to watch out for. Spells known: [Power Shot] [Fade] Spells Equipped: [Power Shot] [Fade] Spell Slots: 2 Physical Attack: 20 Magical Attack: 17 Physical Resistance: 8 Magical Resistance: 6 Critical Attack Chance: 5% (max 15%) Critical Attack Damage: 15.00% (max 35.00%) Status: None Social: 800/1000 (Neutral) NAIF: 700/1000 (Neutral) Solaris: 500/1000 (Neutral) She shook her head at her description. It was weird. She had asked other adventurers. They confirmed that their descriptions were weird too. She had yet to find anyone with a normal description. She examined her longbow next. The Bow of Lament Physical Attack: Base 10 + Strength 10 + Dexterity 40 Magical Attack: 0 Block: 10% Critical Attack Chance: 5% Critical Attack Damage: 20% Requirements: 5 Strength, 10 Dexterity Description: Inheritance of Kyrie Shiningstar, the longbow scales up with her levelling. Equipped with two spell slots, the bow is indeed a shining legacy for the water nymph. Her trusty bow. Kyrie had brought it with her when she came to Una. The Game Masters had been accommodating and had the longbow integrated with their game world. She would use no other weapon. The bow was a gift from her father, according to her mother. Kyrie never knew her father and her mother never told her. Kyrie suspected he would be a forest nymph considering her colour but she was not sure. Different types of nymphs could not have nymph children. It had been tried. Her father and the colour of her skin would be a mystery. She rather doubted that she would find answers on Una. She sighed and put her bow back in her inventory. She looked at her equipped armor. Calling it armor was a joke. She wore a tunic and shorts made from a material specially designed for her. As she was a water nymph, she could not go without water for a long time. Two days was the maximum she could push. The clothes she wore were made from arachnid silk and enchanted such that they absorb moisture from the air ensuring that her skin was hydrated. She would prefer no clothes or armor as nymphs do not wear them but here on Una she had to wear them as it was the cultural norm as well as it provided protection. However, because of the enchantment, her tunic and shorts only provided 1 unit of physical and magical resistance each. That was nothing. She did not wear bracers nor did she wear a helmet. She might wear special bracers if someone made them for her but after the tunic and the shorts provided by NAIF, Kyrie had asked them not to make anything else. She was already a million units in debt with NAIF and she was not happy. A gust of wind blew making her hair dance on her face and she tied it up in a ponytail. At least she had the blue flowing hair of the water nymphs and she was proud of it. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. As she was walking she got a message on her utility belt. The utility belts were handy. Because of them she could access so much information, store so much stuff and keep in touch with those whom she knew. She smiled as she saw who had messaged her. It was the dwarf Oril. She remembered her fight with him. Oril and his brothers were good. She had a tough time defeating them. Oril was her favourite of all of them. She saw what the message read, Meet me in the private room number 6 of The Flying Sow. Have something important to discuss. Kyrie frowned at that. What was so important. Well, she would find out when she went there. She started humming her favourite tune as she made her way to her destination. She did not even need to refer to the minimap or the GPS system. She knew her way around Solaris pretty well by now. ¡°Let¡¯s hope Oril has something interesting to say¡±, she muttered to herself, ¡°I will hear him and move out of Solaris. It has gotten boring after all.¡± She reached The Flying Sow in about five minutes and went directly to private room number 6. Oril was not there yet. Kyrie did not take a seat but remained standing. Couches were not comfortable for her. It took ten more minutes for Oril to arrive. He made the customary greeting of the water nymphs. He had learned it from Kyrie and she smiled as she greeted him back. The water nymph customary greeting was to give a short bow while twirling your hand in such a way that it made the motion of a tide and an ebb. It had taken Oril only a few minutes to perfect it when Kyrie taught him. ¡°Oril¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°It is good to see you.¡± ¡°Likewise¡±, said Oril while sitting down. From his body language, Kyrie felt that there was something serious he wanted to discuss. ¡°So, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?¡± asked Kyrie while taking a comfortable position. Oril told her everything. He started from their mission with Charthuk, regarding destruction of the Goblin encampment, their meeting with Marcus, Marcus¡¯ quest, the suspicions on Charthuk, Marcus¡¯ research on demons and the major quest that they had gotten. When he was finished Kyrie got a new quest which she could see active on the right side of her vision. She read it. Major Quest Stop Demon Invasion in Solaris Someone is planning to break the seal in Solaris and summon demons. Stop them or it would lead to destruction of Solaris. She had no other quest and this quest glared at her like some of the water nymphs used to. She looked at the quest, then at Oril and then back at the quest. ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡± Kyrie asked. ¡°Are you not an adventurer? Also, I need your help.¡± Oril described what they were planning. Kyrie agreed. Soon they were on their way to the General Goods Store. Oril told her that Orik had asked him to come there. They walked to the Store to find a group of adventurers there. Kyrie thought that this was serious. She did not know much about demons but whatever brought so many adventurers togethers had to be bad. And Oril wanted her to scout. ¡°Ah¡±, said Orik as Kyrie and Oril entered the store, ¡°You are the stealth expert Oril was talking about.¡± Kyrie greeted Orik who gave her a wave back. Of the four brothers only Oril and Orin had bothered to learn the water nymph greeting. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± asked Oril. ¡°Orin had a brilliant idea¡±, said Orik. Kyrie could detect a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He continued, ¡°If we are dealing with demons, let every adventurer know. That way we can have back up if anything goes wrong.¡± ¡°Yes¡±, said another voice, ¡°But if Tarkar is correct then we are gathering all the adventurers here for a big sacrifice.¡± Kyrie turned to the source of the voice and was momentarily stunned. A gorgeous human had just come to where they were standing. He was comfortable around the dwarves, and seemed that he knew them well. ¡°Hi, I am Marcus¡±, said the human, extending his hand. Kyrie had been stunned speechless by his presence. She did not react. Orik and Oril both cleared their throats. Kyrie gave her customary greeting to which Marcus frowned. ¡°That is how water nymphs greet¡±, explained Oril to Marcus. Marcus nodded and then replicated the move perfectly, on the first try. Kyrie¡¯s eyebrows raised. Gorgeous and talented. She giggled to which others frowned. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you woman?¡± asked Oril. ¡°Nothing at all¡±, replied Kyrie, ¡°So when do we start?¡± ¡°Right now¡±, replied Orin walking towards them, ¡°All the adventurers are taking their place. We need you to scout the smithy Kyrie. Sneak in and observe. We want to know what is really happening in The Fire Forge.¡± Kyrie nodded. Orin said, ¡°One more thing. Take Marcus with you. Not the whole way. But up to a certain point. He could help.¡± Kyrie raised an eyebrow. Take this amazing human who would distract her. No way. ¡°It would be best if I do this alone¡±, she said, ¡°You do know how stealth works right?¡± Orin frowned at that thought. He crossed his arms and put his head down. Kyrie could tell that he was thinking. Marcus said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Orin. I will take another route than her. She goes left, I go right. Something like that.¡± ¡°There is a high risk of you getting caught¡±, said Orin. Marcus shook his head and said, ¡°We need to do this. We cannot allow anyone to summon demons. But we need to confirm as to what Charthuk has planned. Is he summoning demons here? Or is he going to sacrifice adventurers and non adventurers somewhere else. Worst case scenario, I act as a distraction while Kyrie searches for¡­ um¡­ stuff. Proof. You know.¡± Orin thought for a few more moments and then said, ¡°I am not happy with this but it makes sense. I do not know or trust anyone else who has stealth to do this job.¡± Marcus thumped Orin on the back, ¡°You worry too much. You were the one who was excited about getting the major quest yesterday. And you got it. Now look at you. Down in the dumps.¡± ¡°This is serious Marcus¡±, said Orin, ¡°If you are not careful, you may die. I know some people are not concerned when they die as they can respawn but dying has its penalties. First of all, the experience is not pleasant. And secondly, you lose all the experience you have gained for that particular level.¡± Marcus shook his head, ¡°I will be fine. I am not planning to go the whole way in. Only a part way. As a backup to Kyrie. To help her if things go sideways. She will not even see me. Okay. She might see me but I will not hinder her.¡± Orin was finally convinced and they started discussing the plan further. Kyrie half listened to them. She had opened the map and was looking at approaches to The Flying Sow. She had to be careful. She was not going to get spotted. It took about one hour to get everyone ready. It was already fourteen o¡¯clock by the time everything was ready. Almost mid day. The sun was high in the air. Not a good time to be sneaking around but she would have to stick to the shadows. The adventurers started towards the smithy. It took them about 10 minutes from the General Goods Store. They were arranged about a hundred metres away from the smithy, surrounding it from all sides. They were stationed such that they could see the smithy at all times. Kyrie was going to approach the smithy from the South while Marcus would be doing it from the West. Kyrie started to slowly walk towards The Flying Sow. The smithy was large, covering an area of about four to five buildings. It was not high though. It was only two stories high and had space between it and the houses surrounding it. Its East side opened up to the street and it was the main entrance. There was a back entrance from the South in the corner. Kyrie had researched a bit on the smithy on the way. She reached the smithy. It had no walls. Only open space from the footpath to the smithy. It was a closed building with dark windows and vents circulating the building. She started to walk towards the back entrance and when she reached the footpath area near the back entrance she stopped and looked around. There were not many people at the moment near the smithy. There was some vehicular traffic but no one seemed to be paying attention to Kyrie. She crouched in the shadows. Anyone trying to look directly at her would see a hazy picture of a nymph. She moved slowly towards the smithy. She reached the door to the bank entrance and tested it slowly. Locked. Of course. She got lockpicks out of her inventory and started to work on the lock. It took her a few minutes and a few lockpicks later there was a click. She got a notification. It seemed that she had learnt the passive skill of [Lockpicking Proficiency]. She had not been sure if there was such a passive skill or whether she would get it. She had just practiced a bit earlier and seen some tutorial videos online. She was lucky she was able to pick the lock on her first try. Even though it had cost her five lockpicks. She opened the door an inch and looked inside. All she saw were boxes. She frowned. What was with the boxes? She opened the door fully and went in. She closed the door behind her without making any sound. She was surrounded by boxes, at least ten feet high. She made her way through them till she reached a ladder near the wall. She went up the ladder to get to the second floor. This seemed to be a storage area. She looked around and spied a vent. It was big enough that she could fit in it. She removed the grille and went into the vent. She did not have the room to close the grille. She hoped no one noticed it. She made her way through the vents. Hot air blew through them, making its way to the outside. She needed to get information fast. Otherwise this would lead to her dehydrating fast. Already the close space and the contact to the metal was uncomfortable. Still she crawled slowly through the vents on her belly. She reached an opening which overlooked a few figures. They were all Umaru. She wondered who Charthuk was. She should have asked Orin for his description but she had not thought of it earlier. That was such a rookie mistake. One of the Umaru was saying, ¡°Your adventurers are late Charthuk.¡± Another Umaru replied. It had to be Charthuk, ¡°I asked them to come today. I did not give them a specific time. They would not come at first light though. Were you really expecting them early in the morning, Dimmer?¡± Dimmer snorted and did not say anything. Kyrie looked carefully. There were five Umarus in the room. It looked like a room where they would store materials which support the smithing process. It had been cleared, cleaned a bit and a large circle with a complex design was drawn on the floor. The circle with the design was drawn in red and it glowed faintly. Kyrie wondered if it was blood. It would make sense if Charthuk wanted to summon demons. The Umaru¡¯s paced for some time. Then Dimmer spoke again, ¡°All right Charthuk. I get that the dwarves are late. They are always late. What about the other groups? I am sure one of the groups had an elf in them. Elves are always punctual. They are actually before time. The group with the elf would have come by now.¡± Charthuk looked at Dimmer thoughtfully. Then he said, ¡°Check the smithy everyone. I am sure Dimmer is worrying without reason. But if he is not, then there is going to be trouble.¡± At that moment, another Umaru came rushing into the room. The other Umaru¡¯s raised hammers which they had in their hands. Wait. Kyrie had not seen hammers earlier. Where did they come from? The new Umaru was wheezing but he spoke, ¡°Charthuk. Adventurers. All around us. They know. Demons. Summoning. Planning an attack.¡± Charthuk said with a frown, ¡°Are we surrounded by a group of adventurers who have discovered that we are planning to summon demons and they have now plans to attack us? Is that what you are trying to say, Shimmer?¡± Shimmer nodded. Charthuk cursed under his breath. He said, ¡°All right. Let them come. Kill at least one of them. The more blood sacrificed in this room, the more demons that would be summoned. Take your positions.¡± Kyrie noted the positions that the Umarus took and started to crawl slowly out of the vent. However, the vent decided to betray her. It broke beneath her and she fell near the entrance of the room. There was a moment of stunned silence as the Umarus looked at Kyrie and Kyrie looked back at them. Then Marcus charged in through one of the windows shouting to Kyrie, ¡°Go! Warn the others. Fast.¡± Kyrie flew out of the room. She could feel someone following her but she ignored them. She had to make her way out of this damned smithy. She reached the entrance to the smithy when she was tackled by someone. She quickly maneuvered out of the grip of the assailant and drew her bow and fired. It was Shimmer. Her arrow had hit him on the head and she was sure it was a critical hit. Shimmer looked angry. But he also looked around and went back in. Kyrie kept an arrow nocked, just in case Shimmer returned. However, he did not. Instead she saw a dwarf approach from the corner of her eye. Oril said as he came up to her, ¡°What happened?¡± Kyrie explained. Oril hurriedly communicated with his brother. The signal was given. The adventurers moved in towards the smithy. At that moment there was a small explosion. A part of the roof of the smithy exploded outwards and a thick beam of red light shot in the air. ¡°What in the Gork is that?¡± asked Oril. ¡°That¡±, said Kyrie with fear in her voice, ¡°Looks like a demonic spell.¡± They looked at each other and charged in the smithy. Kyrie led Oril into the storage room and they saw Charthuk bringing his hammer down on someone. It was Marcus. ¡°No!¡± shouted Oril but he was too late. The hammer met his mark and Marcus disappeared. Charthuk had just killed Marcus. Kyrie looked around. Two Umaru corpses were laid in the circle out of which the red light was shooting up. With the death of Marcus, the intensity of the light increased. Charthuk ordered the remaining Umarus to kill them. Kyrie reacted. She saw Shimmer was the nearest to them. In a few seconds, he was pinned with arrows. As Shimmer fell, Kyrie focused on the others to see that Oril had already engaged them. His greathammer whistled through the air smashing an Umaru in the face. That Umaru died too. Only Dimmer was remaining now. Dimmer smashed his hammer into Oril¡¯s legs and Oril fell with a cry of pain. Dimmer raised his hammer for the killing blow, only to find himself thrown back with an arrow protruding out of his chest. Kyrie had used her [Power Shot] ability. Dimmer¡¯s health had to be low as he died on Kyrie¡¯s next arrow. The red light was almost blinding. Kyrie reached up to Oril and picked him up as he heard a cackling laughter. ¡°Yes¡±, said Charthuk, ¡°Yes. He comes. The demon lord comes. Solaris will fall today.¡± Then Kyrie realized what had happened. The Umarus and Marcus had acted as sacrifices. Six people had died. Was it sufficient to summon the demon lord as Charthuk said? ¡°With this last sacrifice, he comes¡±, Charthuk said, stepping towards the circle. He slit his throat. The circle was now whistling. Kyrie and Orin looked at each other. ¡°Run?¡± asked Oril. ¡°Run!¡± nodded Kyrie. They tried to turn and run but there was an explosion and Kyrie blacked out. The Demon Lord There was darkness. Marcus was, for a lack of better description, floating in the darkness. He wondered where he was. He wondered what had happened. He tried to move but could not. He could not see. He could not hear. He could not smell. He could not even feel anything. He tried to shout but could not. He felt as if he did not even have a body. What was happening? Then suddenly there was a flash and a notification appeared in the darkness. Do you want to revive? Yes ?? No Revival cost Level multiplied by 100 units He thought Yes. The next moment he was on hard ground. He could feel it. He heard voices, indistinct but he clearly heard them. There was the smell of food and something else which he could not identify. He opened his eyes and his vision swam. He closed them again. ¡°Are you all right?¡± asked someone. Marcus dared to open his eyes again. The world was not spinning now. That was progress. He looked in the direction of the voice. It was Destiduous. Marcus asked, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°You died¡±, replied Destiduous, ¡°We resurrected you through the stone. Now you are alive and shall be a bit disoriented for some time.¡± ¡°That explains the nausea.¡± Marcus stood up gingerly and sat down on one of the stools nearby. He was not confident if he could remain standing. Marcus said, ¡°Can you tell how long I was dead?¡± Destiduous shrugged. He said, ¡°My job is to bring an adventurer back. I get a notification every time I have to resurrect an adventurer. If I am at The Flying Sow, I can revive the adventurer fast. Although, I must admit, I am not at The Flying Sow all the time. I do have a life. And that fares poorly for some adventurers in certain cases. You are lucky though. I was just thinking of stepping out when I got the notification of your resurrection. So what happened?¡± ¡°Oh, the usual¡±, replied Marcus nonchalantly, ¡°Adventuring on a major quest. The antagonist is in the middle of a demon summoning ritual. Try to save a damsel in distress. Get surrounded by enemies. Die for being noble and a fool.¡± Destiduous had paled. He said, ¡°Demon summoning?¡± Marcus nodded. Destiduous tried to say something but stopped. They had both heard it. There was an explosion. And Destiduous got a notification. He quickly performed the resurrection spell, touching the resurrection stone. Two adventurers came spilling out of the stone. Literally. It was as if the stone had opened to throw them out. Marcus recognized them. It was Oril and Kyrie. ¡°What happened¡±, Marcus asked after some time when Oril and Kyrie had oriented themselves. Oril replied, shaking his head, ¡°I think Charthuk was successful in summoning demons. Actually, I think he summoned a demon lord.¡± ¡°Which one¡±, asked Destiduous. Oril shrugged and Kyrie said, ¡°Can¡¯t say. We died.¡± Marcus said, ¡°We need to go back. Stop this demon lord.¡± The others nodded. Destiduous said, ¡°NAIF has already started evacuating Solaris. All the non-adventurers got the notification. I got it too. I think I will be staying till an official from NAIF comes to take over my duty. We need someone to revive the dead adventurers.¡± His voice was shaking by the end of his short speech and Marcus knew why. Adventurers can revive after they die. Non adventurers do not revive. Destiduous staying here would be a bit of suicide for him. Oril clapped a hand on Destiduous¡¯ shoulder. He said, ¡°Do not worry. There is still time till the demon lord comes up here. The smithy is at least a few kilometers away from this inn. And we had gathered all the adventurers. The progress of the demon lord has to be slow.¡± Destiduous nodded but then paled. He looked as if he was reading the notifications. Destiduous said, ¡°Better hurry. I got five dead adventurers now to revive.¡± Oril swore. Then Marcus, Kyrie and Oril ran out of The Flying Sow. They hoped that they would be on time to defeat the demon lord. *** Orin looked at the demon, no, the demon lord standing atop The Fire Forge. It seemed that they were unsuccessful in stopping Charthuk from summoning anyone. Charthuk had managed to summon the demon lord on such few sacrifices. Orin wondered if Charthuk had summoned demons, then they would have been easily overwhelmed. A demon lord would definitely be equivalent to 100 such similar level demons, Orin assumed. He looked at the battlefield as that was what it was. He was directing the attack about a few buildings away from the smithy and was standing on the roof of a two storied building. His brothers were not with him and Oril had died in the original explosion. Oril would be back, Orin was sure, but it would take some time. Till then Orin wondered how much destruction the demon lord would cause. The demon lord had already obilirated the area surrounding the smithy up to ten metres. The Fire Forge was still standing but Orin wondered for how long. He examined the demon lord. M¨¢ra the Desirer Demon Lord, Level 20 Health 9,286/10,000 That was one huge health bar. They had already lost five adventurers after M¨¢ra had been summoned and they had hardly made any dent in his health. M¨¢ra stood at ten feet tall with six arms and horse¡¯s legs. His visage was completely red with four eyes and tusks protruding out of his mouth. He was completely bald but wore a metal chain with a sharp edge on his head. Each of the arm carried a weapon; a sword, an axe, a mace, a flail, a dagger and a short spear. M¨¢ra was formidable. He did not have any defence but he was fast and could attack and dodge the adventurers well. They needed a solid strategy to defeat him. M¨¢ra sent a wave of power destroying the smithy. Orin could see the adventurers near M¨¢ra and the demon lord itself collapse. M¨¢ra got up. The adventurers did not. Orin swore. They needed a bloody miracle and fast. Else, they were going to lose and Solaris would fall. *** Marcus held on for his dear life as Oril swerved the Mechanical Quadruped that they had borrowed from Destiduous. Time was of the essence as they had to get back to the summoning site fast. Even then it took them a few minutes to reach there. When they reached, there was an explosion of power and they were all thrown off the Quadruped. Marcus was the first to stand up. He had lost 10 points of health. He looked around and helped Kyrie stand up. Oril was beneath the Quadruped. Marcus and Kyrie helped get it off him. When they turned towards the smithy, they saw a horrible site. The demon lord was walking towards the group of adventurers surrounding him. The adventurers had trouble defeating him. Marcus looked at the demon lord¡¯s name and health bar and swore. M¨¢ra was having an easy time killing the adventurers. The adventurers hardly put a dent in his health bar. It currently read at 8,901/10,000. Oril said, ¡°Only a thousand points of health down in so many minutes! It has to be at least five minutes since this demon lord M¨¢ra was summoned. Why has he suffered such less damage?¡± Marcus did not say anything but tried to access the net through the utility belt. He was not able to do so. He kept on getting an error: You cannot access the Global Net while in combat. He tried to think about what he had read about demons. Their weaknesses. What were they? What were they? Then he remembered. Demons are creatures of darkness. They fear the light. Holy magic spells or light magic spells would hurt them. They did have very high resistances to all other damages till they are weakened by holy or light magic spells. Marcus conveyed the information to Oril who conveyed the same to Orin. The adventurers suddenly started to retreat. Marcus frowned at that. Why was everyone retreating? Then he heard the shout of Retreat from somewhere to his right. It was Orik. It seemed that the remaining Ori brothers were in charge and had called for a retreat. A lone figure stepped forwards when the others were retreating. It was a gnome. The gnome had a crossbow in his arms and was soon surrounded by adventurers with shields. Tanks, Marcus presumed. The gnome muttered a spell and his crossbow started glowing with a bright golden light. He then shot bolt after bolt towards M¨¢ra. After five bolts and 300 points of damage to the demon lord, there was a shattering sound and M¨¢ra staggered. ¡°Charge¡±, shouted Orin. He had entered the battlefield. Marcus realized what had happened. They had broken through the demon lord¡¯s defences. The adventurers charged, at first a bit hesitant, but after seeing Orin leading them charging straight into M¨¢ra, they increased their speed. M¨¢ra tried to attack Orin but he dodged M¨¢ra¡¯s attacks and smashed his flail into him for a damage of 50 points. This was good. The other adventurers attacked. Tanks roared their challenges, trying to taunt M¨¢ra, hoping the demon lord would focus on them. However, it seemed to Marcus that the major aggro was on Orin who was now weaving his way through adventurers and M¨¢ra¡¯s attacks to hit him fast and hard. Kyrie had her bow up and was shooting arrow after arrow into M¨¢ra. Some of the adventurers still died, but it seemed that they were winning. M¨¢ra was losing health fast. As soon as M¨¢ra¡¯s health went below 2,500, he let out a roar knocking back the adventurers surrounding him. Marcus got a notification. He was stunned for 10 seconds. That was a lot. M¨¢ra made short work of the nearby adventurers. The Ori brothers all died. This was not good. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Panic was now setting in the midst of the adventurers. Marcus looked at Kyrie who simply shrugged. Another adventurer tried to direct the present adventurers but he was killed too. Marcus swore and he charged in. He had not yet tried to attack M¨¢ra but he saw no option. They had to finish this fast. Otherwise M¨¢ra may cover ground that they did not want him to cover. Marcus dodged through M¨¢ra¡¯s attacks and slashed at the demon lord¡¯s ankles and knees with his twinblades, four sharp and fast attacks. M¨¢ra roared and brought all his weapons down on Marcus. Marcus jumped back, using his twinblades for defence. He was still hit and crashed into rubble. His health was now down to 10 points. Marcus quickly ran out of there as M¨¢ra engaged a new set of adventurers. He gulped down some health potions to get his health back to full. As he glanced around thinking of what to do next, his eyes fell on the gnome who had shot the demon lord defeating his resistance with a spelled bolt. Marcus ran up to him, looking at his information. Zissix Trance Gnome Level 10 Marcus was impressed. Here was someone half the level of demon lord and had removed the demon lord¡¯s defences. Marcus said as he approached Zissix, ¡°Why are you not using the enchanted bolts?¡± Zissix looked at Marcus sheepishly, ¡°I can¡¯t. My spell [Enchant Weapon] is unique. But it has a limitation. The more powerful or complex the custom enchantment, the higher the cooldown.¡± ¡°What?¡± Zissix shared the description. [Enchant Weapon] Enchant your weapon with whatever enchantment as per requirement. Enchantment would last for five strikes. Cooldown would be decided based on the enchantment used. ¡°This is level 1 of the spell¡±, said Zissix, ¡°It does get better as I level up.¡± ¡°So what is your current cooldown?¡± ¡°It was 30 minutes. 13 minutes remain now.¡± Marcus¡¯ eyebrows raised in surprise, ¡°What enchantment did you use?¡± ¡°Sacred Wrath¡±, said Zissix, ¡°It is a high level holy enchantment. I thought it would do more damage. However, I was wrong.¡± Marcus looked at Zissix with a weird expression, ¡°Dude you are level 10 while that hunk of demon is level 20. Be glad that you managed to stagger him.¡± Zissix nodded and Marcus continued, ¡°Does no one else have a holy or light spell in their arsenal?¡± Zissix gave a short laugh, ¡°It is too early. Most of the adventurers do not even have a spell slot acquired. Do you?¡± Marcus shook his head proving Zissix¡¯s point. Marcus said, ¡°So, we got no more holy attacks?¡± Zissix shook his head. At that moment Marcs felt a shift in the air. Both Zissix and Marcus looked at M¨¢ra. He had his arms in the air and energy was cackling between it. Marcus looked at M¨¢ra¡¯s health. It was currently 1,492 points. It seemed that M¨¢ra was preparing to unleash a large devastating spell. Adventurers attacked but no one was able to damage him. Weapons glance off M¨¢ra¡¯s skin. Arrows and bolts fell down broken after hitting him. ¡°We gotta stop this¡±, said Marcus. ¡°How?¡± asked Kyrie, joining Marcus and Zissix. Marcus looked around. The others did too. It was Zissix who made the discovery. ¡°Look¡±, said Zissix pointing at a store a few buildings away from where they were. Marcus looked at the name of the store. Enioro¡¯s Enchantments. Could there be something there? They rushed into the shop. Zissix said, ¡°Look for any sort of holy or light enchantment.¡± ¡°I know¡±, said Marcus and Kyrie together. ¡°I found a scroll¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°And it requires certain high level ingredients to cast the spell. What the gork!¡± The others did not comment. It seemed that Kyrie babbled when she was nervous and Marcus was sure that currently she was in a full blown panic mode. They searched for a couple of minutes and then they felt it. M¨¢ra had finished his spell. He brought all of his six hands in front of him with the condensed spell. He shot it straight and the spell travelled fast in a straight line obliterating everything in its path. Marcus looked at the path of destruction of the spell. The path it cleared was at least five metres wide and it went straight up to the end of the town. Everything was destroyed in its path. Marcus could see trees far away. M¨¢ra turned towards them. He looked at Marcus looking at M¨¢ra through the window and put two of his hands up. M¨¢ra started chanting another spell. This one was different. Marcus said, ¡°Um, we need to hurry. I think this demon lord is going to cast an area of effect spell.¡± ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± asked Kyrie. ¡°Just a gut feeling. Come on. There has to be something here that can help.¡± It was Marcus who found something in a few moments. He went to the back of the shop to find a locked glass case with grenades. They were labelled Holy Grenades. He called the others. There were five grenades. The case was locked. Marcus smashed the case and the alarm started to go off in the store. Marcus grabbed one while the other two grabbed two each. They rushed out of the store. M¨¢ra was still chanting but Marcus could feel the energy he had condensed now. All the hairs on his body were standing up. The last surviving adventurers were still trying to hit M¨¢ra but still producing no effect. Marcus threw his Holy Grenade at M¨¢ra. It hit the demon lord with a damage of 300 points and staggered him. M¨¢ra charged at Marcus. Marcus dodged the attack and shouted to Kyrie and Zissix, ¡°Hurry! Throw your grenades.¡± Kyrie and Zissix threw them one after the other, dealing 598 points of damage to M¨¢ra. He was down to 594 points of his health. That was good. It was close. Last two grenade throws and it would be hopefully over. Kyrie and Zissix threw the grenades again. Kyrie had a critical strike, shaving off 450 points of M¨¢ra¡¯s health. Zissix missed. The grenade exploded some feet away from M¨¢ra, near some advancing adventurers. It caused only 10 points of damage to M¨¢ra. He was down to 134 points of health. M¨¢ra raised his hands and shot magic bolts at oncoming adventurers. He was literally one shotting them with his spells. Marcus knew it in his gut. This was the end. The arrows and bolts from Kyrie and Zissix were still not impacting M¨¢ra. M¨¢ra was advancing slowly towards Marcus. He reached up to Marcus and put a hand straight on his forehead. Marcus closed his eyes, readying for death again. The next moment Marcus heard a loud honk and he was thrown down on the ground. He lifted his head up to see a Mechanical Quadruped hit M¨¢ra with a force to knock him down. Four familiar figures dropped out of the Quadruped. Marcus grinned. It was the Ori brothers. It seemed that Oril had a knack for commandeering Mechanical Quadruped. Orin had something in his arm. It was a grenade. Orin dropped it on M¨¢ra¡¯s head and it exploded with a golden light. M¨¢ra died with a final scream. It was over. Marcus sat up and started to laugh. They had done it. Solaris was still standing. Well, a part of it had been destroyed but the demon lord was dead. Solaris was not completely destroyed. *** Kyrie looked at the aftermath of the battle. The non-adventurers were streaming in, looking at the damage made by the demon lord. It was not pretty but Kyrie was sure that they could rebuild. She could see tear stricken and disheartened faces though. And that is what she did not like to see. So she focused on her stats. She had gained 1,000 points of experience from completing the quest for saving Solaris and had been awarded with the next phase of the major quest. Major Quest Find out more about the Demonic Invasion Solaris has been saved. The demons are not done yet. Find out more about the invasion and where the demons would strike next. Hint: Join a major faction Kyrie did not like that. It seemed that there was no choice but to join a major faction in order to continue the quest. She was more interested in Adventurer versus Adventurer. She wondered what faction would allow that. That she spends more time fighting adventurers rather than fighting demons. She sighed. It was a problem for later. Right now she wondered how to spend the 6 points she had received by leveling up thrice. She was now level 18. She put all of her unspent points in agility. She felt that after dexterity, it was her most important stat. She checked her status again. Name: Kyrie Shiningstar Race: Water Nymph Designation: Adventurer - Rank 1 Age: 83 Current Location: Solaris Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 18 Experience: 140/360 Strength: 10 Dexterity: 20 Intelligence: 7 Vitality: 10 Agility: 15 Wisdom: 7 Luck: ??? Health: 120 Mana: 114 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Fast Draw - Level 3 Precision - Level 4 Longbow Proficiency - Level 10 Stealth - Level 10 Water Proficiency - Level 100 Description: The outcast traveller from Tarados, flowing into Una, taking baby steps with a potential to sweep everyone away is enjoying herself by bashing other adventurer¡¯s heads. She is the water nymph to watch out for. Spells known: [Power Shot] [Fade] Spells Equipped: [Power Shot] [Fade] Spell Slots: 2 Physical Attack: 20 Magical Attack: 17 Physical Resistance: 8 Magical Resistance: 6 Critical Attack Chance: 8% (max 18%) Critical Attack Damage: 15.00% (max 35.00%) Status: None Social: 900/1000 (Neutral) NAIF: 1100/2000 (Positive) Solaris: 2300/4000 (Very Positive) It seemed that aiding in killing the demon lord and saving Solaris had helped build her reputation. The reputation jump for Solaris was very high. However, the reputation jump for NAIF was not much and for Social it was minimal. She wondered how she would get a good Social reputation jump. From the statuses she could see that the increase in agility had affected her critical attack chance. However, she also knew that agility was more related to fluid movement and dodging ability which was not mentioned in the status of any adventurer. It seemed that the Game Masters had kept certain statuses hidden from the adventurers on purpose and they wanted the adventurers to figure them out on their own. She closed her status screen and looked up to see Orin walking towards her. She waved at him, not having the energy to execute the traditional greeting. Orin reached her and said, ¡°Are you all right, Kyrie?¡± ¡°Fine¡±, replied Kyrie, ¡°Just tired.¡± She was not lying. Orin nodded his head and said, ¡°Do you have some time to talk in private?¡± ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± Orin looked thoughtful for a second. Then he said, ¡°I have a proposition for you. Will you like to listen to it?¡± It is already starting, thought Kyrie. The Dwarven Kingdom was a major faction after all. Orin would try and get as many adventurers on his side to fight the demons in The Dwarven Kingdom. She thought about it. Did she want to do it? Then she decided that it was worth listening to Orin just once. She could decline his offer after all. Kyrie stood up. She said, ¡°All right. Lead the way. I will hear what you have to say.¡± And as they left, a figure watched them walking away. The figure turned with a smile on their face. ¡°The gears are in motion¡±, they muttered and disappeared. *** Silas was looking at the report in front of him. He was supposed to be out of Solaris. He was supposed to be the part of a team which would keep tabs on Marcus Blank. Instead, about thirty percent of Solaris had been destroyed. Of the total population of fifty three thousand and twenty non adventurers, four hundred and two of them had died, permanently and there were so many wounded. Silas could not abandon Solaris like this. He felt, in a way, this was NAIF¡¯s fault. They had not managed to stop the Game Masters from having the demon scenario as a major quest and now they were paying the price of their failure. Silas had had a short video call with Charles stating he wanted to help build Solaris. Charles had refused Silas¡¯ request. The reason Charles had given Silas chilled his bones. Solaris was not meant to survive the demon lord. A miracle had happened. All of the present adventurers were hailing the Ori brothers as the heroes who saved Solaris. However, Charles felt that it was Marcus Blank¡¯s influence that had altered the events somehow. Silas failed to see how it could be. He had not been allowed to put his case. Marcus Blank was now of utmost priority. Silas would help till his replacement came. Then he would be portalling immediately to Melancholia. Silas sighed as he got up from his chair, laying the report he was reading on the desk. He looked out the window of the undamaged NAIF facility. A majority of the people of Solaris had been evacuated from the town when the demon lord had been summoned. Still, there were so many non adventurers without homes because of the attack. It was at this moment Silas made a decision. If the higher ups think that Marcus was a person of interest and needed to keep tabs on, then he would help him. He needed to find a way to do it discreetly though. According to Charles, Marcus would be a key player in the demon war scenario. Then Silas would help him so as to ensure the survival of non adventurers on Una. He suddenly smiled. He had a plan. Silas called his assistant. He had a new special quest to organize. The Not So Dynamic Duo Marcus found himself back in the library. It had not been destroyed by the demon lord¡¯s attack. Marcus liked that. He was currently referencing certain books and the Global net regarding the major factions. He wanted to be well prepared for the next stage of the major quest. There were ten major factions on Una. The Dwarven Kingdom. The Elven Kingdom. The Human Kingdom. The Undead Kingdom. The Gnome Kingdom. The Feliur Kingdom. The Dragon Kingdom. The Mercenaries. The Magicians. The Librarians. Seven of the ten factions were attributed to a particular landmass. The remaining three seemed independent of a landmass and seemed global. However, they were headquartered at the central landmass. There were a total of eight landmasses in Una. Seven land masses surrounded the central landmass. Turanous was the central landmass. Surrounding Turanous were the landmasses of Umanahash, Artorios, Golimath, Urtor, Felinile, Chandrosh and Reyarth. He was currently on Umanahash, the landmass of The Gnome Kingdom. The Elven Kingdom was present on Artorios. The Dwarven Kingdom was present on Golimath. The Undead Kingdom was present on Urtor. The Feliur Kingdom was present on Filinile. The Dragon Kingdom was present on Chandrosh. Finally, The Human Kingdom was present on Reyarth. Turanous contained the representatives of the other species. They were not major but minor factions. Marcus wondered which faction he should join. He was currently reading everything he could find about the factions. He wanted to join a faction which would help him well as an adventurer without taking undue advantage of him. Till now he had not found any faction related to the land masses advantageous. He considered The Mercenaries. He did not want to be a mercenary. He considered The Magicians. He was not sure whether he could join The Magicians if he did not want to pursue a path dedicated to magic. He was more inclined on a hybrid path of development. That left him with The Librarians. However, The Librarian faction did not feel much inclined with adventuring. It felt as if the faction was more interested in research and study. Marcus enjoyed that but he was also an adventurer. How would this fit with what he wanted? He was now in a dilemma and he started to re-read all his notes on the major factions. He did not want to hurry. He would make an informed decision. Marcus considered The Dwarven Kingdom. It seemed that the quests for this faction would include a lot of drinking and a lot of head bashing. Why was this sounding so cliched? The Elven Kingdom was recommended for healers and support adventurers. He was neither of the two. He considered going to The Human Kingdom; meet a majority of fellow humans; hope someone would remember him. But he dismissed the idea. Based on his research, the quests of The Human Kingdom seemed very random and self absorbing. Much like human nature, he mused. He did not have to reject questing in The Undead Kingdom. The Undead Kingdom did it for him. Only Undead can quest successfully in The Undead Kingdom. Other species did live there but the major cities and the capital city had an aura in which only the undead thrive. There had been no records of other species surviving this aura. This left him with The Gnome Kingdom, The Feliur Kingdom and The Dragon Kingdom. The Dragon Kingdom was a big no no according to records of many adventurers. The Draconians were a hostile species and the dragons, yes Marcus had read right, there were dragons on Una. The dragons of Una did not like any other species other than Draconians and they only communicated through them. Marcus felt this would be a logistical and communication nightmare. He considered The Gnome Kingdom and The Feliur Kingdom. Based on his research, it seemed that they did have normal quests and were considerate towards all the adventurers. However, Marcus believed that a majority of the adventures joined these two factions. Considering the repository of names of each of these seven factions, Marcus found that The Gnome Kingdom and The Feliur Kingdom had the most adventurers aligned to them. The Mercenaries were an interesting faction. Marcus felt that they were too focused on money though. The Mercenaries had a few sets of rules and they took quests operating on those sets of rules. Marcus did not want that. The Magicians were focused highly on magic and its study. Marcus had checked. The adventurers associated with The Magicians faction were all mages. He was not one. Well not a dedicated mage. And he saw that there were highly rare records of hybrid mages in The Magicians. They would mostly be the exceptions who had somehow survived the faction but not thrived in it. Finally, there was The Librarians. Their primary focus was knowledge. The Librarians did not mind what type of quests the adventurers did as long as the adventurers kept on bringing in information, old or new. Being associated with The Librarians did include a lot of research work and paperwork. Marcus was sure that a majority of the adventurers would find that boring. Marcus was not sure himself. Marcus finally closed the notes that he had made and rubbed his eyes. How long had he been here now? He could not remember. His stomach grumbled. He wondered where he could find some food. As he got up to go, Marcus was stopped by a librarian. Marcus recognized him. It was Tarkar. Tarkar beamed as he hailed Marcus, ¡°It is good to see you well adventurer Blank.¡± Marcus replied, ¡°And it is good to see you well non adventurer not Blank.¡± Tarkar frowned at that but did not comment. Marcus had a feeling that Tarkar had not registered what Marcus had said. His loss. Tarkar asked, ¡°If I may ask, what are you doing here in the library?¡± ¡°Researching major factions.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± nodded Tarkar, ¡°Understandable. You would need help in that matter. Do you not have any adventurer or non adventurer contacts you can discuss this with?¡± Marcus said slowly, ¡°I do have some adventurer contacts but I am pretty sure what they would have to say. I want an unbiased neutral opinion. Secondary research is a good first step in that case.¡± Tarkar laughed at that. He said, ¡°That it is. My advice is to find a representative of each of the major factions and let them describe to you how good or bad it is to be a part of that faction.¡± ¡°And I believe you are here to tell me about the wonders of The Librarians faction?¡± Tarkar laughed again and said, ¡°No. No. No. Nothing like that.¡± ¡°That was a lot of Nos.¡± ¡°Yes they were. I am here on another errand. I simply happened to run into you. Although, if you are considering The Librarian faction, go talk with this adventurer named Thimble Thinker. He is currently in Solaris and can tell you more about our faction and how he has integrated well into it.¡± ¡°I will consider it.¡± Marcus then bid Tarkar farewell and started off towards The Tools of the Trade. He was hoping to catch Sinanan there. He had to turn in her quest after all. Marcus reached Sinanan¡¯s smithy to find her working. Marcus was surprised. Sinanan looked up from her work to see Marcus walking slowly towards her. She grinned. Sinanan said, ¡°I owe you thanks, Marcus Blank. You saved Solaris and purged the evil blacksmiths. Now, I am the only blacksmith left. Work has been pouring in. They are talking about bringing one more blacksmith but I see myself overworked for the next few weeks.¡± Sinanan looked happy. Marcus said, ¡°So, I did find out what Charthuk was up to after all.¡± Sinanan laughed and said, ¡°That you did. Consider that quest complete. I know I had promised only experience and no reward, but considering what you have done, I have something for you.¡± Marcus muttered, ¡°It was a team effort you know.¡± ¡°Yes¡±, replied Sinanan, ¡°But you are the one I gave the quest to. You are the only adventurer that took my necklace quest where many other adventurers declined it. And you are the one who did not throw me under the bus even after knowing my history. And now, I have gone from almost unemployed to overworked because of your actions, your contributions, even though they may be small compared to other adventurers. That is why I want to reward you.¡± Marcus was blushing. He did not think he did much to stop the invasion but Sinanan had high praise for him. Sinanan went into a back room and brought out a small box. She opened it and Marcus saw her taking out a circlet. Marcus could feel that this was no ordinary circlet. He read its description. Circlet of Hope Physical Resistance: Wearer Level Magical Resistance: Wearer Level Spell Slot 2 Description: A Legendary Circlet once worn by the King Ganamush the Benevolent. The wearer of this circlet would be blessed with the King¡¯s protection giving them resistances equivalent to their level. It binds to the wearer who wears it and can only be given to a non adventurer after the adventurer is done with it. Marcus was gaping after reading the description. This was a very very very good item. It was circular and in the front it had a circle in the centre with two axe type shapes surrounding the circle. It glowed with a white sheen and a tinge of yellow. Marcus could not identify the material it was made with. However, Marcus doubted whether he could identify materials to begin with. ¡°This circlet¡±, said Sinanan, ¡°was given to my father by Thanandara for the services that he rendered. My father considered it too valuable to be sold. He always wanted to give it to a worthy adventurer. I believe you have earned that title.¡± Marcus did not even know what to say. This was too much for him. He just wordlessly accepted the circlet and equipped it. He got a notification. Do you want to bind the Circlet of Hope to you? Yes No He selected Yes and at once felt change in him. He knew that his overall physical and magical resistance had increased. Moreover, he earned 500 points of experience from completing the quest. That was a total of 1,500 points of experience earned since yesterday. He had levelled up because of this and reached level 18. He now had 8 points to use. He put 3 in wisdom and 5 in vitality. He checked his status. Name: Marcus Blank Race: Human Designation: Adventurer - Rank 1 Age: 25 Current Location: Solaris This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 18 Experience: 180/380 Strength: 10 Dexterity: 15 Intelligence: 15 Vitality: 15 Agility: 10 Wisdom: 10 Luck: ??? Health: 130 Mana: 120 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Stamina Regeneration - Level 4 Well Rested - Level 1 Twinblade Proficiency - Level 7 Alcohol Tolerance - Level 1 Stealth - Level 3 Description: The anomaly is now not just an anomaly and is taking his baby steps on being an adventurer. Best of luck to him! Spells known: None Spells Equipped: None Spell Slots: 2 Physical Attack: 18 Magical Attack: 23 Physical Resistance: 11 Magical Resistance: 9 Critical Attack Chance: 5% (max 25%) Critical Attack Damage: 11.25% (max 51.25%) Status: None Social: 600/1000 (Neutral) NAIF: 950/1000 (Neutral) Solaris: 2300/4000 (Very Positive) He had levelled up quite a number of stats it seemed. He did frown though. He had forgotten one thing. He had increased his wisdom but he had no active spells. Marcus said, ¡°Thank you Sinanan. You have no idea how useful this gift of yours would be. I would like to ask you though. How do I learn to use active spells?¡± Sinanan laughed at that. She said, ¡°Go to a shop named Enioro¡¯s Enchantments. They would help.¡± Marcus thanked her and left. He wondered about what spell he would get. However, on his way he met the Ori brothers and Kyrie. ¡°Marcus¡±, hailed Orin, ¡°Where are you going?¡± Marcus explained what he was going to do and all of the Ori brothers groaned. Kyrie raised an eyebrow and turned to Orin, ¡°Are you really sure about this? Him? Him!¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°Come with us¡±, said Orin. They walked up to a nearby cafe and sat down. They each gave an order of coffee and some sandwiches after which Orin said, ¡°You know Marcus, for a person who researches a lot, you do not know much about adventuring and adventurers in general.¡± ¡°I thought we already established that, didn''t we?¡± Orin shook his head and said, ¡°Wait till you reach a major city Marcus. The quality of spells in a town or a village are of inferior quality as compared to even the smallest city. I mean if you are desperate to get into magic you can start with a simple spell. However, it is better to wait till you get to a city, have some money. Spells are expensive.¡± ¡°How expensive?¡± inquired Marcus. It was Kyrie who replied, ¡°The cheapest and the weakest spells are at 10,000 units. I know. I checked. And this is a normal shop rate. NAIF rates are ridiculous.¡± ¡°Why would anyone buy from NAIF?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°Desperation¡±, replied Kyrie. She did not elaborate further and so Marcus let it go. Marcus then said, ¡°Very well then. I will look for getting spells once I reach a city, albeit a city well stocked with high quality spells. I was thinking of moving out of Solaris soon. I had not decided when though. Was a bit preoccupied with some other research.¡± ¡°Which faction to join, I presume¡±, guessed Orik. Marcus nodded. Orin said slowly, ¡°Would you be interested in joining The Dwarven Kingdom?¡± Marcus thought for a bit before answering, ¡°Do you want me to join The Dwarven Kingdom Orin?¡± Orin gave a short laugh, ¡°Gork no. A gorking monkas like you would not survive a week in our faction.¡± ¡°Oh, so you are already aligned?¡± asked Marcus with surprise. ¡°Considering that we are dwarven royalty, I don¡¯t think we have much of a choice¡±, said Orim. ¡°Oh yes. I had forgotten about that¡±, Marcus turned to Kyrie, ¡°What about you? Are you aligned to a faction?¡± Kyrie blushed when Marcus asked her a question directly and shook her head. Weird behaviour according to Marcus. Their sandwiches and coffee arrived and they were busy for a few minutes, eating and drinking. They were done with the sandwiches fast and were now slowly sipping their coffee. Kyrie was drinking lemonade though. Marcus had noticed that she had ordered a salad. Must be a nymph thing. Marcus said, ¡°So what are you all going to do?¡± Orin said, ¡°We are going to Golimath. We will slowly make our way to the capital city of Karzasham. Kyrie here, will tell what she is going to do herself. Because I do not know what she is going to do next.¡± ¡°Thank you Orin¡±, said Kyrie rolling her eyes, ¡°I am thinking of a faction to join first. After I decide that, I will see which landmass I land on. However, before I join a faction, I wish to form a team. I need another adventurer. I did not find any good candidates in Solaris. I think I will go to Opulential. Maybe there I will find someone good.¡± ¡°What are your criteria for a team mate?¡± asked Marcus, now curious. He had thought about being in a two person team earlier. However, he had not realized that the two person team would need to be in the same faction. Else it would cause complications. That way, Kyrie¡¯s idea sounded better. Kyrie said, ¡°I am very much interested in Adventurer versus Adventurer. I need a teammate who would understand and accept this. I mean I would prefer Adventurer versus Adventurer over normal adventuring. There was no one in Solaris who was okay with that.¡± Marcus stared at Kyrie dumbly. Then he said slowly, ¡°What is Adventurer versus Adventurer?¡± The table exploded in laughter. There was some swearing involved as well. However, most of the swearing was done by Marcus after seeing the reaction of the others. Orim fell down clutching his stomach in laughter. Marcus grumbled, ¡°Thank you for your support everyone. I feel so much better that you have explained to me what Adventurer versus Adventurer is.¡± They all missed his sarcasm as that statement elicited a new round of laughter. ¡°Oh fuck off you assholic bastards. Stop laughing and tell me what this Adventurer versus Adventurer nonsense is.¡± It took some time for the laughter to subside. Kyrie finally said, ¡°Adventurers can fight other adventurers in the game world. This is basically called Adventurer versus Adventurer. Each town, city or village has a separate arena where adventurers can fight each other. This is done for prestige, money or growing your skills. I am currently the reigning champion of Adventurer versus Adventurer in Solaris. And as I said before, I am sort of addicted to it. My teammate should understand this. Any city, town or village I visit, I am not going to leave until I become the champion or till I reach a point where there are no more opponents at my level. And as I said before, the majority of the adventurers do not understand this.¡± Marcus nodded, ¡°I see. That would mean that your teammate might want to move on to the next city or village or town but you would not until you are satisfied with your Adventurer versus Adventurer status.¡± ¡°You get it¡±, said Kyrie cheerfully, ¡°I also have another criteria. I am a water nymph. As a result, I need to go to a water body once a month. The bigger the better. And before you ask, no, filling a tub with water does not count. Nor does a water body be surrounded by any form of technology. It has to be purely natural. I need this to survive.¡± ¡°That¡¯s understandable.¡± ¡°So you see the difficulty I have with finding a teammate. I thought someone I fight with in the Adventurer versus Adventurer arena could be a good potential teammate. I was, however, wrong.¡± ¡°You are right. Opulential will be a good place for a potential teammate.¡± ¡°There is another option¡±, said Orin slowly. Orin looked at Marcus pointedly. Marcus got what he was trying to say. Marcus sighed and said, ¡°Kyrie, I think Orin is trying to set us up as teammates.¡± Orin frowned and Kyrie laughed. She said, ¡°I know. He told me the same thing. That you and I have the potential to be great teammates.¡± ¡°On what basis may I ask?¡± asked Marcus to Orin. ¡°On the basis that you both need teammates and I have a feeling that you would easily be able to accommodate Kyrie¡¯s criteria¡±, replied Orin. Marcus thought about it. He did not mind Kyrie¡¯s criteria. They were not that preposterous. Just challenging. After all, he would get more time to read about the history of Una, the Game world and the Game masters. He had been thinking about that recently after M¨¢ra¡¯s defeat. He really wanted to know more about this world. He wondered where his motivation came from. It was as if a force was compelling him to know more about this world, especially the game masters and the system they designed. This is ridiculous, thought Marcus and shook his head. He looked up to see the others staring at him. It seemed that he had been lost in thought for some time now. Marcus cleared his throat and said, ¡°I do have my conditions though. First, I would be spending some time in the library in each of the cities, towns or villages that I visit. I believe you could be doing your thingy then. Secondly, if we get a critical quest where lives are at stake, then that quest takes priority. No Adventurering versus Adventurering at that time.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the correct connotation but continue¡±, muttered Orik. ¡°Thirdly¡±, continued Marcus, ¡°I would like to get out of debt from NAIF fast. I know my debt may not be much but for some reason, I do not trust debts. It is currently one hundred and fifty thousand units and I do not want it to be even 1 unit. I know it is weird for an adventurer but these are my conditions.¡± Kyrie thought for a moment. The dwarves looked at both Marcus and Kyrie alternatively. Kyrie said slowly, ¡°You only have a debt of hundred and fifty thousand units?¡± ¡°That is what troubles you¡±, said Oril, ¡°I know it is large but it is nothing to be worried about.¡± ¡°That is large!¡± exclaimed Kyrie. She now frowned, biting her lip. Marcus had an inkling what was troubling her. ¡°Kyrie¡±, said Marcus carefully, ¡°What is your debt to NAIF?¡± She muttered something and Oril said, ¡°What was that? Didn¡¯t catch that.¡± ¡°One million two hundred units.¡± There was a large silence after that. Everyone stared at Kyrie who looked very uncomfortable. Then Marcus gave a short laugh, ¡°And here I was worried about my debt.¡± ¡°Marcus¡±, chastised Orin. ¡°Sorry¡±, said Marcus, ¡°But how is it this much?¡± Kyrie answered by putting her bow down on the table. They all examined it. Orin said, ¡°By the gorking hairy ass of Gromlin. This is a hereditary item. From your home world. Integrated into Una¡¯s system. Still. It would not cost so much.¡± That was when Kyrie shared with them the information on the dress and the shorts she wore. There was another minute of silence before Orin said, ¡°Okay, this is gorking unbelievable. Who the gork are you? I mean look at this gear. I mean the clothes are necessary for your survival and this bow. Are you royalty?¡± Kyrie shook her head and said bitterly, ¡°No, just someone who trusted NAIF and got into a lot of debt.¡± The others did not have anything to say to this. Marcus said after some time, ¡°You know what Kyrie. Let¡¯s give this a trial run. Let¡¯s go to Opulential on foot rather than teleporting there. We can pick some quests in the wild if there are any quests in the wild and we can see if we can fight well in synchronization. What do you say?¡± It was Orin who replied, ¡°I think it is a ridiculous idea. There are no quests in the wild. There used to be. But there were some¡­ accidents. In short, your idea does not work.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°True. I also need to go to Opulential fast. There is a natural waterfall near it. I need to go there for my monthly visit. I cannot waste time in the wilds. How about this? We do a trial run in Opulential. Will you be okay with that?¡± Marcus thought for some time and said, ¡°That could work¡±, he extended his hand forwards, ¡°Potential team members?¡± Kyrie shook it, ¡°Potential team members.¡± Then they all left. The dwarves left for the portal to their kingdom, which was on the North side of Solaris. Marcus and Kyrie left for The Flying Sow. Marcus wanted to talk with a gnome named Thimble Thinker before leaving Solaris. As the Ori brothers watched Marcus and Kyrie walk away, Oril turned to Orin and said, ¡°Orin, are you absolutely sure this is the right choice?¡± Orin nodded, ¡°Yes Oril. She will be safe this way. Now come on. To the portal.¡± *** Leyda looked at the retreating backs of Marcus and Kyrie and she smiled. It seemed that the dwarves had given an initial push. Things were going according to her plan. They were together for now and Leyda would ensure that they would remain together. After all, one of them was her ace. Leyda walked away from the two of them and disappeared. She moved on to her next task. She had to convince her champion to lead after all. Rauros would have already done it by now. She should hurry. She would weather out this invasion with the least casualties possible. Lost in the Woods Marcus looked at Kyrie, the water nymph and her potential teammate. She was looking thoughtful. She had not said much since their meeting with Thimble. Thimble had put up a good case for joining The Librarians faction. Initially Kyrie had not been interested in this faction. But now, Marcus assumed that she was thinking about it. They were currently standing in a room which exited to the portal. The portal to Opulential was to the East side of Solaris. Each city or town on Una had four portals set up in each of the four directions. The city of Opulential was slightly to the Southeast to Solaris and can be reached easily through the Eastern portal. The villages on Una did not have portals though. Marcus wondered about that. He thought he would find out more about that later. Currently, their objective was to reach Opulential, see if they have good teamwork and join a faction. Their turn finally came. They exited the room into a short clearing. A giant twenty-foot-high arch stood in front of them. The arch seemed to be made up of brick like material but was black in colour. It was at least six feet wide and about a foot thick. It seemed to shine a bit and Marcus could hear a sort of humming as he stepped near it. An Umaru team of five was working near the portal. One of them came towards Marcus and Kyrie. ¡°Good afternoon. My name is Shankul. First time using a portal?¡± said Shankul the Umaru. Marcus and Kyrie both nodded. Shankul clapped his hands and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry. The first time might be a bit disorienting, but you get used to it.¡± Shankul looked at a screen in front of him and said, ¡°So, going to Opulential. You have paid the necessary units and your documentation is in order. All right, let''s get teleporting.¡± Shankul went up to the side of the arch and put his hands on it. The other Umaru followed suit. The space between the arch started shimmering. A silvery veil materialized between the arch. Shankul said, ¡°Just go through it. It will take you to Opulential.¡± Marcus and Kyrie stepped forwards. They reached the arch and looked at each other. They grinned and stepped through. As he was stepping through, he heard someone say, ¡°Uh oh.¡± Then his world shifted. He felt as if he was being sucked through the darkness. The next moment he fell on the ground, hard. Kyrie was beside him. ¡°What happened?¡±, Kyrie asked. She looked confused. Marcus was sure he was mirroring her expression. Marcus looked around. The area surrounding him, and Kyrie did not look like a big city. It looked like the middle of a forest. ¡°Not again¡±, muttered Marcus, ¡°At least I am not naked this time.¡± ¡°What was that?¡± asked Kyrie. ¡°Nothing¡±, Marcus shook his head and examined the surroundings closely. The trees looked different from those around Solaris. They seemed to be somehow in a denser part of a forest. Marcus opened the map and frowned. Marcus said, ¡°Do you know how to search for Solaris on the map?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°We cannot search locations directly. However, you can zoom out and pan your map. It would give you an idea of your relative location.¡± Marcus nodded and did as instructed. He concentrated on zooming out and panning the map. He found Solaris to the West. That meant that they had indeed teleported to the East. But they had not reached Opulential. What did this mean? Kyrie said, ¡°It seems Opulential is still about a hundred kilometers to the Southeast from this spot. We would have to walk, I think. Also, there seems to be a small lake with a waterfall about fifty kilometers to the East of here. Should we head there? I would get my monthly dip and would be refreshed.¡± Marcus zoomed out the map further to see what Kyrie was saying. It did look as if they were in the middle of Solaris and Opulential, distance wise. He searched in the East but could not see a small lake. It looked as if the map was blank. Marcus said, ¡°I don¡¯t see anything.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°Only I can see natural water bodies explored on the map. Otherwise, the map sort of remains blank except for the locations of towns, villages and cities until you explore it.¡± ¡°That makes sense. Although are you sure we should not wait here? I mean, they could have realized that they made a mistake and come looking for us. I heard someone say ¡®Uh oh¡¯ as we stepped in.¡± ¡°And you did nothing to stop us?¡± ¡°We were already in. I mean it is by chance I heard it. It means that they know something is wrong. Someone could come for us.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I am not sure how the portal works or what to do when something goes wrong. They should have a manual or a set of instructions or something.¡± ¡°Hold on a moment¡±, Marcus said, opening his Globalnet and searching for what to do in case a portal malfunction. He found what he was looking for in a few moments. Marcus spoke out loud, ¡°In case the portal malfunctions and teleports the adventurers to a location which is unknown, then the adventurer should not panic. The adventurer should use a flare which would help locate them. Failing that, the adventurer can use a teleportation scroll, if they have it on them, and they would be reimbursed the same, free of cost. Failing that, the adventurer could use any mode of transportation accessible to them to travel to the nearest village, town or city and send a message to NAIF. NAIF would help. In extreme cases, the adventurer could plan to kill themselves so that they can respawn at their nearest spawn point. NAIF would reimburse the cost of reviving them.¡± Marcus looked at Kyrie who said, ¡°Do you have a flare? Otherwise, we are walking. I do not want to kill myself.¡± Marcus said in an exasperated tone, ¡°I mean there is not even a mechanism to track lost adventurers. This is not good for the safety of the adventurers.¡± Kyrie snorted, ¡°We are adventurers. Our life is supposed to be filled with danger.¡± Marcus sighed and said, ¡°Let us go to your waterfall. We can then go to Opulential. If we keep a constant walking pace, I think we can reach there in a few days with minimal rest. Lead the way.¡± ¡°We are definitely camping at night¡±, said Kyrie as she led the way East towards the waterfall, ¡°I am not taking risks with the wildlife in this forest at night.¡± Marcus nodded, ¡°Fair enough.¡± They walked for hours. The forest around them all looked similar to Marcus. There were sounds of wildlife around them but thankfully nothing attacked them. They did see some birds and critters though. Marcus checked their statuses, especially their species. It was fascinating for him. The sun had set well into the night when they stopped. They seemed to have walked around 30 kilometers. They still had about 20 kilometers to go. It would take them about five to six hours. Their progress was not fast in the forest. They debated what to do. They had 13 hours of night remaining. Kyrie did not want to walk in the dark and Marcus wanted to reach the lake as soon as possible. However, Kyrie¡¯s concern was valid. The predators do come out at night. And they did not know what dangers lurked in the forest that they were in. They did not even know the name of the forest. It was shown as a question mark on the map. Marcus remedied that. He searched for the name of the forest on the Globalnet. It was named Sosquatch forest. Interesting name. Marcus said, ¡°I shall accept your decision as final Kyrie. I know you want to set camp, but this does not look like a good place to camp. I mean we can climb the trees, but it does not look safe. We also do not know if there are any predators that live on trees.¡± ¡°You can search for that¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°I mean you use Globalnet for information more than any adventurer that I have ever seen.¡± ¡°You can do that too.¡± ¡°I can. It¡¯s just that I am not that comfortable with it. It somehow feels¡­ unnatural to me.¡± Marcus wondered why that was. It could be that Kyrie was not as much used to such magic technology from where she was, and it was still taking time for her to adjust to this world. Then he wondered, why the hell was he so comfortable with the magical technology of Una? Who the hell was he before Una? Marcus dismissed these thoughts again. They did keep on popping from time to time. He knew they were unavoidable, but he also knew that dwelling on them would not bring his memory back. They would only give him a headache. Marcus looked at information about Sosquatch forest. He specifically searched about the dangers of the forest. It took him some time. He was thorough. It seemed that Kyrie¡¯s fears were unfounded. There were predators. But they mostly left adventurers or wandering non adventurers alone. The predators of this forest mostly hunted other animals. Marcus also found some interesting information. There was a nymph colony in the forest. The colony was near the lake that Kyrie had mentioned. The information about the colony somehow perked Kyrie up. She mentioned marching straight to the lake after that. It seemed that she desperately wanted to meet her fellow kin and Marcus had no problems with that. He had after all wanted to reach the lake rather than camp on the trees. Kyrie was setting a fast pace now and they moved quickly through the trees and thick foliage. It took them almost five hours, but they finally reached the small lake, faster than Marcus had estimated. Marcus drew a deep breath as they reached the lake shore. The lake suddenly opened up from the forest. It was beautiful. A stream flowed out of the lake on the far end from where Marcus was standing. To the left of the Marcus, some five hundred metres away, was a small waterfall feeding water into the lake. The lake seemed to be glowing in the light of the full moon. Marcus felt even the waterfall was shimmering. He felt that the waterfall had a calming sound. Marcus smiled and turned towards Kyrie to find her wading into the lake and calling someone. He blushed as he saw that she was completely nude with just her utility belt on her waist. He wondered who she was calling but soon his question was answered. Out of the water rose nymphs. Marcus could tell that they were nymphs as they looked like Kyrie, just a different colour, blue. They were all nude too with utility belts across their waists. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Kyrie gave a cry of joy and greeted them with her traditional greeting. Marcus walked up to them, stopping just outside the water. Kyrie was now standing in waist deep water with others of her kind surrounding her. They were talking. Marcus did not understand it. Must be the native language of the nymphs. Silas had once told him, Loquella would be the language they would be speaking on Una. However, he could speak English, but he had to make a conscious effort. The same would be the case with the nymphs here. Marcus cleared his throat, interrupting the conversation happening. It seemed that the other nymphs had not seen Marcus, focusing entirely on Kyrie. There was a moment of silence and then Kyrie said, ¡°I apologize. In my excitement I forgot to introduce my companion Marcus Blank. A fellow adventurer.¡± The nymphs looked at her with surprise. Then at Marcus. One of them stepped forward and gave him their traditional greeting. Marcus greeted him back in the same way and he could see the surprise flit across the nymph¡¯s face. The nymph said, ¡°You know the greeting of water nymphs.¡± Marcus replied, ¡°Kyrie taught me.¡± Kyrie muttered but Marcus heard her, ¡°He learnt it on his own. Just by seeing it once.¡± Marcus blushed and the nymph in front of him said, ¡°I am Talmun Shallowater and welcome to lake Una adventurer. It is the home of water, forest and land nymphs. The other nymphs are asleep at this time. We were asleep too. We were awoken by the cries of our kin.¡± Kyrie grinned as she muttered Sorry but the other water nymphs just waved it away. Marcus said, ¡°Thank you for welcoming us, Talmun. I am Marcus Blank as Kyrie said. I am sure you have some questions, but I am hoping they could wait a bit. I don¡¯t know about Kyrie, but I am tired. Is there a place to rest for now? We can talk in the morning. Also, we did disturb your sleep. I think we should all sleep.¡± Marcus was not proud of what he said. But he was tired, and his eyes had suddenly started to droop. He wondered why he was feeling so sleepy all of a sudden. He must have relaxed once they reached the lake and saw the water nymphs. The stress of their survival through the forest seemed to disappear. Talmun smiled and said, ¡°You are not the first adventurer to come here seeking shelter. There have been adventurers lost in these woods before. Follow me.¡± ¡°What about you, Kyrie?¡± asked Marcus. Kyrie replied, ¡°I will stay with my kin if it is alright with you Marcus.¡± Marcus nodded and started to follow Talmun. Talmun led Marcus up to the waterfall. Then he said something that Marcus did not catch, and the waterfall parted. There was a small opening, fit enough for one person. Talmun gestured towards it. Talmun said, ¡°The opening leads to a small cavern. It is a safe place for you to rest. Do not worry. There will be sufficient light for you to see. Go ahead.¡± Marcus was skeptical but decided to trust Talmun. The water nymphs had been friendly till now. And Marcus was sure if they wanted to harm him, they would have already done so considering their numbers. Marcus squeezed in through the gap. It was only a couple of feet long. Talmun had been right. The gap opened into a cavern. The cavern did have light. It was a plant which was located on the ground, the walls and the ceiling of the cavern which glowed with a faint cyanish light. The cavern had a couple of passageways to the left and straight from where Marcus had entered. Talmun entered from the straight passageway startling Marcus. Talmun said, ¡°I am sorry. There is an underwater entrance from the passage behind me. Let me show you where you can rest.¡± Talmun led Marcus to the left side passage. It opened into a big room-like cavern. Stone plinths rose from the ground at various places forming the shape of a bed. The plants with light were also present but they were fewer in numbers. So, the cavern room had a faint glow, but Marcus could still see everything. There were a total of 10 bed-like stones in the ground and at the far end Marcus could see a stone table, some stone stools and a pitcher of water. ¡°There are no toilet facilities. I am sorry about that. You would have to come out of the cavern for that¡±, said Talmun behind Marcus, ¡°You can sleep on one of these stone beds. I hope you have a sleeping bag, otherwise you might get uncomfortable. You will be safe here. Do not worry. Someone will come get you in the morning. Sleep for now. We shall talk tomorrow.¡± Talmun then left. Marcus looked around the cavern room one more time. He chose a bed at random and got his sleeping bag out of the inventory. He had remembered to buy it before leaving Solaris. It was a simple one, nothing fancy. However, he had heard of sleeping bags which gave certain buffs when you slept in them. They were expensive and mostly he would buy one in the future. But for now, he got into his sleeping bag. He only took off his boots. Talmun had said that it was safe, but Marcus could not bring himself to trust Talmun completely somehow. Maybe he was just being paranoid. However, he decided to sleep in full armor. He lay down and closed his eyes. He was out in a few moments. *** Kyrie swam with her kin for some time. Her heart filled with joy. The lake was not large, but the water nymphs swam up and down the stream. The stream was narrow in width but that did not matter to the water nymphs. Once they were in water, they were water itself. After swimming for some time, the other water nymphs led Kyrie to a hidden lake behind the waterfall. The lake opened into a huge cavern, and it seemed that it was quite beneath the original lake. The walls of the cavern with a plant which Kyrie recognized. It was the lomous plant from her home planet Tarados. She wondered how it had gotten here. Kyrie focused on various small pools in the cavern. It had to be the sleeping pods. Talmun came from one of the passageways in the cavern. He said, ¡°Your adventurer friend has been shown the guest chambers. Considering how tired he was, I am sure he would be asleep by now.¡± Kyrie thanked Talmun and then said, ¡°Do you wish to talk now or in the morning?¡± Talmun shook his head, ¡°We shall talk in the morning. Rest for now. Take one of the pods. I am sorry. All are occupied and we do not have the time to create a new one. Our priestess is sleeping. You shall have to share.¡± Kyrie shrugged, ¡°I am all right. Is it okay if I share with you?¡± Talmun nodded. Kyrie walked with him up to his pod. The other water nymphs had already started to walk towards their pods. Many of them shared the pod. The sleeping pods could fit up to five water nymphs based on the size of the sleeping pod. Talmun¡¯s sleeping pod looked as if it could fit three water nymphs. However, it was empty as of now. It seemed that Talmun was not mated. Talmun slipped into the pod and Kyrie followed. She became one with the water and relaxed. Soon, she was also sleeping. Tomorrow will be a good day, was the last thought that passed her mind before she fell asleep. *** Marcus woke up with a start. He felt a bit groggy. Where was he? What was he doing here? And why was his back aching? Then Marcus remembered the events of last night. What time was it? He looked at the clock from his utility belt. It was already morning. It was currently five o¡¯clock in the morning. He had slept long. Marcus liked Una¡¯s system of time. Sunrise was considered zero hour. Then it took about fifteen hours till sunset. Then there was night for fifteen more hours and then again sunrise. The time was taken accordingly. Midnight was not zero hour and for some reason that pleased Marcus. He got up and stretched, massaging his back a bit. He knew why it was painful. He had slept in full armor. In his sleeping bag. On a hard stone surface. Not the epitome of comfort but still not that discomfortable either. Moreover, he had slept for about twelve hours straight. He did feel refreshed. Marcus exited the cavern and squinted into the sunlight. He saw no one in the lake or the area surrounding the lake. As soon as he exited there was some disturbance in the lake and Kyrie came out. Kyrie said, ¡°Good morning, Marcus. Did you sleep well?¡± She was still naked. Marcus was somehow getting used to all the nudity. Other water nymphs followed her out of the lake. Talmun was amongst them. Talmun nodded as he saw Marcus. Marcus replied to Kyrie, ¡°I slept well. How about you?¡± Kyrie sighed, ¡°I slept so peacefully for the first time after coming to Una.¡± Marcus could feel the emotion in her voice. It seemed that Kyrie did miss her home planet even though she had decided to be an adventurer on Una. Marcus said, ¡°So what are we going to do today?¡± Kyrie replied, ¡°Come. We were waiting for you. The other nymphs want to talk with us.¡± ¡°The other nymphs?¡± Marcus was curious but no one replied. The water nymphs led Marcus and Kyrie through the forest and into a short clearing. Marcus saw other nymphs in the clearing. There were two other types of nymphs other than the water nymphs. Marcus guessed that the green and brown nymphs would be the forest nymphs while the yellow and maroon nymphs would be the land nymphs. All of them were naked save for the utility belt around their waist. Marcus looked around the clearing. Dense trees surrounded it, but no tree grew in the clearing. It was clearly about five hundred meters on each side. There were three wooden chair type structures, which were occupied with three different nymphs in the middle of the clearing. Mostly the rulers of each type of nymph. It was there Marcus and Kyrie were taken. One of the nymphs near the three ruler nymphs announced Marcus and Kyrie as they approached. Kyrie performed her traditional greeting and Marcus followed suit. The forest and land nymph rulers looked at the water nymph ruler, smiled at Marcus and Kyrie. Then the announcing nymph said, ¡°You are in the presence of the High Priestess of the water nymphs, Tananashadra Moonglow. You are in the presence of the High Priest of the forest nymphs, Wush Fallingleaf. You are in the presence of the High Priestess of the land nymphs, Dashandara Stonemould.¡± There was silence after the proclamation. Marcus did not know the etiquette amongst the nymphs. He decided to follow Kyrie¡¯s lead, but Kyrie seemed to be silent. After a few moments of silence Tananashadra spoke, ¡°Welcome adventurers to the nymph colony of the Sosquatch forest. I hope you have been welcomed well by my kin.¡± Both Marcus and Kyrie nodded together. Tananashadra continued, ¡°That is well. Now could you tell us adventurers as to what you are doing here? Most adventurers do not travel on foot. They come to this forest only if they have a quest. Are you on a quest? Can you share with us any details?¡± Marcus looked at Kyrie who understood. Kyrie started to explain to the high priest and priestesses about their failed teleportation, Kyrie¡¯s need for a natural water source and how they came upon the nymphs by chance. The high priest and priestesses were lost in thought for some time after what Kyrie had spoken. Marcus looked around the clearing and it seemed to be filled. All in all, there had to be about two hundred nymphs in the clearing. Marcus was not sure. He was simply guessing. Tananashadra said, ¡°So it is all some sort of coincidence. However, this coincidence works to our advantage, you see. Adventurers, we require your aid. My friend here will explain to you the situation.¡± As he heard Tananashadra¡¯s words Marcus had a feeling of foreboding. Before he could dwell much on it, Wush said, ¡°The forest is changing. The land is changing. Water is the last to change but change will come¡±, his voice felt old and rasping, like the sound of leaves rustling, ¡°A great evil has come to the Sosquatch forest. It is corrupting our very roots and we are afraid it will soon come for us. Already the animals of the woods fall victim to a dark plague, and it is spreading. We ask you brave adventurers. Help us. For if this darkness is not stopped, it shall consume all of the Sosquatch forest.¡± There was a stunned silence after Wush¡¯s proclamation and Marcus got a quest. Major Quest Stop the spread of evil in Sosquatch Forest Something is corrupting the land, trees and the waters of the Sosquatch forest. Find out what it is and put a stop to it. Rewards: 1000 experience and a magical equipment Marcus read the description of the quest. It was a major quest. And here they were, only him and Kyrie, only two adventurers. The last major quest required a horde of adventurers to stop a demon lord. This would not be well. ¡°Fuck¡±, said Marcus out loud. He turned to Kyrie and said, ¡°And you guys said there were no quests in the wilds.¡± Kyrie shrugged and said, ¡°We shall help you. Could you please tell us where the darkness has most spread.¡± Wush said, ¡°Open your maps.¡± They both did. Wush scrolled and pointed to a location on both their maps. It was to the Northeast of the clearing that they were standing in. He said, ¡°It is from here the darkness spreads. It is spreading slowly but surely, and we have not been able to stop it.¡± Marcus nodded and closed his map. He looked at Kyrie who looked back and shrugged. Marcus said, ¡°Shall we then?¡± Kyrie grinned and said, ¡°No rest for the wicked.¡± No Quests in the Wilds They did not set off immediately. They went back to the lake after they received the quest. There they got ready for the day. They had their breakfast, freshened up and they both took a swim in the lake. Marcus did it to clean himself. Kyrie did it because she wanted to. Marcus became not a fan of toilet facilities of the wild. He considered himself lucky that he had had the insight of bringing toilet paper. After getting ready, which took Marcus and Kyrie about two hours, they interrogated the nymphs to get more details regarding the quest. The forest and land nymphs had also come to the lake after the meeting in the clearing. Judging by their numbers, Marcus mused that adventurers were a novelty and a majority of them wanted to see him and some maybe were interested in knowing more about him. They did not get much information from the nymphs other than what High Priest Wush had said. Soon, they were ready to go. Marcus had put on fresh clothes and equipped his armour over them. Kyrie had put on her tank top and shorts. They set off in the forest towards the location which Wush had marked in their map. After walking for about an hour, they were no closer to the target location. It seemed that it was quite a distance that they would need to travel. They walked till evening, taking a few breaks on their way. They were not moving fast and were conserving their energy for the fight ahead. They felt the change in the forest as they passed through some trees. They stopped. Marcus said, ¡°You felt that.¡± ¡°Yes¡±, nodded Kyrie, ¡°It feels as if the air here is different. Much heavy and depressing.¡± ¡°How could the air be depressing?¡± ¡°You know. It just feels that way. Air cannot be depressing.¡± Marcus narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Are you all right, Kyrie?¡± Kyrie did not reply for some time. Then she said, ¡°It will be dark in a couple of hours. Do we proceed forwards?¡± Marcus opened and checked the target location. It had now changed to a big circle. It seemed that they would have to search in the area of the circle to find out the source of the darkness in the forest. He sighed. Marcus said, ¡°Did you check your map? It seems that we need to conduct a search. I would rather not conduct a search in the night. Let¡¯s get out of this oppressive atmosphere and look for a place where we could camp. We can plan our search and conduct it when there is light.¡± Kyrie nodded, ¡°Sound plan. Come. I feel a water source nearby. It could be a good place to camp.¡± ¡°Or a good place for dangerous animals to gather¡±, muttered Marcus under his breath. Still, he followed Kyrie. She was definitely good in the wilds. He wondered whether she would be as good in a city. They reached the water source in a few minutes. It was a big puddle. Marcus wondered how it had gotten there when the sky suddenly darkened. In a few moments it started to rain. ¡°What the fuck!¡± exclaimed Marcus, ¡°Where in the fuck is this rain coming from?¡± They were protected by a thick layer of trees but drops still fell on them. Kyrie did not mind the rain. She seemed to enjoy it which made sense as she was a water nymph. Marcus was not happy though. He looked around for a place to stay the night. It was Kyrie who found it. She called Marcus and he ran up to her. She had found a group of large rocks protruding out of the ground. The trees were clumped around these rocks ensuring that these rocks were out of view. There was a small hollow like structure at some elevation which provided protection from rain and running. It looked exposed to Marcus, but it was dry. He could also get a fire going if he wanted to, but he did not want to risk it. Marcus took shelter in the small hollow and Kyrie sat beside him. He shivered from the cold and Kyrie extended her hand. Marcus frowned and took her hand. The next moment he felt dry. Kyrie had somehow absorbed all the water on his clothes, boots and armor. ¡°How did you do that?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°I am a water nymph.¡± That was the only explanation that she gave. Marcus thought about it and it did make sense. She was a water nymph. It made sense that she could absorb water after all. Then he shivered at a thought. What if she could absorb the water inside of him? Then he dismissed the thought. Kyrie was an ally. She would not do that to him. They sat in the small hollow as the rain continued to fall. It showed no sign of slowing down. Marcus looked at the wistful expression on Kyrie¡¯s face. It seemed that she wanted to go in the rain, but she was sitting in the hollow for the sake of Marcus. Marcus said, ¡°You could go out in the rain. You don¡¯t need to sit with me.¡± Kyrie shook her head, ¡°It is all right Marcus. I am sitting here for a reason. I have been thinking for some time how to broach the topic.¡± ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± ¡°We decided we wanted a trial run to be teammates. But I would like to know more about my teammate. I am sure you want to know more about me too. I was thinking as we are waiting, we could get to know more about each other. We could start by sharing our Status screens. I think that is a good start.¡± Marcus laughed and said, ¡°That is a good idea. We do not know much about each other. Just basic background. If we are to be teammates, then we do need to share more. Gain each other''s trust. Makes sense.¡± Marcus opened his Status screen and shared it with Kyrie. It read as follows, Name: Marcus Blank Race: Human Designation: Adventurer - Rank 1 Age: 25 Current Location: Solaris Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 18 Experience: 180/380 Strength: 10 Dexterity: 15 Intelligence: 15 Vitality: 15 Agility: 10 Wisdom: 10 Luck: ??? Health: 130 Mana: 120 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Stamina Regeneration - Level 4 Well Rested - Level 1 Twinblade Proficiency - Level 7 Alcohol Tolerance - Level 1 Stealth - Level 3 Description: The anomaly is now not just an anomaly and is taking his baby steps on being an adventurer. Best of luck to him! Spells known: None Spells Equipped: None Spell Slots: 2 Physical Attack: 18 Magical Attack: 23 You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Physical Resistance: 11 Magical Resistance: 9 Critical Attack Chance: 5% (max 25%) Critical Attack Damage: 11.25% (max 51.25%) Status: None Social: 600/1000 (Neutral) NAIF: 950/1000 (Neutral) Solaris: 2300/4000 (Very Positive) Nymphs: 500 / 1000 (Neutral) A new entry in the relationship area. His relationship with the nymphs seemed to be at a neutral level which was understandable. He had just met them. So, it seemed that the more factions he would meet, the more he would have relationships with them, positive, negative or neutral. Kyrie read his screen and nodded. She said, ¡°You have a good spread. You are planning a dex int hybrid path. That is good considering how I have seen you fight. I see why you wanted to buy spells from Solaris. You have two spell slots, good intelligence and wisdom but no spells.¡± ¡°What do you mean about how I fight?¡± asked Marcus. Kyrie replied, ¡°You are defensive. You attack with your twinblades when you see an opportunity. You are good with dodging and parrying with your twinblades. You are not that aggressive. If you had some range spells or some power boosting spells, then you could capitalize on them. Use your spells and then attack your enemies. It would kill them faster. Especially considering your maximum critical chance and maximum critical damage. It is quite high.¡± Marcus nodded, ¡°And you got all this when we were fighting the Demon Lord in Solaris! That is incredible.¡± ¡°I did not reach the first position in Adventurer versus Adventurer in Solaris just like that. I can analyze my opponents well.¡± ¡°Oh, so I was an opponent then? And not the Demon Lord.¡± ¡°That is not what I meant. I am sorry. I did not mean to ins-¡±, she stopped as she saw Marcus laughing. She smacked him on the shoulder and said, ¡°Do not tease me like this.¡± ¡°I am sorry, but it was too good an opportunity to pass by¡±, said Marcus, ¡°I get it. You are good at analyzing others. You fight accordingly.¡± Kyrie nodded and then shared her Status screen. It read as follows, Name: Kyrie Shiningstar Race: Water Nymph Designation: Adventurer - Rank 1 Age: 83 Current Location: Solaris Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 18 Experience: 140/380 Strength: 10 Dexterity: 20 Intelligence: 7 Vitality: 10 Agility: 15 Wisdom: 7 Luck: ??? Health: 120 Mana: 114 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Fast Draw - Level 3 Precision - Level 4 Longbow Proficiency - Level 10 Stealth - Level 10 Water Proficiency - Level 100 Description: The outcast traveler from Tarados, flowing into Una, taking baby steps with a potential to sweep everyone away is enjoying herself by bashing other adventurer¡¯s heads. She is the water nymph to watch out for. Spells known: [Power Shot] [Fade] Spells Equipped: [Power Shot] [Fade] Spell Slots: 2 Physical Attack: 20 Magical Attack: 17 Physical Resistance: 8 Magical Resistance: 6 Critical Attack Chance: 8% (max 18%) Critical Attack Damage: 15.00% (max 35.00%) Status: None Social: 900/1000 (Neutral) NAIF: 1100/2000 (Positive) Solaris: 2300/4000 (Very Positive) Nymphs: 3900 / 4000 (Very Positive) ¡°Woah¡±, exclaimed Marcus as he read Kyrie¡¯s status, ¡°That Water Proficiency and that reputation with Nymphs. And that high dex which although is actually not that high but good for your level. But that water proficiency. Wait, why am I surprised with that? You are a water nymph. You have really good stats. And reputation. And you have spells equipped. Now your debt makes total sense.¡± Kyrie said a bit heatedly, ¡°Thank you for stating the obvious Marcus Blank.¡± Marcus blinked. Then he said as he realized something, ¡°Oh, I am sorry. I meant no offense. I was just thinking out loud. You are way more ahead of me. Compared to you I am quite the noob.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°What does what mean?¡± ¡°That word, noob.¡± ¡°Oh. It is sort of slang for newbies. Someone who is inexperienced or lacks knowledge or is not that good.¡± Kyrie thought for a moment and said, ¡°You are a noob.¡± Marcus agreed, ¡°A fucking noob.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°What does what mean?¡± Kyrie rolled her eyes and said, ¡°That word fuck.¡± ¡°Oh, it is the Earth equivalent of gork.¡± ¡°So, you have been swearing.¡± ¡°Did you think that I do not swear?¡± ¡°No, I was just not sure as you used a different word. I did not understand it. Why do you not use gork then?¡± ¡°Fuck feels more comfortable, you know. I don¡¯t fucking know why but it does.¡± Kyrie nodded and said, ¡°But you are on Una. They say gork. If you want to blend in with the culture here, should you not try to say gork instead of fuck?¡± ¡°Why are we discussing how to swear on Una?¡± asked Marcus confused, ¡°How did this conversation fucking shift from knowing more about each other to hundred and one ways to swear on this fucking planet?¡± Kyrie laughed at that. She said, ¡°All right then. We shared the status screens. Now what do you want to talk about? I mean we can talk about where we came from, but I guess we already know the answer. You are an amnesiac and from somewhere. You are a human so you could either be from Earth or the landmass Reyarth. Or you could be from some other planet where the humans have been abducted and kept as slaves. I am from planet Tarados. I always dreamt of being an adventurer and I heard of Una from some forest nymphs on my planet. So, I came here. I look different from other water nymphs because my father was not a water nymph. He was also not a forest nymph, and I cannot think of any other nymphs which could lead me to have such a colour of my skin. But I am a water nymph, and my mother never told me anything about him except for that he loved her and me but could not stay with us. So, that¡¯s basically me. Yeah. Do you have anything else to share?¡± Marcus closed his mouth. He had been gaping. He gave a cough and said, ¡°I think it is just best to wait for now. We shall take watches while sleeping. That would be good.¡± They relapsed into silence after that. After some time, Kyrie informed Marcus that she was going into the rain and Marcus nodded. Kyrie sat outside the hollow enjoying the rain. Marcus surfed the Globalnet regarding darkness and its link to demons. The quest they had been given was a major quest. That meant demons had to be involved somehow. The rain stopped after a few hours. Marcus came out of the hollow in the rock to see the status around them. He had to walk up to the trees surrounding the rock as the trees obscured his view completely. Marcus saw a wet forest with puddles of water gathered at many places on the forest floor. He made a complete revolution around the rock, looking at the forest from the trees surrounding the rock. He could not sense or see any immediate danger. He went back to the hollow. Kyrie joined him too. They talked for some time as to how they would conduct their search and how they would communicate with each other in case of danger. Then it was time for some sleep. Kyrie took the first watch. She said she felt highly energized due to the rain. She woke Marcus after six hours. Marcus kept watch for only four hours. Nothing happened during that time. One hour before dawn Kyrie woke up. She stretched and packed her sleeping bag. Her sleeping bag was different. It was basically a big tub of water. Kyrie had told Marcus she needed to change the water in the tub on a regular basis. At zero hour they started towards the area of search. When they reached, they brought their weapons out. Marcus walked low and slow while Kyrie walked a few feet behind him, with her bow drawn, ready at the sight of any trouble. They walked for an hour till they noticed something. Tracks. Animal tracks. Neither of them was a good tracker. However, the rain had left good imprints on the forest floor. They decided to follow the tracks. They did not have anything else to look for. They followed the tracks for quite some time before they reached a denser part of the forest. The light here seemed less. Moreover, it seemed that the sunlight coming through the leaves was somehow blocked, as if it was coming through a layer of dark film. They guessed that they were nearing the source. They walked for some time before they heard a sound. Both of them stopped suddenly, waiting for further sound or movement. They heard some scuffle to their left and two dark creatures walked out of the shrubs. Marcus examined the creatures. Shadow Panhard 1, Level 15 Health 202 / 202 Shadow Panhard 2, Level 15 Health 204 / 204 The Shadow Panhards looked as if they had the body of a panther, a cylindrical head with a long beak where the mouth should be and different claws. The hind claws looked like those of a panther while the front claws looked more like talons. Marcus could not guess their colour as they were covered in black veil which seemed to shift as they moved. As one, both Marcus and Kyrie attacked. Kyrie shot an arrow at Shadow Panhard 2 while Marcus took on Shadow Panhard 1. Marcus dodged the Panhard¡¯s attack and slashed at it. He inflicted about 54 points of damage on the Panhard. He deflected a talon attack from the Panhard and slashed it again for 50 points of damage. The Panhard now slowed and circled slowly around Marcus. Marcus took this chance to glance towards Kyrie who seemed to be holding well on her own. The Panhard lunged towards Marcus. Marcus rolled underneath the lunge. He then got up quickly and slashed at the turning Panhard. He landed a critical with 80 damage. Marcus quickly followed up this attack with another one, killing the Panhard. He turned to help Kyrie only to find her shooting an arrow straight into the other Panhard¡¯s eye killing it. They were both panting now. Marcus gestured up, asking Kyrie whether they should climb up the trees. Kyrie nodded. They got up on the trees. They waited for some time. No other Shadow Panhards came. Kyrie whispered, ¡°What now?¡± Marcus whispered back, ¡°We follow the direction from which these Panhards came. Maybe we will find something.¡± They did exactly that. They were now highly on guard, pulling their weapons up at even the slightest noise. They soon reached a clearing. This was not a natural clearing. This clearing was formed by cutting down the trees of the forest. On one end of the clearing, they could clearly see it. An encampment. And in this encampment, they could see creatures moving. Grotesque creatures in various shapes and sizes. ¡°Fucking welp¡±, said Marcus, ¡°It looks like we have found the demons.¡± Demon Hunting ¡°How do you want to proceed with this?¡± asked Kyrie. Marcus was lost in thought. From their position, they could see the encampment clearly. They could clearly examine the creatures present. The creatures in the camp were a mix of demons and shadow animals. There were only 10 demons total. There were about 60 shadow creatures. That was a lot of creatures they needed to defeat. Their major quest had been updated after all. It now read, Major Quest Destroy the Demon Encampment You have discovered what was corrupting the Sosquatch forest. It is a group of demons and their army of shadow animals. Destroy the encampment and kill all the demons. Rewards: 1000 experience and a magical equipment The major quest did not say what would happen after they killed all the demons. Marcus was sure there was one more objective and it would be revealed after they killed the demons. They had to kill only the demons. There was nothing regarding the killing of shadow animals. However, to get to the demons, they would have to go through the shadow animals. Marcus believed that two against such big numbers were bad odds. They would definitely die and then they would have to start again from Solaris. Marcus said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. There are two options that I see. We can go to the other nymphs for help. Or we can go to Opulential for help. Both will take time though. I don¡¯t know whether the situation here shall worsen after that or not.¡± ¡°Are you saying that the more time we take, the more our number of enemies would be?¡± asked Kyrie. ¡°The high priest Wush did say that the darkness is spreading. I mean if we take some time to get this quest done, then more animals may come under the influence of whatever this darkness is.¡± ¡°I wonder¡±, said Kyrie thoughtfully, ¡°How are we not affected? I mean we are wandering in this darkness for at least a day now. We seem fine.¡± Marcus was thoughtful. He did not have any answer for that. Kyrie did pose a good question. Marcus shifted in his place and shrugged. He said, ¡°I am open to theories.¡± Sometime later the demons disappeared from Marcus and Kyrie¡¯s views. All of them entered a large tent which was erected in the centre of the encampment. Marcus wondered what was happening when he felt it. It felt as if a magical pulse was released in all directions with that large tent as epicenter. As it passed through him, Marcus felt that this magical pulse was not right. It was something dark. It invoked something in him. Something primal. He felt angry. He felt like charging on to the demons in the encampment and tearing them apart with his hands. He almost rushed forwards, but he suppressed this primal feeling inside of him. He took deep calming breaths with his eyes closed. In a few moments he was back to normal. Marcus opened his eyes and turned towards Kyrie to check up on her. She was trembling. Marcus said, ¡°Are you all right.¡± Kyrie nodded, ¡°It has passed. I am okay. What was that?¡± ¡°It seems that we have found out what or who is responsible for spreading the darkness in the forest. There could be an elite demon, a demon lord or an object in that large tent which is sending out magical pulses of darkness. I have a feeling it attacks your will. A being of lesser will would be overwhelmed by that pulse and that is how they would dominate over it. We survived because we have higher will.¡± ¡°And this darkness is going to keep on spreading¡±, muttered Kyrie, ¡°We have to stop this now.¡± ¡°And how the fuck do you propose we do that with just the two of us?¡± Marcus asked, irritated. Kyrie replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe I can ask the nymphs for help. Land and forest nymphs would have warriors. Maybe the warriors fight the shadow animals, then we can attack the demons from the flank.¡± ¡°And what if the demons lead the charge?¡± ¡°Then we attack the demons while the other nymphs take on the shadow animals.¡± ¡°Do you think that the other nymphs will agree.¡± ¡°We nymphs are not docile contrary to popular belief¡±, said Kyrie with a sad smile, ¡°We fight when we have to. And after all, this is their forest. They would do anything to protect it.¡± Marcus frowned and said, ¡°But do we want to risk them. Remember, if non adventurers die, they do not respawn.¡± Kyrie started to say something but stopped. She said, ¡°You are right. We are adventurers. Not them. They gave us this quest. So, what do you propose we do?¡± Marcus said, ¡°I am not a fucking strategic genius. I mean I can observe something and act accordingly. Last time I sneaked into a goblin encampment, I got lucky. I don¡¯t think my luck will hold out with demons, especially if that magical pulse fires again. That is one hell of a distractor.¡± ¡°Sneaking¡±, muttered Kyrie. She said slowly, ¡°That gives me an idea.¡± She looked up, ¡°We need rain. And at night.¡± ¡°Can you control the weather?¡± asked Marcus incredulously. Kyrie grinned, ¡°No, but I have a plan.¡± *** Kyrie disappeared after telling Marcus her plan. Considering the circumstances, Marcus considered that it was the best plan that they had. He just hoped that it worked. Hours passed and Marcus kept watch on the encampment. The magical pulse of darkness was activated two more times only. So, the frequency for using the pulse was not high. Only about once every five hours. That was good according to Marcus. The sun was almost setting when Kyrie returned. Marcus raised an inquiring eyebrow and she nodded. It seemed that she had been successful. Marcus looked up at the sky. It was clear a moment ago. However, since Kyrie came back, it was darkening with grey clouds. Rain clouds. Soon, the whole sky was covered, and lightning flashed across the clouds. The sun was completely bloated, and darkness spread over the encampment. At that time, the shadow animals started to move out. It seemed that they patrolled the forest during the night or something. That was indeed lucky for Marcus and Kyrie. They both looked at each other and grinned. It started to rain. They hid in the branches of a tree. They made sure that no one or nothing would be able to see them. The rain was not pouring but there was no drizzle either. It fell at a steady pace. Marcus saw two shadow animals named Shadow Calaman 1 and Shadow Calaman 2 pass underneath the tree. They did not seem to sense Marcus and Kyrie. Marcus and Kyrie waited till all the shadow animals had left. Only the demons remained. Each of these demons went inside a tent. Their tents surrounded the central large tent in a circle. Marcus and Kyrie looked at each other. This cannot be so easy. They proceeded towards the encampment with caution. There was a Shadow Panhard near one of the gates. They killed it fast and silent. They proceeded with stealth into the camp. They saw no more shadow animals. Marcus wondered why that was. They reached near the tents of the demons and nodded to each other. Marcus went left and Kyrie went right. Marcus entered a tent. The demon had his back to him. It was humanoid in shape but had no head or neck. A floating fiery orb floated above the chest where the head should have been. The orb was burning with fiery green light, the flames waving on the top where the hair should have been. Marcus examined the demon, Demon Grunt, Level 15 Health 300 / 300 Marcus backstabbed the demon for 100 points of damage. Before the demon could react, Marcus attacked the demon with fast slashes from his twinblade. The demon died without even doing anything. Marcus waited. There was no sound. He had been successful in killing the demon without raising the alarm. He exited the tent to find Kyrie doing the same. She had been successful too. Marcus proceeded onto the next tent to repeat what he had done. Marcus and Kyrie managed to kill six of the demons in this way. Marcus was feeling good till he exited the tent of his third demon. Two demon grunts stood in front of him. He looked to the left to see Kyrie in a similar situation. It seemed that their luck had run out. They were now in trouble. Marcus dodged back as both the demon grunts attacked him at the same time. They carried a sword and a shield in their hands and were wearing armor. The other demon grunts had been easy to kill as they had not been wearing armor. Marcus was in for a tough fight. One of the grunts charged Marcus. Marcus sidestepped the attack to find the sword of the second demon grunt slashing towards his neck. He dodged it at the last second and fell down. The first grunt brought his sword down and Marcus rolled out of the attack fast. He got up quickly, but the second grunt bashed him with his shield. Marcus flew back and crashed into some logs. Marcus got up quickly as the grunts charged him and blocked both of their swords with his twinblade. The grunts hit him with their shields and Marcus felt a bit dazed. As he swerved, the first grunt slashed at this neck and Marcus suddenly dropped down. The momentum of the swing carried on forward and the first grunt hit the second grunt who was charging. The sword of the first grunt lodged directly into the floating orb of the second grunt for a second. The first grunt took it out immediately, but the damage had been done. The second grunt looked at the first grunt with his hollow demonic eyes and gave a snarl. The second grunt whacked the first grunt and snarled again pointing at where Marcus should have been. However, he was not where he had fallen. He had quickly crawled to the back of the grunts. He attacked them now, slashing both their backs. The grunts stumbled forwards. Before they could regain their footing, Marcus charged them, hitting them with a series of slashes and stabs. When the grunts slashed back, Marcus dodged backwards and took stock of the situation. Both the grunts¡¯ health had reduced. The first grunt was down to 52 points out of 302 while the second was down to 24 points out of 272. Marcus himself had lost 67 points of health. The grunts put up their shields in defense. It seemed that they would be taking a defensive approach. As they slowly advanced further, arrows struck them from the back, killing the second grunt and taking half of the first grunt¡¯s health. The first grunt stumbled, and Marcus took him out quickly with a stab. Marcus then looked up to see Kyrie running towards him. She had lost only 20 points of health. ¡°Are you alright?¡± she asked. Marcus nodded and said, ¡°I am not good with fighting, I think. I need to practice.¡± ¡°Well, you did take on two of them and killed them.¡± ¡°You killed your two demons faster than me and then helped me.¡± Kyrie shrugged, ¡°Being a ranged attacker helps. I am good at running away fast and shooting from a distance. My enemies cannot chase after me and defend against my attacks at the same time.¡± Marcus did not say anything. He was sure Kyrie was underplaying her talent. He had other immediate concerns. He pointed towards the large tent, ¡°Let¡¯s see what the fuck is inside shall we?¡± They went up to the large tent, looking around for more surprises. They hesitated only a second before entering it, their weapons ready. The tent was empty. There was nothing in it, not even a source of light. However, Marcus could sense something hum. A small object lay on the ground. It looked like a rhombohedron with a flat ring around its center. It was completely black in colour and was about as large as his hand. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. It was giving out a humming sound. Marcus could hardly see it considering the illumination in the tent. They looked around the tent one more time and found nothing else. Why was such a large tent erected for such a small object? Marcus tried to examine the object but could not. He said, ¡°Can you tell what the object is Kyrie?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°I am somehow not able to examine it.¡± ¡°Me neither.¡± ¡°What does it mean?¡± ¡°It means¡±, said Marcus crouching down near the object, ¡°We have found the source of darkness.¡± Marcus tried to pick it up. The humming intensified and the next moment Marcus shot back taking the tent with him. He landed about fifty feet away from where he was, and his health fell quite low. Only 23 points remained. Kyrie entangled him from the mess. Marcus just lay there stunned. He did not register what Kyrie was saying till she slapped him. Marcus croaked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°Are you alright?¡± asked Kyrie. ¡°What happened?¡± Marcus was clearly feeling disoriented. He did not understand why he was lying on the ground, covered with tent material when he just tried to pick up the unidentified object. And how did he take the whole tent instead of just ripping a hole in it? Marcus got into a sitting position and asked, ¡°How the fuck did the tent rip off. This is not possible.¡± ¡°Well as soon as you touched the object, it gave out a short burst of energy. It blasted you back and along with it, somehow the tent. I was also blasted back but I faced a lesser impact of the energy. So, I was not thrown off as far as you¡±, explained Kyrie. Marcus stood up. His world spun. He sat down again closing his eyes. He said slowly, ¡°How far was I thrown?¡± ¡°About fifty feet would be my guess.¡± Marcus opened his eyes when he felt that the world would have stopped spinning. He got up and looked around to find the encampment. He started walking towards it. Kyrie followed, asking, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°We clearly need to destroy that thing.¡± ¡°And how do you plan to do that?¡± Marcus stopped. He turned to Kyrie and said, ¡°Let¡¯s shoot it from a safe distance.¡± They walked up to the object. Now it lay in the middle of the encampment, open to the heavens and still humming. Marcus swore at it for some time. Then he and Kyrie walked up to about thirty feet away from it. Marcus asked, ¡°Do you think this is a safe distance?¡± Kyrie shrugged, ¡°I think so.¡± ¡°And are you absolutely positive you can shoot it?¡± Kyrie scoffed, ¡°Do not doubt my archery talents Marcus Blank.¡± ¡°Whoa! Did not mean to insult you. Just wanted to confirm. I am sorry.¡± Kyrie nodded and drew back her bowstring. An arrow appeared as soon as she drew her brow. The arrow seemed to be crackling with magic. A magic arrow, Marcus presumed. Kyrie activated her spell [Power Shot]. The spell charged her attack. Kyrie took precise aim and let loose the arrow. It hit the target. The object gave a louder hum as the arrow hit it. Other than that, nothing happened. Marcus and Kyrie looked at each other with confused expressions on their faces. Marcus said, ¡°What now?¡± Kyrie said slowly, ¡°Maybe we need to destroy it with a holy attack.¡± ¡°Oh, fucking perfect. Where the fuck are we going to get holy spells right now. This is fucking ridiculous.¡± Marcus broke into a tirade. It seemed that he had quite some pent-up frustration that he needed to let go. After he stopped talking Kyrie said, ¡°Or we could hit it with an even stronger attack.¡± Marcus looked confused. He said, ¡°How strong of an attack are we talking about? And how are you going to get a strong attack? Out of thin air?¡± ¡°Exactly¡±, grinned Kyrie and shouted, ¡°Airie.¡± A form materialized in front of Marcus and Kyrie and Marcus stepped back. The form looked much like a nymph, but she looked more transparent than other nymphs and shone with a silvery sheen. Marcus said, ¡°You must be one of the air nymphs Kyrie was talking about.¡± Airie, the air nymph became solid. Air nymphs were silver in colour it seemed. Airie grinned as she said, ¡°Hello Marcus Blank. I heard a bit about you from Kyrie.¡± Marcus said, ¡°All good things, I hope.¡± ¡°Definitely¡±, said Airie. Then to Kyrie she said, ¡°How can I help you Kyrie?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Do you sense that object, Airie?¡± ¡°That is definitely an evil object¡±, shuddered Airie, ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me to go near it. Or touch it. I saw what it did to Marcus.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Marcus. Airie said, ¡°I mean it could be the only thing that could have flung you and that large tent so far. It makes logical sense.¡± Marcus did not argue. He looked at Kyrie who said, ¡°I do not want you near it Airie. But can you do this one thing?¡± Kyrie explained what she had in mind and Airie¡¯s eyes twinkled at the idea. She flew off towards the clouds, turning transparent as she did. ¡°Come on¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°We need to be still further away. Else we might get hit.¡± Marcus and Kyrie went up to the edge of the encampment. Marcus could not see the object now, but he could still feel its power. They waited for some time. The rain stopped. The hair on Marcus¡¯ neck stood up. He looked up. Lightning was flashing across all the clouds, gathering at a single spot. This went on for a few minutes. Then a large lightning bolt crashed into the ground. Marcus had to turn away as it nearly blinded him. The sound of thunder that followed the lightning also nearly deafened him. However, he clearly heard a crack after the lightning had struck. He could now clearly see the object. It was hovering some feet above the ground. A crack had appeared across it and the cracked part of the object looked red. It started to emit a loud whistling sound. Marcus said urgently, ¡°Hit it again.¡± Kyrie shouted the same into the sky. Lightning started to gather again, this time faster than earlier. It took a couple of minutes and then lightning struck the object again. This time Marcus was ready. He had closed his eyes and covered his ears. There was a loud crack after the second lightning and the object exploded. Waves of dark energy started to rush towards the object, collecting at the spot where the object had been. As the darkness passed though Marcus, he felt it again. His primal instincts flaring up. With that accompanied the pain. He tried to resist it but it was too much. He screamed in pain and focused on suppressing the rising anger. Seconds, minutes, hours; he had no idea how much time had passed. The wave of darkness finally stopped and Marcus collapsed on the ground. Where the object had lain, a darkness had formed. It was spherical in shape and about four feet large. It seemed to swallow all the light around it. Shadow tendrils enveloped it, moving slowly in wavy patterns. Marcus got up and looked at Kyrie. She was still on the ground and trembling. He put a hand on her and she flinched away from him. He decided to give her some time. He started to walk towards the darkness. Airie materialized near him. She said, ¡°I would advise against approaching it.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Then what do we do?¡± ¡°We wait.¡± ¡°For what?¡± His question was answered as the spherical darkness suddenly fell away. In that place stood a demon. It was four feet long and humanoid in shape. It had an octopus shaped head, red barbed skin and claws in its hands and feet. Marcus examined it, Cthulhin the Devourer Demon Lord, Level 20 Health 7,000 / 7,000 ¡°Fuuuuuuuuck¡±, said Marcus. *** Kyrie had a good plan. It was to take the help of air nymphs. Not directly for attacking but she knew that they would be able to direct rain where she wanted. Kyrie had run towards the stream near the encampment. The stream had been about two kilometers away from the encampment. She had swam fast and hard to reach the lake. There she had petitioned with High Priestess Tananashadra to get her an audience with the air nymphs. She was sure there would be some around. She had been right. Tananashadra had arranged for an audience with the High Priestess of the air nymphs, Salya Airborne. The explanation as to what Kyrie required of the air nymphs had taken some time. Salya had finally agreed to help her. Salya sent Airie and other air nymphs to help Kyrie. Kyrie and the air nymphs travelled to the encampment and the air nymphs diverted the rain clouds. The rain had helped. The shadow animals leaving had been a bonus. She and Marcus had managed to kill all the demons. Then came that object. Kyrie¡¯s idea to destroy it with lightning had been good. Airie had been excited to help with it too. However, things had not gone well when the object exploded and now she was lying on the ground, groaning in pain and hoping that the world would stop spinning. When Kyrie felt a bit better, she got up. Her vision was somehow a bit blurry. The rain had slowed down and through the drizzle, she could see three people fighting. Marcus and Airie were attacking a demon lord. Kyrie examined him. Cthulhin the Devourer Demon Lord, Level 20 Health 6901 / 7,000 What in the world was going on? How did this demon lord come here? She hefted her bow and took aim. Her vision blurred more and her strength faltered. Why was this happening? Then she checked her health. It had fallen down to just 2 points. She quickly took a couple of health potions to bring it to full. The potions helped. Her vision cleared. She took aim and thought of releasing the arrow but she stopped. She did not have a holy attack. Nor did Marcus or Airie as per her knowledge. What hope did they have of defeating this demon lord without it. She could clearly see that both Marcus and Airie were struggling against the demon lord and were doing maximum 10 points of damage per hit. Kyrie looked towards the sky and called an air nymph. One appeared. Kyrie said, ¡°The high priestesses and high priest. They know a holy spell. Can they come? Can they help?¡± The air nymph looked towards the demon lord and then back at Kyrie. The air nymph said, ¡°Airie is helping buy some time. Other air nymphs are helping in their own way. High Priestess Salya shall be the fastest to arrive. However, the message has already been passed to others. We hope they arrive soon.¡± Kyrie was filled with hope. She grinned, drew her bow and fired at the demon lord. It hit him for 10 points of damage. The demon lord howled and charged at Kyrie. Kyrie had to dodge Cthulhin¡¯s attack. The demon lord was fast. Kyrie barely had time to recover before it attacked again. Kyrie parried the attack and shot it point blank. Cthulhin staggered and Marcus took this opportunity to get in some attacks. Slowly and steadily, they seemed to be chipping off Cthulhin¡¯s health. It was now 6,772 points. A long way to go. They now took turns distracting Cthulhin. They attacked it from different directions. It seemed that Cthulhin attacked the one who attacked it last. Kyrie and Airie were both ranged attackers. They distracted him the most. Marcus did get in a few hits but he was at the most risk as he had to attack from melee range. Kyrie did not know how much time had passed but she felt a shift. She looked up. Salya had arrived and she was preparing a spell. She grinned and lost focus for a moment. That was all it took. Cthulhin charged at her and slashed her. She felt weightless for a moment. Then she slammed into the ground with extreme force. Cthulhin loomed over her, ready for a killing blow. It was ignoring Airie¡¯s attacks and Marcus would not reach it in time to get it off Kyrie. This was it. Kyrie closed her eyes. Bright light surrounded her, rejuvenated her. She opened her eyes. Cthulhin stepped back from her, howling in pain. She was rejuvenated. Moreover, she got a new buff. She read about it. [Aerial Rejuvenation] Your health will rejuvenate by 1 point per second for five minutes. Your dodge speed shall increase by 50% during the duration. This was sweet. Kyrie attacked Cthulhin, dealing 52 points of damage. Good. He was weakened from the holy attack by Salya. The High Priestess of the air nymphs seemed to have retreated. She would be recuperating after her spell. Marcus and Kyrie pressed this advantage. Airie seemed to have retreated for now. With just the two of them, Cthulhin became a bit difficult. However, they were doing better damage. Cthulhin was fast but Marcus and Kyrie held up well against it. By the end of five minutes, they had whittled down Cthulhin¡¯s health by 1,500 points. It was now at 5,270 points of health. Kyrie felt herself tiring. She could see that Marcus was also tired considering how he was panting. She had also seen him use two health potions during the fight. She did not know how long he would last if he continued to push on like this. Kyrie increased her frequency of attacks, making sure that Cthulhin spent more time chasing her, giving Marcus a breather. She could see Marcus shout to someone in the air. Airie materialized before him and they seemed to be discussing something. However, Kyrie did not have much time to focus on them as Cthulhin¡¯s attacks were fast. She had to dodge, block or parry the demon lord¡¯s attacks while attacking in return. She dodged one of its attacks and stepped back. Her foot hit something hard and she tripped backwards. It was all it took. Cthulhin attacked her with a flurry of slashes and she felt her life almost ending. She expected a death blow but suddenly Cthulhin was no more there. It had been whisked off by a sudden powerful gust of wind and impaled on Marcus¡¯ twinblade. Kyrie tried to get up, help Marcus but her feet wobbled and she fell. She tried to reach for a health potion but she could not. She could see that Cthulhin was attacking Marcus furiously and if she did not do something, Marcus would die. She willed herself to move but could not. Cthulhin knocked Marcus down and jumped on him. This was it. Kyrie tried to shout but could not. They were done. It was over. They had lost. A gentle voice whispered in her ear, ¡°Do not give up hope sister. We are here.¡± Kyrie smiled. Her last thought as she passed out was Go Marcus. *** Marcus had fallen with Cthulhin on top. He was holding the demon lord off with his twinblade but was losing the battle. The demon lord would break off anytime and swipe Marcus¡¯ head off. It was of no use. Marcus would fight till his dying breath. He gave a last shout. A last push. He saw the claw heading towards his head but he was too late to do anything. A bright golden light hit them. Then a second one. Then a third. Cthulhin was thrown off Marcus. Marcus stood up. He felt rejuvenated. Three buffs were suddenly active on him. [Healing Water] You heal 2 points per second for five minutes. Your speed increased by 50% for the duration. [Rock Protection] Your physical resistance increased by 50% for five minutes. 10% of the damage incurred reflected on to the attacker for the duration. [Leaf Rejuvenation] You heal 1 point per second for five minutes. Your magical resistance increased by 40% for the duration. He had been completely healed by those three golden lights. Moreover, he did not feel tired anymore. Marcus looked around to see Tananashadra, Wush and Dashandara standing over a fallen Kyrie. He started towards her but Tananashadra said, ¡°She will be alright Marcus Blank. Deal with the demon lord quickly.¡± Marcus turned toward Cthulhin. Its health had reduced to merely 1432 points. How strong the spells had to take off about four thousand points of Cthulhin¡¯s health. Marcus charged at the demon lord and slashed it. Cthulhin looked confused as Marcus hit it for 102 points of damage. Marcus attacked with a flurry of slashes, pushing Cthulhin back. The demon lord had not yet recovered from the holy spells and Marcus was feeling invincible. He parried the demon lord¡¯s claws and ran his twinblade straight through it. He slashed, stabbed and kicked Cthulhin till his health reached a mere 53 points. With a final slash Marcus decapitated Cthulhin. As its head fell to the ground, the body of the demon lord disintegrated. Marcus fell on his knees. Five minutes were up. His buffs were gone. Exhausting crept over him. He smiled. They had won. Darkness welcomed him. Opulential Marcus woke up and groaned. He wondered where he was. He looked around to see that he had been sleeping on a hard floor in a cavern-like room. Then he remembered last night. Cthulhin, the demon lord. Their fight. The final blow. What had happened after that? How did he come here? And where was Kyrie? He checked his notifications. He had gotten 1,000 experience points from killing the demon lord and 900 experience points in killing the demons and shadow animals. He had not yet received the experience points of the major quest. He got up and walked out of the room to see a narrow opening at one side. Marcus then remembered where he was. It was the cavern where he had first rested when they had reached Una Lake. It felt like a long time ago. He exited the cavern. Upon seeing Marcus, many water nymphs came out of the water. Kyrie was among them. Kyrie grinned as Marcus approached her and said, ¡°Good morning, Marcus. You slept a lot.¡± ¡°How long was I out for?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°One day. We defeated the demon lord the night before yesterday.¡± ¡°That means I slept the whole night, the whole morning and the whole night again.¡± Kyrie laughed and said, ¡°I woke up an hour earlier only. Don¡¯t worry. The fight took a lot out of us. But it was good. No nymphs died. There were no casualties except for the demons. The corrupted shadow animals have also turned back.¡± ¡°How do you know that they have turned back?¡± asked Marcus confused. ¡°I have been talking with my brothers and sisters¡±, gestured Kyrie towards the other water nymphs, ¡°The source of the darkness was that object. With it destroyed and the demon lord dead, the darkness has disappeared. There has been some damage, but the other nymphs are already working to restore that part of the forest. It won''t take them long.¡± Marcus raised an eyebrow, ¡°That is good. I am starting to think nymphs are overpowered or something.¡± Kyrie laughed and said, ¡°Nothing like that. However, when we come together for a particular objective, nothing can stop us.¡± Marcus laughed as well. He then said, ¡°What do we do now?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Now, we turn in the quest.¡± Kyrie gestured at Marcus to follow her. He did. The other water nymphs took lead. They took Marcus and Kyrie to the same clearing where they had met the High Priest and the High Priestesses. All three were present this time. Even the High Priestess of the air nymphs was present. Marcus smiled as he and Kyrie were presented to the nymph elders. Wush said, ¡°You have done what we had asked of you. It is true that you required our help but as the humans say, ¡®All¡¯s well that ends well¡¯.¡± Marcus got a notification that the major quest pertaining to darkness in Sosquatch forest was completed. The demon quest got updated again. It became the same that it was before. Major Quest Find out more about the Demonic Invasion Sosquatch forest has been saved. The demons are not done yet. Find out more about the invasion and where the demons would strike next. Hint: Join a major faction It all came back to joining a faction. Marcus would see about that. First, he and Kyrie needed to reach Opulential. Marcus and Kyrie got 1,000 points of experience for completing the quest. Tananashadra then said, ¡°Now it is time for your rewards. Come forward sister.¡± She meant Kyrie who stepped forwards. Tananashadra handed her a circlet. Kyrie examined it and gasped. Tananashadra said, ¡°We know the restrictions you face while adventuring Kyrie. This circlet will act as an extension of your body. And it will also help protect you. You deserve this for driving the darkness out of our forest.¡± Kyrie was holding the circlet, gaping at it like a fish. Marcus did not know if water nymphs could cry but he could see that Kyrie could tear up any moment. Marcus was assuming it would be tears of joy. Marcus said, ¡°Equip it then. It seems to be a good circlet.¡± The circlet in question was cyan in colour, just like Kyrie¡¯s skin. It looked completely smooth and simple, no extra adornments. However, Marcus knew appearances could be deceptive. He would ask Kyrie later about the circlet. It was Dashandara who approached Marcus. She simply said, ¡°Your reward adventurer.¡± Dashandara held out a scroll. Marcus examined it and drew in a sharp breath. It read, [Enchant Weapon: Holy] Enchant your weapon with Holy damage for five strikes. The damage would be equal to 50% of intelligence. Cooldown 5 minutes. It was a specific Enchant Weapon spell. He had seen a generalized one in Solaris during the fight with the demon lord there. It was the gnome Zissix who had it. His spell was more flexible. But this was also good. This would help Marcus against the demons. Marcus said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say.¡± ¡°Thank you would do¡±, replied Dashandara with a smile. Marcus thanked her. He looked up to see everyone looking at him. Kyrie gestured at the scroll in his hand. Marcus realized what she meant. She opened it and strange runes flashed in front of his eyes. The scroll disappeared as soon as the runes disappeared. He got a new notification. You have learnt a new spell [Enchant Weapon: Holy] Do you wish to equip it to the Circlet of Hope now? Yes?? No Marcus selected Yes. He now had a spell equipped. His first spell. He grinned and the nymphs in the clearing cheered. Marcus and Kyrie grinned at each other. They had been given really good gifts. They both felt happy. Now to the next step of their journey. Now to Opulential. *** Leyda looked at Marcus and Kyrie as they received their rewards. She was well hidden. She doubted whether the nymphs knew that she was here. What these two adventurers had achieved here was truly wondrous. It is true that they had the help of non adventurers and normally, the adventurers are not supposed to get help from non adventurers. They had written in the system. Non adventurers should not be able to help adventurers on a quest except for certain circumstances. Without the knowledge of Rauros, Leyda had added a condition. Non adventurers could now aid adventurers in any demon related quests. She had done this to stop her husband¡¯s madness. She knew that she would not be able to stop the demonic invasion but she would reduce the number of casualties. This was one of the steps she took. She tampered with the portal spell so that Marcus and Kyrie could come here to Sosquatch forest. Leyda was confident that they would find the nymphs and they did. This quest for cleansing of Sosquatch forest was originally a high level quest. The Sosquatch forest was supposed to be taken over by demons, the nymphs hunted to almost extinction but Leyda did not want that. By accidently sending Marcus and Kyrie here, she had stopped the destruction of the forest right in the early stages, when the demons were weak. This was not the only place she had intervened. There were many other places all across Una where she had been directing adventurers without their knowledge to take care of the demon scourge. She could not send many adventurers as she did not want to draw attention to herself. She knew Rauros would stop her if he found out what she was up to. She had sent Marcus and Kyrie to Sosquatch forest for two purposes. First was to stop the spread of demons in the forest. Second was to gauge their abilities and teamwork. They had both done well according to Leyda. She knew that this quest would have been impossible for them without the help of the nymphs and she was glad that they had asked for the assistance of the nymphs for completion of the quest. And they had completed the quest without any casualties. She had well chosen her ace. She smiled as she disappeared from there. She appeared in her room and the door opened in a couple of seconds. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Rauros came in and said, ¡°Come on then love. The gorking champions are here. We need to debrief them, give them bloody guidance regarding their role.¡± Leyda raised an eyebrow, ¡°And why are we doing it directly?¡± Rauros opened his mouth to say something and then closed it. Then he said, ¡°Oh gork me. What the gork am I thinking? We have to guide them. Not give them direct orders. I forgot how champions work. I am gorking arsehole. Gork. Gork. Gork.¡± He continued the tirade for a few minutes. Then he said, ¡°I need to make some changes.¡± Rauros went out of the room and then came back the next moment. He simply said, ¡°Help me.¡± Leyda laughed and followed her husband out of the room. They had work to do. *** Kashgul spat and spoke to his partner Dumol, ¡°What ya reading there you big oaf.¡± Dumol looked a bit affronted as he replied, ¡°I am working on my reading. Madam Pacifica told me I had gotten good. I need ta read more ya know.¡± Kashgul spat again and said, ¡°Why the gork do you need to read? And what the gork are you reading?¡± Kashgul tried to snatch the book out of Dumol¡¯s hands but failed. He did manage to read the title of the book. ¡°A History of Opulential¡±, declared Kashgul, ¡°Why da gork chu reading this for?¡± Dumol blushed and said, ¡°Madam Pacifica recommended it.¡± ¡°So you would read anything that wench recommends.¡± That earned Kashgul a whack on his head. It was not a powerful whack but it still hurt. Kashgul was human while Dumol was a huge orc. Dumol¡¯s hands were like hammers and they hurt. Kashgul snarled, ¡°What the gork!¡± Dumol said angrily, ¡°You do not be going insulting Madam Pacifica. She is good. She helps those who need it. She does not deserve your stupidity.¡± Kashgul grunted but did not say anything. He massaged his head where Dumol had hit him. After some time Kashgul said, ¡°All I meant was dat you need to stop this gorking thing and keep a watch on the path. We are supposed to guard the gate and not idle around.¡± Dumol sighed and closed the book, marking the page he was on. Kashgul and Dumol were part of the local guards who were responsible for guarding the four gates of Opulential. They were currently at the Western gate which led to the Sosquatch forest. The forest was about a hundred metres from the gate. There was a small path which led from the forest to the gate. The Western gate of Opulential was not used by many. It was mostly used by hunters who go into the forest to hunt game or occasional adventurers who go into the forest for a quest. No one else normally used the gate. Dumol said, ¡°When did we start watch, Kashgul?¡± ¡°Zero hour¡±, came the reply. ¡°And since then have you seen any gorking soul pass through the gate into da forest?¡± ¡°Nooooo.¡± ¡°Then why da gork are you asking me to stop reading my book. I also need to work on my gorking pro- pro- pronun- how I speak words.¡± Kashgul laughed which earned him another whack. Dumol opened his book and started to read. The city of Opulential was surrounded by a giant wall. The wall was twenty feet in height and thick enough that six people could walk side by side on it. It was reinforced with ballistas at strategic locations and archer guards patrolled it. Dumol was not worried about Opulential¡¯s security. He was also not worried that someone would come out of the forest and attack them. So, he continued to read his book. Kashgul looked as if he was bored and he was getting more bored with every passing minute. Their shift was ten hours and only three hours had passed. Sensing Kashgul¡¯s mood, Dumol felt that it was going to be a long day. Dumol was well engrossed in his book when he felt someone hit him on the arm. He looked up to see it was Kashgul. ¡°You got a death wish Kashgul?¡± asked Dumol. Kashgul simply pointed. Dumol looked in the direction where Kashgul was pointing. Two figures had come out of the Sosquatch forest and were heading towards them. They were far away and Dumol could not see their names. Kashgul said, ¡°Are you seeing what I am seeing Dumol?¡± Dumol replied, ¡°Calm down. They could be adventurers.¡± ¡°Or bandits.¡± ¡°There are no bandits in the forest you dumb arse. How many times do I have to tell you! And why would the bandits just stroll up to us?¡± Kashgul did not reply to that. They waited for the two figures to come up to them. As they approached, the guards checked their names and other status. Marcus Blank Human, Level 24 Health 130 / 130 Kyrie Shiningstar Water Nymph, Level 24 Health 120 / 120 ¡°Welcome adventurers¡±, Dumol greeted them as they came close, ¡°Welcome to the magnificent city of Opulential.¡± ¡°Thank God¡±, said the adventurer named Marcus Blank, ¡°My feet were killing me.¡± ¡°We did walk fast today. It was the last push as we had agreed¡±, said the adventurer named Kyrie. She was indeed a sight to behold. Althoug, Dumol found every female nymph attractive. He had met many of them, standing guard as he was and had dallied with some of them too. Dumol pushed thoughts of nymphs aside as he said, ¡°What brings you to the city adventurers?¡± Marcus and Kyrie looked at each other briefly before Marcus answered, ¡°Seriously! Quests man¡­ orc¡­ man¡­ quests.¡± Kashgul said, ¡°What the gork is wrong with you? Never seen an orc before?¡± ¡°No.¡± Kashgul gaped and Dumol hurriedly said, ¡°Wait a moment. We need to get the gate open. This gate opens normally for larger crowds or vehicles. There is a side gate for individual entry and exit.¡± Dumol led Marcus and Kyrie to the side gate. When they entered, they thanked Dumol. They were leaving when Marcus suddenly turned and said, ¡°Oh, I almost forgot. Where can we report demonic activity?¡± ¡°You need the Church of the Golden Sun¡±, replied Dumol automatically, ¡°They are looking into demonic activity in and around Opulential.¡± Marcus thanked Dumol and left with Kyrie. They seemed to be talking with each other in whispers. Dumol shook his head and went back. Demons. He snorted. He doubted whether those adventurers had anything to do with demons. Mostly they wanted to earn some quick units. Kashgul questioned him about the adventurers and Dumol told him what had transpired. Kashgul spat and said, ¡°Gorking demons. There are no gorking demons. Arse shit adventurers.¡± Kashgul went on mumbling for some time and Dumol returned to his book. Enough excitement for a day. Now back to their dull boring shift. *** Timothy was irritated. He was looking at reports of demonic sightings around Opulential. So many false reportings. So many goring false reportings. One of the sighting actually turned out to be a drunk dwarf mistaking a gorking churot for a demon. Timothy sighed and put the report down. Commander Timothy Candlewick was the head of the Order of the Golden Sun in Opulential. He had been tasked by the High Priest to ensure Opulential remains safe and secure from the demon attacks that were happening all over Una. His knights had been stretched thin. Considering the number of reportings, he could not spend a sufficient number of nights investigating each and every one of them. And to top it off, there were only few who had been correct and he had lost 10 knights because of people¡¯s stupidity. He wondered what could be done. Timothy felt a headache coming on. He picked up the glass of mulled wine from his desk and took a sip. Weak. He needed something stronger. He was about to call his secretary when the door to his office knocked. Timothy said, ¡°Come in.¡± His secretary entered. She said, ¡°There are two adventurers here to report demonic activity.¡± Timothy¡¯s eyebrows raised. Two adventurers now was it. He thought about it. If adventurers are coming in with sightings of demons then maybe then it would be a valid thing after all. Timothy said, ¡°Send them in a minute. And send me something stronger than this wine. Whisky would be good.¡± His secretary said, ¡°You are on duty.¡± ¡°Gork that. Just bring me a whisky. I won¡¯t be getting drunk. I just need a peg or two.¡± His secretary did not say anything except purse her lips. She went out and Timothy swore again. He sat back on his desk and waited for the adventurers. Exactly after a minute the door opened and two adventurers came in. His secretary also came and placed a glass of whisky on his table. Timothy thanked her and examined the adventurers. Marcus Blank Human, Level 24 Health 130 / 130 Kyrie Shiningstar Water Nymph, Level 24 Health 120 / 120 Low level adventurers. And reporting demonic activity. Interesting. Timothy said, ¡°I am Commander Timothy Candlewick of the holy knights of the Order of the Golden Sun. I welcome you adventurers to our church. I believe you have some demonic activity to report. Please. Go ahead. I am all ears.¡± The adventurer named Marcus muttered ¡®Fucking Tim¡¯ under his breath which Timothy clearly heard while the adventurer named Kyrie said, ¡°Well met Commander.¡± Kyrie did a complicated movement and Timothy simply bowed back to her. Marcus said, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just traditional water nymph greeting Tim. You don¡¯t need to bow.¡± Timothy gritted his teeth and said, ¡°It¡¯s Timothy. And I did not know. I have not met any water nymphs till date.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a fucking tragedy¡±, muttered Marcus. ¡°You swear using Earth words¡±, said Timothy, ¡°You are on Una.¡± Marcus shrugged and said, ¡°I speak whatever I am comfortable with.¡± Timothy said, ¡°Okay. About the demonic activity. What do you have to report?¡± Kyrie took out a rolled out parchment from her inventory and gave it to Timothy. Timothy took it and read it. It was from the elders of the nymphs residing in Sosquactch forest. As he read more and more regarding what they had written, Timothy¡¯s eyebrows kept on raising till there was danger of them disappearing in his hair. It took him a few minutes to read the scroll. Till that time it seemed Marcus had made himself at home. He lounged on a chair while Kyrie had walked up to a window and was looking out of it. Timothy cleared his throat and Marcus said, ¡°Go ahead Timmy boy.¡± ¡°The name is Timothy¡±, Timothy gritted his teeth again, ¡°I read the letter. However, I want your part of the story too. Start from the beginning. Where did you come from? Leave no detail out, no matter even if you feel it was insignificant.¡± Marcus and Kyrie told Timothy about their failed portal from Solaris, their journey to Una lake, the meeting with nymphs, the quest, their discovery of the demon encampment, their fight with the demons, the unidentifiable object, the destruction of the object, the fight with the demon lord Cthulhin and the aftermath. They took some time and Timothy had brought in some refreshments as they talked. When they were finished Timothy was lost in thought for some time. His headache had increased though. Timothy said, ¡°Thank you for taking care of the demonic encampment and killing the demon lord adventurers.¡± Marcus said, ¡°We had help.¡± ¡°Even then this is a big achievement. I have read the letter of the elder nymphs. I shall send an entourage of priests and knights that the demon encampment is thoroughly cleansed. I shall also talk with my guy at NAIF and find out why your portal failed. Is there anything else you want of me?¡± Marcus and Kyrie looked at each other and then they got up. Kyrie said, ¡°Thank you commander. We shall be on our way. Our task here is done. We shall go explore Opulential.¡± They then left. Timothy sat in his chair for some time. An idea had started to form in his mind. He grinned. He knew what he had to do. He would use adventurers for investigating demon sightings. Some adventurers would come for that. He would pay well. That would help. He called his secretary. He had work to do, demons to kill and Opulential to keep safe. Opulential Diaries Kyrie and Marcus had split up after visiting the Adventurer¡¯s guild. After meeting with Commander Timothy, Kyrie and Marcus had gone to the Adventurer¡¯s guild to set up the respawn point. Then Marcus had gone to the library while Kyrie decided to go to the arena to check out the Adventurer versus Adventurer scene in Opulential. The arena was near the Northeastern part of Opulential while the Adventurer¡¯s guild was in the center. The arena was approximately five kilometers away from the guild. It was a long walk. Kyrie considered taking a taxi but, in the end, decided to walk. She was only going to observe today. She will participate in the fights tomorrow. As she walked, she looked around observing the people and the buildings of the city. From the map of Opulential, Kyrie could see that the city was constructed more or less in the form of concentric circles. As Opulential was the capital city of The Gnome Kingdom it was majorly populated with gnomes. Kyrie could see other species walking around but the gnomes were the largest in number. Standing at about four feet tall max, the members of these little species hurried around their daily work as Kyrie made her way to the arena. It took her about an hour and a half to reach the arena. As the structure loomed over her Kyrie drew in a deep breath and sighed, ¡°Ah! Home sweet home.¡± Kyrie looked at the board where the fights for the day were displayed. Besides the fights, the odds for the fighters were also displayed. Gambling in Adventurer versus Adventurer was legal, and many adventurers and non-adventurers took advantage of that to earn quick units. Match fixing was also done but Kyrie despised that. Kyrie looked at the ranked matches and there were none for the day. There were only open fights. There were two types of fights for Adventurer versus Adventurer. Open fights were simply fights where adventurers tested their strength against each other. In open fights the adventurers mostly fight for money or experience. Kyrie¡¯s main interest was the ranked fights. Each adventurer is assigned a rank in the arena based on their Adventurer Rank, their level and their previous experience with Adventurer versus Adventurer. Then they need to challenge higher ranked adventurers to a fight. If a low ranked adventurer wins against a high ranked adventurer, then he jumps up to their rank and the adventurer who lost jumps down a rank. That was how you ranked up. If you lose three fights in a row, then you lose a rank too. Kyrie registered herself in the level 21 to 30 bracket. It seemed that there were 10 level brackets for fighting. Made sense. Very high-level adventurers would make mincemeat of low levelled adventurers. Kyrie checked her rank. She was at rank 323. She sighed. She would have a long way to go to reach rank 1. She hoped Marcus would be patient till then. This was now the true test of their team. They had found out in Sosquatch forest that they fought well together. However, she still did not know if Marcus would wait till Kyrie finished reaching to the top till, he started some quest in which they would both be required. Kyrie went in to watch the fights for the day. She would check out the competition. It would be good. She even bet on a few fights. She left the arena at night, when all fights were finished with a grin on her face and more units then she had. She had won 5,000 units after all. She checked a message from Marcus. It seemed that he had found a cheap inn for their stay. It was near the Southern part of Opulential. Kyrie read the inn¡¯s name. It was The Whispering Willow. Nice name. Kyrie groaned and started to walk. She had a long way to go. *** Marcus and Kyrie were having breakfast. It was good. Marcus was thinking about what he was going to do today. He wanted to find out more about The Gnome Kingdom and Opulential was the best city to do that. He also wanted to get another spell. He wanted to research certain spells. He wondered what he should prioritize first. Marcus saw that Kyrie was playing with her food rather than eating it. Marcus asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡± Kyrie broke out of the deep thought she was in, ¡°I am fine Marcus. I am just thinking about adventurer versus adventurer. Strategizing about my way to rank 1. Visualization helps. It is a form of positive reinforcement. I am going to have my first ranked fight today. Will you be interested in watching it?¡± Marcus thought about it. This was an interesting offer. He had not seen an adventurer versus adventurer fight till date. He had been curious about it and he was sure that watching a live fight would be more interesting and informative rather than reading about it. Marcus said, ¡°Why not? Let me see what this adventurer versus adventurer is all about.¡± Kyrie beamed at him and started to explain all about the rules and the ranked matches and stuff. Marcus half listened to it. He nodded to most of Kyrie¡¯s explanation though. He did ask some random questions to show he was completely invested. After finishing breakfast Marcus and Kyrie started off towards the arena. As they walked Marcus grumbled, ¡°We need a vehicle.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Our first priority should be to get ourselves well equipped. The second priority should be getting good spells. The third priority should be getting rid of our debt. Then we can think of a vehicle.¡± Marcus said, ¡°I would rather go for a vehicle soon if we are required to walk this much. I mean initially it was okay. I was new to this adventuring world and I walked a lot for my quest in Solaris. But this continuous walking is getting to me. I mean walking occasionally is fine. Also walking would also be good in situations of stealth. But, daily walking. I think I would get grumpy very fast.¡± Kyrie laughed and said, ¡°Come on then Marcus. Think about how we can earn units fast. I mean the quests we have done till far have not given us any units, especially the major quests. I have won a decent amount in adventurer versus adventurer but it is still not enough. What do you propose we do?¡± Marcus frowned at that statement. He said, ¡°You know, Orin told me not to worry about units because as an adventurer I would be rolling in units. I do not see that here. Is there really a high paying quest available or are we supposed to have units just to survive?¡± Kyrie shrugged. She had no answer for that. They walked in silence for some time. Then Marcus said, ¡°I have decided that I shall be joining the Librarians. It is a faction that makes sense to me.¡± Kyrie did not say anything. They again walked in silence after that. Then Kyrie said, ¡°Give me time till I reach rank 1. Then I shall tell you my decision. Is that okay?¡± Marcus nodded. It made sense to him. They reached the arena soon. Marcus was impressed by its size. Kyrie said, ¡°I am going to register myself for today¡¯s fights. Get a ticket and go on in. Take pavilion seats. The daily pass is cheaper if you want to watch multiple fights. If you want to bet on some fights there are gambling booths. Go for any of them. They are mostly reliable.¡± She shrugged and said, ¡°It is gambling. It is by default unreliable. You will do well. See ya from the fighting platform.¡± Kyrie sat off to the left of the arena. There seemed to be a registration window for fighters where she was going. Marcus went straight. He could see the ticket window there. He bought the daily pass for the Western Pavillion. It cost 1,000 units. Marcus wondered how Kyrie considered that cheap. The Umaru lady at the counter gave directions for gambling booths if Marcus was interested and also the directions for the food stalls. Marcus thanked her and left. Marcus was not interested in food as of now and so he entered the arena from the West. The seats of the Western pavilion were situated at the bottom of the arena, near the fighting platform. They covered a quarter of the arena space on the West. Marcus could see that there was also an Eastern pavilion and special closed viewing booths on the Northern and the Eastern side. Rest all were normal seats barring the entrance, exit and the pathways to the seats. Marcus sat in the third row from the bottom and in the centre. The seats were comfortable, especially considering how hard the normal seats looked. Marcus received a notification and he opened it. It was the list of fights for the day. Kyrie was fighting two times that day. Hers was the second and the thirty sixth fight. That was fast. Marcus saw a total of one hundred and twenty two fights for the day. Only ten of them were ranked. Others were open fights. Marcus got himself comfortable. He hoped he would enjoy adventurer versus adventurer. It was going to be a long day of watching fights. *** Kyrie was in the waiting room. Her fight was next. The first fight was over and they would be announcing her fight. She was fighting the adventurer ranked 292. She read about him. Callous Gallows Gnome, Level 25 Health 140 / 140 Callous seemed to prefer twin daggers while fighting. It meant he was a close ranged melee fighter. He would definitely try and close in to Kyrie as soon as the fight started. Kyrie had to ensure that did not happen. Callous¡¯ fighting record was good. Before coming to Opulential, he had started in a town named Chivis. Kyrie had not heard of it. But then, Kyrie had not read much about the geographical locations of Umanahash. Maybe she should start spending some time on the Globalnet as Marcus did. She shook her head and stood up. Her name had been announced. Kyrie exited the waiting room and walked into the arena. She looked towards the Western Pavilion to find Marcus sitting there, popcorn in hand. He waved at her when she entered. She smiled back. As Kyrie walked towards the fighting platform, she looked around the arena. There was not much of a crowd today. It was still quite early in the morning though. The crowd usually filled up after lunch and most during the evenings. Kyrie looked at the fighting platform. It was in the middle of the arena, about twenty feet away from the seats on each side. The platform was rectangular in shape and about fifty feet long and thirty feet wide. It was sufficient space for adventurers to fight. Kyrie climbed onto the platform to find her opponent already present. He had arrived fast. Callous nodded once to Kyrie as he saw her and she nodded back. It was a sign of respect and Kyrie appreciated it. Both the adventurers walked in the middle of the field. A gnome referee was present. The referee explained the rules and asked both the fighters to take their fighting positions. There was a line crossing the fighting platform in the middle. The fighters can position themselves anywhere on the opposite side of the line at the start of the fight. Callous took his position, right at the line, in the middle of the arena. Kyrie chose a corner and readied herself. The referee looked at both of them and confirmed whether they were ready. Both Kyrie and Callous agreed. The referee exited the fighting platform and stood on a small platform constructed specifically for the referee. The referee looked at both the fighters and then began the match. Callous immediately rushed towards Kyrie, his daggers out. Kyrie smiled as she took aim with her bow and activated [Power Shot]. Callous thought she was attacking immediately and tried to dodge the attack. However, Kyrie knew he would be doing that. She immediately corrected her aim and fired. The [Power Shot] did its trick. It hit Callous head on for 42 points of damage and made him stumble. Kyrie took this opportunity to fire arrows on Callous in quick succession. Before Callous could even reach Kyrie, it was over. His health dropped to zero and he was teleported out of the fighting platform. He would have been teleported to the waiting room. Adventurers who died in the arena respawned in the waiting room of the arena free of cost. Kyrie smiled as she was declared winner. She was a bit disappointed though. This was too easy. As she had defeated Callous, her rank jumped from 323 to 292. If most of the adventurers were like this, then she would reach rank 1 in no time. She went to her waiting room. Her next match would take time. So, she decided to join Marcus in the pavilion. As she walked towards the pavilion, she hoped Marcus would appreciate adventurer versus adventurer like she did. *** This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Marcus said as Kyrie dropped down beside him, ¡°That was fast.¡± ¡°Yes¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°I am surprised too. I thought he would put up more of a fight.¡± ¡°Were your matches in Solaris like this only?¡± ¡°Yes, but Solaris is a starting town. Most adventurers are inexperienced there and so they are easy to beat. We are in Opulential now. Shouldn¡¯t adventurers be more experienced here? I mean if they are at level 20 and above they got to have a certain number of quests in their belt. They would also have got a part of their major quest completed too, I assume.¡± Marcus shrugged and ate more popcorn. He said, ¡°I don¡¯t think many of the adventurers here at levels equivalent to us have gone through what we have gone through.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°We have taken down two demon lords. It is true that we had help. I am pretty sure we would not have been able to take them down without help but we have taken down two demon lords. That is two more than ninety percent of the adventurers in Una I believe.¡± ¡°Only ninety percent?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t really tell much considering the chatter on the Globalnet but I am pretty sure only ten percent of the adventurers have faced a demon lord till date.¡± ¡°And we faced two. And won.¡± ¡°I have a feeling that is why our adventurer rank went up.¡± ¡°I noticed it too. I do wonder how it goes up. There is no hint anywhere regarding leveling it up.¡± Marcus paused as he ate more popcorn and said, ¡°From what I have read on the Globalnet, our adventurer rank goes up when we perform major actions which have major consequences.¡± Kyrie looked confused, ¡°What does that mean?¡± Marcus said, ¡°There is not much information regarding adventurer rank on Globalnet. It does not have much impact for an adventurer. There are many adventurers who debate why it is there in the first place.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Then we should not think much about it for now till we find out its utility.¡± Marcus said, ¡°True. Although I believe that currently we should view some matches. I find them interesting and entertaining.¡± Kyrie grinned at Marcus. Marcus smiled back and focused on the match going on. *** As the days passed, both Marcus and Kyrie fell into a routine. Marcus started to read up on Opulential, the Gnome Kingdom, the Librarians and spells he could buy. He asked around various magical shops in Opulential to get an idea regarding the spells. Kyrie had been right. They were expensive, the cheapest of them being [Mana Shot] at 10,000 units. Kyrie on the other hand focused on getting to rank 1 in adventurer versus adventurer. From what Marcus understood, till she got up to rank above 100, she could challenge adventures 50 ranks above her. After reaching 100th rank, she would be able to challenge adventurers 10 ranks above her till she reached a rank between 11 and 15. Then she could challenge the top five. How that worked was that Kyrie needed to challenge all five of them, starting from the 5th rank. She needed to challenge the adventurers. The adventurers needed to accept. Then the fight would occur in a maximum of two days unless there was an emergency or the adventurer dropped out of the fight. Kyrie had told Marcus that the top five ranks would take time. The others, she would be done fast and she was not wrong. In two weeks she was ready to fight with the top five. Marcus, in the meanwhile, had visited the library so much that he had been officially invited to become a member of The Librarians faction. Marcus had told the representatives that he needed some time because he wanted to wait till Kyrie reached rank 1 in adventurer versus adventurer. In the meantime, he did some escort and fetch quests in the city. He also did some quests where he simply performed the function of a messenger boy. He did these quests to earn some units. Kyrie joined him in one or two such quests. The quests he completed did not give him much experience but they did give him good units. Not a large amount of units, but sufficient for him to survive living in Opulential. He went to watch each of Kyrie¡¯s fights and bet on her winning. He did make a decent amount on betting. By the end of two weeks both Marcus and Kyrie made some contribution to their debt towards NAIF. Marcus was starting to understand what Orin meant. If they did quests in the city, especially quests which gave them units, then they would be able to pay their debts off to NAIF. It was true that Kyrie would require quite a number of years though. Another thing Marcus noticed was that there was a vice versa for experience and units while considering quests. Quests which gave units did not give sufficient experience while the quests which gave experience gave insufficient or no units. Moreover, the split of experience was weird too. As Marcus and Kyrie had formed a temporary team, the adventurer system in Marcus considered them as a full fledged team. This meant that the experience that Kyrie earned from her adventurer versus adventurer fights was shared with Marcus even though he did not fight. Also the experience Marcus received from the small quests that he did was also shared with Kyrie even though she had not done the quest with him. The ratio of experience sharing was also not consistent. Only units were given as per who received them. They did not directly get in Marcus¡¯ inventory. Marcus also bought another spell in these two weeks. [Whirling Weapon] Spins the weapon a foot away in front of your hands at a very fast pace. Deals continuous damage equal to half the attack power of the weapon to anything that enters the spinning weapon. Also acts as a form of defense from certain physical attacks. Spell duration of 30 seconds. Spell cooldown of 2 minutes. Marcus considered this spell useful as he wielded a twinblade. This would make his twinblade attack powerful and also defensive. Marcus had levelled up once from all the experience he had received. He had also gotten a reputation with Opulential and Order of the Golden Sun now. He checked his status. Name: Marcus Blank Race: Human Designation: Adventurer - Rank 2 Age: 25 Current Location: Solaris Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 25 Experience: 240/640 Strength: 10 Dexterity: 20 Intelligence: 20 Vitality: 15 Agility: 14 Wisdom: 10 Luck: ??? Health: 130 Mana: 120 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Stamina Regeneration - Level 5 Well Rested - Level 2 Twinblade Proficiency - Level 8 Alcohol Tolerance - Level 2 Stealth - Level 4 Description: The anomaly has now become a better adventurer. With a little effort people may forget he is an anomaly after all. Spells known: [Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] Spells Equipped: [Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] Spell Slots: 2 Physical Attack: 20 Magical Attack: 30 Physical Resistance: 11 Magical Resistance: 9 Critical Attack Chance: 7% (max 27%) Critical Attack Damage: 15% (max 55%) Status: None Social: 750/1000 (Neutral) NAIF: 950/1000 (Neutral) Solaris: 2300/4000 (Very Positive) Nymphs: 2000 / 4000 (Very Positive) Opulential: 800 / 1000 (Neutral) Order of the Golden Sun: 500 / 1000 (Neutral) He was happy with his [Well Rested] passive effect. It had levelled up to level 3 giving him slightly more experience gain then before. Kyrie had been jealous of this passive effect. She did not have it. Actually, Marcus had not met anyone who had this passive effect. He had also gotten a good reputation in his Social section and Opulential section. He was happy with it. He had not done anything further for the Order of the Golden Sun other than informing them about the demonic activity in Sosquatch forest and it had earned him quite a reputation experience. Marcus looked up from his book as he saw Kyrie. He was surprised to find her in the library. Kyrie said, ¡°It is tomorrow.¡± Marcus grinned and said, ¡°That is good. Who is ranked 1 again?¡± Kyrie replied, ¡°It is Cassandra Sharpleaf. She is an elf and wields a bow like I do.¡± ¡°Ooh!¡± exclaimed Marcus, ¡°Ranged versus ranged. This could be interesting.¡± ¡°And tough¡±, added Kyrie, ¡°I have heard about her. She is a good fighter. I have my work cut out for me.¡± ¡°Did you not have your work cut out for you when you fought other adventurers too?¡± Kyrie gave him a short smack on the shoulder and said, ¡°Cassandra is different. The other adventurers were relatively easy. She is going to be tough.¡± Marcus did not say anything. They soon went to get dinner and turned in for the night. Tomorrow was a big day for Kyrie. Marcus hoped that she would win. *** Kyrie looked at the information about her opponent again. Cassandra Sharpleaf Elf, Level 29 Health 142 / 142 Then she looked at her status. Name: Kyrie Shiningstar Race: Water Nymph Designation: Adventurer - Rank 2 Age: 83 Current Location: Solaris Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 25 Experience: 350/640 Strength: 10 Dexterity: 29 Intelligence: 7 Vitality: 10 Agility: 20 Wisdom: 7 Luck: ??? Health: 120 Mana: 114 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Fast Draw - Level 5 Precision - Level 6 Longbow Proficiency - Level 11 Stealth - Level 10 Water Proficiency - Level 100 Description: The outcast traveller from Tarados, flowing into Una, taking huge steps now and sweeping demons away is still enjoying herself by bashing other adventurer¡¯s heads. She is the water nymph to watch out for. Spells known: [Power Shot] [Fade] Spells Equipped: [Power Shot] [Fade] Spell Slots: 4 Physical Attack: 25 Magical Attack: 22 Physical Resistance: 8 Magical Resistance: 6 Critical Attack Chance: 10% (max 20%) Critical Attack Damage: 22.00% (max 42.00%) Status: None Social: 970/1000 (Neutral) NAIF: 1100/2000 (Positive) Solaris: 2300/4000 (Very Positive) Nymphs: 4500 / 5000 (Hero) Opulential: 800 / 1000 (Neutral) Order of the Golden Sun: 500 / 1000 (Neutral) Kyrie noted that she was 4 levels below Cassandra and there was 22 points of difference in their health. This could affect her during the fight as she would have to attack Cassandra one more time then Cassandra needed to attack her. Kyrie felt the butterflies in her stomach as she waited for her match in the waiting room. Her match was in the evening. As this was a ranked match for the 1st rank, her match against Cassandra was going to bring in quite a crowd. Kyrie heard her name called and exited the waiting room to the fighting platform. Kyrie and Cassandra both reached the platform at the same time. They both smiled at each other when the referee told them the rules. Then they took their positions on the opposite corners of the fighting platform. The referee initiated the match. Cassandra fired first and started running along the edge of the fighting platform. Kyrie dodged the arrow and shot back. At the distance that they were, both the adventurers had sufficient time to dodge each other¡¯s arrows. Kyrie started to move in and Cassandra did the same. They still dodged each other¡¯s arrows but it was getting a bit hard as they got close to each other. Kyrie dodged one of the attacks and activated [Power Shot]. Cassandra did not dodge immediately. She knew about Kyrie¡¯s spell by now and waited. Kyrie shot the [Power Shot]. Cassandra dodged it but the arrow still managed to graze her dealing 10 points of damage. First blood, thought Kyrie as she shot three more arrows in quick succession. One of the arrows hit, dealing 40 points of damage to Cassandra but one of the arrows of Cassandra also hit Kyrie, dealing 43 points of damage to her health. Cassandra suddenly charged Kyrie and tried to punch her. Kyrie jumped back shooting an arrow. As soon as Kyrie jumped, Cassandra notched three arrows together and shot them at Kyrie. Kyrie twirled her bow fast but two arrows went past her defence hitting her. The arrow she had shot did hit Kyrie head on in the neck, a critical hit. Kyrie was down to 33 points of health while Cassandra had 52 points of health remaining. That meant that Cassandra could defeat her with just one shot while Kyrie had to hit Cassandra twice. Kyrie activated [Fade]. She disappeared from sight. Cassandra stopped moving but she did not lower her bow or the notched arrow. Kyrie had not used this spell in the rest of her matches and she was sure Cassandra would not know about it. Her assumption turned correct as she saw Cassandra turn slowly trying to find her. As soon as Cassandra¡¯s back was turned from Kyrie, Kyrie activated [Power Shot]. She did not make any noise and so Cassandra was unaware that Kyrie had just turned visible. Kyrie shot the arrow and it hit Cassandra in the back. Cassandra¡¯s health hit 0. She disappeared from the fighting platform. It was over. Kyrie had won. She was now ranked 1. It was at that time she heard the cheer coming from the crowd. She grinned and waved at her audience. She sought Marcus in the crowd. He always sat in the same place in the third row of the Western Pavilion. Marcus gave Kyrie a thumbs up as she looked towards him. They celebrated that night. Cassandra also came to congratulate her. She had done it. Now, on to the next step. Now, she would decide on a faction. Interlude: The Champions of Una Tamara Goodleaf woke up with a start. She had the weirdest dream. Lord Rauros had been in her dream, asking her to form an elite team against the demons. She groaned as she remembered the details of the dream. It was always difficult communicating with Lord Rauros Shadowfang. She had met him twice during all the time she had spent adventuring. The first time was a few weeks back when he had paid her a visit and explained to her the role he had devised for her in the oncoming demon invasion. She was to be a champion of the adventurers. One of the champions of Una. She would be key with one more champion in defeating the demonic horde. The second time was when she and the other champion had to go to Melancholia and Lord Rauros and Lady Leyda simply officiated them as their champions while Charles, the overall Director of NAIF gave them certain instructions. Tamara wanted to refuse the role, but she had no choice. She had been adventuring for 100 years on Una. 100 years did not mean much to an elf, but for normal adventurers, it was a long time. Her last partner had retired about 20 years ago and she had no partner since then. 100 years of adventuring on Una was unheard of. The maximum an adventurer had spent time as an adventurer on Una before retiring was 52 years. This record had been broken by Tamara. However, she was still not keen on giving up adventuring and becoming a non-adventurer. She had been pressured by NAIF a lot to retire but she had not given in to their demands. And that was why she was one of the champions of Una. Lord Rauros had basically given her two options, become his champion or he would forcefully retire her. She had no choice but to accept being the champion. She remembered why she had not given up adventuring even though it had become too easy for her. After 100 years of adventuring, she had reached level 275, the maximum level an adventurer can obtain. It had taken a long time for her, about 74 years. She also had a hoard of wealth such that she could lead a comfortable life of a non-adventurer. But she knew what awaited her after she retired. She did not want that fate and she was waiting for a miracle to help her. Tamara got ready for the day and exited her room. She was currently in a remote village on the landmass Golimath. Dudaamalin was the name of the village. A long name for a small village populating only about 50 dwarves. As she exited the only inn of the village, she equipped herself. Her armor shone in the sun. Her longsword and shield glittered. Legendary armor did have its advantages. Stealth was not one of them though. She was a warrior though. She did not require stealth. She was also confident that considering her maxed out stats, there was no enemy on Una that could defeat her. As she walked through the village, she thought about her dream. It was still crystal clear to her. She had initially been dreaming about a boat on a lake and she was standing on the boat. Then Lord Rauros had appeared on the boat, asked her how she was doing and where she was. Then he told her to form an elite team against the demons. The team would not be more than ten adventurers, including Tamara and she got to choose whomever she wanted. Lord Rauros had given her a month to get the team ready. Then he would send her further aid. Tamara wondered what this aid was. Lord Rauros had not talked about the other champion and that meant that Tamara would not be dealing much with him. Tamara wondered about who she should select as part of her elite team. She had built many good relationships over the years, and she still nurtured new relationships whenever she enjoyed the company of a particular adventurer. Tamara brought her Mechanical Biped out of her inventory and got on it. She started off towards the capital city. She knew someone there. She could ask him to be a part of her team. She grinned as she accelerated. This might be fun after all. *** ¡°Pour me another¡±, said Tanniv Kinner to the bartender. The bartender replied, ¡°I think you have had enough Tanniv. I can see that you are starting to get drunk.¡± Tanniv snorted, his fur vibrating as he did and said, ¡°I am trying to get drunk Keech. Pour me another before my alcohol tolerance takes over and I become sober.¡± Keech, the bartender said, ¡°No Tanniv. You need to be sober for today. Do you remember what day it is?¡± ¡°I am not going today, Keech¡±, said Tanniv. He looked annoyed, ¡°Sanna is not coming today. Nor is Tuanna. Sanna has given me the ultimatum. I have one month to retire. Otherwise, she will not bring Tuanna to visit me.¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Keech said, ¡°That¡¯s rough.¡± Tanniv laughed, ¡°No it¡¯s not rough. It is funny. Do you want to know what is funny, Keech?¡± Keech shook his head and said, ¡°No I do not. Now, if you want to drink your sorrows away, you need to go somewhere else. I am not letting you get drunk here. I care about you.¡± Tanniv did not say anything. He paid the units for the drinks that he had, stood up and exited the establishment. Damn that Keech. Says that he cares about Tanniv. No one cares about Tanniv other than Tanniv. Tanniv started to walk towards his inn deep in thought. He had been selected as one of the champions of Una against the demonic invasion. Lady Leyda was the one who had selected him as her champion. He wondered what he had seen in him other than his level, which was 152 and the number of years he had been an adventurer, which was 10 years. Other than seniority he had nothing to offer against a demonic force. He had no leadership skills. He was not that great of an adventurer. His last partner left him five years ago and after that no one was willing to be his partner. He had a daughter, Tuanna, with her ex-girlfriend, Sanna but she did not like his career as an adventurer and kept his daughter away from him. So, why was he selected as a champion? What did Lady Leyda expect? That he would wave his greatsword and the demons would simply run away from him. Tanniv found that he had arrived at Sanna¡¯s house. He had subconsciously walked over. He groaned. He needed to go somewhere else. He was going to move when the door opened. Sanna¡¯s sight still knocked all the air out of him. Her black matted fur, her piercing eyes and meticulous claws always felt like they pierced his heart. Even after all these years he was not over her. There was a romanticized rumour amongst the Feliur that they mate for life. Tanniv had never believed this rumour till he had met Sanna. After meeting her he had wanted this rumour to be true, but Sanna had left him. Not before she had gotten pregnant with their child. Tuanna exited the house after her mother. She had white skin, just like him with black stripes running down her skin at regular intervals. Tuanna was six today and Tanniv wanted to celebrate her birthday with her; a last one before he went to be Lady Leyda¡¯s champion. Sanna looked at Tanniv and frowned, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Tuanna looked at Tanniv the same moment and shouted, ¡°Daddy!¡± Tanniv grinned and picked Tuanna up. He said, ¡°Happy birthday love. It is good to see you.¡± Then he turned to Sanna and said, ¡°I am sorry. I sort of subconsciously pawed my way here.¡± Sanna shook her head but did not say anything. She let father and daughter have a moment. After some time Sanna spoke, ¡°We are going to The Kid¡¯s Club to celebrate. I have invited Tuanna¡¯s friends. I was going to call you and ask whether you wanted to join us. I hope you do.¡± Tanniv said, ¡°Of course I am coming. I have nothing planned today. It is my princess¡¯ special day after all.¡± ¡°What about my gift daddy?¡± asked Tuanna, bouncing on her paws. Tanniv laughed and took a pendant out of her inventory. It was a chain made out of mithril with a crescent moon in the center. It was enchanted to give the [Blessing of the Moon] to the wearer. It was an expensive gift. He remembered reading about the spell. [Blessing of the Moon] Gives 10 points of natural physical resistance to the caster. Under the light of the full moon, this benefit is doubled. This spell can be cast only on an object. Spell would be active as long as the caster wears the object. Mana cost of 100. Cooldown 1 month. Tuanna said, ¡°It is a beautiful necklace, daddy.¡± ¡°Always wear it, my sharp claws¡±, said Tanniv. As the three of them took a Mechanical Quadruped to the venue, Tanniv was driving, Sanna whispered in his ear so that Tuanna would not hear them, ¡°One of the representatives of NAIF visited me. He told me everything.¡± As he heard Sanna, Tanniv remembered his dream from last night. Lady Leyda had asked him to form an elite team of 10 adventurers. In return, he had asked Lady Leyda to keep Sanna and Tuanna safe. Tanniv said, ¡°I am sorry about this Sanna.¡± Sanna shook her head, ¡°Do not be sorry. I am just glad to hear that you were ready to retire. I am sorry you got dragged into this demonic invasion business. However, if the demons are invading, I would rather have you as the champion. You would do well, even though I am sure you are having self-doubt.¡± Tanniv did not know what to say to this. They reached The Kid¡¯s Club. Sanna had reserved a room for them with an entertainer. Tuanna¡¯s friends soon started to arrive one by one, and the entertainer kept them occupied with various activities. Tanniv looked at Sanna. Even after all this time, she still knew him well. Sanna said, ¡°We are moving to Melancholia soon. Lady Leyda believes that we shall be safer there.¡± Tanniv nodded and said, ¡°That is well. I will try to visit from time to time. Otherwise, I will do a video call.¡± ¡°Tuanna would like that¡±, said Sanna. The rest of the day passed in a blur. Tanniv finally said goodbye to her daughter in the night as she went to her room to sleep. As he was leaving Tanniv asked, ¡°When are you leaving?¡± Sanna said, ¡°In a week.¡± ¡°I will come to say goodbye. I will clear my schedule till then. Spend some more time with Tuanna.¡± Sanna nodded. Tanniv left. As he got his Mechanical Quadruped out of his inventory and started it, he heard Sanna say, ¡°Kick the demon¡¯s gorking arses Tanniv. I believe in you. So does Tuanna.¡± Tanniv grinned. He accelerated through the streets of Opulential. He would fight the demons. For the sake of his daughter, if nothing else. Joining a Faction One week had passed after Kyrie reached rank 1 in adventurer versus adventurer arena. She had become famous after that, and no one dared challenge her. Moreover, many of those who Kyrie challenged over the week, rejected her challenge. She had only two fights after reaching the top; one with the tenth ranked adventurer because he was bored and the second with Cassandra again because Cassandra had fun fighting Kyrie. Marcus was convinced Kyrie and Cassandra were soul mates and had told Kyrie so. That remark had earned him a whack on his shoulder. Marcus could see that Kyrie was starting to get a bit bored and had suggested that she needed to take a decision as to what faction she needed to join and whether they would make their team permanent or not. That led Marcus and Kyrie on the steps of the library of Opulential, bright and early in the morning. They had decided to be permanent teammates and had decided to join The Librarian faction. ¡°And from where do you join the fucking faction of The Librarians¡±, muttered Marcus gesturing at the library, ¡°The fucking library, obviously.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°And what did you expect, Marcus? We are joining The Librarians.¡± Marcus shrugged, ¡°Makes sense. Come on then. Let¡¯s go in.¡± They went into the library to the reception where Marcus declared that they were there to join The Librarians. One of the receptionists led them to the office of the Head Librarian. The head librarian was a gnome named Sylinine Sharpquill. She welcomed Marcus and Kyrie and asked them a bit about themselves and their reasons for joining the faction. She was happy with Marcus¡¯ explanation as Marcus did show passion for research work and an unexplainable desire to get more knowledge. Sylinine was not that happy with Kyrie¡¯s reason because Kyrie felt The Librarian was a good faction to join for her through a method of elimination. However, Sylinine was impressed with Kyrie¡¯s abilities of analyzing her opponents albeit be it her opponents in adventurer versus adventurer. Sylinine explained, ¡°You are both good candidates to join our faction. I must still warn you that in this faction you shall not be getting many quests which are related to fighting. Also, this faction is not as glamorous as other factions, but you would earn good money if you do well, still not as much as you would earn in other factions.¡± Marcus nodded, ¡°We all know all about the faction. We researched all the factions before joining The Librarians.¡± Kyrie nodded along with Marcus. Sylinine smirked and said, ¡°That is true. I would have expected no less.¡± Kyrie spoke, ¡°We also read something. That you are able to take care of your members¡¯ debt to NAIF if they perform a special quest.¡± Sylinine raised one of her eyebrows at that. She said slowly, ¡°It seems that you have done your homework well. What are your debts to NAIF.¡± Kyrie said in a small voice, ¡°We have put it on our application that you gave to us.¡± Sylinine looked at their applications again. When she saw Marcus¡¯ debt she snorted and said, ¡°That is not much.¡± Marcus said, ¡°We are not concerned about my debt. It is Kyrie¡¯s debt which concerns us.¡± Sylinine looked through Kyrie¡¯s application and stopped short at her debt. She stared at it for quite some time. She broke out of her reverie when Marcus cleared his throat. ¡°How?¡± asked Sylinine, ¡°This much amount is not possible. I have never known any adventurer to be this much in debt with NAIF. I mean Marcus¡¯ debt is simple. We can take care of it without even expecting a major quest for him. I mean even if we do not take care of it, he would be able to take care of it in a year. Your debt, Kyrie, is too much.¡± Kyrie explained to Sylinine regarding her weapon, tank top and shorts along with the two spells she had purchased from NAIF. Sylinine stared at Kyrie for some time. Then Sylinine said, ¡°I swear that NAIF is sometimes against the adventurers rather than being for adventurers. We would be able to take care of your debt Kyrie, but it would require a treasure hunt. I don¡¯t think any of you can do a treasure hunt right now. Get your levels in the eighties and then we shall talk.¡± Kyrie seemed to be okay with this. Marcus could see that she was relieved that her debt to NAIF could be paid. It would just require some time and patience and Marcus had a feeling Kyrie would have both. Marcus said, ¡°So are we official members of The Librarians?¡± Sylinine said, ¡°Not yet. We need to process the information you have provided to us. This was your interview, and I would say I would recommend you both as members. You need to come after a week. We shall have proper documentation ready by then. Then, you can officially call yourselves members of The Librarians. Till then wait.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°What do we do till then?¡± Sylinine said, ¡°You wait. One week is not long. Do some minor quests. Your major plotline will update when I give you your task. I will need to plan a faction quest related to you. You will get that once you have joined. So go now. Enjoy your week. Do whatever you want. Once you join, you will be lost deep in work.¡± Marcus and Kyrie thanked Sylinine and left. They had a week to spare. After that, they would be official members of The Librarians. *** Sylinine looked at the elf who she was talking to on the video call. She was not liking what he was saying. Silas said, ¡°Are you on board Sylinine?¡± Sylinine thought for a moment about what Silas wanted her to do. What he wanted The Librarians to do. She was not happy about it, but in the end, it was not just her decision alone. ¡°You ask too much Silas¡±, said Sylinine, ¡°I cannot take this decision alone. I have to talk with other Head Librarians about this. We are a democracy and not a dictatorship.¡± ¡°NAIF is not a dictatorship, and you know it¡±, said a disgruntled Silas. Sylinine gave a short laugh and said, ¡°You keep telling yourself that. I will still need to talk with the other Head Librarians. I shall do that tonight. You shall hear our decision in a few days. Do not call me till then. I will call you.¡± Silas frowned and said, ¡°That is gorking not done Sylinine. I need a date and time when I shall expect your answer. You have a maximum one week before you officially make Marcus a part of your faction. I need your answer before that.¡± Sylinine nodded and said, ¡°Alright. You will get your answer in exactly three days. Same time. Expect either mine or Karl¡¯s call. Goodbye Silas.¡± Sylinine disconnected the call and swirled her chair. She had the habit of doing so when she needed to think hard and fast. Silas was apparently moving up in the world. He seemed to be leading a team which apparently kept a tab on Marcus Blank because he was an anomaly. Gorking NAIF. What was wrong with them? She had met Marcus and had found him to be a pleasant fellow. Then why the gork was NAIF treating him as if he was going to explode at any moment? As Marcus would be joining The Librarian faction, Silas wanted the help of The Librarians in keeping track of him. That meant all the records of faction quests related to Marcus would go to Silas and they could not even tell Marcus. Sylinine did not like that at all. NAIF should not be interfering this much with any factions, anomaly or not. Although Silas had been right. Sylinine had not heard of or read about Una having an anomaly since forever. Charles, the head of NAIF was right to be worried. But did it mean that they should violate Marcus¡¯ privacy. She did not like this. She needed to consult the other Head Librarians about this. Sylinine knew that she could not directly go against NAIF but there would be something The Librarians could do for Marcus which would help him. She sent the message for a meeting to the other Head Librarians. It was going to be a long night. *** The one week passed fast. Marcus and Kyrie did some minor quests to pass the time. Marcus introduced Kyrie to the escort quests and found out that the water nymph enjoyed doing such quests. They also hunted some wild animals who were bothering the hunters in Sosquatch forest. Kyrie did not have many challenges from adventurers. She was still ranked 1 in the level 21 to 30 bracket in the adventurer versus adventurer arena. She did not do any other fights either. Marcus observed that Kyrie enjoyed being ranked 1 more than actually fighting the adventurers. They both had levelled up and had reached level 26. Marcus had put points in agility. He wanted it to reach 20 after which he would focus on leveling up his dexterity, intelligence and vitality. He was satisfied with his wisdom as of now and he would focus on it once he felt that his dexterity and intelligence were high enough to handle complex spells which require more mana. Kyrie was focusing on dexterity and agility. She would invest in vitality soon, but she wanted to get her attack up first. Considering how devastating she was from afar, Marcus understood her leveling up strategy. Marcus and Kyrie had to wait for some time before they were allowed in Sylinine¡¯s office. She was busy with some work. Finally, when they entered, Marcus could see that Sylinine was tired. Sylinine¡¯s desk was cluttered with papers and files. The rest of the room seemed to have been filled with books since the last time Marcus and Kyrie had come. The books were piled up haphazardly and some of them were even half opened or lying face down on the ground. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. There were dark circles surrounding Sylinine¡¯s eyes. It looked as if she had not slept for quite some time. Sylinine gave a weak smile as they entered. She said, ¡°Welcome. I am pleased to announce you are official members of The Librarians. Your application has been accepted as I had predicted. You will get your official documentation and badge from the reception downstairs. Please collect it before you go. Please, sit down. We have some quests to discuss.¡± ¡°Are you alright?¡± Marcus asked as he sat down. Sylinine waved his concerns away. She said, ¡°I am fine. Fine. Just overworked. So, quests. Yes. First we deal with the major quest. Yes. That makes sense. As a part of the major quest, you need to help the Order of the Golden Sun to get rid of any demonic problems in and around Opulential. Go meet with their head here in Opulential, Timothy Candlewick. He would give you the next part of your quest. And that is the major quest done.¡± Marcus saw the update in the quest. Major Quest Demons are stirring around Opulential and the Order of the Golden Sun is the only institution standing between the demons and the total annihilation of Opulential. Help the order in resolving the situation. Marcus frowned and said, ¡°You told us that when we joined The Librarians, the quests would not be as glamorous as other factions. Look at this major quest. I mean it is kind of glamorous.¡± Sylinine scoffed, ¡°It is a major quest you gorking dolt. What did you expect from it? Read up on the demons and spread information about them? I thought you were more intelligent than that.¡± Marcus was surprised at the outburst but did not show it. Some emotion did seem to have passed on his face as Sylinine groaned at the next moment and said, ¡°Sorry. I need to sleep. This work is hampering my mental and emotional faculties.¡± Marcus said, ¡°It is okay. We are going to do the major quest anyways. No other option.¡± Sylinine did not say anything and just nodded. Then she said, ¡°With that out of the way, let us discuss the faction quest.¡± Marcus nodded. Each faction had a series of quests for their members. Each faction ensured cooperation and contribution from their members through the faction quests. Sylinine continued, ¡°Now, we have devised individual faction quests for you. Each member of The Librarians gets their own quest. Marcus. Please take this.¡± Sylinine handed Marcus a golden pen shaped object. When Marcus touched it, a screen appeared in front of him. On this screen Marcus could see was a list of books and last known location or rumours regarding the books. Marcus said, ¡°What is this?¡± Sylinine replied, ¡°Information that will help you with your quest. There are a total of twenty books that you need to find. There are two books on each of the landmass of Una except the central landmass. The central landmass has four books. We do not know where the remaining two books are. Your quest, Marcus Blank, is to go search for all these twenty books across Una and bring them to the nearest library.¡± Marcus looked at the list of the books. Under them, in small fonts was written which location had the latest rumour regarding them. He read the title of the two books for which there were no rumours of location. The Fallacy of the System by Tarim Kuna The Fall of Una and the Rise of Adventurism by Sinol Kushine Both the books had the same notes. No rumoured location available for the book. Contacting the current head director of NAIF would help if he is willing to aid in the search of the books. Marcus examined what the quest said. Faction Quest Collect the books given in the list as you journey across Una. Experience: Cumulative, 1000 experience points added with each book found and submitted to the library. Marcus asked, ¡°Can I read the books before submitting?¡± Sylinine said, ¡°You can read the books any time you want. Anyone can read them. You just need to make sure that you find them and submit them, in good condition. Please take good care of these books.¡± ¡°I understand¡±, said Marcus, ¡°This looks like a fun quest. I have a feeling that they would give me much information about the adventuring system and its history.¡± Sylinine did not say anything. Then she turned to Kyrie, ¡°I have your faction quest too.¡± Marcus interrupted her, ¡°I have one more question. I am sorry. But what does this cumulative experience mean?¡± Sylinine sighed and said, ¡°The first book you discover and submit to the library shall give you 1,000 experience points. The second book shall give you 2,000 experience points. And so on and so forth till the last book, the twentieth book shall give you 20,000 experience points. So through this quest you shall earn a total of 2,10,000 experience points.¡± ¡°Those are a lot of experience points¡±, said Marcus and put the golden note pen type structure in his inventory. It was simply called Digital Note. Sylinine laughed and said, ¡°They may look like a lot right now because you are in your twenties but wait till you get to higher levels. The experience points required to level up at higher levels will make you think how less these experience points are. Now are there any more questions or should I tell Kyrie her faction quest?¡± Marcus shook his head indicating he had no more questions. Sylinine said to Kyrie, ¡°I have heard you are interested in adventurer versus adventurer. I want you to pen down your experience in every town or city you visit where you fight. Leave out no detail, no matter how small it would be. I want to know how you applied, what fights you gambled on, what was your logic in fighting a particular adventurer, how your feelings were before, during and after the match, a blow by blow detail of each of your match and how you were treated after reaching rank 1 in any of the arenas. Leave nothing out. I repeat, leave nothing out. We want to know everything.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°What purpose does this serve?¡± Sylinine said, ¡°None of The Librarians over the years has studied the adventurer versus adventurer part of the game world in detail. We have basic concepts and texts on what has been written by the original creators of the system but we do not have an adventurer''s perspective. We have never had an adventurer who is so invested in adventurer versus adventurer as you are. If you are not interested in writing all this down, then you can visit any library and hire a scribe to do the writing for you. Either would serve our purpose.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°And this experience system is interesting. So the report on a town would earn me 2,000 experience points while that in a city would earn me 5,000 experience points for now. This shall scale up as I level up and shall be adjusted accordingly to my level.¡± Sylinine said, ¡°Was there a question somewhere?¡± ¡°I was simply summarizing it out loud to make sure that I understood this.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± nodded Sylinine, ¡°Makes sense.¡± Kyrie spoke, ¡°I am just curious. Both our quests mention the experience that we receive. None of the quests talk about monetary benefits.¡± Sylinine said, ¡°There is a reason for that. This is your contribution to The Librarians. You don¡¯t get money for this. There will be other quests that we shall give you which would earn you some units. Not these main faction quests though.¡± She must have seen the dejected looks on Marcus and Kyrie¡¯s faces as Sylinine said hurriedly, ¡°We shall also give you tips for certain quests and locations which shall earn you units. Do not worry about units. You shall be well taken care of.¡± Marcus nodded. It would be alright. He was still worried about Kyrie though. Sylinine said, ¡°As a part of joining our faction, you shall also each be given a special gift. Go to the reception. One of the librarians shall take care of everything.¡± Marcus and Kyrie thanked Sylinine and left. They went down to the reception where they were given documents officiating them as the members of The Librarians and a badge. The badge was on a leather square. It was in the shape of books and was silver in colour. Marcus liked it. He put his documents and the badge in his inventory and Kyrie did the same with hers. The receptionist said, ¡°I welcome you officially to The Librarians. The head librarian would have mentioned that you also receive a gift. Come with me. I shall show you yours.¡± The receptionist led them outside the library and to the back of it. There was a small lawn adorned with grass and flowers at the back of the library. The receptionist brought out two thin reed like whistles from his inventory and handed one to each Marcus and Kyrie. The receptionist said, ¡°Blow the whistle.¡± Marcus and Kyrie complied. As soon as they blew into the whistles, two creatures came into existence. Each of the creatures was long, at least 10 feet with their bodies curved. Scales adorned their body and they had short wings. Their faces were long and sharp teeth came out of the top of their mouth like snakes. ¡°Wyrms¡±, gasped Kyrie. The receptionist nodded. ¡°This one¡±, said the receptionist putting a hand on Kyrie¡¯s wyrm, ¡°is a water wyrm.¡± Kyrie¡¯s water wyrm was blue in colour, and their scales rippled as they moved. Kyrie approached it cautiously and extended a hand. The water wyrm sniffed Kyrie¡¯s hand and then extended their head allowing Kyrie to rub it. The receptionist then put a hand on Marcus¡¯ wyrm and said, ¡°This one is a mana wyrm. Pure magic this one.¡± Marcus¡¯ wyrm was silver in colour. Marcus felt that their scales and wings were magnificent along with their eyes which were green in colour. Currently those eyes were considering Marcus with curiosity. Marcus mimicked Kyrie¡¯s movements and the mana wyrm allowed Marcus to rub them too. The receptionist clapped his hands and said, ¡°Good. It seems that the wyrms like you. You can name them. It will be good if you do. They are bonded to you. They shall be your means of transportation for long journeys when you cannot use transportation. We initially considered mechanical bipeds but considering that one of you is a nymph we settled on a more natural mode of transport so that you would be comfortable with it.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Thank you. This is a great gift indeed. I shall name my wyrm¡­ Wait a minute. Is my wyrm a male or a female or something else?¡± The receptionist said, ¡°Wyrms do not have a gender. They are gender fluid. You can name them anything you want.¡± Marcus nodded and said to his mana wyrm, ¡°You are Lara. Do you like it?¡± Lara snuggled closer to Marcus. He could feel their warm breath. The wyrm gave a small cooing type noise. It seemed that they liked the name. It was decided. Lara shall be their name. Kyrie said, ¡°I name you Nalana.¡± Her wyrm liked the name too. Marcus said, ¡°Will they accompany us like this everywhere?¡± The receptionist shook his head. He said, ¡°No, when you want to summon them, blow through the whistle once. When you want to dismiss them, blow through the whistle twice. They normally live in a magical enclosure where they will go once you dismiss them. However, if you want to be using them as your mounts, spend some time with them on a regular basis. They have feelings too. They may ignore you if you do not spend sufficient time with them.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°That is not a problem.¡± The receptionist then left Marcus and Kyrie with their wyrms. Marcus and Kyrie had a one sided conversation with their wyrms. Then they dismissed them and put the whistle in their inventory. Kyrie said, ¡°So, what now?¡± Marcus said, ¡°Let¡¯s relax for today. Tomorrow we go and meet Timothy. Get a start on the next phase of the major quest.¡± Kyrie agreed with Marcus. They started to walk towards their inn. They had finally joined a faction. Now, they would together take on the major quest. *** Silas was angry. The Librarians had refused to give him updates on Marcus Blank. He did not like it. He wondered whether he should escalate to Charles but thought of letting it go. He was already doing a good job tracking Marcus. Updates from The Librarians would have helped but he would make do without them. He had lost track of Marcus after his failed teleportation. Tracking his utility belt had helped and soon he found Marcus embroiled in demonic problems of the nymphs. Silas had been surprised at Marcus¡¯ ability and how he and Kyrie had dealt with the demons of the Sosquatch forest. Silas had then tracked Marcus to Opulential and had found out that he spent most of his time researching or doing minor quests. Today, Marcus had finally joined a faction and was progressing with his quest. Silas looked at the file in front of him. Till now it was a dull read. Marcus had not done anything that can be considered detrimental to NAIF or the game world. Silas wondered whether keeping continuous tabs on Marcus would actually benefit them in the long run or was it simply a waste of resources? Silas sighed and stood up. He needed to get ready for his meeting in an hour. He had to give his update to Charles who would not be happy about The Librarian¡¯s decision. Silas rubbed his eyes as he walked. He hoped what he was doing was right and that it would help the game world. He yawned. It was going to be a long meeting. Demon Sightings Marcus and Kyrie walked to the church of the Order of the Sun after breakfast the next morning. The secretary led them into Timothy¡¯s office after making them wait for some time. Timothy said, ¡°Good morning adventurers. What brings you here this time? Slay more demon lords?¡± And he laughed as he had told a joke. Then he stopped, looked at Marcus and Kyrie and said seriously, ¡°You have not slayed another demon lord, have you?¡± Marcus said, ¡°No, we are here as a part of our quest. We have joined The Librarians faction and the Head Librarian Sylinine has asked us to help you in dealing with the demon situation in Opulential.¡± Timothy said, ¡°There is no demon situation in Opulential. At least, there is none till now. There have been some demon sightings, but they were outside of the Opulential and have been taken care of. I already have my knights and other adventurers scouring the region in and around Opulential for anything even slightly related to demonic activity. I know what happened in Solaris. I do not want the same to repeat in Opulential and I am doing all I can think to ensure that. The Order of the Sun does have things under control for now. Why does Sylinine think we need your help?¡± Marcus shrugged and said, ¡°Maybe she felt that you needed more adventurers. Or maybe she sent us to you because we played a part in defeating two demon lords. Maybe she thought our experience would help.¡± Timothy raised his eyebrows, ¡°Two demon lords? Which demon lord did you aid in defeating other than the one in Sosquatch forest?¡± Marcus said, ¡°We were in Solaris.¡± ¡°Ah!¡±, nodded Timothy, ¡°That explains a bit.¡± Timothy stood up and paced for a bit, lost in his thoughts. Marcus and Kyrie waited for him to say something. There was no sound in Timothy¡¯s office for some time other than Timothy¡¯s shoes clunking on the ground. Timothy finally said, ¡°I have an idea where we could use your help. We have set up a temporary camp just outside of Opulential, a few hundred meters away from the Northern Gate. Go talk with Captain Harraam Labuish. He is an analyst and a good one. You can help him understand demon activity and what the demons are actually planning for Opulential. Report to him. He will report your progress to me. Dismissed.¡± Marcus and Kyrie were a bit surprised at the dismissal, but they stood up. They exited the building and Marcus looked at the map. Kyrie did the same. Marcus saw where they had to go. Kyrie said, ¡°It is a long walk. Shall we use our wyrms?¡± Marcus grinned and said, ¡°You are itching to ride them, aren¡¯t you?¡± Kyrie grinned back, ¡°Was it that obvious.¡± Marcus nodded and summoned his wyrm. Lara appeared before him and stretched. Marcus assumed they were stretching as they became straight and seemed to pull themselves at both ends. Marcus examined his mount. Lara Mana Wyrm, Level 1 Health 100 / 100 It seemed that natural mounts had a level up system too. Marcus did not think he would be able to manage Lara¡¯s progression as they level up. It would be done by them only. Marcus hoped Lara would be able to handle that on their own. Marcus wondered where he would climb on Lara. There was no saddle on Lara and no bridle. Marcus was confused. Was he supposed to buy them? Lara arced their back and Marcus saw a small place where he could sit near the wings. He hopped on Lara and put his hands on her back. He was surprisingly comfortable. Lara expanded her wings and launched into the air. Marcus gave out a whoop of joy as air rushed around him. Beside him, he heard Kyrie¡¯s cry of joy too. Soon they were soaring over Opulential. Marcus had gripped Lara hard but realized he did not need it. There was some form of magic which held him in place. He opened his map and instructed Lara where to go. Lara shot forwards and Marcus was not pulled back due to extreme acceleration. Magic had to be in play. They reached the temporary campsite in a few minutes. The ride felt short to Marcus. They landed making the nearby soldiers gasp and walk back from the wyrms. It seemed that Lara did not want to go back just yet and so Marcus told them to fly for some time. He would summon them with the whistle. Lara took off and with them Nalana also flew. Marcus said to a nearby soldier, ¡°We are here to meet with Captain Labuish. We were sent by Commander Candlewick.¡± The soldier led Marcus and Kyrie to a nearby large tent. They ducked under the flab to find a trapdoor in the ground. The soldier gestured at the trapdoor and Marcus and Kyrie looked at each other. Marcus then simply shrugged and opened the trapdoor. A ladder led them underground. There was a small passage at the end of the ladder which led to a door. Marcus opened the door to an underground cavern-like place. The cavern was huge, and many soldiers and holy knights roamed around. Tables, chairs, bedrolls and various other equipment was scattered around the cavern. Screens popped out at various tables with maps of Opulential and other places Marcus had not heard of. Everyone seemed to be busy with something. There was a stream flowing through the cavern. Marcus marveled at this place and wondered how it came to be. Marcus and Kyrie followed the soldier to a large war table at one of the ends of the cavern. The war table had to be reached by crossing a wooden bridge across the stream. A group of holy knights were present at the war table. Marcus examined them and found Captain Labuish immediately. Harraam Labuish Orc, Level 50 Health 500 / 500 Marcus cleared his throat and the attention of all the holy knights was on him. Marcus said, ¡°Captain Labuish. Commander Candlewick sent us to help you with analytical work regarding demons. My name is Marcus Blank and my teammate here is Kyrie Shiningstar. It is an honour to meet you.¡± Harraam Labuish looked at Marcus and Kyrie for some time. Then he said, ¡°Welcome adventurers. If you come recommended by Commander Candlewick, then you must truly be something. However, do you not wish to go and hunt some demons? This, here is boring analytical work. An adventurer would get bored with it.¡± Marcus tilted his head and said, ¡°Do you or do you not want adventurers to do analytical work?¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Harraam said, ¡°I do but would you not prefer to hunt demons rather than find out where they are popping out of and why?¡± Marcus said, ¡°Is this what all adventurers you have dealt with do? Just rush in without any preparation and not understand why they are doing it.¡± ¡°They are doing it for the units.¡± ¡°Makes sense. But if you understand the why, then it usually solves most of your problems.¡± Harraam beckoned Marcus and Kyrie forwards and gestured at the war table. A large digital map of Opulential and its surrounding area was displayed. Digital notes and pins were scattered across it. Harraam explained, ¡°The pins are confirmed sightings of demons. Do not worry. Adventurers dispatched them off. The notes explain the nature of demons and what exactly they were doing there. Till now we have been trying to make sense as to why demons are popping out of these locations and how they are doing it. We are following up on every rumour but not all are true. Adventurers are helping the holy knights deal with the demons, but we are not close to understanding what is happening. We know about the seals from what happened in Solaris, but we did not find any seals in our region. It would help if you could give me some insight.¡± Marcus looked at the map. Then he looked at Harraam and said, ¡°Can you send all the information that you have gathered to me. I would like to read it.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°I shall go and talk with nymphs. Maybe they would help.¡± Marcus nodded and Kyrie went into the stream. She took off her clothes drawing the attention of everyone present in the cavern. She slipped into the stream and swam away. The others went back to what they were doing when she went away. Marcus simply shook his head as Harraam handed him another pen-like object. It was another digital note. It was well organized with dates and information regarding the demon sighting. Marcus got comfortable and started to read. Marcus and Kyrie soon settled into the cavern. Marcus read on what all information had been gathered till date. Kyrie helped him a bit but mostly went outside to talk with other nymphs to get their perspective on the demons and their behaviour. She did not get much but she was not deterred and continued her efforts. They even went on a couple of the places with the holy knights where demons had been sighted. One of their sightings turned out to be fake while in the second location they killed 10 demons who had gathered there. Marcus¡¯ new spells helped him a lot. Days passed and Marcus was no closer in finding out patterns in the demon activity. Kyrie had started to go off more and more along with holy knights and other adventurers for verification of demon activity and to kill any and all demons if they were present. Marcus got a bunk bed with the other soldiers as he was spending all his time in the cavern. Kyrie told Marcus that she had found a nook in the stream where she felt comfortable, and she went to sleep there at night. Marcus learned a lot about the demons from Harraam and the rest of the holy knights of the Order of the Sun. He also learned a lot about the history of the Order. The Order had been extremely active during the last demon wars. After the wars, the Order had been disbanded but some of the members of the Order had kept it functioning in secret. Since the start of the demonic invasion, the Order had come back into the light and had spread across Una, recruiting new members, giving them holy powers to help them fight against the demons. Marcus felt that all the members of the Order seemed to be working overtime just to take care of demons on Una. Days passed and Marcus had read all the notes. He still had not figured out why the demons were seen in that specific location and how they had gotten there. In Solaris, the demon lord had been summoned through a ritual. The demons in Sosquatch forest had come from somewhere but Marcus did not know where. The destruction of the unidentified object had summoned the demon lord Cthulhim. It seemed that there was no specific way in which demons or demon lords appear. It felt all random to him. Kyrie had not been much help either. Marcus had given Kyrie his summarized notes and even Kyrie had not been able to answer the questions which plagued Marcus. One morning Marcus went to pick Harraam¡¯s brain. Harraam was not in a good mood that morning. It seemed that Timothy had called him last night and chastised him for the lack of progress. The demons were still appearing, and they were still getting killed. But Harraam had not been closer to figuring out why this was happening. Harraam said, ¡°Tell me you have something Marcus.¡± Marcus said, ¡°I have sleep deprivation and I have lost my [Well Rested] bonus for today. I am not happy about it.¡± Harraam groaned and said, ¡°I did not mean that Marcus.¡± ¡°I know¡±, said Marcus, ¡°You know. Let¡¯s do one thing. Put up your map.¡± ¡°We have done that a thousand times already¡±, Harraam said but he did it anyway. Marcus said, ¡°Don¡¯t want any names on it. It is cluttering the map. No notes either.¡± Harraam did as requested. Marcus looked at the now clean map and smiled. He had gotten tired looking at the cluttered map on a daily basis and not understanding what to make of it. The locations where demonic activity was confirmed were still pinned to the map. Marcus was going to ask Harraam to remove those pins when he stopped. Marcus frowned. Could it be that simple? He said, ¡°Harraam, could you also pin all the rumoured locations of demonic activities. You know, the ones where demonic activity was reported but not confirmed.¡± Harraam said, ¡°Why do I feel you are wasting my time?¡± ¡°Just trust me on this and do it.¡± Harraam did as he was told. Marcus frowned as the number of pins increased. Marcus said, ¡°Can you change the shape of the pins?¡± ¡°What do you want them to be?¡± Harraam said with a sigh. Marcus felt that Harraam was simply entertaining Marcus because he had nothing better to do. ¡°Black dots¡±, replied Marcus. Harraam complied. Marcus then said, ¡°Can I somehow draw on this map?¡± Harraam gave him a metal stylus. Marcus started connecting the dots on the map. It took some time but finally he had a shape. Marcus stared at the map. Harraam was gaping at what Marcus had managed to draw. Cthulhim was staring back at Marcus from the map. There were still some dots not connected but the connected dots formed the rough outline of the demon lord Cthulhim. ¡°That¡¯s Cthulhim¡±, said Marcus, ¡°We killed him already. This does not make sense.¡± ¡°What are those dots on its forehead?¡± asked Harraam. Marcus connected them to form a rough circle. Harraam zoomed in on the location inside the circle. Harraam said excitedly, ¡°It¡¯s a village. Salinar. What does this mean?¡± Marcus shrugged. He did not know. Harraam was now a flurry of activity, ¡°I am sending a team of holy knights to this village. Will you and Kyrie go, Marcus?¡± Marcus said, ¡°And what are we supposed to do when we get there?¡± Harraam said, ¡°Ask around about the demons. There has to be some sort of truth behind those rumours. Find out whether the village is actually plagued by demons, or it is the hallucination of the villagers. And see if you can make sense regarding why the demonic activity is happening to form the shape of Cthulhim.¡± ¡°And you think we can get answers from this village?¡± ¡°It is a lead. The first we have had in quite some time. I would like to follow up on it, see if it pans out. Will you and Kyrie go along with the holy knights?¡± Marcus looked around for Kyrie who came up to the war table at that moment. Kyrie asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Marcus and Harraam explained to her the situation. Kyrie replied, ¡°Of course we will go.¡± Marcus agreed. Harraam clapped his hands and said, ¡°Excellent. Give me an hour. I shall assemble a team of five holy knights and brief them on the situation. You get ready by that time too.¡± Harraam dismissed Marcus and Kyrie who sat on one of the benches talking about the development. Marcus said suddenly, ¡°Salinar. Why does this name seem familiar?¡± Then he took out the list of books he was supposed to find for his faction quest. Marcus read out loud, ¡°An Interview with a Demon by Lumina Lightweaver. Why does the title of this book sound like a slow burn fictional novel rather than a book regarding information on demons? Also, the last rumoured location for this book is in and about Salinar. Well, what a coincidence.¡± ¡°It could be a novel. You never know. Also, I think it is lucky that our major quest and faction quest coincide¡±, said Kyrie. Marcus wondered about that. Kyrie could be right after all. Don¡¯t judge a book by its cover. He should follow that. Literally. An hour later they were ready. Harraam wished them luck and Marcus, Kyrie and five holy knights led by Lieutenant Edmund Hayes left the cavern. As they exited the cavern Marcus wondered what secrets did this village Salinar hold. He smiled. Maybe they would find some answers after all. Demon Investigations Marcus, Kyrie and the holy knights reached the village of Salinar in a day. They did not use mounts but walked up to the village. Marcus did not mind but he would have enjoyed it more if he had flown in on Lara. Salinar was located to the Northeast of Opulential, about a hundred kilometers away from the city. The roads to the city were well paved and the group did not face any obstacles along the way. Marcus felt that they made good progress, reaching the village in just a day. They had stopped in for the night. It was now noon and time for lunch when they reached the village. Edmund spoke to Marcus, ¡°The village is in sight. The fellows here want to have lunch in the village only; preserve our rations. Makes sense. What do you say?¡± Marcus looked at Edmund. He was a gnome with level 50. Marcus wondered why non-adventurers had rank and how they gained experience. Marcus dismissed his thought and considered Edmund¡¯s question. Marcus said, ¡°Why are you asking me?¡± Edmund said, ¡°You and Kyrie are not my knights. You are adventurers and we are travelling together. Your opinion matters.¡± Marcus nodded and said, ¡°Well, let¡¯s eat in the village.¡± The company started to walk towards the village. They passed a few farms along the way. There was a road bypassing the village but the company made their way to Salinar. There were no gates, no walls or any other sort of protection for Salinar. The farmhouses did have a fence but Marcus noted that it would provide no resistance against attacking forces. Then Marcus shook his head. This seemed to be a peaceful village. The villagers would hardly have considered that they would be attacked. The buildings of the village were wooden structures. Many villagers stared at the company as they made their way to the only inn of the village. The inn did not even have a name. There was a board in the front labelled inn and that is how the company knew that it was an inn. The company entered. The owner of the establishment was a gnome named Charity Dune and she looked surprised to see adventurers and knights entering her inn. She recovered quickly and said with a smile, ¡°Welcome my dear patrons. How may I help you?¡± Edmund stepped forward and said, ¡°Good afternoon good lady. We are looking for food and lodgings. We are a company of seven requiring err, wait a minute. Kyrie, would you be wanting a separate room?¡± Kyrie shook her head and said, ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. I shall sleep with Marcus. Err, I mean sleep in the same room as him.¡± Kyrie blushed as she said this. Marcus patted her on the back and she blushed more. Edmund coughed and said to Charity, ¡°Three rooms and do you have lunch?¡± Charity said, ¡°250 units per room for the night and 50 units for a plate of lunch. Lunch is herbed rice and chicken gravy. Will you be staying one or more nights?¡± Edmund said, ¡°We shall be taking seven lunches then and for now give us three rooms for the night. We shall tell you if we are required to spend more nights.¡± Edmund paid for him and his holy knights while Marcus paid for him and Kyrie. Edmund would have paid for Marcus and Kyrie but Marcus insisted that he would pay for himself and Kyrie. He somehow felt wrong that Edmund would pay for them. Then the company went for lunch. Marcus found the lunch excellent. The rice was buttery with flavourful herbs and the chicken gravy was slightly spicy. The chicken melted in his mouth and Marcus enjoyed it. Kyrie asked for vegetarian options and Charity got a salad for her. The dining room of the inn had been empty when Marcus and the others had started to eat their food but it had slowly filled up by the time they had finished. Marcus was sure that the people present there were mostly curious about the company. He saw Edmund smile at some people who caught his eye. After lunch Edmund said, ¡°The holy knights and I are going to ask around the village about the demonic activity. We are also going to go back to the sites where the demonic activity had been reported but not found. Will you be accompanying us?¡± Marcus looked at Kyrie who said, ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± Marcus said, ¡°I also want to search for the book while looking for demonic activity. I was thinking of visiting someone in the village who would know about the history of this region. Maybe we should split up? You go with the soldiers and I visit some houses.¡± Kyrie looked at Edmund and said, ¡°Will you be okay with that?¡± Edmund was comfortable with the suggestion. Kyrie and the others stood up and started to ask the present villagers regarding the demonic activity that had been reported. They would soon go out and ask other villagers and Marcus did not join them. He had a different task in mind. Marcus walked up to Charity and asked, ¡°Can you tell me the name of the person who would be knowledgeable about Salinar and the region around it. I would like to know the history and current situation.¡± Charity nodded, ¡°Ah, you would be requiring to meet old Khonos for the history. As for the current situation, ask me. What do you want to know?¡± Marcus said, ¡°Let me talk to old Khonos first. Then I will have a talk with you. Where does he live?¡± Charity replied, ¡°Go out the Eastern side of the village and past a couple of farmhouses. His farmhouse is at the end near the brook. You shall find it easily. He has put a black flag over his house.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°Best you ask him.¡± Marcus thanked Charity and exited the inn. He started off towards Old Khonos¡¯ farmhouse. It seemed that the village had Umaru and Gnome population. He did not see any other species other than them. Marcus, being human, would be a novelty for them and he could see it from the stares he was getting as he walked through the village. As he walked, Marcus looked at the Globalnet regarding Salinar and the region around it. There was not much up-to-date information. However, there had been a major battle in the past during the earlier demon wars. Marcus found that information interesting. Marcus finally reached Old Khonos¡¯ farmhouse. As Charity had said, Khonos had a black flag fluttering in the wind above his house. He saw an old Umaru sitting on a rocking chair in front of the entrance. There were other Umarus working, but Marcus could see that they were in the field behind the farmhouse. A young female Umaru sat nearby, weaving, and occasionally throwing glances at the old Umaru as if checking up on him. A nurse perhaps or a helper of some sort. Marcus approached the gate, a wooden structure about four feet high and called over it, ¡°Is this the house of Old Khonos.¡± He could clearly see it was as he could read the names of both the Umarus. But it was always polite to ask. The female Umaru named Kylinipo Thorne looked up from her weaving as she asked, ¡°Who¡¯s asking?¡± ¡°My name is Marcus Blank. I am an adventurer. I am interested in the history of Salinar. I was told Mr Khonos could help me.¡± Kylinipo looked at Khonos who said, ¡°Come on in then lad. Let¡¯s see what you wanna know.¡± Marcus opened the gate and then closed it behind him. He walked up to Khonos who gestured at a stool in front of him. Marcus sat down with a small smile on his face. Khonos said, ¡°Marcus Blank. A human. It¡¯s been years since I saw a human and it¡¯s been even more years since a human stepped on Salinar soil. What brings you here young adventurer?¡± Kylinipo walked up to Marcus at that moment and then gave him a pitcher of water. Marcus thanked her and took a sip. He kept the pitcher in his hand. Kylinipo sat down in a chair near them. Marcus said, ¡°As I said to Kylinipo here before, I am interested about Salinar, its history. Could you help?¡± ¡°What do you want to know about the history?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s start with how Salinar came to be. I read that it came after the demon wars.¡± Khonos nodded. He started to speak in a low voice, ¡°The demon wars were terrible. A great battle took place here where the adventurers and the Order of the Golden Sun managed to defeat a great evil, a demon of great power at this very location. Well, not this farmhouse but you see where Salinar is built. At that location. After the defeat, bodies of non-adventurers lay strewn around the battlefield. The adventurers who died respawned as adventurers do but there was great loss of non adventurer life. At that point a monk visited this place, burning the bodies of the non-adventurers and giving them their final rights. She was shook by what she saw of the battlefield and she decided to make it her home. ¡®Great sorrow and tragedy plagues this land¡¯ she said, ¡®I want to heal this land. I shall stay till my work here is done.¡¯¡± Khonos coughed and Kylinipo gave him a pitcher of water too. Khonos took a long drag out of the pitcher and sighed. Then he continued with his story. ¡°God knows what the monk did here¡±, said Khonos, ¡°God knows how she healed the land but she set up a hut right where currently our inn is present. Soon, this land was good and fertile and several settlers who were refugees of the demon war came here. They decided to set up over here. Salinar came into existence. The monk lived for a long time. Initially people planned to keep her house as a shrine to her as she was the main reason that the village came to be, but then decided to renovate her house into an inn. She was a hospitable person and an inn seemed like a fitting tribute to her.¡± ¡°What was the name of the monk?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°Lumina Lightweaver¡±, came the reply. Marcus grinned at that and Khonos said, ¡°You have heard the name.¡± Marcus nodded, ¡°I am told that she wrote a book titled An Interview with a Demon. I am told that this book is lost and the last rumoured location of the book is this village. I am tasked with finding and retrieving this book.¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Khonos said, ¡°Yes, Lumina wrote many books while she lived here. The book you named is her most controversial book. In that book she claims that she met a friendly demon and learned a lot about the demon kind from it. The book was not received well and the people burned all of her published copies. It is true that there is a rumour that one copy remains here. But before I tell you more about it, I have to ask, what are you going to do with the book?¡± Marcus said, ¡°Well, read it first of all and then submit it to the Head Librarian of Opulential city.¡± Khonos said, ¡°Are you interested in destroying the book and the knowledge present in its content?¡± Marcus looked shocked, ¡°That would be blasphemy.¡± Khonos laughed at that. He said, ¡°Well boy, it is good to know that you are a preserver of knowledge rather than a destroyer. You should join The Librarian faction.¡± ¡°Already did that.¡± ¡°Good. Good. Then I shall tell you what I know. There are rumours that Lumina hid a copy of her book in this village but no one knows where. We gave up searching for it about two hundred years ago. But we are sure there is a copy present here. Talk with Charity. She runs the inn where Lumina¡¯s house used to be. Perhaps she could be of help.¡± Marcus nodded and thanked Khonos. Then they chatted more about the village and its surrounding region. Kylinipo contributed a bit too. Time passed and the Umarus working in the field came for some rest. Khonos introduced Marcus to his three sons and the other workers of the field. He insisted Marcus stay for some tea and snacks and Marcus agreed. It was evening when Marcus started off towards the inn. When he reached back, he found out that Kyrie and the others had not gotten back yet. He said to Charity, ¡°Can we talk in private somewhere? I want to ask you something.¡± Charity led him to a room behind the reception area. It looked like her quarters. Marcus said, ¡°Thank you. I had an interesting chat with Old Khonos. A lively Umaru. His family is also nice.¡± Charity nodded and said, ¡°Yes. Ask away then. What do you want to know?¡± Marcus told her about his search for Lumina¡¯s book. Charity nodded thoughtfully, a far off look filling her eyes as Marcus explained what all he had learned from Old Khonos. Charity said, ¡°There is a secret passage in the basement but no one has been to open it till yet. We never used force but it could help you if you want to have a look. It could lead to the book but I am rather skeptical about it.¡± ¡°Why are you skeptical?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°It is most likely a prayer room or something considering how Lumina was. We may not know much but we do know the history of our village that has been passed on through generations. Old Khonos is the expert though. However, even if he does not know where the book is, then this is your safest bet.¡± Charity took Marcus to the basement. It was filled with barrels. Wine and ale, Marcus presumed. Charity led Marcus to one of the corners which was not well lit and took a torch from a nearby bracket. ¡°Here¡±, she said, handing Marcus the torch. Marcus shone the torch over where Charity was pointing and he saw a faint rune in the wall. ¡°This is it¡±, said Charity, ¡°We assume there is a secret passageway behind this but we have not been able to open it. We have never used force till now and are not planning to do so. It would be great if you could do the same. I will leave you to your thing then.¡± Marcus thanked her as Charity left. Then he examined the rune again. It looked like an R with the symbol pi passing through it. Even though it was faint, Marcus guessed that it was red in colour. Marcus put his hand on it but nothing happened. Then he sat down and brought up the Globalnet. He wondered how he would search regarding the rune. He brought up whatever information he could find on Lumina Lightweaver and started to read. He did not know how much time had passed before he felt a hand on his shoulder. Marcus looked up to see Kyrie standing over him. He greeted her. Kyrie said, ¡°Charity told me you are down here. What are you doing?¡± Marcus explained everything. Kyrie was lost in thought for some time after that. It was Marcus who broke the silence. ¡°So, how was your day?¡±, he asked. ¡°We asked the villagers regarding the demonic activities and visited the same sites as before. Well, we visited five of the same sites as before. We found no evidence of demonic activity but the sites were humming with energy. Magic had been performed there. That was a discovery made by Edmund. He was pissed that no holy knights had caught on to that before. He passed the message to Harraam and Harraam is going to send groups of holy knights and adventurers to detect magical activity on previously eliminated sites.¡± ¡°How did Edmund think of looking for magical traces?¡± ¡°It was the last test any holy knight had to perform while visiting a location¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°It seemed that some of the holy knights were lax in their duty.¡± ¡°I am sure Harraam would not be pleased with that¡±, remarked Marcus. ¡°No he would be not¡±, agreed Kyrie, ¡°We are going to visit the rest of the sites tomorrow. I think there are ten more sites remaining. Would you be joining us?¡± Marcus shook his head, ¡°No, I shall be busy deciphering the mystery of this rune tomorrow if I am not able to do it by tonight.¡± Kyrie tilted her head and said, ¡°You do know what time it is right?¡± Marcus looked at the time and started. It was 21 o¡¯clock. ¡°I think I should rest for tonight¡±, said Marcus, ¡°Approach this rune problem with a fresh mind in the morning.¡± Kyrie laughed, ¡°Yes you do need your rest. [Well Rested] bonus might help.¡± Marcus stood and they both started climbing the stairs towards their room. He said, ¡°The bonus helps me get more experience, not insight. I doubt it would help.¡± Marcus slept well that night. The next morning he woke up with his [Well Rested] activated. He grinned. Kyrie looked at this grin and said, ¡°You know, your passive skill really makes me jealous.¡± They went down for breakfast. Edmund and other holy knights were already present. Breakfast was fried eggs and buttered toast. Kyrie ate the toast and had some potato wedges. Then they split up again. Kyrie went with Edmund and the other holy knights while Marcus went into the basement. After some time he stood up and decided to seek help from Khonos. Khonos was no help either as he did not know the rune, nor did any other villagers Marcus asked. It was lunchtime and the others had not come back. Marcus was getting frustrated regarding the rune. He texted Harraam through his utility belt for help. Harraam told Marcus that he would consult a linguistic expert and get back to Marcus. Harraam also suggested asking the librarians for help. Marcus also sent the rune to Sylinine. Sylinine was the first to reply. She wrote that the rune was a part of demonic language. It meant ¡®harmless¡¯. Marcus wondered what it meant. After lunch he went down to the basement and muttered ¡®harmless¡¯ in front of the rune. Nothing happened. Then he had an idea. He texted Sylinine regarding the pronunciation of the rune in demonic language. He got an audio file which he played. As soon as he played the audio file, the rune started to glow. Marcus heard a grinding noise and a part of the wall containing the rune shifted back and to the left. A rush of air blew from the passage as if it had been sealed for ages. It seemed that Charity had heard the noise as she came down and gasped. ¡°You opened it¡±, said Charity in surprise. Marcus grinned at her. He said, ¡°Wanna come with me?¡± Charity shook her head, ¡°I am alright here. You go on and see what is there. Do share though as to what you find.¡± Marcus took a torch from one of the walls and entered the passage that had opened. It was a narrow passageway and Marcus had to walk at an angle. The passage ended at a wooden door which Marcus pushed to see steps leading downstairs. Marcus took the steps downstairs. At the end of the stairs was a small room, maybe eight feet by eight feet and about ten feet high. There was no door. The steps just ended at this room. The room was empty except for a chest in the center. A faint glow surrounded the chest. As Marcus approached the chest, letters, words, sentences formed in front of his eyes. Behold strangers. This chest holds the greatest treasure of Lumina Lightweaver. Only the pure of heart and mind can claim it. The rest shall perish. Yeah, thought Marcus, Fucking ominous message for a fucking booby trapped chest. Marcus wondered what the message meant by pure of heart and mind. He looked around the room waving his torch at every nook and corner. There were no other clues. The chest simply stood in the middle of the room as if daring Marcus to come open it. Marcus walked up to the chest and examined it. The chest looked as if it was made up of wood but Marcus was sure that the material used was not wood but something that looks like wood. The chest was plain looking and brown in colour. There were no decorations, no drawings or anything on the chest except for a keyhole. Marcus could find no key though. He wondered what to do. Marcus sat down and accessed the Globalnet. However, the message was not a riddle and he did not know how the Globalnet could help him. Searching for the pure of heart and mind yielded many results and the majority of them were linked to different quests. Marcus did not know whether the conditions of other quests would work here. Marcus muttered, ¡°Let¡¯s just fucking try to open it. What¡¯s the worst that could happen? I would die. And then I would resurrect at the resurrection stone. Better message Kyrie though.¡± He messaged Kyrie what he was going to do. There was no reply for a few minutes. Marcus just shrugged and bent down. He put the torch beside the chest and touched it. The faint glow around the chest increased in intensity. Light shone all around the chest, blinding Marcus. Then the light stopped. Marcus heard a click. Marcus slowly pushed open the lid of the chest. Nothing happened to him. He looked in the chest to find a bundle of cloth and a piece of parchment in it. He took the parchment and opened it first. It was a letter. Ye who is pure of heart and mind, I leave to you my greatest treasure. My book, whose copies were burned down by the order, is one of the things that I am truly proud of in my life. I am placing my trust in you that you shall preserve this book and not destroy it. Share the knowledge with the world if the world is ready for it. I hope you fare better than I did. Lumina Lightweaver Marcus put the letter in his inventory and picked up the bundle of cloth. He felt something in the bundle. He opened the bundle to find a book. An Interview with a Demon. Marcus grinned. He had found the book. He wrapped the book in the bundle and put it in his inventory. Marcus stood up, picked his torch and started back in the passageway. When he reached the basement, the passage sealed shut behind him. Charity was waiting for him. So was Kyrie. ¡°What happened? Are you alright? Are you cursed? Did you find anything?¡± asked Kyrie rapidly. Marcus could see the worry on her face. Marcus laughed and said, ¡°Calm down. Let me explain everything. But first, I would like something to drink. I am thirsty.¡± Marcus, Kyrie and Charity went to the dining room. Charity gave Marcus some juice after Marcus refused ale. Marcus explained everything. After he was finished Kyrie said, ¡°So, you found the book.¡± ¡°Yes I did¡±, said Marcus. ¡°Will you be going to Opulential to give it to the Head Librarian then?¡± ¡°Not yet. I am going to fucking read it first.¡± Kyrie nodded as if she had already been expecting the answer. Charity said, ¡°Can you teach me the word to open the passage? I shall look into it. Let¡¯s see if I can turn this into an opportunity for tourist visits or something.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Get someone to check it for further magical traps. I am sure the room would be safe now as I have taken the book but it pays to be safe.¡± Charity snorted, ¡°I am not a fool.¡± She stood and left Marcus and Kyrie alone after Marcus had taught her how to open the passage. Marcus said, ¡°So, how go the site visits?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°There are magical traces at each site. Edmund¡¯s mood keeps on getting more and more sour as he keeps on visiting each site. I came as soon as I got your message. I know I could not have helped much but I was not helping Edmund and his knights either.¡± Marcus nodded and said, ¡°What will you do now?¡± ¡°Go back to them¡±, replied Kyrie, ¡°And I presume you are going to our room to read the book.¡± Marcus nodded. Kyrie laughed and left. Marcus went up to their room and got comfortable on the bed. Then he opened the book and started to read. The book was an interesting read. It contained information regarding the demons, their culture, how they lived, where they came from and how they were enslaved by the Game Masters. The most interesting part of the book was the way it was written. Lumina claimed that she had met a demon and had interacted with it. The book was in the form of a transcript of that interview with Lumina¡¯s notes, thoughts and summary written in between the question answers. Marcus understood why some may consider this book a blasphemy and would like to burn it. This might be the last surviving copy of the book. Kyrie opened the door and Marcus jumped. Kyrie said, ¡°Come on. It¡¯s time for dinner. You can¡¯t remain holed up here forever no matter how interesting the book is. Come downstairs.¡± Marcus followed Kyrie wondering what to do next. He should return this book immediately to Sylinine. However, he had found a passage in the book which described where Lumina had found the demon she had interviewed. As he ate the delicious roasted meat, which was spiced perfectly, Marcus made up his mind. He would need to talk to Kyrie though. They were going in search of a fucking demon. An Interview with a Demon The next morning Edmund and the holy knights started their journey back to Opulential. ¡°What are you two going to do now?¡± asked Edmund. Marcus replied, ¡°Give us a day. I need to verify something today. We shall come tomorrow.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t take long. I believe you are still to help Harraam figure out why there is a join the dots picture of Cthulhim on his map.¡± Marcus laughed at that. After they had left, Marcus explained to Kyrie what he had planned to do. Kyrie said, ¡°And do you know the location where Lumine found this demon?¡± Marcus said, ¡°It is Lumina. And yes, Lumina describes the landmarks in the book. We just have to find them.¡± ¡°No direct spot on the map?¡± ¡°This is not even a quest or a part of a quest. There are no markers on the map.¡± They decided to talk with Charity regarding the landmarks. Lumina had described that she had found the demon in a small cave which was about twenty kilometers from where she lived. The cave was to the North of her house, where the land sloped downwards. There, amongst some outcroppings of rocks, was an opening which led to a cave. According to Lumina, the demon lived there. Charity marked the location on Marcus and Kyrie¡¯s map when she heard the description of the rock. She knew the location. As Marcus and Kyrie flew towards the location on their wyrms Kyrie asked, ¡°Do you think the demon is still there?¡± Marcus replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. But it is worth finding out. Maybe we would get lucky and make sense of this mystery regarding Cthulhim.¡± They flew in silence after that. Marcus stroked the scales on Lara¡¯s back and they seemed to like it. Soon Marcus and Kyrie reached the spot on the map. The land did seem to slope and was filled with rocks and pebbles. There were some rock outcroppings as Lumina had described in her book. Marcus and Kyrie walked up to the outcroppings leaving Lara and Nalana to fly free. They did not want to dismiss their wyrms just yet. They could not see any openings. They searched for quite some time. Then Marcus had an idea. He said out loud, ¡°Harmless¡±, in demonic language. A part of the rocky outcropping vanished, and, in its place, Marcus saw an entrance to a cave. It was a small entrance, barely able to fit two at a time but it was an entrance, nevertheless. Marcus and Kyrie entered the cavern. There was no light. They pulled out torches from their inventory. These were not traditional torches which burned. These were magic torches. An orb was fitted on a thick wooden stick and this orb glowed with light when brought out of the inventory. The cave split into three passages a short distance after the entrance. Kyrie looked at Marcus and said, ¡°Did the book say anything about this?¡± Marcus was frowning at the passages in front of him. He said, ¡°The book only said that Lumina found the demon who talked with her in the cave. There was nothing regarding Lumina wandering around in the cave or passages for that matter.¡± ¡°Could these passages be recently dug?¡± Kyrie looked thoughtful. ¡°Depends on your definition of recent. They look old.¡± ¡°And you are an expert on digging passages?¡± ¡°No but I do fucking know that they do not look recent.¡± Kyrie raised her hands palm facing outwards and said, ¡°No need to get angry. What should we do? Split up?¡± Marcus shook his head. He was not angry but mildly irritated. He said, ¡°No. That is always a bad idea. Let us check each of these passages one by one. Together. See if we can find anything.¡± Kyrie pointed to the left passage with her torch, ¡°We start from left to right.¡± ¡°You read my mind.¡± They took the leftmost passage. They walked slowly checking for traps. The passage was not long but the pace at which they were walking made them reach the end of the passage in about an hour. It was a dead end. They encountered no traps along the passage. They went back and took the middle passage. They did not let their guard down. The middle passage was shorter than the left one. There was a cave-in just a short distance into the passage with no way forward. The right passage was also a dead end. They walked for more than two hours in the right passage before reaching the dead end. They came back to the area where the entrance to all three passages were present. ¡°What now?¡± asked Kyrie. Marcus said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. And I don¡¯t think Lumina¡¯s book can help us.¡± ¡°What about saying ¡®harmless¡¯ again in demonic language¡±, suggested Kyrie. Marcus did so. As he did, he felt a shift in the air. He could see Kyrie felt it too. They turned to their right. A passage had opened there. ¡°Well¡±, said Marcus, ¡°One word. Many passages.¡± They went through the newly opened passage. It twisted and turned many times making it difficult for Marcus and Kyrie to see the way ahead. They slowly made their way through the passage making sure they did not run into traps even though the pass code for opening the passageway was ¡®harmless¡¯. They walked for about ten minutes before the passage opened into a huge cavern. The cavern was huge but choked with stalactites and stalagmites. Light seemed to come from some holes in the ceiling. There was also a faint light that seemed to be burning in the center of the cavern but Marcus could not see it due to the large stalagmites. Marcus and Kyrie carefully made their way across the cavern to reach the center. As they approached the center, they slowly peered around a stalagmite to see what was there. There was a platform on which a dome shaped bubble seemed to have formed. In this buble was a chest, a shelf of books, a working table, a bed and a chair. In the chair, sitting with their backs to Marcus and Kyrie was a demon. Marbas the Knowledgeable Demon Lord, Level 275 Health 10,00,000 / 10,00,000 Marcus gulped and shrank behind the stalagmite. Kyrie had a look of fear on his face. A demon lord. And at max level. And what was that insane health bar? Marcus pointed towards the exit and Kyrie nodded. They took a few steps towards the exit when a voice called, ¡°I can hear you, you know. Come into the light. No need to be afraid. I won¡¯t bite.¡± Marcus took out his twinblade while Kyrie took out her bow. They both looked at each other and nodded. With weapons raised they made their way towards Marbas. Marbas was not what Marcus was expecting. The demon lord was humanoid and looked like a feliur except that Marbas was completely red. Marbas¡¯ face resembled a lion who had curved horns protruding out of his forehead. Marbas was wearing a robe which was black in colour with golden patterns and runes weaved across it. It shimmered in a red light which was coming from torches around the dome that burned with red fire. Marbas was sitting, his chair now facing Marcus and Kyrie under the glass like dome and he turned a page with his paws. A red humanoid lion. That was Marcus¡¯ impression of Marbas. Marbas said, ¡°Two little adventurers. Come to play?¡± Marcus said, ¡°I do not know what you mean.¡± Marcus felt very nervous addressing Marbas somehow. He realized he had gripped his twinblade very tightly and loosened his grip. Kyrie had her bow drawn too. She was ready to shoot at any moment. Marbas purred, ¡°Put those weapons away. You will not need them adventurers¡±, he stood up and walked up to the dome edge and knocked on it. It sounded like knocking on glass to Marcus. Marbas continued, ¡°I am harmless underneath this dome. And I cannot escape it either. So, there is nothing I can do to you from inside the dome.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Why does it sound like you know of other ways to harm us?¡± Marbas gave a loud laugh and said, ¡°Perceptive little adventurer.¡± He went back and sat on his chair, putting the book he was reading on the table beside the chair which Marcus felt had somehow shifted. Marbas said, ¡°If I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead considering our level difference. I, however, am not a violent demon by nature. I enjoy conversations more than fighting unlike a majority of my brethren. Please, put those weapons away. Let us talk. I have not had any adventurers come visit me in my lovely cave since ages.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Marcus and Kyrie lowered their weapons but did not put them away. They still did not trust Marbas completely to put them back in the inventory. Marbas seemed to be satisfied with their response as he said, ¡°Well then adventurers, what brings you here? Normally, adventurers come to me when they require particular assistance as a part of their quest. However, your levels are too low to get any quests which would require my assistance. So, I ask you again, what brings you here?¡± Marcus said, ¡°Well, we heard that there might be a demon here. A demon who was friendly to the adventurers. But we were not sure. So, we came to check it out.¡± Kyrie whispered to Marcus, ¡°Are you going to tell this demon lord everything?¡± Marcus whispered back, ¡°I am just going to give him basic information.¡± Marbas said, ¡°Do you know adventurers, that demons can¡¯t lie. They can also detect lies.¡± Marcus said, ¡°I read about it.¡± Marbas tilted his head, ¡°I wonder where you read about it. Nevertheless, I say this because I can tell if you are lying to me.¡± Marcus nodded, ¡°Not all demons can detect lies though. You are a demon lord and that too at quite a high level. It would make sense if you would be able to detect lies. Can you do so though? Can you tell if someone is lying?¡± Marbas laughed again. He said, ¡°Oh, I like you. You have read much about demons. And your knowledge is well detailed as if it had come right from a demon.¡± Marcus did not say anything. He did not want to reveal too much till he could establish a base level of trust with Marbas. Marbas said, ¡°So Lumina has been busy, has she not?¡± Marcus and Kyrie started at that name. Marbas said, ¡°Did she send you here? Judging by your reactions you know about Lumina. That means you went to her for some help and she would have sent you here, wouldn¡¯t she?¡± Marcus and Kyrie looked at each other. Kyrie shrugged and gestured to Marcus to go ahead. Tell Marbas about Lumina. Marcus sighed and said, ¡°Lumina Lightweaver has been dead for a few centuries now.¡± Marbas was deathly silent for some time. He did not move or speak. He had a far away look in his eyes. Marcus wondered whether he had broken the demon. Marbas finally said, his voice laced with emotion that Marcus could not place, ¡°If Lumina is dead, how did you know about me?¡± Marcus explained regarding Lumina¡¯s book. Marbas said, ¡°Can I have a look at the book?¡± Marcus said, ¡°I apologize. I need to submit it to the Head Librarian of Opulential city. I cannot hand it to you. It is the last copy after all and I don¡¯t trust you as much as to simply hand you over a precious object.¡± Marbas nodded and said, ¡°Makes sense. Alright then Marcus Blank. Kyrie Shiningstar. Tell me what do you want then?¡± Marcus said, ¡°As I said, we wanted to actually confirm whether there is a friendly demon as to what Lumina had described. I actually did not think of what to do when we found you. I mean I had some general questions. Will you be willing to answer them?¡± Kyrie also added, ¡°I had some questions too about demons. I am not sure whether you shall answer them or not.¡± Marbas said, ¡°I told you right, that adventurers seek me when they need help in their quests. I mean there are certain quests devised in such a way that the adventurers need to come and talk with me. However, it has been quite some time since any adventurer has come. Makes me wonder whether those quests have been scrapped. Moving on. I help adventurers. That is my role. And till the time I am imprisoned in this dome, I will be helping adventurers. My help comes at a cost though. Based on the information required, I declare my cost. So, tell me exactly what you want to know. Then I shall tell you my cost.¡± Marcus said, ¡°I want to know about the history of demons. How they came to be on Una. Where were they before Una and what did they do? The culture of the demons. Their daily lives. Were they inherently so violent or did shifting to Una change them.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°I want to know more about fighting demons. Good strategies. Their strengths and weaknesses. How can we effectively detect where a demon lord is being summoned? The number of demon lords. Their levels and what can be done to stop demon wars.¡± Marbas thought for a moment and then frowned. He said, ¡°Both of you are asking for interesting information. Though that information is not much to ask for. Do you not have this on your Globalnet?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°It is good to have information from the primary source.¡± Marcus said, ¡°I read a bit about your culture from Lumina¡¯s book but it was very basic. I had some further questions.¡± Marbas nodded. He said, ¡°Very well. I shall answer your questions. However, my price for that would be similarly interesting. I would have a private conversation with each of you. And I will answer your questions individually. You must answer mine honestly. Is the price okay for you?¡± Marcus looked at Kyrie who nodded. Then Marcus said, ¡°We agree.¡± Marbas clapped his paws together. They did not make much sound. He said, ¡°Excellent. We have entered into a verbal agreement. It would do you no good to break this agreement. Now, who would like to go first?¡± Marcus said, ¡°Ladies first, I guess.¡± Kyrie frowned, ¡°Why?¡± Marcus said, ¡°Oh, just go first. It is alright.¡± Marbas said, ¡°If Kyrie is going first, then Marcus, please wait at the entrance to this cavern. The sound shall not carry there unless one of us shouts.¡± Marcus complied. He sat down on a stalagmite which felt like a stool. He had to wait for about an hour before he saw Kyrie walk towards him. She appeared to be deep in thought. When Kyrie came near him Marcus said, ¡°So, learned anything new?¡± Kyrie came out of her reverie. She said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Much of the information I already knew. But the way he said it. I can¡¯t really place it. He did not give me certain information as he was not updated about it like the number of demon lords, but he did give me a lot to think about. Your turn.¡± Marcus said, ¡°What did he ask you?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Just some details about my world and what all has been happening on Una.¡± Kyrie stood near Marcus and Marcus then started to make his way towards Marbas. Marbas was still sitting on his chair. Marbas said as Marcus reached the dome, ¡°Ah, Marcus Blank. Shall we proceed then. The history of the demons first. Demons are not of this planet. If you have read Lumina¡¯s planet, you would know this. We came from a planet called Daemondi. Charming little planet. Full of warring demons. Demons are not violent by nature but we do like a good tumble. And by tumble I mean fighting. I know what humans mean by when they say tumble. It is not that. We are a warring species. Although we do war mostly amongst ourselves. Demons also breed like crazy. So, warring helps keep our population in check. It is literally survival of the strongest on Daemondi. The weak demons die and the strong survive. We lived on Daemondi like this for thousands of years. Then just about slightly more than five hundred years ago, we were visited by an Order. They called themselves the Game Masters. They had a meeting with the leaders of our planet. They invited the demons to be a part of something bigger. They wanted to help us and in return a Game Master would rule the planet. Now, we demons are a proud lot. We may fight each other for dominion but none of us likes to be under the thumb of anyone. The Game Masters¡¯ proposition did not fit well with any of the leaders of Daemondi. So, we did the best thing we knew of. We attacked the Game Masters. Now, let me tell you something. When you have the option of fighting a Game Master, don¡¯t. Just run away and hope that they decide to spare you. They are literal power houses. They obliterated the demon leaders as if they were nothing. These were the strongest demons of the world and they died,¡± Marbas snapped his fingers, ¡°Just like that.¡± Marbas paused and Marcus realized he was somehow holding his breath. He let it out and said, ¡°What happened then?¡± ¡°Then¡±, said Marbas, ¡°The Game Masters enslaved us. Initially, they wanted to set up a game world like Una on Daemondi. But they decided to punish us. The demons of our world were divided and we were set up as villains of different worlds.¡± Marcus interrupted, ¡°Hold on a second. Different worlds?¡± Marbas said, ¡°Now that is a different set of query. I would give you basic information. Una is not the only game world. There are many. We were spread across many of the game worlds.¡± Marcus took some time to process that information. It somehow felt significant to him and at the same time he had a feeling that he should already know it. He wondered why he felt that. Marcus asked, ¡°So what happened to Daemondi?¡± ¡°The Game Masters sucked it dry for its resources¡±, replied Marbas, ¡°After relocating every demon, which they did in an extremely short time, the Game Masters extracted all the resources that they could find from our planet and took them to their home planet.¡± ¡°And their home planet is?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°A separate set of query¡±, replied Marbas. Marcus said, ¡°Now I have questions regarding Game Masters.¡± Marbas laughed and said, ¡°I am sure you do. I am not the best person to answer them. The Game Masters of this world would be good. You can ask them. They would give you answers if they wanted to. I can simply give you information based on my teensy knowledge and experience. However, the cost for that would be different.¡± Marcus thought about it and said, ¡°Very well. I shall not ask about the Game Masters yet. Continue with your um, story. Tell me about your culture.¡± Marbas complied. He talked for an hour more and told Marcus many things about how the demons used to live on Daemondi. Marcus did find the information interesting. When he was finished Marbas said, ¡°Now it is my turn. You need to answer a few of my questions.¡± Marcus nodded. Marbas asked him about the state of Una and what was going on. Marcus told him to the best of his ability about what was going on in the world and about the demon wars. Marbas nodded as if he had already heard the information and was simply confirming it. Marbas then said, ¡°And what about you. Where are you from?¡± Marcus shrugged and said, ¡°And that is a separate set of query.¡± Marbas started to laugh so much that Marcus wondered whether he had made that good a joke. After he was finished laughing Marbas said, ¡°Oh, dear. This is too good. You don¡¯t even know who you are, don¡¯t you? Don¡¯t even know what you are?¡± He emphasized on the word ¡®what¡¯. Marcus felt a tingle run up his spine. Marbas knew about Marcus before he lost his memory. Had they met or Marbas had some information which Marcus did not have. Marcus said slowly, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Marbas said, ¡°I know about you Marcus Blank. The anomaly. I know what you truly are. You are a human, no doubt. But you are also something else. Do you want to know what?¡± Marcus nodded and said, ¡°I assume there would be a price for this information.¡± Marbas said, ¡°Yes there is. And it is a simple price. I want the book. Lumina¡¯s book. The one you were going to return to the library.¡± Marcus thought for a moment and then said, ¡°What about a copy of the book?¡± Marbas said, ¡°No. You can give the copy to the library. I want the book.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Let me see what I can do. I will get back to you on that.¡± Marbas said, ¡°Then your business here is finished. Goodbye Marcus Blank. Meet me if you are ready to give the book to me or if you have any other query. We shall have an interesting discussion. For a price, of course.¡± Marcus nodded and started to walk away from Marbas. Then he thought of something and stopped. He went back up to Marbas and said, ¡°I have one more question.¡± Marbas gestured Marcus to go ahead. Marcus opened his map and shared it with Marbas. The map showed the shape of Cthulhim formed by joining the pins. Marcus said, ¡°Kyrie and I already killed Cthulhim. However, demonic activity or magical activity is being carried out at the marked pin locations. What is happening? We want some answers.¡± Marbas said, ¡°Oh, this one is easy. I shall tell you for free.¡± And Marbas told Marcus what was happening. Marcus froze as he heard the answer. ¡°When?¡± was the only thing he could ask. A wicked grin spread across Marbas¡¯ face. He said, ¡°Tomorrow. Your time has run out. Best of luck Marcus Blank. I hope you survive tomorrow.¡± And Marcus began to run. He shouted for Kyrie. They had to hurry. If what Marbas told Marcus was true, then they did not have much time. If they would not hurry, then Salinar would fall. And after that, Opulential. The Battle for Opulential Leyda felt as if she was missing something. Last night Rauros and her had sent the vision to their champions. A demon lord had raised an army and was planning to attack Florianne, the capital city of landmass Filinile. The Feliur capital was in danger and the champions had two days to stop the demon lord before he attacked the city. Their champions had mobilized. Rauros and Leyda kept track of them. They had already reached Florianne and were working to muster up an army. It seemed they were going to fight a battle with the demon lord and their armies. Leyda looked at who the demon lord was. It was Botis the Reconciler. He was half humanoid and half reptile. Wielding two curved swords he slashed through his enemies. Leyda checked his level for the encounter. He was to be at level 100. A fair encounter. A worthy challenge for their champions. So, what was troubling her? She thought about it. As she thought more and more about the encounter, she realized something. She was not concerned about the battle at Florianne. There was something else. Something she had read but was eluding her at the moment. Leyda put down the file concerning Florianne and looked at the other files. The file for another city caught her eye and she frowned. Opulential. Yes. It was something about Opulential. Then her eyes widened. Leyda picked up her file and started reading. Then she paled. She remembered the Opulential encounter. After Cthulhim¡¯s defeat, another demon lord was supposed to rise near Opulential. This was not a weak demon lord. But she had stopped that encounter. Delayed it, linking it with another encounter as the Cthulhim had been defeated early. She read the file. Fury rose within her. She had made the necessary changes. Rauros had not approved them. Without both their approvals, what Leyda had suggested did not move forward. The encounter with the demon lord and forces of Opulential city was going to go forward. And it was tomorrow. Leyda stood up. Both the champions were busy. She had to do something otherwise there would be major loss of non-adventurer life at Opulential. She was sure that Rauros would not be fazed considering how he was proceeding with the quests, but she did not want non-adventurers to die. Leyda went to Charles. Charles said, ¡°How can I help you, Lady Lightweaver.¡± Leyda explained the situation and Charles paled. He said, ¡°At what level the said demon lord would be summoned near Opulential?¡± Leyda replied, ¡°In the original encounter he was supposed to be at level 150. However, as this encounter is happening earlier than normal, he might be at half the level. 75, but I am not sure. I want to know whether there are any high-level adventurers in Opulential.¡± Charles said, ¡°Give me a few minutes.¡± It felt like the longest few minutes of Leyda¡¯s life. Charles came back after fifteen minutes and handed her a digital note. Leyda read the list of adventurers. Leyda asked, ¡°Are all these adventurers in Opulential right now?¡± Charles shook his head. He said, ¡°There are only five adventurers over level 75 in Opulential right now. The rest have been mobilized. They are moving to Opulential.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Charles took a moment to refer his notes and said, ¡°It seems that the Order of the Sun already knows about the demon lord being summoned. He has already asked all the guilds to get their high-level adventurers to Opulential. A general message has also been passed and the city of Opulential and apparently a village named Salinar are being evacuated.¡± Leyda was surprised at this information. She asked, ¡°How are they so well informed?¡± ¡°They were informed by an adventurer team who were investigating demonic sightings¡±, replied Charles. ¡°Oh, and who was this adventurer team?¡± Charles told Leyda their names and she smiled. She should have known. They would be in Opulential after all and considering their luck, in the thick of things. Charles still looked worried. He said, ¡°I know Opulential is preparing well but will it be okay without the champions. I know they are going to Florianne. Should we split them?¡± Leyda said, ¡°No. Splitting them would have devastating consequences for both Florianne and Opulential. They need to be fighting together to be effective.¡± ¡°So, what do you propose?¡± Leyda thought for some time. Then she said, ¡°We cannot do much about Opulential. Let it move naturally. You know we cannot interfere. We just need to hope that the high-level adventurers should be able to defeat the demon lord.¡± Charles did not say anything. Leyda knew that he wanted to argue further but he would not. Leyda went back to her chambers. She hoped that they would be alright. She hoped Opulential will not fall. *** Kyrie looked at the gathered adventurers. The village of Salinar was evacuated overnight. About 500 meters from the village, the adventurers, the holy knights and the soldiers had set up camp. If what Marcus learned from Marbas was true, then a demon lord would be summoned today. The summoning would take place in Salinar and the demon lord would be summoned with his armies. Marcus and Kyrie had raised the alarm and had hoped they would be helped. The leaders of Opulential had taken action fast. Kyrie could see high level adventurers in their camp. Majority of the Order of the Sun along with Commander Timothy Candlewick was present. The mayor of Opulential had also sent a platoon of soldiers to help. Kyrie hoped that this force would be sufficient. An adventurer named Tithus Linius had taken command of the adventurers. It made sense because he was the most experienced adventurer of all present and was at level 124. With Tithus was his teammate Charian Linius. They were husband and wife gnome adventurers. They were good natured folk and Kyrie could see many adventurers naturally gravitate towards them. Kyrie looked for Marcus who was standing with Tithus. They seemed to be discussing something. Kyrie did not want to disturb them at that time. They would most likely be discussing strategy. They knew the name of the demon lord being summoned. They did not know the number of demons that would be summoned with him, but Kyrie was hoping that it would be a manageable number. A scout was seen suddenly rushing back to their camps. Kyrie could see a red light shining bright at the village Salinar. It had begun. Orders were given to take positions. Kyrie rushed to take her place at the troops that were forming. This was going to be a coordinated attack. This was going to be a battle. The melee adventurers formed the first two rows of their force. Then followed the holy knights. The soldiers were selected to be the rear guard with rows of ranged attackers in the middle. The cavalry was at the side of the force, and they would be flanking the demon army. Kyrie knew their numbers. Their force consisted of 102 adventures, 55 holy knights including the commander, 20 cavalry units and 50 soldiers. They had a total strength of 222 units. They had to be sufficient. The red glow stopped, and the force readied themselves. In the village she could see red forms moving. Growling and snarling could be heard till where their force was standing. And leading the demon force was the demon lord. Kyrie could see that he already towered all of his forces and the forces that were gathered to stop the demons. The demon lord was at least twenty feet tall and looked like Cthulhim. The force consisting of adventurers, holy knights and soldiers advanced. The demons advanced too. Their force moved slowly while the demons charged. As the demon lord neared, Kyrie saw his name and shuddered. He had an aura of power around him unlike any she had ever seen. This was the one who they had to kill. Cthulhu the Devourer Demon Lord, Level 80 Health 100,000 / 100,000 Kyrie shuddered as the demonic army neared them. She readied her bow. It was time. The battle had begun. *** Marcus looked at the twinblade in his hand and then at the charging demons. Then he sighed as they charged too. Battle cries rose from their side as they clashed into the demons. Tithis and Charian clashed right into Cthulhu. They hardly did any damage which was not surprising as they did not have holy weapons or weapons enchanted with holy damage. The plan was simple. Few high-level adventurers would engage the demon lord while the others would wipe off the remaining demonic forces. Then everyone would pitch in to defeat the demon lord as they were sure that the demon lord would take some time to die. The demons were at level 80 too and had quite the health bar. On an average, they had 1,000 points of health. Marcus had a hard time killing them even with his [Enchant Weapon: Holy] spell and had to take help of either the holy knights or adventurers around him. They did give good experience points though. If he survived long in this battle, Marcus was going to level up very fast. Marcus slashed his way through the demons, taking his time and not taking any risks. Arrows and spells flew around him. The high-level adventurers had taken their fight with Cthulhu a little away from the battling forces. Marcus helped kill one of the demons when he was hit with a dark bolt. Marcus turned to see a demon spellcaster targeting him. Marcus dodged another of the spell bolts from the spellcaster and downed a health potion fast. The first attack had taken off about 80 points of his health. One more shot and he would be dead. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Marcus dodged another spell, an attack and downed another potion. He needed to be at full health before he headed towards the spellcaster. Marcus was well aware that the spellcaster could kill him in just two attacks but the spellcaster was targeting Marcus and Marcus had to take care of it. The spellcaster already had less health. Marcus dodged more of the spells coming towards him as he ran up to the spellcaster. The spellcaster readied a big spell as Marcus reached close. Marcus was not sure that he would be able to reach the spellcaster in time. Then an arrow hit the spellcaster right in the face for some critical damage. Marcus took this golden opportunity and cast the spell [Whirling Weapon]. The spellcaster was hit multiple times with Marcus¡¯ spinning twinblades. That killed the spellcaster. Marcus was panting. He turned to his left to see where the arrow had come from. He had an inkling as to who would have fired it and grinned when he saw her. Kyrie was standing with a gnome with a crossbow firing in different directions, providing fire support wherever required. Marcus also identified the gnome with the crossbow beside her. It was Zissix Trance. Marcus grinned and he charged into another demon. This was going to take long. *** Kyrie shot another arrow killing another demon. She looked around to see that the number of demon forces had largely reduced. The adventurers, holy knights and soldiers were killing off the stragglers effectively now. Kyrie turned her attention to the demon lord now. Cthulhu had hardly received any damage. The demon lord seemed to have lost about 2,000 points of damage till now. How was that possible? They had been fighting for quite some time. With holy attacks Cthulhu¡¯s health should have been quite less by now. Kyrie remembered what Marbas had told her. Every demon and demon lord was weak to holy and light damage. But some demon lords had some sort of protection which would negate the effect of this holy or light damage. Did Cthulhu have some similar protection? It seemed so as even the high-level adventurers were not able to deal much damage to it. Kyrie said to Zissix who was beside her, ¡°Come Zissix. Let¡¯s go near Cthulhu. Tithus and company needs help.¡± Zissix nodded and they both started to run towards Cthulhu. The high-level adventurers were having a bit of a tough time fighting Cthulhu and it seemed that three of them had already died. The others also seemed to be not holding well. Kyrie observed Cthulhu to determine what can be considered as a weakness. Cthulhu looked a lot like Cthulhim. There were two differences though. While Cthulhim stood at about four feet, Cthulhu was at least 20 feet tall. And Cthulhu had a ruby in the center of his forehead. Kyrie frowned as she looked at the ruby. Could it be so simple? Zissix said, ¡°So, what are we supposed to be doing here Kyrie? I doubt we can do much damage to Cthulhu considering the level we are at.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Do you see the ruby?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you think you can shoot it?¡± Zissix observed Cthulhu fighting the other adventurers and said, ¡°It could be a bit difficult considering how much he is moving but it is possible. Are you going to shoot the ruby too?¡± ¡°Yes¡±, Kyrie said, ¡°Holy and light attacks do not seem to be working. Could it be that Cthulhu¡¯s weakness is that ruby?¡± Kyrie did not want to explain her visit to Marbas and so she kept the explanation simple for now. Zissix snorted and said, ¡°I doubt it would be that obvious. But we could try.¡± Kyrie and Zissix both took aim. Kyrie tracked Cthulhu¡¯s movements waiting for an opportune movement. When she had the opportunity, she fired. She could see Zissix fire a moment later. Kyrie¡¯s arrow hit the ruby in the center while Zissix¡¯s bolt hit the ruby on the side. There was a loud crack, and everybody just stopped. Kyrie checked her notifications. It read that she had caused 100 points of damage to the ruby. It seemed that Zissix had done similar damage. From across the battlefield Cthulhu¡¯s eyes were fixed on Kyrie and Zissix. Then he jumped right towards them. Zissix shouted, ¡°Gork¡± and dove out of the way. Kyrie dodged in another direction. The high-level adventurers realized what had happened and charged after Cthulhu. Cthulhu charged Zissix who was running and dodging Cthulhu¡¯s attacks muttering, ¡°Gork! Gork! Gork! Gork! Gork! Gork!¡± Kyrie cast [Power Shot] and readied it. As soon as she saw the ruby again, she fired. It hit the ruby again, hitting it for 150 points of damage. Cthulhu stopped chasing Zissix and roared. The high-level adventurers took this opportunity to engage him. Kyrie shouted over the din of the battle, ¡°Cthulhu¡¯s weakness is the ruby on his forehead.¡± She also sent a general text to everyone. The message started to pass around the battlefield. Kyrie engaged the demon spellcaster which was attacking her and killed it with the help of a few soldiers. The demons were dead now. It was only Cthulhu who remained alive, and he was now fighting ferally. Everyone focused their attacks on Cthulhu, especially his ruby. It was still tough now that Cthulhu was aware that they were going after him and his ruby. Two more attacks damaged the ruby and Cthulhu jumped back. The others followed him but then he let out a roar of rage which stopped everyone in their tracks. Kyrie noticed that she had a notification which said that she was stunned for 10 seconds. That was not good. Cthulhu was now surrounded with a red glow which seemed to be emanating from his body like vapour. He charged at the nearest adventurers, killing them immediately. Within seconds he was near Kyrie. Kyrie was still going to be stunned for two seconds. Cthulhu raised his clawed hand to strike. Kyrie closed her eyes. The next moment Kyrie heard a voice, ¡°[Whirling Weapon]¡±. She opened her eyes to find Marcus standing directly in front of her with his twinblade spinning fast in front of him. The twinblade did not hurt Cthulhu much but it did drive him back. That was all the time everyone needed. They came out of their stunned condition and attacked Cthulhu. However, Cthulhu had become much stronger. He was killing everyone in just one or two hits and it was getting difficult to stop him. Many of the adventurers managed to damage the ruby on Cthulhu¡¯s forehead but he killed them immediately after that. Kyrie could see that the ruby was now completely cracked. A few more attacks and it would be completely destroyed. However, Cthulhu was making it difficult for them. At that moment Cthulhu managed to kill Charian as she was aiming for the ruby. Enraged, Tithus charged but Cthulhu killed him too. Suddenly they were leaderless, and their numbers had been greatly depleted. Kyrie readied an attack. It was now or never. They had to destroy the ruby or Cthulhu would kill them all. Kyrie activated [Power Shot] and took aim. Cthulhu somehow seemed to sense Kyrie¡¯s intentions. Bloodshot eyes filled with rage fixed on her and Kyrie felt a shudder pass through her. Cthulhu was about twenty meters away from her, but he leapt high and fast towards her. Kyrie knew that she would hit the ruby but not before Cthulhu hit her. She felt the claws pass through her. She let loose her spell. It hit the ruby at point blank range. There was another loud crack. Before she knew what happened next Kyrie blacked out. She died. *** Marcus saw the ruby crack and the large explosion which followed it. However, he was more concerned about his teammate. She died while destroying the ruby. Destroying the ruby dealt 50,000 points of damage to Cthulhu. He was now down to 27,532 points of health. All present now charged Cthulhu, Marcus included. It seemed with the destruction of the ruby he was stunned for some time. The holy and light attacks were now dealing proper damage to Cthulhu. It seemed that the ruby had been providing Cthulhu with some form of protection against the holy and light damage. Cthulhu was stunned for five seconds. They managed to shave off 10,000 points of damage. When Cthulhu came out of his stunned status, he jumped high into the air and roared. He came down with extreme speed and everyone rushed out of his attack¡¯s way. Cthulhu slammed into the ground, cracking it and sending tremors all around. He took this opportunity to attack the adventurers and knights surrounding him, but the others had stabilized themselves fast. The adventurers and the knights were now either dodging well or defending against Cthulhu¡¯s attacks. Marcus could see Cthulhu getting more and more frustrated. Marcus could see that Cthulhu was preparing to roar again. But a mace descended upon his head stopping the attack and hitting him for a critical strike. Marcus grinned as Timothy bashed his skill into Cthulhu and Cthulhu ran away from him into an adventurer who slashed him for another critical attack. Cthulhu was now getting attacked from all sides. An enchanted bolt flew past Marcus and lodged in Cthulhu¡¯s neck. He heard a whoop of joy and saw Zissix readying and firing another enchanted bolt. Marcus grinned. Cthulhu tried to attack and failed. Cthulhu tried to defend and failed. Cthulhu could not do anything as adventurers and holy knights led by Commander Candlewick led the last charge and destroyed him completely. Marcus saw an adventurer deal the last blow to Cthulhu. Cthulhu¡¯s health dropped to zero. He fell down and started to burn. He slowly disintegrated. A hush fell over the battlefield. Then a cheer started and spread across all who were present. Every adventurer, holy knight and soldier was cheering. Marcus realized that he was shouting with joy. They had done it. He had done it. He collapsed on the ground tired. It was over. They had won. *** Kyrie was floating in darkness when she got the notification. Do you want to revive? Yes ?? No Revival cost Level multiplied by 100 units She thought of Yes and the next moment she lay beside the resurrection stone in Opulential. She took a huge gulp of breath and sat up. Vertigo hit her and she lay back again. A face appeared above her. The person said, ¡°Welcome back to the world of living, Kyrie.¡± Kyrie identified the voice. She blinked and waited till everything stopped spinning. The face came into focus. It was Sylinine. Kyrie groaned and got up. Kyrie asked, ¡°What are you doing here, head librarian?¡± ¡°Helping NAIF revive dead adventurers. Considering that Opulential is under attack, we need all hands-on deck¡±, replied Sylinine. Kyrie frowned and asked, ¡°Opulential is under attack?¡± Sylinine nodded, ¡°It seems that Marcus and your information was not complete. We heard from other adventurers that we revived that a demon lord was indeed summoned in Salinar with a demon army. However, it was a small force. A bigger demonic force attacked Opulential from the North. They are not led by a demon lord but an elite demon. Considering that we sent the majority of our forces to Salinar, it has been tough defending the Northern gate and wall. Last I heard, we are still holding strong. The adventurers who died at Salinar and revived here are helping. You go to the Northern wall too. Your archery skills would be useful.¡± Kyrie thanked Sylinine and rushed out of the adventurer¡¯s guild. She summoned her mount, Nalana and flew up to the Northern gate. There she saw a demon army just outside of it. Ranged attackers were raining arrows and spells on demons below them. A small part of the gate had been destroyed and demons were spilling inside but they were held off by the melee fighters present. Kyrie could see that the soldiers were large in numbers, but they were not well equipped to kill demons. Few holy knights and adventurers were there but there were still many demons present. Kyrie estimated about 100 demons still remained. She could also see the elite demon amongst them. ¡°From murky water to even muddier water¡±, muttered Kyrie as she landed Nalana and dismissed her. She started hunting demons who slipped through the gate and tried to go into Opulential. She was joined by a holy knight and together they killed many demons. Kyrie went back to the gate to find that demons had now broken through it. She saw Tithus and Charian engage the elite demon. She helped the others kill demons. She shot arrow after arrow till her arms felt heavy and she could barely see straight. She loosed one last arrow and retreated back for rest. She drank a health potion. She had not lost health, but the potion did refresh her. She joined back into the fray. The adventurers, soldiers and the few holy knights were making progress. The number of demons was reducing. The major blow to the demons came when Charian took the elite demon¡¯s head. The remaining demons were demotivated after that. They ran everywhere. The demons which remained in Opulential were hunted down while the demons who were outside the walls were allowed to run away. A few arrows and spells were shot towards them, but they soon were out of range, and no one pursued them. They would be hunted down later. Few minutes later all the demons were dead. Tithus killed the last one and looked around. Seeing no more demons he raised his sword and gave a cheer of victory. Everyone cheered. Kyrie grinned. It was done. It was over. They had won and Opulential was safe. The Aftermath Tanniv looked at the smoking ruins in front of him. Florianne had been his home city. And now, half of it was crumbled or lay crumbling. He wondered how this had happened. They had been given sufficient time. Tanniv had arrived at Florianne with his team and so had the other champion, Tamara. They had warned the officials of the city regarding the oncoming attack and the city had prepared. Soldiers and holy knights had been mobilized. Tanniv and Tamara formed two groups of adventurers, a group led by each of them. They did not know from where the demon lord and his army would be coming. They did know the number of demons going to attack Florianne. But they were prepared for anything. They had raised an army of over 1,000 units, a combination of normal soldiers, holy knights and adventurers. And it had all gone wrong when the demon lord attacked. Tanniv still remembered the slithering demon lord. Botis the Reconciler Demon Lord, Level 100 Health 120,000 / 120,000 The number of demons also equaled the number of fighting units of Florianne. Then how did they lose so much? The first attack of Botis had destroyed the initial defenses that they had set up. Botis and the demons had destroyed the Eastern wall faster than anticipated and had rushed into Florianne. Tanniv and Tamara had engaged the demon lord with their teams killing off the demons, but it had still been tough. It should not have been tough for Tamara, but it had been. She was initially not doing as much doing to Botis as she was supposed to, even with holy attacks. It was a random adventurer who had pointed out that Botis was being defended by enchanted armor. The enchanted armor gave him high protection against holy and light attacks. It was only after the armor was removed that Tamara and Tanniv had managed to kill Botis fast. However, they were too late. Half of Florianne was lost in the battle. A majority of the citizens had been evacuated but there were still many civilians who had not left on time. The dead were many, not only civilians, but also the soldiers and the holy knights. The weight of their death felt heavy on Tanniv¡¯s soldiers. He wondered what Tamara was doing. He had observed her during the fight. She seemed to be enjoying fighting with Botis. Tanniv believed that she seemed to enjoy fighting in general at the cost of others. She was dangerous but she was also careless. And she was a champion of Una. ¡°We need to do better¡±, said a voice behind Tanniv. Tanniv turned to look and saw Tamara standing behind him. He said, ¡°Yes we do.¡± ¡°Many died today¡±, said Tamara. Tanniv sighed and said, ¡°And many more would have died if we had not stopped Botis and his army.¡± Tamara came and sat down beside Tanniv. She had a bottle in her hand which Tanniv had not noticed earlier. She offered the bottle to Tanniv. Tanniv took a swig and choked. Tanniv said, ¡°Gods. Feliur constitution is strong but what the gork is this swill?¡± Tamara gave a dark humorless laugh. She said, ¡°It is elven rum. Very strong. Other species feel that elves only drink the soft stuff, stuff that has less alcoholic content. However, that is a myth. We can outdrink any other species in this world. And our alcoholic drinks are gorking stronger than alcoholic drinks of any other species. Tanniv handed the bottle back to Tamara and she took a sip. She made a face as she gulped the rum but did not say anything. They sat in silence for quite some time, drinking from the bottle. Tamara finally broke the silence, ¡°I am sorry.¡± Tanniv raised his eyebrows, ¡°For what?¡± Tamara said, ¡°I was careless. When I was selected as champion of Una, I did not understand the responsibility. I thought this would be a fun quest. Hunting demons. Killing demon lords. Exchanging stories with friends over the watered-down ale the inns served. I never expected this.¡± Tamara gesture at the destruction with the bottle spilling some of the drink. Tanniv nodded, ¡°I understood that the task would be challenging. I actually did not want to be the champion, but Lady Lightweaver convinced me. Now, fighting these demons, seeing the destruction, I wonder. Am I the right person for the job?¡± Tamara said, ¡°I became an adventurer to have fun. I did not sign up for this. I mean, am I the best person for this?¡± Silence stretched between them again for some time. They did not have the answer for their questions. The bottle was soon over. They had drunk all the elven rum. Tamara frowned as she inverted the bottle checking whether it was really empty or not. Then she shrugged, tossed it away and got a new bottle from the inventory. She took a swig and offered it to Tanniv. Tanniv refused, ¡°I think I have had enough.¡± Tamara said, ¡°Have it your way.¡± Tamara drank the second bottle and tossed it away too. Tamara said, ¡°What now?¡± She did not seem drunk to Tanniv even though she had drunk such strong rum. Tanniv said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. My major quest shows that I need to report to Commander Love.¡± Tamara snorted, ¡°Commander Tanith Love. Commander of the Order of the Holy Sun for Florianne. You know, I had to read her last name at least three times to make sure I was reading it right.¡± Tanniv gave a short laugh to that. He said, ¡°Some of us Feliur do have some weird last names.¡± Tanniv stood up. He said, ¡°Come on then. Let¡¯s go meet Commander Love.¡± Tamara took Tanniv¡¯s paw which he had offered and stood up. She said in a low voice, ¡°We need to do better. We need to be one step ahead of the demons. And of the game masters. This is war. And there will be loss of life. Loss of non-adventurers. Ideally, I want no loss of life, but I will accept minimal loss of life.¡± Tanniv nodded, ¡°We will think of something. We are the champions of Una and we have experience in adventuring, you more than me. I have my girlfriend and daughter to protect too. We will defeat the demons. We shall save the people of Una.¡± Tamara smiled as she said, ¡°And have some fun while doing it too.¡± Tanniv laughed and agreed. Slowly, the two champions started to make their way towards the commander. As they walked, they talked strategy. Tanniv smiled as he talked more with Tamara. Maybe, she was not so bad after all. *** Leyda read the report on Florianne¡¯s battle. She closed it, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It would not do good to get angry at Rauros. She knew he was under great stress managing the entire demonic invasion. She was supposed to be helping him, but she did not have the heart. Maybe she should help him to ensure that something like Florianne does not happen again. Rauros had a bewildered look on his face. He said, ¡°How the gork did this happen? I mean our champions were there. They had their team. They had an army. They had proper support. How the gork did they lose half of Florianne?¡± Leyda said in a neutral tone, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe they were not ready for such a large encounter. I have a feeling maybe they should have been eased into it. You know. Have them fight a few demon lords with smaller forces and then progress to fighting a battle with such a large force. They may be veteran adventurers, but they are not Generals. Not yet.¡± Rauros nodded. He said, ¡°What you said gorking makes sense. I am out of my depth here. I know you do not like the demonic invasion idea, but I wanted it to go well. I mean, my plan did not have this much loss of life. I mean, gork. Only a few non-adventurers were supposed to die. Not innocent ones but non-adventurers who had lived a good life or criminals. Gork. You know what I mean. I did not plan for this. I wanted a relatively safer demonic invasion. After last time, I had taken precautionary measures. Where did I go wrong?¡± Leyda said, ¡°You did not go wrong anywhere. The only problem is that you are doing the majority of things alone. I told you at the beginning that I would help you the least if you go forward with the demonic invasion. And I have been actively trying to thwart you. Maybe, us not working together has led to this.¡± Rauros looked at Leyda with a look of concern. He said, ¡°I know about your efforts. They are small and not easily noticeable. I noticed them though. After all these years I can tell when you meddle in my affairs. Even then, the damage should not have been this much.¡± Leyda said, ¡°Maybe the adventurers did not take the invasion thing seriously.¡± Rauros said, ¡°There are a lot of maybes and no concrete answers.¡± Leyda said, ¡°We can dwell on the past or move forward ensuring this does not happen again.¡± Rauros nodded, ¡°Yes. It will not do us good if non-adventurers die. After all, we did promise them protection once.¡± ¡°And that protection is forever, Rauros. Don¡¯t you forget that.¡± ¡°I shall never.¡± They kissed. Then Rauros said, ¡°Now what is this about Opulential. I thought Cthulhu¡¯s attack was postponed.¡± ¡°I signed the document delaying the attack¡±, said Leyda, ¡°You did not.¡± Rauros expression darkened, ¡°Gork me. I gorking hate this.¡± Both Rauros and Leyda looked at their copy of the file regarding Opulential with dread. Leyda said, ¡°They did not even have the champions defending them. Considering the attack started early, Cthulhu¡¯s level should have been less, and the armies reduced too. However, I am not sure Opulential had sufficient forces to repel or defend against the attack.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just rip the gorking bandage off, shall we?¡± said Rauros picking up the file, ¡°I am sure Opulential is still standing.¡± They started to read the files. Rauros¡¯ eyebrows rose and a look of surprise flitted across his face as he read the report. A small smile also played on Leyda¡¯s face as she read the report. She had to read the report twice. She could not believe it. When she was finished, she looked at her husband. ¡°What the Gork!¡± they both said together. *** Timothy looked at the number of casualties. They had lost about 50 soldiers, 43 holy nights and 13 civilians. It was the loss of civilians that hit him the most. Another demonic army had attacked Opulential when he and others were dealing with Cthulhu. He knew that Cthulhu was a priority, but he was angered at his own foolishness. He should have left some adventurers at least back for the defence of Opulential. It would have helped. It did help when adventurers died, resurrected in Opulential and fought the demons but Timothy wondered whether the loss of life would have been less if adventurers had already been present in Opulential during the attack. Stolen story; please report. Timothy rubbed his eyes. It seemed that Marcus¡¯ information had not been completely. The demon lord Cthulhu and a part of his army had been summoned in the village Salinar. However, a major part of his army was summoned halfway between Salinar and Opulential. That army had immediately marched towards Opulential. They were lucky that they had decided to evacuate the villagers of Salinar to a town East of the village. If they would have been coming to Opulential, they would have been dead. The citizens of Opulential had also been evacuating. As a result, most of the citizens in the Northern part of Opulential had shifted. However, there were still some stubborn stragglers who had finally fled at the sight of the approaching army. Still, 13 had died and Timothy was not happy about that. Timothy had been talking with adventurers who had participated in the fight since morning. He had talked with everyone. He still remembered his conversation with Marcus and Kyrie and Marcus had not been happy regarding the summoning of the second army. He had asked Timothy regarding a specific dome spell and Timothy did not know the purpose. Timothy did however learn something from Marcus. The source of his information. It was a demon lord. And considering what Marcus told Timothy about the demon lord, Timothy had decided to keep the information to himself. Timothy knew about Marbas. Timothy knew about his purpose and his imprisonment. Timothy also understood the reason behind the dome spell which Marcus had inquired about. And he was not happy about it. Marbas had come into play very early. Opulential was still not out of danger. Timothy needed to send another adventurer and get information out of Marbas. It would have to be a higher-level adventurer. Timothy rubbed his eyes again and leaned back on his chair. He wanted to go to sleep but there was still work to do. The damage caused by demons had to be repaired. The village of Salinar was a mess and needed to be built from the ground up. There was a knock on the door and his secretary walked in. She set a file on his desk and walked out. Timothy groaned. More work. He started reading the file. It was a report on battle with demons in Florianne. The more he read, the more he did not believe what he was reading. When he was finished, he looked up. He was in shock. Dazed, Timothy stood up and walked towards the window from where he could see the sun. He then knelt and bowed his head, the rays of sun washing over his head. Timothy Candlewick, Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights of Opulential, wept. *** ¡°So, what are you going to do now?¡± Sylinine asked the adventurers sitting in front of her. Marcus replied, ¡°Go to this village Grush. Nice little fishing village. At the Southern coast of Umanahash. It is a rumored location for one of the books.¡± Sylinine said, ¡°And what about the major quest?¡± It was Kyrie who answered this time, ¡°The description says that we need to wait for some time. Wait for a sign whatever that means. That does not mean we have to wait right here. I mean adventurer versus adventurer has been suspended for a month. And I entered a new bracket. I was so hoping to reach rank 1 in it.¡± Marcus said, ¡°We know you are angry, Kyrie. Please focus.¡± Sylinine smiled and said, ¡°Very well. I cannot hold you. But please do remember, you will be needed soon.¡± Marcus frowned at that. He said, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sylinine said, ¡°People are starting to consider your good investigative abilities. You are able to find stuff when others are not able to do so.¡± ¡°But. But. It¡¯s so obvious¡±, stammered Marcus. ¡°To you¡±, said Sylinine, ¡°but not to many.¡± Marcus raised his hands in defeat. Kyrie said, ¡°I understand you are frustrated, Marcus. Please focus.¡± ¡°Sarcasm does not suit you, Kyrie.¡± ¡°I do not use sarcasm.¡± ¡°Then what the fuck was that?¡± ¡°A fact.¡± ¡°It was not a fucking fact you-¡± Sylinine let them bicker for some time and then interrupted them, ¡°About your request Marcus.¡± Marcus looked at her at that. Sylinine continued, ¡°We can give you the book. The original copy. It would take about a week to transcribe it. Will you be okay with that?¡± Marcus shrugged, ¡°Alright. But it¡¯s only about 200 pages. Will it really take that long?¡± Sylinine simply stared at Marcus, and he sighed. Marcus said, ¡°Alright. Alright. I will not pester you. Hopefully we shall be back from Grush in a week.¡± Marcus and Kyrie left after that. Sylinine thought about the two of them. They had achieved much in their short time on Una. They already had three demon lords under their portfolio while the champions of Una had destroyed only one demon lord and that too with major loss of life. Sylinine frowned at that thought. Something had to be done. She was sure the Game Masters would be working on it but The Librarians also needed to do something. She would talk with Timothy. An investigative network needed to be set up. The demons needed to be stopped. *** Kyrie gave one longing look at the arena and then went back to the inn to meet Marcus. They were going to leave Opulential today. The portal was down for the moment, and it would be up after some basic maintenance. However, Marcus and Kyrie had decided to fly to Solaris. Then they would take the portal South from there to the town of Tilimore which was near the village Grush. Kyrie would try to fight in adventurer versus adventurer and reach rank 1 again in Solaris but she was not sure whether it was active in Solaris or not. She would know once reached there. Kyrie considered the experience gained from the battle. She had killed or assisted in killing 35 demons during the battle. That had given her 28,000 experience points. The defeat of Cthulhu had given her 5,000 experience points. She was in Opulential when Cthulhu had been defeated and so she did not get the full experience points for defeating him. She got 1,000 experience points in completing a part of a major quest. She felt this was too low considering what they went through. And finally, she had written and submitted her report on her adventurer versus adventurer experience in Solaris and Opulential, earning her further 7,000 experience points. In total she had gotten 41,000 experience points and her level had skyrocketed. She was now level 48. It was a jump of 22 levels with 44 stats to distribute. She had already done that. She checked her status. Name: Kyrie Shiningstar Race: Water Nymph Designation: Adventurer - Rank 2 Age: 83 Current Location: Solaris Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 48 Experience: 1,390 / 3,800 Strength: 15 Dexterity: 50 Intelligence: 7 Vitality: 25 Agility: 24 Wisdom: 7 Luck: ??? Health: 150 Mana: 114 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Fast Draw - Level 7 Precision - Level 10 Longbow Proficiency - Level 13 Stealth - Level 10 Water Proficiency - Level 100 Description: The outcast traveller from Tarados, flowing into Una, taking huge steps now and sweeping demons away is still enjoying herself by bashing other adventurer¡¯s heads. She is the water nymph to watch out for. Spells known: [Power Shot] [Fade] Spells Equipped: [Power Shot] [Fade] Spell Slots: 4 Physical Attack: 40 Magical Attack: 32 Physical Resistance: 17 Magical Resistance: 6 Critical Attack Chance: 12% (max 32%) Critical Attack Damage: 38.00% (max 58.00%) Status: None Social: 1,000 / 2,000 (Positive) NAIF: 1,100 / 2,000 (Positive) Solaris: 2,300 / 4,000 (Very Positive) Nymphs: 4,500 / 5,000 (Hero) Opulential: 2,900 / 4,000 (Very Positive) Order of the Golden Sun: 1,500 / 2,000 (Positive) She smiled as she checked her status. She walked to the inn to find Marcus waiting outside of it. Marcus said, ¡°Come on then. It¡¯s lunch time. We leave after food. Good food. I am hungry. You took your fucking time saying goodbye to the arena.¡± Kyrie accompanied Marcus into the common room. They ordered and waited for their meal. She had observed that Marcus got cranky if he got very hungry. After their food was served, and eaten; Marcus surprisingly cleared it in minutes, Kyrie said to Marcus, ¡°Alright. Time to share statuses. We both levelled up well.¡± Marcus nodded. Marcus had told Kyrie how much experience he had gotten. He had been responsible in killing and assisting in killing 11 demons. That was way less than Kyrie was expecting. However, due to his [Well Rested] perk, he had gotten 10,560 points of experience. As Marcus had been near Cthulhu when he was defeated, he got 19,200 points of experience. From completing the part of his major quest, Marcus got 1,000 experience points and submitting one of the books of the list to the Head Librarian gave him another 1,000 points. So, in total he got 31,760 points of experience. That was about 10,000 less than Kyrie. It seemed that [Well Rested] did not give him bonus experience points on experience received from quest completion. Kyrie checked Marcus¡¯ stats which he was sharing. Name: Marcus Blank Race: Human Designation: Adventurer - Rank 2 Age: 25 Current Location: Solaris Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 45 Experience: 2,350 / 3,200 Strength: 14 Dexterity: 25 Intelligence: 25 Vitality: 25 Agility: 20 Wisdom: 20 Luck: ??? Health: 150 Mana: 140 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Stamina Regeneration - Level 7 Well Rested - Level 3 Twinblade Proficiency - Level 10 Alcohol Tolerance - Level 3 Stealth - Level 4 Description: The anomaly has now become a better adventurer. With a little effort people may forget he is an anomaly after all. Spells known: [Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] Spells Equipped: [Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] Spell Slots: 2 Physical Attack: 27 Magical Attack: 38 Physical Resistance: 17 Magical Resistance: 17 Critical Attack Chance: 10% (max 30%) Critical Attack Damage: 19% (max 59%) Status: None Social: 800 / 1,000 (Neutral) NAIF: 950/ 1,000 (Neutral) Solaris: 2,300 / 4,000 (Very Positive) Nymphs: 2,000 / 4,000 (Very Positive) Opulential: 2,500 / 4,000 (Very Positive) Order of the Golden Sun: 1,500 / 2,000 (Positive) So, Marcus was three levels below Kyrie. However, his stats were well distributed. Now they needed equipment according to their level. Both Marcus and her circlet were up to the mark. Her bow was also good. But Marcus¡¯ remaining equipment needed to be upgraded. After getting the second book for Marcus, they needed to see what Opulential has to offer. Marcus was concerned about the units. Higher grade equipment would cost units and they did not still have much. All this fighting, all these battles and they had still not earned many units. They had a long way to go. Kyrie and Marcus stopped sharing their stats and stood up. They exited the inn and summoned their mounts. Kyrie grinned and joy radiated on her face as she mounted Nalana. She looked at Marcus who also looked happy. Marcus nodded at Nalana when he looked towards her. ¡°Up and onwards¡±, Kyrie said, ¡°To new adventures.¡± *** Marbas looked out the window of his room. He was currently in the ethereal realm, where all of the demons were trapped by the Game Masters, waiting to be summoned to one of the game worlds. Marbas had it better than many of his fellow demons. He was given a room for his imprisonment, overlooking the empty darkness and filled with sufficient necessities and luxuries. He was given better treatment because of his nonviolent attitude towards the Game Masters. It could all change if the Game Masters thought he was conspiring against them. Well, he was not currently conspiring against them but that adventurer, Marcus Blank, had changed the game. Marbas knew he would be the key, the key to his freedom. He just needed to play it right. A single misstep and he would be dead. And he liked being alive. He had so much left to read. So much knowledge left to gather. On that subject he thought about the book which Leyda Lightweaver had read. He had not been able to read it as Leyda had not shared it with him after writing it. And he wanted to read an original copy of the book. Not a transcribed copy. The taste, the experience and the emotion of reading an original copy was something different, something unique, something which Marbas was not able to describe. Marbas was sure he would get that copy soon considering the tidbit he had dangled in front of Marcus. It would take some time, but he was a patient demon. He smiled and picked up one of the books from one of his shelves. He had read it many times, but he was in a good mood. And this was one of his books to read when he was in a good mood. As he sat reading the book, his gaze occasionally going towards the window, he felt a shift. Magic. Someone had performed magic. Someone had come to the ethereal realm. Shouts echoed from outside. The demons were shouting. Marbas could not discern what though. The door of his room opened, and a figure walked in. An elf. Marbas recognized her. Marbas bowed and said, ¡°Lady Leyda Lightweaver. It is a nice surprise.¡± ¡°I am here for business Marbas the Knowledgeable¡±, said Leyda walking up to Marbas. When she was in his face, even though he towered at least a couple of feet over her, Leyda said, ¡°We need to talk. About Marcus Blank.¡± In Search of a Book As Marcus flew on Lara, he felt the wind around him. It was not much as Marcus had realized that a protection bubble surrounded him every time he flew on Lara. Still, the breeze was pleasant even though they were flying high above the ground. Solaris came beneath them and Lara dived down. The dive was slow, graceful and it did not discomfort Marcus. Lara deposited Marcus near the adventurer¡¯s guild. Marcus smiled as he dismounted and patted Lara on the head. Lara looked tired. But she had leveled up. She was now level 2 and her health had reached 200 points. That was quite the jump. Marcus dismissed Lara and saw that Kyrie was doing the same with Nalana. Nalana had also leveled up. After their mounts were dismissed, they entered the guild to find Destiduous sitting on the reception in a drowsy state. Destiduous straightened suddenly and fell down from his stool as he saw Marcus and Kyrie approach. Destiduous stood up and he had a grin on his face. He said, ¡°Welcome back adventurers. How are you today?¡± Marcus and Kyrie chatted with Destiduous for some time. They asked how Solaris was faring. They could still see the destruction caused by M¨¢ra when they flew to Solaris. Destiduous told them that reconstruction efforts were still going on and it would be a few months before everything was back to normal. Kyrie was disappointed that adventurer versus adventurer was not going on till further notice. Then Marcus and Kyrie talked to Destiduous about Opulential as Destiduous was interested in hearing about what had truly transpired there. Apparently, Marcus and Kyrie were the first adventurers from Opulential that had come to Solaris. Marcus and Kyrie told him about the demon lord and his army and the fight. Destiduous was glad to hear that the demon lord had been stopped and there was no major destruction. Then Destiduous told them about Florianne. Marcus and Kyrie were shocked to find out. Marcus said, ¡°Half of Florianne was destroyed even after the champions selected by the Game Masters fought for the city!¡± Destiduous nodded, ¡°Yes, and now everyone is doubting the Game Masters. They are saying that the champions are not up to the mark. Discord is being spread amongst everyone. There is a group who wants to petition the Game Masters to change their champions. There are also rumours of a rebellion. Times are not good. Times are not good at all.¡± After that, they talked with Destiduous for some more time. They activated the resurrection stone, setting Solaris as their resurrection point and then went for supplies. They spent the night in Solaris, doing nothing, just relaxing. The next morning Marcus and Kyrie went to the portal. This time the portal worked well, and they were teleported successfully to the town of Tilimore. They went to the adventurer¡¯s guild there and activated the resurrection stone there. Then Kyrie took off to find the arena. Marcus went to the library to learn more about the town, the village Grush and the surrounding region. It took about a week for Kyrie to reach rank 1 in adventurer versus adventurer arena at Tilimore. She was so happy to fight another adventurer that she had not even felt disappointed to find that there were only five adventurers in her bracket to fight. Marcus researched as much as he could about the region, the landmarks and the enemies that they would face if they embarked on a quest while in Grush. One week later, they were ready. Grush was about 100 kilometers South of Tilimore. There were a few villages in between but they had decided not to stop at any on the way. They had sufficient supplies to last days and Marcus was sure that their wyrms could complete the journey in a few hours. It took five hours for Marcus and Kyrie to reach the village. They landed on the outskirts of the village and walked the rest of the way. Just as Salinar, Grush also seemed to be populated with Gnomes and Umaru. There did not seem to be any other adventurer in the village currently as everyone Marcus and Kyrie passed, stared at them openly and some with wonder in their eyes. Marcus had decided that they would go to the inn. From there they would start the inquiry about the book. The book which was rumored to be near Grush was The Enchanting Mistress by Chanish Toth. The book felt like an erotic novel to Marcus. It was almost dinner time when Marcus and Kyrie had reached Grush. When they entered the inn, The Ocean Waves, they could see some patrons eating dinner. There was a single waitress moving around the tables taking orders and serving people their meals and drinks. Everyone stopped and the noise dropped to complete silence when they saw Marcus and Kyrie. The innkeeper approached them. He was an Umaru named Tilik Cone. Tilik said, ¡°Welcome adventurers to my humble inn. How may I serve you today?¡± Marcus replied, ¡°We are here on a quest. We will be staying here till then. What are your charges?¡± Tilik told Marcus. Room was 250 units per night with each meal, whether it be breakfast lunch or dinner, costing 30 units per plate. Marcus nodded as he heard the rates and paid for three days of stay. Meals, they would pay for when they would have them. They checked out their room, they were staying together and went down for dinner. Marcus ate stew and rice for dinner, washing it down with juice while Kyrie ate her usual salad with juice. Marcus found the food delicious. The stew consisted of fish which he did not know of, but it was exemplary in taste according to Marcus. As they ate dinner, the other patrons threw them glances, but no one disturbed them. Soon, the patrons slowly started to move towards the room opposite to the dining room. Marcus and Kyrie also joined them to find that it was a common room. There were smaller tables present in this room with stools arranged in a random order. Patrons mostly drank and entertainment was provided in the form of a gnome lute player singing local popular songs. Marcus and Kyrie enjoyed the music with Marcus drinking some of the local ale. Some of the patrons approached them with questions and they answered them. They mostly approached Kyrie because Marcus was sure they found her exotic. They retired late at night. The next morning, they woke refreshed. Well, Marcus was refreshed as he had his [Well Rested] perk activated. They got ready and went down for breakfast. The innkeeper joined them. Tilik said, ¡°So, what is the quest that you are doing here, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡± Marcus gasped, ¡°Wow! So direct.¡± Tilik spluttered a bit, trying to make an excuse but Kyrie interrupted him, ¡°Ignore my teammate. He likes to pull people¡¯s legs. We are here looking for a book. The Enchanting Mistress by Chanish Toth. Maybe you have heard of it.¡± Tilik shook his head. Marcus asked, ¡°Is there anyone who can be considered as a local historian that could help?¡± Tilik said, ¡°Not that I know of. I mean there are many old gnomes and Umarus in the village and you can ask them, but I doubt they would be able to tell you anything. I shall give you some names of the gnomes and Umarus that you can talk to. I shall also send them a message, if it¡¯s okay, that you are coming.¡± Marcus agreed to this. Once the necessary information was exchanged Tilik said, ¡°Also, adventurers. Can you look at our quest board? There are not many quests, and they are not high level too, but we could use your help. Not many adventurers venture so far South on Umanahash.¡± Marcus and Kyrie both agreed to Tilik''s request. Tilik thanked them and left them to finish breakfast. After breakfast, Marcus and Kyrie went to the quest board which was near the reception of the inn. There were four quests on the board. The first was about dealing with goblins. It seemed that on the way to Grush, some goblins were looting travelers. The people of Grush wanted them gone. The quest was from the mayor. There was also a separate quest from the mayor. It seemed that one of the fishing spots was plagued with Zagui and they needed help dealing with that. The third quest was from the innkeeper. He needed a specific plant from an island which was near the village, just about a kilometer from the coast. The fourth and the final quest was about a treasure hunt. Marcus and Kyrie decided to do all the quests. They did not seem difficult. They went to the mayor to get the details about his quests. The mayor was a nice elderly gnome woman named Chia Keystone. They learned much about the village from her as she liked to talk and often got sidetracked while giving them details of her quests. They divided themselves to take care of the quests. Kyrie went to hunt goblins while Marcus went to kill the Zagui. The Zagui were low level, only level 10 and Marcus was able to kill them easily. He followed the Zagui back to their den and wiped it completely. They had an elite Zagui and a leader, but Marcus was able to dispatch them easily. The quest had been easy, but it was time consuming. Marcus ate dried rations for lunch, and it took even two more hours before he completed the quest. It took time because he was taking it slowly. He knew that even though the Zagui were low level, carelessness could lead to his death easily. As he fought the Zagui, he thought of the time when he had first woken up in Una. He had been attacked by the Zagui at that time and had spent the night on a tree scared of the snarling and clawing animals who had plagued him till they had been killed by some hunters. Good times, thought Marcus sarcastically. It was ten o¡¯clock in the evening when he reached back to the village. Kyrie had already reached an hour back. They gave the status update to the mayor, completing the quests. They did not earn much experience from the quests as they were at a low level compared to them, but they did earn decent units. Then Marcus and Kyrie went to meet the contacts provided by Tilik to ask them questions about the book. They met with about ten people, but it was a dead end. No one knew about the book they were searching for. However, they did learn a lot about local gossip. They retired for the night. Tomorrow they would have a look at the treasure quest before they found a boat which would take them to the island from where the innkeeper wanted the plants. The treasure quest was posted by an old Umaru by the name of Reginush Grush. Marcus had learnt that the Grush village was named after the founding family. Grush would be one of the descendants of the original Grush. Reginush lived in a small hut near the water. Marcus saw no signs of any other person when Kyrie and he approached the hut. Marcus knocked and a voice asked them to enter. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Reginush was reading a book near the window as Marcus entered. Reginush closed his book, stood up and went up to Marcus. Marcus could see that Reginush looked fit even though he was old. His grip was strong and the thump he gave Marcus on the back when Marcus introduced Kyrie and himself made him slump forwards a few steps. Once they had settled down, Reginush offered them tea. They both refused. Marcus decided to get to the point. He said, ¡°We are here for your quest.¡± Reginush slapped a hand on his thigh and said, ¡°About damn gorking time that an adventurer came to our village and helped us. It has been gorking too long. The last adventurers came to our village about two months ago. And they did not even look at the quests on the quest board. They had come here for some other quest. They completed it and just gorking left. Damn gorking rude if you tell me. You know the villages of Una are plagued with quests. The gorking adventurers simply want to complete those in cities and towns as they offer more experience or more units or better equipment. I mean, what about us gorking villages then? Gork if adventurers care about us.¡± Marcus interrupted Reginush¡¯s tirade saying, ¡°About your quest, sir.¡± ¡°Gorking sir, is it now?¡± said Reginush in a pleased tone, ¡°I like it. Very well. Settle down. I shall tell you about the gorking treasure.¡± Marcus did not know how he could settle down more, but he shifted in his chair pretending he was settling down. Reginush began, ¡°Grush was established by my ancestor, Eliynar Grush, who wanted to get away from the gorking cities and towns you adventurers are so fond of. His was the first family to settle here. Other families soon came, seeking refuge or fishermen came here as they would have good access to fish from the village. Soon the village grew, and it prospered. All was well. Then the village was attacked by a gorking pirate company who heard about the prosperity of the village. They attacked the village at night. Unknown to the pirate, my ancestor Eliynar was a magic user. He brought lightning and large tides on the gorking pirate¡¯s ship. He gorked them up pretty well. He gorking drowned everyone who was on board and crashed the ship. Now, it is rumored that my ancestor went to the bottom of the ocean for the ship. The wreck of the ship is located not far from here. You can see it. Ask any goring fisherman. They will take you. Anyways, my ancestor went down to the wreck, and it is rumored that he found a treasure there. He considered the treasure more of a gorking headache than anything and so he hid it on an island. You can see the island on your map. It is called Tulom island. The island is famous amongst the local fishermen. A plant grows there called pilaf. It is very tasty, and the innkeeper makes an excellent dish out of it. Anyways, my ancestor hid the treasure there. I want you to go there and find it. Now, many have scoured the island and have found nothing. I believe you adventurers may fare better. Even if you fail, it would be gorking alright. At least someone other than the villagers of Grush with a gorking different perspective would help. So, what do you say? You will go, right?¡± Marcus and Kyrie agreed. It seemed that they would combine the treasure hunt quest with gathering the plant quest. They were to collect pilaf plants for the innkeeper after all from Tulom island. Marcus and Kyrie soon left Reginush¡¯s house. Kyrie said, ¡°That Umaru swears a lot.¡± Marcus said, ¡°He is not happy, that one. Especially with us fucking adventurers.¡± Kyrie laughed as they made their way to the pier. They hired one of the fishermen to take them to Tulom island. The boats were not motorized but run by an oval magic pearl which was attached to the bottom of the boat. The controls of the pearl were in the form of a glove which the fishermen wore. The water was clear as they made their way to the island. Kyrie was swimming beside the boat rather than sitting with Marcus and the fisherman. Marcus could see her form rippling through the water and she would occasionally come out with a whoop of joy and dive back in. Marcus felt that her behavior resembled a dolphin. Soon the boat reached the island and Marcus thanked the fisherman. The fisherman told Marcus that he would come for them tomorrow at the same time. Marcus was okay with that. He was not sure how long they would take on the island, but it should not be more than a day. They first explored the island in search of the pilaf plant. The innkeeper had described it to them and so it was easy to find. The island was kind of littered with it. The innkeeper wanted a few leaves, two wholly uprooted plants and seeds. As they were collecting what was required, Marcus said, ¡°You know. I remember something. There was a rice-based dish on Earth called pilaf. And here we have a plant named pilaf. That makes me wonder whether Una has a rice pilaf dish too. Will it be like that on Earth, or will it have this plant and so it would be called rice pilaf?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°I think that I do not want this conversation to continue. If I answer, I have a feeling we shall soon be dwelling on whether the dishes you eat here are actually dishes or a figment of your imagination.¡± ¡°What?¡± asked Marcus confused. Kyrie said, ¡°Now you know how I feel conversing with you sometimes.¡± Marcus laughed and they collected the necessary amount of plant and its parts. They were lucky to find its seeds. They grew in the flower of the plant. After that they started exploring the island in search of the treasure. They had no hint or clue other than the information of Reginush that the treasure was on this island. They searched for hours, exploring every nook and cranny of the island but they found nothing. Tired, they sat down and ate something. Marcus was not a fan of dried rations, but he ate them anyway. They were resting on a group of rocks on the island. Few palm trees surrounded them. Instead of coconut, they produced another fruit whose name Marcus did not know. It was by chance that Marcus saw the opening. It was between two plant trees shadowing a large rock. The opening was such that it could not be seen easily, and Marcus was sure everyone would miss it if they did not know it was there. Marcus pointed it out to Kyrie and after eating their rations, they walked towards it. They entered the opening which led to a slide. They slid their way down. The slide twisted and turned and ended in a dark cavern. There was no light. They took out their torches and looked around. It seemed that they had slid down in some sort of a room. Marcus could see the smooth walls and a door at the end of the room. They entered the door to find a short passageway. There was a sound at the end of the passageway which Marcus could not discern. They reached the end of the passageway and Marcus stepped on something. He paled as he heard a grinding noise as if he had stepped on a pressure plate. He pushed Kyrie back and ducked. It was not a trap though because the moment the grinding noise was over, torches flared in the room in front of him. Marcus waited to make sure that it was actually safe and got up. Then he apologized to Kyrie and got her up too. They looked at the room at the end of the passage. The room was huge, at least fifty meters and was circular in shape. The passage was the only entrance to the room which Marcus could find. There was a large hole in the center of the room and sand poured into it. There were four holes which Marcus could see from which the sand was pouring out of. Marcus observed that the sand was pouring out of the four holes and into the central hole. It was like a sand fountain. Marcus wondered how the sand was flowing so smoothly. Kyrie said, ¡°What now?¡± Marcus said, ¡°I think we may have to find a way to stop the sand.¡± ¡°And how do we do that?¡± Marcus looked around. He found handholds on each side of where they were standing. They were standing at least fifteen feet from the ground of the room which was covered in sand. Marcus pointed the handholds to Kyrie, ¡°There are handholds. I think they take us to the holes from where the sand is pouring from.¡± Kyrie nodded. Then each of them took a handhold. Marcus went left while Kyrie went right. Marcus climbed and shimmied his way towards the top of one of the holes from where the sand was pouring out. He could see a small lever which was not visible from afar. He pulled it. There was a grinding noise and it seemed that the hole beneath him was closing. Marcus heard another grinding noise and saw that Kyrie had also managed to close the hole that she had gone to. Kyrie was already making her way across to the next hole. Marcus did the same. As he made his way to the next hole, he somehow felt like a monkey. Marcus wondered why. When all the holes were closed, the sand stopped pouring into the room, but it did not stop pouring into the central hole. Marcus could see rungs at a short distance from where was clung onto the wall. He made his way to the rungs and saw Kyrie do the same. They met at the rungs and waited. The sand was now flowing faster into the central hole, filling it up. When the sand had all gone in the central hole, Marcus could see the bottom of the room. Somehow all the sand had flowed into the central hole leaving minimal grains of sand on the room floor. Marcus and Kyrie took the rung down to the bottom of the room. They slowly walked to the central hole which was filled with sand. Only about a couple of feet remained without sand. Marcus looked around. What were they supposed to do now? Kyrie pointed to another set of levers. They were large and on the opposite side of the room. Marcus and Kyrie went up to one lever each. They pulled together and Marcus heard another grinding noise. The four holes opened up and sand started to pour in. In the central hole, the sand level started to decrease. It seemed that they had reset the room. Marcus and Kyrie ran towards the rung. However, Marcus saw a flash of something in the central hole and he changed direction. Kyrie called him but he ignored her. He had seen something in the hole. There, a short passage. He jumped down as the sand moved down and entered a narrow passage. He called Kyrie who appeared a moment later. The sand level was decreasing fast. Kyrie jumped and Marcus had to catch her. He pulled her up, with a bit of difficulty as the falling sand seemed to be pushing her down. When they were safe in the passage, Kyrie said, ¡°Ugh! I am covered in sand.¡± ¡°Me too¡±, said Marcus, dusting some of the sand off of him.¡± Kyrie unequipped her clothes and shook. She equipped them back and groaned, ¡°It is still there. I need water to get it all out.¡± Marcus nodded. He said, ¡°I need to unequip all my equipment too and store it for eight hours in inventory. That would clean it up.¡± ¡°I know that¡±, said Kyrie sharply, ¡°That does not solve our current problem though, does it?¡± Marcus shook his head. He then looked down the lit passageway. There were lines on each side of the wall, glowing with a golden light. It was the flash of these lines that had caught Marcus¡¯ attention in the first place. The sand was filling behind them, but it was somehow not entering the passage. Magic, Marcus presumed. They walked through the passage which ended in another circular room. This time, there was only a chest in the center. The walls were lined with the shining golden lights to give them sufficient illumination. Kyrie made her way cautiously towards the chest. Marcus examined the walls of the room. The room was not that big, about ten feet in diameter and about twenty feet tall. Marcus walked up to the chest too. Kyrie said, ¡°I see a keyhole but no key.¡± ¡°Do you have lockpicks?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°No. Do you know how to use lockpicks?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then why did you ask for them?¡± Marcus simply shrugged and said, ¡°Thought I could give them a try.¡± Kyrie shook her head and bent down to examine the chest more closely. Marcus could not see what she was doing but after some time she heard a click and the chest opened. Kyrie said, ¡°There was a switch.¡± ¡°Then what the fuck was the keyhole for?¡± asked Marcus. Together, they opened the lid to find a leather-bound package and a letter in the chest. Marcus took them out. The chest was empty. Marcus felt the inside of the chest. Then he also asked Kyrie to do so. They found nothing. No hidden switch or compartment. Marcus placed the chest, the letter and the leatherbound package in his inventory. Then Marcus looked around the room and said, ¡°What do we do now? How do we get out of here?¡± Kyrie noticed a hole where the chest had been. She was proceeding to put her hand inside when Marcus stopped her. Marcus said, ¡°It could be a trap.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Oh, come on Marcus. I rather doubt it.¡± Kyrie put her hand inside and it seemed to Marcus that she pulled on something. His world shifted. Everything became a blur. Then the next moment, he was sitting on the beach of the Tulom island. He threw up and heard Kyrie do the same. ¡°Teleportation¡±, said Kyrie after she was finished throwing up. ¡°I figured that out¡±, said Marcus. Kyrie said, ¡°Shall we look at the supposed treasure then?¡± Marcus took out the leather-bound package first. He unfurled it and started laughing. On his hand rested a book. The Enchanting Mistress by Chanish Toth. Marcus had found the book he was looking for. And that too as a part of a treasure quest. Marcus somehow found this funny. Kyrie frowned, ¡°Are you telling me that the Grush family treasure is a book?¡± Marcus said, ¡°There is a letter too.¡± He got the letter out of the inventory and opened it. Kyrie leaned in to look at the letter over Marcus¡¯ shoulder. They read the letter and Marcus said, ¡°What the fuck!¡± In the letter was written, The real treasure was the friends you made along the way! Some Answers Marcus and Kyrie first took a bath. Kyrie got sand out of her body and she put her clothes in the inventory to make them automatically clean. Marcus had a change of clothes and he unequipped all his armor. They spent the night on the island. They had brought camping supplies after all. The next day, the fisherman came for them, and they went back to Grush village. As they stepped onto the pier and walked a few paces Kyrie suddenly stopped. Marcus said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What happened?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Why did not fly over to the island on our wyrms? Why did we take the boat?¡± Marcus opened his mouth to say something and then closed it. He somehow had no answer for that. Why had they not taken their wyrms when they could have easily flown to Tulom island. Marcus wondered about that as they made their way to the inn. He had considered flying on wyrms but had somehow dismissed that thought. He had finally decided that going with the fisherman through a boat to the island made sense even though he did not know why. They deposited the pilaf plant, completing the quest with the innkeeper. The innkeeper was delighted and kept praising both of them. He also paid a considerable number of units which surprised Marcus. It seemed that the dish made from the pilaf plant was really popular. Then they had a late breakfast and made their way towards Reginush¡¯s house. Reginush led them in excitedly. He said, ¡°You found the goring treasure already?¡± Marcus and Kyrie explained to Reginush what had happened on the island. Reginush nodded and swore through the entire explanation. He reacted at all the right places making Marcus think that this guy was way more expressive than he could handle. It felt tiring simply talking to him. Reginush asked for the letter and the chest. Marcus asked, ¡°Do you not want the book?¡± ¡°The book¡¯s gorking useless to me¡±, replied Reginush, ¡°You can keep it.¡± Marcus was pleased with that. Reginush examined the chest and said, ¡°There is nothing more in this chest. However, this is not Eliynar¡¯s chest. This chest gorking still belongs to the Grush family, I can see the gorking crest. However, the chest is much more modern than that. It seems that someone, one of my gorking ancestors I presume, already found the treasure and relocated it. I am saying that they gorking relocated it because if they had declared that they had found it then all of the gorking descendants would have known. I am not the only descendant of Eliynar Grush. I am the only gorking descendant of Eliynar Grush living in this village though.¡± Reginush examined the letter. He sniffed it. He walked up to the fireplace and ignited the fire. He held the letter in front of the fire. Markings started to appear on the letter. ¡°Gorking invisible ink¡±, said Reginush and handed the letter to Marcus, ¡°It¡¯s a gorking map. It seems that my ancestor who took the treasure left a gorking map. I think he is gorking taunting the person who came looking for treasure and found this letter.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Invisible ink. I would have never thought of that.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°I would not have either.¡± Reginush snorted. He said, ¡°Gorking invisible ink. Gorking Grush family is famous or infamous for using too much of it. Anyways, the letter is now a treasure map. Can you understand the landmarks it is showing?¡± Marcus looked at the map. It showed a mountain with a river flowing in between. At the base of the river, near the mountain was an X spot. The mountain was named Gunin Mountain ranges with the river titled Genlin river. Text on the map read, ¡®The smallest mountain contains the biggest cavern¡¯. Marcus searched the Globalnet for the mountain range and the river. Marcus said, ¡°The Gunin Mountain ranges are found on Filinile. There is a part of the mountain ranges where the Genlin river flows between them. The smallest mountain there would hold the cavern then which has the treasure considering X marks the spot.¡± Kyrie frowned and said, ¡°Could it be that simple?¡± Reginush grunted and said, ¡°Simple or no, it is the only lead that we have got? Are you willing to check it out, adventurers?¡± Marcus got a notification that his quest was updated. He looked at Kyrie who nodded. Marcus said, ¡°We accept. However, this will take time. We have no plans to go to Filinile as of now.¡± Reginush waved a hand, ¡°There is no gorking rush. I am not going anywhere. Take your gorking time. Just get me the gorking treasure.¡± Marcus and Kyrie took their leave after that. It seemed that a phase of their quest was over, and the next phase was on a different landmass. Nothing they could do about it now. They went to the inn to discuss their next steps. They decided to rest and spend a day in Grush. Early in the morning, they left for Tilimore. There they were informed that the Opulential portal was now active. They took a portal directly to Opulential. They made their way straight to the library after reaching Opulential. Marcus submitted the book to the head librarian and earned 2,000 points. Marcus had now levelled up and he put two points in intelligence. Kyrie also submitted her report from adventurer versus adventurer in Tilimore and earned another 2,000 points. She also levelled up and she put her points in wisdom. Marcus then requested the original copy of An Interview with a Demon by Lumina Lightweaver back from Sylinine. Sylinine did so. She had finished transcribing it and a digital copy was already uploaded on the Globalnet. She told Marcus she had no use for the original copy now. She regretted that she could not keep it but to her gaining knowledge from books was more important than simply collecting them. Sylinine then said to them, ¡°You know, I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but I have noticed something about your statistics.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Go ahead. We won¡¯t feel insulted. Much.¡± Sylinine grinned and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind my asking then what is your current vitality.¡± Marcus and Kyrie told her. Sylinine said, ¡°Then why are your health points so low?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Kindly explain this to us. Why do you think our health points are low?¡± Sylinine joined her palms in front of her with elbows on the desk and leaned forward. She said, ¡°The base health points for any adventurer is 100 points. Then additional health points are received based on the vitality stat of the adventurer. Till an adventurer reaches level 30, their health points are calculated as base 100 points plus their vitality multiplied by two. That means, an adventurer with 10 vitality and below level 30 shall have 120 points of health. I know, the gain is not much, but it is only till they reach level 30. After level 30, the health points of an adventurer are calculated as base 100 points plus their vitality multiplied by four. So that would mean, an adventurer, such as you, with 25 vitality should have 200 points of health. And yet, I find you two with only 150 points of health. I wonder why that is?¡± Marcus asked, ¡°And is that triggered automatically or do the adventurers have to do something to trigger the change?¡± Sylinine blinked. She said, ¡°Yes. Of course. You have to get the blessing of Udha. She is the Goddess of Vitality for the Umaru. That triggers the change. But the quest for getting the blessing is given to every adventurer as soon as they reach level 30. Did you both not get the quest?¡± Marcus and Kyrie shook their heads. Sylinine said, ¡°Fascinating. I wonder why.¡± Marcus said thoughtfully, ¡°Maybe, it could be due to the fact that we levelled up very fast. I mean I jumped from level 24, no 25 I think to 45 when we killed Cthulhu. Kyrie faced a similar predicament. That is a huge jump. Maybe we got ignored due to such a large jump in level.¡± Sylinine said, ¡°If what you say is true, then it would impact a large number of low level adventurers. There are many who are leveling up at a fast pace after killing demons.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°The elite demons and demon lords do give high experience points.¡± Sylinine said, ¡°Interesting. Interesting. Very well then. I will tell NAIF to look into this matter. If what you have said is true, then many adventurers would not have received the quest. The NAIF would have to work to ensure that the adventurers over 30 have gotten the quest to get the blessing of Udha. Well, quest or not quest. Go to the temple of Udha. There is one in Opulential. Receive the blessing from a priest or priestess there. All will be normal then.¡± Marcus said, ¡°I have a question though. Is this blessing to be taken only for increase in health or is there a blessing for mana also? In addition, is this a one time increase or will health increase in the future too?¡± Sylinine laughed and said, ¡°Yes, there is a blessing for increase in mana too. But that comes after reaching level 50. Here, let me share something with you.¡± Sylinine displayed a screen to Marcus and Kyrie. Health = Base 100 + (Vitality * 2) till level 30 Mana = Base 100 + (Wisdom * 2) till level 50 Health = Base 100 + (Vitality * 4) from level 31 to 60 Mana = Base 100 + (Wisdom * 4) from level 51 to 100 Health = Base 100 + (Vitality * 6) from level 61 to 90 Mana = Base 100 + (Wisdom * 6) from level 101 to 150 Health = Base 100 + (Vitality * 8) from level 91 to 120 Mana = Base 100 + (Wisdom * 8) from level 151 to 200 Health = Base 100 + (Vitality * 10) from level 121 to 150 Mana = Base 100 + (Wisdom * 10) from level 201 to 250 Health = Base 100 + (Vitality * 12) from level 151 to 180 Mana = Base 100 + (Wisdom * 12) above level 250 Health = Base 100 + (Vitality * 14) from level 181 to 210 Health = Base 100 + (Vitality * 16) from level 211 to 240 Health = Base 100 + (Vitality * 18) from level 241 to 270 Health = Base 100 + (Vitality * 20) above level 270 ¡°I hope this clears some things for you. It is a simple summary. You can have a detailed description if you want. These are just some of my cliff notes¡±, said Sylinine. Marcus read what was written. The calculation of health points changed every 30 levels while the calculation of mana points changed every 50 levels. Considering the calculation that was in front of him, Marcus estimated that the maximum health an adventurer could have was 2,080 if they chose 99 points in vitality at max level and the maximum mana would be 1,288 if they chose 99 points in wisdom. Marcus was sure that there was gear and other buffs which would increase their health and mana but he did not have sufficient information on them as of now. Marcus and Kyrie thanked Sylinine and exited the library. They looked for the temple of Udha in their map and started towards it. It was not far from the library, merely a 30 minute walk. There they took the blessing from a priest and their health was updated accordingly. They both now had 200 points of health. Kyrie said, ¡°Well. That was interesting. One more level up and let¡¯s see if I get the quest to increase my mana.¡± Marcus slapped his forehead and said, ¡°We fucking forgot to ask where to go to increase our mana.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Relax Marcus. I am sure that the person who gives us the quest will tell us where to go.¡± Marcus nodded. He said, ¡°So, are you going to fight in the adventurer versus adventurer arena?¡± Kyrie shook her head. She said, ¡°It is still not up and running. They don¡¯t know when it will be back.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Our major quest has also not been updated. Even Sylinine did not have anything new for us. So, what do we do?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°We can always go to Filinile to continue the treasure quest.¡± Marcus did not look happy. He said, ¡°I did not want to go there unless we got a major quest to go to that landmass. I mean there are two books which I need to search over there. That does not mean I would drop my major quest and go looking for them.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°We do have some time I think before the major quest updates.¡± Marcus did not speak for some time. He was thinking. He finally said, ¡°Let¡¯s go and meet Marbas. I have the book. Let¡¯s see if he tells me what he was going to tell me about myself.¡± ¡°That is somewhat a confusing statement.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just fucking go. We can fly there.¡± Kyrie smiled. They were going to see Marbas. Hopefully Marcus would have some answers from the demon. *** Marbas was bored. He yawned as he picked up another book, stared at it without actually looking at it, then put it down and repeated the process with another book. The last few days had been really taxing and yet extremely boring. Timothy Candlewick, the Commander of the Order of the Sun, wanted some answers from Marbas. Marbas had told Timothy that he only dealt with adventurers. Marbas had seen that Timothy had not been pleased. From the next day, he was being regularly visited by a gnome adventurer going by the name of Zissix Trance. Zissix brought Marbas questions and Marbas answered them only after Zissix had paid his price. Marbas did not charge much, only some minor quests not even worth mentioning for what he was providing. Zissix was a boring adventurer. He did not talk much outside of the questions he was asking. Marbas felt his interactions with the gnome unsatisfactory when it came to knowledge gathering. Zissix had no curiosity. No spark for knowledge seeking. Marbas grinned as he thought about the next quest he would give Zissix. If the next set of questions that Zissix brings would not be interesting, then he would send him on a quest across Umanahash. He felt a pull. It seemed that someone had come to see him. It was the magical prison at Umanahash. Marbas had a magical prison at all the landmasses and he could go to any that he wanted to. He needn¡¯t be summoned by someone. However, Marbas seemed to enjoy spending his time in the ethereal plane with his fellow brethren, hearing their tortured cries. Also, sitting in a chair all day with nothing to do inside a magical prison which was not easily accessible by adventurers and non-adventurers alike did not sound appealing to Marbas. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. The pull became stronger. Marbas groaned. He hoped it was not Zissix. Zissix had just come yesterday and Marbas was in no mood to meet him today. The pull became so strong that he could not ignore it. He sighed and concentrated. The next moment he was sitting in the chair in the magical prison in Umanahash. Marbas looked at who had come to see him and smiled. It was a predatory smile of a hunter whose prey had just walked in. Marbas greeted the adventurers. It was Marcus Blank and Kyrie Shiningstar. This was going to be interesting. *** Kyrie said, ¡°He is not here.¡± Marcus looked into the magical prison that had held Marbas and said, ¡°Did he escape?¡± Kyrie shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Holy knights have been posted outside. We saw the small outpost they had set up. I doubt that Marbas would be able to sneak past them.¡± Marcus said, ¡°The holy knights are averaging at level 80 currently. Somehow, they seem to have leveled up too after the fight with Cthulhu.¡± ¡°They actually leveled up during the fight¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°Earlier we saw that they were around level 50. However, Cthulhu and his demons were level 80. So, the holy knights became level 80 too.¡± ¡°Huh!¡± said Marcus, ¡°I did not notice that.¡± ¡°There are a lot of things you do not notice Marcus Blank.¡± ¡°I noticed.¡± Kyrie rolled her eyes. She said, ¡°What do we do?¡± Marcus said, ¡°We can inform the holy knights that apparently Marbas is out of his prison. Let¡¯s see the fucking panic it would create.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that is a good idea.¡± ¡°Then what do you propose we fucking do?¡± Marcus felt a bit irritated with Kyrie. Before Kyrie could reply, Marbas materialized in the chair inside the dome. ¡°Welcome Marcus Blank and Kyrie Shiningstar. It is a pleasure to see you both¡±, purred Marcus. Marcus could see Marbas smiling. However, the smile unnerved him. He did not know why but he felt Marbas was considering them as one would consider food. Maybe Marbas wanted to eat them. He did look like a lion after all. Marcus dismissed the thought with the shake of his head. It would not do him well to get such fucking stupid thoughts. Marcus said, ¡°I have your book.¡± Marcus took the book out of his inventory and held it up in his hand. Marbas said, ¡°Straight to business, I see. No pleasantries. No small talk. No questions or anything?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°I have a question. Where were you? You were clearly not in this dome magical prison. So, that means you were somewhere else. Where was that? And how can you get out of this dome? I thought you were imprisoned in it?¡± Marbas laughed. He said, ¡°Interesting questions. I shall tell you the answers in return for a question of my own. More of an information requirement rather than a question. Are you okay with it Kyrie Shiningstar?¡± ¡°Depends on the information required¡±, replied Kyrie. ¡°I want to know about your family¡±, said Marbas. Kyrie said, ¡°Not much to tell. My mother is a water nymph named Taranushadra Flowhearth. My father, not my biological father, but the father who raised me is Florinth Flowhearth. He is a water nymph too. I am the eldest of five siblings, three females and two males. And before you ask, yes my last name is from my biological father. My sisters are named Tylivianna and Cannassindra while my brothers are named Chosonn and Bullonick. We are¡­ were¡­ are¡­ I don¡¯t know now but we were one happy family with my father and my siblings actually accepting me for who I am. You know. Different nymph father. Does not look like a water nymph even though I have the characteristics of a water nymph and all that. What else do you want to know? Where we lived. What we did all day. Or was something else on your mind?¡± Marbas narrowed his eyes as he asked, ¡°And you never knew your biological father. Never met him. No one told you who he was.¡± ¡°No.¡± Marbas stared at her for some time. Then he clapped his paws and said, ¡°Well, you seem to be telling the truth.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like to lie¡±, said Kyrie shifting a bit uncomfortably. ¡°That does not mean that you do not tell a lie¡±, said Marbas, ¡°Now, as to your questions. This dome is my magical prison. That is true. However, this is not my only prison. I have such a magical prison on each of the landmasses of Una. Each of these prisons are difficult to access. You knew about this prison from reading the book. That is why you were able to find it. Many adventurers and non-adventurers are often lost while finding their way to me. As for when I am not here, I could be in any of the other prisons and also in my prison in the ethereal realm. That is where I was. I cannot escape this magical prison if you are concerned that a high level demon would rampage across Una. Even if I escape, I doubt I would rampage.¡± ¡°You would rather scheme¡±, said Marcus. Marbas grinned, showing all his teeth. Marcus and Kyrie both shuddered. Marbas then said, ¡°The book if you please.¡± Marcus handed Marbas the book. It passed through the dome easily. Marbas looked at it and turned a few pages. Marbas declared, ¡°It is the original that you promised me.¡± Marcus nodded, ¡°I don¡¯t like to fucking lie too.¡± Marbas laughed at that. Then he said, ¡°Very well Marcus Blank. I shall tell you what you are. Are you ready?¡± ¡°Fucking dramatice aren¡¯t you, Marbas?¡± muttered Marcus. ¡°You¡±, said Marbas pointing at Marcus with a flourish, ¡°are what they call a Game Destroyer.¡± Marcus felt something shift within him. He suddenly felt cold as if he had been plunged in icy water. The world blurred and he could not see, could not breath, could not hear, could not speak. He shivered but he felt as if he could not shiver. He had no body to shiver. Before his mind could process the information Marbas had given, before he could understand what was happening, darkness enveloped Marcus. *** ¡°What did you do to him?¡± shouted Kyrie at Marbas. Marbas said, ¡°Me? Nothing. It seems that your teammate has suffered some form of shock finding out what he was.¡± ¡°He is a¡­¡±, said Kyrie and frowned, ¡°Why can I not remember it? You just told us. He is a¡­¡± Still she was not able to continue. ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡±, said Marbas, ¡°That is the power of the Game Masters meddling with you. You will soon not remember what was discussed here. You will remember it as an important discussion and with passage of time, you will not put proper consideration on it.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Kyrie seemed furious, ¡°What do you mean the Game Masters are meddling with me. Are they wiping my memory?¡± ¡°Such ignorance¡±, said Marbas in a low voice, ¡°And yet I find it tasty. I wonder why.¡± Kyrie looked disgusted at Marbas. She then looked at Marcus and examined him. He simply seemed to have passed out. She wondered why. Marbas had told Marcus what he was. Kyrie had heard it too but for some reason could not remember it. According to Marbas this was the work of the Game Masters. This was giving her a headache. Kyrie decided to simply leave the cave. She bent down and picked Marcus up. She started to carry him out of the cave. Marbas said, ¡°Are we done then?¡± ¡°For now¡±, said Kyrie. Marbas laughed. He said, ¡°For now. I like you. For all the questions that you have asked and have not asked, I like you, Kyrie Shiningstar.¡± The way Marbas spoke her name sent chills down Kyrie¡¯s spine. She ignored him and started to move out of the cave. Marbas said in a soft voice which carried over to Kyrie, ¡°And yet you do not ask the most important question.¡± Do not be goaded by the demon lord, Kyrie, thought Kyrie, do not talk with him anymore. But she could not resist herself. Gently placing Marcus on the ground she walked back to Marbas. ¡°What question?¡± she asked. Marbas smiled. ¡°Who is my biological father, Marbas?¡± said Marbas in a slightly mocking tone, ¡°What is the history behind him and my mother?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°You lie. You do not know anything about my biological father.¡± Marbas¡¯ grin was so wide now that Kyrie could see each of his sharp teeth clearly. He said, ¡°Oh, but I do know. I do not lie, remember? Wouldn¡¯t you like to know about him? I could tell you for a price.¡± Kyrie struggled with herself for a moment. When she had left Una, she had decided to leave everything behind, her family and the knowledge that she would ever get to know about her father. And here was a demon on Una who would give her the information. It would be for a price of course. Then Kyrie looked at Marcus. She looked at what the information had done to him. She took a resolute breath. ¡°No¡±, said Kyrie walking away from Marbas. Kyrie picked Marcus up again and started walking towards the exit. She had almost reached the exit when Marbas spoke again. She never expected Marbas¡¯ next words. They sent her in a state of rage and shock. She dropped Marcus when she heard them and asked for Marbas¡¯ price even though she did not like it. Marbas had said, ¡°Your biological father is on Una.¡± *** When Marcus opened his eyes, he saw colours. Swirling colours all around him. He closed them. The swirling colours were giving him nausea. Then he opened them again. The colours seemed to have stopped swirling, but now they were bright. Marcus closed his eyes again and muttered, ¡°Third time¡¯s the charm.¡± Marcus opened his eyes to find himself in an office. The office was big and white. He could see walls surrounding him but there was no door, or windows. This was odd. Marcus looked around. Cabinets as high as the room were present on one side of the wall. The wall was high, Marcus estimated it to be twenty feet high. There was a desk in front of the cabinets. On this desk was a computer, a photo frame, a few files and some stationery. There was a chair behind the desk for someone working, Marcus presumed, and two chairs in front of the desk for the visitors, Marcus presumed again. The desk was wooden, polished mahogany and looked very odd in the white office. The chairs were also of different colours. The chair behind the desk was blue in colour while the visitors chairs were red and green in colour. Marcus wondered out loud, ¡°Where the fuck am I?¡± ¡°You my dear friend are in your fucking mind. How do you like it?¡± Marcus whirled at the sound of the voice. It was a familiar voice, one which he had heard a lot. Marcus saw himself standing in front of him. The other Marcus was wearing a three piece suit which was made up of many colours. He had a long hat on his head and was wearing flip flops instead of shoes. He looked odd with the ensemble. Marcus said, ¡°You are me. No. Who are you?¡± The other Marcus said, ¡°I am you. You are correct yet incorrect. I am a part of your consciousness, a construct of the spell cast in your brain to help you. I am here yet I am not. I am your worst nightmare. I am your best memory. I am; You know what I am, don¡¯t you?¡± Marcus frowned. He was feeling confused. He said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t know who you are. That¡¯s why I fucking asked you. You look like me but you feel different.¡± The other Marcus clapped his hands together. He said, ¡°Call me the Over Achieving Hatter, the distant cousin to the Under Achieving Trouser, directly related to a Mad Hatter.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Exactly. You can call me Memory.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Memory?¡± Memory replied, ¡°Yes. Memory. With a Capital M. Remember the capitals. They are very important. Without capitals you cannot tell the difference between-¡± Marcus interrupted Memory, ¡°I know the joke. Somehow. Please don¡¯t tell it to me right now. My head seems to be pounding.¡± Memory said, ¡°Your head is indeed pounding. You have received information that has affected your self imposed amnesia. It is interfering with the directive you had set upon the spell. The spell is fighting back. It will take some time but everything will stabilize. Till that time you and I get to spend some fucking quality time. I fucking love it. Memory and ahem, what is your name?¡± Marcus said, ¡°You don¡¯t know my name?¡± Memory smiled, ¡°Oh, I know your name. However, I do not know what you are calling yourself.¡± Chills spread down Marcus¡¯ spine as he said, ¡°Marcus Blank.¡± Memory clapped his hands again and his hat wobbled. He said, ¡°An excellent name. A classic. Marcus. I always liked the name. And Blank. A play on your amnesiac condition, eh? Naice. I like it. Still haven¡¯t lost your touch have you?¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± said Marcus, ¡°Can you please speak in a manner that I can understand?¡± ¡°No can do, Scooby Doo¡±, said Memory. He walked towards the desk and sat on the blue chair. Memory spinned around in the chair and said, ¡°You are free to sit down too, you know. No need to keep on tiring those fucking non existent legs of yours.¡± Marcus sat down on the green chair. Memory stopped spinning and said, ¡°I know you have some fucking questions but now is not the time. You got some information. Information you were not supposed to fucking get. Fucking demons and their knowledge. You are not supposed to be here. Not until; well it doesn¡¯t matter. You are here. And I am sure you would want to know something before you go.¡± Marcus nodded. He asked, ¡°What is this place?¡± Memory said, ¡°I cannot tell you much. Only that you created this place. It is for you and you alone. You can access this place at any time but you need to unlock it. You have not fulfilled the parameters for accessing this place so what I can tell you is fucking limited. However, I can tell you that the information that you obtained from Marbas sent you here as it affected the spell.¡± ¡°What spell?¡± ¡°The spell that you have put on yourself. The spell which is going to help you. Help Una. I cannot say more than this.¡± Marcus was now confused more than ever. Here was a person looking exactly like him in weird clothes telling him that he did this to himself to save Una. What did this mean? Marcus said, ¡°Is this something to do with me being a Game Destroyer?¡± Memory gave a short bark like laugh and said, ¡°But that¡¯s the thing. You are not a Game Destroyer. Don¡¯t you see. Don¡¯t you remember what Marbas told you?¡± A screen appeared in thin air in front of them as Memory waved his arm. On the screen was Marbas. The on screen Marbas said, ¡°You are what they call a Game Destroyer.¡± ¡°See¡±, said Memory pointing at the screen, ¡°Do you see? He did not lie but he did not tell you the entire truth.¡± Marcus said, ¡°What the fuck are you saying? He is telling me that I am a Game Destroyer.¡± ¡°You are not listening¡±, groaned Memory, ¡°Fucking listen.¡± Memory repeated the clip. Marcus heard Marbas say the same thing again. He frowned as he looked at Memory. He did not understand what Memory was trying to say. Memory looked at the expression on Marcus¡¯ face and repeated the clip. Something clicked within Marcus the fourth time Memory repeated the clip. Marcus wondered aloud, ¡°Who are they?¡± ¡°Bingo¡±, said Memory, ¡°You finally got it. Answer it and you will find out more about yourself. However, I recommend not going back to this demon Marbas unless you really have to.¡± ¡°And how do I get the answers I require? What are the parameters for unlocking this room again?¡± said Marcus. ¡°Can¡¯t fucking tell you much mate but your time¡¯s up. The spell seems to have stabilized in your mind. Time for you to go¡±, said Memory. ¡°Wait¡±, said Marcus, ¡°I have so many questions.¡± Memory said, ¡°And I will answer them. Once you come back to me. Oh, this is so exciting. I shall give you a hint. Learn more about Una, the Umaru and the Game Masters. You shall find your way back to me. I fucking believe in you Marcus Blank. Now toodles.¡± Marcus tried to say something but his vision swam. He blacked out again. *** Kyrie looked at the sleeping form of Marcus. It had been two days now. She was getting concerned. She wondered about the adventurer in front of her. Marcus was a thorough adventurer and a good teammate. He liked to research well and always had your back. However, his amnesia was now concerning Kyrie. She was sure that whatever Marbas said triggered some memory that Marcus had and it made him lose consciousness. She hoped that he would wake up fast so that she could have some answers. She was also getting bored with no adventurer versus adventurer fights. Then she felt guilty about that. Here was Marcus, unconscious, and no one knew when he would wake up and Kyrie was thinking about adventurer versus adventurer. She had to get her priorities straight. Considering her priorities, she thought about her conversation with Marbas. He knew about her biological father. He knew that he was on Una and Marbas was willing to give information about him to Kyrie for a price. She knew the price. Marbas wanted her bow. Kyrie did not want to give up her bow. The price was too high. She had decided that when she had come to Una, that she would leave her past behind. And now her past had come back, not to haunt her exactly, but to irritate her. Kyrie decided to move past this. She put the thought of finding her biological father aside. Marbas may have sparked her hope momentarily, but now again, there were just ashes. Kyrie looked at Marcus again. They were in a hospital in Opulential. When Marcus had passed out, Kyrie had carried him outside. With the help of the holy knights, she had brought him to the hospital in Opulentaial which was in a NAIF facility. Adventurers had to be admitted to the hospital of the NAIF facility. It was the rule. Marcus had not woken up since then and two days had already passed. Kyrie wondered what she should do. She did not know when Marcus would wake up. The doctors of the facility were confused too. Per their diagnosis, there was nothing wrong with Marcus physically or magically. Yet he was unconscious. Kyrie was sure they had missed something but she was not sure what. They had Marcus under observation for now. If he did not wake up in a week, then a request would be sent to the Game Masters to come examine him. None of the doctors seemed comfortable with that according to Kyrie. Considering the state of Marcus, Kyrie believed that it could be a possibility. Kyrie stood up and exited Marcus¡¯ room. She exited the hospital and went to the arena. She relaxed after seeing it. Even though she was not fighting, Kyrie considered the arena as her center. It helped reduce her stress, just to see it. Being a water nymph, Kyrie considered that it should be water that would calm her the most. But Kyrie had always been competitive since her childhood. She had to be the best swimmer, the best archer, the best dancer, and now, the best adventurer. And so, the arena helped her relax. There were no matches but the adventurers were free to roam the seating spaces in the arena. Kyrie took a walk amongst the row of seats and smiled. This somehow felt good. This felt like a familiar environment. This felt like comfort. There were other adventurers in the arena and Kyrie waved at them. She recognized a few of them; she had fought them. She made small talk with them. She spent the day at the arena, either walking amongst the seats or talking with adventurers present there, and then went back to the inn that she was staying at in the evening. She would go and visit Marcus tomorrow. Maybe he would wake up then. Kyrie walked into the common room of the inn and stopped short. The common room seemed to be filled with adventurers. Twenty of them in fact. Kyrie counted them fast. She did because as soon as she had entered the common room, all eyes had turned on her. All of the twenty adventurers were looking at her with interest. Two of the adventurers stepped forwards. Kyrie felt they were familiar but could not place them. One was an elf while the other a feliur. The adventurers behind them were a motley of different species. The elf said, ¡°Well, hello there Kyrie Shiningstar. Pleased to meet you dear. I am Tamara Goodleaf and this feliur here is my dear friend Tanniv Kinner.¡± Tanniv gave Kyrie a short nod. Tamara continued, ¡°I am sure you have heard of us. We are the champions of Una after all and we need to talk.¡± Interlude: Rauros and Leyda Rauros was catching up on the anomaly¡¯s progress. With the mess the demonic invasion scenario was causing, Rauros had forgotten that he had asked Charles to keep track of Marcus Blank. As he read through Marcus¡¯ progress, Rauros smiled. Marcus was doing well as an adventurer. After the fight with M¨¢ra, Marcus had formed a team with the water nymph, Kyrie Shiningstar. Rauros remembered her. She was a special case too. Two special cases together. How charming. After forming a team, they had stopped the demon invasion in Sosquatch forest. Rauros was impressed with what the two adventurers had achieved. Even with the help of non-adventurers, the nymphs, it should have been near impossible to kill Cthulhim. Yet Marcus and Kyrie had managed to do so. Then Marcus had gone to Opulential with his teammate, joined the Librarian faction, investigated the demons and had played an instrumental role in stopping Cthulhu. ¡°Well, well, well¡±, muttered Rauros, ¡°The fucking anomaly is actually doing good. Who would have thought. Yes, that¡¯s right. Me.¡± Rauros continued to read the file and his expression soured. The last part was added by Leyda. Leyda discovered that the demon Marbas was planning to give out information to Marcus which would be outside the realm of their deal with the demons. Leyda had tried to put a stop to it but she had been unsuccessful. According to Leyda, Marbas had still told Marcus a part of the truth. That had sent Marcus into an unconscious state. Rauros read what Leyda had written; what Marbas had said. He frowned. He was sure Marcus was not a Game Destroyer. An anomaly on his planet, yes, but not a Game Destroyer. Rauros suspected what Marcus was, but it seemed that Marbas knew definitely what Marcus was. Did Leyda know too? No. Leyda did not know. Rauros remembered the discussion with his wife. Before Rauros had read Marcus¡¯ file, Leyda had had a short discussion with Rauros about Marcus. She shared her suspicion of what Marcus could be and it lined with what Rauros suspected. That made Marbas¡¯ statement to Marcus all the more interesting. You are what they call a Game Destroyer. Who was this ¡®they¡¯ that Marbas spoke of? Was he in contact with someone outside of Una. Rauros needed to investigate this. He would take help from Leyda. They would together break Marbas and find out what he knows. Rauros continued to read. Marcus had been unconscious for three days and then he had woken up. Then his teammate and he had joined the champions of Una on an expedition the champions were going. Rauros smiled. It seemed that their champions had started to use their brains after all. Rauros had looked at the team that Tamara and Tanniv had formed. It was formed of hard hitters. There were no thinkers or strategists in their team. And Marcus had proved his investigative powers. He had shown quick thinking ability and according to the report Rauros was reading, Marcus spent a lot of time in libraries. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Rauros laughed at that behavior. He knew where the base instinct came from. Research till you have no weakness to incorporate. A perfect game. That is what you strive for. That was the training that Rauros himself had undergone and Marcus was showing all the traits that he had undergone a similar training. Rauros could have easily mistaken Marcus for a Game Master except that Marcus did not have the mana reserves a Game Master had. Rauros finished reading the file. The last update about Marcus was that he was in Filinile as of the day before yesterday. The next update would come in a week. If what Rauros had read about Marcus was correct, then the next update would show that Marcus had spent the week in the library. Only time will tell how the situation with Marcus would pan out. For now, Rauros got up. He went in search of Leyda. They had a demon lord to torture. *** Leyda hovered among the clouds and looked down. Melancholia looked so tiny from this height. She smiled. A beautiful sight lay in front of her, a sight she had helped create over the years. And now, her planet was in danger because of the stupidity of her husband. No, thought Leyda, I promised not to think about this. Not tonight. Tonight, I enjoy. Tonight, I relax. Tonight, I meet my ace. It was a decision Leyda had taken. It was time to meet her ace and guide them. She knew Rauros may not be happy, but Leyda was doing this when Rauros was busy with something else. Moreover, Leyda wanted her ace to be alone when she visited them. She did not want anyone else to be a part of the discussion. Leyda sighed and teleported. Her ace was not in Melancholia. Her ace was on Filinile. Leyda was now floating above the landmass of Filinile, about some kilometers away from the capital city of Florianne. From the clouds she could see a small stream running through the forest which was in and around Florianne. Florianne was after all a city inside a forest. The forest then extended for quite some distance from all the sides of the city. There was a river flowing through the city and that river branched into many streams. Leyda knew that her ace was at the stream which was the farthest from the city. Leyda looked at the time. It was almost one o¡¯clock. It seemed that her ace had woken up at zero hour to get to the stream. Her ace had not gone with anyone. Leyda smiled at the thought that her ace was confident in their abilities to defend themselves. Leyda dropped down. She could have teleported, but she wanted to experience the sharp winds blowing around her as she fell freely towards the ground. Before hitting the trees Leyda stopped suddenly with a jerk and remained hovering. Then she gently hovered down to the ground. Leyda walked the remaining distance to the stream. She walked without making a noise. She had also masked her presence. She would reveal herself at the right time. As Leyda watched her ace come out of the stream, their bath finished, Leyda thought of something. Leyda cast a spell and mist rose all around her and her ace. Her ace looked confused, Leyda could see that. Leyda stepped through the mists and greeted her ace. ¡°Hello Kyrie Shiningstar¡±, said Leyda, ¡°We have much to talk about.¡± Patience is a Virtue of the Few ¡°I am bored¡±, whined Kyrie. This was the seventh time today that she had declared she was bored. Marcus looked up from the book he was reading and turned towards Kyrie. He whispered, ¡°You could read a book, you know. We are in a fucking library after all.¡± Marcus gestured around. They were indeed sitting in a library. It was the library in Florianne. According to Marcus, it had luckily escaped harm when the demons had attacked the city. Kyrie said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to read a book. I want to fight another adventurer.¡± Marcus hissed, ¡°Keep your voice down. May I remind you that we are in a library? I think I just mentioned that.¡± Kyrie pouted but she did not speak anything else. Marcus could understand her frustration, but could not do anything about it. He knew that she would need to have patience. They were, after all, waiting for the champions of Una. Tamara and Tanniv, the champions of Una, were highly interesting personnel according to Marcus. Tamara had achieved maximum level as she had been adventuring for quite some time now and refused to retire. Tanniv was also at quite a high level. Marcus would refer to his notes later but he remembered Tanniv to be in the mid hundred and forties. Level wise. The champions had invited Kyrie and Marcus to Florianne to go on an expedition. It was the next step of their major quest. The details of the expedition were not given. However, the champions had told Kyrie that when Marcus woke up, they should go and wait for the champions in Florianne. The champions had some other demon business to take care of before setting off on the expedition. Tamara had promised it would not take them more than two weeks. Marcus had woken up from his coma-like state the next day after the update in the major quest. He had heard from Kyrie as to what happened after he passed out in front of Marbas, the demon lord. Kyrie had asked Marcus if he remembered what Marbas had told him. It seemed that Kyrie had forgotten and could not recall the words of the demon lord, no matter how hard she tried. Marcus had refused to tell her. He gave the reason that the information Marbas had given was not complete. It was sort of a half truth and Marcus did not want to burden Kyrie with the information which she clearly was not meant to know. Kyrie had not been happy but had understood. It was Marcus¡¯ burden to bear for now. She had offered help if Marcus required it in the future regarding this matter and they had closed their discussion on the same. Then, without anything else to do in Opulential, they had portaled to Florianne. That was one month ago. There had been no signs of the champions since they had arrived in Florianne. The champions had travelled to Artorios, the landmass of the elven kingdom. They had gotten vision from the Game Masters regarding a major demon plot on the landmass and the champions had gone to check it out. Marcus and Kyrie had been stuck in Florianne. Well, Kyrie felt more stuck than Marcus. Marcus knew that Kyrie was very much interested in adventurer versus adventurer. Obsessed was a rather apt word. And considering that almost half of Florianne had been destroyed in the demon attack, the arena was closed until further notice. Marcus wondered why people were surprised so much destruction was caused by the demons. Florianne was a city filled with trees, surrounded by a forest from all the sides and even though it had a high wall, trees grew over the wall. There were four paths through the forest that led to the four gates of Florianne. Florianne was not a strategic city where they could defend much against demon attack. A single spark and Marcus imagined there would be fires everywhere. Well, there were more wooden houses in Florianne rather than stone houses. Marcus had actually been impressed that only about half of Florianne had been destroyed. Considering the demon army came through the forest and not the roads where they could be easily seen, the adventurers did a really good job of defending such an inflammable city. Marcus closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he heard a groan from Kyrie. Marcus had been to the library, researching on Filinile, the Game Masters, the adventuring system and in between he had also read some fictional novels. He had also done some minor escort quests and helped in rebuilding Florianne quests. Kyrie had joined Marcus in those quests too. However, Marcus was sure that without adventurer versus adventurer, Kyrie was going to die of boredom. Literally. He believed that Kyrie would just pick a fight with a random adventurer if the arena did not open soon. And it was not going to be open soon. Marcus whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t you need to have your monthly dip?¡± Kyrie whispered back, ¡°I shall go tonight. But right now, I want to kick some adventurer¡¯s arse.¡± Marcus was surprised a bit. Kyrie rarely swore. And she just swore. That, according to Marcus, did not feel right. Marcus stood up and asked Kyrie to follow him. They exited the library. Marcus said, ¡°Get your mount out. Let me take you somewhere.¡± As they exited the library and summoned their mounts, Kyrie said, ¡°Where are we going?¡± Marcus said, ¡°Let me show you the world. Shining. Shimmering. Splendid. Tell me princess, now when did you let your heart decide?¡± Kyrie frowned, ¡°I am not a princess. And why are you singing?¡± Marcus hesitated a moment. Where had that come from? Marcus said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. It is a song. It just came to me.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Come on then. Sing the rest of it. It sounds interesting.¡± Marcus frowned now. He said, ¡°I don¡¯t remember it now somehow.¡± Kyrie shook her head and mounted up on Nalana, her mount. Marcus mounted up on Lara, his mount. Then they took off. They soared through the skies protected by a spell which held them on their mounts, protected them from winds and stopped them from knocking themselves off their mounts. Marcus opened his map and looked at where he wanted to go. Then he turned Lara there and they shot through the air. Kyrie and Nalana followed. They reached a clearing on the top of a hill in about half an hour. The clearing was flat and almost circular in shape. Grass grew and some rocks lay scattered. Other than that, nothing can be found in the clearing. Marcus landed and dismounted Lara. They had reached level 3 and now had 300 health points. It also felt to Marcus that with each level up, the features of Lara were also changing. It was as if they were getting sharper. Nalana had also leveled up too. Marcus and Kyrie dismissed their mounts. Kyrie asked, ¡°What is this place?¡± Marcus replied, ¡°This was where the battle of Atop hill took place. Adventurers faced zombies controlled by an evil necromancer and won. It was a hard, long fought battle. The top of the hill was devastated after it and the Game Masters decided not to have another similar scenario here, let the hill have some rest. The battle affected the ground. Somehow only grass grows on this hilltop.¡± ¡°Fascinating¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°How long was the battle though?¡± Marcus said, ¡°I believe about more than a thousand years ago. The exact date is not mentioned but it was the first set of adventurers on Una who fought the battle. Rauros and Leyda were quite new, and they had just set their first major quest.¡± ¡°You do read a lot, don¡¯t you?¡± Marcus laughed, ¡°And you are realizing that now only.¡± Kyrie shook her head and said, ¡°So, what are we doing here?¡± Marcus said, ¡°We are going to fight.¡± Kyrie raised her eyebrows. She said, ¡°And who are we going to fight?¡± ¡°Each other. This is a good duelling area. We fight till death. I know we will resurrect at the resurrection stone in Florianne but at least you shall have one adventurer versus adventurer fight.¡± ¡°And what makes you worthy to fight me¡±, said Kyrie. Marcus could see the hint of a smile on her face as if she was teasing him. Marcus decided to play along. He said, ¡°I hoped that we could trade pointers oh great master.¡± Kyrie snorted. She could not hold back and started to laugh. Kyrie said, ¡°Okay then. Shall we begin?¡± Marcus and Kyrie took positions. Marcus took his position near the center of the hill, behind a rock which was jutting out of the ground while Kyrie took her position at one of the ends. They decided that they shall restrict themselves to the hilltop and not let their battle spill over on the hill side. Once they were in position, they both raised their hands. Then they put them down together. Their fight had begun. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Marcus charged, trying to close the distance between him and Kyrie while Kyrie shot an arrow at him. Marcus dodged the arrows and made his way forward. When Marcus had reached about two thirds of the distance to Kyrie, Kyrie started to run towards the left. She still continued to shoot arrows. Marcus had to either dodge or parry the arrows with his twinblade. He had not been hit yet. Marcus managed to reach up to Kyrie and slash. Kyrie dodged under his twinblade, managed to get behind Marcus and slam her leg on Marcus¡¯ right leg. As Marcus stumbled, Kyrie shot an arrow point blank at his head. It dealt him 60 points of damage. Marcus swore and rolled out of Kyrie¡¯s further attacks. He charged right up to Kyrie and cast [Whirling Weapon]. Kyrie tried to dodge the attack, but she did get hit. Marcus could see her health points. They dropped to 119 because of the attack. When [Whirling Weapon] stopped, Marcus sidestepped to avoid the arrow he knew Kyrie would be firing. Marcus stepped up to her and slashed his twinblade. Kyrie jumped and landed on the tip of the twinblade. She shot two quick arrows in succession which dealt Marcus 42 and 32 points of damage. His health was now down to 66. He would die at this rate. Marcus closed the distance again, dodging and parrying the arrows and did something Kyrie was not expecting. He threw his twinblade at her. Kyrie dodged it at the last moment, but it did graze her for 19 points of damage. Marcus tackled her and they both went down. Marcus rolled out of the tackle, picked his twinblade and charged at Kyrie who was just getting up. Kyrie tried to block but Marcus got a hit in for about 52 points of damage. One more hit and he would win. But Kyrie tripped him and then disappeared from sight. Marcus knew she would have cast [Fade]. That meant she would not be moving but would be at the same place where she cast the spell. However, he did not know where she was. He had missed her last location when Kyrie had tripped her. Marcus tried slashing in the general direction where he thought Kyrie would be but met thin air. Then he felt the arrow hitting him hard and there was blackness. A question popped up in front of him. Do you want to revive? Yes No He selected Yes and Marcus was back at the adventurer¡¯s guild in Florianne. Marcus smiled as he oriented himself. He had lost but it was a fun fight. He understood the charm of adventurer versus adventurer. Kyrie messaged Marcus. It read, Are you alright? Marcus typed back, I am fine. Just revived. I will be going back to the library now. See you there? The reply came, There is a lake nearby. I can sense it and see it on the map. I think I shall go for my monthly dip. Thank you for the fight. I enjoyed it. Marcus smiled as he exited the guild. Then he started walking towards the library. As he walked, he thought, Maybe I should give this adventurer versus adventurer a try after all. *** Kyrie was feeling calm now. She had a nice fight with Marcus and won; and now she was sitting on the bank of the lake which she had found near the hill. She had already swam once around the lake and now she was sitting on one of the banks which was at some height from the water. It was not too high as her feet still dipped in the water. The ground on which she was sitting was rocky but had water on it. As a result, Kyrie was not uncomfortable. She was kicking water with her legs slowly and humming a tune which her mother had taught her. She smiled as she remembered the days spent with her mother, learning the tune. It was one of her happier memories. After she had finished humming, she dived back in the lake and swam deep to the bottom of the lake. Then she swam around the lake till she felt a bit tired. Normally, swimming did not tire her. Swimming did not tire any water nymph. It was akin to walking, actually requiring less energy than walking. But swimming for hours and especially after a good fight, Kyrie was bound to get tired. Kyrie got out of the water and settled in a nearby puddle. The puddle was not that deep or long and it was comfortable. Kyrie did not turn into her water form in the puddle. She would be sleeping in the lake later that night but right now she wanted to sit and think. Kyrie thought about what to do next. Marcus was content sitting in the library and reading his books till the champions arrived, but Kyrie was not. She had an idea. She needed to convince Marcus to go to a nearby town where she could participate in adventurer versus adventurer. The fight today was good. But it was a small fix. Kyrie was not that patient that she could go without adventurer versus adventurer for long when she knew that she could easily fight in an active arena which would be in the nearby town. Kyrie decided that she would really talk with Marcus tomorrow. They should go to a town. They would wait for the champions there. After all, the champions would communicate with them once they arrived in Florianne. It did not make sense to wait longer for them. Kyrie was sure Marcus would see reason. As she thought about ways to convince Marcus, he heard a splash. Kyrie was startled. The next moment, she had stood up, equipped her tank top, shorts and circlet and brought out her bow, arrow drawn. Kyrie saw someone swim in the lake and approach her. The person swimming came up to the shore where Kyrie was and came out of the water. It was another water nymph. Kyrie smiled. She unequipped everything and gave the water nymph their traditional gesture. She gave a short bow while twirling her hand making the sign of tide and ebb. The water nymph returned the gesture. The water nymph introduced himself, ¡°Hail kin. I am Kieran Hardwater, the nymph local to this lake and the stream which is due West of here.¡± Kyrie introduced herself, ¡°I am Kyrie Shiningstar. An adventurer. I came here to spend time in the water. It is a lovely lake. Are you alone? Are there no other water nymphs?¡± Kieran shook his head sadly and said, ¡°There were once many. However, the demon army took its toll on us. I am the last survivor of our group. I have been living alone, swimming in the stream and the lake. However, it is getting lonely.¡± ¡°Demon army?¡± inquired Kyrie. ¡°You must have heard of the demon army that attacked Florianne¡±, said Kieran and Kyrie nodded. Kieran continued, ¡°A part of the army passed through this lake. We were all resting when we were attacked. I somehow managed to escape, but the others, the others¡­¡± Kieran could not continue. Kyrie understood what had happened. An entire group of water nymphs. Killed. By the demons. Kyrie said, ¡°Did you not have a high priest or priestess?¡± Kieran said, ¡°No one in our group was that trained. And we were not large in number. There were only ten of us. We had thought of travelling to a larger group in the future but for now we were content.¡± ¡°I am sorry¡±, said Kyrie and Kieran simply nodded. There was silence for some time. Then Kieran spoke, ¡°It is good to see another water nymph. An adventurer too in fact. I wonder how that happened. I believed that we were not strong enough to fight. Was that wrong?¡± Kyrie shook her head. She said, ¡°Water nymphs can fight. You are on Una. A place of magic and adventures. You do not need a bow or a sword to fight. You can fight with magic too. You should have known when you came to this planet. Let me tell you about this world again from the perspective of a water nymph adventurer.¡± And Kyrie told her about her journey from Solaris to this lake. She did leave some parts out, parts that were personal to her and focused more on quests, adventurer versus adventurer and travelling through Una. Kieran was a good and patient listener. Kyrie enjoyed talking things with him. Kieran reacted aptly at various instances, and they talked late into the night enjoying each other¡¯s company. They slept in the lake when they were tired from talking. The next morning Kyrie woke up refreshed. She wished she had the [Well Rested] bonus that Marcus had. It was so unfair according to her. Kieran also came out of the lake in the morning. They greeted each other and had some breakfast. It was a few fruits and herbs which Kieran had gathered. The breakfast was delicious. The more time she spent with Kieran, the more Kyrie felt enjoying herself. There was a certain charm around Kieran which somehow Kyrie found attractive. Kieran stood at about a foot taller than her and had a well-toned and muscular body. His swimming prowess was also good which Kyrie had observed last night and this morning. He was definitely pleasing to the eye but there was a hint of sadness lingering around him. After breakfast Kieran said, ¡°What will you do now?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°I need to go to my teammate in Florianne. I need to convince him to go to another town. I am getting bored in Florianne. I need a fight. An adventurer versus adventurer fight.¡± Kieran nodded, ¡°Yes. Adventurer versus adventurer. You explained that to me.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°What are you going to do, Kieran?¡± Kieran said, ¡°I think I shall go look for a group. Maybe the one in Umanahash in Sosquatch forest. I think I would like it there.¡± Kyrie smiled at that. She said, ¡°That would be good for you.¡± Kieran nodded. There was silence between them for some time. No one moved or said anything. They spent some time in silence. It was somehow comforting to Kyrie. Kieran said, ¡°Will you be leaving now?¡± Kyrie asked, ¡°Should I stay?¡± ¡°I would like that. I do enjoy your company. It has brought me healing. I had actually thought of becoming one with the water when I met you. I want to court you, but I have a feeling that you would be more focused on being an adventurer as of now¡±, said Kieran in a rush. Kyrie laughed out loud. She said, ¡°I like you too, Kieran. But yes, you are right. You cannot court me as I am an adventurer now. I have just started my journey and have no plans of retiring as of now. Maybe, after my life as an adventurer is over, maybe you are not courting anyone by then, maybe we can see.¡± Kyrie did not know how to continue. Kieran nodded, ¡°I understand.¡± He got up and continued, ¡°I will make my way to the stream then. It leads to a river which leads to the ocean. It will be a long journey, but I think I can make it to Sosquatch forest. I will take help from other nymphs on my journey.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Or you could come with me, and I could help you teleport to Opulential. From there, you can make your way faster.¡± ¡°You would do that? For me?¡± said Kieran. Kyrie blushed and said, ¡°It¡¯s not a big thing. Adventurers teleport all the time. And I have heard that non-adventurers teleport too if they have the units.¡± ¡°I have no units.¡± Kyrie waved his concern away, ¡°I have you covered.¡± Kyrie then summoned her mount. She asked Nalana whether they would be able to carry two nymphs. Nalana gave an asserting grunt. Kieran admired Nalana all the while they were flying to Florianne. Kyrie could see that Nalana was pleased with Kieran¡¯s attention. It seemed that even her mount liked Kieran. Kyrie paid for Kieran¡¯s teleportation to Opulential and further instructed him regarding what to do once he reached there. She also gave him some units in case he got into trouble. Kieran thanked her and hugged her. Kyrie was feeling a bit giddy by the end of the hug. They said their goodbyes and Kieran stepped through the portal. Once Kieran was gone, Kyrie walked around in a daze. She felt happy somehow. Time spent with Kieran had helped her. But now she had to focus. She found Marcus at the inn where they were staying. Kyrie said, ¡°Let¡¯s go Marcus. I am tired of waiting for the champions. Let us go to a nearby town where the arena is operational. The champions can contact us when they are here. We cannot keep our adventuring on hold for them.¡± Marcus looked at Kyrie closely and said, ¡°Something has changed about you. You look more grounded. What happened after our fight?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Are we going or not?¡± Marcus said, ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go to a nearby town. You are right.¡± They checked out of the inn and started making their way towards the portal. Marcus said, ¡°Will you tell me though as to what happened to you after our fight?¡± Kyrie laughed and dragged Marcus by his hand, ¡°Come, I will tell you on the way.¡± And the two adventurers made their way to the next part of their adventure. Preparations for the Expedition A month passed. Marcus and Kyrie had teleported to the town of Chargrine from Florianne. The town was Southeast of Florianne and quite a distance from it. Marcus had wondered how long it would have taken to fly to this town. In the month, Marcus had read some more books in the library, did some minor quests and also found one of the missing books and earned 3,000 experience points for submitting it. The book had been The Major Quests of Una by Lidwick Thane. It had not even been tough to find it. He found it in a preserved room in one of the ruins near Chargrine. He had leveled up twice and was now at level 48. Almost 50. In the same month, Kyrie had dominated the adventurer versus adventurer arena. There seemed to be a lot of adventurers in Chargrine and especially in level 41 to level 50 bracket. Kyrie had taken her time but was now ranked 1 in adventurer versus adventurer at Chargrine. She had written her report about the experience but had not submitted it. She said she would do it in Florianne. She had also leveled up and was now level 50. Finally, they got a message from Tanniv. Actually, Kyrie got the message. She was the point of contact in their team. The champions and their teams would meet Marcus and Kyrie in Fontaine. It was another city in the Southernmost part of Filinile. Umanahash had only one city, Opulential, while the rest of Umanahash was filled with towns and villages. However, Filinile had two cities on the landmass Florianne and Fontaine. Fontaine was very much similar to Florianne. However, the forest cover around Fontaine was less and Marcus also observed that the number of trees in the city were also less than that in Florianne. After arriving in Fontaine, Kyrie had sent a message to Tanniv. The champions and their teams were staying at the inn The Wild Green. Marcus and Kyrie made their way to the inn. The inn was in the central part of Fontaine, near the market district. It was also close to the library and the arena could also be seen from the inn. Marcus felt that this inn was especially for adventurers as it seemed to be at an optimal distance from all the facilities an adventurer may require. The inn was run by a Feliur named Kana Washai. She smiled as Marcus and Kyrie entered. Marcus inquired about the champion and learned that the champions were in the common room. Marcus thanked Kana and both him and Kyrie entered the common room. The common room was empty except for the champions and their team members. As Marcus and Kyrie entered, Tanniv and Tamara greeted them. Then they pulled Kyrie on to the side and left Marcus on his own. Kyrie looked as if she wanted to protest but it seemed that the champions had decided that she was more important of the two. Marcus sat on one of the empty tables and looked around. He looked at the champions and their teammates. He had read about them on the Globalnet. He looked at Tamara first. Tamara Goodleaf. Even without being the champion, she was already famous. She was at max level and refused to retire from her life as an adventurer. She used a longsword and a shield and Marcus had seen photos of her armor. The legendary armor of Goronos. Goronos was a dragon who lived about tens of thousands of years ago. Not on Una, on the homeworld of the dragons. When Goronos died, the dragons honored him by making an armor out of his bones, scales and a metal which was found in the homeworld of the dragons. Initially, the armor was made such that it would fit a dragon. However, the dragons brought this armor when they came to Una. The details were not found on Globalnet, but Tamara received this armor from the dragons when she did a quest for them. Marcus then looked at Tamara¡¯s teammates. The first was an elf, Shania Windleaf. She seemed to be related to Tamara as they looked very much alike. Marcus considered that she must be a distant cousin of Tamara. Shania was also a high-level adventurer, standing at 202 level and used dual daggers. She always had a smile on her face and Marcus felt that she kept a positive outlook because he had read about her fighting reputation. In a fight she was ruthless, and this friendly smile turned into a chilling smirk during the fight. Marcus shivered a bit as he thought about it. The second and third teammates were a feliur couple. Duranos and Shadra Longclaw were well established adventurers of The Feliur Kingdom. Their level was in the one-eighties. Duranos fought with a quarterstaff and used his claws sometimes while Shadra was a healer who used a wand and a charm. Marcus noticed that their fur was darker shade and they somehow reminded Marcus of panthers. The next four teammates were humans. Marcus had read about them. They were known in The Mercenary Faction as The Bloody Hounds. They were excellent trackers and fighters. Their leader was Mikhail Ivanov who was their tank who used a mace and a greatshield. It was a really big shield according to Marcus as it covered Mikhail completely. Their dps was Vladimir Ivanov. Vladimir and Mikhail were brothers. Vladimir used a unique weapon. Throwing axes which came back to him. Marcus wondered how that worked. The third member of The Bloody Hounds was Ivan Babanin. He was the team¡¯s controller and used dual wands. That was unique too according to Marcus. The final member was Victor Pavlov, and he was the team¡¯s healer and support. Marcus had read that he did not fight much and mostly used spells to either buff his teammates or heal them. If any enemy came close to him, he had a greatmace with which he pummeled them. All the members of The Bloody Hounds were in the level range of 190 to 200. The last two teammates were nymphs. There was a land nymph level 210 named Garun Stonehash and a wood nymph level 220 named Sylivianna Twigbreak. Both of the nymphs used bow and arrows along with spells. Based on what Marcus had read, their fighting style seemed similar to Kyrie. All in all, it was a nice high-level team that Tamara had gathered to battle the demons. All of them seemed to be heavy hitters. They had to be considering the number of battles they would need to fight. Marcus observed that they seemed comfortable with each other, which was good. Then Marcus looked at Tanniv. Tanniv Kinner. The second champion of Una. Marcus had not seen a feliur with such white, bright and shiny fur. Did it never get dirty? Tanniv was at level 153 and carried a greatsword. The sword was longer than Tanniv, but feliurs did have a hunched way of walking. Marcus wondered how tall the feliurs would be if they actually straightened. Marcus then looked at Tanniv¡¯s teammates. Of his nine teammates, one was human, one was gnome, one was feliur and the rest six were a new species which Marcus had not encountered before. They were called celestials. They looked like humans with the exception being that they had different types of halos floating above their heads, a pair of wings on their back and tails swishing around everywhere. Marcus considered the tails of the celestials more majestic than that of feliurs. Where did these celestials come from? Marcus had read that the celestials were a recent species that had been integrated into the world of Una, about five years ago. There were not many adventurers and somehow Tanniv had six on his team. And all of these celestials were in the range of 100 to 150 in their levels. The first teammate of Tanniv was the celestial Hestia Spellblade. She was at level 102. Marcus had read that she used a new type of weapon which Una did not have before; a chakram. The chakrams were two sharp discs with handles in the center. They were meant to be thrown for attack and they came back to the wielder once thrown. Hestia had a crescent shaped golden halo on her head and her skin was golden in colour. The second teammate was the celestial Artemis Windrunner. She was at level 124. She used a large bow, the largest Marcus had ever seen. She had a full silver halo on her head and had silver skin. The third teammate was the celestial Thalia Humoro. She was at level 152. She used a longsword and had a special glove used to cast spells. The glove boosted her magical damage. She had a wobbly circular red halo, and her skin was red in colour, similar to the demons somehow. However, she was not a demon, that much Marcus could discern. The fourth teammate was the celestial Erato Muse. She was at level 143. She used a long glaive as her weapon. She had a white circular halo, and her skin was completely white in colour. The fifth teammate was the celestial Clio Thermopolis. She was at level 200, the highest in Tanniv¡¯s team. She used a rapier and a buckler as her primary weapons, and she also threw short daggers for attacking at short to medium range. She had a circular golden arrow with golden skin. The sixth teammate was the celestial Athena Sharp. She was at level 122. She used two spell enhancing gloves on both her hands and for melee attacks she summoned a pure magic blade which dealt magical attack. She dealt only magical attacks, no physical attack. She had a white quarter of a circle halo with white skin. Marcus thought that the celestials were multicoloured. He had never seen so many colours in a species. Then he wondered as to how many different intelligent species he had seen, even before his amnesia. And as usual, he could not remember, which was not surprising to him at all. The seventh teammate, the gnome, was Tim Garretth. He was at level 102. Marcus had read that he did not use any weapons primarily. Instead, he was more of a support and controller and attacked enemies with explosive mixtures while supporting his teammates with potions. He was a master alchemist, and he did carry a large dirk for enemies who got too close to him. The eighth teammate was the feliur Kenirath Hopfoot. He was at level 145. He used a greatsword similar to Tanniv and had minimal armor on him. Marcus had read that Kenirath was a good friend of Tanniv and they had had adventures together much in the past. His fur was yellowish in colour with black spots at certain places reminding Marcus of a leopard. The final teammate, the human, Marcus found most interesting. Her name was Selena Ramirez. She was at level 100 and used an estoc paired with a short dagger. She also carried a shortbow for ranged attacks. She also carried throwing stars, throwing daggers and explosive mixtures. That was a wide range of weapons that she worked with. That was not what Marcus found interesting. Seeing Selena awakened something deep within Marcus¡¯ brain. An image. A woman who looked so much like Selena. A flash of red hair and Marcus winced in pain. He had remembered something, and it had hurt him. He had known someone who looked like Selena, someone important but he did not know who. Marcus stared for some more time at Selena, hoping it would jog some memory. But nothing happened. Selena noticed Marcus staring at her and came up to him. ¡°You do know it is rude to stare¡±, said Selena. Marcus replied, ¡°I am sorry. It¡¯s just that you look like someone I know, but I can¡¯t just remember who.¡± Selena laughed, ¡°Do you use this pick up line on all girls?¡± Marcus frowned, ¡°What pick up line? I am genuinely trying to place you but am not able to do so because of my amnesia. Have we met before? Do you know me?¡± Selena said, ¡°And yet it feels like you are hitting on me. To answer your question, we have not met. But I do know a bit about you. Not much has been written about you on the Globalnet yet, but Tanniv and Tamara have asked around and they found out a lot of things about you and Kyrie. Involved in killing three demon lords. That is the maximum number of demon lords killed or assisted in killing by an adventurer. I am impressed. Actually, I am easily impressed but this is still impressive, you know.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Thank you, I guess.¡± Selena tried to say something but stopped as Kyrie, Tamara and Tanniv came up to them. Tamara said, ¡°Making friends already. Good. We all need to get along. We have explained the expedition to Kyrie, Marcus. She will tell you the details. However, she tells me your gear is not up to date. That is alright. We leave in a couple of weeks. Sufficient time to update right. Selena here will help as the two of you seem to be getting along. Excellent. Now, come on then, Selena. We need an internal team meeting to discuss some things. Marcus and Kyrie, you go do something else. Hurry now. Chop Chop.¡± Selena looked at Tanniv who shrugged and pointed at other team members. Tamara, Tanniv and Selena went up to them. Selena waved goodbye to Marcus who exited the common room with Kyrie. Marcus said, ¡°Who says chop chop?¡± Kyrie replied in a deadpan voice, ¡°Apparently Tamara.¡± They both laughed as they exited the inn. Marcus said, ¡°I presume we would not be spending the nights here?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°No, no. Nothing like that. We can get a room here if we want. However, Tamara or Tanniv would have to vouch for us. The innkeeper is not letting anyone else stay for the moment. The champions are paying her well to ensure their privacy.¡± Marcus nodded, ¡°Makes sense. Let¡¯s just go stay in another inn. Nearby though.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°I am fine with that.¡± They went to another inn nearby, The Galloping Galo, which was run by an umaru. They took a room there and went to the common room for lunch. Marcus said as they sat down, ¡°So, what did you think of the champions?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°They are polar opposites. Tamara thinks this is still all fun and games even though non adventurers have died. She did show sincerity but I really cannot tell. She was not serious half the time she talked. Tanniv was the opposite of Tamara. He was completely serious all the time and he hardly talked while Tamara talked a lot. It was Tanniv who gave me the details of the expedition while Tamara wasted a lot of time talking about non relevant stuff. They did ask me questions about my background though. That was uncomfortable.¡± Marcus nodded. Their food arrived. They ate in silence for some time. Then Marcus said, ¡°What is the expedition about then?¡± Kyrie took some time to reply, ¡°You know the demons are wreaking havoc on all the landmasses. The champions, as a part of their major quest, need to go to all the landmasses in order to kill the demon lords and bring peace to the landmass. However, there is one land mass they have not been able to go to.¡± ¡°Urtor¡±, guessed Marcus, ¡°The landmass of The Undead Kingdom.¡± Kyrie nodded and said, ¡°Yes. The majority of the landmass is terraformed such that the undead can survive there. That is why the undead mostly do quests there. Species other than the undead cannot survive much there. There are fewer Umaru on that landmass. I mean, you can survive for some time. But long term exposure to the terraformed environment of that landmass affects species other than the undead in weird ways.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°The champions would need to go to Urtor if they have to kill demon lords on each landmass. Are they looking for something that would help them do that?¡± ¡°You kind of guessed it, Marcus. The champions are looking for a spell. It is a mana intensive spell which can help them survive on Urtor. There are two places in Una where they could find the spell. The first is deep within Urtor, so that is not possible. The second is somewhere deep within the mountains of Gunin mountain range in Filinile.¡± Marcus raised an eyebrow at that, ¡°Gunin mountain range! Our treasure quest. Could it be a coincidence?¡± Kyrie shrugged, ¡°Looks like a coincidence as of now. Our treasure quest ends in us getting units as per what Reginush told us. And the champions do not know where the spell is. So, the expedition is simple but long. We are going to scour the depths of Gunin mountain range in search of the spell.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Okay then. Sounds like a lot of work. I understand why the champions and their teammates are doing this. But, why us? Why were we invited to this expedition?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°I asked them the same question. They told me to wait and find out. It was a rather ambiguous answer and I do not like it.¡± Marcus said, ¡°I do not like it either. I mean, we are scouring the depths of Gunin mountain range. What does that mean? Did they tell you that?¡± Kyrie shook her head and Marcus continued, ¡°Then they have done no research and are planning to search till they just find the spell. That is ridiculous. No matter. At least we have a week. I shall read more about the Gunin mountain range and what this depth means. It is better to go prepared.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°I agree with you.¡± Marcus said, ¡°But why are we leaving in two weeks. I thought we would be on our way by tomorrow or the day after.¡± Kyrie gave a sheepish grin and said, ¡°That was me. I asked them for two weeks. After all, I have to be ranked first here at Fontaine, at least in my bracket, do I not?¡± Marcus realized what she meant. He laughed. Adventurer versus adventurer strikes again. *** The next morning Kyrie went off to the arena. She was going to have at least one match lined up today. Marcus went in search of better equipment. The market was close to the inn. There were many shops. Marcus needed everything except headgear where he had his Circlet of Hope. He needed a new twinblade, a new chest armor, new bracers and leg wraps. He checked his units. He had 50,123 units on him. That was a good amount. He would hopefully get good gear. Marcus smiled, feeling good. He had saved these units over the last few weeks after his fight with Cthulhu. He had not even paid units to NAIF for his debt. He had been regularly paying some units before his encounter with Cthulhu. His debt to NAIF was now down to 70,000 units. Marcus had started to get a bit comfortable with it. He would pay it off fast, faster than Kyrie at least. Marcus examined his current gear. Magic Iron Twinblade Physical Attack: Base 10 + Strength 1 + Dexterity 3 Magical Attack: Base 10 + Intelligence 15 Block: 20% Critical Attack Chance: 2% Critical Attack Damage: 10% Requirements: 8 Strength, 10 Dexterity, 10 Intelligence Description: A twinblade with Magic attack. Scales more on intelligence and provides high magical damage. Leather Cotton Armor Physical Resistance: 5 Magical Resistance: 2 Description: An armor made up of a combination of leather and cotton giving you the protection in the form of best of both worlds but actually has less resistances than pure armor. Pure Cotton Pants Armor Magical Resistance: 5 Description: Light, breezy and yet perfectly snug, the everyday wear for a combat mage. Iron bracers Physical Resistance: 7 Description: Light and sturdy. Better than leather yet not quite in the category of heavy armor, these bracers would serve to protect an adventurer well. Circlet of Hope Physical Resistance: Wearer Level Magical Resistance: Wearer Level Spell Slot 2 Description: A Legendary Circlet once worn by the King Ganamush the Benevolent. The wearer of this circlet would be blessed with the King¡¯s protection giving them resistances equivalent to their level. It binds to the wearer who wears it and can only be given to a non adventurer after the adventurer is done with it. Except for his Circlet of Hope, all the gear was crap. Marcus wondered how he had survived for so long with such crappy gear. Then Marcus remembered the extra damage he always got in a fight and groaned. Marcus had now reached the market area and looked around. Globalnet had some recommendations but he was not 100% sure regarding which shop he wanted to go to. He wondered where he should start from when he got a message. It was from Selena. Selena wrote, ¡®Where are you?¡¯ Marcus wrote back, ¡®I am at the market area. Near the central fountain.¡¯ Selena wrote, ¡®Stay there. I am coming to you. Five minutes max.¡¯ Marcus sighed and sat down on one of the benches near the fountain. It took Selena 15 minutes to get to Marcus. Selena asked as she arrived, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± She looked annoyed. Marcus said, ¡°Shopping for new equipment.¡± ¡°And what¡±, said Selena with a huff, ¡°did Tamara tell you yesterday?¡± Marcus said, ¡°That we have a couple of weeks till the expedition and we need to prepare for that.¡± Selena looked pointedly at Marcus till Marcus said, ¡°Is there anything I can help you with?¡± Selena took a deep breath, perhaps to calm herself. Then she said in a clipped tone, ¡°She also asked me to help you get the equipment. So, tell me then. Why are you here, alone and have not informed me?¡± Marcus said in an affronted tone, ¡°I am perfectly capable of buying equipment on my own. I have researched the items that I can buy and I have a feeling that I can get them here. It would take some time but I do have two weeks, don¡¯t I?¡± Selena suddenly laughed. She said, ¡°You have researched. Oh my god! You have gorking researched. That is gorking hilarious. Okay, great researcher. Tell me, what is the gorking cost of a twinblade which an adventurer such as you would require?¡± Marcus said a bit uncomfortably, ¡°The price was missing in my research. However, I could get the information through a primary survey, which basically means I ask the shopkeepers.¡± Selena again laughed at that. She said, ¡°I like you Marcus Blank. You are hilarious. Let¡¯s go then. Let¡¯s ask a shopkeeper. Let¡¯s buy your equipment.¡± Considering the way Selena spoke, Marcus hesitated. He looked at her and she simply gestured to enter a nearby weapon¡¯s shop. No, she knew something which Marcus did not. Marcus said, ¡°Hmm, it seems that you know the price of a twinblade that I would require. And you want me to experience some fucking humiliation. Am I correct?¡± Selena said, ¡°No. No. I just want you to shop on your own. Here. I am leaving.¡± And Selena started to walk away. Marcus looked at the nearby weapon¡¯s shop. Then at Selena who was still walking away, not at a hurried pace, but she did not show any signs of stopping. Marcus sighed and said, ¡°Wait. Wait. Wait.¡± He ran up to her and stopped her. He continued, ¡°I am sorry I did not wait for you. I did not take the words of Tamara seriously. I really did not think you would come to help me. So, I just came to the market on my own. I am sorry I did not think to check with you before coming though. In short, I am sorry.¡± Selena twitched her lips in both directions and looked at Marcus for some time. Then she nodded and said, ¡°Your apology sounds sincere. It is gorking accepted. Now, let¡¯s go shopping. I am excited.¡± Marcus said in a resigned voice, ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go.¡± Selena said, ¡°Before we go. I need to know certain things. First, what are your stats? Your basic ones like strength, dexterity and all that. Second, I want to look at your current gear. And finally, I also want to know what is your budget for getting everything.¡± Marcus shared with Selena just his basic stats. Adventurer Level: 48 Experience: 150 / 3,800 Strength: 14 Dexterity: 26 Intelligence: 30 Vitality: 25 Agility: 20 Wisdom: 20 Luck: ??? Health: 200 Mana: 140 Selena looked at them and said, ¡°Not bad. You are going for a hybrid dexterity intelligence build and have a good point spread. I think you can currently go for a twinblade which has a 25 dexterity and intelligence requirement. Okay. Show me your gear.¡± Marcus did, albeit a bit reluctantly. Selena examined his gear. Then she looked at him. Then she examined the gear again and again looked at him. After the fifth time she did it, Marcus said, ¡°I know it is not much.¡± Selena interrupted him, ¡°This is gorking trash. Except for the Circlet of Hope. That is neat. Don¡¯t lose it. It will be the best gear for you in the long run. But the rest. I mean. Come on. What the gork have you been doing? What is your budget for the new gear you were going to buy? I hope it is good.¡± Marcus said, ¡°It is 50,000 units.¡± ¡°For everything?¡± Selena asked in a surprised tone. ¡°For everything¡±, confirmed Marcus. Selena looked at him for some time. Then she whacked him. ¡°What the fuck!¡± exclaimed Marcus. Selena whacked him again. Marcus said, ¡°Stop hitting me.¡± Selena said, ¡°What kind of gorking adventurer are you? How the gork did you remain alive till now?¡± Marcus said, ¡°The same way Kyrie did. Amazing fighting skills, running away from tough fights and I have a feeling in my case, I am very lucky.¡± That earned him another whack. Selena said, ¡°Come on idiot. I am taking you to get proper equipment. 50,000 units would get you zagui shit. Come on. I am paying. You can pay me back anytime in the future. I will not have one of my fellow adventurers wear rags when they could be in good armor. The same shit with weapons.¡± And Selena dragged Marcus into the weapons store before Marcus could protest much. They went to different shops, looking at different quality of equipment, trying it out and negotiating prices. It took hours but Marcus finally had a decent set. Shimmering Twinblade Physical Attack: Base 50 + Strength*1 + Dexterity*3 Magical Attack: Base 50 + Intelligence*5 Special Attack: 10% chance of Blinding Enemies. Levels up with Twinblade Proficiency Block: 20% Critical Attack Chance: 5% Critical Attack Damage: 20% Requirements: 10 Strength, 25 Dexterity, 25 Intelligence Description: A rare twinblade with Magic attack. Scales more on intelligence and provides high magical damage. The blades of this weapon are made with glimmerstone which also causes temporary blindness amongst the enemies. Arachne Silk Robe Physical Resistance: 50 Magical Resistance: 50 Description: An armor made from the silk produced by the arachne found on Una. Stronger than spider silk, the armor has defensive capabilities against both physical and magical damage. Hard Wraps Physical Resistance: 20 Magical Resistance: 20 Description: Wraps made from the leather extracted from the magical beings - Kanashis. Strong and light, the wraps provide defense against physical and magical damage. Aduminotium Bracers Physical Resistance: 100 Description: Bracers made from aduminotium, one of the hardest metals found on Una. They are made with master craftsmanship such that they are light in weight but provide maximum protection. Marcus loved his new equipment. His twinblade had a different design than his previous one and it shimmered in sunlight. The robe armor was light and felt great on skin. It was black in colour with silver spider like patterns covering its entire length. The wraps were also comfortable and they wound around his legs, from slightly above his ankles to his knees, and they did not hinder his movement. The bracers were amazing. Black in colour, they fit right over his robe on his arms and had an intricate pattern carved on it. This equipment, along with his Circlet of Hope fulfilled the basic armor necessities. Selena also made him buy a pair of gloves. These gloves did nothing except add 4 spell slots for Marcus. Now he had 6 spell slots that he could use. Other than gloves, Selena also made him buy an enchanted set of boots. These enchanted boots increased his walking and running speed by 10%. Marcus loved them too. All of this racked up a total of 260,000 units. Selena considered this cheap and she told Marcus that this gear would help him for at least another 30-40 levels. He would not have to think of upgrading till he got to level 80 now. Marcus was hoping he could push it till level 100. After this, Marcus bought just one new spell. Selena had advised that Marcus buy only the most necessary spells. There would be quests in the future that would give him good spells and Marcus would not want to waste his units now. Marcus examined the new spell he had bought. [Force Push] Hits the enemy with a force which would push him back. The distance the enemy gets pushed back depends upon the weight of the enemy. Does not cause any damage. Mana cost of 10. Cooldown 30 seconds. It had cost him 30,000 units. Then he had taken Selena¡¯s advice and kept his other spell slots empty. He was already in debt with NAIF. Now he was in debt with Selena. He did not like that much. At the end of the day Marcus said, ¡°Thank you. I don¡¯t know what else to say. Thank you.¡± Selena blushed a bit and said, ¡°Meh. We are going to be part of a big team. We are fellow adventurers. We can always help each other. If not us, then who will help us?¡± Marcus nodded. Then a thought formed in his mind. He said, ¡°Can you help Kyrie too?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Selena. Marcus explained Kyrie¡¯s gear and the condition for the same to Selena. Selena looked a bit pissed at the end. Selena said slowly, ¡°I don¡¯t think I can help her. However, I think Tamara can. Let me ask her. See what she can do.¡± They then went for dinner as it was getting late to a nearby restaurant. They talked about each other for some time. Well, Selena talked as Marcus had not much to say. Selena was a local. She was born in Caramoor, the capital city of Reyarth. She was the seventh and the youngest of seven siblings. She had five sisters and a brother. She told Marcus that she always wanted to be an adventurer as far as she could remember. The locals could become adventurers after they reach adulthood. So, Selena had trained with different weapons over the years, along with her studies and as soon as she turned 18, she had applied to be an adventurer at NAIF. Marcus learned that there was a short interview and physical test for Una inhabitants to become adventurers. Selena had cleared it with flying colours it seemed. This was 4 years ago. She did not give much details on her family and her life before she became an adventurer but they talked about a few of her adventures. She was a bit disappointed with the demon invasion because the major quest that she was doing for The Human Kingdom was interesting and would have given her good experience and units. Selena also asked about Marcus¡¯ experience in dealing with 3 demon lords and Marcus told her. She was a good listener and Marcus seemed to enjoy talking with her. At the end of the dinner, they parted. Selena went back to her inn to talk with Tamara about Kyrie¡¯s equipment and then to rest. Marcus went to the library. He wanted to do some light reading before he went to sleep. He had a smile on his face as he walked. Marcus Blank was happy. *** Two weeks passed fast. Tamara or other adventurers did not have a solution for Kyrie¡¯s equipment plight. However, Tamara did advise that Kyrie could talk with dwarven artisans. They could help get her better equipment which would help her condition. In the two weeks, Kyrie reached rank 1 in the 41-50 bracket at the arena. Marcus also read everything he could find about Gunin mountain range and the area surrounding it. He also read about the smallest mountain and how to access it. It would help them to find the treasure. Marcus woke up one day to find Selena knocking at the door of his and Kyrie¡¯s room. Selena said as Marcus opened the door, ¡°Tomorrow. We leave tomorrow. Finish all your business today.¡± And she left. Marcus and Kyrie looked at each other. They did not have much left to do that day. They simply relaxed. Tomorrow they would finally head out. Tomorrow, the expedition would truly begin. The Gunin Mountain Range Marcus came out of the portal the last. The others had already walked through. Marcus looked around. They were in Cosolaris, a town near the Gunin mountain range. Marcus remarked to Kyrie, ¡°Cosolaris. Just a co away from Solaris. What do you say?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Are you referring that Solaris and Cosolaris are similar sounding and the only difference between them are the two letters forming co.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And the way you said it, you find this funny.¡± ¡°Somehow I do.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Tanniv asked everyone to get a move on and they did. The champions, their teammates, Marcus and Kyrie exited the building containing the portal. Tamara said, ¡°Alright. First we take some rest. Talk to some locals. Find out the nearest entrance to get us inside the Gunin mountain range. Then we set out tomorrow.¡± Marcus said, ¡°I already sent you several entrances. Did you not read the files I sent you? It contains a lot of information summarized regarding the Gunin mountain range, the entrances to the mountain range, the enemies in the area surrounding the range and what we could potentially expect in the mountain range. Tamara and Tanniv stared at Marcus. The others did the same too. Kyrie was however unperturbed. She did not say anything. Tamara said, ¡°Did you send these files to everyone?¡± ¡°Yes¡±, came several replies. Tamara glared at her teammates. Tanniv looked as if he was going to laugh. Tamara glared at him next and said, ¡°Do not laugh. You have not read them either.¡± Marcus said, ¡°It won¡¯t take much time. Two to three hours max.¡± Tamara said, ¡°New plan. Those who have not read Marcus¡¯ files, read them. Kindly raise your hands if you have read them.¡± All the celestials raised their hands along with Selena and The Bloody Hounds. Tamara said, ¡°Congratulations. Selena, please go and find us a good inn to stay for the night.¡± ¡°It is in a file¡±, Marcus tried to say something but stopped when Tamara glared at him. Tamara said with clenched teeth, ¡°Selena will take care of it. The rest, please go around and interact with the locals. Find out a good nearby entrance. Validate Marcus¡¯ research.¡± Kyrie asked, ¡°What should we do?¡± Tamara said, ¡°Have you read Marcus¡¯ research?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then you form a part of the people who would go and interact with the local populace. Don¡¯t go looking for an arena. There is none here. I know that much.¡± ¡°And what about me?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°You go with Selena¡±, said Tanniv before Tamara could hit him. It looked as if Tamara did want to hit Marcus. Marcus did not understand why. Selena grabbed Marcus and sort of dragged him away from Tamara. The others dispersed too. Marcus said, ¡°What¡¯s her problem?¡± ¡°You sort of undermined her authority when you told her about the files and also made her look bad when you asked her whether she had read them or not¡±, said Selena, ¡°She is fun and all but does have an ego. Also, I think she was caught unaware that anyone could research something and prepare a summarized version. No adventurer I have heard of does this. Not even those belonging to The Librarian faction. I mean, they interact with people, do quests and get their information from primary sources. I don¡¯t think I have seen anyone spend as much time in the library as you do. I mean I tried to contact you the last two weeks. Everytime I did you were in the library. Did you spend all your time there?¡± Marcus shrugged, ¡°It is good to be prepared. And I do like to read. A lot.¡± Selena laughed, ¡°I can tell.¡± There were five inns in the town. Marcus had read about them. All of them were good. However, the inn named The Mountain¡¯s Shadow was near the edge of the town. Marcus considered it to be a good choice as they could take the route out of the town from this inn towards one of the entrances of the Gunin mountain range. Marcus and Selena visited the inn and confirmed the room bookings for all of their team members. After that they sat in the common room. ¡°What are you going to do now?¡± asked Selena. Marcus said, ¡°Well, we have till tomorrow. I do not feel like interacting with people asking them to validate what I already know. I could go to the library.¡± Selena rolled her eyes, ¡°Do you want to do a quest? A small one?¡± Marcus said, ¡°Okay. Let me message Kyrie. She can join us.¡± Selena did not say anything for some time. Then she said, ¡°Kyrie might be busy. Tamara did ask her to ask around.¡± ¡°I know Kyrie. Without an arena she would get bored. She would not be asking around much. However, I have a feeling she would be looking for a natural water source. That would make sense. It would be good not to disturb her then.¡± Selena looked pleased somehow at that statement. She said, ¡°So, a small quest then?¡± Marcus stood up and Selena followed him out of the inn. They went to the adventurer¡¯s guild in Cosolaris and looked at the quest board. Marcus had hardly scanned the board when Selena cried out grabbing his arm, ¡°Aha! I have found the perfect quest we can do.¡± Marcus looked at the quest Selena was pointing at and then looked at her. ¡°Are you serious?¡± he asked. Selena said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± Marcus said, ¡°That is a quest for collecting flowers.¡± ¡°Sure. It will start that way. But trust me, it will evolve into something else when we have progressed.¡± Marcus was doubtful and Selena said, ¡°Oh, come on. Don¡¯t be a spoilsport. It looks like a quest which we can easily finish today. We don¡¯t have much time to do quests which are long or would span over a few days. Come on. Let¡¯s go meet this quest giver.¡± As Marcus let himself be dragged out of the guild, he wondered, what the fuck had he gotten himself into? *** A river lay about 10 kilometers South of Cosolaris. Kyrie took Nalana to the river. She thought that she would have her monthly dip today as she did not know how much time she would be spending in the caverns of Gunin mountain range searching for the spell for the champions. Tamara had asked Kyrie to ask around but she did not want to. A natural water source sounded a better option to Kyrie. The river flowed from Gunin mountain range and it ran South till it met the ocean. It was not the Genlin river but a river called Gintap. The water was refreshing and Kyrie felt content simply floating along the flow of the water. She was thinking about the expedition and was considering the possibilities as to why Marcus and her were asked to join the expedition. It did not make sense to Kyrie. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. She floated for hours. She decided to spend the night along the river. She will go back tomorrow. Kyrie heard a splash and looked up. She stood up and walked towards the bank while looking around for the source of splash. A water nymph rose out of the river. ¡°Kyrie¡±, shouted the water nymph, ¡°Oh goddess. Is it you Kyrie?¡± Kyrie looked at the water nymph who had risen out of the water and gave a shout of joy. ¡°Wanda. Wanda. Oh goddess. Wanda. It''s you. How¡­ What¡­ How¡­ what¡­ Oh dear, I can¡¯t believe it.¡± The two water nymphs hugged. Wanda Swiftcurrent was the best friend of Kyrie in her home world. When she had left Tarados, she had never expected to see any of her family or friends. And yet, here was Wanda. ¡°How are you here?¡± asked Kyrie. Wanda said, ¡°I just sort of followed you here.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Wanda said, ¡°After you left, a few weeks later, Thynus died.¡± ¡°Oh no¡±, Kyrie gasped. Thynus was Wanda¡¯s mate. They were inseparable. Thynus died and Kyrie had not been there for Wanda. She could not bear to think about it. ¡°How did he die?¡± Kyrie asked. Kyrie could see that Wanda was already tearing up. Wanda tried to say something but a sob escaped her. Kyrie already had her friend in her arms and was consoling her. Kyrie said, ¡°I am sorry. It is alright if you are not ready to speak about it yet.¡± Wanda shook her head through the tears. She said, ¡°You deserve to know Kyrie. He died from the dissolution.¡± Dissolution was a terrible disease that water nymphs faced. Many water nymph healers had studied but had not understood the cause of the disease. A water nymph afflicted with dissolution would simply lose their form and become purely water, mixing and flowing away with a water source. There was no cure for the disease either. The only silver lining was that it affected about one in a hundred thousand water nymphs. Kyrie was shocked to learn about Thynus¡¯ fate. Kyrie said, ¡°I am sorry. I don¡¯t know what to say other than I should have been there for you.¡± Wanda wiped her eyes and said, ¡°This was a few months ago. Well, months according to Tarados time. Here the calendar system is a bit different. I am still learning.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Yes. But you still did not tell me how you came to Una.¡± Wanda gulped and said, ¡°After Thynus¡¯ death, I thought about my future. My family helped me but it was still tough. I thought about you at that time. I thought coming to Una would help. A new start. A fresh start. I know the idea seemed foolish and my family did discourage me but I had made my decision. I contacted the officials on Tarados. You know, the ones you had connected with. I took their help and came to Una. It has been only a month, Una time, that I have been here. I knew you were here but I did not know how to contact you. I mean the magic and technology of this place are amazing and as I said, I am still learning. Also, I am a non adventurer. I don¡¯t think I can ever take up a weapon like you did.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Are you living alone here? Or did you join a group?¡± Wanda smiled and said, ¡°Would like to meet my group. We even have a high priest. It is not far. The Gintap flows up to the ocean but at a place the water coalesces to form a small lake. We live there. It is about an hour of swimming away.¡± Kyrie agreed and the friends swam to where Wanda was talking about. Kyrie was happy to find another group of water nymphs on Una. She stayed with them that night. She saw that her friend was already comfortable amongst the group and had become an integral part in such a short time. She was happy for Wanda. Kyrie and Wanda talked long that night with Kyrie primarily regaling her time spent on Una. Wanda also talked about her time on Una but she did not have much to share. Kyrie also asked about how her family was doing back on Tarados. Wanda said, ¡°They were sad to see you go but they were doing well when I left. They did come to say goodbye to me. They told me that if I encountered you then I should tell you that they loved you and you shall always have a home with them if you ever plan on going back to Tarados.¡± Kyrie sniffed and nodded. She blinked the tears away. She would not cry. She had made a decision. She would follow it through. They also talked about what Kyrie was doing on Filinile. Wanda looked concerned but Kyrie assured her friend that dying was not the same for an adventurer and a non adventurer. Wanda was still entirely convinced though, Kyrie could see that. The next morning, Kyrie woke up fresh and happy. She said goodbye to Wanda and promised to visit her again and as much as possible. Kyrie would definitely like to visit her. Kyrie also promised to bring Marcus to meet Wanda. Wanda was fascinated with the research oriented teammate of Kyrie. After Kyrie had swam some distance, she saw the high priest waiting for her. Kyrie got out of the river and greeted the high priest Tormall Currentwave. Tormall said, ¡°I heard some of your conversation with your friend. I am sorry. We wanted to give you privacy, especially for Wanda¡¯s sake, but our curiosity got the better of us in certain cases. Kyrie said, ¡°There is no need to apologize. We do not have secrets.¡± Tormall said, ¡°That may be so. I actually came to warn you. A great darkness has spread amongst the waters of Genlin river which originates from a valley in the Gunin mountain range. One of our nymphs had once gone to visit the place only to come back scared out of his mind. I believe it is the work of a demon lord. I wish to warn you. If you are going into the caverns inside the mountains, you may face a demon lord. Moreover, it is also possible that there are two demon lords, one inside the mountain and one in the valley. But I am not sure.¡± Kyrie was thoughtful. Then she said, ¡°Thank you for your warning. I shall pass it on to my team members.¡± Then Kyrie said farewell to the high priest Tormall and swam to a point which was near to Cosolaris. From there she flew on Nalana to the town. As she flew she thought about Tormall¡¯s warning. Things were about to get complicated. *** Kyrie was late. Marcus thought about it. She had never been late earlier. But today, they were all waiting for her just outside the town exit. It had been an hour now. The others had varied expressions on their faces ranging from concerned to irritated. They had already asked Marcus and Marcus had messaged Kyrie to which she had replied that she was on her way and she had something important to discuss. That may be the reason for her lateness. Marcus looked around and his eyes fell on Selena. Selena was looking at him too. She smiled and waved when he looked at her. Marcus returned the gesture. He thought about the quest yesterday. It was boring. It had been just as described. Picking up flowers. It evolved into nothing. However, Marcus had a suspicion that Selena had asked him out on a date of sorts. He wondered about that. Did he want to be dating right now? A cry sounded from above and they all looked up. Kyrie descended on Nalana. Kyrie landed a few feet away from the assembled group but did not dismiss Nalana. Marcus knew why. They would after all be going to the entrance by their mounts. ¡°You are late¡±, said Tamara as Kyrie landed. Kyrie said, ¡°I am sorry but I have news.¡± Kyrie told them about her encounter with the water nymphs and her conversation with the high priest. Tamara said, ¡°So, we would be facing at least one demon lord and there is a possibility of there being two of them. Gorking perfect. At least we are forewarned. I expected something major. Demon lord is major.¡± Tanniv said, ¡°We can handle a demon lord. Although, I wonder, which demon lord would it be.¡± Tamara said, ¡°Does not matter for now. Let¡¯s go and see then. Mount up people. We are leaving.¡± Everyone summoned their mounts. They all had mechanical bipeds as their mounts except for the nymphs Garun and Sylivianna. They had a creature whose skin seemed to be made up of bark to Marcus. It looked like a giant armadillo but instead of a snout, the head was flat and spherical. Marcus summoned Lara and sat up on her. On Tamara¡¯s signal everyone started towards the Gunin mountain range. Marcus and Kyrie flew low, keeping the other team members in sight. They reached the base of the mountain range in about an hour. Even though they were not going as fast as Marcus normally went, they had been going at a considerable pace. One of the entrances which led inside the mountain was near this place. Everyone dismissed their mounts and looked around. The entrance was not that large and easily missable. They would be going on foot for now. The team started to walk in what Marcus considered as a slightly wrong direction. It seemed that even after reading his notes, they had not understood them completely. Marcus tapped Selena on the shoulder and pointed in a direction which was slightly right to the direction in which they were walking. Selena rolled her eyes and called out loud, ¡°Tanniv, maybe we should lead Marcus lead. He seems to know the way.¡± The team stopped and looked at Marcus who said, ¡°We just need to go that way. The entrance should be straight ahead beneath a clump of trees hiding it. Not far now though.¡± The team complied to what Marcus had said and they reached the clump of trees in a few minutes. In between the clump was a circular door. The door looked thick and heavy to Marcus and on it was a large circular symbol which had three smaller multi color circles. There was no handle. Tanniv said, ¡°We read the notes. Come on Tamara. Let¡¯s open this.¡± Tanniv and Tamara stepped into one of the multi color circles each. In the third circle stepped Shania. Marcus watched as the circles glowed and a small hole appeared in the middle. Tanniv stepped up to the hole and put his hand in. Marcus knew what he was doing as Tanniv pulled. There was a handle. Marcus heard the sound of grinding gears and the adventurers stepped off the door as it began to slide in one direction. The door opened into darkness. The team members looked at each other and started jumping down. Tamara and Tanniv took the lead. It was a short fall to a slide which led them deep below the mountain. Marcus was the last to jump and he activated the switch which had now appeared. It closed the gate behind them. He slid for half a minute before he shot into a chamber. The other adventurers were grumbling as he knocked right into Kyrie. Marcus said, ¡°I am sorry.¡± Kyrie replied, ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Marcus stood and looked around. He could not see anything. The chamber was dark. Suddenly there was a spark and a torch flared to light. Tamara had lighted one of the torches on a pillar and Marcus could now see some portion of the room. It was not that large a room. There was a hole behind him in the wall from which he had slid. There seemed to be many pillars and the other team members were starting to light up either the pillar torches or their magical torch. Marcus lit up his magical torch too. It gave a cyanish glow instead of the normal yellow of fire. Kyrie did the same. The room was at least twenty feet in length with the exit on the opposite end from where they had slid. Tamara said, ¡°Well guys. This is just the beginning. We know what is on the other side. Be careful.¡± They all moved towards the exit. Marcus knew what was on the other side. Marcus had read about it. The adventurers had entered the bowels of the Gunin Mountain range. The adventurers had entered the ever shifting Labyrinth. Navigating the Labyrinth The team entered the next room and looked. Torches flared up in the room as they all entered. The room looked square in shape to Marcus, about thirty feet in length. The floor a few feet in front of him was made up of smaller squares, about three feet in length and runes seemed to be scribbled on it. Golden runes. Some clear, some fading but all glowing with a faint golden light which seemed to be reflecting the torches along the wall. They wondered what to do. Marcus knew about the Labyrinth existing inside the Gunin Mountain range. There were many entrances and exits to this Labyrinth. It was filled with many rooms and passageways full of monsters and traps. However, there was only one true way through the labyrinth and that led to treasure. It was that treasure that their collective team was after. A spell which would help anyone survive in the undead aura present on the landmass Urtor. The team members wondered what to do. Erato stepped on a square with the glowing rune which gave away beneath her feet. She jumped back as darts flew from the top. The others advised her to stay away from further squares. This was a trap room. And the way across was stepping on correct squares. That would mean there had to be some sort of a clue to identify the correct sequence. The team members stayed away from the runed squares and looked around, searching for some directions. It was Kenirath who found something. It was a riddle. I can bring tears to your eyes, Resurrect the dead, Make you smile, And reverse time. I form in an instant, but I last a lifetime. Find out who I am and cross the room. Tamara said, ¡°A riddle. And the answer would give us the rune sequence to step on.¡± ¡°Memory¡±, Clio said, ¡°The answer is memory.¡± Marcus suddenly started to laugh. He found this funny. The others stared at him. Marcus said, ¡°Don¡¯t mind me. Just¡­ Let¡¯s just cross this room.¡± They looked at the runed squares. The runes were Loquellan alphabet, and they looked for the squares which formed the word, Memory. A path formed. The team took turns one by one and had crossed the room. Tamara touched the exit door and light suddenly glowed out of it. She looked at the others and opened the door. It was a small room, tall in height with a stone in the center. ¡°Resurrection Stone¡±, said Tamara, ¡°It seems that the labyrinth is making this a bit easy for us.¡± ¡°That or the labyrinth is so tough that it requires its own resurrection stone¡±, said Tanniv. ¡°On that cheerful thought, let¡¯s set up our resurrection point.¡± They all did what Tamara said and the exit door appeared. Tanniv said, ¡°It seems we will need to complete the conditions of certain rooms before we can proceed further.¡± The others agreed. Tamara once again took the lead. She opened the door and they stepped into a circular chamber with no exit. It was not a big chamber, and it was a tight squeeze once all adventurers stepped into the room. Selena was the last to enter this time. As soon as all the adventurers had stepped into the room, the door closed behind them. Selena tried to open it but could not. ¡°What now?¡± was the general question asked. They had no clue regarding what to do. The next moment, the walls of the door started to spin. It stopped after some time. A door appeared. Tamara opened it to a passage. She stepped first followed by Tanniv, Shania, Duranos and Shadra. Tamara declared that the passage seemed safe but there was only room for one person to walk at a time. The others then started to enter. After Shadra, Mikhail, Vladimir, Ivan, Victor and Hestia entered the passageway. After Hestia stepped into the passage, the door suddenly closed, and the walls of the room started spinning again. ¡°It seems that the labyrinth is trying to divide us¡±, remarked Marcus. ¡°We noticed¡±, said Kenirath. The next time it stopped, another door opened which led to another passage. This time, Kenirath led into the passage. It was again narrow enough to fit one person at a time. Kenirath was followed by Garun, Sylvianna, Tim, Artemis, Thalia and Erato. With Erato¡¯s entry, the door closed again, and the walls started to spin. Now Marcus, Kyrie, Selena, Clio and Athena remained. Selena said, ¡°I hope the passage keeps us together. It would be troublesome if the five of us split. Especially for Marcus and Kyrie as they are low leveled.¡± ¡°Thank you for your concern, Selena¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°But Marcus and I can handle ourselves. You do not need to worry.¡± This time the walls stopped spinning to open to another passage which seemed beside their entrance to the room. The five remaining adventurers stepped into the passage. They continued through the passage slowly. They were concerned about traps. Athena led the way. She was good at detecting traps. There were no traps in the passage. It twisted and turned a few times, but other than that they faced no resistance. After walking for about fifteen minutes, they reached the end of the passage to an exit door. Athena opened it to a large cavern. The five of them entered it. Marcus opened his messaging tool through the utility belt and tried to send a message to other members. It failed. He tried to access Globalnet and failed too. ¡°It seems that we cannot message other team members¡±, said Clio. ¡°Globalnet is down too¡±, said Marcus. ¡°Only you would be worried about Globalnet at this time¡±, said Kyrie. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t blame the Globalnet. It could have been a useful tool here.¡± They looked around the cavern. It seemed empty. There was a pool of water in the center. The five of them walked up to it. Water shimmered in the pale light which was somehow illuminating the cavern. Athena said, ¡°There must be some sort of clue in the water.¡± Clio said, ¡°I think that is obvious.¡± They all looked at Kyrie who unequipped her gear and jumped in. Some time later she resurfaced. Kyrie said, ¡°There are three levers at the bottom. No other instructions. It is a small pool. Can¡¯t swim anywhere else either.¡± Selena said, ¡°Let¡¯s look around the room. Maybe we can find something.¡± ¡°Yes¡±, said Marcus, ¡°The room will tell us which lever to pull.¡± Selena narrowed her eyes at him, ¡°I can¡¯t tell whether it was sarcasm or not.¡± ¡°It was not sarcasm. My sarcasm usually has the use of word fuck in it.¡± ¡°That is true¡±, agreed Kyrie. Kyrie stayed in the pool while the others searched the cavern. They did not find much. Marcus walked back to the pool. He looked up. Right above the pool, three vines lay hanging. Each of these wines were of different sizes and it looked as if they had been hung on the ceiling with the help of something which Marcus could not see because of less light. ¡°You see them too¡±, said a voice beside Marcus. Marcus jumped and looked to see who was there to see Athena standing close to him. He had not even noticed her arrival. ¡°Are you talking about the vines?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°Yes¡±, replied Athena, ¡°What else would I be talking about?¡± Marcus nodded and did not say anything. He looked up again. ¡°You think the vines hold some clue?¡± Marcus jumped again. This time it was Selena and Clio soon came up to them. Athena said, ¡°Makes sense.¡± Athena and Clio jumped, flapping their wings to provide them additional boost. They hovered near the vines for some time and then came back down. Athena said, ¡°Kyrie, can you check whether the vines are directly above the levers you mentioned?¡± Kyrie dived back in and reappeared after a few moments. Kyrie said, ¡°They seem to be exactly above the levers.¡± Selena said, ¡°Considering the faint light of the cavern, are you sure? Were you really able to see clearly?¡± Kyrie pouted as she said, ¡°You are certainly welcome to try.¡± Selena raised her hands up, ¡°I am sorry. I just wanted to make sure.¡± Athena said, ¡°The order could be from either smallest to largest or from largest to smallest. Let us go with the smallest to largest. Kyrie, can you pull the corresponding levers such that they follow the smallest to largest order of the vines?¡± Clio asked, ¡°What if the order is wrong?¡± Athena said, ¡°It is a fifty-fifty chance. However, it is a chance that we need to take. So, please Kyrie.¡± Kyrie went back into the pool. They waited for some minutes and then they heard it. A sound was coming from somewhere in the cavern, a sound as if air was getting sucked in. A bluish portal appeared some feet away from the pool. Everyone had their weapons out in an instance. Kyrie came out of the pool, looked at others and the next moment she had her bow out. The portal disappeared and a creature stood in place of it. Elite Rock Golem Level 104, Health 10,400 / 10,400 The elite rock golem was a mass of small boulders. The head, because Marcus could think it would be the head was filled with holes. The golem roared out of its holes and charged them at full speed. Selena was the first to react. She threw a flask at the golem which exploded on impact. A small hole appeared on its chest which was quickly covered. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Clio said, ¡°I wonder how my rapier or my daggers would be effective against this.¡± However, she still poked at the golem dealing exactly 1 point of damage to its health. The golem attacked her and she side stepped it. Athena had cast a spell of protection giving everyone a buff, increasing their physical resistance. Then she cast another spell blasting the golem with pure magical energy. That did damage the golem a bit but it caused only 50 points of damage. The damage repaired itself as before but the health did not regenerate which was good. Kyrie was shooting arrows in the golem dealing about 10 points of damage per hit. At this rate, it would take them long to kill the golem. Marcus tried to remember what he had read about the golems. He considered opening his notes but he doubted he should do it in the middle of the battle. Athena said, ¡°Golems have a magic crystal inside them which powers them. Destroy it and the golem is dead.¡± ¡°Good point¡±, said Clio, ¡°Now we just ask it to show the gorking crystal to us.¡± Selena laughed and threw another flask straight at the charging golem¡¯s chest. The golem hesitated in its charge towards Selena as the flask exploded with even greater force than before. A hole appeared in its chest and Marcus saw something pink glowing inside before it closed up. The hole had been visible for about three seconds. Marcus said, ¡°Selena. Throw something powerful at the chest. I can see the crystal. It is emitting a pinkish glow. The hole opened is small and it¡¯s only for about three seconds I think. Kyrie, can you take the shot in this amount of time? Kyrie said, ¡°Yes.¡± Selena said, ¡°Okay. Get ready Kyrie.¡± The golem had been charging Clio but Marcus shouted at it, drawing its attention. The golem charged towards Marcus. Selena hit the golem in a chest with a similar explosion as before. The hole opened. Kyrie shot straight through the hole. There was a shattering ping which reverberated across the cavern. The golem lost 1,000 points of health. Its current health was now 9,286 / 10,400. ¡°Well¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°10 more shots and we kill it.¡± Selena said, ¡°I have only two more such exploding flasks. There are other exploding flasks but none have as large an impact as this.¡± ¡°Fuck¡±, said Marcus, ¡°There has to be some sort of a way to expose the stone.¡± Athena said, ¡°Selena. Create another hole. Let me take a shot at it. My spells would be more powerful than Selena¡¯s shots.¡± Selena threw the flask and the hole was created again. Athena shot the pure energy bolt inside the hole and there was another reverberating ping across the cavern. The golem lost 2,000 points of health. Selena said, ¡°I do not have five more such flasks, Athena.¡± ¡°I understand¡±, said Athena. ¡°Guys¡±, said Clio, ¡°Some gorking help would be appreciated.¡± Clio somehow kept on engaging the golem. There was no tank amongst the five of them and somehow the golem was keen on attacking Clio the most. Clio dodged one of the fists to be hit by another. She could not block or dodge it in time and she flew back. Marcus rushed the golem and slashed at its legs before getting back. The golem rushed Marcus. Marcus used the attacking fists to get a foothold and jumped on the golems head. He struck his twinblade right into one of the holes in the head and there was a whistling sound. The chest area in front of the crystal parted, exposing the crystal completely. Everyone stared in shock and surprise. However, their surprise was short lived as the golem attacked Marcus and he had to jump down. The crystal disappeared from the view, covered by rock. ¡°Poke the fucking holes¡±, said Marcus as he ran away from the golem. Clio took charge. She somersaulted on the golem¡¯s head and poked her rapier inside. The crystal was exposed again. The remaining adventurers attacked the crystal causing a total of 5,000 points of damage to the health. The golem was down to 2132 points of health. Clio had jumped back and was now again dodging the golem¡¯s attacks. This time Selena jumped on the golem¡¯s head with the help of Athena and thrust her estoc in a hole. The others attacked the exposed crystal immediately. Clio had the final attack, her rapier going through the cracked crystal. The crystal shattered. The golem disintegrated into small particles. Marcus helped Selena up. Then he looked at the others. They seemed okay. Clio seemed to have lost the most health which Athena healed. Athena said, ¡°The next lever sequence please, Kyrie.¡± Selena said, ¡°Can we have a breather please? That was a gorking strong foe.¡± Athena nodded, ¡°Five minutes.¡± Five minutes later Kyrie went back into the pool and pulled the levers in the sequence of descending order of the size of the vines. There was a grinding noise and a door appeared on one of the walls of the cavern. They went through the exit door into a small passage. The room after the passage was filled with traps. They navigated it successfully but Marcus got hit with one of the drafts which caused 100 points of damage to his health and earned him a lecture on safety and carefulness by Athena. The room after the trap room was filled with 10 imp like beasts. They were easy to dispatch. It was good to have Athena in their team. Even though they did not have a tank, Athena was a support and healer which helped in their group surviving the next two rooms which were filled with creatures which looked so grotesque that Marcus simply wanted to forget them. They finally reached a room which looked serene. There was a pool at one of the ends and a fountain in the middle. The fountain had greenish liquid in it while the pool had crystal blue water. Athena said what Marcus was thinking, ¡°Someone needs to test the waters.¡± Marcus said, ¡°I volunteer.¡± No one argued that point. Marcus said, ¡°Thank you for the fucking support.¡± Kyrie whispered in Selena¡¯s ears but Marcus could hear her. ¡°Sarcasm¡±, she said and Selena giggled. Marcus ignored them and went up to the fountain. He took the green liquid in the palm of hands carefully and took a sip. He immediately got a notification. Health has been fully restored. Marcus rolled his eyes and sighed. He said in a deadpan voice, ¡°The fountain water restores health. That would mean¡­¡± Marcus went up to the pool and drank the blue liquid. He got another notification. Mana has been fully restored. Marcus turned to the others, ¡°The pool water restores mana.¡± ¡°So, this is a resting area¡±, said Athena. ¡°Seems so¡±, said Clio. The others drank both the waters and the door to the next room appeared on the far end of the room. Athena looked at the others and said, ¡°I say we rest here for some time. I have a feeling that this is just the first part of the labyrinth. We have many challenges to face ahead.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Feels like there will be a boss room next. Resting area. Restoring waters. The next room has either a huge mob or a boss-like enemy. Makes sense to me.¡± Selena said, ¡°How do you figure that out?¡± Marcus frowned as he thought about it. He said with uncertainty, ¡°The answer that is coming to me is¡­ Video games? I know of video games. Silas explained to me when I was in NAIF¡¯s care. Game World is a real life video game.¡± Selena asked, ¡°What¡¯s a video game?¡± Marcus said, ¡°Are you not from Earth? I thought humans from Earth knew of video games.¡± ¡°I was born here. We do not have video games here. Though I doubt anyone would be interested in playing a video game here considering that they could be adventurers.¡± Marcus and the others nodded. Somehow what Selena said made sense. Athena said ¡°Barring the topic of whether video games are present on Una or not, how can you discern whether the next room has a strong enemy or not?¡± Marcus said, ¡°There is something faint. In a video game, typically, before a boss fight, there is a resting area with supplies and a place to rest. Typically. Not always though.¡± ¡°Is that true for every video game?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Athena stared at the door. Clio stared along with her. Selena and Kyrie alternated looking between the door and Marcus. Athena said finally, ¡°Whatever the case maybe. Let us rest here. I checked the watch through the utility belt. It is already night time. And I am tired.¡± Clio said, ¡°We shall eat something and rest. I think six hours of sleep would be sufficient. We tackle the next room after resting.¡± Selena said, ¡°I need eight hours of my beauty sleep.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Let¡¯s eat first. We can discuss sleeping matters during dinner, I think?¡± ¡°Yes, it would be dinner¡±, agreed Kyrie. They ate the rations that they had brought. They discussed the amount of hours they would sleep for and finalized on eight. They decided to keep no watch as they felt safe in the room. Marcus hoped that it was not a mistake. Marcus woke up groggy. Eight hours were already over! That was not sufficient time to fucking sleep. Marcus got up and saw that all were already awake and getting ready. Even Selena was up and about and she had complained about getting her beauty sleep. Marcus got up and got ready. They had some breakfast and everyone was then ready for the next room. Athena opened the door. They entered the next room. It was a huge hall filled with pillars, furniture and a throne in the middle. Marcus saw the creature sitting on the throne, eating fruits. Artenos the Minotaur Level 150, Health 55,000 / 55,000 Artenos was wearing bronze coloured armor. The armor looked thick to Marcus. Twin axes lay beside the throne. The servants surrounding the throne were wisps. They disappeared as the adventurers neared the throne. ¡°Welcome Adventurers¡±, said Artenos as Marcus and the others approached him, ¡°Welcome to my chamber. How may I help you today?¡± Athena said, ¡°We are navigating the labyrinth. Passing through each of the rooms, each of the challenges as we proceed in our quest.¡± Artenos said, ¡°A noble goal. Questing. I presume you wish to proceed to the next room.¡± Artenos pointed at the exit which was behind the throne and at the end of the hall. Athena nodded. She said, ¡°Will you let us pass?¡± Artenos said, ¡°There are two options for letting you pass. The first; one of you stays here with me for a week. I would let them go after a week, do not worry. I simply need the company. It is boring with just wisps here. The second; one of you fights with me one on one. It is not a fight to death. Do not worry. The fight is till the health points reach less than 20% for any of us. You win, you pass. You lose, then I open another exit which leads you back to the entrance you came from. And yes, only one of you can fight me. No taking turns.¡± Athena said, ¡°And what if we choose option 3? All of us kill you and we pass.¡± Artenos laughed. He said, ¡°You are welcome to try. However, I advise you to take one of the options I have provided. Your option will only open the door back to the entrance. To proceed forwards, you have to comply with my options.¡± Athena said, ¡°Can we take some time to make a decision.¡± ¡°You have fifteen minutes¡±, Artenos went back to eating fruits. Marcus could see that Artenos was still keeping an eye on them. The adventurers put some distance between Artenos and them and started to discuss what to do. ¡°The best option does seem to be one of us staying here¡±, Selena said, ¡°It does not involve violence.¡± ¡°I agree¡±, said Clio, ¡°But who would stay here?¡± Athena held up her hand, ¡°Wait. A majority of us should agree with that option.¡± Kyrie and Marcus both said together, ¡°Option 1 is good.¡± Athena said, ¡°Okay. But who will stay here for a week?¡± No one volunteered. Athena said, ¡°We can try fighting one on one but no one here can do so. Clio here is the best bet. She is at level 200 and could you take on the minotaur, Clio?¡± Clio looked at Artenos and said, ¡°Possibly. It would be a tough fight though.¡± Athena said, ¡°And we are back to one of us staying here.¡± Marcus said, ¡°I will stay. Makes sense. I am the one with the lowest level. You can all go on. Get everybody and you could try to get back to me. Or go forwards or something. I can figure the way out after a week.¡± The others looked at each other with uncertainty. They debated whether they should let Marcus stay or not. After much debate, their time was up. Marcus would be staying. Athena relayed their decision to Artenos who said, ¡°Alright then. The door forwards is open.¡± Marcus watched the others walk out of the exit door and the door closed behind them. Then Marcus turned to Artenos, ¡°Do you have any books to read?¡± *** Kyrie did not like leaving Marcus behind but it had been the best option. She saw that Selena was also not happy that Marcus had been left behind. The next room was just like the first room. Square tiles on the floor with golden runes carved on them formed the majority of the room. Clio found the riddle this time. I speak without a mouth, I hear without ears, I have no body, I come alive with wind, Tell me who I am and find your way across. Kyrie found the riddle tough. The others also seemed to have a problem with it for they were also taking some time to answer. Clio said, ¡°I can hazard a guess. An echo. But I am not sure.¡± Athena said, ¡°Loquellan runes for echo are there on the floor. Two times you spell it to form a path to the other side.¡± Selena said, ¡°Let me try. I can move the fastest of all of us.¡± Selena crossed the room spelling echo twice. Once she reached safely, the square tiles shuffled and a new path for echo was formed. This seemed to be a bit more difficult than before. Clio went next and the floor shuffled again. The next time, there was a requirement of jumping a short distance in the path. Kyrie went next and she did have a narrow escape at the end, almost falling on the wrong tile. Athena came last. Her path mostly consisted of longer jumps but she managed. A resurrection stone appeared as they crossed. Clio asked, ¡°What does this mean? Is this mid way or an exit?¡± Athena said, ¡°The Gunin mountain range has many entry gates. Maybe this leads to one. Let¡¯s check it out.¡± They exited the door into a passage which ended in stairs. They took the stairs up to a large door. They opened the door and squinted as light flooded in. They went outside. Kyrie observed that they seemed to be in a valley of sorts. She could feel a pull of water from her right. She could also feel some sort of wrongness in the air. They seemed to have come out of one of the entrances of the labyrinth in the Gunin mountain range. This had to be near the lake that the water nymphs had mentioned. That would mean there was a demon lord nearby. Selena coughed, ¡°What the gork is wrong with the air? I feel like gagging.¡± Athena said, ¡°Let us investigate.¡± They walked towards the right, towards the source of foul air, through the trees and they came upon the lake. Kyrie was horrified at the sight. The lake was bubbling. Poisonous fumes rose into the air. And in the middle of it all she saw something which chilled her. A demon lord rose from the lake and looked right at them. Trouble by the Lake Kyrie examined the demon lord in front of her. It was a huge snake with three heads, greyish blue in colour and it was coiled around something which Kyrie could not see. Each of the heads was hissing and the eyes were narrowed at the tiny adventurers in front of it. The demon lord would easily be fifty feet in length, Kyrie mused. Nagasura the Poisoner Demon Lord, Level 100 Health 125,000 / 125,000 Nagasura hissed, ¡°Prey arrivesss. Right into my foldsss. Sssoldiersss attack.¡± The poisonous water of the lake started to churn and out came more snakes, which were at least 10 feet long. They had small spindly arms and they carried curved daggers in those arms. The snakes attacked the adventurers while Nagasura spit poison at them, all the three heads. ¡°Run¡±, shouted Athena and they all ran into the forest. Nagasura did not pursue but the snake army pursued. Kyrie saw that there were many of these, she examined one of them to see what they were called. Nagasena 1 Demon, Level 100 Health 1,000 / 1,000 Interesting, she mused as Kyrie ran and shot arrows into the nagasenas following her. Selena threw some daggers and exploding flasks while Clio threw some daggers. Athena buffed them while running. Kyrie got enhanced protection and health regeneration. After buffing them, Athena paused for some time before she cast small bolts of fire to attack the nagasenas. The nagasenas were now appearing everywhere, forcing Kyrie and the others to pick a safe route. The trees did not make it easier either as they did not provide a clear path forward. Soon Kyrie found that they had somehow circled back to the lake. Nagasura was waiting for them. Kyrie dodged another poisonous spit and shot an arrow at a nagasena behind her, killing it. Kyrie had to dodge another poisonous spit directed at her only to find herself next to a nagasena who slashed at her. Kyrie dodged that attack at the last minute and shot the nagasena in the head, point blank. As she ran again, she could see something dripping from the nagasena¡¯s dagger. Poison most probably. Kyrie quickly climbed a tree which seemed to be away from the range of Nagasura and started to shoot arrows at the nagasena. She could see that the others had also engaged the nagasenas and they seemed to be doing well, even though they were losing ground. At least they were now not going towards the demon lord. However, the nagasenas seemed endless and there were only four of them. Kyrie was not sure for how long they would survive. Kyrie suddenly heard a crack and the tree that he was on started to fall. She leapt off the falling tree and landed gracefully, right in the middle of four nagasenas. She started running and shooting, dodging through the nagasenas attacks. She had the lowest level of the four of them currently. She had the most difficulty killing the nagasenas. So, she mostly took her time and attacked at the opportune moments. Most of the time she ran and dodged. Sometime later, Kyrie found herself again near the lake. Nagasura was waiting for her. She was feeling exhausted now. The nagasenas were never ending and even though they had killed quite a number of them, they still kept coming. And there was also the matter of the demon lord whom they had not even attacked till yet. Nagasura reared all of its heads, preparing for an attack which Kyrie knew would kill her. She had no energy to dodge. Kyrie raised her bow and readied herself to shoot the demon lord. Nagasura¡¯s necks started to glow. Kyrie cast [Power Shot]. Nagasura almost attacked. Kyrie let loose the arrow and closed her eyes, awaiting the blackness that followed death. The next moment she opened them as no attack came. Something had barrelled straight into Nagasura making its attack explode in its neck. It was not something but someone. Kyrie grinned as she saw who it was. Tamara Goodleaf had joined the fight. The next moment Tanniv came into view. He attacked from above the demon lord, bringing his greatsword on one of the heads of Nagasura. Kyrie wondered how he had gotten up there. The remaining eight members who had gone with Tamara and Tanniv also came into view from the right. They were fighting the nagasenas with Athena, Clio and Selena and were now pushing the nagasenas back. Kyrie ran up to a nearby tree and climbed up. She took a deep breath and cast [Fade]. She would rest for a couple of minutes and then help. She knew if she pushed herself right now, she might die. She watched as the champions hacked at the demon lord and Nagasura was not able to do much damage to them. She watched as the other eleven adventurers were joined by seven more adventurers, the second group that had split and pushed the nagasenas back. She watched as the demon lord fell, drawing its last breath and disintegrating. She watched as the last of the nagasenas was killed. She watched and she did the minimum she could do. She mostly shot arrows to distract the nagasenas and help the team members of the champions. Tamara and Tanniv came up to the bank and Tamara shouted, ¡°Good job everyone.¡± Athena said, ¡°You can come down now Kyrie. It is safe.¡± Kyrie nodded as she jumped down from the tree. She went up to the others. Tamara said, ¡°Is that all accounted for? No. Wait a minute. Where is that gorking Marcus?¡± Athena explained what had happened to Marcus. Tamara harrumphed as Athena finished. Tamara said, ¡°I think we should send a small team to rescue him.¡± Tanniv said, ¡°Is that a wise decision? I mean he did say not to worry, and he would figure it out.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°I am worried about Marcus. However, I do believe we should push on. We finish our quest first. We find the spell and then we go look for Marcus. It would do us no good to split the team again.¡± Tamara said, ¡°There you go Tanniv. If Kyrie is okay, I am gorking okay. Onwards then.¡± Kenirath said, ¡°Before we go onwards as Tamara suggests, I recommend we check out that gorking chest floating in the lake.¡± Kyrie looked at the chest that Kenirath was talking about. The waters of the lake seemed to have cleared with the death of Nagasura. They did not look poisonous now. Kyrie put a foot in the lake to test the water. She found it free of any poison. She wondered how that was possible. Considering how the lake had been green with poison, how did it disappear so fast? Did killing Nagasura automatically cleanse the lake? The others were looking at her. Tamara said, ¡°Kyrie, would you do the honours?¡± Kyrie understood what she meant. She swam up to the chest and brought it on dry land. It looked like a simple wooden chest, but Kyrie could tell that there was nothing simple about it. It was not wet which led Kyrie to believe that the chest was enchanted. There was no lock, only a latch on the chest. Tamara opened it. Inside the chest there was a large key, at least two feet long. Tamara picked it up and looked at it. The key was golden in colour with grooves at one end and the other was a big sphere. Silver runes glowed on the sphere side of the key and they read, I open the final gate. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Well, that is gorking helpful¡±, said Tamara, ¡°What final gate? Does anyone know?¡± No one had an answer. Kyrie wished that Marcus was with them right now. He would have an answer. She tried messaging him but failed. He was still in the labyrinth, still with the minotaur. Tanniv said, ¡°Keep the key in your inventory for now Tamara. Let us find a way back into the gorking labyrinth.¡± The others groaned and Tanniv said, ¡°The spell is inside the labyrinth. The final chamber, if we can reach it. We confirmed it when we fought a boss level guardian in one of the rooms.¡± That made Kyrie wonder what had happened to the other groups in the labyrinth. Kenirath said, ¡°We need to rest after the fight, Tanniv. We can move on after a small rest.¡± Tamara said, ¡°Yes, we also need to discuss which entrance we need to take. I wish to reach the final chamber fast. Is there a way to do so? Is there an entrance which does that? I mean, we took one entrance, and it got us to this lake. What if we take other entrances and it leads us back to the outer side of the Gunin Mountain range?¡± They decided to rest. Tamara, Tanniv, Athena, Kenirath and Tim discussed what path to take. Duranos and Shadra told the others what had happened to them in the labyrinth. Tamara and group had traversed five rooms, all filled with various types of monsters before they challenged a boss level guardian in the sixth room. The guardian was a corrupted earth nymph who thanked the adventurers for his death. Kyrie was saddened to hear about this. So were Garun and Sylivianna. Artemis told what had happened to their group of ten in the labyrinth. They had passed through ten rooms, all filled with puzzles and traps. They had not fought anyone and had come out mostly unharmed and without issues. Selena told the others about their adventures in the labyrinth. From what was discussed, Tamara¡¯s group came out from an entrance which was to the North of the lake while Artemis¡¯ group came out of the Northwestern side. Their group had come out to the West of the lake. That would mean they would be taking Southern or Southeastern entrances. But would they really take them deeper into the labyrinth or spit them out from the other side? They rested for about two hours. It took the champions that long to make a decision. Their decision, they needed more time. They were not sure. Kyrie was irritated. She went for a swim. The water of the lake was cool and pleasant. It was hard to believe that this water was churning with poison a few hours ago. Kyrie swam upstream and downstream, following the streams that came out of the lake. After swimming after an hour or so, she started to get back to where the other adventurers had set camp temporarily. As Kyrie swam, something caught her eye. An underwater entrance. It went down. Kyrie went into the entrance and came out on the other side. Gravity shifted and she fell down. She looked up to find water about twenty feet above her. The water was just inverted and not falling down. Kyrie looked around. She had entered a cavern-like room. A door was present on one side of the caverns surrounded by plinths. Torches lit around the door, and they glowed with a blue flame. The door seemed to be made up of a metal of some sort and Kyrie guessed that it was thick. Kyrie thought, This has to be one of the entrances to the labyrinth. But now what? Do I go through, or do I message the others? Kyrie messaged Tamara. The message went through. However, there was no reply for some time. Then the reply from Tamara came, Where are you? Why are you messaging? Kyrie replied as to what had happened to her. The reply came a few minutes later. Stay there, wrote Tamara, We will find you. It took the other adventurers about half an hour to reach her. Kyrie watched as they all surfaced in the water above and then fell to the ground as she had. Kyrie looked at all of them get up. There were two missing. ¡°Where are Garun and Sylivianna? Where are the nymphs?¡± she asked. As she asked the questions, the cavern wall to the far left opened up and out stepped the nymphs in question. ¡°That was a tad unpleasant¡±, said Sylivianna. ¡°I am sorry¡±, said Garun, ¡°The labyrinth kept messing with my navigation and my underground sense.¡± Tamara said, ¡°You talk as if the labyrinth is alive.¡± ¡°It is in a way¡±, said a voice that Kyrie recognized. She did not understand it though. It was Marcus. But where was he speaking from? A screen appeared above the doorway. Marcus appeared on the screen and beside him was Artenos the minotaur. Marcus said, ¡°The labyrinth is called an ever-changing labyrinth. It is created by the Game Masters with powerful spells and enchantments. There are many entrances and exits to this labyrinth, many challenges, traps and monsters inside it and the rooms always keep changing. Makes it almost alive.¡± Artenos snorted, ¡°Yes, your adventurer friend is correct. And you seem to have found the entrance which leads to the centre of the labyrinth.¡± ¡°How is this possible?¡± asked Kyrie. Marcus said, ¡°Magic.¡± There were many snorts and short laughter from the group of adventurers present. Selena stepped forward, ¡°Elaborate on this magic further, Marcus Blank.¡± Artenos replied, ¡°I have a scrying pool which I am letting Marcus borrow. Through this scrying pool, once a day, Marcus can contact anyone he wants. Marcus did not believe me. So he is taking a demonstration on how the pool works.¡± Marcus said, ¡°This is a fascinating object. And there is also an instruction manual and a book which explains how it works. There are also so many books on such amazing topics. Thank you for letting me stay behind. My one week shall be well spent here.¡± Kyrie rolled her eyes. Only Marcus Blank would be happy surrounded by books. Artenos said, ¡°Alright. We are done for today.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Alright. I shall contact you later Kyrie. I hope you are not in the middle of something when I do so. Best of luck guys. Find the treasure soon.¡± The screen disappeared and discussions started across the room. They were about Marcus, the minotaur and thoughts regarding whether Marcus really needed saving or not. Selena came up to Kyrie and asked, ¡°Is he always like this?¡± ¡°Yes¡±, replied Kyrie. The adventurers started to discuss what to do next. There were varying opinions. Some of them wanted to enter the labyrinth right now while the others wanted a few hours of rest before entering. Finally, Tamara and Tanniv made the decision, ¡°We will rest for four hours. No more.¡± There was a mixed response; cheers and groans, but everyone accepted the decision. They pulled out their sleeping bags. They were going to rest. Kyrie would not be resting. She decided to meditate. The swim had refreshed her. She did not feel as tired as the other adventurers. She sat in the lotus position and started chanting the sound waves made. She did not chant out loud but chanted mentally. She felt someone sit beside her and she opened her eyes briefly to see Garun and Sylivianna sit beside her. She smiled and resumed her chanting. She meditated for an hour and then talked with Garun and Sylivianna. They talked about their backgrounds and how they had come to Una. Garun and Sylivianna had been surprised to see a water nymph adventurer and they had many questions for Kyrie. Kyrie answered them politely. The questions were not rude, and she had heard them all before. The answers simply rolled off her tongue. Four hours passed quickly. Then it was time to set off. Tamara went up to the door and pushed it. Nothing happened. She pulled it. Nothing happened. Tamara said, ¡°Anybody know what to do?¡± The other adventurers looked at each other. Kyrie opened Marcus¡¯ notes to see if there was some hint but she found nothing. The labyrinth was not mapped. It was kind of impossible to do so with the labyrinth continuously shifting. There was a description of a few enemies and bosses but other than that there was nothing much. The final boss was also not fixed, and it varied based on the party navigating the labyrinth. Kyrie wondered what to do. The other adventurers were already examining the cavern while Tanniv was examining the door. Kyrie saw a single handle but no keyhole. There were rectangle plate-like protrusions on the door. Other than that, the door had no other distinguishing feature. Kyrie examined the blue flame torches on the plinth. She picked one up and brought it to the door. At once she could see runes on the rectangular plates. Tanniv, who was standing there, started. He looked at Kyrie and told her that she did a good job. Then he called others. Tamara took the torch from Kyrie and passed it over all the plates. Athena drew the door with plates and runes on a piece of paper that she somehow had in her inventory. After she was finished, Tamara, Tanniv and a few more adventurers looked at the runes. Tamara snorted, ¡°Another gorking puzzle.¡± Tanniv said, ¡°This looks easy though. The runes simply form resolve in a repeating pattern.¡± ¡°What does it mean though?¡± asked Kenirath There were echoes of resolve amongst the adventurers, but nothing happened. As the others discussed, Kyrie walked up to the door and examined it again. She got an idea. Kyrie shouted, ¡°Quiet everyone, please.¡± The others stopped talking and stared at her. Kyrie said, ¡°Only five adventurers say resolve at a time.¡± Tamara decided on who the five would be. The five said resolve at the same time. The door swung inwards. ¡°Nice thinking¡±, said Tanniv as they all made their way in. The door shut behind them. They were in a small square room of about ten feet. There was a resurrection stone and after everyone had set their revival point, the exit door appeared. Tamara said, ¡°Well guys. This is it. The final push.¡± Tamara opened the exit door. The adventurers ventured into it; ventured into the belly of the labyrinth; ventured into battle and death. Escape from the Labyrinth Two days had passed since Marcus was the prisoner of the minotaur Artenos. In this time, he had talked with Kyrie twice via the scrying mirror, talked with Artenos about what was going on in Una and had read a couple of books. He was enjoying his time spent. Artenos lived in a luxurious cavern with the softest bed Marcus had experienced and excellent toilet facilities. He had invisible servants that met every need of Artenos and Marcus. Marcus did not feel like a prisoner but a guest of the minotaur. That morning Marcus woke up thinking about what he would read next. A book on history of the Umarus had caught his eye yesterday. He had not read it yet. Marcus got ready for the day and went to the wall where books were stacked in shelves. He found Artenos sitting in a chair near the shelves. ¡°I thought you would be here earlier¡±, said Artenos as Marcus approached him. ¡°How can I help you Artenos?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°I have a quest for you.¡± ¡°I am listening.¡± Artenos took some time before talking, ¡°I have been a boss level creature in this god forsaken labyrinth for many years. I can¡¯t even remember how the world outside of this labyrinth looks. I want to get out of this gorking labyrinth. Now, before you say anything, I have already appealed to the Game Masters in the past, twice. I was however rejected both times. They consider me a beast, a monster, an obstacle for the adventurers. I don¡¯t mind that. I just do not want to be in the labyrinth. Make me a boss level enemy in the outer wide world. Una is large. I can fit anywhere. But they somehow do not let me leave. Rauros once threatened me to change my cavern to a maze if I pushed too hard. He found it funny somehow. Anyways, I need your help getting out of this labyrinth. There is a way for me. I need to defeat the final guardian of the labyrinth. That would grant me a boon. I would use that boon to escape this labyrinth. I am sure the Game Masters would catch up to me fast. But to see the sky, even for a second, would be worth it.¡± Marcus gaped at Artenos. Then he remedied his expression and said, ¡°Are you sure your plan would work? And why would you need only me to defeat the final guardian? Can you not do it on your own? I mean, I am at a level lower than you, you know.¡± Artenos started to pace, ¡°The way this works is that any monster inside the labyrinth can challenge the final guardian of the labyrinth. There are not one, but four final guardians and you may face any one of them. However, even if the monster defeats the guardian, he may not request anything. He just gets stronger. That¡¯s it. For me to request anything, I need an adventurer. When an adventurer defeats a guardian, the guardian grants him a request. Then you can either request for me or transfer your request to me. That way I will be able to get out.¡± ¡°You do realize that I would be giving up the chance to get something good from the guardian if I request your freedom¡±, said Marcus, now sitting on a chair. Artenos said, ¡°I am well aware of that fact. You are wondering how you will be compensated. Well, help me, and you shall get 10,000 experience points and digital copies of all the books that I have here. I have them scanned.¡± Marcus jumped up and extended his hand quickly, ¡°I accept your quest. I would require further details regarding the guardians though.¡± Artenos laughed, ¡°Shall we get started then. I know a shortcut to the final guardian¡¯s chamber. It would still take us three days to reach them.¡± ¡°Preparation is the key, Artenos¡±, said Marcus, ¡°Information regarding the guardians. And why do you think we''ll need three days to reach the final chamber?¡± Artenos explained, ¡°Normally, to reach the final guardian, like your adventurer friends are doing, you need to pass a trial. This trial normally takes about a week, that is, if they are successful on their first try. I know a shortcut which bypasses the trial. But this shortcut leads through a smaller trial which takes three days to clear. It would also help you level up a bit. I realize you are level 49 now. It may take you up to 50.¡± Marcus started at that revelation. When had he leveled up? He had not even realized it. He distributed his points and put them in agility. Then Marcus said, ¡°Alright. Now, the information about the guardians. What can you tell me about them?¡± Artenos gave Marcus a book, ¡°Read this. We shall discuss once you are finished with this. And I would also like to spar with you. If preparation is the key, then I would very much like to know how well you do.¡± Marcus grinned. He was going to enjoy this. *** Six days passed. In these six days Marcus learnt about the four guardians, who they were, their strengths, their weaknesses and their strategy to defeat them. Marcus also sparred with Artenos and found that he was a tough opponent. Artenos had to hold back while fighting Marcus and Marcus could clearly see that. Marcus also read a couple of other interesting books and he contacted Kyrie exactly once. She said she was busy with a trial and told him not to disturb her anymore and so Marcus complied. Marcus and Artenos also discussed a lot on how the labyrinth were before and how it has changed over the years. The labyrinth was constructed when the game system was established on Una, and it is one of the oldest and the largest dungeons on Una. From what Marcus heard, it has become simpler and less tough over the edges. Initially, it had been very hard and hardly any adventurers managed to defeat the labyrinth¡¯s guardians. Six days later, they were ready or as ready as they could be. Three days to the final guardian. Artenos opened a door which Marcus had not observed earlier and they both stepped in. There was a resurrection stone in a small room. Marcus looked at Artenos and asked, ¡°Will this work for you?¡± Artenos shook his head, ¡°If I die, then I will respawn back in my cavern after a few days. This resurrection stone will not help me. Only you.¡± Marcus activated the stone. Then human and minotaur walked forwards to face the trials that lay ahead. They stepped into a large cavern and the door disappeared behind them. There was a small pool of water glittering in the cavern to their right. The surface was not flat but rough and with slope and boulders were scattered around the cavern. Marcus could also see both stalactites and stalagmites. There was a short plinth in the middle of the room. It was shaped like a glass with a broad circular head, spherical middle and narrow bottom which further expanded into a circular base. Marcus and Artenos approached the plinth. Marcus could see that it was white in color. There were no blemishes or dirt on the pillar. It was smooth without any smudges. The circular top of the pillar was glowing with a notification. Begin the Trinity Trial Yes?? No Artenos selected yes. The notification changed. Begin the Trial of Strength Yes?? No Artenos asked Marcus, ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°Ready.¡± Artenos selected yes. The plinth disappeared into the ground and a huge monster appeared in front of them. Bulbous Golem Level 100, Health 60,000 / 60,000 The bulbous golem was a huge toad-like creature with greenish yellow skin, long elephant-like ears and large curved horns. Marcus could not see any tusks, but it opened its mouth to croak, and Marcus saw three serpent like tongues inside its mouth. The bulbous golem leaped and both Marcus and Artenos dodged its attack. It landed with force, shattering the ground beneath it and causing a mini earthquake. Artenos engaged it immediately while Marcus took some time to regain his balance. Artenos had a large warhammer with him. He attacked the bulbous golem, hitting it for 500 points of damage. Marcus attacked too. His attacks only dealt about 100 points of damage to the bulbous golem. He was not happy. This would take some time to kill the toad golem. The golem jumped again and Artenos dove out of the way of its attack. Marcus jumped and landed on the golem¡¯s back. It was slimy and slippery. Marcus maintained his balance as he ran up to the head and started attacking it. Each of his hits were critical attacks and he somehow managed to reduce the golems health by about 800 points. The golem swung his head and Marcus jumped down from the golem. Artenos cast a spell which made him larger than he was, and he attacked the golem with amazing force. The golem was thrown back a bit because of Artenos¡¯ attacks. Artenos'' spell lasted 30 seconds. In those 30 seconds, Artenos managed to deal about 7,200 points of damage to the golem. Its health was now at 39,800. They still had a long way to go. The golem now roared and lowered his head. Instead of jumping, it slid across the floor, knocking Artenos out of its way and dealing major damage to the minotaur. The golem turned towards Marcus and charged too. Marcus managed to dodge its attack in time. He had to use [Force Push] which helped him push away from the golem rather than just push the golem. Considering its weight, Marcus wondered how effective his [Force Push] would be against the golem. After its sliding attack, the golem resumed its normal attack pattern. Artenos and Marcus continued to attack it, albeit a bit more slowly or carefully than before. Marcus did not know how much time had passed but he concentrated on not getting hit by the golem¡¯s attacks. He got hit once and it made him lose 100 points of health. He quickly recovered using a health potion, but he realized that the golem could kill him in two to three hits. When the golem¡¯s health had fallen below 20,000 points, it let out a loud roar. Marcus saw the tongues flickering out of its mouth and its eyes zoomed in on Marcus. Marcus guessed what was coming and he was right. All three tongues shot towards him. Marcus cast [Whirlwind Weapon]. The tongues could be poisonous, Marcus did not know, but they got shredded by the spell. It seemed that the tongues were a weak point because Marcus caused about 10,000 points of damage with his spell which surprised even him. The bulbous golem was now down to 8,230 points of health. They were close now. That did not mean he had to let his guard down. Marcus hefted his weapon, ready for another attack when Artenos activated the spell which made him grow larger. Marcus helped Artenos with the attack. It took 30 more seconds, the time till Artenos¡¯ spell lasted, to defeat the bulbous golem. Artenos and Marcus lay panting after the fight. Marcus got a notification that he had received 5,000 points of experience from defeating the bulbous golem. He had leveled up. He put the two points in agility. Marcus got up and went back to the plinth. It had appeared when the bulbous golem had been defeated. First Trial Cleared. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Time till Second Trial 23:58:32 About 24 hours left till the second trial will be activated. Makes sense if it is a trial per day. 6 hours had already passed today. 24 remaining till zero hour tomorrow. They simply needed to wait. Artenos came up to Marcus and examined the time. He snorted and said, ¡°The second trial is tomorrow. Let us rest for now. We shall train a bit in the evening. Nothing too excessive. Just basic exercises. Let¡¯s see what we face tomorrow.¡± Artenos sat beside the plinth in a meditative pose, his eyes closed. Marcus was tired but he still had some leftover adrenaline running through his body from the fight. He decided to explore the cavern. He was disappointed though. There was nothing special in the cavern. Marcus decided to close his eyes and try to sleep. It took some time, but he finally managed to sleep. Artenos woke Marcus up in the evening. Then, as Artenos had said, they did a few exercises and light sparing. They had a heavy dinner as Marcus had skipped lunch because he had fallen asleep. Artenos had stored delicious food items prepared beforehand in his inventory. The food would never get spoiled in the inventory. That gave Marcus an idea for the future. Instead of rations, he could actually carry food in his inventory. The next morning, they woke at zero hour and got ready for the next trial. They had breakfast, did warm up exercises and then walked up to the plinth. Begin the Trial of Endurance Yes ?? No ¡°Are we ready?¡± asked Artenos. ¡°Yes.¡± Artenos selected yes. The plinth disappeared back into the ground. They looked around. Nothing appeared for some time. Then a robed figure appeared. Marcus examined the figure. Aspect of Leyda Level ???, Health ??? / ??? ¡°Well¡±, said Marcus, ¡°This does not look fucking good.¡± Artenos agreed. The Aspect of Leyda came up to them and said, ¡°Welcome adventurers. This is the trial of endurance. To pass this trial, you simply have to do one thing. Endure.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± asked Marcus. The aspect had her hood up and Marcus could not see the face beneath it as she turned her head to Marcus. ¡°It means¡±, said the Aspect of Leyda, ¡°That I would attack you with spells for an hour. You need to be alive for the next hour. This is an individual test. Decide who goes first.¡± Artenos and Marcus looked at each other. Artenos gestured as if to say Marcus should go first. Makes sense. If he died, he would simply respawn. Marcus stepped forward, ¡°I am first.¡± ¡°Are you ready then?¡± ¡°Before we start, I have a couple of questions.¡± ¡°Ask.¡± ¡°Do I need to take your attacks head on, or can I dodge them?¡± ¡°You have to endure them. How you do that, it¡¯s up to you.¡± ¡°Okay. Can I drink health potions?¡± ¡°If you can.¡± Not great answers according to Marcus. He said in a resigned voice, ¡°I am ready.¡± The next moment Marcus had to dodge as a fireball hurled towards him. The aspect had already started to attack. Marcus brought his twinblades out. He either dodged the attacks or diverted them with his twinblades. But mostly, he ran. The fireball was followed by a barrage of smaller fireballs. Marcus dodged that to find ground beneath him shining. He moved right on time to find an ice spike rising out of the ground. If he had been standing there, he would have been impaled by it. He dodged fireballs, energy bolts, ice and rock spikes shot towards him by the aspect. Marcus even tried to attack the aspect, but he was thrown back by a barrier, and he had to roll away from the spot where he had landed because a rock spike rose out of it. He could not attack. And having no shield, he could not defend. He ran and found that running helped. The aspect was not as fast in changing directions. Marcus ensured that he kept himself just out of line of sight of the aspect. That helped. He even took shelters behind boulders and protruding rock pieces. That gave him a breather. It felt like the longest hour of his life. He got hit many times, each attack taking about 80 points of health from him. Still, he persevered. He did not know how much time had passed and he dared not look at the time as his complete focus on the aspect¡¯s attacks. Finally, after what felt like eternity, the aspect declared, ¡°Time¡¯s up. Congratulations. You passed the trial.¡± Marcus lay flat on the ground. He was not moving. He could not move. He felt beyond tired. Artenos lifted him up and put him near the aspect. Artenos said, ¡°You will be safe here. The aspect will not attack you now and it seems that we cannot attack the aspect here. Wait till I finish my turn.¡± Marcus nodded. His world turned. He hardly heard what the aspect and Artenos were talking about. He passed out. When Marcus came to, he found Artenos sitting in a meditative pose beside him. Marcus got up and looked around. The aspect of Leyda was nowhere to be seen. Marcus said, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I endured¡±, replied Artenos. ¡°How long was I out?¡± ¡°About five hours.¡± Marcus stood up. He still felt tired. The trial of endurance had taken a lot out of him. Marcus said, ¡°So, we are waiting for the third trial.¡± ¡°It will begin tomorrow¡±, said Artenos, now standing up. Marcus¡¯ stomach grumbled. ¡°Food time¡±, he said. They ate and rested. Then they did some light exercises in the evening. They did not spar today. Marcus was in no condition to do much. Marcus went to bed early that night. Hopefully, tomorrow¡¯s trial will be less stressful. Marcus woke up at 3 o¡¯clock in the morning. Artenos was already up and about. It seemed that the minotaur was waiting for Marcus because he approached Marcus as soon as Marcus got up. ¡°Are you alright?¡± asked Artenos. Marcus could sense the concern in his voice. Marcus was indeed feeling better after his sleep. He said, ¡°I feel much better now. I think the trial simply tired me out. I never had such a stressful and constantly active trial before.¡± Artenos nodded. Then he said, ¡°Get ready. Today we tackle the last trial.¡± Marcus got ready and then they both approached the plinth. Begin the Trial of Intelligence Yes ?? No Intelligence. Huh! Should not be that strenuous. Artenos selected yes. Nothing happened for some time. Then another robed figure appeared. This one looked like the Leyda aspect, same as yesterday. Marcus examined the robe figure and groaned. It was the aspect of Leyda. Aspect of Leyda Level ???, Health ??? / ??? The aspect said, ¡°Welcome adventurers to your trial of intelligence. It is a short yet difficult trial. Solve the puzzle that I give you and your trial is complete.¡± The aspect waved her hands and an object appeared with a platform in front of Marcus and Artenos. Marcus looked at the cube-like object. It looked familiar. ¡°This is a Rubik¡¯s cube¡±, said the aspect, ¡°Solve it and you can proceed further.¡± Artenos was confused. He said, ¡°What¡¯s a Rubik¡¯s cube? And what do you mean, solve it? What the gork are we supposed to do with this tiny cube?¡± Artenos was baffled by the cube, but the cube had triggered something in Marcus. A memory. No, a strategy. No, a solution. A solution found on something known as the internet. What was that? Marcus stepped forwards and picked up the cube. Then he started working mechanically, moving the rows and the columns of the cube. He knew the objective. All sides should be singularly colored. Before he knew what he was doing, he had solved it. Artenos looked at Marcus with a surprised look on his face. ¡°That was fast¡±, said Artenos. ¡°How fast?¡± asked Marcus. He had not been keeping track of time. ¡°About fifteen minutes I guess¡±, Artenos shrugged. ¡°That is a new record Marcus Blank¡±, said the aspect, ¡°You have managed to solve the Rubik¡¯s cube in 16 minutes and 32 seconds. Congratulations adventurers. You have passed the trial of intelligence.¡± Artenos was not an adventurer, but Marcus did not want to correct the aspect. They had completed the trial. Actually, he had completed the trial while Artenos had simply watched him baffled. The aspect now disappeared, and the plinth started to glow. A beam of light shot out of it and into the wall to the right of Marcus. The exit door appeared. Artenos said, ¡°That was fast. I haven''t even heard of this Rubik¡¯s cube. How did you even solve it?¡± Marcus shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just did it. I think I have done it before too. Don¡¯t remember when and where though.¡± Artenos opened the exit door and they both stepped into an even larger cavern. In the middle of the cavern was the guardian of the labyrinth. Marcus groaned as he saw it. Fire Elemental Guardian Level 150 Health 100,000 / 100,000 Even Artenos grunted seeing the fire elemental. Artenos said, ¡°We both knew it was going to be an elemental.¡± ¡°Yes, but I wanted to fight a rock or an air elemental. Even water elemental would have been nicer. I mean fire is just mean. It is the toughest of all four elementals. I thought we covered this when we evaluated all of them.¡± ¡°We deal with the hoof we have been dealt. Come on. It¡¯s time to kill an elemental.¡± Marcus and Artenos started walking towards the elemental cautiously. The fire elemental was tall, about twenty feet, with conical head, arms and feet. It had slits in place of eyes, nose, ears and mouth and it was burning. Hot fire enveloped it, heating up the surroundings of the elemental and the ground beneath its feet seemed to be red in color to Marcus. ¡°Who dares challenge me?¡± said the fire elemental, ¡°Go back. Your place is not here.¡± Artenos looked at Marcus and said, ¡°Shall we?¡± Marcus nodded, ¡°We shall.¡± They both charged the fire elemental. The fire elemental shot bouts of flames at Marcus and Artenos and they both dodged it. Artenos took the fire elemental head on, causing considerable damage, about 1,000 points per hit, but he was also damaged in the process. Staying in the vicinity of the fire elemental was taking off 10 points of health per second. Marcus wondered how he would get near the fire elemental. Considering his current health, the fire elemental would kill him in just about 20 seconds and that was if he did not get hit by any of the attacks of the fire elemental. Artenos was holding well against the elemental and Marcus looked around the cavern. He saw a faint glittering at one of the sides and he started off towards it. Marcus started off towards it. When he reached it, Marcus realized that it was a small pool of water. It did not look like normal water though. There were few vases beside the water. They were currently closed with corks on the top. Marcus knew what he had to do. He had read about it and discussed it with Artenos. The fire elemental was tough for melee fighters because of his fiery aura which took off anyone¡¯s health who got close. However, the aura could be subdued for some time with the magical water found in the cavern. This had to be the magical water. Marcus filled five vases with the water and closed them with corks. Then he put them in the inventory and went towards the fire elemental. It seemed that he had finished his task on time as he saw Artenos struggling against the fire elemental. Artenos¡¯ health was low, about 20% of his total health. Marcus shouted and threw a vase at the fire elemental. The vase shattered on the fire elemental¡¯s head drenching it with the magical water. Immediately the fire surrounding its body went out. Without the fire, the elemental looked a mixture of black, orange and red. Roaring, the fire elemental charged at Marcus. That gave Artenos a breather. Artenos took out a few health potions that he had borrowed from Marcus and healed himself. Marcus, in the meantime was dodging the fire elementals attacks. The aura had been subdued, but the fire elemental was still able to perform fire attacks. Marcus dodged through a couple of fireballs and the flaming fist of the elemental. He also managed to hit the elemental a few times. Each of his hits took about 400 points of health off of the fire elemental. Marcus was happy about that. The fire elemental had strong attacks but weak defense. Its major defense was its aura of fire which Marcus had negated with the magic water. Marcus and Artenos pushed the fire elemental but it was still tough. Even though it was not burning, it was still attacking fiercely. The fire elemental¡¯s health dropped down to 49,820. It roared. Its fire relighted. Marcus and Artenos stepped back. The aura was stronger than before. Marcus tested it. It now took off 20 points of health per second. The fire elemental¡¯s attacks also increased in size and Marcus presumed damage. They dodged its attacks. Marcus was waiting for an opportunity to throw another vase. He got it when Artenos lowered his horns and charged right into the elemental. He got major damage but the fire elemental was distracted. Marcus threw the jar and it shattered over the fire elemental. The fire did not go out and the fire elemental fixed its hollow eyes on Marcus. Marcus threw another vase but it had no effect either. The fire elemental raised its arms and a huge ball of fire appeared between them. Marcus panicked. This was going to be a major spell and he was not sure he would be able to dodge it. Even Artenos'' attacks seemed to not deter the fire elemental. In a final desperate attempt, Marcus threw the last two vases together on the fire elemental. Its fire disappeared. The spell was also quenched. The fire elemental looked at its hands in confusion. Artenos took this opportunity to drink a health potion, his final. Marcus took this opportunity to charge in and cast [Whirlwind Weapon]. His twinblades shredded the fire elemental¡¯s arms and it screamed. It lost a lot of health points fast. Artenos also charged in, growing in size and swinging his greathammer. They made short work of the elemental. It took five more minutes, but the fire elemental was soon ash. They stood panting as Marcus got the notification. Congratulations, you have defeated the Fire Elemental. You get 10,000 points of experience. Artenos said, ¡°We did it.¡± ¡°We sure did¡±, said Marcus, ¡°What now?¡± Artenos pointed at an altar at the end of the cavern. Marcus had not seen it before. They approached the altar. It was a simple altar made from a smooth and shining stone, grey in colour and adorned with pictures of creatures. As they approached, light shone from the altar and a figure stepped out of the light. ¡°Congratulations adventurers on completing the labyrinth¡±, said the figure, ¡°I am here to¡­ Oh, what the gork! What the gork are you doing here again Artenos?¡± The last line was almost shouted by the figure. Marcus looked at who had appeared and gasped. Leyda Lightweaver stood before them. Journey to the Center of the Labyrinth - Part 1 Kyrie looked at the huge cavern they had stepped into. She could not see the ends of the cavern. The ground was not flat and sloped at different places. There were rocks, boulders, stalactites, stalagmites and even huge natural pillars which split the cavern. The cavern was illuminated faintly by something which Kyrie could not identify. Because of this glow, Kyrie could see a great extent of the cavern but could not see the walls to the right and the front. Kyrie observed that they had entered close to the left wall of the cavern. The adventurers started to walk in cautiously. They did not know what to expect. Kyrie could see a plinth rising out of the ground. The champions seemed to have walked towards it. The plinth looked like a drum, a black drum which had been chiseled unevenly. The top of the plinth was shining with a yellowish light. She could not read what was written in this light, but it seemed to be an interface of some sorts. Tamara and Tanniv read it and looked at each other, worry etched on their faces. Tanniv declared, ¡°It is a trial of some sorts. We need to complete 10 trials to reach the guardian.¡± ¡°What is the first trial?¡± someone asked. Kyrie could not determine who. Tamara said, ¡°No idea. We shall know once we accept the trials.¡± There were some murmurings and they discussed what to do next. The answer was obvious. They had to do the trials if they wanted to go first. Kyrie looked at what was displayed. The Trial of the Guardians Complete 10 trials to have the honor of fighting a Guardian of the Labyrinth and earn unprecedented rewards. Begin the Trial Yes ?? No Tamara selected yes. The message updated on the interface above the plinth. Begin the Trial of Strength Yes ?? No Tamara rolled her eyes and again selected yes. The plinth disappeared into the ground. There was a howling, and everyone tensed, readying their weapons. Kyrie looked around, waiting for something to attack them. She wondered why she was having this feeling. It was Ivan who discovered the monster attacking them. ¡°Look¡±, Ivan shouted and pointed. All of them looked at where Ivan was pointing. Kyrie saw a weird sight. She could only describe it as shadows were converging at a spot in the cavern. They were twisting, twirling, whirling and growing in size all the time. When the shadows stopped, a creature stepped out of them. It was completely black in color. Kyrie had to focus to see it clearly. It was humanoid in shape with blackness trailing around it. Its eyes were hollow and whitish, and Kyrie could see no mouth or ears or any distinctive features. Two black daggers were present in its long thin arms. It was thin and long, at least ten feet in height but it was hunched down so much that it looked about seven feet. Shadow Lord Level 180, Health 150,000 / 150,000 Kyrie felt this was going to be a tough fight. The Shadow Lord did not say anything. It just charged. Tamara readied her shield, but the Shadow Lord crashed into it, throwing her back. The next few minutes were chaotic. Everyone near the creature started to attack it. The Shadow Lord dodged the attacks expertly and attacked the adventurers back. Kyrie cast [Power Shot] and managed to hit the creature. But she caused only 250 points of damage to it. This was going to be tough for her. Kyrie then decided to support the other adventurers rather than draw attention to herself with rapid attacks. She mostly harassed the Shadow Lord with well-placed attacks which provided other adventurers the opportunity to strike it, dealing more damage than Kyrie could. Kyrie had initially wondered how fighting this thin Shadow Lord would be a trial of Strength. But she realized quickly, the Shadow Lord was strong, like insanely strong. She was sure that this Shadow Lord could kill Tamara in a few blows. She came to the conclusion when it cracked the ground in front of Selena when it was trying to attack her. Kyrie shot a well-placed arrow diverting its attention from Selena and Clio took the opportunity to slash it with her rapier. The fight did not take long, about fifteen minutes and the group of adventurers had killed the Shadow Lord. Kyrie got a notification, but she ignored it. It was over. The Trial of Strength was done, and they were victorious. ¡°Why was this easy?¡± mumbled Kyrie. ¡°Because except for you, we are a group of high-level adventurers. And mostly, the labyrinth is tackled by a group of ten adventurers max. We are twenty-one. It does makes things easier; you know.¡± Kyrie looked at who had spoken to find Selena sitting a few feet away from her. Kyrie said, ¡°Makes sense.¡± Selena laughed a bit, ¡°Of course it gorking makes sense.¡± ¡°What now?¡± They looked at Tamara who had walked over to the plinth and was looking at the yellowish notification glowing on it. ¡°The next trial¡¯s tomorrow. It is the Trial of Speed. Rest till that time. I don¡¯t think we are in danger till we activate the trials¡±, said Tamara. They relaxed. Kyrie checked her notifications. It had been some time. She snorted as she realized that she had earned a total of 25,000 experience points from the fight with the Nagasura, its minions and the Shadow Lord. She checked her level. She was level 55 now. That was a big jump. This was getting to be the norm. Killing a demon lord was giving her way more experience points. She had a feeling that it affected only the lower-level adventurers. The higher-level adventurers would not be gaining as many experience points as her. She put a point in vitality and wisdom and four points each in dexterity and agility. She checked her stats. Name: Kyrie Shiningstar Race: Water Nymph Designation: Adventurer - Rank 2 Age: 83 Current Location: Fontaine Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 55 Experience: 550 / 5,800 Strength: 15 Dexterity: 54 Intelligence: 7 Vitality: 26 Agility: 30 Wisdom: 10 Luck: ??? Health: 204 Mana: 120 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Fast Draw - Level 8 Precision - Level 11 Longbow Proficiency - Level 14 Stealth - Level 10 Water Proficiency - Level 100 Description: The outcast traveler from Tarados, flowing into Una, taking huge steps now and sweeping demons away is still enjoying herself by bashing other adventurer¡¯s heads. She is the water nymph to watch out for. Spells known: [Power Shot] [Fade] [Enchant Weapon: Poison] Spells Equipped: [Power Shot] [Fade] [Enchant Weapon: Poison] Spell Slots: 4 Physical Attack: 42 Magical Attack: 34 Physical Resistance: 17 Magical Resistance: 7 Critical Attack Chance: 15% (max 35%) Critical Attack Damage: 42.00% (max 62.00%) Status: None Social: 1,000 / 2,000 (Positive) NAIF: 1,100 / 2,000 (Positive) Solaris: 2,300 / 4,000 (Very Positive) Nymphs: 4,500 / 5,000 (Hero) Opulential: 2,900 / 4,000 (Very Positive) Order of the Golden Sun: 1,500 / 2,000 (Positive) Salinar: 2,500 / 4,000 (Very Positive) Tilimore: 200 / 1,000 (Neutral) Grush: 1,000 / 2,000 (Positive) Florianne: 500 / 1000 (Neutral) Chargrine: 700 / 1000 (Neutral) She needed to get the blessing for an increase in her mana. She saw that she had got the quest for it. Quest The Blessing of Hekana Obtain the blessing of the Goddess Hekana in order to increase your mana pool. She had automatically gotten the quest when she had reached level 51. She could read it in her notifications. Well, she would be able to complete this quest once she was out of the labyrinth. She only had to wait. The group of adventurers simply passed the time till the next day. The plinth notification updated at the zero hour, with the option of beginning the trial. However, they waited for an hour for everyone to get ready. Begin the Trial of Speed Yes ?? No Kyrie could see the message. She was standing close to the plinth after all. Tamara selected yes. The plinth disappeared into the ground and the cavern started to rumble. Everybody wondered what was happening. In one part of the cavern, a racing track came out of the ground. Everyone looked confused at that. They approached it cautiously. The track had a flat road like surface which was illuminated from both the sides with torches. There was a starting pole and an ending pole. Both the poles had screens which showed 00.00 currently. There was another screen near the starting pole which said, ¡°Complete the track in less than 5 seconds.¡± There was nothing else. Tamara grunted and said, ¡°It seems that we have to run, I don¡¯t know how much distance is that. Can someone measure it?¡± Vladimir walked the entire track placing one foot in front of the other, made some calculations in his mind and then said, ¡°Looks like a standard track for a hundred metre race.¡± Tanniv asked, ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°Humans have racing as a sport. A hundred metre race is a sprint in which competitors run from start to finish. The one to reach the finish first wins.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Sounds simple enough. So, we run this hundred metres in under five seconds.¡± Vladimir said, ¡°It is not that simple. It takes humans on an average about 9 to 10 seconds to run this much distance. And those are professional athletes. They practice all their lives for such sprints.¡± They started to discuss how to run. Queries were being asked as to whether anyone had spells which increased speed and if they were stackable. Debates were being carried out as to which species was the fastest. It seemed that one person running the track under 5 seconds would clear the trial. Kyrie ignored what everyone was discussing, and she went up to the starting line. A message popped up. Do you wish to participate in the trial? Yes ?? No Kyrie selected yes. Prepare yourself. Trial begins in 10¡­ 9¡­ 8¡­ Kyrie readied herself. The countdown reached 1 and then displayed Go. Kyrie ran. She ran as fast as she could, she ran like she had never run and focused just on reaching the end line. Before she knew it, she was flying past it. Participant trial completed. The Participant failed. Time 10.35 seconds. Kyrie thought to herself, Not bad. She turned to see everyone watching her. Kyrie said, ¡°I just wanted to see if I could run really fast.¡± Tamara said, ¡°That gives me an idea. Those who think who can run the fastest, step forwards. The one with the least time would be hit with all the speed spells. Then we hope they will run in less than 5 seconds.¡± Kyrie heard Tim mutter, ¡°Literally what I said. Just in different words. Seriously!¡± Tamara glared at him and said, ¡°Tim shall be the first volunteer.¡± Everybody volunteered. Everyone wanted to have a go at the track. Well, everybody except Tanniv. He was content to be the judge, even though it was not required. The track timed the run after all. That was what the screen in the two poles was for. It showed the time taken by the runner to complete the track. Soon, every adventurer gathered in the cavern ran on the track. Tanniv kept the record of the time. As Kyrie was the first to run, she looked at Tanniv¡¯s record. He showed it to her with a sigh. Kyrie: 10.35 s Tamara: 09.38 s Shania: 09.24 s Duranos: 09.52 s Shadra: 09.55 s Mikhail: 10.12 s Vladimir: 15.32 s Ivan: 20.42 s Victor: 10.23 s Garun: 07.78 s Sylivianna: 08.32 s Hestia: 06.62 s Artemis: 05.32 s Thalia: 05.68 s Erato: 07.12 s Clio: 10.12 s Athena: 06.12 s Tim: 13.22 s Kenirath: 11.12 s Selena: 10.24 s All of the celestials were fast. Clio was fast too, but he had tripped. She had not asked for a second chance to run though. From the times it was clear that Artemis was the fastest. Kyrie wondered what Vladimir and Ivan had been doing on the track. They ran so slowly compared to the other adventurers. It was then decided that Artemis would be the recipient of a spell that would increase her speed. She already had one and she had not used it while running initially in the name of fair play and all that. They were soon ready. The spells were cast. Artemis readied herself at the starting line. She shot forwards and Kyrie could hardly see the blur speeding down the track. She finished it in 03.32 seconds. Everybody cheered. They had passed the trial. The cavern shook again, and the track started to go down into the cavern. Everyone scrambled away from it. The plinth was back now. Tanniv went up to it, read the notification and declared that the next trial was tomorrow. Well, it seemed that it was going to be a trial a day. The adventurers settled down and Kyrie got a call from Marcus via his scrying pool. Kyrie told him about the trials and told him not to call her anymore. She was free today, but she could be busy some other day and it could cost her her life. Marcus understood that. He said that they would meet after the week, well eight days now. The adventurers did nothing much that day. They either exercised, did light sparring or simply talked. Kyrie spent most of her time alone in a small water puddle she had found in the cavern. She liked it. She did talk with other adventurers but had minimal interaction otherwise. The third day dawned. Well, Kyrie assumed that it had dawned as the plinth was saying that they could take the third trial. The third trial was the Trial of the Mind. Kyrie wondered what that meant. The plinth disappeared into the ground and the cavern shook again. Something popped out of the cavern ground to the left of them. They walked up to it. It was a large stone-based platform on which colourful squares were painted. Each of the squares was 3 feet long. There was a total of 100 squares forming a large 10 by 10 square platform. Kyrie saw that there was a repeating pattern of five colours; yellow, blue, red, green and orange. Kyrie wondered what the purpose of the platform was when a hooded figure appeared on the platform. Aspect of Labyrinth Level ???, Health ??? The aspect spoke, ¡°Please select five adventurers to undertake the trial of mind.¡± A round of discussions started. They did not know what the challenge entailed. However, it was a trial of mind. They were not sure whether to select people with higher intelligence or wisdom. Finally, a decision was made. Tamara, Shadra, Hestia, Athena and Kyrie were selected to carry out the trial. Kyrie did not understand why she was selected. She hardly had intelligence or wisdom but still the adventurers insisted. Something about having a wide spectrum of statistics. As the five selected adventurers stepped forwards, the aspect said, ¡°Please select any random square to step upon. Please ensure that you all select different colours.¡± The adventurers did so. Tamara stood upon a yellow square while Shadra selected red. Hestia chose orange while Athena chose green. This left Kyrie with a blue square, and she was okay with it. ¡°The adventurers have chosen¡±, said the aspect, ¡°Now the trial may commence. I shall now explain the rules of the trial.¡± The aspect paused and shifted. It took its position outside of the platform and a screen appeared in front of it. The aspect said, ¡°Various patterns will be displayed on the screen here. The adventurers will need to arrange themselves according to the pattern. The rule is that the adventurer is only allowed to step on their color squares. Stepping on another color square would result in damage. Take sufficient damage, and you would die. Healing is allowed but only once per round. That is it. Are there any questions?¡± Tamara asked, ¡°Is that it? We arrange ourselves according to patterns?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Sounds easy enough.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t jinx it¡±, hissed Shalia. ¡°Let the trial begin¡±, said the aspect. A pattern appeared on the screen beside the aspect. Then the colors in the squares began to shift randomly. The color beneath the adventurers¡¯ feet remained the same but the rest changed. The adventurers had about ten seconds to look at the new pattern of colors on the platform before they all turned white. The aspect said, ¡°Kindly step on your color and your color only and form the pattern shown on the screen.¡± Kyrie looked at the pattern. It looked like the two sides of a triangle formed with five squares. She looked beneath her feet. She tried to remember where the blue square was. Then she remembered it. To form the pattern, it would be at the top. However, to reach it, she would have to step on the other blue squares. She tried to remember them. She saw that the others were not struggling much. Tamara hopped on into place in an instant. Shadra, Hestia and Athena also did not take much time either. Kyrie took longer to navigate. She also stepped on a wrong square which made shock pass through her body deducting 100 points of health. She finally made it through. ¡°Congratulations adventurers. You have passed the first round¡±, said the aspect. Just the first round. Kyrie really wanted to punch the aspect in its face. The monotonous voice was starting to irritate her. The colors came back, and they shuffled again. Kyrie had 10 seconds to memorize all the blue squares before they turned white. Another pattern formed on the screen beside the aspect. This time it looked like the four ends of a pentagon. The adventurers took less time this time and formed the pattern. The rounds continued in this manner. Kyrie wondered how this was a trial of the mind. It felt to her more like a trial of her memory and athletic ability. Ten rounds later, the aspect declared that the trial was over and the adventurers had cleared the trial. Everybody cheered at that. Kyrie lay down, exhausted, some distance from the platform. The platform went down with the shuddering of the cavern and the plinth came up. Even though Kyrie knew that the next trial would be tomorrow, Tanniv went up to the plinth to confirm it. The next trial was indeed tomorrow. Kyrie just lay there for some time till someone asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡± It was Selena. Kyrie replied, ¡°I am okay. Just tired. The trial was frustrating. It would have been much better if someone other than me had been selected.¡± ¡°Hey, each of us has to pull our weight. This is a team, albeit a large one, but still a team. And we work together. Everyone does something. Don¡¯t complain about such small stuff. This was an easy trial from what I could see.¡± Kyrie grimaced and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to argue. I just want to lie down for some time. Then I am going to go into the puddle I have discovered and sleep till the remaining trials are complete.¡± Selena gave a short laugh at that. Kyrie took some rest, ate some food and went to sleep in the puddle as she had said. She was woken up the next day by Selena. It was time for the fourth trial. Kyrie hoped for some enemies this time. She wanted to kill something. Tamara declared that the fourth trial was the trial of Illusions. Kyrie did not like the sound of that. Tamara confirmed with everyone and started the trial. At once a mist started to enter the cavern from everywhere. ¡°Do not breathe in the mist¡±, said Tamara. Well, that was obvious, but for how long were they going to hold their breaths? Kyrie looked at her pool of water and saw that she was about a hundred metres from it. If she considered that second trial, it would take her around 11 seconds to reach it. But she would not be breathing. She took her chance and ran to the pool. It was difficult not breathing in the air but she made it and collapsed into the pool. The others were not lucky. They held their breaths for a few minutes, but they eventually had to breathe. She watched as they became completely still. She did not know what was happening. However, it seemed that the adventurers were suffering. Kyrie could see them shake and tremble, as if they were fighting their fear or something. Then she realized. The mist. It would be giving them illusions. She was safe as long as she was in the water. Seconds, minutes, hours passed. One after the other, the adventurers came out of their illusions. Some sat down, some simply broke down crying while some like Tamara, started to punch things. Finally, the last of the adventurers, Clio, broke out of the illusion and the trial was complete. The mist cleared. Kyrie came out of the pool, and everyone looked at her. She could see a mix of anger and concern in their eyes. Tanniv stepped forwards, ¡°Are you alright, Kyrie? The illusions were intense.¡± Kyrie said in a low voice, ¡°I hid in the pool.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be ashamed of that. It was not cowardice. It was a good strategy. And it did not break the rule of the trial¡±, Tanniv pointed at the plinth, ¡°The fourth trial is complete, and we wait for tomorrow for the next trial.¡± Kyrie nodded but still sat away from the others. She was not sure how they were faring, and she did not want to anger anyone by accident. She was soon joined by Selena, Athena and Hestia. ¡°Are you all okay?¡± asked Kyrie to the others. Selena replied, ¡°Yes. For now. My illusion showed me my deepest fear. Had to overcome it to dispel the effect. Did not like it.¡± ¡°Same here¡±, said Athena and Hestia together. They were silent after that. No one knew what to say. Kyrie could tell that each of them was shaken by their experience, and she felt even more guilty hiding in the water. Selena looked at Kyrie¡¯s expression and said, ¡°Do not worry Kyrie. You had an advantage. You took it. That does not make you less of an adventurer. We are not mad at you. We are simply shaken by the illusions.¡± ¡°Still makes me feel guilty.¡± ¡°The feeling will go away¡±, said Athena, ¡°In the grander order of things, this would seem like a small insignificant memory.¡± ¡°Thank you, I guess¡±, said Kyrie with a frown. Then she giggled. Soon, all four of them were laughing. Nothing much happened during the rest of the day. Kyrie did observe that the adventurers did stay close, as if to comfort each other. She hoped that sleep would help and the next day, the other adventurers would not be as jumpy as they were now. The next day the mood did not seem to have improved much. Kyrie felt the tension in the air. Tamara examined the fifth trial. It was a trial of Endurance. Tamara accepted it. Tamara said, ¡°Alright. We shall be fighting five waves of enemies. Get ready guys.¡± There was a collective cheer. It seemed that Kyrie wasn¡¯t the only one who wanted to kill something. A gong sounded somewhere in the cavern. Kyrie wondered where the sound came from. The first wave of monsters appeared. It was a swarm of goblins in the range of level 100. Kyrie readied her bow as Tamara charged right into the goblins without any strategy or buffs. Tanniv sighed as he started giving orders to the other adventurers. Buffs were cast and the other adventurers charged into the goblins. Kyrie and other ranged adventurers attacked the goblins from the back. The melee adventurers did not usually let the goblins pass through. Kyrie was mostly observing Tamara. She seemed to be enjoying the carnage, cleaving through goblins as if they were nothing but minor obstacles in her way. Kyrie was not able to count, but she estimated that there were about 50 goblins which the adventurers dispatched off in about 10 minutes. That was fast. There was a breather for 5 minutes. Then the second wave started. The second wave was a wave of elite goblins. They were tougher than the normal goblins. Even then, the adventurers attacked them. There were only 20 of them this time. So, it was more like one adventurer versus one elite goblin. The level of these elite goblins was around 110. The level had increased. It took about half an hour, but the elite goblins were also dispatched. Kyrie could see that the others were tiring out, especially the melee attackers. There were three other waves remaining. The third wave was about 50 hobgoblins ranging around level 130. That was quite a jump in levels. The hobgoblins were tough, but the adventurers persevered. Kyrie found herself shooting arrows quicker than she normally was. The battle area was turning into chaos. After the third wave some of the adventurers collapsed. Tanniv said, ¡°We need a better plan. At this rate, we shall not even survive the next two waves.¡± Tamara looked at the adventurers. She looked at the tiredness on their faces. Tamara said, ¡°Alright. I have a plan. You shall not like it. I will take care of the next wave. Ranged attackers. Position yourself at high ground. Support me as much as you can. The remaining adventurers. Form a defensive wall around healers. Do not let them get hurt. And stay away from battle unless you are engaged by the monsters. I am not that tired. I can solo the next wave with ranged support and fast heals. The final wave would be up to you Tanniv. What do you say?¡± Tanniv shouted, ¡°Two minutes for getting into positions, adventurers. You heard what Tamara said. Gorking move.¡± They complied. Kyrie perched on an outcropping out of one of the dividing pillars in the cavern. The other ranged attackers also positioned themselves at higher ground. Tamara stood in the centre where the monster waves were spawning. Nearby, at a height, the healers were surrounded by the tired melee adventurers who were resting but were alert. Tanniv was standing in the front to ensure the tired adventurers did not have to do much. The fourth wave was a group of gorgons leveled 150. Kyrie swore. Gorgons had ranged attacks and could petrify you if you got hit with these ranged attacks a few times. Petrification usually led to death. However, Tamara was unfazed by the appearance of these 20 odd gorgons. She let out a warcry and barreled into the nearest gorgon, killing it with just a few hits. Kyrie was impressed with Tamara¡¯s perseverance and her strength as she shot arrow after arrow into the gorgons. All of the gorgons were focused on Tamara as she lay down a path of destruction in her wake. Tamara was using her AoE spells effectively making short work of the gorgons. The ranged attackers were also attacking, but Tamara held the gorgons¡¯ attention. Kyrie understood about the fast healing as Tamara lost a lot of health fast as she attacked. It seemed as if she was in a berserker mode hacking away the gorgons. The fight lasted about fifteen minutes and only one gorgon separated themselves from Tamara. Tanniv dispatched it fast. The fourth wave was over soon, and Tamara collapsed. The other adventurers brought her to higher ground. Tanniv said, ¡°Rest now. We shall take care of the final wave. The others are feeling better now.¡± Tamara nodded feebly and closed her eyes to rest. Shania stood over her to keep a watch on Tamara. Tanniv shouted, ¡°Ranged attackers, back to your positions. Melee attackers try to form a large circle. I want this last wave dealt with fast. It would be big though.¡± The last wave was a single monster. Kyrie examined it and paled. Death Knight Elite Level 150, Health 100,000 / 100,000 As soon as the death knight appeared, a wave of fear pulsed through every adventurer. Kyrie felt it too. The death knight took the opportunity to grab the nearest adventurer, who was Kenirath and passed its sword through him. Kenirath almost died but was healed in time by Athena and Shadra healing him together. Kyrie fought through the fear running through her and cast [Power Shot]. She wanted to disappear from the death¡¯s knight view, cast [Fade] and stay invisible for the remainder of the fight. But she gritted her teeth and attacked the death knight. She missed. The fear was impacting her judgement and performance. This was not good. It was Tanniv who took the lead. He seemed to have broken out of the death knight¡¯s fear aura and slashed him for considerable damage. As Tanniv fought one on one with the death knight, the feeling of fear started to disappear. Kyrie was starting to feel better now. She shot an arrow and hit the death knight in the head for a critical hit. The death knight hardly had a chance to recover as Tanniv drove a sword through it. The other adventurers were also recovering and attacking the death knight. Soon, the death knight was overwhelmed. The adventurers were attacking with greater ferocity, without concerns for their health. Many of them came close to dying. Kyrie appreciated Shadra, Athena and Ivan¡¯s efforts as they healed their fellow adventurers. The death knight soon died, and the plinth came back. They had done it. It was over. They had completed the fifth trial. Five more to go. Journey to the Center of the Labyrinth - Part 2 Kyrie looked at the adventurers. Everyone was lying down. Everyone was tired. The trial of endurance was really the trial of endurance. It took a lot out of everyone, even her. She messaged her arm. She had not shot so many arrows so fast in her life. Not even during any demonic invasions. Here she had to do to ensure the survival of her teammates. ¡°Water?¡± someone inquired beside her. Kyrie recognized who it was. Kyrie rolled her eyes at Selena as she said, ¡°There is a pool in the cavern, which for some reason is increasing in size. Water is trickling into the cavern from somewhere and not flowing out at a fast rate. I absorb water. I drink potions.¡± ¡°So, can you drink water or not? And do you want to drink the water? I was simply offering. No need to be rude¡±, said Selena. Kyrie sighed and said, ¡°I was not being rude. I was being¡­¡± she stopped at the look on Selena¡¯s face and said, ¡°Jerk.¡± Selena laughed. Kyrie did not take the water from Selena. She would be taking a dip in the pool later. It would refresh her. It was a natural water source after all, away from the residential towns, villages or cities. Kyrie checked her notifications. She had gained 10,000 experience points. She had killed some of the enemies and helped in killing many of them and also the death knight, and she got such measly experience. It seemed that killing demons was more lucrative. She had leveled up once with the experience she had received. She put both her points in dexterity. The adventurers rested that evening. No one did any exercises or light sparring either. The next morning was the time for the sixth trial. The sixth trial was the Trial of Memory. Kyrie muttered, ¡°Great! It is going to be a stupid game of sorts. I tell you.¡± Kyrie was right. It was a game. An aspect of the labyrinth arrived and had a screen in front of the adventurers. The screen showed 50 by 50 square tiles about a couple of inches long. If you touched one, it flipped and showed the image of a creature or a piece of equipment. Touching another tile flipped the second tile showing another image. The two images had to match. That kept their tiles turned permanently. Each adventurer was given a minute to solve the game. You had to be fast and have a good memory to finish the game. Tamara went first. She managed to upturn 30 tiles before her timer ran up. Then Tanniv tried. He managed 24 tiles. The images changed position between tries. You could not rely on the positions as per the last try. That was frustrating. After Tanniv, Vladimir tried, and he got 20 tiles. Then Clio tried and got 46 tiles. She was so close. Selena tried and got 48 tiles. She was just going to touch the last two tiles when her timer ran out. She swore a lot. After Selena, Kenirath tried and got 40 tiles. Ivan got 22 tiles. It was Tim who finally solved it. And he did it with 10 seconds to spare. Everyone cheered as the aspect disappeared and plinth appeared again. Tanniv confirmed again, the seventh trial was the next day. The team of adventurers played a game that day. It was a simple game, a game of tag but everyone enjoyed it. Initially they had a rule that they would not be using spells or any other abilities that would give them an edge over other adventurers. Over the course of the games, the rule was forgotten and there was chaos and pandemonium. Tamara seemed to enjoy this chaos the most. Kyrie enjoyed the game too. The next day dawned, and it was time for a new trial. This was getting boring for Kyrie. The trials, the quest for the spell, killing all the enemies was good and all, but she yearned for a good fight against another adventurer. She was starting to miss the arena. She wanted to get out of the cavern and go back to Chargrine. She wanted to fight in the new bracket of level 50 to 60. Maybe she could consider an alternative. Her fight with Marcus on Atop hill gave her an idea. She would consider it later. The seventh trial was the Trial of Wisdom. Now what new hell would this unleash? This time a sphinx appeared in the cavern. Garama the Sphinx Level 275, Health ??? / ??? Tamara approached the sphinx. ¡°Welcome adventurers¡±, said Garama, ¡°You have faced many trials in the labyrinth. However, this might be the toughest for you. You face me and I ask you a question. You answer right, you survive. You answer wrong. You die. You can choose not to answer but then you shall receive a curse from me which would last till the end of the trials. Who wishes to take the trial first?¡± Tamara asked, ¡°If one of us passes then the trial is over?¡± Garama shook her head, ¡°It is not that simple. Each one of you needs to take this trial. Answer right, wrong or give no answer. Only after each one of you has undergone the trial, will the trial be complete.¡± Selena said besides Kyrie, ¡°Ooh, this does not look good.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°I hope Tamara does not do anything stupid like attack the sphinx directly. I mean I cannot even see the health points.¡± Mikhail said, ¡°Tamara is not that stupid. I hope. She enjoys chaos but she does choose her battles carefully.¡± ¡°An apt analysis, I think¡±, said Shania. The others were muttering too when Tanniv shouted, ¡°Quiet please. We are each going to take the sphinx¡¯s trial. Get ready. Tamara is going first. You can go as you like, or we could form a queue.¡± ¡°No one is forming a gorking queue, you gorking arsehead¡±, said Kenirath. Tanniv simply shook his head and gave a deep sigh. A queue made sense to Kyrie, but no one was interested in the prospect of the queue. So, they waited as Tamara went first. The sphinx asked her something which the others could not hear. The minutes passed as Tamara simply stood there, thinking. Finally, she gave an answer. Garama nodded and said out loud, ¡°Correct. Next adventurer please.¡± Tanniv went up to Garama as Tamara came to the rest of the adventurers. They asked her what the sphinx had asked but Tamara said, ¡°It¡¯s a personal question. I don¡¯t want to share it. You will have your turn. Answer truthfully and you will be alright.¡± Kyrie frowned at that. Personal question. Trial of wisdom. Was this some sort of a test where you have to dig your internal feelings and answer with your heart and soul or something like that. It could be a bit irritating, if not problematic. Kyrie watched Tanniv but she could not hear what was being said. It seemed that the question or the riddle of the sphinx was for that adventurer alone who was giving the trial. The others would not be able to hear what was going on. Kyrie went fifth. She really wanted to get this over with and waiting was not her forte. Garama said, ¡°Kyrie Shiningstar. The only adventuring water nymph. Answer this question right and you pass your trial.¡± Kyrie nodded, ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Kyrie Shiningstar¡±, said Garama in a serious tone, ¡°Why do you fight? Think well and answer.¡± Kyrie replied, ¡°A question before I answer. How would you judge the right answer? I mean I can just say I fight because I like it and it is an answer. Do you think it is right? Or is there some other criteria for judging the answer?¡± ¡°The answer that comes from the depths of your soul is the right answer.¡± ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that be subjective? Will you be able to judge fairly because of that?¡± Garama had a deadly glint in its eyes as it spoke, ¡°My judgement is fair. Do not question it. Now, are you going to answer or not? Why do you fight, Kyrie Shiningstar?¡± Kyrie did not even need to dig deep to tell the answer. She looked dead into Garama¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°Because I can.¡± ¡°That is a part of the answer.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°And I like to be the best.¡± ¡°Short and sweet. And correct. It seems that you have introspected yourself well.¡± ¡°All nymphs do¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°It is our rite to adulthood.¡± Kyrie walked away from Garama and went to the pool. She somehow felt angry. She needed to cool off in the pool before interacting with anyone else otherwise she was afraid that she would snap at them. Kyrie came out after all the adventurers were finished with the trial. She walked up to Tamara. She had decided. She was going along with her plan. ¡°Hey Tamara¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°Can I talk with you for a second?¡± Tamara said, ¡°What is it, Kyrie?¡± ¡°Want to fight me? A friendly match. Not till death. But the loser will be the one who gets five hits first. Or one who gives up first. What do you say?¡± Tamara snorted and said, ¡°You want to fight me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Are you mad?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then why?¡± ¡°There is no adventurer versus adventurer in the labyrinth.¡± Tamara started to laugh. She said, ¡°Your health is low. I can kill you in single hit.¡± ¡°I was thinking you could fight with a handicap. You do not use your sword. Just your shield¡±, said Kyrie. Tamara was thoughtful. Then she said, ¡°Okay.¡± The news spread fast. A part of the cavern was cleared for the two adventurers so that they could fight. Tanniv and Shania drew a long line in the floor of the cavern making it the border of the fighting area. If Kyrie or Tamara crossed this line, they would lose. Kyrie and Tamara readied themselves. They both took positions in the temporary fighting arena. Kyrie readied her bow and looked at Tamara who had her shield raised. Tamara was grinning. Kyrie smiled too. This feeling. Fighting another adventurer. It was exhilarating. Tanniv shouted, ¡°Begin.¡± Tamara exploded into motion. She held her shield up as she charged Kyrie. Kyrie waited patiently. She knew if she shot an arrow now she would not hit Tamara. Then she observed something, and she grinned. Kyrie nocked an arrow and shot it at Tamara¡¯s feet. The charging elf didn''t even realize the arrow hitting her legs. She did not even stumble but kept charging forwards. However, Tanniv shouted, ¡°One point to Kyrie.¡± Tamara ignored it and kept on charging. She came up to Kyrie and punched her. Kyrie jumped over Tamara, shooting arrows while doing so. Even though Tamara had been attacking, she moved fast, her shield blocking each of Kyrie¡¯s shot arrows. Kyrie landed and Tamara turned and punched her again. This time the punch connected. Kyrie was thrown back. She lost 150 points of health. She held up her hand and said, ¡°Wait.¡± Tamara waited, confused. Kyrie downed a health potion and said, ¡°Can you hit less? I mean, that punch took away 150 points of my health.¡± Tamara said, ¡°What is hit less? I will try to reign in my punches but considering my statistics, I have a feeling that the damage each time would be in that range. A better strategy would be to not get hit.¡± Kyrie thought about it. Okay. She simply had to roll with it. Tanniv asked, ¡°Are you okay to continue?¡± Kyrie nodded. Tamara said yes. Tanniv said, ¡°Continue then.¡± Tamara charged again; her shield raised up. Kyrie started to run backwards, shooting arrows at Tamara¡¯s legs. However, Tamara was aware about that, and she used her shield effectively to block it. Kyrie needed an opening. Kyrie stopped and cast [Power Shot]. It took her 2 seconds to cast it while Tamara closed in the distance. The [Power Shot] arrow was released. It hit Tamara¡¯s shield. The shield wobbled a bit. Tamara stumbled and Kyrie shot another arrow hitting Tamara. Then she dodged Tamara¡¯s attack and started to run again. Tamara swore and ran after Kyrie. And so started a game of cat and mouse. Kyrie ran and shot arrows which were defended by Tamara with her shield. Tamara tried to close in the distance and get a hit. Kyrie could see that Tamara was getting frustrated. She also knew that if Tamara would get pissed off and cast a spell, she could one shot Kyrie. And so Tamara had to hold back. Even then it was still tough for Kyrie to fight Tamara. Kyrie found herself against the cavern wall soon. Tamara closed in and punched her. Kyrie dodged at the last moment and shot an arrow at Tamara¡¯s hand. The arrow hit but Kyrie could not dodge Tamara¡¯s hand in time as it hit her. She was again thrown back. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The fight paused as Kyrie had to drink another health potion. The score was now Tamara at 2 hits and Kyrie at 3 hits. This was fun for Kyrie. They began again. This time Tamara changed her strategy. She jumped high in the air and brought her shield down. Kyrie attacked but Tamara blocked all the arrows. The shield slammed into the ground and the tremor shook Kyrie. Tamara took this opportunity to get near Kyrie and punch her. Kyrie however regained her footing and twirled away from the attack. She raised her bow and shot Tamara right in the head. But she received a kick from Tamara, damaging her again. Kyrie downed another health potion and the fight continued. Kyrie now only needed one point to win while Tamara needed two. Tamara threw a small rock at Kyrie which hit her for about 50 points of damage. Kyrie was so surprised at this she had not even dodged it. Tamara laughed as Kyrie now shot arrow after arrow at Tamara. The score was tied. Kyrie wanted to win. Tamara now advanced again. As she got close, Tamara threw her shield towards Kyrie. Kyrie avoided the shield, but Tamara had come right up to her. Kyrie saw the punch slowly coming towards her face. She knew she would not be able to right herself in time to dodge it. She closed her eyes as she got punched. It was over. Kyrie had lost. She grinned as she drowned another potion. Kyrie said, ¡°Thank you for the fight. That was fun and educational.¡± Tamara said, ¡°Oh, I wish you level up fast. I really want to fight you now at max level.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°We have a deal then. When I get to max level and you are still adventuring around, we shall have a proper fight.¡± Tamara laughed at that. The other adventurers soon gathered around them discussing the fight. They were impressed with how Kyrie held against Tamara, considering their level difference. That evening, the adventurers were still talking about the fight as if it was the most exciting thing that they had ever seen. Kyrie was feeling satisfied now. She would get Tamara back. She just had to level up. Maybe she should fight Tanniv next if he agrees. Inspired by Kyrie and Tamara¡¯s fight, the other adventurers held similar fights. However, Tanniv explained that there would not be many fights that day and they needed to stop on time so as to rest of the trial next day. Kyrie enjoyed watching the others fight. Tanniv did not let any adventurer have more than one fight, but it was okay. Kyrie slept satisfied that night. The next morning dawned and with it came the eight trial, the Trial of Patience. Five adventurers had to meditate for five hours straight to pass the trial. Tanniv, Mikhail, Vladimir, Ivan and Victor underwent the trial while the other adventurers simply passed the time. After the trial, there were more fights and that day Kyrie fought against Selena and won this time. Selena looked grumpy after their fight. She came around by dinner time though. Selena asked Kyrie during dinner, ¡°How is your health potion supply? You did use some of them during your fight against Tamara and me.¡± Kyrie checked her stock and said, ¡°I am well covered. Marcus always makes me buy excessive stock. He says that if we are going on a long expedition then we should have a stock of items which is double the requirement of that expedition.¡± Selena thought for some time and said, ¡°He is always well prepared, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Yes he is.¡± ¡°Not prepared for everything though.¡± ¡°Yes, not prepared for everything though. He did tell me that it was impossible to be prepared for everything. But it would be good to be prepared for things which have a high probability of occurring.¡± They ate in silence after that. The next day brought the ninth trial, the Trial of Charisma. This, according to Kyrie, was the most amusing trial of all. The aspect of labyrinth had come for the trial. In this trial, the adventurers had to convince the aspect to let them pass the trial. They could use any means necessary except for violence. Kyrie watched as several of her teammates tried to convince the aspect to pass the trial. They all failed. Some offered bribes, some threatened the aspect, some tried to make deals and some even tried to seduce the aspect. It was entertaining to watch. Kyrie did not participate in the trial. She was not sure she would be able to convince the aspect. She wondered if Marcus would have been able to do so. Finally, the Bloody Hounds together went up to the aspect and started whispering something to it. No one could catch what they were saying. If someone tried to approach, Mikhail waved them back. Some time later they straightened up and the aspect said, ¡°You have passed the trial.¡± The aspect of the labyrinth disappeared. Everyone asked the Bloody Hounds what they had talked about. Ivan simply said, ¡°We do not kiss and tell.¡± And that was that. They got no more answers from the Bloody Hounds. The next day dawned. It was the day of the final trial. Everyone waited with bated breath as Tamara approached the plinth. ¡°It is the Trial of Absurdity¡±, said Tamara with a frown. ¡°What the gork does that mean?¡± asked Selena. Others had similar reactions. The next moment the space around Kyrie distorted. One moment she had been standing in the cavern, the next she found herself standing in an area filled with colors. The colors were moving and there were many. She felt a bit nauseous looking at them. Kyrie looked around. She wondered what she had to do. A path opened up. It felt like a path as it was black in all of the colors. She followed it. She checked her notifications as she walked. It read, Clear the Trial of Absurdity That was all. She did not like it. She walked for some time but could see no end. She looked back. The blackness had disappeared. It was all color. She tried to go back but could not pass through the colors. What was she supposed to do? Just walk the black path? Kyrie looked at the colors. They were now moving in a wavy pattern. She then looked at the black color. It was going straight, cutting through the wavy colors. Kyrie groaned and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and opened them. Nothing had changed. She decided to walk on the black path. That was her only option for now. After walking for some time she found a fork in the black path. She groaned, ¡°This is absurd. Oh! The trial name. Makes sense now.¡± She thought of what to do. Should she take the left black path or the right black path? She shot an arrow in both the paths. Nothing happened. The arrows disappeared. Kyrie looked back. The path back was still missing. She wondered what to do. Then she had an idea. She shot arrows at the colors. Nothing happened. The colors still continued to swirl and wave. They still had the nauseating effect on Kyrie. Kyrie finally took the left black path. It opened into more blackness and soon the colors had disappeared. Now she was walking in blackness. There was nothing except the blackness. Kyrie groaned. She did not sign up for this. She just wanted to get out of this. She started to walk and she hit something. She fell down. Okay. What now? A blue path appeared. Then a green path. Then a red path. Then a yellow path and finally an orange path. They shone brightly in the darkness. Kyrie looked at the colorful paths originating around her and disappearing into the blackness. Kyrie thought hard. There had to be something which would help her pass the trial. This was the trial of absurdity. Maybe an absurd solution would help. Kyrie thought about it. What could be an absurd solution in this case? Kyrie decided to close her eyes. She spun around and just started to walk. She did not care if she was walking on a color or not. She just kept walking till there was a light so bright that even with closed eyes she could feel it. So, Kyrie did the most absurd thing that she could think of at that moment. She started to walk away from the light. Her eyes were still closed. She started to hop and skip as she walked. Suddenly she stumbled and she fell down. She felt a rock beneath her. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was back in the cavern. She looked around the cavern to see Tamara and Tanniv standing. They walked up to her. ¡°Are you alright¡±, said Tanniv offering his paw. Kyrie took it and stood up. She said, ¡°I am fine. What was that trial?¡± ¡°The trial of absurdity¡±, replied Tamara. ¡°I know¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°but it was a ridiculous trial.¡± ¡°Hence the name.¡± Kyrie looked around. She could see no other adventurer. ¡°No one else seems to have passed¡±, said Tamara, ¡°I was the first. Then Tanniv and now you. I am impressed. You passed it fast.¡± ¡°Thank you¡±, Kyrie did not know whether Tamara was complimenting her or not. Her tone seemed a bit off to Kyrie. They waited. It took quite some time for other adventurers to pass the trial. Whenever someone passed, they simply appeared in the cavern. Tamara and Tanniv checked up on each one of them. Kyrie thought that those two were really good. It took about five hours after Kyrie had passed the trial for the rest of the adventurers to pass the trial. Tim was the last to pass it. He looked really frustrated when he appeared. It was done now. They had completed all the ten trials. The plinth disappeared and the aspect of labyrinth appeared. The aspect said, ¡°Congratulations adventurers on passing the trial. The way forward is open to you.¡± The wall behind the pool split open revealing a door. They all walked up to it. The pool water was shallow for everyone to walk through. Tamara opened the door. There was a narrow passage in which a maximum of two people could walk abreast comfortably. They walked through the passage and entered a room with a resurrection stone, a fountain with green liquid and a pool with blue water. A room for resting. All of them set their respawn points at the resurrection stone. The green liquid healed them and refreshed them. The blue liquid restored their mana and gave a faint buzz of energy. Kyrie knew the purpose of the room. They were going to face a tough enemy in the next room. The adventurers rested for some time in the room before deciding to go forward. They knew that they would be facing a guardian in the next room. They had to be ready for a tough fight. The adventurers hardly talked. The atmosphere was tense. Kyrie could feel the nervousness of the others. Tamara stood up and said, ¡°It is time guys. Let¡¯s go smash this guardian shall we?¡± A chorus of cheers sounded in the group and they all stood up. Tamara opened the door and they walked into the room. The room was another huge cavern. It was circular in shape and filled with water. There was ground near the walls about six feet long surrounding the water. There was a short path from the entrance which led to another circular ground in the middle of the water. The second circle in the center was about ten feet in diameter. This was going to be a water fight. Good for Kyrie but she was not sure about the others. Tamara said, ¡°Spread out. Keep your eyes peeled.¡± The adventurers split themselves and started walking on the ground near the walls, keeping away from the water. Tamara and Tanniv walked in the middle, towards the central circular platform. Kyrie remained where she was, near the water, her bow ready for any threats. The other adventurers had their weapons out too. When Tamara and Tanniv reached the platform, a shape rose out of the water and splashed itself on the platform. Tamara and Tanniv stepped back, out of the way of the deluge. Kyrie examined the Guardian. Water Elemental Guardian Level 180 Health 150,000 / 150,000 ¡°This is so good¡±, said Kyrie to herself. This was a fight made for her if she had been a higher level adventurer. But, she was only level 56. The water elemental looked like a human from the top and had the body of a thick snake from the waist down. The arms of the elemental were long and spindly while the face contained only one hollow spot which was in the center of the face. Tamara and Tanniv charged. They slashed at the elemental and hardly did any damage. This was not surprising. This was a water elemental. Hitting its form would not do much damage. You had to damage the core. Kyrie searched for it. There. Near the waist where the tail started. The core was multi-surfaced with spikes pulsating out of it. It was slightly more bluish than the elemental and you had to carefully look at it to identify it as the core. Kyrie looked around, wanting to draw the attention of others towards the core. But, they all seemed to be focused on the elemental. Kyrie tried to shout but her shout was drowned out by Tamara¡¯s cry of ¡°Attack!¡± Only somehow Selena heard Kyrie and she looked at her. Kyrie pointed towards the core and shouted, ¡°Attack the core.¡± Kyrie and Selena both nocked arrows and shot at the core. Their arrows were stopped by the water around the core. Kyrie cast [Power Shot] and shot another arrow. This time, the arrow struck the core. This made the elemental lose 200 points of damage. The second arrow from Selena also struck, making the elemental lose 500 points of damage. Tanniv looked towards them. Kyrie and Selena both pointed and shouted, ¡°The core!¡± Tanniv seemed to get the message. He attacked the core while Tamara defended herself from the elemental¡¯s attack, getting wet in the process. Soon the message was passed to the other adventurers. They started attacking the core. It was difficult because of the water surrounding it and the elemental trying to kill them but the adventurers persevered. Slowly and steadily, they began to attack the core and reduce the elemental¡¯s health. Kyrie attacked too but she did not do much damage. However, she helped in another way. She observed that the other adventurers were falling in the water and it was taking some time for them to get back on the ground. That led them exposed to the elemental¡¯s attacks and also the adventurers in water led to lost opportunities to attack the elemental. So, Kyrie unequipped all her gear and dived in the water. She took her water form and every time an adventurer fell into the water, she swam for them fast, lifted them up and put them on the ground. She did not attack but helped everyone in this way. She was fast and she managed to dodge all of the elemental¡¯s attacks. The elemental soon realized what Kyrie was doing. It dove in the water and lashed at Kyrie. Kyrie swam towards the bottom but realized it was very deep. Moreover, going to the bottom would not help. So, she dodged another of the elemental¡¯s attacks and swam towards the surface. She could feel the elemental following her because of the difference in the water around her. The water elemental controlled felt different than normal water. That did not mean the elemental was not able to control the normal water, but it did have its separate water which nourished it. Kyrie broke out of the water and she flew over Tamara and Tanniv. She shouted, ¡°Incoming¡±, as the water elemental came after her. Tanniv slashed at the core with a powerful attack causing the elemental to stagger and stop chasing Kyrie. Half of the elemental¡¯s health was gone and it was now at 74,576 points of health. It screamed from the hollow on its face, a howl so loud that the cavern shook and the water splashed all around drenching everybody. The temperature started to drop and Kyrie could see that the water was turning to ice. The elemental also changed, its body hardening from water to ice. Kyrie jumped out of the water and equipped everything back. She shot arrow after arrow at the core but it was proving ineffective. She was shivering. The others were too. That was when Tamara cast the spell. Her sword caught fire. It was not a normal fire. It was blue and it burnt with such intensity that even from a distance Kyrie could feel its intensity. She stepped back. A regeneration spell was cast on her. She had not even realized that the flame, even at such a distance, was damaging her. Tamara charged and cut through the ice, cut through the core and landed on the other side. She had done about 50,000 points of damage with just one shot. The ice melted. The water elemental screamed again and tendrils of water shot from it. The tendrils grabbed each of the adventurers and pinned them to the cavern wall. They all squirmed but none was able to get out. Kyrie was the only one who managed to slip out of the attack. Kyrie watched in horror as at the beginning of the tendril a sharp ice spike began to form. It was mere moments away from shooting straight at the adventurers. Kyrie observed something. The elemental was manipulating normal water to form the ice. Kyrie gritted her teeth and unequipped her equipment. Then she dove into the water. If it was water manipulation, then she was going to battle against the elemental. Kyrie closed her eyes and focused, her awareness and her body slipping into the water. She soon became one with the water. She did not know where Kyrie ended and where the water began. She sensed the water being collected by the elemental. She felt the ice being formed. She willed the water to stop and it stopped. The ice continued to form with the water that had been gathered. Kyrie sensed the elemental¡¯s confusion. Then it howled when it realized what had happened. Kyrie felt the tug of the elemental¡¯s will and there was a struggle of the wills. The elemental fought to absorb the water while Kyrie fought to keep it in the pool itself. Their struggle caused the water to rise and fall in the pool. The icicles had already been well developed and they could cause much damage. Kyrie could sense the elemental¡¯s will to launch them into the struggling adventurers. Kyrie focused again and called to the icicles. Slowly and steadily, they began to turn till they were facing the elemental¡¯s core. Kyrie was being stretched out. Here she was, fighting a battle for the control of water, the control of the icicle and maintaining a form so that she did not dissipate into water. She knew the risks of becoming one with the water. If she was not careful then she would become a part of the water forever. Not dead. Just water. Kyrie put all her mind into the icicles and she shot them towards the core. Each of the icicles penetrated the core, cracking it. A sharp whistling sound filled the cavern and then the core shattered. The elemental was dead. The adventurers fell down from the cavern walls that they were pinned to. She had done it. She had saved them. She had killed the adventurers. But this had taken a toll on her. She was slipping away. Wisps of her essence were floating away from her. Kyrie focused but she was tired. She felt the call of the water, her warm embrace soothing her, telling her to rest. As more of her essence floated away she thought she heard voices calling her. She did not know who would call her. She was merely water after all. Her last thought as she drifted away was, I am one with the water. Rewards Artenos was the first to bow when Leyda Lightweaver appeared. Marcus remained gaping at her for some time. Then he realized what he was doing, and he bowed down too. Leyda said, ¡°Oh get up. No need for gorking formalities.¡± They both stood up. Leyda looked at Artenos with a frown on her face. Her entire focus was on Artenos. Marcus felt a little left out. Artenos said, ¡°I want to request that you free me from this labyrinth Lady Lightweaver. I have requested in the past, but my requests were not considered seriously. Even though I have defeated the earth elemental and the air elemental in the past.¡± Marcus was surprised to learn this. He knew that Artenos had told him that he had tried in the past, but he had not told Marcus the details. Defeating two elementals, even though one at a time, individually was a major achievement. How strong was Artenos? Leyda considered Artenos for some time. Then she looked at Marcus and said, ¡°Would you give us some space, dear. I would like to talk with Artenos in private.¡± Marcus walked away from Artenos and Leyda. When he was at a considerable distance, he stopped and looked back. Leyda cast something and Marcus could not hear what they were speaking. He felt insulted. He was at a distance where their voices would not have been heard. Even then Leyda had cast the spell. Marcus waited as Leyda and Artenos talked. Artenos did a lot of gesturing while Leyda¡¯s face alternated between a frown and deadpan expression. Their discussion took about an hour. After that Leyda waved her hand and Artenos disappeared. Then she gestured to Marcus to come to her. Marcus walked up to Leyda. ¡°Marcus Blank¡±, purred Leyda, ¡°The anomaly. The subject of fascination for my husband. It is indeed a rare pleasure for you to meet me.¡± Marcus blinked at the statement. He said, ¡°You think too highly of yourself.¡± Leyda laughed, a pleasant sound to Marcus¡¯ ears. She said, ¡°And do you not?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Think highly of yourself too?¡± ¡°What?¡± Leyda laughed at that too. Then she composed herself and said in a neutral tone, ¡°Enough with the pleasantries. Let¡¯s get down to business, shall we?¡± Marcus wondered how what they had discussed was considered as pleasantries but did not argue. He had an inkling that both the game masters were a bit eccentric. Marcus said, ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s do that. But first, could you tell me what happened with Artenos? I am curious.¡± Leyda sighed and said, ¡°I fulfilled his wish. He is now not a boss monster of labyrinth. He is now a boss monster somewhere else. Well, not exactly a boss monster but¡­ Let me not spoil it for you. You may very well encounter him in the future. I do not want to spoil any potential encounter.¡± Marcus nodded and simply said okay. Leyda continued, ¡°Now, what do you wish for Marcus Blank? What should be the reward for completing the labyrinth?¡± Marcus frowned as he said, ¡°What can I ask for? Are there any restrictions or rules or anything is alright?¡± Leyda replied, ¡°Anything that I can provide you with my power restricted to the game world¡¯s systems can be asked for. Do you understand that?¡± Marcus nodded. He said, ¡°So I could ask for equipment, spells, experience, units or information related to the game world. Or some guidance or support from your side.¡± ¡°Depends upon the request, though.¡± Marcus thought about what he wanted to ask. He thought really hard about it. One option he considered was asking for units. That way he could take care of his and Kyrie¡¯s debts to NAIF. He could also ask for a high grade equipment. It would help him in his journey. One idea stuck with him. He could ask for a large number of experience points which would help him jump a considerable number of levels. Considering the demon war scenario, he felt highly underleveled. He debated as to what he could ask for. He finally made a decision. However, before he could ask about what he wanted something shifted in his mind. He felt a presence, a known presence. Memory, thought Marcus and his eyebrows shot up. Memory spoke in his mind, Ask the dear fucking game master about their contract with the Umaru. Ask to read the original document. Not a copy. With magical signatures and all. Marcus thought, Are you sure? Will it help me remember? There was no answer. Obviously. Memory was the spell construct in Marcus¡¯ mind. He was created by Marcus to give him amnesia and to help Marcus save Una. How he was going to save Una, Marcus had no idea. Marcus had interacted with him once and it had been a fucking confusing conversation. Marcus repeated the request to Leyda. He could see her expression shift. Gone was the smiling and affable elf in front of Marcus. She was looking at Marcus with death in her eyes. ¡°Who told you about the contract?¡± asked Leyda softly. Marcus could feel the rage in the voice even though it was controlled and soft. ¡°Marbas¡±, Marcus lied. Leyda narrowed her eyes and Marcus held his breath. He did not know whether Leyda bought the lie or not. He could very well not tell her about Memory after all. So, Marbas was a safe bet. He was a demon of knowledge and he traded information for a price. ¡°Very well¡±, said Leyda, ¡°One month from now, I shall arrange for you to visit our palace at Melancholia. You shall get one day to read this contract. Then we are done. Is that okay?¡± Okay, said Memory to Marcus. ¡°Okay¡±, said Marcus to Leyda. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Leyda extended her hand and Marcus shook it. He felt a sliver of magic pass through him. Leyda said, ¡°Well, that was that. However, I do not feel that it was sufficient recompense for defeating the labyrinth guardian. After all, there were only two of you and you defeated the fire elemental.¡± Marcus said in a small voice, ¡°It was mostly Artenos but I helped a bit.¡± Leyda laughed at that and said, ¡°No need to be humble Marcus. You are strong. You are not aggressive though. You approach each of your fights with caution. That does not mean you do not contribute sufficiently. I know what to give you. I shall give it to both you and Kyrie. It would help. There, done. Now I will teleport you to the exit of the labyrinth. You shall find some familiar faces there.¡± Leyda disappeared before Marcus could ask her what she had done. His world shifted and he found himself standing on a grass field. What the fuck had happened. A voice called him, and he turned. He smiled at what he saw. It seemed that the adventurers had succeeded in killing the guardian too. Marcus started walking towards the rest of the group. Hopefully, his adventure in the labyrinth was over. *** Kyrie woke up with a gasp. She blinked and looked around. Everything was fuzzy and spinning. She groaned and lay back down, closing her eyes. A voice could be heard from far away. She could not quite make out what it was saying. After some time, she heard the words clearly, ¡°Are you alright, Kyrie?¡± Kyrie opened her eyes. The world had stopped spinning. Her vision seemed to have cleared too. She looked to see Tamara and Tanniv looming over her. Kyrie groaned, ¡°Hurts.¡± ¡°Where does it hurt?¡± asked Tamara. ¡°Everywhere.¡± Tamara turned to someone who Kyrie could not recognize. Tamara said, ¡°I told you to bring her back healthy. Not in pain.¡± The unknown person sighed and said, ¡°Do not use that fucking tone with me young woman. I did bring her back. Healthy. The pain should go away¡­ now.¡± And as the unknown person said now, the pain disappeared. Everything felt alright. Better than alright. Kyrie blinked. Then she stood up. Kyrie said, ¡°What happened?¡± The unknown person said, ¡°You almost disintegrated into the water. While trying to fight the water elemental, you pushed your water form too much. It almost killed you.¡± Kyrie nodded. She understood what had happened. She said, ¡°Thank you, whoever you are. It seems that you are responsible for my recovery.¡± A sly grin appeared on the unknown person¡¯s face. He said, ¡°Finally. Some fucking appreciation. All I get is fucking disdain from my own champion.¡± Tamara gave the unknown person a death glare and Kyrie looked confused. Then she looked closely at the person and gasped. She said, ¡°You are Lord Rauros Shadowfang!¡± ¡°I know!¡± replied Rauros in an excited voice, ¡°I am the fucking game master of this world. Her superior¡±, he pointed at Tamara, ¡°And what do I get in return? Fucking do this. Fucking do that. You fucking messed up Rauros, fix it. I mean, is this what I am supposed to fucking do?¡± ¡°And you swear a lot like Marcus¡±, Kyrie simply said. ¡°Noooo¡±, said Rauros, ¡°Marcus swears like me. Always remember. It is the fucking way round. Always.¡± Kyrie nodded even if she did not understand. It would do her no good to argue with someone who just saved her life. Rauros clapped his hands together and said, ¡°Well then. Now this business with Kyrie is concluded. I am glad you are alright now dear. Let¡¯s get to giving you rewards. Each one of you will get rewards. The rarity of the rewards will reduce as per the rewards asked by the earlier adventurers. This means if Tamara asks for a legendary level reward, the next reward is going to be a rarity lower than that. Epic. I mean, the next person could ask for another legendary reward but then the next adventurers would have more lesser rarity rewards. The number of legendary, epic and rare rewards are limited. After that, it would be simply common rewards. Do you all fucking get it?¡± Everyone nodded. Rauros said, ¡°Fucking alright. We start with you Tamara.¡± Tamara asked, ¡°What about the spell?¡± ¡°What spell?¡± ¡°The spell which would help adventurers survive on the undead landmass Urtor.¡± ¡°You have to ask for it. It is not free.¡± Tamara said, ¡°How does the spell work? I mean do I have to learn it and cast it on everyone? Or do I use it once and every adventurer can now visit Urtor?¡± ¡°An excellent question¡±, said Rauros and started pacing, ¡°I shall give you two copies of the spell. One would be for you to memorize and use as your own. The second spell you shall give to the High Priest of Hekana. He would spread the spell amongst the temples of Hekana and the adventurers who would like to go to Urtor would have to get the spell cast from their priests.¡± Tamara nodded at that. It seemed that she had received a good enough answer for her question as she did not ask further questions. They started with the rewards. Tamara got the spell. Tanniv got something which they could not quite catch. Then the rest of the adventurers got in line in the descending order of their level. This meant Kyrie was last. She did not mind. The adventurers took their rewards one by one. Kyrie did not pay attention to them. She was thinking about her fight. She had almost died trying to help the adventurers. She was sure that they would have taken care of the water elemental without Kyrie¡¯s help but she could not help it. She did not want her new friends to die. Well, some of them she considered as friends. But still, she could not simply stand down when others were in trouble. But did she have to take it so far? The battle of the wills with the water elemental, was it required? Was it required for Kyrie to take its water? Kyrie blinked, startled. She realized something. When she had battled the water elemental, when she had almost become one with the water, she had done something. She had absorbed a part of the elemental¡¯s water. What did that mean? She checked her notifications. She had received 10,000 points of experience from defeating the water elemental. However, she had received something else. Something different too. A new spell. She checked it. [Summon Water Elemental] Summons a water elemental with level equivalent to the summoner¡¯s level. The stats, damage and defence are adjusted accordingly. The water elemental would be a companion to the adventurer till dismissed or dies. Dismissal Cooldown: 1 day. Death Cooldown: 10 days. Mana Cost of Adventurer Level plus 100. Kyrie liked the spell. It was a strong spell. And she did have a spell slot free. However, she would not be able to summon the water elemental with her current mana. She would require the blessing of Hekana before she could do so. She smiled. She was so lost in thought that she did not even realize that it was her turn to ask for her reward. Rauros frowned at her as she stepped forwards. ¡°I am sorry Kyrie¡±, said Rauros, ¡°But I cannot grant you a reward. I saved your life. That was your reward.¡± ¡°You do realize that if I had died, I would have simply respawned¡±, said Kyrie. Rauros shook his head. He said, ¡°You were not dying, Kyrie. You were becoming water. If I had not saved you, you would still have been alive, floating away as the water of this dungeon. I have no idea when you would have reformed or if you would have reformed without my help.¡± Kyrie felt a chill as she heard his words. She simply said, ¡°Oh!¡± ¡°I am not a bad Game Master though. Even though I cannot reward you, I can answer some of your queries. Keep it to one or two questions. I am busy, you know.¡± Kyrie nodded. She thought a bit and said, ¡°I was told my father was here on Una. Is that true?¡± Rauros looked at her and sighed. She heard him mutter, fucking Marbas. Then he said, ¡°Yes he is.¡± ¡°Is there a way for me to meet him then?¡± Rauros said, ¡°I will talk with Leyda. See what can be done. Continue on your journey. Maybe you will find him.¡± Kyrie wanted to ask more but Rauros said, ¡°Well, that is that. Farewell champions. Adventurers.¡± And he waved his hand, and they were all now standing outside of the labyrinth, on a grass field. That was disappointing. Then she heard Selena shout, ¡°Marcus. Over here.¡± Kyrie turned in the direction where Selena was looking and saw Marcus walk towards them with a grin on his face. Their adventure in the labyrinth was over and Kyrie was feeling sad. The Treasure Hunt The adventurers soon parted ways. The champions and their team members went off to Fontaine. They would be taking the spell to the High Priest of Hekana from there. Marcus wondered how they would be doing that but did not prod further. Marcus and Kyrie were staying. It seemed that they had been teleported out of the labyrinth near the smallest mountain of the Gunin Mountain range. That meant it was time to look for the Grush treasure. Even though they were now level 100, they did not want to go through the labyrinth again. Yes, this was Leyda Lightweaver¡¯s gift. She levelled up both Marcus and Kyrie such that they reached level 100. It was quite the jump for both of them, but they were both excited about it. They needed to go to the temple of Udha and Hekana to receive the blessing that would increase their health and mana calculations, but they had decided they would wait. Treasure came first. Marcus checked his status. Name: Marcus Blank Race: Human Designation: Adventurer - Rank 3 Age: 25 Current Location: Gunin Mountain Range Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 100 Experience: 0 / 29,800 Strength: 20 Dexterity: 40 Intelligence: 50 Vitality: 50 Agility: 40 Wisdom: 39 Luck: ??? Health: 300 Mana: 178 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Stamina Regeneration - Level 8 Well Rested - Level 4 Twinblade Proficiency - Level 12 Alcohol Tolerance - Level 3 Stealth - Level 5 Description: The anomaly has now become a better adventurer. With a little effort people may forget he is an anomaly after all. Spells known: [Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] [Force Push] Spells Equipped: [Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] [Force Push] Spell Slots: 6 Physical Attack: 230 Magical Attack: 370 Physical Resistance: 300 Magical Resistance: 202 Critical Attack Chance: 45% Critical Attack Damage: 90% Status: None There had been some changes. Marcus could see them clearly. It seemed that the reputation section had been removed completely. Marcus had often wondered about its use but, now not seeing it, he wondered again as to what purpose it served and what removing it meant. He also saw that the total physical and magical attack and resistance was displayed. The weapon and armor attributes were now included in calculating the stat. The same was for critical attack chance and damage. The max of the stats was now shown. He observed that his adventurer rank had gone up. Mostly due to him being part of a party that cleared the labyrinth. He had levelled up 50 levels and had allocated his 100 points accordingly. He was satisfied with his current stats, albeit not his current gear. He would need to get more equipment soon. He had also observed Kyrie¡¯s status. They had both shared their status. Name: Kyrie Shiningstar Race: Water Nymph Designation: Adventurer - Rank 3 Age: 83 Current Location: Gunin Mountain Range Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 100 Experience: 0 / 29,800 Strength: 20 Dexterity: 80 Intelligence: 10 Vitality: 50 Agility: 50 Wisdom: 22 Luck: ??? Health: 300 Mana: 144 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Fast Draw - Level 10 Precision - Level 12 Longbow Proficiency - Level 16 Stealth - Level 11 Water Proficiency - Level 100 Description: The outcast traveller from Tarados, flowing into Una, taking huge steps now and sweeping demons away is still enjoying herself by bashing other adventurer¡¯s heads. She is the water nymph to watch out for. Spells known: [Power Shot] [Fade] [Enchant Weapon: Poison] [Summon Water Elemental] Spells Equipped: [Power Shot] [Fade] [Enchant Weapon: Poison] Spell Slots: 4 Physical Attack: 530 Magical Attack: 50 Physical Resistance: 232 Magical Resistance: 216 Critical Attack Chance: 45% Critical Attack Damage: 105% Status: None She also had reached level 100 and adventurer rank 3. She had gotten a new spell which she could not cast because of her low mana. She was not concerned though. She said that she would equip it once her mana reaches sufficient level. That reminded Marcus that they soon needed to invest more in mana potions. Considering the mana requirement of Kyrie¡¯s spell, Marcus had a feeling that he may also get spells that would require high mana to cast. Mana potions would help manage mana in a fight. Marcus looked at Kyrie. She was examining her bow and frowning. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Marcus asked, ¡°Is everything alright?¡± Kyrie looked at Marcus. Her frown disappeared and she smiled a bit. She said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. My bow has evolved a bit. Now there is an extra effect. A spell which can be activated once a day. It would give me extra 100 points of mana. However, it would also take off 10% of my health to cast it. It is called¡­ Here. Let me show you.¡± Kyrie shared the spell description. [Sacrificial Mana] Grants the user 100 points of mana at the cost of 10% of the user''s health. Cooldown period of 1 day. No mana cost. Marcus read it and said, ¡°Could be useful.¡± Kyrie nodded thoughtfully. She said, ¡°Yes, it could be used to summon the water elemental in tense situations. It is in a way a boon. But I am somehow not sure about this. I mean. I want to excel in adventurer versus adventurer. How can this help?¡± ¡°Can you not summon elementals in a fight?¡± ¡°I need to look at the rule book. I am not 100% sure.¡± ¡°You did not read the rule book before fighting?¡± ¡°Not everyone reads as much as you do, Marcus.¡± Marcus thought about this for a bit. Then he realized something. The other adventurers did not read much. Other adventurers and some non-adventurers looked at him with surprise when he gave them certain information; information that he had received from either reading the books or gained from the Globalnet. Marcus said, ¡°Okay. Moving on. We are now near the smallest mountain of the Gunin Mountain range. There was an entrance which we could access through the labyrinth, but we do not want to go in the labyrinth anymore. That would mean, we would have to search for a fucking entrance here.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°You are absolutely correct. Have you read anything about it?¡± Marcus shook his head, ¡°I did not find anything about any entrances. There is no record on Globalnet, and I could not find any books that have any knowledge on the entrance to the smallest mountain range.¡± ¡°That is surprising.¡± ¡°It is fucking surprising indeed. So, let¡¯s get searching. I think we can find some sort of hidden entrance like the time we found on Tulom island.¡± Kyrie nodded, ¡°That feels like a long time ago.¡± ¡°Must have been a couple of months only though.¡± ¡°Still feels like a long time ago.¡± They started walking along the slope of the mountain range. They climbed a bit, albeit slowly, as they were going along the side of the smallest mountain. They hoped they would find an entrance from this side and would not have to go through the labyrinth again. They would have used their mounts, but Kyrie was not sure whether they would be able to find any secret entrances while flying high. Flying low was also not an option due to the presence of dense trees in certain regions. So, they trudged on. They made camp that night near a particular thick bunch of trees. They wanted to find the entrance fast, but they were not making any progress. They had no hint or clue other than the fact that the treasure was inside the smallest mountain of the Gunin Mountain range. The next morning, they woke up a bit disgruntled. They continued their search for the entrance after a quick breakfast. They did not find anything until the evening. Till that time, they had climbed well onto the mountain. Oh, the peak was quite far away, but they were also not close to the ground. It was there Marcus found an entrance. It was a small hollow with a door with two torches hanging beside it. The torches were not lit. However, the door had a rune on it. Marcus managed to translate it with the help of Globalnet. It meant Grush. It had to be the entrance. ¡°Let us try not to die¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°Our respawn point is inside the labyrinth.¡± Marcus groaned as he opened the door cautiously, ¡°Do not jinx it.¡± The door opened up easily. It had no keyhole and only a handle and it swung inwards into darkness. Both Marcus and Kyrie brought out their magical torches as they stepped in. The door opened to a narrow passage where only one person could walk at a time. Marcus took the lead. When they had taken some steps in the passage, they heard the door close behind them. ¡°Onwards then¡±, mumbled Marcus, ¡°No other fucking option.¡± They walked up for some time and the passage opened into a huge chamber. Torches flickered to life as they entered the chamber. ¡°Okay¡±, muttered Marcus, ¡°Not creepy at all.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°It¡¯s just torches lighting up. It¡¯s magic. What are you afraid of?¡± Marcus blinked, ¡°Somehow my fucking mind did not make that connection that this could happen. It thought about the horror movies and how people die when something that they could not explain happens.¡± ¡°You could explain the lighting of the torches with magic. There would be a spell which would make the torches light up when someone enters this¡­ well, chamber.¡± ¡°Tell that to my fucking brain who thinks I am going to die.¡± Kyrie rolled her eyes, ¡°Stop being over dramatic. There is nothing dangerous in torches lighting up. It just illuminates the room.¡± Marcus did not reply but looked around the chamber. The chamber was flat and smooth and covered with tiles. Each of the tiles was greyish in color and they shone in the torch light. There was no other entrance or exit other than the passage from where they had come. The chamber was empty otherwise. No, not empty as Marcus observed a glint in the center of the chamber. Marcus and Kyrie looked at each other and started to walk towards the glint. It turned out to be a gold coin. Marcus picked it up carefully. Nothing happened. Marcus examined it. It was a plain gold coin, nothing even etched or carved or stamped on it. Marcus turned it both ways but there was nothing there. The coin was as large as Marcus¡¯ palm, and it weighed hardly anything. Marcus wondered what all this meant. Marcus said, ¡°Let¡¯s look around more. Maybe we will find something else.¡± They looked around. Soon Kyrie found something. It was a slot in one of the tiles on the floor. Marcus examined the slot. It seemed to be the size of the gold coin. Marcus put the gold coin in the slot. The coin stayed halfway through for a moment. Then it slipped inside the slot. They heard a grinding noise and the tile with the slot started to expand till it covered a space of five tiles each side. The remaining tiles in the room started to shift. Marcus and Kyrie readied their weapons. They stood back-to-back, ready for any attack. The grinding noise stopped. The tiles in the room stopped shifting. They waited for something to appear. Nothing happened. Well not exactly nothing. Marcus saw a wooden chest to his right, a few tiles away from where he was standing. He wondered where it had come from. It was as big as the tile and was closed. There was no keyhole but two handles on each side in front. The chest was inviting, as if to say to Marcus, come, open me, I will make you rich beyond your dreams. Marcus did not trust it immediately. Marcus said, ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°It¡¯s definitely a trap¡±, replied Kyrie. ¡°Yes, but of what kind.¡± ¡°We can find out if we open the chest.¡± Marcus thought about it. Should they open the chest? It somehow felt like an unnecessary risk to him. Something about the chest did not quite sit well with Marcus. But he did not know what it was. His gut was telling him something was wrong, or he was having a case of indigestion. Marcus said, ¡°Shoot the chest.¡± Kyrie raised an eyebrow at him, ¡°Is that wise?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the worst that could happen?¡± ¡°Famous last words¡±, muttered Kyrie as she took aim and fired an arrow. The arrow hit the chest. There was a small whine and the chest sprang forwards. Gone was the innocent looking chest and its place shuffling towards them was a monster. Its mouth was open showing long sharp teeth. Its barbed tongue flicked back and forth as it hopped and shuffled towards Marcus and Kyrie. Mimic, Level 67 Health 1,000 / 1,000 This was easy. Kyrie used [Power Shot] as Marcus flanked the mimic. Marcus dodged the barbed tongue and rolled in closer to the mimic. He slashed and dodged while Kyrie shot arrow after arrow into the mimic. It was dead in a few moments. ¡°Well, that was ea-¡± Marcus started to say but the tile started to shift. Kyrie shouted, ¡°Come here Marcus. This big tile is not shifting.¡± Marcus stumbled through the shifting tiles. He barely made it to Kyrie and the shifting stopped. He cursed as he got up and looked at the room again. Two chests, identical to the first one, had appeared in the room. ¡°Two mimics then?¡± asked Kyrie. Marcus thought for a moment and then said, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Shoot both of them.¡± Kyrie did so. One was a simple chest. Kyrie¡¯s arrow struck but nothing happened to it. The other was a mimic and it attacked them. They dispatched it quickly too. As soon as the mimic was dead, the tiles began to move again, and Marcus had to scramble back to the tile where Kyrie was standing. This time, when the tiles stopped moving, four chests stood in the room. ¡°It seems that we have to open the chest which is not the mimic¡±, said Marcus, ¡°Otherwise the room will keep on shuffling, and we will have to face more mimics as we go forward.¡± ¡°Yes, but which chest is not the mimic?¡± ¡°Find the odd one out I guess.¡± ¡°All of them look identical.¡± ¡°There has to be some difference. Let¡¯s look at them closely.¡± ¡°The mimic may activate if we get too close.¡± Marcus huffed, ¡°Well, I do not have that sharp of a vision to distinguish the minor features from such a great distance.¡± ¡°There could be another clue¡±, said Kyrie thoughtfully, ¡°Let¡¯s look around, keep our distance from the chests till we find it.¡± Marcus could not think of anything else and so he agreed. They went through the room again, looking carefully for anything out of place and keeping their distance from the chests. They found nothing. They came back to the big tile. Marcus was feeling a bit irritated. Marcus said, ¡°What now?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Let¡¯s hope we get lucky.¡± She shot at the first chest. It was a mimic. Three chests converted into mimics and attacked them. Marcus and Kyrie killed them fast. As soon as the mimics were defeated, the tiles started to shift and there were eight chests now. Marcus said, ¡°The number of chests keeps doubling.¡± ¡°Yes¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°And we have to find the chest which is not a mimic. This requires more than luck. There has to be something which we can do. Otherwise, we would be overrun with mimics.¡± Marcus looked at all the chests. He could really see no difference between them. He stared at them, deep in thought but nothing came to his mind. He did not even know for how long he stared. Kyrie was saying something, but Marcus did not register it. Suddenly he had a thought. Kyrie shook Marcus out of his reverie. ¡°What?¡± asked Marcus. Kyrie said, ¡°I was asking whether you are alright? You have been staring into space for quite some time now.¡± ¡°I have a crazy idea. I don¡¯t know how well it would work.¡± Marcus told her the idea. From the expression on Kyrie¡¯s face, Marcus could tell that she did not like it. She still nodded. Marcus walked up to one of the chests from behind and tapped at at. At once all the seven mimics sprang forwards. Marcus looked around. He saw the chest which was not a mimic. He ran up to it, dodging and slashing the mimics in his way. He reached the chest that was not the mimic and turned. Few of mimics were jumping towards him while the rest were shuffling towards Kyrie. Marcus knew that Kyrie could hold her own. Marcus had to simply take care of the mimics in front of him. There were three of them, each with 1,000 points of health. Marcus attacked them, ensuring that he was not further than a couple of feet from the chest which was not a mimic. It made his fight difficult, and he got hit with the barbed tongue because of that, but he did not receive that much damage. All in all, he lost about 100 points of health while he dispatched all three of the mimics. Marcus saw Kyrie fighting the last mimic. She shot an arrow and it died. Marcus turned and quickly grabbed the final chest. His world blurred. As the tiles moved, the chest moved, and he was hurled all across the room. He was damaged as he hit some places. He did not know how long he held on. Felt like hours. Although he knew it would be seconds as he had witnessed the tiles in the room more than once now. Marcus held tightly, willing everything to not let go. It was soon over. Marcus crashed besides the chest. He vomited. He held up a hand to stop Kyrie from rushing up to him. Marcus said weakly, ¡°Take a long route. We do not want the mimics waking up.¡± Marcus could see that there were now sixteen chests in the room. Kyrie took the long route and walked up to the chest from behind. Kyrie said, ¡°Shall we open up?¡± Marcus raised up a finger, ¡°One minute please. Everything is still spinning.¡± Marcus groaned and put his head in his hands till things felt right to him. Then he stood up to see Kyrie looking at him with concern. ¡°I am alright no¡±, said Marcus. ¡°Drink a healing potion.¡± Marcus checked his health. It was at 20 points. How the fuck had it gotten so low? He drank a couple of health potions to get it to full. He checked his supplies. He would start to run low on health potions if he continued like this. Kyrie said, ¡°Shall we do the honors?¡± Marcus nodded. They both grabbed a handle and lifted open the chest. They peered inside. It was empty. ¡°What the fu-¡±, started Marcus but his world shifted again. When the world righted itself, Marcus found that he and Kyrie were no more in the room with tiles. They were someplace else. It was a large room filled with marble pillars and statues. A throne lay in the centre of the room and Marcus could see no doors or windows. Still there was light in the room. Sunlight. Marcus blinked and looked around. Where the fuck were they now? Before he could do or say anything, a voice spoke, ¡°Welcome adventurers. Welcome to the great hall of the Grush.¡± The Treasure Hunt Continues Marcus groaned as he heard the voice. ¡°Please let it not be a repeat of the labyrinth. No more trials. I am done with them¡±, muttered Marcus. Marcus and Kyrie turned to the source of the voice. It looked like a holographic projection of an Umaru. The Umaru projection was slightly golden in color and over ten feet tall. It was looking at them, down from the throne. Even if it was a projection, Marcus swore he could see a glint in the Umaru¡¯s eyes. The projection said, ¡°I was hoping that one of my descendants would come looking for the treasure, but I am sadly mistaken. You are not my descendants.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± asked Kyrie. Marcus was glad that it was Kyrie who asked the question. He would have started insulting the projection. He wondered why. He needed a break. The projection said, ¡°I am Seymour Grush, the great grandson of Eliynar Grush and the one who hid Eliynar¡¯s original treasure far away from Tulom island.¡± Seymour gave a short bow as he said this. Marcus said, ¡°You are clearly admitting you took the treasure from Tulom island. May I ask why that is?¡± ¡°Are you asking as to why I took the treasure from the island and hid it here or are you asking as to why I am telling you all this?¡± asked Seymour. ¡°It would be good if you could answer both questions.¡± Seymour looked at Marcus for a moment. Then he smiled and said, ¡°Tulom island was not a safe place for hiding the treasure. It was easily accessible and there were many people in my time who were interested in my family¡¯s treasure. I took it out of Tulom island and brought it here. It has stayed here for quite a long time it seems. No one has yet taken it. And as to your second question, I am telling you all this because you are the first people I have met after I have set up this elaborate puzzle to get the treasure. I mean, no one has even tried.¡± Marcus felt like telling him that Grush village was isolated and hardly any adventurers went there, but he decided against it. Kyrie asked, ¡°Why did you decide to move the treasure here? Could you not have used it for yourself if you knew where it was on Tulom island?¡± ¡°Ah! That is a sad tale. The treasure of Eliynar Grush, that is¡±, said Seymour, ¡°Eliynar got the treasure by destroying the pirate¡¯s ship but there was a problem. The treasure was cursed. It could not be used by anyone who steals it. Eliynar discovered this as soon as he found the treasure. So, he hid it on Tulom island. Killing the pirates and getting their treasure is considered as an act of stealing by the treasure itself. So, if the treasure does not find you worthy, you cannot use it.¡± Marcus asked, ¡°Are you saying that the treasure is sentient?¡± Seymour shook his head, ¡°Not the treasure no, but the chest in which it is contained possesses a certain level of sentience. It would not open for someone who has stolen it. It would only open for those who have obtained it legally.¡± Marcus said, ¡°So, if we solve your puzzles and obtain the chest, will it open for us?¡± Seymour shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know. It would not open for it even after I took the chest by solving that blasted sand puzzle. So, I created two more puzzles. The mimic puzzle which you solved and this final puzzle. I am hoping it would appease the treasure chest and it would open for you if you managed to solve my current puzzle.¡± Kyrie asked, ¡°And what is the current puzzle?¡± Seymour clapped his hand and treasure appeared in the room. Piles of gold coins, precious gems, jewelry and other valuable items filled up various parts of the room. Marcus gaped at the sudden appearance of so much wealth. He could see that Kyrie was doing the same. Seymour said, ¡°Don¡¯t drool on what has appeared. It is all an illusion. Well, all except one chest. It is the real treasure chest amongst this pile of illusion.¡± Marcus walked up to a pile, picked up a coin and tossed it back. ¡°Seems real to me¡±, said Marcus. Seymour said, ¡°Try putting it in your pocket.¡± Marcus did that. However, somehow the coin slipped away from his pocket and went back to the pile, to its original position. ¡°Smart trick¡±, muttered Marcus. Kyrie said, ¡°How do we find the correct treasure chest from all this? There are many identical looking treasure chests in the room now.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me the wrong treasure chests are mimics. I am really fucking done with them for the time being¡±, said Marcus. Seymour laughed, ¡°No, they are not. But pick the wrong chest, everything here will shuffle and you will start again.¡± ¡°Start what again?¡± Kyrie asked, ¡°You have not yet told us as to what we are supposed to do.¡± Seymour grinned and said, ¡°Well, it is after all a treasure hunt. So, you solve the clues and find the treasure.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Marcus had a sense of foreboding that this was going to be time consuming and irritating for him somehow. Seymour said, ¡°Sit on the throne and your hunt begins. Good luck.¡± Seymour disappeared. ¡°Hey¡±, shouted Kyrie, ¡°That does not explain anything.¡± ¡°Well, that was fucking rude of him¡±, said Marcus. ¡°What do we do?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s sit on the throne as suggested.¡± ¡°Yes, but who?¡± ¡°Do you wish to do the honors?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then I shall do the honors.¡± Marcus climbed up a few steps and sat on the throne. Words appeared before him. One who is worthy can wield my power. Marcus frowned and Kyrie said, ¡°What is it?¡± Marcus repeated the words to Kyrie. ¡°What does that mean?¡± asked Kyrie. ¡°Maybe it means that we need to find an object in this pile of treasure. That object¡¯s power can only be wielded by one who is worthy. That would be my guess¡±, answered Marcus. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Do you have any other ideas?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s search for something that can be wielded.¡± ¡°That could be anything you know.¡± Marcus sighed and did not reply. A thought of a hammer suddenly entered his head. ¡°What do you know about Mjolnir?¡± he asked Kyrie. ¡°What?¡± Kyrie had been looking at piles of treasure carefully and had been sifting through them slowly. She had not picked anything up though. She looked up with a slightly dazed expression when Marcus asked the question. ¡°I suddenly remembered something. On Earth, there is a myth of a Norse God who carries a hammer called Mjolnir. Only those who are worthy can wield it. This sounds similar to that.¡± ¡°Why would an Umaru treasure hunt take cues from Earthen mythology?¡± asked Kyrie. Marcus suddenly deflated at that question. ¡°You are right¡±, he said. Kyrie continued searching among the piles but Marcus opened Globalnet. He searched for the Umaru equivalent of Mjolnir and his search soon yielded results. He found out about Dellanza, a spear which the Umaru believed only the worthy could wield its powers. There was a picture of the spear and Marcus called Kyrie to show it. The spear was roughly about six feet tall from the description and was thick enough to fit an Umaru¡¯s palm. It had a greenish handle with brown wrap and the point was made up of a bluish metal. Marcus and Kyrie started looking for the spear. Marcus was sure that the actual spear would not be here but the illusory treasure surrounding him would have the illusory spear. They searched for quite some time before Kyrie found it. She held the spear aloft in her hand and gasped. Kyrie said, ¡°I know this is illusory but I can somehow feel power coursing through my body. Also, some writing has appeared.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°What does it say?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°The throne of lies lies empty.¡± ¡°What the fuck does that mean?¡± Kyrie dropped the spear and pointed at the throne, ¡°Do we sit on the throne again?¡± ¡°That is not the throne of lies¡±, said Marcus with a thoughtful expression on his face, ¡°It was already there when we arrived in this chamber. If it is a throne of lies, then it would make sense if it was an illusory throne.¡± ¡°So, we search for a throne in these piles.¡± ¡°It would seem so.¡± They searched for a throne in the piles but all they found was more treasure only. There was nothing that could even resemble or even relate to a throne. Marcus was about to give up. He felt cramped after bending down so much. He stretched bending backwards. He almost fell when he saw it. There was a throne attached to one of the pillars. It was near the top of the pillar close to the ceiling of the chamber. Marcus called Kyrie and pointed at the throne. ¡°It looks just like the throne here¡±, said Kyrie. ¡°How do we get up there though?¡± asked Marcus. They looked around for a ladder or something else which would get them up there but found nothing. Marcus looked at Kyrie carefully. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± asked Kyrie. ¡°Can you turn into a ball of water or something? Then I think I can toss you up there?¡± ¡°My water form does not work like that! I have to be in water to be like the water. It does not work on land.¡± ¡°Pity we cannot flood the chamber.¡± Kyrie looked like she had an idea. Marcus heard her cast [Sacrificial Mana] and then cast [Summon Water Elemental]. A small water elemental, slightly taller than Kyrie appeared. It looked like a humanoid waterfall with a conal head, the body which looked vaguely like a minotaur according to Marcus and no legs. Instead, there was a flat flow of continuous water at the bottom. Its hands looked normal till Marcus noticed that there were no fingers. Kyrie said to the elemental, ¡°Could you please put me on the throne there?¡± She pointed to the throne on the pillar. The water elemental picked her up, elongated itself and placed Kyrie on the throne. Kyrie said, ¡°Some more writing has appeared. It says, ¡®What goes up must come down¡¯.¡± Marcus groaned, ¡°Do we have to get the fucking throne down.¡± ¡°It seems like that.¡± Kyrie asked the water elemental to bring the throne down. The elemental grasped the throne, with fingers Marcus could not fathom, and started to push it down. The throne came down smoothly. However, once it was down on the ground, the elemental released the throne and it popped back right up like a spring. Kyrie screamed as the throne flung her upwards and she landed safely in the water elemental¡¯s arms. She had been sitting on the throne till now. Marcus said, ¡°Let¡¯s bring the throne down and see what appears. Tell your water elemental to let go after we have read the next clue.¡± The water elemental brought the throne down again. Marcus sat on it this time. Kyrie did not want to do it. Words appeared in front of his eyes. The riches lie beneath the ruler. Marcus stood up and Kyrie asked the elemental to let the throne go. ¡°The riches lie beneath the ruler¡±, said Marcus, ¡°Does this mean we have to check under the throne? The actual throne that is there in the center.¡± ¡°Could be¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°But don¡¯t you think that is too obvious?¡± ¡°What else could it be?¡± ¡°A portrait of a ruler?¡± ¡°You sure?¡± ¡°It is just a guess.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s check the throne first. Then we will look for the portrait.¡± They walked up to the throne. They tried to find a way to lift it up. They examined it from all sides. Marcus even looked up at the ceiling to ensure that it held no clue. They could not find any way to lift it to check what lay underneath it. They also took the help of the water elemental, but it was not successful. ¡°Well¡±, said Marcus finally, ¡°Let¡¯s find a fucking portrait of a fucking ruler.¡± They found five. There were five portraits in the room. All were of Umarus. And Marcus had no idea who amongst them was a ruler. There were no names on the portrait. If there had been names, then Marcus would have searched for them on the Globalnet and found the correct portrait. Kyrie said, ¡°What if we look under all the portraits?¡± They tried. They lifted the first portrait to look at the back and words appeared on it, You are wrong. Then the whole treasure pile shifted and spun. Everything changed position. They had to start everything again. The clues were the same. However, with the change in position for everything, it took them some time to get to the ruler''s clue. Marcus said, ¡°Should we lift another portrait?¡± ¡°If we are wrong, then we will have to do everything again¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°Also, it seems that the portraits seem to have changed.¡± ¡°How could you tell?¡± ¡°I am good with faces. These are not the same faces as before.¡± ¡°That means the puzzle does not care about who the Umaru ruler is; only the fact that the Umaru needs to be a ruler.¡± ¡°It also means that the treasure is underneath the right portrait. It has to be a clue. No treasure chest can fit in such a narrow non-existent space.¡± ¡°You are forgetting magic.¡± ¡°Oh! Yes.¡± Marcus started to search for Umaru rulers. Because of the vague clue, there were hundreds of Umaru rulers he found. He started going through their pictures. He shared the screen and Kyrie joined him. Some time later Kyrie pointed, ¡°That one. Lord Reshul Solitune. He is the fourth portrait from the left.¡± Marcus looked at the portrait Kyrie was talking about. The picture matched. They got up and went up to Lord Reshul¡¯s portrait. They lifted it up. On the back it was written, The real treasure was the friends you made along the way. ¡°Again!¡± exclaimed Marcus, ¡°What the-¡± The world shifted again and Marcus found himself on a beach. Kyrie was lying down beside him and there was a chest in front of them. The holographic image of Seymour Grush was back and it was smiling at them. ¡°Congratulations adventurers¡±, said Seymour, ¡°You have solved my puzzle. The treasure is yours. Now just hope that the treasure finds you worthy.¡± The holographic projection of Seymour disappeared. Marcus groaned and got in a sitting position. Kyrie did the same. She started to walk towards the water and took a dip in it. The water elemental had disappeared. It would have been automatically unsummoned when they teleported. ¡°Where are we?¡± asked Marcus. He got no answer as Kyrie was in the water. She came back after some time. Kyrie said, ¡°It seems that we have somehow teleported back to Tulom island. The water feels familiar. I swam around the island and also up to Grush village.¡± ¡°Welp¡±, said Marcus, ¡°Easier for us. Now to see about the treasure chest.¡± They walked up to the treasure chest. It looked like a plain wooden chest, rectangular in shape and a curved top. There was no lock but a small window where it was written ¡®Closed¡¯. Marcus said, ¡°Should we just open it?¡± Kyrie shrugged, ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°What if we are not worthy?¡± ¡°Then the chest won¡¯t open.¡± ¡°Oh! Yes. Makes sene.¡± Marcus took a deep breath and tried to open the chest. The chest opened easily. Both Kyrie and Marcus looked into the open chest. They were both holding their breaths. What they found disappointed both of them. ¡°Where is the fucking treasure?¡± asked Marcus. For in the treasure chest, there were no gold coins or valuable gems or any other pieces of treasure. A lone spear lay at the bottom of the chest. It looked old and decrepit, influenced by the passage of time. However, Marcus recognized the spear. ¡°Isn¡¯t that-¡± Marcus and Kyrie both looked at each other. They understood what Seymour meant now. Only the worthy could get the treasure of the Grush family. Dellanza lay at the bottom of the chest. *** Reginald Grush grunted as he finished his drink. The alcohol was not hitting him tonight. Two tankards in, he was not feeling the buzz. He wondered why. He paid the innkeeper and left the inn. The inn and bar was combined in one and there was not much crowd tonight. He walked slowly back to his house. He was in no hurry to get back home. Nobody was waiting for him there. His children had already left him to go to different towns and villages and his wife had passed away quite some time back. He was alone and peaceful. As he made his way back to the house, Reginald thought about the adventurers. Gorking adventurers. Grush village did not require them but he did wish that sometimes adventurers did come to the village. He remembered the two gorking adventurers he had sent on a treasure hunt some time back. There had been no adventurers after that. He snorted as he reached his house. Treasure hunt. He had no need for treasure. He was quite rich and his expenses in the village were minimal. Even if those gorking adventurers find the treasure, what would he do with it? Mostly share it between his five children. He would give the promised amount to the gorking adventurers though, if he could remember what he promised those adventurers. He sat on the rocking chair and thought about what to do tomorrow. Maybe he should go visit one of his children. He had not seen them for a year now. They never visit. They did not like Grush village but Reginald always went to visit them. He hummed a tune his mother used to sing to him as he thought about who to visit. He was interrupted by a knock on the door. He frowned. He wondered who it could be. Reginald stood up and walked to the door. He opened it to find the two adventurers he had sent on the treasure quest. He suddenly remembered their names, Marcus and Kyrie. ¡°About gorking time¡±, Reginald said as he led them in. They were empty handed. That means that they would have not found the treasure. They had gone to the Gunin mountain ranges. Maybe what they found there was another clue. However, the adventurer Marcus pulled something out of thin air and placed it on the floor. Reginald then remembered about the inventory they all had. Of course they would put the treasure in the inventory and not carry it around. For it was a treasure chest that Marcus had pulled out of his inventory. ¡°Well you gorking found it¡±, said Reginald, ¡°When you left for the gorking treasure hunt, I had some hopes for you. But you have performed beyond my gorking expectations of adventurers. And you found the gorking treasure too. Now that is a surprise. I thought you would have found another gorking clue. But it seems that my gorking ancestors did not want anyone to go on much of a chase it seems. So, open it. How much is the gorking treasure worth?¡± Marcus and Kyrie looked at each other. Reginald did not like the look on their faces. Were they hiding something? Kyrie said softly, ¡°You should see this for yourself.¡± Marcus opened the chest and Reginald walked up to it. He looked inside and gasped. He looked at the adventurers and then at the spear inside the chest. Reginald gulped and said, ¡°Well, this is some treasure.¡± ¡°Are you okay with this?¡± asked Marcus with uncertainty. ¡°Boy¡±, said Reginald taking a deep breath, ¡°You have no idea what you have found. You have no idea what this spear means to my people. You have found treasure beyond my gorking expectations. You shall be rewarded accordingly.¡± ¡°We never decided on the rewards¡±, said Kyrie. Reginald blinked at that. He said, ¡°Gorking idiotic. Here. 1,000 points of experience to each of you and 100,000 units each for finding the treasure. Is that okay?¡± Both the gorking adventurers gaped at him. Reginald smiled. He could see that they were happy with the rewards. ¡°Well¡±, said Reginald, ¡°There you go. Your gorking treasure hunt quest is complete. What are you gorking doing over here?¡± ¡°I am curious¡±, said Marcus. He received a short poke from Kyrie and remedied himself, ¡°We are curious, sir. As to what you are going to do with this spear? Dellanza that is.¡± Reginald considered that to be a very gorking valid question. What would he do with the spear? He was sure he was not worthy enough to wield it. And considering how all Umarus were non-adventurers, none of them would be able to wield it. He would have to give the spear to a gorking adventurer. And considering how the adventurers hardly visited Grush village, he could not keep it here. Or could he? Reginald smiled as a plan started to form in his mind. Reginald said, ¡°I have a gorking idea. However, your task here is done.¡± Reginald told Marcus and Kyrie what he was going to do and they nodded. They said their goodbyes and took their leave. Reginald rubbed his hands together. Time to find the one worthy for Dellanza. The Hunt for a Demon Lord The morning sun saw two adventurers exiting Grush village. It saw them summon their flying mounts and make their way towards the nearest town. From there it saw them take a series of portals which led them to Florianne. After reaching Florianne Marcus said to Kyrie, ¡°Alright, you go check on the adventurer versus adventurer scene, I will go submit my second book.¡± Marcus had somehow found the second book in his inventory along with a message which was somehow from Seymour Grush. He wondered how that had happened. Seymour Grush was dead and a holographic projection. How had he put a book in Marcus¡¯ inventory along with the letter, Marcus did not know. Marcus read the book title, Demonology by Lucine Evemoon. The letter read, Congratulations adventurers on solving my little puzzle. Even though you may not be able to get the treasure, here is something which might help you. Was this some play by the Game Masters or by someone else. He wondered about his stroke of fortune as he visited the library and submitted the book. He received 4,000 points of experience for his efforts. The librarian also informed Marcus that he needed to talk with Sylinine Sharpquill, the head librarian at the library in Opulential. Marcus wondered what it was about as his major quest updated. It now read, Major Quest Sylinine Sharpquill has something to tell you regarding your ongoing hunt for demons. Meet her in ten days to find out what is happening. Time till quest failure: 9 days 14 hours and 40 seconds. Penalty for failure: Halving of current level. Marcus did not like the penalty for failing the quest. He would have a word with Kyrie. She would have the same quest too. This would mean that if adventurer versus adventurer was back on in Florianne, Marcus would have to go alone to meet Sylinine. Marcus walked up to the arena to find Kyrie fuming outside it. He wondered why she was outside. Marcus asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Kyrie took a deep breath, failed to calm herself down and spoke a bit forcefully, ¡°The arena is still not up and running. It has been ages. I have a feeling there will be no adventurer versus adventurer in Florianne for at least a year, considering how things are here.¡± ¡°Okay. You saw the update in the major quest?¡± Kyrie frowned and her eyes glazed over as if she was checking something in front of her. Then she said, ¡°Interesting.¡± ¡°Opulential has an operational arena¡±, said Marcus. ¡°Let¡¯s go there then.¡± ¡°Yes, but let¡¯s get our blessings from the temple of Udha and Hekana. We need our health and mana normalized according to our level.¡± They went to the respective temples to get the blessings. Their health and mana updated after they had received the blessings. For Marcus the increase in mana was considerable as he had higher wisdom than Kyrie. Marcus and Kyrie checked each other¡¯s statistics after they had received the blessing. Name: Marcus Blank Race: Human Designation: Adventurer - Rank 3 Age: 25 Current Location: Fontaine Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 100 Experience: 5,000 / 29,800 Strength: 20 Dexterity: 40 Intelligence: 50 Vitality: 50 Agility: 40 Wisdom: 39 Luck: ??? Health: 400 Mana: 256 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Stamina Regeneration - Level 8 Well Rested - Level 4 Twinblade Proficiency - Level 12 Alcohol Tolerance - Level 3 Stealth - Level 5 Description: The anomaly has now become a better adventurer. With a little effort people may forget he is an anomaly after all. Spells known: [Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] [Force Push] Spells Equipped: [Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] [Force Push] Spell Slots: 6 Physical Attack: 230 Magical Attack: 370 Physical Resistance: 300 Magical Resistance: 202 Critical Attack Chance: 45% Critical Attack Damage: 90% Status: None Name: Kyrie Shiningstar Race: Water Nymph Designation: Adventurer - Rank 3 Age: 83 Current Location: Fontaine Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 100 Experience: 1,000 / 29,800 Strength: 20 Dexterity: 80 Intelligence: 10 Vitality: 50 Agility: 50 Wisdom: 22 Luck: ??? Health: 400 Mana: 188 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Fast Draw - Level 10 Precision - Level 12 Longbow Proficiency - Level 16 Stealth - Level 11 Water Proficiency - Level 100 Description: The outcast traveller from Tarados, flowing into Una, taking huge steps now and sweeping demons away is still enjoying herself by bashing other adventurer¡¯s heads. She is the water nymph to watch out for. Spells known: [Power Shot] [Fade] [Enchant Weapon: Poison] [Summon Water Elemental] Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Spells Equipped: [Power Shot] [Fade] [Enchant Weapon: Poison] Spell Slots: 4 Physical Attack: 530 Magical Attack: 50 Physical Resistance: 232 Magical Resistance: 216 Critical Attack Chance: 45% Critical Attack Damage: 105% Status: None Marcus liked the increase in level but was disappointed with the low level of proficiency. Leyda had increased both Marcus and Kyrie¡¯s levels but their proficiency with their weapons and other passive skills was not up to the mark. They were low compared to their level. They would have to level them up soon. He was hoping that fighting high level enemies would help bridge the gap. Once they were done with their business in Florianne, Marcus and Kyrie took a few portals to reach Opulential. They had an appointment with Sylinine after all. They reached Opulential during the night. They decided to meet Sylinine in the morning. They had some time after all. Eight days worth of time now. The morning found Marcus and Kyrie in front of the library in Opulential. They glanced at one another, nodded to each other and entered it. They would know today what the next part of their major quest was. Marcus and Kyrie went to Sylinine¡¯s office. She smiled as she saw the two adventures. Marcus could see that she looked less tired and more relaxed than last time. Maybe the workload was finally getting less for her. Sylinine said, ¡°Welcome Marcus. Kyrie. Please, have a seat. We have a few things to discuss.¡± Marcus and Kyrie took the seats in front of Sylinine. The gnome librarian hummed a short tune when they sat down. Marcus said, ¡°You seem extremely happy for some reason.¡± Sylinine grinned and said, ¡°It is that obvious, isn¡¯t it?¡± She then showed her hand. A golden ring with a rainbow etching glowed upon the ring finger. Kyrie said, ¡°You are happy because you got a glowing ring?¡± Marcus shook his head as Sylinine laughed. Sylinine said, ¡°I forget you do not have these customs as nymphs. This ring symbolizes I am engaged.¡± ¡°Engaged in what?¡± asked Kyrie. ¡°Engaged to be married.¡± ¡°Oh! Congratulations.¡± Marcus congratulated Sylinine too. ¡°Who is the lucky guy?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°I rather doubt you would know him. His name is Forine Penburrow. We had been dating for quite some years before he asked the question.¡± Marcus and Kyrie both nodded at the same time. Kyrie said, ¡°You have the next stage of the major quest for us?¡± Sylinine said, ¡°Yes. That is why I called you here. What do you two know about the landmass Artorios?¡± Marcus said, ¡°It is the main landmass for The Elven Kingdom. Elves and Umaru are the major occupants of the landmass. It has a tropical climate, lots of trees, not as many as Filinile but still many. There are many rivers crisscrossing the entire landmass and surprisingly it has only one mountain range at the Northern end. Standard monsters occupy the landmass, and it is one of the favorite places for elves to level up.¡± ¡°So, you know only generic information¡±, said Sylinine, ¡°That is still impressive.¡± Sylinine took a moment before she continued, ¡°The elves are being plagued by a demon lord. Harados to be precise. Harados is the master of hellhounds. They are plaguing Artorios currently. The elves are not happy with them and the demon lord. So, they are forming a hunting party. A party of about 100 or so adventurers whose task is to eradicate the hellhounds and the demon lord Harados.¡± Sylinine paused for a moment to let the news sink in Marcus and Kyrie. She then said, ¡°I want you to be a part of this hunting party. The elves have asked the various factions to provide them with adventurers. We want you to represent us. There are 10 more adventurers proposed by other Librarians, but I want to propose you two. Would you join the hunting party?¡± Marcus said, ¡°This sounds like a long task. And the thing is Kyrie needs to have her dose of adventurer versus adventurer from time to time. If we are out chasing hellhounds and demon lords for months, then it would be a bit problematic for us.¡± Sylinine said, ¡°You can hunt the hellhounds any way you want. It will be the demon lord which would be a group effort. Go to Treedos. It is the capital city of Artorios. Talk with the leader of the party. Her name is Zoey Dewbow. See if you can work something out.¡± Marcus looked at Kyrie, ¡°It is your decision. This part of the major quest will affect you the most.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°I understand. Let¡¯s go meet this Zoey Dewbow. Let¡¯s see what we can work out.¡± ¡°Excellent¡±, Sylinine clapped her hands, ¡°I will tell Zoey that you two are coming. When will you reach there?¡± ¡°When is the hunting supposed to start?¡± asked Kyrie. ¡°In about eight days from now. You can reach a little later too. Not more than a month though. When do you plan on going?¡± ¡°I want to participate in the higher level bracket for adventurer versus adventurer here before travelling.¡± ¡°And I¡±, said Marcus, ¡°will need some time to research.¡± ¡°I will tell Zoey that you will reach her in two weeks'' time. Is that alright?¡± asked Sylinine. Marcus and Kyrie nodded. They concluded their business with Sylinine and exited the Opulentia¡¯s Library. Marcus turned to Kyrie and said, ¡°You are going to the arena?¡± Kyrie nodded, ¡°I am going to the arena.¡± When Kyrie set off, Marcus set off towards finding an inn. He did not want to start research immediately. He wanted to rest first. As he booked a room and lay on the bed of the booked room, he thought about the hunting party. This could be fun. *** Marcus and Kyrie travelled to Treedos in a week¡¯s time. Kyrie had reached the number one spot in the level bracket of 91 to 100 in adventurer versus adventurer. The first task they would do on reaching Treedos would be to meet with Zoey Dewbow. Then Kyrie would see how the adventurer versus adventurer scenario was in Treedos. After stepping out of the portal in Treedos, Marcus and Kyrie went in search of an inn. After finding the inn, they went to the adventurer¡¯s guild in Treedos. There they set up their respawn point at the Resurrection stone and then asked for Zoey. They were informed that Zoey had already started the hunt and was out in the forest west of Treedos, hunting hellhounds with a small party. Marcus and Kyrie were told that they could meet her in the evening after dinner time. They were okay with that. Kyrie went in search of the arena while Marcus visited the library. They had time to kill before their meeting with Zoey. Marcus spent some productive time in the library reading about the landmass Artorios and what to expect in terms of enemies. The latest book he had made a copy of, Demonology, gave him an idea about the demon lord Harados. The book had details on many demons and demon lords and Marcus was glad he was able to get a copy of it. The demon lord Harados looked like a normal human. He commanded a legion of hellhounds all extremely loyal to him. He was a conqueror and a hunter, using his hellhounds to weaken the economies of a region before completely subjugating it. He would be doing the same here. Marcus did not have much information about what the hellhounds were doing. He presumed Zoey would be giving him the information. Marcus was soon joined by Kyrie. He was surprised to see her. ¡°What happened?¡± whispered Marcus. ¡°All adventurer versus adventurer arenas are closed till demon lord Harados is killed and the threat of his hellhounds is over¡±, hissed Kyrie. Marcus could understand Kyrie¡¯s frustration. ¡°Well then, we hope that we are able to take care of Harados fast. Although I don¡¯t understand how arenas are related to the demon lord.¡± ¡°Almost all adventurers on this landmass are fully involved in hunting him. No one is currently interested in adventurer versus adventurer. The arenas decided it was cheaper to simply be closed rather than have either one or no fight for the day.¡± Marcus nodded. He somehow understood the arenas¡¯ decisions. It would not make Kyrie happy but he understood. He instead said, ¡°Fuck those arenas for now. If you feel like you really wanna have a fight with another adventurer, we can teleport to a city where the arena is operational.¡± Kyrie shook her head, ¡°Thank you Marcus but it is alright. Let¡¯s kill this demon lord fast.¡± Marcus then started to read his book again. Kyrie read a book, a fictional novel. They passed the time in silence. They left the library during dinner time. They ate in a restaurant near the library. Marcus was feeling particularly peckish after all the reading he had done. After their dinner, they went back to the adventurer¡¯s guild. It was time for their appointment with Zoey. They were led into a private room when they told the proprietor they had arrived. Zoey Dewbow was waiting for them. Marcus halted just for a second as he saw Zoey. Then he entered the room and sat down on one of the few empty seats. Kyrie sat beside him. Zoey looked at them as they sat down, her eyes looking as if she was contemplating whether they were worth her time or not. Or maybe she was simply reading their names and levels. Marcus was getting good at ignoring the ethereal beauty of the elves but Zoey hit differently. He somehow felt attracted to her. The expression ¡®take my breath away¡¯ suddenly came to his mind when he looked at Zoey. She had sharp eyes which were tired but focused on them. Zoey said, ¡°Welcome. You must be the adventurer representatives of the Librarians faction. I was not expecting such high level adventurers.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t the Librarians have high-level adventurers?¡± asked Kyrie. ¡°They do but they do not come for such a low level quest. The average level of hell hounds is around 80 and the demon lord is expected to be around that level only. The maximum level adventurer that we have is me, at level 93. Both of you exceed me in terms of level.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Why does level matter? I mean we all want the same thing. Death to the demon lord.¡± Zoey pursed her lips. She took some time before replying, ¡°Yes. However, the adventurers normally do quests which are equivalent to their level or close to their level. They normally do not go for lower level quests unless there is a large reward. This quest is sort of 20 levels lower than your normal quest level. A 100 level adventurer normally does quests between levels 95 and 110. He goes maximum down to level 90 quest and below it only if the reward is worth it. However, I see here two adventurers, who have already reached level 100 and are here to do level 80 quests. That is not normal.¡± ¡°You do realize that this demon invasion thingy is not normal¡±, said Marcus, ¡°Champions have been selected to stop the demons and one of the champions is at max level. For her, all the quests would lie in the realm of extremely low level. Yet, she is doing all of them.¡± ¡°The situation of champions is different. You are not champions. You are normal adventurers and yet here you are. Is it because you need experience fighting demon lords?¡± Marcus and Kyrie both laughed at that. Kyrie said, ¡°Considering the number of demon lords we have fought, I think we need a break from them.¡± Marcus nodded. Zoey said, ¡°How many demon lords have you fought?¡± Kyrie thought for a moment. She said, ¡°Well we have been a part of a team and also attacked the demon lords. There was M¨¢ra in Solaris. Then there was Cthulhim in the Sosquatch forest. Following him immediately was Cthulhu in Opulential. Then finally there was Nagasura while we were doing the labyrinth quest.¡± Marcus said, ¡°Nagasura was only you though with the others. I was stuck with Artenos, if you remember.¡± ¡°Why, yes. I forgot about that.¡± Marcus saw that Zoey was openly gaping at them. She realized that she had her mouth opened and she closed it immediately. Zoey said, ¡°I see why your faction sent you. Your experience would be invaluable in hunting down Harados.¡± Marcus frowned, ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. Till now we have usually stumbled upon demon lords and have not been actively seeking them. This is the first time we are doing this sort of thing.¡± ¡°Nevertheless, you are the most experienced adventurers when it comes to fighting demon lords. I have made you a part of a team of six adventurers. Harados is rumored to be around the town of Galados. I have already sent your team members. The hellhounds were becoming a nuisance over them, and I decided that it would be good that they start hunting. Join them in Galados. I would tell them you are coming. They would introduce themselves. They are good fighters. Do not worry about them. They would hold their own. Their mission and now your mission is to eradicate the hellhounds in the region around Galados. If you spy Harados, then report immediately. Every adventurer would then gather there, and we would attack Harados together. Even though you have fought many demon lords, it is better to attack a demon lord with many adventurers. Is this clear? Are there any questions?¡± Marcus looked at Kyrie who shook her head. Marcus said, ¡°We understand. We will leave in the morning.¡± Zoey nodded, ¡°Would you like to have a drink for now?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Thank you but no. I will retire for the night. I am tired and I do not partake in alcoholic beverages. They do not sit well with me. It was lovely meeting you Zoey. We will get on the hunt soon.¡± Kyrie looked at Marcus expecting him to go with her, but Marcus said, ¡°I would like a drink. I would also like to discuss a few things with Zoey, if you don¡¯t mind Kyrie.¡± Kyrie nodded, said her goodbyes and left. Marcus smiled as Zoey offered him a drink he could not identify. It was good and it hit well. They talked for a long time about their life as adventurers. Marcus was feeling warm and fuzzy and was genuinely enjoying Zoey¡¯s company. Morning found Marcus beside Zoey, in the same private room as last night. He grinned as he put on his clothes. Zoey woke up as he was dressing and eyed him shamelessly. Marcus laughed and kissed her. He then said goodbye to her. He was feeling relaxed after a long time. He was feeling good as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Maybe he just needed a night to relax. But the night was over now. It was time to hunt. The Hunt Begins ¡°Wait so you can have sexual intercourse with someone that is not your mate?¡± asked Kyrie. ¡°How are you just realizing this right now?¡± Marcus asked, ¡°You have been longer on this world than I have and that too with all your memories intact. Also you have interacted with other humans.¡± Marcus and Kyrie were on their way to the portal which would take them to Galados. Kyrie had been curious as to why Marcus had come to the inn in the morning. Marcus had told her, albeit sparing her the details as to what he had been up to last night. Kyrie said, ¡°I have not been keeping abreast of the mating rituals of the various species. Moreover, I have a feeling that our mating process works way differently than yours or any other species on this planet?¡± ¡°How does-¡± started Marcus but then stopped. He felt it would be a bit rude to ask about water nymphs¡¯ mating process directly. So he just decided to not say anything. Kyrie said slyly, ¡°You were going to ask about the mating process of water nymphs, weren¡¯t you?¡± Marcus harrumphed but did not say anything. Kyrie laughed. She said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will tell you.¡± And she told him and Marcus listened to everything with patience and absolute focus. He asked questions where he had doubts and was thoughtful about what Kyrie had said. It was indeed very different from humans. After some time Kyrie asked about the mating process of humans. Marcus gave a sigh and explained to her about love, lust, relationships and other relevant things in general. He did not go too much into details as he did not want to give Kyrie too graphic a picture but he did give her a decent explanation. Kyrie had many questions and Marcus answered them to the best of his abilities. Marcus found that he was enjoying the conversation. Then he realized something. Kyrie and he had hardly had casual conversations till date. How long had they been adventuring partners? About a few months or so now. He frowned. He needed the help of the in system calendar to find out how long they had been adventuring partners. In all this time, Marcus did not know much about Kyrie. They had discussed quests, enemies, other adventurers and strategies. They had not talked about their past as they did not want to talk about it. But they had not had many simple normal casual conversations till date. Which Marcus felt was odd. This was the first casual conversation that had gone on for such a long time. The normalcy of the conversation somehow threw Marcus off. He told his observation to Kyrie who gave him an odd look. ¡°What?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°I thought you wanted a professional adventuring relationship. That is why we do not have casual conversations. Moreover, if you consider, we, and especially you have had very less down time. You are always in the library, even during our free time. That is why I did not ask much about you¡±, said Kyrie with a shrug. Marcus gaped at her. Then he closed his mouth and said, ¡°When did I say¡­ professional! Ah! Never mind. We can be friends, you know. I do consider you my friend, but I know so little about you.¡± Kyrie laughed, ¡°And I know a bit about you. We can remedy that later. For now, let¡¯s enter the portal. It is time to join our team.¡± Marcus realized that it was their turn to go through the portal. He nodded as they walked towards it and stepped through it. They were in Galados the next moment. Kyrie said, ¡°Let¡¯s go meet our team. They should be at the guild unless they have already started the hunt. We can have more normal conversations later, friend.¡± Marcus smiled. They made their way towards the adventurer¡¯s guild in Galados. After setting their resurrection point at the guild they inquired about the team Zoey had sent to Galados. The head at the adventurer¡¯s guild was confused a bit. When Marcus clarified that it was a four person team which was sent to clear the hellhounds, the head¡¯s face cleared. It seemed that they had already gone hunting and would be back during lunch time. At least one of their members would be. They would be reporting the status for the morning. Marcus and Kyrie decided to wait in the guild for their team member. They did not have to wait long as lunch was about a couple of hours away. They chatted about each other for some time. Well, Kyrie talked a bit about her life on Tarados, her friends, her family, her likes and dislikes while Marcus talked about whatever he could remember, which was not much. Soon, the doors to the waiting room opened and Marcus saw a familiar face enter with the guild¡¯s head. Marcus grinned and stood up, ¡°Nadia Shortclaw¡±, he shouted. Nadia looked up at where Marcus was standing and grinned back. ¡°Marcus Blank. Still alive and adventuring¡±, she shouted back. They hugged. Marcus introduced Kyrie to Nadia. Nadia took a brief stock of Kyrie before turning to Marcus. ¡°It is good to see you Marcus¡±, said Nadia, ¡°What brings you here?¡± Marcus told her about the quest for the hunt for the demon lord. Nadia said, ¡°Ah! You two must be our missing teammates.¡± ¡°So, you are the one of the four who is hunting the hellhounds in this region.¡± ¡°Yes. We have taken help from other adventurers, but they change on a daily basis. The four of us remain the same. Speaking of them, come with me. Let¡¯s have lunch. You will meet the other members of the team.¡± Marcus and Kyrie followed Nadia out of the guild. They did not have to travel long as the restaurant where the team was having lunch was about a few hundred meters from the guild. As Marcus entered the restaurant, he looked around searching for Nassir. Nassir was Nadia¡¯s husband and her adventuring partner. Marcus found him easily as he had met him earlier and somehow remembered him. He was sitting with two other adventurers, elves from the look of it. They were sitting on a table at the far corner of the restaurant. They seemed to be busy discussing something and did not notice Marcus, Kyrie and Nadia¡¯s approach. Marcus examined the other two elves as he approached the table. The first elf was Kinnear Truebow, level 62 while the second elf was Charinge Truearrow, level 62. Another team like Nadia and Nassir, like Marcus and Kyrie considering their levels. Nadia and Nassir were also at level 65. It seemed that Marcus and Kyrie were top levelled this time. Marcus did not know what to do with this information. Nadia introduced Marcus and Kyrie to everyone, and they all sat down to eat. Initially they simply made small talk. Then Nadia started explaining to Marcus and Kyrie about what they had been doing till now. Nadia said, ¡°We have been here for about a week now. In this time, we have killed a few hounds and recruited adventurers who are interested in killing the hounds. These recruited adventurers are temporary and change from day to day. We decide on an area in the morning and wait for these temporary adventurers to come. Then till lunch we kill as many hellhounds as possible. Well some adventurers spend more time but, in the evening, we get together to discuss. We normally rest after lunch. We do not want to burn ourselves out. There have been no signs or rumours of Harados till date. I think that is about it.¡± Marcus had some questions and he asked about how exactly everything was done and how many temporary adventurers are recruited per day and their compensation. Nadia answered. It seemed that Nadia was the leader of this group and Marcus was okay with it. After lunch they discussed some more about what they were doing and Marcus was now getting a clear picture. He just had to understand now how he and Kyrie would join them. Nassir said, ¡°The hellhounds are not that tough. Their average level is around 60. A pair of adventurers could easily clear them out.¡± Charinge nodded and said, ¡°Yes. We have been moving in pairs. The hellhounds move in teams of five. That is what we have observed. They are still not much of a challenge.¡± ¡°We have not encountered larger packs¡±, said Kinnear before Marcus could ask about it, ¡°Nor have the temporary adventurers.¡± The next few minutes passed with Nassir, Kinnear and Charinge bragging about their kills. Marcus listened with polite interest. However, Kyrie seemed hooked on every word they said. Maybe she liked good stories. In the evening, Marcus and the others met the temporary adventurers to listen to their report. No sign of Harados. More hellhounds killed. Nadia considered it good and dismissed them. Nadia said, ¡°We will now plan for tomorrow. Come on then.¡± Nadia took them to one of the rooms in the adventurer¡¯s guild. The first thing Marcus saw when he entered the room was a large map of the landmass Artorios. It had all the locations of the city, towns and villages pinned with notes pinned besides them. Marcus could not read the notes. Beside the map of Artorios, was a map of Galados, the town they were in and its surrounding region. It was a large region to consider as far as Marcus could see. The map of Galados was divided into grids made from strings tied over it. There were several pins of varying colours and notes on that map too. There were three desks in the room. Two desks were littered with papers, books and writing instruments while the third was neatly organized. There were two couches and an attached bathroom. The room was well lit. There was a window, but it was closed yet the room felt pleasant to Marcus, well ventilated. Some sort of magic he presumed. Nadia walked to the board with the maps while Nassir sat at the well-organized desk. The two elves sat at the littered desks while Marcus and Kyrie took the couch. Marcus was feeling like he was part of a well-established organization making a play for something big. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Kyrie said, ¡°This is cool.¡± Nadia laughed and said, ¡°I am sorry we don''t have a work desk for you. Would you like one? We would share.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Not for me¡±, and she looked at Marcus. Marcus sighed and stood up, ¡°Can you brief me on what all you have researched till now. Considering the number of books and the notes in this room, it must be extensive.¡± Nadia blushed and looked away. The others looked uncomfortable too. ¡°What?¡± asked Marcus. Kinnear said, ¡°We did get all these books, but we have not gone through them. We are mostly fighting hellhounds and acting on information we get from temporary adventurers. The notes simply show how much area we have cleared and whether we should go back to that area or not.¡± Marcus walked up to the maps and examined the notes. It seemed like Kinnear was telling the truth. Then he wondered as to why she would lie. Marcus groaned and walked to the desk where Charinge was sitting and saw what the papers lying on the desk were. They were doodles, drawings and random scribblings. Marcus said, ¡°Scoot. Move over. This is my desk now.¡± Charinge complied with a salute. Marcus started organizing the desk. He looked at all the books in the room, selected the important ones and put them on his desk. He organized it neatly, sat down and started reading the first book. Everyone except Kyrie was gaping at him. Kyrie simply shook her head. Kyrie said, ¡°It will be a while before he reemerges. You can continue Nadia. What is the plan for tomorrow?¡± Marcus half listened to them, considering the book he was engrossed in. He didn''t even hear them leave. The book was interesting. It provided good lore on the hellhounds. The book was over too soon. Then the next one. Then the next one. His eyes seemed to be tired. He rubbed them and closed them for a moment. The next moment he was being shaken awake. When had he fallen asleep? Kyrie said, ¡°Did you read the whole night?¡± Marcus looked at the book in his hand and closed it. He put it in the pile which had read. It was now four books tall. Marcus said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I fell asleep at some point.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Come on. We need to go. Morning briefing. I have grabbed you some breakfast. Eat while you listen.¡± Marcus grumbled and got out of the chair. There was no mirror in the room and so he could not guess the state he was in. He tried to make himself presentable as much as he could without one. Kyrie handed him a couple of sandwiches as they made their way to the guild¡¯s common room. The briefing was going to take place there. Marcus saw that a lot of people had already assembled in the common room. What was the time? He checked it on the status screen and saw it was 10:12. Well, he was out for quite some time. ¡°Where was he?¡± asked Nadia as they approached the remainder of the team. Nadia, Nassir, Kinnear and Charinge were standing near a table at one end of the common room. There were other adventurers, temporary ones, Marcus presumed, who were either sitting or standing and were spread across the room. Marcus counted 10 of them. Kyrie replied, ¡°He was still in the room. Fell asleep reading.¡± There were sounds of laughter, groans and some hand clapping and some back slapping. Money seemed to be exchanged by some adventurers. They had been betting! He could understand if Kyrie, Nadia, Nassir, Kinnear and Charinge betted, but what did the other adventurers know about him? Then he thought that he would bet on a stranger too, if he was asked. Wouldn¡¯t he? Nadia said, ¡°Now as we are all gathered here, let¡¯s get this party started.¡± Nadia opened a map interface in front of her. It was the map of Galados and its surrounding region. It was divided into grids. Nadia highlighted some of the grids. Five of them to be precise. She assigned the 10 temporary adventurers present to these five grids. Next she highlighted two grids and assigned them to Kinnear and Charinge. She assigned two grids to Marcus and Kyrie and assigned three grids to her and Nassir. Nadia said, ¡°I will explain what to do. I know some of you already know as this is not the first time you are helping us but there are some new faces.¡± Nadia paced a bit and continued, ¡°Check out the entire area assigned to you. Kill all the hellhounds. Find out any traces or information of the demon lord Harados. Do not engage the demon lord if you find him. Communicate his location to me or Kinnear immediately. That¡¯s it. Are there any questions?¡± Marcus raised a hand. Nadia rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Yes Marcus. What is it?¡± Marcus stood up and said, ¡°I know you have been hunting hellhounds for some time now and trying to track Harados, but have you had a discussion regarding the strategy to kill hellhounds, specifically their attack patterns and their weak points. Also, does anyone here know how they are going to track Harados? Has anyone looked into it or even tried to track Harados?¡± There was a moment of silence after Marcus finished. Everyone was looking at Nadia who was now frowning and thinking something. After some time Nadia said, ¡°Alright Marcus. Share with the class what you know about the hellhounds. Keep it brief though.¡± Marcus walked up to the front and started to explain to everyone present what he knew about the hellhounds. He explained to everyone regarding their attack patterns, how to track them, how to evade them and how to kill them efficiently. He explained their weak points and their weakness, which was obviously holy damage and pure magic damage. After he was finished with the hellhounds, he talked about Harados. Marcus said, ¡°Harados the Houndmaster is a master tracker and so he knows how to cover his tracks. Unless you are very proficient with a very high level passive [Tracking] skill, you will not be able to find him. There is a unique way of tracking him. You need to find traces of magic where you kill the hellhounds. You need the [Detect Magic] spell for that purpose. If Harados has been near his hellhounds, you would be able to detect demonic magic along with wood magic. Somehow that is his signature magic. I mean there might be other creatures who have similar magic signature, but Harados¡¯ signature can only be found around hellhounds. Now, does anyone have the [Detect Magic] spell?¡± There were a lot of Nos and head shaking. No one had the spell. ¡°That does pose a bit of a problem¡±, said Marcus, ¡°Then you can continue as normal. Just take into consideration what I said.¡± Nadia said, ¡°You got all this information from reading a couple of books last night?¡± Marcus shrugged and said, ¡°I read a lot. I am also good at summarizing.¡± Nadia said, ¡°Alright adventurers. Good hunting!¡± Then to Marcus she said, ¡°I need a word with you.¡± The temporary adventurers left, and the core team gathered near Nadia with Marcus at the front. Nadia said, ¡°Do you mind explaining the same to Zoey? About Harados. What you said just now?¡± Marcus said, ¡°I have no problem. Don¡¯t you think she would know about this though?¡± The look on Nadia¡¯s face told Marcus that Zoey would not know about what Marcus had shared. They made a call to Zoey and discussed what Marcus had researched. Zoey directed Marcus to find out as much as he could to make their hunt easier. Marcus went back to the room to read up more on Harados and his hellhounds. Kyrie decided to help the temporary adventurers and then check out the adventurer versus adventurer scenario in Galados. The other core team members went on checking their grids. This continued for a week. Marcus continued his research. Kyrie helped the temporary adventurers and rose up to top rank in her bracket in the adventurer versus adventurer arena. Nadia, Nassir, Kinnear and Charinge used whatever information Marcus gathered to destroy the hellhounds around Galados. They all got the [Detect Magic] spell, courtesy of Zoey and used it to track Harados. However, they did not find him. The other teams also had little luck tracking Harados and Marcus increased his efforts in discovering a way to track Harados. It was a week later that Marcus got something interesting. It was a ritual or a spell of some sort. If Marcus had read the text right, then killing about 10 hellhounds and using this ritual summoned Harados. Zoey was contacted. A plan was formed. Zoey did not want to mobilize her resources if the ritual did not work. So, she tasked only Marcus and Kyrie to conduct the ritual. Nadia and others would observe and if they were successful in summoning Harados, then and only then, would they get all the adventurers together to attack Harados. It was risky. And Marcus was sure that if he was successful, then Marcus and Kyrie would definitely die. But they had to do something. All the adventurers involved in the hunt were killing an almost endless supply of hellhounds with no sign of Harados. However, the ritual was not simple. Some materials had to be collected. Nadia and the team started collecting them. They had to collect sufficient materials for two rituals. The first material was the blood of a hellhound. That was easy considering the number of hellhounds they had been killing. They needed a bottle worth of hellhound blood. It took them two days to gather two bottles. The second material to be gathered was a flower called Devil¡¯s Spike. Marcus wondered who had named a flower like that. It was a fucking stupid name according to him. Marcus and Kyrie had to go to a village called Darvos, about 100 km away from Galados. This village had the flower growing in a field about 5 km away from it. A total of 10 flowers were required for the ritual. They did not grow in a bunch. The plant was scattered throughout a large region and Marcus and Kyrie took almost a day to gather 20 flowers. The third and the final material required for the ritual was a horn of a specific magical being. The specific magical being was Albadosor. Albadosor was a rhinoceros type creature. It was huge, standing at around 10 feet height with a length which was almost double its height. It had six feet, two long horns protruding out of its sharp face and four small wings on its back whose function eluded Marcus. They had to find two of these Albadosor and kill it for its horn. There were quite some locations on Artorios where they could find it. Nadia talked with Zoey and adventurers were sent to gather the horn. Nadia and team found a location near Galados, about 50 km South to the town. There was a ford leading through some hills and an Albadosor was supposed to roam around there. They decided to hunt it. It took a couple of hours to get there. Marcus and Kyrie took their flying mounts while the rest had ground mechanical bipeds. Charinge was the tracker of the group, and she tracked the beast to its lair. Calling it a lair was a bit too much as they found the beast lying in a small patch of water on the bank of the ford. Albadosor, Level 120 Health 24000 / 24000 The albadosor looked like what Marcus had read about it. It was dark grey in colour with hard skin overlapping its body. Its eyes were half closed and it looked like it was in some sort of stupor. That was not much of a challenge. They knew its strengths and weaknesses based on what Marcus had read. Kyrie cast [Enchant Weapon: Poison] and shot the Albadosor with the [Power Shot]. The others rushed in as soon as Kyrie¡¯s shot hit the creature¡¯s eye. Kyrie followed up with two more shots which finally poisoned the creature. The albadosor let out a loud bellow of rage and charged at the incoming adventurers. They all dodged the attack. Marcus had to be careful. As soon as the others dodged the attack, Marcus sidestepped a bit and adjusted his twinblade such that the sun shone directly on the blade. It gave out a sharp glow which shone right into the albadosor¡¯s eyes. The creature tried to stop, skidded, slipped and fell on its side. Marcus gave out a whoop of joy. His strategy had been successful. His twinblade had a chance to blind his enemies temporarily but it was a small chance. And it worked this time. Marcus was sure that using the sunlight helped. As the albodosor fell, Nadia, Nassir, Kinnear and Charinge charged in. Nadia threw her chakrams at the creature¡¯s weak spots, while Nassir pierced it with his large spear. Kinnear was mostly near the head, weaving in and out with her short sword while Charinge cast a few spells and shot energy bolts from her staff. The albodosor had high physical and magical resistance. However, it had been poisoned, blinded and attacked with many magical and physical attacks at the same time. Even Marcus slashed at its legs. Kyrie continued her volley of arrows. They had killed it before it even had time to get up. Marcus looted the horn from the albadosor. The body disappeared into dust once he had looted it. Nadia said, ¡°Well that was good hunting. Let us hope one of the other teams gets another horn.¡± Marcus said, ¡°This creature is fucking easy to kill if you have sufficient information.¡± ¡°Everything is gorking easy to kill if you have sufficient information¡±, said Nassir. Marcus acknowledged the statement. Nadia said, ¡°Does that mean you have all the materials for the ritual?¡± Marcus nodded. Kinnear said, ¡°Now what?¡± Marcus grinned, ¡°Now, we try to summon Harados.¡± Finding Harados They did not immediately set off summoning Harados. Marcus had studied the ritual in detail and he had shared with everyone regarding what he would require for successfully conducting the ritual. They had gathered double the quantity. Now all that was left was selecting a good site where they could summon Harados. It took about two days for Nadia and the team to find a good site. It was a large crater type clearing in one of the grids the adventurers had earlier cleared of hellhounds. Till the time Nadia and others had searched for a good site. Marcus and Kyrie had gone on a hellhound hunt. They had the materials, but the summoner needed to kill at least 10 hellhounds. Kyrie had killed more than 10 hellhounds but Marcus had been researching all this time. He had not killed a single hellhound. Marcus looked at the group of five hellhounds in front of him. They looked like dogs to him, about three feet long and two feet tall. It was there the resemblance ended. Each of the hellhounds had three heads and scales covering their body. Each of them was vivid red in colour. Marcus knew how to fight them. The hellhounds had a small cleft where their heads joined which was a weak spot. The scales were hard and heavy and slowed the hellhounds¡¯ mobility. However, mobility was not an issue for the hellhounds as their heads breathed out different magics. One head shot bursts of small fireballs out of its mouth. One head shot bolts of lighting out of its mouth while the third head shot rays of pure dark energy out of its mouth. The hellhounds were deadly at both range and melee, with their sharp teeth, they could shred anyone very fast. Marcus examined the hellhounds. They were close to level 60 and had about 600 points of health. Hellhound, Level 62 Health 602/602 The rest were at similar levels and health. Marcus glanced at Kyrie who nodded. They were hiding behind a tall bush making no sound or movement till now. Marcus shot forwards as Kyrie let loose her first arrow killing the first hellhound. Marcus enchanted his twinblade with holy enchantment and as he neared the hellhounds, cast [Whirling Weapon]. The hellhounds froze for a second as Kyrie¡¯s arrow hit one of their comrades and it fell down. The arrow had hit its weak spot. The rest snarled and jumped at oncoming Marcus. Marcus¡¯ weapon was already spinning and the hellhounds jumped right into the spinning weapon. They were shredded for high damage. Marcus had found something when he had experimented with [Enchant Weapon: Holy] and [Whirling Weapon]. The [Enchant Weapon] spell normally enchants the weapon for a maximum of five hits before it goes into cooldown. However, it counted all the hits done through the [Whirling Weapon] spell as one hit only. Marcus checked the hellhounds¡¯ health after he had gone through them. They were at low health. Marcus dispatched them easily and quickly, not giving them time to regroup or attack him. Kyrie also killed the solo hellhound she had been targeting. Kyrie said, ¡°So, what¡¯s your count now?¡± Marcus counted the dead hellhounds and said, ¡°That makes 10 I believe. I can¡¯t believe it took us three groups of hellhounds for me to kill 10 of them.¡± ¡°Yes¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°They seem to be flocking in less numbers these days. All the adventurers on the hunt may finally be making the difference.¡± Marcus did not say anything. He looked around as if he was expecting more hellhounds to pop out and attack them any moment. Nothing popped out of anything. Marcus said, ¡°Do I kill a few more or will this do?¡± Then he added, ¡°Nyah! Let¡¯s fucking kill a few more. Better to be safe than sorry.¡± Marcus and Kyrie went off to another grid in search of hellhounds. They had finished one of the two grids assigned to them. There were no hellhounds remaining in the grid. Marcus was ninety percent sure of that. They spent the rest of the day hunting hellhounds. They headed back to Galados in the evening to report their kills for the day. Marcus gained considerable experience killing the hellhounds. They reported their grids to be clear along with the temporary adventurers. Nadia said, ¡°I hope you have killed 10 hellhounds Marcus because Kinnear and Charinge found a good site for you to summon Harados.¡± The next day Nadia, Nassir, Kinnear, Charinge, Marcus and Kyrie were at the site examining it. Marcus looked around the crater that Kinnear and Charinge had formed. It was almost flat, with bumps at a few places but he was okay with it. He hardly expected to find an exact flat surface as a natural phenomenon. ¡°Welp¡±, said Marcus, ¡°This will do. Let¡¯s start making preparations shall we? Where will you guys hide though?¡± Nadia pointed to a boulder at the top of the crater, ¡°Behind that boulder. We will make a small hole through it to observe what is happening?¡± ¡°You think that is a safe distance?¡± asked Marcus. Nadia shook her head and said, ¡°Nassir and I will be behind the boulder. Kinnear and Charinge will be hiding further back.¡± Nadia pointed to where Kinnear and Charinge would be hiding. There was a copse of trees where Nadia was pointing. The crater would still be visible. It was not deep after all. Marcus nodded. They started drawing the ritual circle. There were three circles to be drawn. The first was an outer circle of ten meter radius. The middle circle had a radius of six meters while the inner circle had a radius of one meter. Inside the inner circle, there would be a huge brass bowl in which the hellhound blood had to be poured. The ten flowers, Devil¡¯s Spike, were divided into two groups. Six of the flowers were spread equidistant along the outer circle while the remaining four were spread equidistant along the middle circle. Marcus held albodosor¡¯s horn in his hands and nodded to Nadia. He was ready for the ritual. Nadia and Nassir moved behind the boulder while Kinnear and Charinge moved to the copse of trees. Marcus took out the sheet which had the ritual words translated to Loquella phonetically. He did not know the meaning but he started to chant as was instructed. Marcus finished the chant and stabbed the bowl of blood with the horn. The blood started to boil. Marcus could not feel any heat though. The flowers started to glow and symbols which Marcus could not recognize started to form between the circles, flashing and disappearing in a second. This continued for some time and then Marcus felt something shift. The horn was pulled away from his hand and it disappeared into the bowl of blood and he staggered back. The blood exploded in red smoke and Marcus stepped back. When the smoke cleared Marcus saw him. Harados the Houndmaster Demon Lord, Level 100 Health 102300 / 102300 Harados was eight feet tall, and was completely covered in armor which looked a combination of blood red and black in colour. Harados was facing Marcus and his face was covered with a mask and Marcus observed no slits of any sort. Every part of Harados was covered and Marcus could not actually see the demon underneath. Harados looked at Marcus and where the eyes should be in the head, that section of the mask started to glow with an orangish tinge. Harados said, ¡°Are you the one who has summoned me?¡± Marcus nodded. His mouth felt dry. He had brought his twinblades out and was ready for an attack. However, Harados did not do anything. Harados was not giving any inclination that he was going to attack Marcus. Even Kyrie had nocked an arrow and was ready. Harados said, ¡°Why have you summoned me mortal?¡± Marcus said, ¡°You have been terrorizing the landmass of Artorios, sending your hellhounds to terrorize the citizens of this landmass. A group of adventurers have been tasked to stop you. Kill you. We are a part of the group.¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Harados started to laugh. When he was done laughing, Harados said, ¡°And you summon me with this ritual!¡± It was not a question and Marcus frowned at that. What the fuck did this demon lord mean? Harados was still laughing. He stopped laughing after some time and sat down on the ground with his legs crossed. Marcus could not see but he was sure that behind his mask, Harados was grinning. Harados said, ¡°Very well then brave adventurer. Go ahead. Kill me.¡± He pointed at his chest, gesturing to Marcus to go ahead and stab him. Marcus was confused as to what was happening. Marcus took a step forward and slashed at Harados. His blade hit the demon lord and bounced back. He saw one of Kyrie¡¯s arrows bounce off Harados. What the fuck was happening? ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°That¡±, said Harados, sounding clearly pleased, ¡°Is explanation time.¡± Marcus could hear Kyrie groan behind him but he was somehow feeling excited. Maybe he would really get some answers from this demon lord. Harados said, ¡°This ritual is not for just summoning me out of thin air. This is a ¡®Ritual of Wishes¡¯. That is a rough translation of what this ritual is. Before you ask, it basically means I would be able to grant one wish of yours, if it does not clash with my other wishes at a cost which is determined by the type of wish that you ask for.¡± Marcus processed what Harados had said for a moment and then said, ¡°I have questions. I have so many questions.¡± Harados laughed. The next few minutes Marcus asked many questions regarding the rules for wishing, what was prohibited, what would be the cost and many other nuances. He could see Kyrie getting irritated and he paused in his questions in between to ask Kyrie to get the others. Harados said, ¡°You know they won¡¯t be able to get in the circle, right? Objects can enter but living organisms cannot. For that matter, you cannot exit the circle till you have told me your wish. We are stuck here for the time being.¡± Marcus nodded, ¡°I get that. However, I can take their advice on how to proceed. Nothing stops me from doing so considering what we have discussed.¡± Harados tilted his head and nodded, ¡°Yes, you are unfortunately correct. However, please don¡¯t take much time. I do have limited patience. I cannot kill you or harm you but I could make it difficult for you to wish if you take too long.¡± Marcus felt a chill running down his spine as Harados spoke. Marcus nodded slowly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t intend to take long.¡± Marcus walked up to the edge of the outer summoning circle. The others were already present, their weapons ready and they were testing whether they could enter the summoning circle or not. It seemed that their weapons could pass but they were somehow blocked by an invisible force. Marcus sighed and told them to stop. Then he described the situation to them. Nadia frowned as she said, ¡°You do know you could ask him where we can find him. We could battle him.¡± Marcus nodded and said, ¡°I could but I have been talking with him. He does not mind sharing information. He can grant exactly one wish of mine if it does not clash with another wish of his. However, he told me that the wish comes at a cost and the cost is determined by the nature of the wish.¡± ¡°That is vague and ambiguous¡±, said Nadia. ¡°And dangerous¡±, added Nassir. ¡°I agree with both of you but there seems to be no other option other than wishing¡±, said Marcus. ¡°Can you not desummon him?¡± asked Kinnear. Marcus shrugged, ¡°I did not read anything about that. I asked him but he told me that there is no other option for me than to give him a wish. And I think I would have to hurry up before he gets rather irritated.¡± Nadia said, ¡°Find out about how to stop him with the least cost to you. I believe in you Marcus. I will relay everything to Zoey. In the end, I believe it is you who has to make a decision.¡± Marcus sighed long and deep, ¡°I was afraid of that.¡± Marcus went back to Harados. ¡°So, what is your wish, little human?¡± asked Harados. Marcus said, ¡°Can you tell me the location where you are? What would it cost me?¡± ¡°I cannot tell you my location. It clashes with another wish.¡± Marcus was confused for a moment. Why would someone wish for Harados to be not found when he was the most wanted demon lord on Artorios currently. Unless. Marcus raised his eyebrows. No fucking way. Marcus asked, ¡°Did someone wish for you to unleash your hellhounds on Artorios? Did they also wish for you not to be found during that duration? And what is their end game? What do they fucking want? Can you tell me the name of the fucking asshole who wished for this? Also, am I guessing this right?¡± Harados laughed and said, ¡°I cannot give you these details. Even if you wish for them. It clashes with my other wish.¡± Marcus dissolved into a string of expletives. It seemed that there was someone using Harados to destroy Artorios. But fucking why? Marcus thought about it but he could not imagine how to make a wish which would help him catch the culprit or stop Harados. ¡°Fuck¡±, he shouted one last time. His tirade did help him a bit. Marcus said, ¡°Could you at least tell me the name of the city, town or village where the wish was made, you know, to sort of unleash your hellhounds on Artorios.¡± Harados thought for a moment. Then he said, ¡°I could do that. Is that your wish?¡± ¡°What would be the cost?¡± ¡°Half your mana.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°You will always have 50% of your total mana capacity. The rest will be fed to me.¡± Marcus thought about it. Did he want to sacrifice his mana like that? ¡°And before you ask¡±, said Harados, ¡°The cost shall not disappear if I die. It would be only removed by your death. Permanent death. Not this gorking temporary dying you adventurers do and then gorking show back alive.¡± Marcus thought about this a bit more. He did not want to sacrifice his mana. He would not be able to wish for that. He thought really hard. He was not liking that he was not coming up with fucking anything. Marcus had a thought. A crazy thought. He said slowly, ¡°What if I challenge you to a duel. A one on one duel? Will that work?¡± Harados tilted his head. He said, ¡°I believe it would clash with my wish.¡± ¡°I assume that you cannot tell me that fucking wish. I also assume that part of the wish is that you should not be found out by anyone. But I am not asking you to find you. I am asking you to find me and fucking fight me. Will that work?¡± Harados started to laugh, ¡°You have a sliver of intelligence after all. I can gorking work with it. Is that your wish?¡± ¡°What will be the cost?¡± A chill spread down Marcus¡¯ spine as he asked the question. He could feel Harados grinning wickedly behind his mask. Harados said, ¡°If you lose our duel, I will take away half of your stat points. Are you okay with that?¡± Marcus thought about it. He extended his hand, ¡°It¡¯s a deal. We shall fight one week from now. Here. And if I lose, you get half of my stat points.¡± Harados shook Marcus¡¯ hand and said, ¡°The wish has been made. Goodbye Marcus Blank. It was fun talking with you.¡± Harados disappeared. The others rushed towards Marcus who was standing in stunned silence. Why the fuck he had agreed to that? As he told others about what had happened, he hoped he would be alright. The die had been cast. The duel was set. Now he just had to win. *** Harados opened his eyes to find him looking at Harados. Harados grimaced and stood up from the meditative position he had held. Harados said, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± He replied, ¡°Where were you?¡± ¡°Answering a question with a question. Interesting. Also, I do not have to gorking tell you anything you know.¡± He started to pace and Harados watched him, his amusement building up. Harados watched him pace for some time. It seemed that he seemed to be frustrated about something and was mumbling under his breath. So, normal behaviour. Finally he said, ¡°We are so close. You are supposed to keep hidden. That was a part of my wish. You were not here. I could tell. That would mean you were not hidden.¡± ¡°You did not tell me to keep hidden when I am being summoned. You have to be specific about it.¡± ¡°You were¡­ Summoned¡­ What the gork! How much do¡­ Who did you talk to? What did you say?¡± He was shouting now and Harados was not happy. He immediately turned up his aura and said in a slow deadly voice, ¡°Do not talk to me like that.¡± The effect was instantaneous. He flinched and stepped back a few paces, terror clearly shone on his face. ¡°Alright¡±, he said, ¡°As long as the plan is good, I am alright. Please tell me that you did not mess that up. Please!¡± Harados glared at him for some time. Harados was sure that he could not tell that Harados was glaring as Harados was wearing the mask. Finally Harados said, ¡°The plan will proceed as normal. There will be a slight change but you do not concern yourself with it. Now go. Your mere presence disgusts me.¡± ¡°I made the gorking wish¡±, he mumbled, ¡°You have to fulfill it.¡± ¡°And I will¡±, growled Harados, ¡°Now go before I do something to you. You did not wish for me to harm you and your mere babbling is getting on my nerves.¡± He scrambled out of the room and soon Harados could hear the door shut. Good. This meant that he was outside the house where Harados was hiding and Harados could prepare. Harados was excited. A one on one challenge in a week. Well a week on Una, so that meant 10 days. Harados would wait. The timing was perfect. In a week he would have a good fight. He was hoping Marcus would not disappoint. And in one week, the whole of Artorios would fall. The Contract Marcus had a lot to prepare for his duel. After his meeting with Harados, he had briefed Nadia and Zoey as to what had happened. Zoey was not happy about the outcome. Something about Marcus¡¯ wish and his duel troubled her but she did not say what. Instead she instructed Marcus to update his gear. Marcus understood her request but he was not sure about the funds. He had received quite an amount from The Treasure Hunt Quest but he had used a majority of it in paying off his debt to NAIF. He was quite low on funds now. He had enough to live in a town for about 10 days, and that was not counting the supplies he needed to replenish. It was Nadia who gave him the idea and he did not like it. ¡°A loan from NAIF!¡± exclaimed Marcus, ¡°I just got out of debt from them.¡± Nadia shrugged and said, ¡°You can take it from a bank but then they charge interest while NAIF doesn¡¯t. NAIF only has a fixed markup which I am sure you would pay it back fast.¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t¡±, said Marcus, ¡°I have been adventuring for quite some time now Nadia and I have found it to be an expensive endeavour. Between buying equipment, spells, supplies and daily requirements of life, I usually have no or minimal savings. And going into debt again does not make sense to me.¡± ¡°Oh, get off your gorking high horse. Just take a loan from NAIF. It will not kill you. The whole system has gone out of whack because of this demon invasion thing and NAIF is not doing anything. The least they could do is give out cheap loans. Do not worry about them. Gorking use them.¡± Marcus frowned. Something about what Nadia said triggered a memory within him. He remembered his labyrinth prize and what he had asked of Leyda Lightweaver. He checked the calendar and groaned. In five days, he would be visiting Melancholia and examining the contract the Game Masters made with Umaru. That did throw in a bit of hindrance to his preparations that he needed to make to defeat Harados. He was not completely sure how he would do it. He needed to sit and think this through. Marcus said, ¡°Very well. I will take a loan from NAIF. But not today. Today, I need to think. Today I need to form a plan to at least try and defeat Harados.¡± Nadia clapped Marcus¡¯ back and said, ¡°Good. I like this confidence. Keep it up. And we will be there to support you. Even if you do not manage to kill Harados, we shall have a group of adventurers witnessing the duel so that we can kill him if he kills you.¡± Marcus paled a bit at that and nodded. He would revive after dying, he knew that, but he was not happy with dying. He hoped all would be alright. *** Kyrie mostly kept people away from Marcus the next 2 days. After Marcus¡¯ meeting with Harados, Marcus had decided to plan how he would attack Harados and he needed complete peace and isolation. He had assigned Kyrie as his bodyguard, making sure no one disturbed him. Kyrie was happy to comply. However, Kyrie was bored with this job. Marcus had holed himself in their room at the inn and Kyrie was simply sitting outside the door most of the time. They had breakfast, lunch and dinner in the room itself. All of their team members came to visit Marcus but they normally talked with Kyrie and after understanding Marcus¡¯ need for privacy left him alone. Nadia simply told Kyrie to tell her when Marcus was ready to buy some supplies. She also gave an update on what was happening. The hellhounds seemed to have disappeared. No one was finding anything in their search and there was still no sign of Harados even after some of the adventurers using the [Detect Magic] spell. As a result, Zoey had started reinforcing the towns and the city of Artorios. Zoey had also sent a team of five in each of the villages, but most of the adventurer force was being divided between Treedos, the capital city, and the rest of the towns of the landmass. They would soon be joined by a few more adventurer teams. It seemed that Zoey was suspicious of Harados¡¯ motives behind the duel and felt that he was planning something big which he would execute on the day of the duel. Kyrie considered this as a long shot but did not argue. She did not understand how one could make a connection like this. Maybe Marcus could, but he read a lot and he would have further information that links hellhounds disappearing, a duel between a demon lord and an adventurer and a plan of something big, whatever it was. It was on the third day when Marcus emerged from the room. He looked haggard according to Kyrie. Kyrie said, ¡°Good morning. Or should I say, afternoon. Do you want to grab some lunch?¡± Marcus nodded and said, ¡°I am rather hungry.¡± Lunch was meat stew, Kyrie did not know which meat it was, bread, cheese and orange juice. Kyrie did not drink alcoholic drinks but Marcus did. He was having red wine with his lunch. He did not drink much though. Kyrie put a piece of meat in her mouth and chewed. It was delicious. She was a water nymph and could survive on liquids. She did not need to eat food. She could simply survive on water. But she enjoyed eating food. Especially delicious food such as this meat stew. They did not talk while they ate. Marcus was eating slowly and deliberately. Kyrie wondered why he was doing that. Then she realized that he was still thinking about something. Mostly his duel with Harados. After their lunch, Marcus leaned back in his chair and let out a content sigh. Then he looked lazily at Kyrie and grinned. ¡°This was fucking delicious¡±, he said. Kyrie nodded and Marcus continued, ¡°I need to tell you something.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Marcus started to talk. He talked about some subconscious or spell of him known as Memory which was in his mind, his reward from Leyda for clearing the labyrinth and that he had to go to Melancholia for a day to read the contract. Kyrie digested the entire information. She thought about what Marcus had said. It must have been hard for him to tell all this. Somehow, she felt okay with this information. She had a feeling that Marcus was hiding something from her but then, she had not told much about her life to Marcus too. They had not talked much socially as they had discussed earlier. Kyrie said, ¡°So, you are saying you did this to yourself. Caused amnesia in yourself.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And you left a sort of spell which would help you get your memories back, but you do not know what would trigger getting your memories back.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And you believe reading this contract would help in taking a step in getting some of your memories back because the spell told you so.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You do realize this is sounding mad and suspicious?¡± ¡°Sort of.¡± ¡°And you are still going to go ahead with it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, I can¡¯t stop you. But tell me, in the long run, will this affect our partnership? The adventuring partnership?¡± ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°I can see that you are disturbed by this information considering your short replies and lack of swearing.¡± ¡°Yes. A little bit.¡± Kyrie thought about it. She sighed and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think we can do much about it right now. Go, read your contract. Then we will see. However, you do need to be prepared for your duel with Harados.¡± Marcus nodded. He said, ¡°Let¡¯s go meet Nadia. She can update us about what has been happening.¡± Kyrie updated Marcus regarding what had been happening as she had been getting updates from the rest of their hunting team. Marcus listened carefully to what Kyrie had to say and then decided that he needed to go shopping. They first went to visit Nadia who tasked Nassir to help Marcus get the right equipment and resources for the fight. She was busy arranging the defence of the city, not a small task, but Zoey had put her in charge of protecting Galados. ¡°Alright¡±, said Nassir, ¡°Before we start. Can you give me the description of your equipment?¡± Marcus shared the status screen of all his equipment. Shimmering Twinblade Physical Attack: Base 50 + Strength*1 + Dexterity*3 Magical Attack: Base 50 + Intelligence*5 Special Attack: 10% chance of Blinding Enemies. Levels up with Twinblade Proficiency Block: 20% Critical Attack Chance: 5% Critical Attack Damage: 20% Requirements: 10 Strength, 25 Dexterity, 25 Intelligence Description: A rare twinblade with Magic attack. Scales more on intelligence and provides high magical damage. The blades of this weapon are made with glimmerstone which also causes temporary blindness amongst the enemies. Arachne Silk Robe Physical Resistance: 50 Magical Resistance: 50 Description: An armor made from the silk produced by the arachne found on Una. Stronger than spider silk, the armor has defensive capabilities against both physical and magical damage. Hard Wraps Physical Resistance: 20 Magical Resistance: 20 Description: Wraps made from the leather extracted from the magical beings - Kanashis. Strong and light, the wraps provide defense against physical and magical damage. Aduminotium Bracers Physical Resistance: 100 Description: Bracers made from aduminotium, one of the hardest metals found on Una. They are made with master craftsmanship such that they are light in weight but provide maximum protection. Circlet of Hope Physical Resistance: Wearer Level Magical Resistance: Wearer Level Spell Slot 2 Description: A Legendary Circlet once worn by the King Ganamush the Benevolent. The wearer of this circlet would be blessed with the King¡¯s protection giving them resistances equivalent to their level. It binds to the wearer who wears it and can only be given to a non adventurer after the adventurer is done with it. Nassir read the descriptions and stats of each of Marcus¡¯ equipment in detail. Then he looked at Marcus. Then he read the descriptions again. ¡°Is this all?¡± asked Nassir. ¡°Yes¡±, replied Marcus. ¡°You sure you are not gorking hiding any equipment from me?¡± ¡°Why the fuck would I hide anything from you. I need your help after all.¡± ¡°You are level 100 and you do not have any necklaces, rings or artifact equipped. Only weapon and armor. What should I think?¡± Marcus started to reply and then closed his mouth. He frowned and then said, ¡°What the fuck was I thinking. I completely forgot about rings, necklaces and the artifact. Oh! And I also have these gloves which simply add 4 spell slots to my current 2 slots from the Circlet of Hope.¡± Nassir growled, ¡°Of course you gorking did. Now come. We need units first. Then we go for equipment. We are in Galados. There is a good market here, if you know where to look.¡± First, they went to a NAIF facility where Marcus got a plain silver looking card. He examined it to find only NAIF written on it. The NAIF personnel explained, ¡°Use this card whenever you buy anything. It will count all the units used and when you return it. You will need to pay a fee of 20 percent of the total spend. Hope you understand this all. The card is valid for two days only.¡± Marcus told the NAIF personnel that he understood and then they exited the NAIF facility. Kyrie looked at her companions as they exited. Marcus was examining the card as if it was something which would explode at any moment while Nassir was looking for something on the map. Kyrie was now examining Marcus more closely. What he had revealed earlier still disturbed her. She had told him that she was okay but in truth she was not that okay. She needed to think. She needed to clear her head. Maybe a dip would help. As Nassir led them towards a shop Kyrie said, ¡°Hey, is it alright if we split? I have got a thing of my own.¡± Marcus raised an eyebrow but then he nodded. He understood what Kyrie meant. Nassir shrugged and said, ¡°I have to primarily get equipment for Marcus. We could have gotten you some equipment too but considering your lack of equipment, I am assuming there are some restrictions?¡± Kyrie grimaced and said, ¡°Something like that.¡± Nassir nodded and said, ¡°If you do not want to come, no one is stopping you.¡± Kyrie thanked Nassir. Then she summoned her mount, her water wyrm, Nalana and shot off in the air. She always enjoyed flying on Nalana just as Marcus always enjoyed flying on his mount Lara. Nalana seemed to have levelled up too. She was now at level 20. Her growth could be felt in her speed and stability. Kyrie flew for some time and then selected a destination. It was a part of a nearby river with a small waterfall. When she reached there she smiled. She had chosen a good spot. She dismissed her mount and jumped into the water. Heaven. Bliss. Here she would rest. Here she would think. And here she would decide if Marcus was still the adventurer, she wanted to have a partnership with. *** The next day Marcus was up early in the morning. He got ready fast and had an early breakfast. Today was the day he would go to Melancholia with Leyda Lightweaver and read the contract between the Game Masters and Umaru. He was feeling nervous and anxious. To distract himself he looked at all the equipment he had bought the day before. Twinblade of Feast Physical Attack: Base 75 + Strength*1 + Dexterity*3 A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Magical Attack: Base 100 + Intelligence*5 Special Attack: 10% chance of healing 25% of the damage caused Block: 20% Critical Attack Chance: 5% Critical Attack Damage: 20% Requirements: 15 Strength, 25 Dexterity, 40 Intelligence Description: A rare twinblade with Magic attack. Scales more on intelligence and provides high magical damage. The weapon also hungers for enemies and gives the adventurer a chance themselves to heal with each strike. Moon Vest Physical Resistance: 100 Magical Resistance: 100 Description: Armor made from silk and enchanted under the pale light of the moon to give a balance of both physical and magical defence. Greater Hard Wraps Physical Resistance: 50 Magical Resistance: 50 Description: Wraps made from the leather extracted from the magical beings - Kanashis. Strong and light, the wraps provide defense against physical and magical damage. Titanium Bracers Physical Resistance: 150 Description: Light weight and high resistance providing bracers made from Titanium for good defence and providing expert movement to adventurers. This was his normal weapon and armor. He still had his Circlet of Hope which had not changed much. Then he examined his two new necklaces and rings. Necklace of Agility Gives the adventurer a 10% chance to dodge an attack which would otherwise have hit them. Necklace of Health Increases the Health of the adventurer by 25%. Ring of Stamina The adventurer can fight longer without getting tired. Its boon increases if the adventurer has [Well Rested] skill active. Ring of Physical Resistance Increases the adventurer''s physical resistance by 10%. Ring of Magical Resistance Increases the adventurer¡¯s magical resistance by 10%. Ring of Magical Sharpness Increases magical damage of spells by 10%. This was strong equipment increasing his attack and defence considerably. According to Nassir this was normal equipment for a 100 level adventurer. They had not bought an artifact as Nassir had advised that Marcus get an artifact from a quest rather than buying it. In that way the artifact would be much stronger. Marcus hoped that this would help him defeat Harados. They had also replenished his supply of Health and Mana Potions. Marcus had also bought two new spells he could use. [Force Pull] Pulls the enemy with a force which would pull him towards the adventurer. The distance the enemy gets pulled from depends upon the weight of the enemy. Does not cause any damage. Mana cost of 10. Cooldown 30 seconds. [Trap] Lays an invisible trap on the ground. Enemy stepping on the trap gets hurt with Dexterity * 5 points of damage. Mana cost of 20. Cooldown 30 seconds. He had them both equipped. Now he knew 6 spells and had all his spell slots filled. He checked his stats. Name: Marcus Blank Race: Human Designation: Adventurer - Rank 3 Age: 25 Current Location: Fontaine Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 100 Experience: 14,000 / 29,800 Strength: 20 Dexterity: 40 Intelligence: 50 Vitality: 50 Agility: 40 Wisdom: 39 Luck: ??? Health: 500 Mana: 256 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Stamina Regeneration - Level 8 Well Rested - Level 4 Twinblade Proficiency - Level 12 Alcohol Tolerance - Level 3 Stealth - Level 5 Description: The anomaly has now become a better adventurer. With a little effort people may forget he is an anomaly after all. Spells known: [Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] [Force Push] [Detect Magic] [Force Pull] [Trap] Spells Equipped: [Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] [Force Push] [Detect Magic] [Force Pull] [Trap] Spell Slots: 6 Physical Attack: 255 Magical Attack: 420 Physical Resistance: 470 Magical Resistance: 307 Critical Attack Chance: 45% Critical Attack Damage: 90% Status: None It was all good. After he was done examining everything, he looked up to see Kyrie looking at him with a weird expression. ¡°What?¡± asked Marcus. Kyrie said, ¡°It¡¯s so early in the morning. What are you doing dressed up?¡± ¡°Do you not remember? I am going to Melancholia today to read the contract.¡± ¡°Yes, but do you have to do it so early?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Kyrie shook her head slowly. Then she went back to sleep. Marcus decided to wait in the common room of the inn. As he was about to enter the common room he saw an elf talking with the innkeeper. Marcus was sure he was getting used to the ethereal beauty of the elves but the elf standing there floored him. He shook his head after a moment and started to enter the common room but then he heard his name. Marcus looked at the elf. She had spoken his name. Marcus went up to her. Marcus said, ¡°Hello, I am Marcus Blank. Are you looking for me?¡± The elf looked at him and he examined her name. Tasha Lightweaver Level ???, Health ??? / ??? Tasha said, ¡°Yes, you are Marcus Blank. And I am Tasha Lightweaver as you can see my name, I believe. I was sent to get you to the capital. I believe you have a contract to read.¡± Marcus gulped for some unknown reason and then nodded. Tasha smiled, a bright smile which somehow filled Marcus with light, or at least that is what he felt. Tasha extended her hand and said, ¡°Well, I don¡¯t like wasting time. So, grab my hand.¡± Marcus felt a bit confused but he grabbed her hand nonetheless. The world shifted and then righted back again. He was not at the inn in Galados. He was someplace else. He had a moment to orient himself before he vomited all over, was that carpet? Why was there carpet here? And for that matter, where the fuck was here? Tasha said, ¡°I am sorry. I did not realize teleportation would affect you so. I mean, you are an adventurer after all.¡± ¡°How many times must I tell you¡±, said another voice, ¡°Adventurers get teleportation sickness too.¡± Marcus looked up to see Leyda Lightweaver walking towards him and Tasha. She was accompanied by someone who was frowning at Marcus. Based on the images he had seen of him, it was Rauros Shadowfang. ¡°Well, well, fucking well¡±, said Rauros as he and Leyda reached Tasha and Marcus, ¡°The legendary fucking anomaly.¡± ¡°I have a name¡±, said Marcus, ¡°It¡¯s Marcus Blank.¡± ¡°I know¡±, said Rauros with a slight grin on his face now, ¡°It¡¯s ridiculous. I love it. Come on then. Leyda says you need to read a boring contract. Come on.¡± Marcus started after Rauros who had already started walking. Leyda and Tasha followed him too. Leyda and Tasha seemed to be having a whispered conversation behind Marcus. Marcus tried to listen but was not able to do so. Must be some sort of a spell. Rauros led Marcus through some passageways. The floor was carpeted. The ceiling was high and decoration lay on the walls and along the walls of the passage. There were doors, closed and various passages connecting to the passage they were in. ¡°Where am I?¡± wondered Marcus aloud. ¡°You are in our palace in Melancholia¡±, replied Leyda from behind Marcus. Marcus raised his eyebrows. He was in the palace of the Game Masters. Then his eyes fell on Tasha who was looking at him with a curious expression on her face. Marcus wondered who she was so closely associated with Leyda. Then he remembered her last name. Most likely Tasha was the daughter of Leyda. They finally came to a large door, although, compared to some of the other doors he had passed, Marcus considered this to be a smaller door. Rauros opened the door and led them in. It looked like a bedroom. There was a single queen bed to the left of the entrance at some distance. There was a door on the right which Marcus assumed led to the bathroom. In the front of the entrance, at the wall there was a closet and to the right of that was a desk with a large window. The ceiling of the room was high and the length of the window was from the ceiling to the desk. A huge stack of papers was placed on the desk. Looking closely, Marcus saw that it was a very thick book. Rauros walked up to the book and then said, ¡°Well, here is the contract. As per your agreement with Leyda, you need to read this in a day which is thirty hours. It is currently three thirty in the morning. I will come back and take it out of your hands tomorrow.¡± Marcus gulped and said, ¡°Can I make a copy of it?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°You expect me to read such a thick book by tomorrow?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°It is not possible.¡± ¡°Hey, it was your fucking reward. You could have asked for something better but you wanted to fucking read. So, go ahead. Fucking read.¡± ¡°No need to get angry, Rauros¡±, said Leyda in a soothing voice, ¡°He is only going to read. There is not much harm in that.¡± Rauros snorted and left the room in a huff. Leyda and Tasha looked at Rauros leaving and shook their heads in a similar way. Then they turned to look at Marcus. Leyda said, ¡°I will be off too. I have a Gameworld to run after all. My daughter, Tasha, will keep you company. If you have any questions, you can ask her. She is able to answer a majority of them. Goodbye for now, Marcus Blank. I will see you tomorrow.¡± Then Leyda left too. Tasha said, ¡°Do you need anything? To help you read.¡± Marcus shook his head and made his way towards the desk. The book had a title, The Contract involving the Game Masters Rauros Shadowfang and Leyda Lightweaver with the Chosen Representatives of the Umaru. That was a fucking long title. Marcus flipped through the book and groaned. It seemed that it was about one thousand three hundred and thirty-two pages long, with two columns on each page and tiny font size. It was going to be rough reading this and he had only thirty hours. It was impossible. How was he fucking going to do this? And where was Memory for that matter? Marcus decided to contact him when Tasha said, ¡°Are you okay? You are not reading.¡± Marcus looked up to see Tasha had walked over up to him. He started and fell out of his chair. When the fuck had she gotten here? And why was she hovering? ¡°You can sit over there¡±, said Marcus slowly pointing at the only bed in the room, ¡°Please do not startle me like that again.¡± Tasha laughed and nodded. She went and sat on the bed. Marcus could see that she was watching him like a hawk though. Marcus went to the bathroom, and he told Tasha that he was going to go to the bathroom. He wondered why the fuck he did that. He was not required to tell Tasha his every move. In the bathroom he washed his face and somehow calmed himself. He was feeling a bit anxious. Then he closed his eyes and thought, Memory! Are you there? I am here, came the reply. The contract is very long. I doubt I can read it in a day, thought Marcus. Hmm, mused Memory, not quite what I expected but not unmanageable. Well, my dear Blank, do you trust me? No! Excellent. Then when you go back to the desk, give control of your body to me. It would take me a couple of hours to read the contract. I am fast. I can feed you the tidbits later. No way. I am not giving you control of my body. The contract is fucking important Blank. It will help you. And don¡¯t you want your memory back? He emphasized on memory as if he was making a clever joke and he started to laugh. Marcus thought about what to do. He was not happy giving Memory control of his body but what if he did? Will it help him truly? Memory was not what Marcus had considered to be reliable till now but did he have a choice. Marcus took a deep breath and thought, Okay Memory. You win. There was more laughter. Marcus went back to the desk and sat down. He turned to Tasha and said, ¡°Please do not disturb me. I am going to start reading this seriously now. If I want something I will tell you.¡± Tasha nodded and Marcus focused back on the contract. He closed his eyes and thought, Okay Memory, you are on. Then he blacked out. When he came to, he found that he was still sitting on the desk. However, the contract was closed, its back cover on top. He was feeling parched and he really had to go to the bathroom. He rushed to the bathroom, and he heard Tasha give a short cry. Marcus felt as if his bladder was going to burst. After finishing his business in the bathroom, he came out and croaked at Tasha, ¡°Water.¡± Tasha handed him a bottle. Marcus drank almost all of the water, albeit a bit slowly. Considering how parched he felt, he had not drunk water for quite some time. Marcus looked at Tasha who was looking at him verily. Marcus asked, ¡°How long was I reading?¡± ¡°About twelve hours¡±, replied Tasha. ¡°Fuck!¡± muttered Marcus. Twelve hours of reading with no breaks. What the fuck was Memory playing at. He heard cackling laughter in his head. Memory was somehow enjoying this. Marcus looked at Tasha who took a step back. Marcus frowned and said, ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Are you alright?¡± asked Tasha back, ¡°You looked as if you were in some sort of trance. I tried talking with you a couple of times. I was worried when you did not take any breaks or eat or drink or anything. You just kept on giving me grunts and continued to read. It was gorking freaky.¡± Marcus said, ¡°I am sorry if I scared you. But I am done reading. I think.¡± He thought to Memory, You have read the entire contract, right? Memory cackled, Of course Blank. However, your information regarding what the contract contained is blank. More cackling laughter. Now go. Spend some time with this lovely woman. Do whatever you want. When we get back, I will have a reward for you. What reward, thought Marcus to Memory but got no response. Not even the cackling laughter. Marcus said, ¡°I am hungry now. Is there someplace I can eat?¡± ¡°It is well past lunch time¡±, said Tasha with a frown, ¡°But I will ask the servants to fetch something nice and fast. You like sandwiches?¡± ¡°Love them¡±, replied Marcus. Tasha rang for a servant who appeared very fast. He was an Umaru who listened to Tasha¡¯s orders and ran off. Tasha turned to Marcus and said, ¡°Are you really alright?¡± ¡°Why do you ask?¡± said Marcus, ¡°Is there something on my face? Do I look weird or something?¡± Tasha grinned at that and said, ¡°Alright then. Sit. It will take a few minutes for our sandwiches to arrive.¡± ¡°Our?¡± ¡°Well, I will eat a bite. I had my lunch, but it is polite to keep you company.¡± ¡°How kind of you, Your Highness!¡± ¡°Why thank you kind adventurer. I hope my company does not displease you considering how I was imposed upon you by my parents.¡± ¡°Such lovely company can never displease me.¡± Tasha blushed at the compliment. Then she said, ¡°Alright. Enough tomfoolery. Let¡¯s sit.¡± They sat on the bed. It was surprisingly softer than Marcus had expected, and he sank quite a bit in the mattress. He observed that Tasha had somehow balanced herself in such a way that she was not sinking as much as Marcus was. She was sitting cross legged while Marcus kept his feet on the ground. There was a knock on the door and Tasha said, ¡°Come in.¡± The servant who had come earlier was back with a few sandwiches on a tray. He put a table in front of the bed and the sandwiches on the table in front of Marcus and Tasha. Then he bowed to Tasha and left. Marcus attacked the sandwiches. He was starving. He inhaled the first two sandwiches after which he apologized to Tasha for eating like an animal. Tasha laughed at that. Soon they were discussing their lives on Una. On Tasha¡¯s inquiry Marcus told her about his adventures on Una while Tasha regaled, in a highly abridged version about her life of being the daughter of two Game Masters. They ate and talked for some time after which Tasha said, ¡°Don¡¯t you need to read the contract more?¡± Marcus shook his head and said, ¡°I am done.¡± Tasha frowned, ¡°Then shall I get mother and father and tell them that you are done?¡± Marcus said slowly, ¡°I would be glad if you didn¡¯t. I was hoping that you would like to stay and talk with me.¡± Marcus looked at her hopefully. He realized he was crushing on her and he was really hoping that she would stay with him, at least for tonight. Tasha smiled and said, ¡°I would like that.¡± They chatted long into the night. She left only when Marcus was starting to feel really sleepy. The next morning Marcus woke refreshed. He freshened up and wondered what to do. There was a knock on the door and Tasha came in. The Umaru servant followed her with breakfast. Marcus and Tasha ate breakfast together. They talked till Rauros and Leyda came into the room. Rauros said, ¡°Are you done, anomaly?¡± ¡°Yes¡±, replied Marcus with gritted teeth. ¡°Fucking really!¡± exclaimed Rauros, ¡°You read the whole contract in a day.¡± ¡°Twelve hours¡±, said Tasha from beside her parents. Both Rauros and Leyda looked surprised at that. Rauros said, ¡°Well whatever the case. I believe our business here is concluded. Happy adventuring. Leyda will send you back.¡± Then he left the room. Leyda said, ¡°I apologize for my husband. He is not the best in the morning. I will cast the [Teleportation] spell on you. You will be teleported outside the inn where you were staying in Galados. Please brace yourself. If you are mentally prepared, then you are less likely to suffer from teleportation sickness and feel highly nauseous.¡± Marcus thanked Leyda and Tasha and told that he was ready. Leyda waved her hand. Marcus¡¯ world shifted. He was now standing in front of the inn he was staying at in Galados. For a second nothing happened. Then he vomited. ¡°Fucking less likely¡±, muttered Marcus. Well, he was back. Now, he just needed to focus on the duel. But first, he needed to talk with memory. He wanted his reward. He opened the door to the inn and walked up to his room. He needed to have a discussion with Memory and then with Kyrie. Then he needed to get some training done. A part of his strategy included him leveling up by one level. It was going to be long few days. *** ¡°So, what do you think?¡± asked Leyda. Tasha replied, ¡°I like him.¡± Rauros huffed and said, ¡°I like him too. What the fuck has that got to do with anything?¡± ¡°He is not a scion if you are wondering¡±, said Tasha. Rauros growled, ¡°Fucking hells. What is he? I just can¡¯t seem to figure it out.¡± ¡°Well, there is something odd about him, something related to the Game Masters as you said father, but I cannot sense what. Maybe if you ask another Game Master to examine him¡±, said Tasha. ¡°You know what would happen if I do that¡±, said Rauros, ¡°You know the fucking rules.¡± Being a scion herself, Tasha did know the rules. She sighed and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know how else I could help you father. You are the gorking Game Masters. I am merely a scion.¡± Leyda said, ¡°You could stay here for some time. Keep an eye on him. Rauros has already established a task force in NAIF to do that. You can help them. I am sure you can get some time off from the Academy.¡± ¡°You will need to get permission¡±, said Tasha. ¡°Already done¡±, said Leyda, her eyes twinkling. Rauros laughed and said, ¡°Be careful of dealing with your mother Ta. She is dangerous.¡± Leyda laughed and gave Rauros a playful snap. Tasha laughed with her parents and focused her attention on the file in front of her. Marcus Blank. The anomaly. And she had to keep an eye on him. This could be interesting. The Due(a)l Threat Marcus regaled what had happened to him over lunch. Kyrie listened attentively. When he was finished, she did not say anything for some time. Then Kyrie said, ¡°So, you go away for a whole day to read a contract and you don¡¯t even remember reading it as your body was taken over by this Memory. And you spend time with this Tasha who is the daughter of the Game Masters and now you are back with basically nothing to show.¡± ¡°Thank you for such a crude summary.¡± ¡°You are welcome.¡± Marcus sighed. Kyrie definitely missed the sarcasm in his tone. Or wait! Was she being sarcastic? Marcus said, ¡°Well, I am going to talk with Memory now. See what to do about the contract he so wanted to read.¡± Kyrie nodded and said, ¡°I will go and look for quests which would help us level up fast.¡± ¡°Us?¡± ¡°I am leveling up with you Marcus. I don¡¯t like being left behind. Now, how much experience do you need to reach the next level?¡± ¡°Fifteen thousand eight hundred.¡± ¡°More than I need apparently. Alright. I will be back as soon as possible.¡± Kyrie left and Marcus went up to their room. He took off his boots and sat on the bed with his legs crossed. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Memory, thought Marcus, are you there? We need to talk. Oooo, replied Memory, why does it feel like you are going to break up with me Blank? I need explanations Memory. Not your usual shenanigans. Shenanigans! Fancy words from not a fancy man. Memory! Alright. Keep your pants on. I have read the contract. I have memorized it. I am happy with it. Does that answer your unasked question? Perhaps. I do want to ask why you wanted to read the contract though? Tell me Marcus Blank. You have been an adventurer in this world for quite some time. Does it seem okay to you? Marcus thought for some time about the question Memory had asked. It was a valid question. The demon invasion, the weird equipment, quest and adventurer description, and something about the stats did feel off to Marcus. Moreover, the change in stats and the removal of relationships did not sit well with Marcus. It seemed that even though the Game World of Una had been a Game World for so many years, there were still bugs in the system designed by the Game Masters and they were still working on it. Marcus thought about his observations to Memory. Memory replied, you are on the right track but not completely correct. There is something wrong with the system on this Game World but it is not what you think. The contract has some of the answers. Give me some time. I will transcribe it for you and then you could read it. It will take some time though. How much time? asked Marcus Memory replied, I don¡¯t know. The document was large. Larger than I expected. Rauros and Leyda are thorough but somehow it is not enough. Give me a few months. Till then, your reward. Check your passive skill, it would help. What? asked Marcus but received no reply. He brought out his stats. Name: Marcus Blank Race: Human Designation: Adventurer - Rank 3 Age: 25 Current Location: Fontaine Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 100 Experience: 14,000 / 29,800 Strength: 20 Dexterity: 40 Intelligence: 50 Vitality: 50 Agility: 40 Wisdom: 39 Luck: ??? Health: 500 Mana: 256 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Stamina Regeneration - Level 8 Well Rested - Level 4 Twinblade Proficiency - Level max Alcohol Tolerance - Level 3 Stealth - Level 5 Battle Analysis - Level max Description: The anomaly has now become a better adventurer. With a little effort people may forget he is an anomaly after all. Spells known: [Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] [Force Push] [Detect Magic] [Force Pull] [Trap] Spells Equipped: [Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] [Force Push] [Detect Magic] [Force Pull] [Trap] Spell Slots: 6 Physical Attack: 255 Magical Attack: 420 Physical Resistance: 470 Magical Resistance: 307 Critical Attack Chance: 45% Critical Attack Damage: 90% Status: None Marcus was a bit stunned with his [Twinblade Proficiency]. It was at max. He had also gotten a new passive skill, [Battle Analysis] and it was also at max level. He would have to check out what this [Battle Analysis] was but [Twinblade Proficiency] at max level would really help him during the upcoming fight with Harados. Marcus was surprised that Memory had actually come through. Maybe he had misjudged it after all. Marcus gave a whoop of joy and went down. He went in search of Kyrie. Now, he just needed to level up to get that mana upgrade. Then he would be ready for Harados. *** Marcus woke up. It was the day of the duel with Harados. He had leveled up in the last few days and had reached level 101. He had gotten the requisite health and mana blessings. He had all the updated gear equipped. He was ready. Kyrie was the only one going to come with him. The site of the duel was the same as where Marcus had summoned Harados. Marcus was feeling nervous. When he went down to breakfast with Kyrie, he saw other adventurers waiting. They started to clap and cheer for him. Marcus grinned, his nervousness lessening a bit. However, he could still feel the knot in his stomach. Nadia approached him and said, ¡°There is a slight change of plans. Kinnear and Charinge would also be accompanying you. Zoey has everybody on alert. She is expecting something. We don¡¯t know what. She thinks your duel is too good to be true and Harados is definitely planning something else. Be on your guard Marcus. And try to win. It would be bad if you lose half of your stats.¡± Marcus nodded. He could not say much. He wanted to thank Nadia but somehow could not say the words. Marcus forced breakfast down his throat. He could not eat much. He had never taken the lead in a fight and had mostly dealt damage when he could. There had always been someone who dealt more damage or was in control of the fight. This time, Marcus was alone. They had not discussed the time for the fight and in hindsight, Marcus had considered that it was not good. Marcus checked his gear and looked at his status one last time. Name: Marcus Blank Race: Human Designation: Adventurer - Rank 3 Age: 25 Current Location: Fontaine Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 101 Experience: 1,000 / 30,600 Strength: 20 Dexterity: 40 If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Intelligence: 51 Vitality: 50 Agility: 40 Wisdom: 40 Luck: ??? Health: 625 Mana: 340 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Stamina Regeneration - Level 8 Well Rested - Level 4 Twinblade Proficiency - Level max Alcohol Tolerance - Level 3 Stealth - Level 5 Battle Analysis - Level max Description: The anomaly has now become a better adventurer. With a little effort people may forget he is an anomaly after all. Spells known: [Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] [Force Push] [Detect Magic] [Force Pull] [Trap] Spells Equipped: [Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] [Force Push] [Detect Magic] [Force Pull] [Trap] Spell Slots: 6 Physical Attack: 255 Magical Attack: 426 Physical Resistance: 471 Magical Resistance: 309 Critical Attack Chance: 45% Critical Attack Damage: 90% Status: [Well Rested] He was ready. He looked at Kyrie, Kinnear and Charinge and they all understood. Marcus stood up and exited with the other three following him. They flew to the crater where they had summoned Harados a week back. Well, Marcus and Kyrie flew while Kinnear and Charinge drove their mechanical bipeds or MBs. They reached the spot in about a couple of hours. Marcus could see that Harados was waiting for them. He was standing in the same spot where Marcus had summoned him. Marcus landed and dismissed his mount. Lara had levelled up too. She was not at level 10. Marcus said to Harados, ¡°You are early.¡± Harados said, ¡°We did not set a time. I have been here since zero hour. You are late.¡± Marcus did not say anything. He nodded at the others who walked up to a safe distance away from Harados and Marcus. Marcus said, ¡°How are we doing this?¡± Harados raised a hand and a dome appeared above Marcus and Harados. The dome was the size of the ritual circle initially, but Harados made some hand gestures to expand it. If Marcus had to guess the dome was now spread over a diameter of 100 meters. Kyrie and the others seemed to be standing just about a couple of feet outside of it. Marcus said, ¡°What are the rules of the fight?¡± ¡°There are no rules, Marcus Blank¡±, said Harados, ¡°It is a fight to the death. Anything goes.¡± Marcus nodded and readied his twinblade. He saw Harados unsheathe two short swords. Both adventurer and demon lord readied themselves. ¡°Shall we begin?¡± asked Marcus. They both charged at the same time. Marcus did not want to enchant his weapon with holy damage right at the beginning. He wanted to see what Harados was capable of. It seemed that Harados wanted to do the same. Their initial flurry of attacks was just them circling each other, testing each other¡¯s defences. Marcus managed to get in a few hits taking off 300 points of health from 102300. Harados the Houndmaster Demon Lord, Level 100 Health 102000 / 102300 There was still a long way to go as Marcus could see. He finally cast [Enchant Weapon: Holy]. Harados said, ¡°Finally getting serious, are we?¡± Harados charged, a leaping attack which Marcus just dodged in time. However, one of Harados¡¯ swords slashed towards Marcus as Marcus dodged. Marcus blocked it with his twinblade and hit back. He attacked and Harados blocked his attacks easily. Marcus needed a hit. Even with his max [Twinblade Proficiency] he was finding it difficult to attack Harados. Marcus knew what he had to do. He needed to use [Battle Analysis]. He had read the description of the spell. [Battle Analysis] The adventurer can understand the flow of the battle and position themselves such that they can cause the maximum contribution, may it be healing or damage. He had wondered what it was. He had tried to practice with it. It had not come easily but he had understood how to use it. [Battle Analysis] was a passive spell but you had to be attuned to it in order to the spell being effective during the battle. Marcus took a deep breath and let his instincts guide him. He focused on Harados, his body language, his swords, his armor and what he was doing at that time, and it was as if the world had slowed down. Marcus understood what he had to do in order to hit Harados. He let Harados charge. Marcus sidestepped Harados¡¯ attack, blocked another one, dodged the third and then attacked. It was a hit. He pushed his attack, landing three more hits. One enchanted strike was left now. He needed the right time to cast [Whirling Weapon] and [Battle Analysis] instinctively showed him the way. Marcus followed the analysis and soon he had an opening and he cast [Whirling Weapon]. He had discovered that [Enchant Weapon: Holy] gave him five enchanted strikes. However, combining it with [Whirling Weapon] somehow counted as one strike only. That meant Marcus could hit his enemy with [Whirling Weapon] many times dealing a high damage and it would be counted as one strike only. His twinblade started to whirl. Harados tried to dodge but he somehow tripped and Marcus took the advantage. He took massive chunks of health off Harados and Harados could not even move till the spell was over. As soon as it was over Harados jumped back and got into a defensive crouch. Harados the Houndmaster Demon Lord, Level 100 Health 60210 / 102300 Marcus smiled. This was good. He had done good damage. Now he had to wait 2 minutes to use [Whirling Weapon] again. Also [Enchant Weapon: Holy] had entered the cooldown of 1 minute. He would have slight weaker attacks for a minute now. However, he had something up his sleeve. He brought a flask out of his inventory and poured it on his twinblade. He knew what it was. Holy Oil Enchants your weapon with Holy attack for ten strikes. The damage is dependent upon your wisdom score. The attack from Holy Oil was not the same as [Enchant Weapon: Holy] but it would be highly effective against demons. Harados tilted his head and beckoned Marcus to attack him. It seemed that the demon lord would not be charging Marcus now but had gone on the defensive. It was Marcus who charged this time, slashing his twinblade in a circular pattern at Harados. Harados dodged and defended Marcus¡¯ attacks. Marcus could see that Harados was being careful. Harados retaliated and landed a couple of strikes on Marcus. Marcus lost 278 points of health. That was not good. He did not have as much health as Harados and it was clear that Harados needed far less strikes than Marcus to kill him. Marcus put some distance between him and Harados and downed a health potion. He saw that Harados was still in a defensive position. Marcus wondered what to do next. Harados was clearly waiting for him, and Marcus did not want to play right into his hands. Marcus cast [Trap] a few feet in front of him. He could see Harados tense a bit. Marcus sidestepped the trap and charged Harados, albeit a bit slower than before. As he neared Harados, he cast [Force Pull]. Harados stumbled and was pulled towards Marcus. Marcus could tell Harados was not expecting that. Marcus slashed a couple of times and twirled and went behind Harados. Then he cast [Force Push]. Harados shot back and landed straight in the trap Marcus had set. The trap exploded. It did not cause Harados much damage as the trap caused only physical damage, but it did stagger him. Marcus took this opportunity and attacked Harados fiercely. Marcus managed to hit him well, reducing his hit points a lot. He got hit by Harados a few times which dealt about 152 points of damage. Harados the Houndmaster Demon Lord, Level 100 Health 39876 / 102300 Marcus smiled as he saw Harados¡¯ health. He downed a health potion, getting his health back to full. He also downed a lesser mana potion. The effect of holy oil was over but the cooldown of [Enchant Weapon: Holy] was over. He enchanted his twinblade with the spell and started walking towards Harados. Harados started to laugh. Marcus stopped. What was the demon lord up to now? Harados continued to laugh. Finally Harados said, ¡°So, it begins.¡± Harados raised a hand and the area behind Harados, beyond the dome, was covered with hellhounds; loads and loads of hellhounds. ¡°Fuck!¡± said Marcus. This was not good at all. *** Kyrie was very tense while observing Marcus¡¯ fight. She did not want him to lose, and it did seem he was doing well. However, it had all changed quite recently when Harados had laughed and raised his hand. An army of hellhounds had suddenly appeared. The hellhounds did not seem to be attacking Marcus or entering the dome where the fight was taking place. Instead, they were charging at Kinnear, Charinge and her. Kyrie readied her bow and looked around. They were surrounded by hellhounds from all sides. There was no way they would survive such a huge onslaught. Beside her she could see both Kinnear and Charinge ready their bows. ¡°Well, we are gorked¡±, observed Charinge. ¡°Yes, we will revive but we will be leaving Marcus alone¡±, said Kinnear. ¡°I think we should focus on taking as many hellhounds as possible¡±, said Kyrie. She was amazed that she could keep her voice calm in such a situation. ¡°A fine gorking idea indeed¡±, said Charinge. Kyrie shot the arrow at the charging hellhound, killing it in a single shot. Critical. Good, thought Kyrie as she shot arrow after arrow at the incoming hellhounds. She dodged some of the hellhounds when they got close to her attacking range. The whole crater was full of snarling, barking, sounds of bows firing and arrows whizzing thought the air. Kyrie did not know for how long she fought. She fought like the devil though. She glimpsed Kinnear and Charinge from time to time and saw that they seemed to be struggling. They were not level 101 like Kyrie and were finding killing the hellhounds a bit difficult. Kinnear was the first to fall after about five minutes of fighting the hellhounds. Charinge followed her a couple of minutes later. Kyrie was now alone facing the hellhounds. She attacked and dodged and weaved her way through them. She did not know for how long she fought. She made her way to the nearby copse of trees. Water. She needed water. She climbed up a tree and downed a health potion quickly. She oriented herself and focused. She could sense a stream nearby. She could lead the hellhounds there, away from Marcus. Kyrie gave one last look at Marcus who was still fighting Harados and then jumped to another tree from the tree she was on. She was just in time as one of the hellhounds disintegrated it with fire. Kyrie started running in the direction where she had felt the stream. She could feel the hellhounds following her, gasping and panting behind her. Some managed to attack but she dodged and attacked back. Not far now. She was not far away from the stream. She had to run. She had to make it. The stream was a safe place. Water. She just needed water. She heard the stream and increased her pace. She saw it. There it was. The final sprint. She screamed as she felt something hit her. She stumbled, reached the stream, unequipped her bow in a split second and fell into the water. Some of the hellhounds followed her but then they could not see her nor sense her. This was her turf. Her home. Her natural habitat. Kyrie could see that she was already healing. She had not used a spell, so her mana was full at 244. She knew what she had to do. Kyrie swam a bit away from the hellhounds and cast [Summon Water Elemental]. She was in a source of water. She lost 201 points of mana, and she could feel the water in the stream reduce a bit as a huge Water Elemental manifested in front of the hellhounds. Kyrie stepped besides the elemental. She grinned at the hellhounds who had suddenly gone silent, mostly shocked by the arrival of the Water Elemental. The growling started again, low at first but it increased in numbers. Then the hellhounds charge. This time however, Kyrie was ready. This time she drew her bow and fired. And beside her the Water Elemental charged. *** Marcus dodged another attack as he saw Kyrie disappear in a copse of trees with all the hellhounds following her. He wondered how many hellhounds Harados had summoned as he blocked another one of Harados¡¯ attacks. Marcus counter attacked, dealing a blow, a critical hit and then stepped back. He cast [Force Push] making Harados stumble a bit. Before Harados could regain his balance, Marcus put some more distance and took health potions to get his health to full. He was running low on health potions. Only 10 left. Marcus needed to finish this fast. In the last few minutes, when the hellhounds attacked Kinnear, Charinge and Kyrie, Marcus had been a bit distracted and Harados took this opportunity to attack Marcus relentlessly. Marcus had to use quite an amount of health potions and he had managed to hit Harados for about 1,000 points of damage. Kinnear and Charinge were dead and Marcus was sure that Kyrie would soon die. They would be resurrected in Galados but Marcus would be all alone with Harados and his hellhounds soon. And that was why he wanted to finish this fight fast now. Marcus cast [Enchant Weapon: Holy]. Harados charged and Marcus could see the flow of Harados¡¯ attack with [Battle Analysis]. Marcus dodged and blocked the two successive attacks. He just needed one successful cast of [Whirling Weapon] now. However, considering how Harados was fighting, with such aggression, Marcus felt that it was going to be tough, even with [Battle Analysis]. Marcus waited. Harados charged again. Marcus grinned as he dodged the attack and cast [Trap] right on Harados¡¯ feet. Harados dodged but Marcus cast [Force Pull]. Harados screamed as he stumbled right into the trap. The trap exploded and it hit Marcus too as he was near it but Marcus ignored it. Harados was staggered and Marcus cast [Whirling Weapon] as he charged into Harados. Harados screamed the whole time the twinblades spun, hitting him, taking off huge chunks of health. Marcus could see Harados¡¯ body disintegrating even before his spell was over. Marcus stood panting as the dome surrounding him disappeared. He heard distant howls which suddenly faded away. Had he done it? Marcus checked his notifications. He ignored all the others and checked the last one. Congratulations! You have killed Harados the Houndmaster. You get 120,000 points of experience. Marcus had done it. He had single handedly defeated a demon lord. He started to laugh. He laughed for some time and then checked his other notifications. Then he paled. He had won the fight, but the battle had just begun. If he was reading the notifications right, then the landmass Artorios was under attack! The Artorial Invasion Zoey looked up from the book he was reading to find the proprietor of the adventurer¡¯s guild in Treedos standing over her. ¡°What is it?¡± asked Zoey. The proprietor, a large Umaru with quite a dull and unremarkable face replied, ¡°The captain of the guard is here to see you.¡± ¡°Then why are you telling me this? Have you banned him from your establishment and are waiting for my gorking approval or something?¡± ¡°No, he simply wished to talk with you in a private room.¡± Zoey sighed, rolled her eyes and got up. Gorking captain of the guard. She put her book on the table and followed the proprietor to the private room where the captain of the guard was waiting for her. Captain Zumok Karine was an Umaru, part of one of the oldest residing families of Treedos. He was not as tall as the other Umarus but had clever eyes and a highly muscular body. Zoey could see that he was at ease sitting calmly in one of the chairs of the private room. Zoey thanked the proprietor as he led her to the room and locked the door behind him after leaving. Zoey said, ¡°What brings you here, Zumok?¡± Zumok looked at her with those pale blue eyes twinkling with something akin to mischief. He shifted to turn towards her as he spoke, ¡°The guards are in position as per your instructions. The adventurers, however, are not. They seem to be taking their time. And here I find the leader of the hunt simply sitting in the guild and doing, I don¡¯t know what, wasting time maybe?¡± ¡°The adventurers will be in position on time. I have had word from my team leader in Galados. Marcus has started to go towards his fight with Harados. I believe there is still some time.¡± ¡°For your supposed attack I presume¡±, said Zumok. Zoey could detect a hint of impatience and annoyance in his voice as he continued, ¡°This attack which you are sure is coming. Are you sure it will happen today?¡± ¡°I have explained to you my logic before Zumok. You agreed with it. Why are you questioning me again today? I have said all I had to say. What do you really want to know?¡± Zumok said, ¡°It was about your theory. The deal with Harados based on what that adventurer Marcus had discussed with you. It seems that the council thinks an adventurer is a traitor.¡± Zoey raised an eyebrow, ¡°And how did the esteemed council come to such a conclusion?¡± Zumok shrugged and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I actually have orders to detain you and take you for questioning.¡± ¡°And somehow I see you sitting here and telling me everything instead of arresting me.¡± ¡°The council¡¯s decision is bullshit and I know that you are innocent. I also know that you have shared everything that you know about this scenario. That is why I am simply passing the time. If this attack of yours comes, then I believe I would not have to participate in this farce of arresting you. However, I am sorry to say that I can delay the inevitable maximum by evening. If you are wrong, I may have to arrest you.¡± Zoey put her head in her palms and groaned, ¡°Gorking idiotic council of Treedos and gorking foolish advisors and gorking¡­¡± She continued in a similar vein for some time insulting every authoritarian body and figure in Artorios. Zoey finally said, ¡°Thank you for warning me. I will get my adventurers to get in position. I will go to the wall near the main gate myself. I hope the attack does not happen, but if it does, we are in deep shit. Thank you for the warning Zumok. What will you do now?¡± ¡°Accompany you¡±, said Zumok, ¡°That way I can tell that the reason I did not arrest you immediately was that I was confirming whether what you said was true or not rather than telling them I was simply delaying.¡± Zoey messaged the adventurers to get into position and said, ¡°Come on then. Let¡¯s go to the main gate.¡± They took Zumok¡¯s MQ to the main gate. The main gate was about twenty feet tall and formed the part of the wall surrounding Treedos. Zoey could see the guards in position and standing in discipline while adventurers simply seemed to stroll into position on the parapets atop the walls. Zoey could sense Zumok clench his teeth as he saw the behaviour of the adventurers and Zoey simply shook her head. They took the stairs up the parapet while Zoey checked her messages from adventurers across the landmass. There was one city, ten towns and twenty villages present on the landmass Artorios. Zoey had a sort of intuition that Harados was planning something on a large scale. When she had talked with Marcus, she had made him relay what he had discussed with Harados, word to word. This made her think that something was going to happen, and it was going to be today, when Marcus fought with Harados. She had fought with the council of Treedos and got them on her side. She had deployed all the adventurers she could reach out to, her current adventurer hunter team and other adventurers and had asked them to be on guard in each town and village. She had ensured that the militia of that particular town or village, whatever it may be, was also ready for any sort of attack. She hoped it was enough. As she checked her messages, she relaxed a bit as she was getting confirmations from various team leaders that the adventurers were in position. She stood with Zumok and other guards looking out at any sign of disturbance. She got a message from Nadia that Marcus had reached the site of the duel. The duel will start now. Zoey absently nodded to herself. It had begun. Whatever was going to happen, would happen soon. She tensed and looked out to the open area in front of the gate. There was no one and nothing out there. Still, Zoey did not relax. Zoey waited for some time with bated breath. She did not relax even as the minutes ticked away. Then suddenly she felt it. A wave of magic had passed over Treedos. She looked at Zumos who was also looking concerned. He had felt the wave of magic too. Zoey paled as she looked at the open area in front of her. It was filled with demons. Hellhounds and an army of other hell spawn covered the entire field as far as her eye could see. But that was not what concerned her. It was the presence of the demon lords that concerned her. Yes, demon lords. Leading the army of demons were five demon lords and they had all come for Treedos. Anuhur the Invader Demon Lord, Level 100 Health 100,000 / 100,000 Guzuril the Bullheaded Demon Lord, Level 100 Health 102,000 / 102,000 Akenwsu the Trickster Demon Lord, Level 100 Health 92,500 / 92,500 Ann the Deathless Demon Lord, Level 100 Health 150,000 / 150,000 Morri the Battlequeen Demon Lord, Level 100 Health 100,000 / 100,000 All of the demon lords looked like celestials to Zoey from afar. However, the difference was that the demon lords¡¯ skin was various shades of red and instead of a halo, they had horns on their head. Moreover, their wings were black instead of the various bright colours that the celestials had. Zoey gulped as she saw the army in front of her. She could feel the fear of the guards surrounding her. She heard Captain Zumok saying a prayer. She could understand his sentiments. This was not good. She expected an all scale attack, not five demon lords attacking Treedos. However, she got many messages at once. It seemed that Treedos was not the only one attacked. Every town and village in Artorios was under attack. And from the messages she was getting from other adventurers, it seemed that each attack on the town was being led by a demon lord while each attack on the village was simply hellhounds led by an elite demon. ¡°Gork¡±, she said simply as the trumpets started to blare. The demons charged. The battle for Artorios had begun. *** Nadia decapitated a hellhound as she recalled her chakram. Her day had started so well. Marcus had gone to fight Harados and the entire town of Galados was on guard as per instruction of Zoey. Nadia had truly believed that Marcus would defeat Harados and their problems would finally be solved. This quest had started to bore her. Now, it seemed that Zoey had been right and Galados was under attack from an army of demons and a demon lord. Nadia had quickly sent a message to Zoey regarding what was happening in Galados before she started aiding in the defence of the town with other adventurers. She hoped that help would come on time. She was not sure that there were sufficient guards or adventurers who would take care of the army. And there was the demon lord to contend with. Belphegore the Sleeping Demon Lord, Level 100 Health 72,500 / 72,500 The demon lord looked like an imp, en enlarged imp and was simply sitting on a throne which was floating over his army. He looked dully over the fight and Nadia felt that the demon lord wanted to be somewhere else rather than here. Somewhere sleeping maybe. Nassir came up to her and said, ¡°Did Zoey send a reply?¡± Nadia checked but she had not gotten any reply from Zoey. Then she looked at the group chat of team leaders and froze. Zoey had formed this chat so that she could send group messages specific to the quest. Nadia had not posted in this group when the attack began and had sent a direct message. The group chat was filled with messages from help. Nadia paled as she said, ¡°We are not the only ones under attack Nassir. It seems that everyone is talking about an army led by a demon lord invading their location.¡± ¡°How is this possible?¡± Nadia shrugged and they together attacked the demons that came their way. ¡°What do we do?¡± asked Nassir in a concerned voice. ¡°Nadia looked at Belphegore and said, ¡°We try and kill him.¡± ¡°Too much of an army between him and us and he does not seem to be moving.¡± ¡°Then we kill the army¡±, growled Nadia. Nadia sent a message to all the adventurers present in Galados that help was not coming. The entire landmass of Artorios was under attack. They needed to kill the demon lord. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. There was a lot of swearing and questions on the chat. Nadia ignored them. She simply communicated that the messages should be of urgent nature only and to focus on killing the army and the demon lord. There was silence in the group chat and Nadia felt the mood shift suddenly. Now every adventurer present was fighting ferociously. The demon army was being pushed back. Nadia grinned at Nassir and let out a roar. Nassir joined her and husband and wife charged into the demon horde. It was time to take the fight to the demons. Nadia lost time when she fought. She realized that her core team was fighting beside her. There was her husband Nassir twirling his spear and launching at the demons. There were arrows being shot around her chakrams downing any demons that approached her. She turned to see the source of arrows and found Charinge and Kinnear. She grinned and resumed attack. Then she stopped a bit as she realized that she had seen Charinge and Kinnear. ¡°Nassir¡±, she shouted, ¡°Charinge and Kinnear are here. I am going to talk to them. Help me clear a path.¡± Nassir and Nadia jointly made their way to Charinge and Kinnear who were at the back. Nadia said, ¡°What are you doing here? Why are you not with Marcus and Kyrie?¡± ¡°We died¡±, said Kinnear and Charinge quickly told Nadia what had happened. Nadia did not like that. She said, ¡°Alright. Nothing we can do now. Come on. We need to kill the demon lord. That would disband these demons.¡± Kinnear said, ¡°Only if these damned gorking hellhounds would die. The demon lord does not seem to have much of an army. It is only these gorking hellhounds that are swarming us.¡± Nassir said, ¡°We kill them now. Stop complaining. Come on.¡± The four of them focused on the attack again. As Nadia attacked, she could see the guards and some of the adventurers falling. She did not know for how long they would survive. However, survive they must, and push back the demon tide, otherwise Galados would fall. She did not have much hope, but she pushed. Nadia was starting to feel tired. A wayward attack from a hellhound hit her and she fell down. Before she could get up a hellhound was on top of her. She tried to look for Nassir, but she had to put her chakrams up to stop the hellhound from snapping her head off. A swipe of a paw and her chakrams flew off her hands. She called them back, but she knew it would be too late. She saw the maw of the hellhound closing on her and the fetid breath making her nauseated. She closed her eyes to death, but it did not come. The weight was taken off her. She opened her eyes to see no hellhound. She stood up and looked around. The entire battlefield was quiet and still. The hellhounds had disappeared, and, in their place, Nadia could see only falling flakes. What the gork had happened? Nadia could see the surprise on everyone¡¯s face, the guards, the adventurers and even the demons. No one had expected the hellhounds to disappear. If they had disappeared, then Nadia could assume only one thing. She grinned. Marcus had been successful. Harados was dead. Nadia gave a short laugh and shouted, ¡°Charge.¡± That was all it took. The adventurers and guards gave a war cry and started attacking the remaining demons with energy Nadia had not felt before. The loss of hellhounds even gave Nadia a new bout of energy and she also attacked the demons after downing a couple of potions. That was when Belphegore decided to attack. He waved a hand and an attack of red energy flashed in a straight-line decimating adventurers, guards and demons. The attack was strong, taking away a lot of health of those who got hit by it. Moreover, it created an explosion sending everyone flying away. Nadia swore as she focused on Belphegore. There were many demons between her and him. She looked at Nassir, Kinnear and Charinge. They nodded. They got the message. They were going for the demon lord. Slowly and steadily, they started to make their way towards Belphegore. Nadia saw that the other adventurers were also making their way towards the demon lord. Only the guards and some of the adventurers were now focused on killing the demons. Belphegore was sending lines of red energy in a line at random intervals. The adventurers and the guards had learned how to dodge the attack and mostly demons kept on getting hit with it. Nadia and her team slowly made their way towards Belphegore. When they were close enough, Nadia nodded towards Charinge. Charinge changed her bow with a staff and cast a spell. ¡°[Mass Enchant Weapon], Holy¡±, casted Charinge. A recent acquisition of Charinge and a very expensive spell. It was a generalized [Mass Enchant Weapon] spell and Charinge had just blessed every ally¡¯s weapon within 10 m with holy damage. Nadia was sure that everyone was going to make good use of it. Nadia, her team and some of the adventurers charged Belphegore. The demon lord seemed surprised that someone was attacking him. He waved a hand, and a wave of red energy surrounded him, damaging those who attacked him. Ranged attacks still hit him though and the adventurers made use of that. Nadia had an idea. She shot her chakrams at Belphegore. As the chakrams hit Belphegore, she cast the spell [Whirling Weapon]. She had gotten the idea for getting this spell from Marcus. It was a useful spell, even with chakrams. The chakrams started spinning, embedded in Belphegore. Belphegore screamed but was trapped. The chakrams did their damage and came back. And the bonus, it all counted as one strike even though many attacks had taken place. Nadia grinned. Belphegore was at the last vestiges of his health. Before he could do anything, the adventurers made a final charge and whetted his health down to zero. Belphegore died with a roar. With the demon lord dead, there was chaos amongst the remaining demons. The adventurers and the guards gave a cry of triumph and charged the now retreating demons. Nadia smiled. They had won. Galados was safe. Now, she hoped that the others were fine as well. *** Kyrie stood, her bow ready at any sign of danger. However, there was no danger. The hellhounds had just disappeared. What had happened. Moments before she and her Water Elemental had been close at being overrun by hellhounds. And now, silence. She could hear the wind blowing through the trees, the stream gurgling behind her and the swishing noise the Water Elemental made as it looked around. What had happened? Where had all the hellhounds gone? She looked at the Water Elemental as it made some bubbling noises. As it would turn out, Kyrie understood those noises. The Water Elemental was telling her that the danger was gone and she was safe and to dismiss it. It was tired and it told her not to summon her for some time. Kyrie nodded and the Water Elemental disappeared with a splash. Only a puddle of water remained where it once stood. Kyrie checked the cooldown time for the spell to summon the Water Elemental. It was one day and the clock had already started ticking backwards. She sighed and relaxed her bow. The hellhounds had gone. Does that mean that Marcus had defeated Harados? She summoned Nalana, her mana wyrm, her mount and flew to the site where Marcus and Harados were fighting. There she found Marcus lying on the ground. She panicked as he did not move when she approached. She dismissed Nalana quickly and took out a healing potion. Kyrie grabbed Marcus¡¯ shoulders and shook him. ¡°Mmm. Let me fucking rest for a bit. I am tired¡±, mumbled Marcus. Kyrie laughed with relief. Marcus was alright. She put the healing potion back in her inventory. ¡°What happened?¡± asked Kyrie. ¡°Well, Harados and I fought. Then he summoned hellhounds. The hellhounds chased you lot. Then we fought again. I killed him. I won. And I am fucking low on potions.¡± ¡°I think the hellhounds disappeared when you killed Harados.¡± ¡°Considering how you are alive, I believe so too. How many did you kill?¡± Kyrie checked her notifications and blinked. Then she looked at Marcus and looked back at her notifications. ¡°One hundred and thirty three¡±, said Kyrie in a small voice. There was a moment of silence. Then Marcus started to laugh out loud. Kyrie did not understand what he found funny but he was now rolling while laughing. Kyrie checked her experience points. She had received a total of 79,800 experience points for killing the hellhounds. She had levelled up twice and was now at level 103. She had 4 points to distribute and she put 2 in dexterity and 2 in wisdom. She checked her status. Name: Kyrie Shiningstar Race: Water Nymph Designation: Adventurer - Rank 3 Age: 83 Current Location: Fontaine Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 103 Experience: 7,800 / 32,200 Strength: 20 Dexterity: 82 Intelligence: 10 Vitality: 50 Agility: 50 Wisdom: 26 Luck: ??? Health: 500 Mana: 256 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Fast Draw - Level 12 Precision - Level 14 Longbow Proficiency - Level 18 Stealth - Level 12 Water Proficiency - Level max Description: The outcast traveller from Tarados, flowing into Una, taking huge steps now and sweeping demons away is still enjoying herself by bashing other adventurer¡¯s heads. She is the water nymph to watch out for. Spells known: [Power Shot] [Fade] [Enchant Weapon: Poison] [Summon Water Elemental] [Detect Magic] Spells Equipped: [Power Shot] [Fade] [Enchant Weapon: Poison] [Summon Water Elemental] Spell Slots: 4 Physical Attack: 543 Magical Attack: 51 Physical Resistance: 238 Magical Resistance: 224 Critical Attack Chance: 45% Critical Attack Damage: 107% Status: None She looked up to see Marcus looking at her. ¡°You levelled up?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°Obviously¡±, replied Kyrie, ¡°Twice.¡± Marcus nodded. Then he said, ¡°I did too.¡± Then he shared his status for Kyrie to see. Name: Marcus Blank Race: Human Designation: Adventurer - Rank 3 Age: 25 Current Location: Fontaine Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 104 Experience: 24,800 / 33,000 Strength: 20 Dexterity: 42 Intelligence: 55 Vitality: 50 Agility: 40 Wisdom: 40 Luck: ??? Health: 625 Mana: 340 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Stamina Regeneration - Level 10 Well Rested - Level 5 Twinblade Proficiency - Level max Alcohol Tolerance - Level 3 Stealth - Level 6 Battle Analysis - Level max Description: The anomaly has now become a better adventurer. With a little effort people may forget he is an anomaly after all. Spells known: [Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] [Force Push] [Detect Magic] [Force Pull] [Trap] Spells Equipped: [Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] [Force Push] [Detect Magic] [Force Pull] [Trap] Spell Slots: 6 Physical Attack: 262 Magical Attack: 451 Physical Resistance: 474 Magical Resistance: 313 Critical Attack Chance: 45% Critical Attack Damage: 92% Status: [Well Rested] It seemed that he had leveled up three times. ¡°That is quite a jump¡±, remarked Kyrie. ¡°I just fucking soloed a demon lord and won¡±, said Marcus, ¡°Of course there is going to be a fucking jump.¡± ¡°What now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Considering the notifications, all of Artorios is under attack.¡± ¡°So, what do we do?¡± ¡°Do you want to help them or do you think they will be alright on their own?¡± Kyrie sat down beside Marcus and said softly, ¡°You do not want to fight?¡± ¡°I am tired, Kyrie. I think I just want a break.¡± Kyrie looked at Marcus. He really looked tired. Kyrie wondered what she should do. She understood Marcus¡¯ reasoning of not helping other adventures fight the demons but was it a good decision? She did not know. ¡°You know, when I joined you, one of my conditions was that you let me do adventurer versus adventurer to my heart¡¯s desire.¡± ¡°Yes¡±, said Marcus slowly. Kyrie could see the confusion in his eyes. ¡°You said that you are okay but quests that harm the non-adventurers take precedence.¡± ¡°I remember saying something in those lines.¡± ¡°Well, you just had your¡­ well not exactly adventurer versus adventurer but a one-on-one fight with the demon lord Harados.¡± ¡°Thanks. I had forgotten all about it.¡± Kyrie ignored the sarcasm and continued, ¡°It means that you did what I wanted to do and now I would have to do what you wanted to do.¡± ¡°What? That does not make sense, Kyrie.¡± Kyrie said in a soft voice, ¡°Do you want the deaths of non adventurers on your conscience when you know your presence could have helped, even one or two of them.¡± Marcus did not say anything. He got in a sitting position and looked down, frowning. Kyrie did not say anything further but simply waited. She knew Marcus and she knew he would make the right decision. ¡°You are going to Galados, are you not?¡± asked Marcus after some time. Kyrie nodded. Marcus let out a string of expletives which made Kyrie blush. She had never heard such a colourful language from anyone. Well, she had heard Marcus and other people swear but this was simply a bit too much for her. Marcus looked at her and took a deep breath. Then he said grumpily, ¡°Fine. However, we are not doing anything for a month though.¡± Kyrie smiled. ¡°Come on¡±, she said, ¡°Demons await.¡± ¡°Fucking demons and demon lords¡±, mumbled Marcus as they both summoned their mounts. Harados was dead. However, the battle for the landmass was just beginning for them. The Battle of Treedos Marcus and Kyrie landed on what once was considered the battlefield of Galados. They dismissed their mounts. To Marcus it seemed that the demon threat had been dealt with at Galados. Some of the adventurers and guards seemed to be tracking demons who had fled while the others were simply helping transport the dead and injured guards from the battlefield to requisite locations. There seemed to be many guards that had died while a whole lot were injured. The adventurers who had died had resurrected. The demons did not leave bodies, only a form of ashy residue. Marcus and Kyrie walked up to Nadia who seemed to be coordinating everything with a non-adventurer who Marcus assumed to be the captain of the guard. When Nadia saw Marcus and Kyrie approach, she stopped talking and rushed at Marcus immediately. Nadia tackled Marcus said, ¡°You gorking did it you gorking beast of a man. You gorked Harados into oblivion. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.¡± Marcus grinned as he said, ¡°What happened here?¡± ¡°Demon lord and a demonic army. However, they were easily dispatched once the gorking hellhounds disappeared. I believe that was your doing.¡± Marcus nodded as he looked around. Hearing the cries of the wounded made him grit his teeth and purse his lips. The damage had been bad. ¡°Hey¡±, said Nadia snapping her claws in front of Marcus¡¯ face, ¡°You did gorking well. The scenario would have been much worse if you had not managed to kill Harados.¡± ¡°It is still not over, is it?¡± ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. Galados isn¡¯t the only town to get hit. All the villages, towns and city of Artorios are under attack right now. We were lucky to repel our attack fast. Other than us, only Frodos and Chardos have managed to repel their attacks. The adventurers there have split up to go help nearby villages.¡± ¡°That is a good idea.¡± ¡°It is¡±, said Nassir. Marcus did not realize that he had joined them. Nassir continued, ¡°Good job, Marcus. Nadia, some of the other adventurers'' plan to help the villages too. What should we do?¡± Nadia said, ¡°Let them. I have a different plan for our team.¡± Nadia turned to the non-adventurer and said, ¡°I think you would be good wouldn¡¯t you, Ethos?¡± Ethos replied, ¡°Some of the adventurers have joined the guards to take care of the demons that ran away. I am sure they would do well and not make any rash decisions. Moreover, the remaining have decided to go help the nearby villages. That is good too. We, the guards who remain, are perfectly capable of holding on for quite some time if there is another attack but I am not concerned about another demon attack. We should be okay, Nadia. You take care of this invasion as fast as possible.¡± Ethos walked away from them as Kinnear and Charinge approached. There was another round of greetings and congratulations for Marcus and a new level of appreciation for Kyrie when everyone realized that she had survived the mass of hellhounds and had killed a lot of them. Marcus said, ¡°What¡¯s your plan, Nadia?¡± Nadia said, ¡°The core of the attack is at the city, Treedos. From what information I could discern, it seems that the city is being attacked by five demon lords. I have already coordinated with some of the other team leaders. Once they are free from protecting their towns, they would split the adventurers into two groups. Some would go to help the nearby villages while the rest would teleport to Treedos. If Treedos falls, it would be very bad for Artorios.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°Makes sense. So, only six of us are going or any other adventurers are joining us?¡± Nadia said, ¡°I rolled the plan with other adventurers here and none seemed to be keen on joining. They mostly want to help the villages or hunt the remaining demons. They want to finish things here before moving to Treedos.¡± Nassir said, ¡°Makes sense. Not all are accustomed to war.¡± ¡°You speak as if you are¡±, said Charinge. Nadia and Nassir shared a look and Kinnear said, ¡°No shit. We need details. If you are comfortable that is.¡± ¡°We are not comfortable¡±, said Nadia before Nassir could say anything. Everyone let the matter drop. Kinnear then said, ¡°Are we portaling to Treedos?¡± ¡°The portal to Treedos is down¡±, said Nassir, ¡°I asked around. Majority of the portals are down. The portal managers are helping with the defence of their respective towns and the city. Only portals at Frodos, Chardos and here, Galados are active. We can only go to these two other towns.¡± ¡°Which is nearer to Treedos?¡± asked Charinge. ¡°Chardos, but it is still a couple of hours by MQs¡±, said Nadia. Marcus looked at Kyrie, ¡°We have flying mounts.¡± Nadia glared at him, and he hastily added, ¡°But we will keep pace with you.¡± They mounted up and went to the portal at Galados. The portal managers grumbled about letting anyone through, but they knew the urgency of the situation. When they came out of the portal at Chardos, they rushed out of the portal area and mounted up again. As they raced through the streets of Chardos, Marcus could see the destruction the demons had caused. It seemed that the demons had managed to enter Chardos and cause quite some devastation before they had been defeated. They exited Chardos in mere minutes. Marcus had observed Kyrie looking at the arena with a look of longing and he had simply shaken his head. They would really need to go somewhere where adventurer versus adventurer was active after this quest. As Nadia had predicted, it took them almost two hours to reach Treedos and yet they were quite far from it. The demon army besieging it was at least a kilometer long as per Marcus¡¯ estimation. The six of them hid in the woods at some distance from Treedos. They could see the city and fighting taking place but they could not do anything. The six of them would not be able to fight their way through such a large army. They sat there for some time figuring what to do. Marcus and Kyrie could easily get into the city considering their flying mounts but what about the others. Marcus was sure that Lara and Nalana would seat two if coaxed but would they seat three? Also, would making return trips make sense. Marcus could see archers in the demon army. They would shoot them if they tried to fly over the demon army twice. Once would be lucky as they would have the element of surprise. Kyrie suggested flying high over the range of the archers. Marcus thought that could work. Before they could decide in detail on what to do, a bush rustled near them. All of them were in a fighting stance at once, their weapons ready and waiting for whatever was coming their way. A voice said, ¡°Hello there.¡± Marcus turned to see a gnome standing behind him. How had he managed to sneak up on them? Marcus checked his name. Callous Gallows Gnome, Level 62 Health 400 / 400 ¡°Hey, I remember you¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°We fought in the arena at Opulential. How are you?¡± Callous looked at Kyrie with a frown and then grinned, ¡°The archer water nymph. I cannot forget you. Very few good, ranged adventurer versus adventurer fighters are there. I am good. Slightly gorked up by the gorking invasion over there. I assume you all are here for that purpose only.¡± There was a quick round of introductions and Callous nodded to all of them as they introduced themselves. Callous said, ¡°Come on then. Follow me. There are a bunch of us over there¡±, he pointed in a direction, ¡°thinking what we are going to do.¡± Marcus and the others followed Callous to a clearing. A group of adventurers was sitting there. Marcus counted about thirty of them. ¡°Who have you brought Callous?¡± asked one of the adventurers, an elf. Nadia seemed to recognize him, ¡°Caramoon, hey. It¡¯s me, Nadia.¡± Caramoon frowned and then recognition dawned on his face, ¡°Ah! The Galados group.¡± Nadia nodded and looked around, ¡°And I am assuming Frodos and¡±, she looked for someone, ¡°Ah! There he is. Guron, the Chardos group.¡± Guron stepped forwards and stood beside Caramoon now. Guron was a dwarf, a heavily armored dwarf. Guron said, ¡°It is good to see you, Nadia. So, only three towns till now are free.¡± Nadia shrugged and checked her notifications, ¡°The others still seem to be fighting. They have not notified anything in the line of that they have been successful.¡± ¡°Not all have the experience of fighting demon lords and an army¡±, said Guron sagely. ¡°Come¡±, said Caramoon, ¡°We need to discuss how to help Treedos.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. They sent Callous back to scout for other adventurers who could be arriving. They had also sent other scouts to look for adventurers who would be arriving from different directions. Marcus appreciated the foresight of Caramoon and Guron. The adventurers gathered and started their conversation about what to do. There were many suggestions thrown around and every suggestion was properly analyzed considering its pros and cons. Marcus was feeling bored. Everyone was simply talking rather than acting. He saw that some of the adventurers were not even participating in the conversation, and he was surprised to find Kyrie was one of them. She was standing a few feet away from the group, talking to some other adventurer. Marcus then considered why he was surprised. For that matter what was he still doing here in the conversation he had no interest in taking part. Marcus slowly and strategically made his way out of the discussing adventurers and made his way towards Kyrie. The other adventurer shook his head and walked away when Marcus approached. ¡°What was that about?¡± asked Marcus. Kyrie looked at the back of the retreating adventurer for some time and then said, ¡°Tell me Marcus, did you exchange contact information with the champions or any of their party members?¡± ¡°I have Selena linked with me for contact.¡± ¡°I did not ask anyone. I did not think at that time. The adventurer, I forgot his name, was asking why the champions are not here if the whole of Artorios is being attacked.¡± ¡°A fair question. Do you want me to contact Selena?¡± ¡°They are in Urtor are they not? The undead kingdom.¡± ¡°Yes. Let me message her.¡± Marcus sent a ¡®Hi¡¯ to Selena. He did not know when he would get a reply and so he waited with Kyrie. They looked at the adventurers still discussing what they were going to do. ¡°This is a waste of time¡±, said Kyrie after some time. ¡°Do you wish to rush into the demon army?¡± asked Marcus incredulously. Before Kyrie could reply, Marcus got a notification that Selena had messaged her. Marcus was busy the next few minutes explaining to Selena as to what was happening at the landmass Artorios and specifically Treedos. Selena replied for some time and then she went dark. It was about fifteen minutes later that she replied that help was on the way. Marcus did not know what that meant. Were the champions sending someone or was their entire team coming? Marcus stood up and went to the discussing adventurers. He relayed what Selena had conveyed to the team leaders present. Marcus could see that they were happy and confused at the same time. They were happy that help was on the way but confused as to what the help would be. They discussed some more and decided on a strategy to attack the demons. ¡°Finally¡±, muttered Kyrie to Marcus, ¡°At least they decided on something.¡± The adventurers who were sent scouting for other adventurers were recalled. Marcus counted now. There was a total of forty-three adventurers present now. When all were gathered, Guron explained what they were going to do. It sounded a lot like guerilla warfare. The adventurers made their way to the edge of the forest. The army was still about five hundred meters away from them. Fast runners were selected from the group. They went. Marcus saw that Kyrie was also part of the group of fast runners. Marcus saw the adventurers attack the rear of the demon army. That immediately drew the army¡¯s attention. With a roar a large group of demons charged the adventurers. Even from a distance Marcus could see at least one elite demon. The adventurers started to retreat and run towards where the rest of their group was standing. Marcus did not count how many demons were following but readied himself. As the running adventurers rushed past the waiting group, the remaining adventurers charged. The front row was made up of tanks who roared their challenge at the incoming demons. The second row was formed of melee fighters who could dish out some damage and the final row was of ranged fighters. As the tanks charged into the demons, the ranged adventurers shot their attacks at the incoming demons. The runners arranged themselves quickly in their positions. Most of them were ranged attackers while only a few were melee damagers. Marcus was part of the second row of melee damagers. When the tanks charged into the demons, he cast [Enchant Weapon: Holy]. As soon as he saw the demons well engaged with the tank adventurers, he charged with the other melee damagers. They made short work of the demons. There were three elite demons, but they also died. Forty-three adventurers versus about a hundred demons and three elite demons and the adventurers were victorious. There were no casualties, and the wounds were healed fast. Then the forty-three adventurers went back into the forest. They hit the demon army from another part and this time managed to kill about two hundred demons and ten elite demons. They almost lost one of their adventurers. That was when Marcus realized that he and Kyrie had forgotten to set up their respawn point in Chardos and if he died, he would respawn at Galados. He swore but there was nothing he could do at the moment. They hit the demon army two more times before they took a rest. It had been about three hours and they had done quite the damage. Marcus could see that they had earned the interest of one of the demon lords who was now gathering a part of the army and pointing towards the forest. Did that mean that a demon lord was going to attack them soon. They moved away from their current location, hoping to delay the demon lord and if they had to fight him, they would fight him in the cover of the forest where they had the advantage. Marcus saw that the demon lord and his army entered the forest from where they all had been about a few minutes ago. Then he saw that they exited and started trailing along the edge of the forest. They seemed to be gaining fast. Marcus did not feel like fighting another demon lord, but he then remembered that he was not alone this time. As the demons approached, the adventurers started to hide, waiting for the demons to come to them rather than charge them. Marcus saw who the demon lord following them was. Ann the Deathless Demon Lord, Level 100 Health 150,000 / 150,000 Marcus felt that the title was a bit too much. Deathless; really? She had a health bar. Marcus was pretty sure that Ann was not in fact deathless, and a healthy dose of holy attack would kill her. Well, wasn¡¯t he feeling a bit overconfident after soloing a demon lord. They waited for the demon army now. When the army was considerably in and had not sensed the adventurers, the adventurers attacked. Marcus again cast [Enchant Weapon: Holy] and then cast [Whirling Weapon] shredding a group of demons near him. Ann shrieked and charged at one of the shielded adventurers who managed to block her attack in time. Some focused on demons while a group of ten adventurers focused on Ann. Marcus saw Kyrie attack Ann while he dispatched more of the demons. Marcus focused on the demons. He did not know how the battle with the demon lord was going but considering Ann¡¯s screams of fury, or at least Marcus considered them screams of fury, it seemed to be going well for the adventurers. They killed Ann soon and the remaining demons ran away panicked. Marcus gave a shout of joy but did not pursue the demons that were running away. He sat down. He was feeling a bit tired. At that moment they heard a rumble and looked towards Treedos. A large part of the wall and the entire gate had completely crumbled. Treedos was now exposed. Demons started to pour into the city and slaughtered everyone on sight. Marcus looked at the others present and saw the shock on their faces. Out of the forty-three adventurers, thirty-five of them remained. Eight had died fighting Ann and her small army of demons. Shock soon gave way to determination, and they all looked at each other. All at once they were of the same opinion as to what to do. They replenished their health and mana with potions and Marcus also drank some water. Then they stood up and got in formation. Then all thirty five of them charged at the army from behind. However, instead of the army they came head to head with three demon lords. Guzuril the Bullheaded Demon Lord, Level 100 Health 102,000 / 102,000 Akenwsu the Trickster Demon Lord, Level 100 Health 92,500 / 92,500 Morri the Battlequeen Demon Lord, Level 100 Health 100,000 / 100,000 ¡°Oh Fuck!¡±, exclaimed Marcus as they stopped. The adventurers and demon lords looked at each other for some time. Marcus was not sure whether their group of thirty five would be able to take care of three demon lords at once. The demon lords charged into the first row and threw them back with force Marcus had not seen before. Marcus ducked as one of the adventures went flying over him. The next moment the demon lord Akenwsu was in front of him bringing a scimitar over his head. Marcus dodged it at the last moment and cast [Whirling Weapon]. As his twinblade was not enchanted with holy, it did not do much damage to Akenwsu but it did give Marcus some breathing time. His [Battle Analysis] gave him a sense of what he should do but he was feeling really tired from all the fighting he had been doing since morning, even with what little rest he had taken. Around him, Marcus could see that the other adventurers were having a tough time dealing with the demon lords. Some of them, including Kyrie, attacked Akenwsu helping Marcus but they were not that effective. Akenwsu kicked Marcus and down he went. Before he could move or get up he saw the scimitar coming down on him very fast. Marcus closed his eyes. This was it for now. Time to respawn in Galados. He heard a roar and opened his eyes. The next moment Akenwsu was thrown back and an armored figure stood above Marcus. Marcus had to squint his eyes from the glow of the armor. He knew only one person with such ostentatious armor. ¡°Well hello there Marcus¡±, said Tamara the full leveled champion of Una, ¡°It seems that you are in some sort of gorking trouble.¡± ¡°So kind of you to notice.¡± Marcus took the extended hand Tamara had provided and stood up. Tamara nodded once to Marcus and then charged straight into Akenwsu. Marcus saw Tamara¡¯s team engage the other two demon lords. In the distance, Marcus saw Tanniv and his team attack the demon army attacking Treedos from the rear. A cheer went up from the city soon and Marcus was sure it was due to how the demon army was getting decimated by Tanniv and his team. Tamara was not far behind. She single handedly drove Akenwsu back and attacked him with such ferocity that the demon lord had hardly any time to do anything but defend himself. Tamara made short work of the demon lord in just a few minutes. Marcus realized that his mouth was hanging open and he closed it. Tamara¡¯s team of adventurers also finished killing Guzuril and Morri when Marcus realized that he had hardly done anything to help them. Tamara then shouted, ¡°Come on your gorkers. We help Tanniv now. Today Treedos will not fall. Today Artorios will not fall.¡± And she charged into the demon army. Her team followed. The remaining adventurers also gave a battle cry and followed the champions. Marcus had still not moved. He did not know why. He just stood there dumbly till someone put a hand on his shoulder. Kyrie said, ¡°Are you alright?¡± Marcus simply shrugged. He was not sure. Marcus said, ¡°I am just tired.¡± Both Kyrie and Marcus walked towards Treedos as the champions, their team, the other adventurers and the guards took care of the demon army. With the arrival of the champions, everything had changed and Marcus could see with the ease the demons were being dispatched. Many of the demons panicked and escaped. Luckily none came towards Marcus and Kyrie. Kyrie did shoot a few of the escaping demons, killing them. When they reached the fallen wall of Treedos, they met a friendly face. ¡°Well hello there adventurers¡±, said Selena, ¡°Lost your way have you?¡± She stood there, her bow in her hand ready to shoot. She had a grin on her face as she saw Marcus and Kyrie approaching but that grin suddenly turned to a look of concern as she saw Marcus¡¯ face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Selena asked. Kyrie said, ¡°You got this? You got this. I need to hunt some demons.¡± Then Kyrie left Marcus and Selena alone as she went deeper into the city. ¡°It is good to see you Selena¡± said Marcus. Selena waved a hand and said, ¡°I asked what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I am tired. So fucking tired.¡± Marcus sat down on some rubble. Selena sat down beside him. The two of them simply sat in silence as the demons were killed off in Treedos. Pretty soon the news of victory reached Marcus¡¯ ears. He took a deep breath as if he had been holding something in and he had just let something out. He lay his head on Selena¡¯s lap which surprised her but she let him. They had won. They will deal with the aftermath tomorrow. But now, he just wanted to sleep. Loose Ends He coughed up more blood as he made his way to his bedroom. There was not much time. He was going to die and he knew it. Harados had failed. The invasion had failed. Artorios was still standing. And he was not happy. He wondered where he had gone wrong. He thought the deal he had made with Harados was iron tight and there was no way that gorking demon would be able to wiggle out of it or find a loophole. It was true that the cost of Harados¡¯ deal was high for him but he had a plan and it did not just involve Harados. He had met with another demon lord. Marbas. Another gorking detestable demon. But he had made a deal with him too. He had been satisfied with his plan. A plan which would weaken the game masters. It would cost a whole land mass and a majority of its people but he had been ready to sacrifice them and himself, if need be to hurt the game masters. However, it had all gone wrong. Harados had somehow gotten into a duel with an adventurer named Marcus Blank and the gorking problem was that he had lost. He wondered where he had gone wrong in his deal made with Harados. Harados and his hellhounds were the major part of his army. Without Harados, his plan had fallen apart and the adventurers had managed to defeat the demon horde and demon lords. Moreover, the arrival of champions was unprecedented. As per his information, they were doing quests for the undead and they should not have been able to come to Artorios. How the gork had that happened? He was not happy. However, he was not done. He was dying. His insides were slowly deteriorating. However, it was not over for him. He had a contingency plan. He entered his bedroom and went up to the bed. There he knelt down and checked on the false bottom. With a series of taps and applying pressure to the right switch, he opened the false bottom. He smiled. It was still there. The potion with red swirling mist was still where he had left it. It was his way out. Something which would aid him if all went wrong and it had gone wrong. He sighed as he took the potion out of its hidden place. Maybe he should not have done this alone without other agents but it was too late to regret now. He had executed his plan and he had failed. And now, as per his deal with Harados, he was dying and the potion was the only thing that would save him, or so he believed. He downed the potion fast, ensuring that he drank every single drop of the potion. He should not have worried because the potion flask was enchanted such that it would ensure all of the potion would be consumed by the user. After he was finished he gave a sigh. He could feel the effects of the potion taking place. He was feeling better. He was in no more pain. He smiled. He had done it. He had found out a way to not deal with Harados¡¯ consequences of the deal. His sense of relief lasted for a few moments when he felt it. Immense pain. What the gork was happening? Had Marbas lied to him. Marbas had told him that the potion would save him from Harados¡¯ deal¡¯s consequences. It did not feel like that. The pain was worse than what he had been feeling before. Betrayed. Broken. In immense pain. He dropped down to the floor. As his vision blackened, he saw the flask in which the potion was disappearing. That was the last thing he saw. The last thing that crossed his mind was rage. Rage towards Harados and Marbas. Rage towards himself for doing this alone. Rage against the game masters for what they had done to Una. Then he was no more. *** It was two days later after the war against the five demon lords that Marcus found himself in a large auditorium. On the stage, the council members who ruled Treedos were seated. There used to be seven but currently six were seated. One was found dead with no explanation and it was assumed that demons had somehow gotten to him. Marcus somehow found the explanation flimsy. There had to be more to that but it was not his problem. It was Zoey¡¯s. And she had not yet asked him to help, so he was not concerned or interested. The council members were talking with Zoey, Tamara and Tanniv. They were discussing the demon attack, the death of the council member and finding out regarding the progress of Zoey¡¯s investigation as to who was behind this all and why. Marcus was really bored and kept nodding off from time to time. Kyrie kept on waking him. He wished she would let him sleep. The meeting was long and Marcus half listened to what was being said. He continued to nod off from time to time and Kyrie never failed to wake him up. After the meeting, Marcus went to meet with the champions while Kyrie rushed to the arena. There had been good news for her. The arenas all across Artorios were open to let adventurers blow off some steam after the harrowing experience of a large-scale demonic invasion. Marcus felt as if this was a diversionary tactic, but Kyrie was happy. As Marcus was walking towards the champions and their teams who were huddled together, Selena noticed him. She waved and told him to wait. Marcus stopped walking and waited for her. They stopped talking and dispersed. Selena walked up to Marcus. ¡°Hey you¡±, said Selena. ¡°Hello¡±, said Marcus. ¡°Did you want to talk to the champions?¡± ¡°I wanted to thank them for their help. And thank you too for reading my message on time and getting everyone here. And I wanted to discuss how the champions can be accessed in the future if such an event took place.¡± Selena laughed and said, ¡°You do know that the contact details of the champions are not shared with everyone for a reason. Every adventurer is expected to contribute and not leave every little thing for the champions and their team members.¡± ¡°Yes, I know¡±, said Marcus slowly, ¡°I understand that. However, look at the situation here. Don¡¯t tell me that the champions would not have made a difference if they had been here from the beginning.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. It is true that the demons invaded on a larger scale here. However, it seemed that the adventurers over here had quite everything under control. I mean, if we had not arrived, then it is possible that more non adventurers had died, but would it have made an impact in the long run?¡± Marcus looked weirdly at Selena and said slowly, ¡°You do remember that the non adventurers do not have the resurrection ability like adventurers.¡± Selena looked at Marcus and blinked. Then, as if she had realized what she had said, she gasped and put her hands on her mouth. ¡°I am so sorry¡±, said Selena, ¡°I just didn¡¯t realize. I forgot. How could I forget! I mean, have I died so many times that I am starting to consider death pretty normal. Have I gorking normalized death?¡± ¡°That is for you to answer for yourself¡±, said Marcus and looked towards the champions. They seemed to be walking towards him and Selena. ¡°Come on Selena¡±, said Tanniv as they approached, ¡°Time to go back to undead land. Nice seeing you, Marcus.¡± Tanniv gave Marcus a nod of acknowledgement. ¡°Don¡¯t call it undead land¡±, said Tamara following Tanniv, ¡°Hey Marcus. The landmass is Urtor of the Undead kingdom. It is not undead land Tanniv.¡± The others followed acknowledging Marcus as they passed. Selena still stood beside him. ¡°Well¡±, said Selena, ¡°Till we meet again.¡± Marcus grinned and said, ¡°Till we meet again, Selena.¡± ¡°Keep in touch. You have my contact not only for business purposes. You can text me whenever you feel like it. Or you just want to chat. Or, you know.¡± Selena shuffled awkwardly. Marcus nodded and said, ¡°I will, Selena. I think you should go though. They seem to be calling you.¡± Selena could see Tanniv waving at her, calling towards the group. She let out a sigh of disappointment and started walking towards the champions and their team. Marcus watched them go. ¡°What the fuck was that about?¡± he wondered. Then he went to the library. He had some down time, and he was going to make the most use of it. On his way to the library, he met Zoey. With her were Nadia and Nassir. Nadia and Zoey seemed to be deep in discussion while Nassir seemed to be simply trailing behind them. ¡°What are you up to Marcus?¡± asked Zoey. ¡°I am going to do some light reading. Am going to the library¡±, replied Marcus. Nadia and Nassir snorted at light reading and Zoey looked at them with slight surprise on her face. ¡°Marcus¡¯ light reading is at least two three huge tomes¡±, said Nadia as a way of explanation. Zoey nodded and turned to Marcus, ¡°Do you want to do something fun? I have been tasked to investigate the death of the council leader Duront Fannel. Do you wish to join us?¡± Marcus saw a prompt. It was an optional quest. The first one he had gotten. Optional Quest Investigate the Death of Council Member Duront Fannel Duront Fannel, one of the seven council members of the Council of Treedos was found dead in his bedroom after the battle of Treedos in mysterious circumstances. It is suspected demons had a hand in his death but the Council is not satisfied. Zoey has been tasked with finding the truth. Brave adventurer, you have the option of aiding her in her search. Will you help? Yes No Marcus selected Yes and an optional quest became visible in the upper right corner of his vision. He minimized the description and turned to Zoey. ¡°I will help¡±, said Marcus. ¡°So, you accepted the quest¡±, said Zoey, more as a statement rather than a question. Zoey started to lead, and Marcus stepped just behind her. The four adventurers made their way to councilman Fannel¡¯s house. Duront Fannel lived in the central part of Treedos. His house seemed to be well away from the destruction that the demons had caused while invading the city. And yet people suspected demonic influence. Marcus wondered how that was possible. Duront¡¯s house was two storeys tall and quite large. It had a curved roof like those of the Umaru houses that Marcus had seen. Two guards were standing at the gate, and they let the adventurers through once the adventurers had provided identification. They entered the house. The first thing Marcus observed was that it was spotlessly clean. The second thing he observed was that it was empty. ¡°Did Fannel not have any family?¡± asked Marcus out loud. He looked around for family pictures. He found some of them depicting an Umaru male, an Umaru female and a child. There were family photos and some individual shots. Zoey said, ¡°He had a wife and a daughter. But they died in an accident about ten years ago. He had been alone since then.¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Nadia asked, ¡°How did they die? Do you know?¡± Zoey nodded, ¡°They were in the wrong place at a wrong time. It was a monster attack, and some adventurers were chasing a slythworm. Very fast and very dangerous. Fannel¡¯s wife and daughter somehow got caught in the crossfire. Did not survive. Flannel had not liked it. Had been verbal about it, taking out his anger on the Game Masters. However, nothing came out of it, and it seemed that he was chastised as he was behaving considerably normally after a few months.¡± ¡°Chastised how?¡± asked Nadia. Zoey shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The four of them started to look around the house, trying to find something suspicious. The ground floor had nothing. There was a living room, a kitchen and a small bedroom on the ground floor. The small bedroom looked like it was for guests considering the minimal furnishing and no personal items. The first floor consisted of two rooms. One was Fannel¡¯s bedroom while the other was converted into a gym. Marcus could tell it was converted from a bedroom considering the faded colour of the walls and the ceiling. The gym did not have anything out of place and so they went to the bedroom which was the site of crime. Tape was placed in the shape of Duront Fannel where his body had been found. The place had already been investigated by the guards and according to Zoey they had done a thorough work but found nothing. Nadia and Nassir sniffed as they entered the room. Then they both sneezed and looked at each other. ¡°What is it?¡± asked Zoey. ¡°Something smells not right¡±, said Nadia. Marcus wondered what she meant by that. He had read that feliurs¡¯ noses were sensitive and they could distinguish various scents, but he had never seen their sense of smell in action. ¡°It would be good if you could explain what you are smelling¡±, said Marcus, ¡°Our noses are not as sensitive as yours.¡± Nadia said slowly, ¡°I will explain the best I can. Normally, a normal bedroom in a normal house would not smell like this. I cannot describe the smell. But for explanation purposes let us say that a normal house smells like fresh flowers and the bedroom would smell like a specific flower. However, the bedroom here smells like the flower has wilted, decayed and now is rotting like gork. It is bad but there is still a hint of some fresh flower in the bedroom. That is why it is bad and odd. Do you kind of get it?¡± Both Marcus and Zoey nodded. ¡°Could it be the stench the body left?¡± asked Zoey. ¡°Oh, I can smell the lingering smell of the body¡± said Nadia, ¡°It is different from the bedroom. A different flower smell for your reference.¡± Marcus looked around. What was odd with the bedroom? Nothing seemed out of place except for the body mark. Marcus started to look around. The others joined him. Marcus went slowly and deliberately around the room but nothing seemed to jump out to him that would help him understand what happened here. Duront Fannel seemed to have just died. Could be stress from the attack. He did not know much about Umaru physiology to comment whether extreme stress would have caused him a heart attack or not. He continued to look around the room. Marcus looked under the bed to see if there was anything there. There was enough space for him to get underneath the bed and so he did exactly that. The underside of the bed seemed normal till he saw an opening. It looked like a hidden compartment. Inside the bed and which could be accessed from the bottom. It was near one of the corners at the foot of the bed. Marcus put his hand in it to find it empty. Weird. Then why was it open? Marcus got out from under the bed and told everyone what he had found. The others checked the compartment out. Nadia and Nassir sniffed the compartment and made a face. Nadia said, ¡°The rotting flower smell is definitely associated with this compartment.¡± Zoey said, ¡°It isn¡¯t a rotting flower smell exactly, is it?¡± Nadia shook her head, ¡°I am using the analogy of flower to explain what I am smelling. I told you, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Sorry. I got confused a bit.¡± Zoey bent down and examined the compartment. Marcus could see that she did not find anything considering the look of disappointment on her face. ¡°There was definitely something here¡±, said Zoey, ¡°However, it cannot be determined what it was. We cannot also say whether whatever the object in the compartment was, was responsible for the councilman''s death.¡± ¡°It has to be the cause of his death¡±, said Nassir slowly, ¡°It just smells wrong. Something which smells wrong usually causes harm.¡± ¡°Can you tell what it was based on the smell?¡± asked Marcus. Both Nadia and Nassir shook their heads. Well, this was a clue, but it was still a dead end. Nadia said, ¡°Did the guards who investigated the room find the compartment or any object in the compartment?¡± Zoey displayed the report which the guards had sent to her and shared it with the others. Marcus looked at it. Zoey said, ¡°The guards did find the compartment. However, they found it empty too and so they did not put much thought on it.¡± Marcus read the report of the guards. It was well written, but it did not give him more information than what was shared to him by Zoey verbally. He was disappointed but did not show it. ¡°Well, what now?¡± asked Marcus. Zoey said, ¡°I want to look around a bit more. Then we go and talk with the neighbours. Maybe they would have seen or heard something. Maybe it would help.¡± Zoey continued to look around. Nadia and Nassir went downstairs and into the kitchen, talking in hushed whispers. Marcus also went downstairs and into the living room. He stood there for some time and then went out of the house. The house was surrounded by a small garden which did not seem to be well maintained. The plants did not seem to be dying but they did not seem to be taken care of by a professional. As Marcus walked around the house, he did not find anything unusual. He walked around the entire perimeter and came back to the front door. He stared at it hard as if it would provide him all the answers that he needed. He contemplated whether to simply ditch Zoey and go to the library. He was good at research work. Detective work was not his forte. As he pondered on what to do, Marcus looked up at the house. Through one of the windows, he could see Zoey. It must be Duront¡¯s bedroom. She did not seem to have gone out of it. He saw her raise her hand and say something. Then a look of bewilderment passed on her face. Marcus knew something was up. He quickly went up asking Nadia and Nassir to follow him. They reached upstairs to find Zoey rushing out of Duront¡¯s bedroom. ¡°What happened?¡± asked Marcus. Zoey replied, ¡°I cast [Detect Magic]. It has caught on something. Something downstairs.¡± They followed Zoey to the center of the living room. Zoey stood there, looking down with a frown on her face. ¡°The magic is telling me to go further down.¡± ¡°There is no mention of a basement in the report¡±, said Marcus glancing through the report quickly. Zoey looked at the others. They were all looking at each other in surprise. ¡°There must be a hidden entrance¡±, said Zoey. ¡°How could the guards have missed it?¡± asked Nadia. ¡°Maybe they did not cast [Detect Magic] as I did.¡± ¡°Are the guards not usually thorough?¡± ¡°They might be tired from the fighting they just went through.¡± ¡°Alright¡±, said Nassir, ¡°Enough bickering. Let¡¯s find the hidden entrance if there is one. We need to find whatever [Detect Magic] is pointing at.¡± All of them cast [Detect Magic]. Marcus felt magical energy beneath him. There was definitely a basement. Now they just needed to find out where the entrance was. Nadia and Nassir decided to explore the first floor, but Marcus doubted whether they would find anything there. Zoey decided to check the ground floor while Marcus decided to explore the outside grounds. Marcus remembered something about doors leading to the basement had entrances from back of the house. Marcus kept the spell on and went to the back. There, at a corner, the air shimmered. As Marcus closed, he could see the traces of magic and when he was almost on top of the shimmering, a double door appeared at a slant. Marcus was sure that this was the door to the basement. Marcus called the others who came to him rushing. Marcus ensured them there was no danger, just that he had found the entrance. They debated for a moment and then decided to explore it. Just the four of them. Zoey did not want to involve anyone yet. The stairs went down longer than Marcus had anticipated. The basement was a huge space. Marcus had not seen any basement so huge. Then, he did not remember visiting any basements on Una. The basement was at least as large as a ballroom and just as high. Pillars sprouted at regular intervals and were circular in shape. However, the center of the basement was quite clear, and Marcus could see it. In fact, everyone could see the ritual circle. Marcus identified it immediately. ¡°This is the ritual circle to summon Harados¡±, commented Marcus. Zoey looked at him sharply and then at the circle on the floor. Then she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Sometime later Zoey said, ¡°I think we can safely presume what happened to Councilman Fannel. I think we can also safely say who was responsible for the demonic attack on Artorios.¡± Marcus nodded. It seemed that he and Zoey had come to the same conclusion. Duront Fannel had summoned Harados and had made a deal with him. The deal would be regarding the invasion of Artorios and considering how much Duront was asking of Harados, Marcus presumed that the cost would be Duront¡¯s death. ¡°Why though?¡± asked Nadia, ¡°Why would Duront do this?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s look around¡±, said Zoey, ¡°Maybe we would find something.¡± They did so. They even cast [Detect Magic]. However, they only found materials for rituals and some other magical devices which did not give them much answers regarding Duront¡¯s motives. An hour later, they had thoroughly explored the basement but had come up empty. They were at a loss as to what to do next. ¡°Well¡±, said Zoey, ¡°We know that Duron Fannel was after the attack, but we don¡¯t know why. Let me report this to the rest of the council today. We shall regroup tomorrow morning at the adventurer¡¯s guild to discuss our next steps. Does that sound okay?¡± They all nodded their assent. Nadia and Nassir decided to do a quest while Marcus went to the library. He would see what tomorrow would bring. *** Tomorrow brought Kyrie poking Marcus to wake him up while he drooled with his head down on the library table. ¡°I thought I would find you here¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you bother paying for an inn when you simply live in a library.¡± ¡°Whazza¡­ Whasta¡­ What?¡± Marcus opened his eyes and looked around dazed. It was too bright. Why was it too bright? And why did his back hurt? He tried to straighten it and definitely heard a crick. What was going on? Kyrie flicked him on the forehead and Marcus fell down from the chair. He was definitely awake now. He had fallen asleep in the library. How lovely. ¡°Good morning, Kyrie. What time is it?¡± Even though he asked the question, he looked at the system time from his utility belt. It was the fifth hour of the morning. When had he fallen asleep last night? How long had he been sleeping? ¡°Come on, sleepy head. Let¡¯s get some breakfast. Then you need to go and meet Zoey. It seems that she was trying to contact you but you did not respond.¡± ¡°I did not even hear her call. He looked at his notifications and found out that he had three missed calls from Zoey, two from Nadia and one from Nassir. He also had messages from all three of them and he replied to them. They went back to their inn briefly and Marcus freshened up. He grabbed a sandwich and ate on his way to the adventurers¡¯ guild. Kyrie had decided to join him for the time being till she went back to the arena. Marcus and Kyrie entered the common room of the guild. Marcus saw Zoey, Nadia and Nassir sitting together on one of the tables. Zoey waved as she saw Marcus and Kyrie. Marcus and Kyrie walked towards the table and sat down when they reached it. Everyone said their greetings. ¡°Good to find you alive and well, Marcus¡±, said Zoey, ¡°When we could not contact you, we were worried.¡± ¡°We contacted Kyrie¡±, said Nadia, ¡°Who was not at all concerned and told us you might be in the library not aware of time at all.¡± ¡°Just like last time¡±, said Nassir, ¡°When you fell asleep in the private room of the adventurer¡¯s guild in Galados.¡± ¡°We did not bet this time¡±, said Nadia. Marcus groaned and shook his head. ¡°Can we do this thing already?¡± said Marcus, ¡°What did the council members say?¡± Everyone looked at Zoey, ¡°The quest is officially over. We have found out how councilman Duront Fannel died. We also found out the cause of the demon army attacking Artorios. We did not find the reason why but the council was not concerned about it.¡± Marcus got a notification that the optional quest was complete and he got 2,000 points of experience for completing it. ¡°Well, that was anticlimactic and disappointing¡±, said Nadia. ¡°Yes¡±, said Nassir, ¡°Maybe there is more to this than meets the eye.¡± ¡°Maybe¡±, shrugged Zoey, ¡°But we have not been asked to look into this. This chapter of Harados and demonic invasion is officially over. We can now lead our normal adventuring lives.¡± There was a small round of laughter at that from those present. ¡°What are you going to do now?¡± asked Marcus of others. Zoey said, ¡°I am going to go to another landmass. I don¡¯t know which. I am done with Artorios for the time being.¡± ¡°We will be going back to Filinile¡±, said Nadia looking at Nassir, ¡°We got a message from our guild. I believe it is linked to the next part of our major quest. What about you?¡± Marcus and Kyrie looked at each other. What about them? Marcus knew Kyrie would want to fight in each arena around Artorios. As for him. He just wanted to relax. Kyrie said, ¡°We have not talked yet. But I think I want to go and fight in all arenas in Artorios before someone decides to shut them off. Marcus, I don¡¯t know. What do you want?¡± Marcus said, ¡°I will be accompanying you, obviously. And I will do some research. Take some time off quests. Me time and all that.¡± The adventurers then said their goodbyes. Zoey was taking a portal to Florianne, the capital city of Filinile first and Nadia and Nassir wanted to wrap things up in Galados. Marcus and Kyrie went back to their room at the inn. ¡°Well¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°Are you ready to relax and enjoy a bit, Marcus?¡± Marcus grinned at her. It was going to be a fun month. He promised himself that. Interlude: Selena Selena was bored. She looked at Tanniv, the champion who had recruited her and he seemed to be deep in conversation with Tamara. The others were lounging around, either making conversation or reading something or in Victor''s case, sleeping. Selena wondered how he could sleep at a time like this, but then, he was Victor after all. Selena looked at her chat. Marcus had replied to her hello. She smiled. Marcus Blank. Now that guy was an enigma if there was one. He had talked to her about his arrival on Una, his loss of memory and his general life as an adventurer. Selena had found it fascinating. He, however, did not seem as interested in her as she was in him, was he? It had been two weeks since they had met in Treedos. And now Selena was back with her team on Urtor. Urtor, the dull, gloomy landmass, the land of the undead. It was always dark in Urtor, the sun shrouded by an artificial cloak which always left Urtor swathed in darkness. Even the moonlight was shrouded. The undead required such an environment to thrive. The flora and fauna of this landmass was different then the rest of Una, adapted to the shroud so that they could survive. Very few species other than the undead lived on Urtor. Even the resident species, Umaru, were found in less numbers on Urtor. They lived on the outer edges of the landmass where the effect of the shroud was not as prominent. Selena was tired, standing, waiting for Tanniv and Tamara to make a decision. She sat down, leaning over the trunk of a dark tree whose bark was smoother than barks of normal trees. She did not know its name. She did not care. Selena looked at her chat with Marcus again. It seemed that he was doing well, taking a break from all the adventuring. He and Kyrie seemed to be visiting every town in Artorios after Kyrie was satisfied with her positioning in the arena at Treedos. They had already gone to Galados and after ranking first, it seemed that they were going to Frodos. Selena wondered whether she should pursue Marcus. She had given him various hints that she was interested in him. He, however, had either not gotten them or he was genuinely not interested in her. She wondered which it was. Maybe, the next time she met him, she would ask him out directly. Maybe that would help. Tamara called everyone. It seemed that they had made a decision. They were on a quest to find out the source of demons popping up all over Urtor. The demons actually found the conditions that the undead live in good and they thrived on this landmass. This meant that the demons on Urtor were stronger than they would be on any other landmass. As Selena and the others approached Tamara said, ¡°Alright. We are splitting up. Groups of five. We need to comb this forest and we need to comb this forest fast. The demons are definitely coming out from a location in the forest. We are close. I can feel it. Tanniv and I have decided on the groups to be formed. Listen carefully.¡± Selena listened to the division. Tamara, Shania, Thalia, Tim and Selena were the first group. The second group was Mikhail, Vladimir, Ivan, Victor and Artemis. Figures. Tamara and Tanniv would not split The Bloody Hounds. The third group was Tanniv, Kenirath, Duranos, Shadra and Clio. Tanniv¡¯s group had all the feliurs together. The last group was Garun, Sylvianna, Hestia, Erato and Athena. Selena wondered about the logic of selecting such four groups, but Tamara did not give her much time. ¡°Alright¡±, said Tamara, ¡°Form in your groups fast and start searching. My group would be searching North while Tanniv¡¯s group would be searching South. The Bloody Hounds plus Artemis would be searching East while the final group would be searching West. Cover as large an area as you can. Any questions?¡± There were no questions. The four groups disbursed and started to walk in the directions they were assigned. In their group, Tamara led the way which was expected. Following Tamara was Shania, keeping a close look at their surroundings. Thalia was the center, walking calmly as possible. She had her wings folded as they would hit the trees if they were unfurled. Tim flitted in and out of the shadows, at least, that is what it looked like to Selena. She brought up the rear, her shortbow in her hand, acting as the rearguard. Selena looked at the map. Tamara had marked the area that their group was supposed to search. They were in the Durnhold Forest. It covered a large area in the central part of the landmass Urtor. The landmass was dark and gloomy while the forest was darker and gloomier. Selena hated his major quest and wanted to be done with it as quickly as possible. Selena realized she had gotten a message from Marcus. A reply to their conversation. Selena quickly messaged him that she was busy for now and would message him later. An ¡®ok¡¯ came as a reply. Selena was not sure whether Marcus was actually okay or not that their chat conversation was abruptly interrupted. She sighed. This was not the time to dwell on Marcus. She needed to have her head in what they were doing. No distractions. Tamara made them walk to the Northmost part of the forest. It was then they took their first break. ¡°Alright¡±, said Tamara, ¡°We have reached the starting point of our search. Bring out your maps.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Selena was confused. Starting point? What the gork had they been doing till now? Taking a stroll in the gorking gloomy forest? Still, she brought her map out in front of her. Tamara said, ¡°We have walked in a fairly straight line to reach this point. I know we have been searching but we have not found anything. However, walking in a straight line was never the plan. Each of the groups has gotten a search pattern which Tanniv and I devised. You will be seeing yours¡­ now.¡± Tamara pressed something on the display in front of her and Selena saw her map being populated with lines and arrows. The search pattern of the Northern quadrant of the forest was populated on Selena¡¯s map. Tamara continued, ¡°We take a break for about ten minutes. Then we start with the search. We shall be taking breaks every two hours except in unprecedented circumstances, in which case I will be taking point, and you will follow my commands. Is that clear?¡± ¡°How is that different from how it normally is?¡± asked Tim. Tamara glared at him, and he simply shrugged, ¡°You always take point or command. It is natural. You are one of our leaders after all.¡± Tamara gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Tim, you know I need to know that everyone is on the same page. That would mean reminding everyone time and again that I am in charge. Please do not take this as an insult. It is just that lack of vigilance causes premature deaths. Which I do not like.¡± Tim nodded and did not say anything. No one had anything to add either. Ten minutes later the group started their search in the same formation as before. Two hours later, they had found no signs of demons, or the source of their origin and it was time for their break. Tamara told them to rest for fifteen minutes but keep watch. Selena was not tired with walking, but constant surveillance was wearing her out. ¡°Hey Tim¡±, said Selena, ¡°You there or hiding in the shadows.¡± ¡°I am here Selena¡± said Tim, causing Selena to jump a little. ¡°I thought we told you not to continue doing that.¡± ¡°And I said no.¡± ¡°You are a gorking prick.¡± ¡°I doubt that is why you called me. To call me a prick.¡± ¡°No, I want your opinion on something.¡± ¡°I am honored.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a gorking wiseass.¡± ¡°And deny my nature?¡± ¡°If that wouldn¡¯t be much of a bother for you.¡± ¡°Now who is being a gorking wiseass?¡± ¡°Still you.¡± ¡°Are you going to get to the gorking point?¡± ¡°Why yes Tim. I am. I wanted to know your opinion about this major quest.¡± Tim looked at the others. Tamara was not resting and was patrolling the parameter. Shania and Talia were sitting some distance away from Selena and Tim and whispering something that Selena could not quite catch. She was sure that the others could hear them though. ¡°Truth be told, I a gorking tired¡±, said Tim, ¡°The quest isn¡¯t bad, but it is this landmass that is disconcerting. No sun and a gloomy feeling all around. It isn¡¯t gorking natural.¡± ¡°Well¡±, said Selena, ¡°It is for the undead.¡± ¡°We are not the undead, Selena.¡± ¡°I have observed that yes. But it is not the landmass that concerns me currently. It is this quest. For some gorking reason, it is rubbing me the wrong way.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°We all know that the demons use a portal of some sort to appear from wherever they are to Una. However, they do not have a fixed location. A limited amount of demons teleport in an area and terrorize it till some adventurer or non adventurer puts them down. However, here we have this forest as the source of demons even before the major quest of demonic invasion plagued Una. That does not make sense to me. If I have read Marcus¡¯ notes correctly, then the major quest concerning demons 500 years ago was a disaster and the game masters kind of decided not to have a major quest with demons again. A decision which they went back on as is evident. However, what about the demons here? Why were they not sent back to where they came from? The undead who gave us the quest did not tell us the whole story. Something is missing. A part of a puzzle. I am sure of it and this is troubling me.¡± Tim looked at Selena with a bit of concern and then said, ¡°Do not worry. If it is part of the quest, we will figure it out. After all, we are formed of adventurers with varying intellect and strength. Talk about this. To Tamara. See what she has to say. I know she would rather tackle a problem by bashing it, but if you are concerned then she could help. Maybe.¡± Selena snorted. Even Tim was not confident of Tamara¡¯s help. Maybe Selena should have talked with Tanniv regarding her opinion on this major quest before they had split up. Their resting time was up. Selena thought she would talk with Tamara during their next break. They moved forward in the same formation as before, their path as marked by Tamara was clearly visible on their map. Before long they came across as small clearing in the forest. Selena considered that odd. The trees were not that close in the forest but there had been no clearing till now. She pointed it out to Tamara who led them to the clearing. There was nothing in the clearing, no grass, no trees and only flat ground made up of ashy soil which was present in the entire Urtor land mass. Tamara bent down and touched the ground. She stood up and rubbed her fingers, some dirt slipping out of her grip. ¡°There is something¡±, Tamara started to say but the next moment a runic formation glowed beneath the group. ¡°Move¡±, shouted Tamara and started to communicate to others. Selena started to move but then suddenly there was a pulse of magic, and she was floating in the air. The others were floating too. There was a lot of shouting, flailing and cursing. Tamara and the others seemed to be either calling someone or sending some message. Selena reacted automatically as she was lifted up. She saw the dark gaping below her and she sent a message to the first person that she could think of. As Selena was sucked off into the dark hole, she prayed that her message had reached Marcus. It contained only one word. ¡®Help¡¯. A Path Splits Marcus¡¯ day was going well. Kyrie had announced that she had reached the top position in Frodos. They were going to go to the next town on Artorios. Marcus had thought they would go to Shellemanos. It was a coastal town and one of the books he was supposed to find was hinted to be in or near that town. Marcus had also been chatting with Selena. It seemed that the champions and their team were exploring the Durnhold forest on Urtor as a part of their major quest. They were doing well but it seemed that Selena was bored. She had sent a last message that she needed to focus and Marcus was okay. They would chat when she would be free. Marcus was getting the feeling that Selena was interested in him but he was not sure about his feelings. He considered Selena his friend. He did not know whether he wanted to pursue a romantic relationship with her. Kyrie said, ¡°Are we ready to go?¡± Marcus blinked, coming out of his thoughts and looked at Kyrie who was standing with her hands on her hips. They were in the common room of the adventurers¡¯ guild. Marcus was sitting at one of the tables waiting for Kyrie. Marcus stood up and said, ¡°I am done. Shellemanos. Are we flying or taking a portal?¡± ¡°Shellemanos is close to Frodos. Just about a little over one fifty kilometers north west if my information is correct¡±, said Kyrie thoughtfully, ¡°We can fly. I mean we are taking this adventurer business slowly for now, after all.¡± ¡°And there has been no update in the major quest¡±, said Marcus cheerfully, ¡°Which gives us some time.¡± ¡°Well aren¡¯t you a ray of sunshine?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a human expression. Who taught you that?¡± ¡°You did.¡± ¡°When?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember either.¡± There was a somewhat awkward moment of silence after that. Then Marcus and Kyrie simply exited the adventurers¡¯ guild. They summoned their flying mounts. Marcus¡¯ flying mana wyrm hummed at Marcus when he greeted her. The wyrm¡¯s body was flowing and Marcus gently stroked her scales and he could hear Lara purring. Kyrie was greeting her mana wyrm Nala beside him. She was talking to her in the lines of ¡®who is a good girl? Who is a good girl? Yes, you are. Yes, you are.¡¯ Marcus grinned as he got into the saddle on Lara. Both Lara and Nala took off eliciting a whoop of joy from both Marcus and Lara. Marcus noted the direction of the sun and adjusted his direction towards the northwest. Kyrie followed. They flew for an hour feeling the wind but not getting hurtled out of the saddle because of it. Lara had a bubble around the saddle which prevented her rider from flying out of it even at faster speeds. It led some wind through, enough to cool the rider. Marcus enjoyed flying like this. They were well about halfway by Marcus¡¯ estimate when he got a message from Selena. Were the champions done with the quest? He however stopped short as he read the message. There was only one word. ¡®Help¡¯ Marcus for some reason felt a chill at the sight of the word. He tried replying to Selena but got an error. Error. The adventurer you are trying to contact is out of Una System Range. Marcus gave a cry of alarm and Kyrie looked at him with shock. He gestured to Kyrie to land and nudged Lara to land faster. Kyrie followed. She was shouting something, but Marcus could not catch what. Marcus landed on the side of the main road and Kyrie landed beside him. ¡°What is wrong, Marcus?¡± Why are you panicking?¡± Marcus shared his screen with her. A look of concern passed on Kyrie¡¯s face. ¡°What does this mean?¡± asked Kyrie. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡±, said Marcus gravely, ¡°Do you have contact details of any of the champions or their team members.¡± Kyrie shook her head, ¡°Only Selena¡¯s.¡± Marcus pursed his lips and looked around thinking what to do. ¡°Although¡±, said Kyrie slowly, ¡°Considering the error, I do have contact details of someone who could help us.¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°I cannot tell you. Just trust me, will you?¡± Marcus nodded. If there was someone who could help, then Marcus had no problem. He trusted Kyrie anyway. Kyrie summoned her screen and seemed to be chatting with someone. Marcus could not see who, as Kyrie was not sharing her screen with him. She chatted with the person for some time and then turned towards Marcus. ¡°Five minutes¡±, said Kyrie. Marcus nodded. Kyrie went up to Nala and stroked her snout while Marcus paced around with nervous energy. Five minutes later she appeared. Marcus stopped pacing and simply stared. He was surprised to see who had come. He took a deep breath and started to say something, but no sound came out. ¡°Hello Marcus and Kyrie¡±, said Leyda Lightweaver, ¡°How have you been?¡± Kyrie¡¯s contact was Leyda Lightweaver, the Game Master! How the fuck had that happened? Kyrie greeted Leyda, ¡°Lady Lightweaver. I am sorry to call you, but this is an emergency and you told me to call you in case of an emergency.¡± ¡°What is the emergency?¡± asked Leyda politely. ¡°Marcus, show her the error.¡± Marcus did so. Leyda looked at the error message and then at Marcus and Kyrie. ¡°I shall take care of this. Continue on your journey. I will call as soon as I get any news. Do not worry. This shall be resolved soon.¡± Leyda disappeared in a puff of smoke. There was even a sound effect of poof as she disappeared. Marcus blinked at the display. Then he looked at Kyrie. ¡°Since when do you have the contact details of a fucking game master?¡± Kyrie winced at Marcus¡¯ question. Marcus checked himself. Had he asked it too harshly. ¡°I am sorry I did not tell you¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°But it was one of the conditions of getting her contact details. I cannot tell anyone unless it was an emergency. And I have a feeling there is something wrong as she clearly wasn¡¯t perturbed that I called her in front of you.¡± ¡°You got to tell me how you got her contact details in the first place. I mean. She is a game master. You do not contact her. She contacts you.¡± ¡°I know Marcus. It is a weird story though. For reasons unknown to me, she approached me in one of my monthly visits to a water source and gave me a deal. Her contact details. I could call her in case of any emergency or if I thought I really really needed her help or favour. There were certain conditions to sharing her contact details though. I cannot share them with you, I am sorry. However, she said if I was okay and wanted her contact details. This was an excellent opportunity, and her conditions were manageable. So, I said yes.¡± ¡°Wow. And you don¡¯t know why she did this?¡± Kyrie shrugged and said, ¡°No. I genuinely have no idea. I mean, after the first visit, she has visited me twice. But it was just to check up on how I am doing. And I have no idea why I am being singled out like this.¡± ¡°Or is it just you?¡± pondered Marcus, ¡°She could also have made a similar deal with other adventurers without your knowledge.¡± ¡°Possible. And I have no way of finding out except for asking her and I currently have no intention of doing so.¡± ¡°Wise¡±, nodded Marcus, ¡°You have no idea how she would react.¡± ¡°Oh, she would not get violent considering her nature. But she would definitely not be pleased.¡± ¡°Possible.¡± They discussed for some more time regarding the game master and Kyrie¡¯s deal and then they were again on their way to Shellemanos. As they flew Marcus worried about Selena and hoped that she was alright. He hoped that this was nothing major and the game masters would be able to fix whatever was causing the error. They reached Shellemanos in a couple of hours, faster than they had planned. Their mana wyrms were tired and Marcus could see Lara panting a bit as he got off of her. He dismissed her feeling guilty for pushing her. Kyrie was sort of shadowing his expression. She had actually apologized to Nala before dismissing her. ¡°What now?¡± asked Marcus. Kyrie said, ¡°I wanted to go to the arena, get a feel and register for a fight tomorrow, but somehow, I¡­ I don¡¯t know what to do.¡± Marcus nodded. He could understand. They were both concerned about what Selena¡¯s message and the subsequent error message from the system meant. Till they heard back from Leyda, Marcus was sure they were both going to worry about it. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the adventurer¡¯s guild. Set our spawn points at the resurrection stone. Then we search for a good inn and rest at it. We will decide on our way forward when we get some news from the game master.¡± Kyrie agreed to Marcus¡¯ plan, and they soon found themselves in a highly crowded adventurers¡¯ guild. ¡°What the fuck is going on?¡± asked Marcus out aloud. The guild hardly had any room to move, and all the adventurers seem to be crowded around the quest board or in the common room looking at something. One of the adventurers nearby who was trying to get in, said, ¡°Have you not heard? Major quest update related to the dwarven kingdom has arrived. It is getting everyone excited.¡± Marcus looked at Kyrie who nodded at him. They made their way away from the guild and to a cafe some distance from the guild which was less crowded. They gave their orders of coffee and sat in a booth which ensured some privacy for them. Marcus then called their favourite dwarf, Orin Gurnhold. Orin was one of the princes of the dwarven kingdom, and the youngest of the sibling adventurers who called themselves the Ori brothers. That was because the names of Orin¡¯s brothers were Orik, Oril and Orim. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Orin picked up Marcus¡¯s call, ¡°Marcus, it is good to hear your gorking voice.¡± ¡°Hello Orin¡±, said Marcus, ¡°How are you?¡± ¡°So. So. I am alive. That¡¯s what counts. Where¡¯s Kyrie?¡± ¡°She is here with me.¡± ¡°Get her on a gorking conference call.¡± Marcus did what Orin asked and a round of greetings passed between Kyrie and Orin. ¡°How can I help you today, Marcus?¡± asked Orin when the pleasantries were out of the way. ¡°Kyrie and I heard about some major dwarven kingdom quest¡±, said Marucus, ¡°We wanted to know more about it, but the guild was full of adventurers, and it would have been a bit cumbersome involving a lot of jostling to get information. So, we thought we could ask you. You would be up to date.¡± Orin laughed at that. Then he said in a serious tone, ¡°First, I am setting this call on private mode. Second, you were right to call me. If you would have taken that trash invitation of the quest, I would have been disappointed.¡± ¡°Oooh¡±, said Marcus, ¡°This sounds serious and juicy.¡± ¡°Please behave Marcus¡±, said Kyrie. ¡°You are no fun sometimes, Kyrie.¡± ¡°Well, Marcus¡± said Orin, ¡°Do you consider yourself to be too much fun then? Holed up in a library, reading book over book till God knows when.¡± ¡°Hey, reading is fun. That was so uncalled for.¡± ¡°Fighting is fun, Marcus. And Kyrie does more fighting than you do.¡± Marcus sulked at that, and Kyrie laughed. ¡°Thank you, Orin¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°Someone needs to remind him from time to time that other people are normal.¡± ¡°I am normal¡±, muttered Marcus. ¡°No, you are gorking not¡±, said Orin. Kyrie interrupted them, ¡°This is not the time to argue, gentlepeople. Orin, please tell us why we should not take the quest.¡± Orin let out a deep sigh and replied, ¡°To make you understand this, I need to tell you a bit about my family history.¡± At that time, Marcus¡¯ and Kyrie¡¯s order arrived and there was a lull in their conversation. Once the waitress had left, Orin continued to talk. ¡°My father is Throwrin Gurnhold, the king of Karzasham. I am sure you know that Karzasham is the capital city of the landmass Golimath, the seat of power for the dwarven kingdom.¡± Marcus nodded at that, but Kyrie silently shook her head. Orin ignored both of them and continued his explanation. ¡°My father has sired many children, ten of them to be exact. Four of us are male dwarves while the six are female dwarves. I am the youngest of the ten while Orik is the third child. Oril and Orim are fifth and sixth respectively. You do not know my sisters and I will tell you about them later. For the sake of simplicity, my elder city is Furorin Gurnhold and as per dwarven laws, she would be in line to the throne of Karzasham.¡± Orin took a deep breath and continued, ¡°All of the family members were okay with Furorin being the heir. Many actually said that Furorin was indeed a good choice as the next queen of Karzasham. However, recently there have been some problems.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why he has been behaving this way but my uncle, Jarison Gurnhold, the fifth sibling of my father has challenged Furorin¡¯s claim to the throne. He has brought in some technicality and invoked the old laws. He wants a king on the throne of Karzasham and not a queen. He has nominated his second son Gorin Gurnhold to be the heir to Karzasham. Jarison would have nominated his first born but Durorin is an adventurer and has no interest in dwarven politics.¡± ¡°We all don¡¯t know what has come over Uncle Jarison and we are concerned. Normally, this would not matter but there is a sense of urgency.¡± Orin paused, took a deep breath and a sad emotion was infused in his voice when he continued, ¡°Marcus. Kyrie. My father is dying. We do not know how long he has but he is going to die soon. He wants this situation of his heir resolved before he passes away. That is why he has proposed a solution. Left to our own devices, I am sure that this issue would have evolved into a whole out civil war amongst the dwarves. But my father has invoked another old law, albeit with some modifications.¡± ¡°As Jarison invoked an old law on a technicality, my father did the same and announced the contest for the heir. In such a normal contest, those who wish to seek the throne, fight against each other to the death and the one who is alive at the end of the fight becomes the heir to the throne. My father did not want either Furorin or Gorin to die. So, he suggested that champions fight on behalf of the heirs. As a result, two teams are being formed. The first team would support Gorin¡¯s claim to the throne while the second would support Furorin¡¯s claim to the throne. And the team would be formed of adventurers. They would fight on behalf of the heirs they support, and a final victor would emerge. The heir would be finalized based on the team which the victor belongs to. The teams would be formed of adventurers. Makes sense as adventurers can respawn after they die.¡± Marcus said, ¡°I am sorry to hear about your father. What does he have? Can it be cured?¡± Orin shook his head, ¡°It is a natural part of dwarven aging. Nothing anyone can do. It is alright. We have all accepted it.¡± Kyrie was somehow vibrating with excitement. She said, ¡°I am sorry about your father Orin. However, I have a question. From what I understood regarding what you said, is this competition of heirs a giant adventurer versus adventurer setup?¡± Orin laughed at that, ¡°Of course this would interest you Kyrie. Yes. In crude terms, it is a giant adventurer versus adventurer setup.¡± Marcus said, ¡°I get that. This still does not explain why you do not want us to accept the quest being put up in the guild. I mean, if we join, we can help you. Especially Kyrie.¡± Kyrie nodded to that. Orin said, ¡°The quest that is being circulated everywhere is set up by Jarison. If you accept the quest, you will be fighting in his team.¡± There was a moment of silence after that. Kyrie said, ¡°Well, it is good then that we did not accept the quest.¡± ¡°We did not even have the chance to even look at it¡±, mumbled Marcus. Orin said, ¡°Yes. It is good that you did not read it or accept it. That gets me to the second point. I want you and Kyrie to join my sister¡¯s team. We are inviting a select group of adventurers first to join our team before we send an open invitation like Jarison. I had asked Furorin to invite you two, but it seems that her representative has not reached you yet. Give me some time. I think you will get the quest soon.¡± Marcus, Kyrie and Orin chatted for a bit more regarding the quest and then said their goodbyes. Marcus and Kyrie finished their drinks and stepped out of the cafe. Marcus said, ¡°Well, this is a new twist. This is going to be a major quest and it does not even involve demons.¡± Kyrie was still vibrating with excitement, ¡°Adventurer versus adventurer, Marcus. And that too as a part of the quest. Are you not thrilled?¡± ¡°Not as much as you are. Let us wait for the quest.¡± They decided to go to a river which was flowing beside the town. Kyrie wanted to relax a bit in the river¡¯s waters and picked a place which was quite far from the town but still kept the town within visual distance. Kyrie swam in the river in her water form while Marcus lay a blanket and lay at the riverbank. The flow of the water was gentle, and the environment was peaceful. Marcus remembered the anxiety and worry he felt for Selena and the pain in Orin¡¯s voice, but here he let his troubles melt away for the time being. Marcus did not even realize that he had drifted off when Kyrie shook him awake. ¡°How long was I out for?¡± asked Marcus, yawning. ¡°About three hours¡±, came the reply. ¡°Did someone from Furorin¡¯s team call?¡± ¡°They called me and extended the invitation to you too. I thanked them but have not accepted yet.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because I asked her not to¡±, said another voice from behind Marcus. Marcus turned to see Leyda Lightweaver standing there with her daughter, Tasha. Tasha gave a grin and a short wave when Marcus saw her. ¡°Hello there¡±, said Marcus. ¡°You are no general¡±, said Leyda. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°Okay¡±, said Marcus slowly stretching the word out, ¡°Why did you ask Kyrie not to accept the quest helping Furorin.¡± ¡°Because¡±, said Leyda with a hint of amusement in her voice, ¡°I have a personal quest for you and Kyrie.¡± Marcus gave a deep sigh and stood up. He had not realized he had been sitting till now. He stretched a bit as he stood up earning a short kick and a glare from Kyrie. Marcus said, ¡°Let¡¯s hear the quest then.¡± Leyda said, ¡°I checked on the error message you received Marcus. The champions and their team were on Urtor, a locale known as Durnhold forest when they were performing their part of their major quest. They had to find the source of demons in the Durnhold forest. However, there seems to be a problem that they have encountered. They had split up in teams of five while searching for the source. It was a team of five. A good safe number. The team consisting of Tamara, Shania, Thalia, Tim and Selena seems to have disappeared from the face of Una. The other teams converged on their location. They found a large runic formation in a clearing but no signs of the champion and the rest of the four companions. Tamara had sent a quick message of help and her location before disappearing.¡± Leyda paused for a moment and then continued in a tired voice, ¡°When I investigated the rune, it showed me that the rune is sort of a teleportation rune. It is definitely the source of demons. However, it should be only one way. There is no way that people from Una should be able to go through it to the other side. However, considering the circumstances, I deduce that it has happened so. Tamara, Shania, Thalia, Tim and Selena have somehow gotten themselves teleported to the demonic realm.¡± Leyda paused letting Marcus and Kyrie digest what she had said. Marcus was somehow feeling very very troubled at that statement, and he looked at Kyrie. Kyrie looked back at Marcus, her worry reflected on her face. Marcus said, ¡°Can you not just get them back?¡± ¡°It is not that simple¡±, said Leyda, ¡°When they were on Una, they were under my power. They were in the system. So, it was easy to manage them. However, the demonic realm is a neutral zone, out of the jurisdiction of any game master. Neither I nor Rauros or any game master can do anything about their charges in such neutral realms.¡± ¡°So, you are simply going to give up on them?¡± Marcus realized he had just shouted that last question. ¡°No¡±, said Leyda patiently, ¡°Rauros and I are going to go to the demonic realm to negotiate their release. However, considering how the demons are, I am pretty sure that this process will take a very long time. Time is not what we have. We need them back, especially Tamara as she is the champion. Otherwise, the demonic invasion scenario will decimate Una.¡± ¡°Can you not cancel the demonic invasion scenario or select a new champion while you negotiate for the release of the five adventurers who are in the demonic realm?¡± asked Kyrie. Looking at Leyda¡¯s face she hastily added, ¡°I am not trying to insult you. I am just curious.¡± ¡°No, I cannot¡±, said Leyda and offered no other explanation. ¡°Okay¡±, said Marcus, ¡°So, what do you want from us?¡± ¡°I have another plan to get them out¡±, said Leyda, ¡°However, I cannot divulge the details unless you accept the major quest. I am sorry. I cannot give you much time, but you have about an hour to make your decision. Which major quest would you do? Rescue Tamara and her group or help Furorin win her crown. Please decide fast. I leave you two to confer.¡± ¡°Can we choose only one?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°Yes¡±, said Leyda and she walked away from them, out of their hearing distance. Tasha followed her mother. ¡°I have further questions¡±, shouted Marcus after them but received no reply. Marcus looked at Kyrie and said, ¡°What now?¡± Kyrie said, ¡°What do you want to do? Should we go help Orin or should we go help Selena?¡± ¡°Well, helping Orin seems to be a clear-cut case. It is a simple quest as of now. Win fights against other adventurers, help Furorin get the throne. However, I don¡¯t know about Leyda¡¯s quest. She hardly gave any explanations. I don¡¯t want to do anything without knowing something. It is not my style.¡± ¡°Yes, you are hardly getting any time to research.¡± ¡°Exactly! I mean I vote we should not do that and go for helping Orin¡¯s system.¡± There was a pause when they were both lost in thought. ¡°You want to help both Orin and Selena, don¡¯t you?¡± asked Kyrie with a grin. Marcus gave a short laugh and said, ¡°You want to help them both too, don¡¯t you.¡± Kyrie nodded. Marcus could see that they were at an impasse. The solution was clear. He did not like it but he did not like it. ¡°We have to split up¡±, said Marcus slowly. Kyrie nodded, ¡°Makes sense.¡± ¡°Fuck this shit¡±, said Marcus, ¡°I don¡¯t like this, but it would be helpful if we split up.¡± ¡°I got that, Marcus.¡± ¡°I know. I am not telling you. I am convincing myself.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± There were some moments of silence after that. ¡°So, who goes where?¡± asked Kyrie. ¡°Do you even have to ask?¡± said Marcus with a sigh. ¡°No. But will you be alright going into the demon realm with no research?¡± ¡°Well, I have read a bit about the demons.¡± ¡°But not their realm.¡± ¡°No, not their realm.¡± ¡°Why do you think Leyda is asking us for this quest?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, Kyrie, but something tells me that for some reason, this is the right direction for me.¡± ¡°Yes, and you know I cannot resist an adventurer versus adventurer fight.¡± They both laughed. ¡°This is goodbye for now¡±, said Marcus. ¡°Oh, shut up Marcus. We will meet again. Don¡¯t talk as if you are walking to your doom.¡± They hugged. Kyrie then called the representative of the dwarven kingdom and accepted the major quest of helping Furorin get the throne. She waved goodbye to Leyda and Tasha and started walking towards the teleporter. Marcus knew she would teleport directly to Karzasham and get the details of her quest there. Marcus turned towards the game master and her daughter, and they were still standing where they had been before but seemed to be waiting for him. Marcus walked up to them. Marcus said, ¡°I know this is not my forte, but I am ready to go save the champion and her companions without any prep work. I accept your quest Leyda Lightweaver.¡± Leyda clapped her hands as Marcus got his notification for the update of the major quest. ¡°Excellent¡±, said Leyda with a glint in her eyes, ¡°We have some work to do now.¡± Marcus hoped as Leyda teleported him out of Shellemanos that he had not made the wrong decision. Karzasham Kyrie stepped out of the teleportation centre and took in the sight in front of her. Flat fields lay in front of her and in the middle lay a path which led to a large wall. Behind the wall she could see the city of Karzasham spread initially on flat land and then rising up to nestle itself on the slopes of a large mountain. Kyrie looked to the other side to see the path take her to a passageway between two mountains. The city of Karzasham was nestled in a humongous valley surrounded by tall mountains whose tops Kyrie could not see. Kyrie looked back at the city and even at the distance she could see the two large doors on the East and the West. She knew of these doors. They led into the mountain where the remaining part of Karzasham was present including the royal palace and her destination. She had to report to a dwarf named Parric Durnsworn, one of the aides to Princess Furorin. She started walking towards the city walls. The teleporter for Karzasham was about a couple of kilometers away from the walls. She did not have a long walk. As she made her way through the fields, she breathed in the fresh air. There was a river flowing past the fields and artificial rivulets had been dug in order to supply water to the fields. Kyrie decided that she would follow the river to the source in the mountains and have a dip there. It would be refreshing. Kyrie took her time walking and reached the wall of the city within half an hour. The entrance to the city was through huge gates which were at least as tall as fifty feet and wide enough to fit ten carts passing through them. Kyrie smiled as she finally entered the city. The city was arranged in a spiral pattern, with curved roads between which various houses and establishments were present. From a nearby umaru guard, Kyrie first took the directions to the adventurer¡¯s guild. The guard pointed it on Kyrie¡¯s map and she started walking towards the guild. The city was huge and Kyrie was sure it housed millions of residents. She checked the map and found that it would take her a couple of hours to reach the guild. The adventurer¡¯s guild was located near the eastern gate into the mountain. Kyrie could have taken a mechanical quadruped or a MQ cab but she wanted to walk. She was simply enjoying the sights and sensations of a new city. She finally reached the adventurers¡¯ guild. It did not seem to be as packed with adventurers as she had predicted but it was still filled well with adventurers. The major quest was bringing in a lot of adventurers from across the landmasses to Golimath and specifically to Karzasham. As she set her revival point at the resurrection stone at the guild, she kept her ears open for any gossip or rumors that she could accidentally overhear. There was not much she could get from the conversations. Hardly anyone was discussing the major quest. Kyrie did feel a little disappointed. After setting the revival point she exited the guild and looked at the time. It was a little early for lunch but Kyrie was feeling hungry. She decided to go to a restaurant near the Western gate leading into the mountain. She wanted to spend as much time as possible outdoors before entering the dark mountain city. She found a nice cozy restaurant and ordered a sandwich and freshly squeezed juice. Her lunch was delicious and she thought about her fellow water nymphs who could not eat. Water nymphs usually survived only on water and they needed nothing else for sustenance. Fresh natural water sources were always better for water nymphs. However, Kyrie was not just a water nymph. She was a hybrid. She knew her father was not a water nymph, but her mother had never told her what sort of a nymph he was. Kyrie had inherited a majority of her mother¡¯s characteristics and was majorly a water nymph. But there were some characteristics of her father in her which allowed her to eat and drink normal food which the other water nymphs could not do. She pitied them sometimes. The food that she was eating right now was divine and the flavours mixed together to give her a sense of ecstasy which she would not have gotten from simply drinking or swimming in water. She took a bit of her sandwich and sighed. Life was good. After her lunch, Kyrie started to make her way towards the city inside the mountain. Asking the locals for directions, she came to know that the part of the city inside the mountain was called inner Karzasham or inner city. Not very creative but practical and Kyrie had no problem with it. Kyrie made her way into the inner city. As soon as she walked through the gate she gasped. She did not know what she expected but the sight before her astounded her. It seemed as if someone had just emptied a huge chunk of the mountain and made a city inside it. She could see various tunnels and passageways in the distance, but most of the city was in an empty space like a humongous cavern whose ceiling was as tall as a large skyscraper. Moreover, the ceiling of the city was glowing with a faint translucent blue light which was shining the various areas of the inner city from quite a distance. ¡°Gawk from some other place. Keep moving¡±, said a guard and Kyrie started to move. Even from the entrance she could see the palace. It was huge and seemed to be carved right from the mountain itself. It was at the far end of the inner city deep within the mountain. Kyrie pondered for a moment whether she should walk or take a cab this time. The streets should be bustling with various adventurers and non-adventurers, more than those present outside. It seemed to her that she had discovered the heart of Karzasham. Kyrie finally decided to walk. It would take a long time to reach the palace and she would be tired, but it was alright. In return she would get to see the inner Karzasham, and she was happy with it. She marvelled at dwarven architecture as she moved through the inner city. There was another adventurers¡¯ guild in the inner city and Kyrie decided to check it out. There was a resurrection stone in this guild too. Kyrie had a long chat with the guild master and found out that the adventurers could either have their resurrection point set either in the inner city or the outer city. Most adventurers set their resurrection points in the outer city as it is the first they chance on and majorly the quests are outside the city. However, Kyrie set her resurrection point in the inner city. Something told her it would make more sense in the current major quest. Kyrie finally reached the main gates of the palace at 16:00 hours, an hour well after night had fallen. From afar Kyrie had presumed that the palace was going to be large. However, from up close Kyrie could see that she had actually underestimated the palace¡¯s size. It was humongous, and Kyrie could hardly see all parts of it from the entrance which was set about five hundred metres away from any other building. There were roads to the left and the right which led to different passageways while a straight road to the palace gate where Kyrie was standing. The gate to the palace was about twenty feet high and iron spikes protruded out of it. It was closed currently and Kyrie could see no guards. Kyrie wondered what to do. Should she knock? Then she saw a peculiar sight. The wall beside the palace gate opened and a dwarven guard stepped out. He held a mace and a shield in his hand, ready for attack as he walked towards Kyrie. Behind the guard, at the opened up wall, stood another guard with a crossbow in his hand, ready to fire if he found anything suspicious. ¡°Hail traveller¡±, said the guard as he reached Kyrie, ¡°Who are you and what business do you have here?¡± Kyrie explained the reason for her visit. The guard listened patiently and then gestured something to the other guard who lowered his crossbow. The guard talking to Kyrie also relaxed. The guard said, ¡°You are late. The palace gates close at 15:00 hours and there is no entry to anyone except family members, their friends or those who are invited. Are you one of those?¡± ¡°No¡±, Kyrie shook her head. ¡°Then come on tomorrow after zero hour. Also, if you wish to meet Parric, then come after 02:00 hours. He is available in his office after that.¡± ¡°Alright¡±, said Kyrie. She wondered if she should message one of the Ori brothers to allow her entry. She messaged Orik. The guard said, ¡°What are you waiting for? Gorking scram now. Come again tomorrow.¡± Kyrie held up a finger, ¡°One moment.¡± She smiled as she got a reply. Kyrie said, ¡°I think I just got an invitation.¡± ¡°What?¡± gaped the guard when he got called by the guard at the hidden wall gate. The guard talking to Kyrie went back and had a discussion with the other guard. Kyrie thought to ask the guard¡¯s name when he came back. The guard came back and said, ¡°Follow me.¡± Before Kyrie could see anything, the guard started walking towards the hidden wall gate. Kyrie followed him. The hidden wall gate opened to a large lawn with various paths leading to different entrances. The guard led Kyrie down a path which led to the right side of the palace. There was an entrance through which the guard led Kyrie. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Kyrie saw various guards as she walked with the guard through the lawn and then through the palace rooms. The right side entrance had led to some sort of a waiting room which then exited to a passageway. The guard led Kyrie up two flights of stairs and then through another passageway to lead her to a posh area of the palace. This had to be the residential area of the palace. The guard led Kyrie through various passageways before he stepped before a grand door. The guards said, ¡°The princes await you.¡± Kyrie entered the room and the guard closed the door behind her. The room was large and divided into two parts with a partition in the centre. The partition seemed to be wooden and it was carved in various beautiful patterns. There seemed to be lamps inside the partition which glowed highlighting various sections giving it a soothing yet beautiful effect. The area before the partition seemed to be a room where the princes entertained guests. Lounge chairs and sofas were set up in the room with a table in the middle. There was a small door like gap to the right of the partition which Kyrie was sure led to the private chambers. That door opened as Kyrie walked towards it and Oril put his head out. ¡°There you are, Kyrie¡±, shouted Oril with enthusiasm, ¡°Come on in. We are waiting for you.¡± Kyrie went with Oril. There was again a small horizontal passageway behind the partition. There were three doors, two on either end and one at the centre of the passageway. The two doors on the end led to a private kitchen and a private workout area. The middle door led to the bedrooms. Kyrie and Oril walked through the middle door. The door opened into another common room, but the way it was decorated, Kyrie felt that it was more private. There was a lounge table surrounded by chairs in the middle of the room and a balcony opening to a view of a garden at the opposite end of where they had entered. There were four doors, two on the left and two on the right and Kyrie suspected they would be bedrooms. The lounge table was occupied with Orik and Orim. Kyrie could not see Orin though. Orik and Orim greeted Kyrie as she entered. She was soon sitting on one of the chairs which felt low to her. She sat with her legs stretched out. Orim offered Kyrie a glass of what Kyrie assumed to be alcohol but she declined. It was not good for her health. Alcohol was bad for water nymphs in general and it poisoned them and Kyrie did not feel like getting poisoned. She explained the same to Orim as he was insisting a lot that Kyrie drink what he was offering. ¡°What exactly would happen?¡± asked Orik, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking.¡± Kyrie did not mind. She could see that Orik was genuinely curious. She said, ¡°Probably the same thing that would happen to you when you ingest poison, strong poison, mind you.¡± Orik nodded and muttered, ¡°Same effect as a strong poison. So, I assume you have not taken alcohol before. Not even for the sake of experimentation?¡± Kyrie looked at Orik as if he had gone mad. She said, ¡°No!¡± They let the matter drop after that. They gave her a pitcher of water and glass and told her to drink it slowly so that she could keep pace with them. Kyrie found it a bit funny. They mostly discussed the quests they had undertaken since they had last met. The dwarves drank their alcoholic drink which Kyrie forgot to ask what it was and she drank her pitcher of water. Orin did not join them and it was informed by Oril that their brother spent a lot of time with Furorin, strategizing and finding ways to ensure her win. They gave Kyrie Orin¡¯s room for the night. They told her as a player registering for the tournament of kings, she would have a place to stay in the hostel nearby soon. Once she registered. Till that time she could enjoy the hospitality of dwarven royalty. Kyrie fell asleep quickly that night, tired from the day¡¯s adventures and hoped that the tournament would not disappoint. *** Kyrie woke up a bit confused. She attributed it to the fact that she was sleeping diagonally on the small bed that was Orin¡¯s. She got up, got ready and went out to find the common room empty. There was a covered plate on the lounge table with a folded note on which her name was written. Kyrie opened the note and read. Good Morning Kyrie, If you are reading this, that means you slept till late. Very late. We have gone to meet up with Orin and help him. Breakfast is on the table for you. Register fast and join us. I am sure we have much to discuss. Yours truly, Oril Kyrie folded the note and kept it back on the table. She uncovered the plate to find an omelette. Kyrie ate it and was surprised to find it was still warm. She wished she had juice with it but there was only water. Kyrie managed. After breakfast she wondered how she was going to get herself registered. Maybe she should ask one of the guards. That would make sense. As she exited the room, rooms, she did not know what to call the place where all the Ori brothers stayed, she was met with a dwarven guard. The guard led her to a registration area where Kyrie registered to fight on behalf of Furorin Gurnhold. Her details were asked and she was given a number, 9,432, which told her how many adventurers were planning to take part in the tournament. Karzasham was going to be crowded in the future. The clerk who was registering also gave her the name of a nearby inn where her room was booked for the duration of the tournament. Kyrie decided that she would check it out once she met the Ori brothers. Oril had, after all, invited her to spend time with them that day. Kyrie asked a nearby guard as to where she could find Oril. She figured as he was the one who had asked her to join them, it would be polite to meet with him first. The guard escorted Kyrie through the palace. Kyrie found the palace very confusing. It seemed to her that the palace was made up of many interconnecting tunnel-like passages which opened up into big room spaces in the mountain. The guard finally led Kyrie into an open space which looked like a training facility. Kyrie wondered where she would find the brothers in this when a voice called out. ¡°Ah there you are. Welcome Kyrie.¡± Kyrie looked to who had called and saw Orik walking towards her. Kyrie grinned and said, ¡°I have registered. Oril wrote in his letter that you had something to talk about.¡± ¡°Come on then¡±, said Orik, ¡°Follow me.¡± Orik led Kyrie through another tunnel-like passageway which opened to a small chamber. It seemed to be a sort of a private room. The remaining Ori brothers were present in the chamber and at the end of the chamber behind a desk sat a female dwarf, regal and intimidating. Kyrie assumed that this had to be Furorin as she was flanked by guards who were eyeing Kyrie with suspicion as soon as she entered the room behind Orik. Orin stood up from where he was sitting, reading a document, when Kyrie entered the room. He greeted her with a smile. Introductions were made and Kyrie had been right, the woman behind the desk was indeed Furorin. Orin said, ¡°Why are you alone? Where is Marcus?¡± Orik said, ¡°Yes, we wanted to ask you that last night too but I believe we were a bit inebriated.¡± Oril said, ¡°You were downright drunk, you gorking knob.¡± ¡°Like you were any better.¡± ¡°Alright¡±, said Orin, ¡°Before we devolve this conversation into an argument, at least let Kyrie answer.¡± Kyrie said, ¡°I am sorry Marcus is not here. He should have told you himself he was not coming but where he has gone, it is a sensitive matter. I cannot divulge much but I can officially say that Marcus has been given a secret major quest pertaining to the champions and he is going to do that.¡± There was a moment of silence after what Kyrie said and then all the Ori brothers started speaking simultaneously. Kyrie did not catch what they were saying except a few random words and she took a step back out of bewilderment. ¡°Stop behaving like children¡±, said a soft voice. It came from Furorin. It was not louder than the brothers but they all stopped arguing and looked at her. Furorin continued, ¡°I understand Marcus is your friend from what you have told about him but as I also understand Kyrie is the better adventurer versus adventurer fighter out of the two.¡± ¡°More like obsessed really¡±, muttered Orim earning him a glare from both Furorin and Kyrie. Furorin continued, ¡°Let me officially welcome you to Karzasham Kyrie. I have heard a lot about you and Marcus from these four little idiots. I am Furorin Gurnhold and I am happy you have joined the tournament from my side. We shall need strong fighters.¡± Kyrie nodded and greeted Furorin back. Then they all took their seats. A separate chair was pulled for Kyrie. It was short and Kyrie again sat with her legs stretched out. Furorin noticed that and she gestured something to one of the guards. The guards disappeared and came back with a larger stool. This earned him a glare from Furorin and the guard simply shrugged, gesturing as if this was the best he could do. Furorin said, ¡°I am sorry Kyrie but we do not seem to have larger chairs. I hope the stool is comfortable.¡± Kyrie shook her head, ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s okay. I am comfortable sitting on the floor too.¡± ¡°That is gorking weird¡±, said Orim, earning him a round of glares from others. They soon settled and discussed the upcoming tournament. Kyrie learnt that it was going to be Furorin¡¯s side versus Gorin¡¯s side. Registration for the tournament was going to continue till the end of the month and the start of the new month would commence the tournament. The administrative staff of the palace was completely busy with the arrangements and registration for the participants along with logistics for everything. Furorin was planning the format of the tournament with the Ori brothers. It was almost finalized. There were minor changes to be made and it was mostly Orin helping her sister. Kyrie sat in the discussion but for her it was boring and she half paid attention to it. During lunch, Orim, Orik and Oril decided to ditch their other siblings and invited Kyrie. Kyrie excused herself politely and went with them. ¡°Well that was gorking boring¡±, said Orim. ¡°Thank you for inviting me¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°I don¡¯t know how much I could contribute to what was being discussed.¡± ¡°You can admit Kyrie¡±, said Oril, ¡°No need to be polite. It was gorking boring.¡± ¡°It was¡±, agreed Kyrie and that got her a round of laughs from the brothers. Kyrie spent the day with the three brothers who gave her a short tour of the inner city. She learned from the brothers that this was not the only mountain where the inner city was present. The inner city consisted of three mountains and passage to each of them was developed through the mountains. Kyrie wanted to explore each of them. The brothers promised her a guide. They had about fifteen days before the end of the month and Kyrie could explore the mountains then. There was a particular stream which the brothers claimed to be magical and were sure Kyrie would be interested. Kyrie said her goodbyes to the brothers in the evening and went to the inn where she was staying. She was given a single room and was glad for the privacy. Kyrie settled down in her room and sighed. Karzasham had a unique beauty and it captivated her. She was going to enjoy visiting each and every mountain before the tournament. As she lay down to rest for the night, she hoped Marcus was doing well. Highway to Hell Marcus was looking at the rune circle glowing in front of him. Well, not exactly in front of him, but at a distance of about 10 feet away from him, but it was still glowing. And it was glowing red. Marcus did not like that. Marcus was currently on Urtor, teleported by the Game Master Leyda along with Tasha. Leyda had cast the spell on Marcus so that he would survive on Urtor. Marcus examined the buff that he had received. [Blessing of Death] Allows non undead to survive on Urtor without experiencing the negative debuffs of the land mass. Nice name. Nicer effect. He wondered what debuffs the landmass cast on the adventurers who came without the protection of this spell. He shuddered a bit. He wanted to know yet he did not. Quite the contradictory feeling he was having. Tasha spoke from beside him, ¡°Come on then. Everyone is waiting for you.¡± Marcus looked at Tasha and then at the small cabin where she was gesturing with her head. NAIF had set up a temporary rescue centre about a hundred feet away from the rune circle. Leyda had performed some of her game master magic clearing the trees and set up a temporary structure which had soon been populated by NAIF officials teleported on an emergency basis. Minus the five team members, the remaining champion and the champion¡¯s team members were given a small cabin to rest till it was decided what to do. The cabin was small from the outside, but from the inside it was magically expanded to fit in all the fifteen adventurers comfortably. The cabin somehow reminded Marcus of something he had read. A fictional story. A tent which expanded inside but from outside it looked just like a tent. Something about magic, a boy who lived and then his memory fell short. Maybe it was not important. Marcus walked into the cabin with Tasha. The cabin opened to a living room with a kitchen to the left side. There was a passage on the opposite end of the entrance which led to fifteen rooms where each of the adventurers was staying. Right now, none of them were in their rooms. They were either sitting on the sofas in the living room or were pacing around. They all looked at Marcus and Tasha when they entered. Tanniv said, ¡°Good to see you Tasha. Good to see you Marcus. I do not mean to be rude but can you tell us what the gork is going on?¡± Tasha sat on one of the vacant chairs in the living room while Marcus leaned against one of the walls. He felt comfortable there. Tasha said, ¡°Long story short, the five adventurers who fell through the rune circle have teleported out of Una. They have gone to the prison planet of the demons.¡± Marcus had read about the demons. About their names, their classes, their rankings, what they represent and their nature in general. However, Marcus had never read anything about where the demons lived or where they came from. He had read An Interview with a Demon by Lumina Lightweaver and Demonology by Lucine Evemoon as he had a copy of these books. They had been part of his quest from the Librarian faction. These books were good to understand and fight the demons but not understand their world. Hearing that they lived on a prison planet brought out a lot of questions for Marcus. The others however, beat him to it. Everyone started asking questions at once and Marcus hardly heard the questions that were asked. Tasha raised a hand to settle everyone but it seemed that no one seemed to be keen on doing so. ¡°SILENCE¡±, said Tasha. Her voice had not been loud but Marcus could feel the power behind the word. Everyone stopped talking at once. No one spoke for some time as Tasha took a deep breath and collected herself. Tasha said, ¡°I understand you have questions. However, please refrain from asking till I tell you everything.¡± Tasha looked at everyone for assent before continuing. Tasha said, ¡°As I said before, the rune circle leads to the prison planet of the demons. I will not be able to give you many details of the place as I am forbidden to do so. These are game master secrets, and you all are neither game masters nor in training to be game masters.¡± ¡°This means the information that I can share with you is that my parents are going to this prison planet to negotiate with the King of the Demons for release of the five adventurers who were sucked through the rune circle. However, my mother is not confident that they would be successful in their negotiations. So, she has asked me to lead a very small team to this prison planet and get the adventurers out.¡± ¡°How small?¡± asked Tanniv. ¡°A team of three. Me and two others¡±, said Tasha. ¡°Will three be enough?¡± ¡°No, but they will have to do.¡± There was a moment of silence which was broken by Marcus, ¡°Alright then, tell us all that you can about this prison planet of the demons.¡± Tasha had to turn around as Marcus was leaning on the wall which was to the back of Tasha. She had a bemused expression on her face. ¡°The demon prison planet¡±, said Tasha, ¡°Is outside of my parents¡¯ control. This means that the powers that you have here would not work there. There you would have to rely on your skill alone and if you had natural magic before coming to Una, you could use it there.¡± Marcus somehow felt that statement uncomfortable. Did he have skills outside Una? Will he be able to fight without using his active and passive spells? Before Marcus could say anything Tanniv said, ¡°It is a suicide quest, this plan of yours.¡± Tasha said, ¡°Not exactly. I am sure that before becoming an adventurer, some of you might have come from your home planet and would have been a warrior of some sort.¡± There were uncomfortable glances between the present adventurers. Marcus was not sure what those glances meant; whether the present adventurers were all from Una or they were not warriors before coming to Una. Tasha continued, ¡°Anyways, I will be taking only one of you with me. The other member of my team has already been decided.¡± She looked at Marcus who said, ¡°Yes, I am the sacrificial goat.¡± Tasha glared at him, and Marcus ignored her. He was now thinking that he should not have accepted this major quest and should have gone with Kyrie to help Furorin claim her throne. That would have been a lovely quest compared to what Tasha was asking him to do. There was a flicker of something in his head. Memory. And some sort of comfort passed through him. Weird. It seemed to Marcus that Memory was comforting him. Highly weird. Tasha said, ¡°Marcus and I will wait outside. Discuss what I have told you amongst yourself. Select one person to accompany me amongst you. If no one wishes to go, I will understand. Take your time. There is no hurry.¡± Tasha stood up and started walking towards the door. Marcus needed no prompting. He followed her outside the small cabin. They put some distance between the cabin and themselves. Marcus observed that Tasha did not go inside the temporary NAIF facility set up but walked to a tree nearby and stood leaning at it. ¡°So, what do you think?¡± asked Tasha. ¡°About what?¡± Marcus asked back. ¡°You know what I mean?¡± ¡°Do I?¡± ¡°Please do not play games with me, Marcus. You would not like the result.¡± ¡°And you intend to take me somewhere where I would not have access to any of my skills. How do you propose I survive there? I am an amnesiac, remember? I am not sure I have had skills surviving a demonic prison planet.¡± Tasha tilted her head and looked at Marcus with pursed lips for some time. It looked to Marcus as if she was debating what to say to him or merely contemplating that he was an idiot for not realizing what was obvious to her. Marcus said after some time, ¡°You do not have an answer.¡± ¡°Perhaps¡±, said Tasha with a shrug, ¡°But I have a feeling that you do.¡± Marcus felt a bit of a chill at that statement. Did she know about Memory? Or did she suspect something? Marcus was not sure. Then he realized as to why did he feel a chill? It was Memory¡¯s problem if it was discovered, not Marcus¡¯. However, the feeling that he was getting from Memory was that it would be both their problems if it was discovered by the game masters or anyone related to them. Marcus did not say anything to Tasha and both of them relapsed into silence after that. They had to wait for quite some time. No one was coming out of the small cabin. Marcus was starting to feel hungry and his stomach grumbled a bit. Tasha and Marcus had lunch in the cafeteria of the temporary set up NAIF facility. It was well equipped and the food was delicious. After lunch, Tasha disappeared into the facility letting Marcus to his own devices. Marcus wondered what to do. Maybe he could have a chat with Kyrie but decided against it. He thought about having a chat with Orin, telling him about his decision for the major quest and why he had not come to Karzasham, but then Marcus decided against that too. Instead, Marcus simply sat beneath a tree with his eyes closed and decided to take a nap. Marcus was sure that he needed to ask Tasha more about their mission and about the demonic world but he did not feel like it. He could research on the globalnet. He was sure that he would get some information but he did not do that. He simply lazed around. This was not like him. He knew that but for some reason, he did not care. Marcus suddenly felt a shift in the magic. He opened his eyes and looked in the direction from where he felt the shift and stopped short. He could see the rune circle glowing even from where he was sitting. It was glowing a bright red, throwing off light in every direction. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Marcus wondered what to do when the door to the small cabin opened and all the adventurers inside rushed out, their weapons drawn. Tasha came out too, with few NAIF officials and proceeded cautiously towards the light. Marcus also drew his twinblade but he did not move. He was not foolish enough to rush into whatever was happening with the demonic portal. The red light flashed for a few more seconds and then it completely disappeared. Marcus saw that everyone had stopped as if expecting something, waiting for something. When nothing happened for a few moments, Tasha and the group from NAIF walked forwards towards the rune circle. Marcus could not see or hear from where he was standing, but there were shouts of surprises amongst the NAIF personnel. Tasha soon gestured to Tanniv to come forward. Marcus had not observed but the adventurers had stopped walking towards the circle too once the light had stopped. They now walked towards Tasha. Marcus did too. As Marcus reached the circle, he understood the reason behind everyone¡¯s surprise. The rune circle had disappeared. *** Tasha looked at everyone gathered. The rune circle had disappeared as was expected. However, it had happened earlier than her parents had anticipated. What did that mean? Did she have less time than her mother calculated? Tasha made a decision then and there. She believed that she did not have time to waste. She walked up to Tanniv. Tasha said, ¡°Tanniv, have you all made a decision yet?¡± ¡°No¡±, said Tanniv, ¡°But I have a feeling that no one among us wants to go with you Tasha. There are so many unknown factors in your plan and we are happy with our life here. No one wants to risk that.¡± ¡°I understand¡±, nodded Tasha, ¡°But I do not have much time. I am leaving. You should go back to Elementium. Turn in your quest and continue on your major quest forward.¡± ¡°Understood¡±, said Tanniv and he turned to others. They fell into a quick huddle to discuss their path forwards. Tasha did not see or hear what they were discussing. She was focused on her task. She walked up to Marcus who put away his twinblade as she approached. ¡°We are leaving¡±, said Marcus as Tasha approached him. It was not a question. Somehow Marcus had figured out that it was time to go. Tasha nodded and Marcus summoned his mount, his mana wyrm. Tasha admired the beast. It was beautiful. Marcus got up on his mount and Tasha summoned a bubble of protection around her. Marcus asked, ¡°Okay then. Where do we go?¡± ¡°There is a way to the prison planet of the demons from the palace at Melancholia¡±, said Tasha thoughtfully, ¡°We shall fly to Elementium. It is the capital city of Urtor. There we shall take the portal to Melancholia. Once reaching the palace, we shall equip ourselves to survive the prison planet and then take the portal.¡± Marcus looked at the sky and said, ¡°Will we be going immediately to the prison planet or will we wait for tomorrow. Considering the sun and¡±, Marcus looked at the system clock, ¡°the time, it seems I have a feeling that we would reach Melancholia by night. I don¡¯t know about you but I do like to sleep and be fresh before such an important mission.¡± Tasha frowned at him. She was in a hurry but Marcus was right. It would be better to teleport to the prison planet in the morning. Tasha said, ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s get to my parents¡¯ palace first.¡± Marcus nodded and then asked, ¡°Where is your mount? Do you have a flying machine or MQ or something like me?¡± Tasha gave him a sly grin, ¡°I fly on my own.¡± She shot up in the air. She heard Marcus swear behind her and then felt him take off too. They both shot towards Elementium. They would reach the city in an hour. Tasha hoped as she flew that they would not be late to save the missing adventurers. *** Marcus waited for Tasha to come back. She had gone in search of weapons they could use for the prison planet. Marcus was ready for the planet. He felt refreshed and quite relaxed after a good night¡¯s sleep. He even had the [Well Rested] spell activated but he was not sure how effective it would be on the prison planet. Tasha had woken him up one hour after the zero hour and told him to get ready fast. She had already asked some servants to lay out the clothes and the armor he would be wearing. Marcus was wearing a black tunic with black pants which was held tightly by a black slash. Over the tunic he wore a large full sleeve black trenchcoat. Tasha assured him that it was protective and it was an armor. Marcus had tried moving around in it and had found out that it was quite mobile. Marcus was also wearing black socks and boots and he muttered to himself that today he was quite the man in black. Tasha had asked him to put all of his current inventory, equipped or unequipped inside the utility belt. ¡°We cannot remove the utility belt without causing you great discomfort¡±, Tasha had said, ¡°However, be aware that your utility belt won¡¯t work on the prison planet. Hence, I have prepared a backpack of supplies for you.¡± The backpack was predictably black in colour and it had a spare change of clothes, food which would last some time and water. Marcus had asked, ¡°Should I not remove my utility belt if it is useless on the prison planet?¡± ¡°You can but then you would feel highly discomforted while you are on Una. When you first came here and did not have a utility belt, it was okay. However now, it would be extremely painful to remove and an irritating pain would linger as long as you are on Una. Then you would have to go through the entire process of bonding with it again.¡± Tasha had wanted to continue listing the disadvantages of removing the utility belt and Marcus had interrupted her, ¡°I get it. Removing the utility belt is bad. What about weapons then? I cannot use the twinblade in my inventory?¡± ¡°I will bring you something suitable¡±, Tasha had said and then disappeared. That was about an hour ago. Marcus wondered how long it took to select a weapon. Just as the thought passed his head, Tasha came back. Tasha was dressed similarly as Marcus; all black with black armor trench coat and a black backpack slung across her shoulder. However, as she came back, she had a broadsword resting on her hips and a round metal shield slung on her back. She was also carrying a big bag of something heavy. ¡°Pick one¡±, said Tasha and dropped the heavy bag. She opened it and Marcus saw a lot of weapons. Marcus wanted a twinblade but he saw no twinblade amongst the weapons in the bag. Marcus looked at Tasha. Tasha said, ¡°A twinblade would not be feasible. You need to select weapons that you can carry with you for quite some time. A light weapon would do.¡± Marcus looked at the assortment of weapons in front of him. He had fought with twinblades on Una till now. How could Tasha suddenly expect him to change his fighting style. Then he felt it. Something stirred within him and Memory whispered to him. Choose the longsword, said Memory. Marcus bent down to pick the longsword when Memory hissed again, Not this one. The other longsword, beside this longsword. This is not the right length. Marcus was surprised but did not show it. He picked the longer longsword. He wondered why they were both called longswords when one was shorter than the other. It depends upon the person who has produced the sword, said Memory in Marcus¡¯ mind, Different smiths have different crafting styles. Weight, balance, sharpness change from smith to smith and also based on the materials used. There are other details but it would be too much of a hassle to explain them to you. I knew about blacksmithing at some point, thought Marcus to Memory, Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to just unlock that memory for me? There was no response from Memory as Marcus expected. This had been Memory¡¯s behaviour after all as long as Marcus knew. Always with the instructions and vague explanations. Never answer Marcus¡¯ questions. Marcus sighed as he sheathed the longsword at his hip. Tasha raised an eyebrow at him as if to ask if he was sure? Marcus simply nodded. Tasha said, ¡°Put the sword diagonally across your back. The longsword will be very uncomfortable at the hip.¡± ¡°But I won¡¯t be able to draw it fast if it is on my back.¡± ¡°The longsword is not meant for fast draw. Are you sure you do not want any other weapon?¡± Marcus shook his head and said, ¡°Well, let¡¯s get this show on the road, shall we?¡± Tasha told Marcus to follow her and started leading him underground. They passed through many passageways to a large hall. The hall had a small platform in the centre with a door on the platform. Marcus blinked. He was not hallucinating. A lone door stood on the platform. Marcus examined it from all angles and it was indeed simply standing on the platform. ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Tasha. She stepped up on the platform and simply opened the door, ¡°Follow me for now. Questions later.¡± Marcus gasped as the door opened into an empty space. Tasha stepped through and told Marcus to hurry. Marcus stepped through the door and Tasha closed it. The door disappeared. ¡°Where are we?¡± asked Marcus. Marcus had stepped through the door on a rock flying in the air. The rock was paved and Marcus could see faint traces of something which resembled a road. All around him, Marcus could see many floating rocks. The sky was orangish in colour and Marcus looked down. There he did not see a ground but a purplish nothingness. The orange sky and the purplish nothingness seemed to meet at the horizon and the space was filled with large and small floating rocks. Marcus asked again, ¡°Where the fuck are we?¡± Tasha said, ¡°As I said before. Questions later. Follow me for now. We don¡¯t have much time. Just a warning. Do not attack anything. Even if it attacks you.¡± Saying that Tasha started walking towards one of the edges of the rock. Marcus had so many questions but he refrained himself from asking. Tasha had told him that she would answer his questions later. Tasha jumped from the rock and landed on another floating rock. Marcus gaped at her. He rather doubted he would be able to jump like her. Tasha said, ¡°Don¡¯t think. Just jump. You will make it.¡± Marcus took a deep breath and jumped. He landed safely beside Tasha. He let out the breath he had been holding. Tasha slapped on his back with a grin and told him to follow her. Marcus complied, shaking his head and muttering about mental people. Marcus and Tasha walked and jumped from one rock to another for quite some time. All the time Marcus wanted to talk, ask questions but Tasha simply shushed him. They even passed a few creatures who liked a mix of imps and flying carrions to Marcus. Marcus wanted to ask about them but a glare from Tasha quieted him before he could even ask. They walked and jumped like this for a few hours. Then finally they seemed to be nearing their destination. It was a huge rock on which stood many swirling portals. The portals were a different shade of blue and they seemed to be located at certain distances from each other. There was a large dark blue central portal. Tasha said, ¡°We are going there. Not the central portal. You see the portal second to the left and third from the bottom. We will be going through that to reach our destination.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Follow me. Keep down and keep quiet. If we are discovered, we are screwed.¡± Marcus noticed the imp carrion mix creatures near the portal. There were around 10 of them and they seemed to be guarding the central portal. They did not seem to be interested in other portals. Marcus and Tasha sneaked near the portal they wanted to go through. However, their luck did not hold out as halfway to the portal from their position they were discovered. ¡°Run¡±, hissed Tasha and they ran. The imps did not attack initially because they were surprised to suddenly find Marcus and Tasha skulking through their realm. However, shouts of alarms started off in a language Marcus could not identify. Marcus ran, jumping and dodging the arrows and some spells thrown at him. Some of the firebolts hit him and he felt a bit singed. He swore as he made the final jump. He was hit with a force type spell and he fell hard on the large rock which contained the portals. Marcus had his wind knocked out of him. He needed to move. Staying stationary would mean death. However, he did not have the power to move. The next moment Marcus felt someone lift him. It was Tasha. She picked him up, dodged a few missiles and tossed him through the portal they were supposed to go. The portal was at least about 30 feet above the ground and Marcus screamed as he was thrown. Marcus was almost at the portal when another force spell hit him. He went through the portal and blacked out. Sightseeing Two days had passed since Kyrie had met the Ori brothers and had registered for the upcoming tournament. She had already explored most of the inner city and wanted to check out the rest of the mountains. The Ori brothers had promised her a guide and today was the day when they would fulfill their promise. Kyrie was sitting in the common room of her designated inn, waiting for her guide. She had messaged Marcus in the morning but had gotten no reply. Kyrie wondered where Marcus had gone and how he was. She knew that he would be trying to rescue the champions but she thought that he would be either able to or have the time to chat. Kyrie looked at the time. It was four o¡¯clock in the morning. The guide will be here soon. Orik had not told Kyrie the guide¡¯s name when he had said that they would be meeting Kyrie in the common room. ¡°You must be Kyrie¡±, said a soft soothing voice. Kyrie turned towards the source of the voice to find her guide floating in front of her. An air nymph. Kyrie grinned. ¡°Hello¡±, said Kyrie cheerfully, ¡°I am indeed Kyrie. Are you my guide for the day? What is your name? Orik failed to mention it yesterday. The air nymph landed beside Kyrie and shook her extended hand with a grin. Kyrie could somehow sense that she was excited to meet Kyrie and for some reason Kyrie was excited to meet her too. ¡°Hi, I am Ledia¡± said Ledia the air nymph, ¡°Ledia Airsoft. I am one of your guides. The other one is Rella Rollerstone. She is a land nymph. I am sorry but she is late. Rella would be guiding you through the sights of the inner mountains while I will be leading you through the sites outside the mountain.¡± ¡°Karzasham has parts outside the mountain other than the outer city!¡± ¡°Yes¡±, nodded Ledia, ¡°Karzasham is huge. It is the largest city on Una after Melancholia. And it will not take just one day to explore the entirety of it. We have planned everything for you. It would take at least three days, depending on your pace.¡± Kyrie laughed a bit. She did not mind exploring. But three days. It was going to be fun. ¡°Alright¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°I hope there are natural water sources to visit. I am explicitly interested in those.¡± It was Ledia¡¯s turn to laugh, ¡°You are a water nymph through and through. I like you. Come on then. I will take you to Rella¡¯s house. I wonder why she is late.¡± Ledia and Kyrie exited the inn together. ¡°How will we be getting to Rella¡¯s house?¡± asked Kyrie. Ledia said with a frown, ¡°I usually fly. Do you have a MQ?¡± ¡°No, but I do have a flying mount.¡± ¡°Oooh! What sort?¡± ¡°A water wyrm. Her name is Nalana.¡± ¡°That sounds so lovely. However, it would be a bit difficult to bring out Nalana over here. Flying in enclosed spaces with a water wyrm would not be practical in inner Karzasham.¡± ¡°So, what do you suggest?¡± ¡°Oi! Ledia¡±, a voice suddenly called out from the crowd to their left. The crowd parted and Kyrie could see a land nymph huffing towards them. She came up to them and took a deep breath. ¡°You could not even wait, could you¡±, said the land nymph. ¡°Rella, you are here!¡± Ledia said excitedly in a loud voice. Rella said, ¡°You have no patience Ledia. I am just a few minutes late and you are dragging Kyrie off to¡­ Hi, I am Rella. I assume you are Kyrie. Nice to meet you¡­ you are dragging Kyrie off to God knows where.¡± ¡°I was simply going to take her to your house. You were late and so I wanted to find out why. We could have started the day from your house.¡± Rella rolled her eyes, ¡°I apologize on my friend¡¯s behalf Kyrie. You know Ledia, you could have called or messaged me. We all have utility belts and you have my contact details.¡± Ledia clapped her hands with a small puff and exclaimed, ¡°Why did I not think of that?¡± ¡°I have doubts that you cease to think sometimes.¡± Kyrie was watching the forth and back between the two nymph friends with amusement. Kyrie said, ¡°Hi, it is good to meet you Rella. Ledia here told me something about a three day plan for me to visit Karzasham. I am looking forward to it.¡± ¡°She did¡­ I mean¡­ Three days¡­ Oh god, you went ahead and planned a large itinerary did you not?¡± said Rella to Ledia, ¡°Even when I told you not to.¡± ¡°But one day is too short a time¡±, protested Ledia. And the two nymphs devolved into arguing with each other. Kyrie simply watched, waiting patiently. Somehow, she was enjoying the argumentative interaction taking place between the two nymphs. She found it relaxing. Kyrie said, ¡°You do realize that we could have started off to the first place on Ledia¡¯s itinerary while you two were bickering.¡± Ledia and Rella stopped talking and looked at Kyrie. Then they both said at the same time, ¡°Yes. I am sorry.¡± Then they looked at each other and started to laugh. Kyrie started to laugh too. Kyrie then said, ¡°It is alright Rella. I have time to spare. We can visit all the places which Ledia thinks I should see.¡± Rella still checked Ledia¡¯s itinerary and then gave her nod of acknowledgement. Kyrie said, ¡°How are we travelling? Ledia said my water wyrm would not enjoy flying under the mountain.¡± Rella said slowly, ¡°Well Ledia is not wrong, sometimes. I have a MQ. We shall go in that.¡± Ledia started to say something but Rella stopped her, ¡°You will be joining us too. No flying for you.¡± Ledia¡¯s face took on a sulky expression as she sat in the MQ beside Rella. Kyrie sat in the back seat. ¡°So, what¡¯s the first stop?¡± asked Kyrie. Rella took her MQ into one of the tunnels Kyrie had seen. It seemed that they were already going into the second mountain. Rella explained on the way that they would be following most of the itinerary that Ledia had planned for today which perked the sulky Ledia up. Their first stop was an agricultural farm on one side of the second mountain. The area was huge and she learned that mostly mushrooms and farna, a plant native to the dwarves, was cultivated here. They were both edible. Farna was mostly used in many dwarven beverages. Their second stop was a colony of the land nymphs. Rella¡¯s colony. Kyrie had fun talking with them about Karzasham, the mountains and the life of the land nymphs. They had lunch next. For Ledia and Rella, it was a unique experience to find a water nymph that consumed solid food. Well, land nymphs ate food. Wood nymphs did so too. Water nymphs normally survived on water while air nymphs just needed fresh air to survive. So, it was new for Ledia and Rella to see Kyrie eat a considerable amount of food. They had questions, polite questions and Kyrie answered them as per her understanding. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Their last stop for the day was a museum which depicted the history of Karzasham and its development over the years. It was the last stop because it was quite a large museum, larger in size than the palace, according to Rella. Kyrie thoroughly enjoyed it. She felt tired and yet refreshed by the end of the day when she said goodbyes to Rella and Ledia. As Kyrie went to sleep that night, she was excited for the next day. The second day of her sightseeing trip, Rella took Kyrie to the third mountain. The third mountain seemed to be larger than the first and the second mountain and Rella confirmed it was so. Even Ledia had certain titbits about the third mountain but Kyrie mostly tuned them out. The third mountain was primarily an industrial mountain and Kyrie could see many shafts which were funneling out smoke into vents which Kyrie saw were drilled into sides of the mountain at quite a considerable height. ¡°The air of this mountain is not so great¡±, said Ledia sadly when she saw Kyrie look at the funnels, ¡°However, the dwarves have done an excellent job of keeping the air clean.¡± They took Kyrie to an early lunch. Ledia said, ¡°We had a call from Prince Orin yesterday. He told us to get you to visit the smiths if we are in the third mountain. He was sure that someone would be able to help with your armor problem.¡± ¡°I do not have an armor problem¡±, said Kyrie with a slight sulky tone and Ledia and Rella laughed. Kyrie, as a water nymph, did not wear any sort of clothes or covering when she was on her home planet Tarados. Here, she had to cover her body because apparently nudity was a bit of a sensitive topic. Even Ledia and Rella were dressed in simple clothes. Otherwise, the nymphs usually wore no clothes. The one Kyrie had encountered in the wild wore no clothes either. She had tried armor when she had arrived on Una initially. She had found it claustrophobic and highly uncomfortable. The armor had literally started to take off her health. She was currently dressed in a tank top and shorts which were made from a material which felt comfortable to Kyrie. Initially, she had found it odd to wear them but had gotten comfortable now wearing them. She had varied pairs of the same and had gotten in quite the debt with NAIF because of them. Rella said, ¡°I am assuming this tank top and the shorts are the only armor that you wear. Other items would cause discomfort.¡± Kyrie did not say anything. She did not have to. She knew Rella was right and Rella knew that too. Ledia said, ¡°Prince Orin recommended a blacksmith. He is sure that this blacksmith might help you. He is good. He has designed armor for other nymphs.¡± ¡°No water nymphs though, I presume¡±, said Kyrie. Ledia shook her head. Kyrie said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s give this blacksmith a try. What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°His name is Goros Metaltouch¡±, said Ledia in an excited tone, ¡°I have not heard of him but if Prince Orin recommended him, he would be good.¡± They went to Goros Metaltouch¡¯s workshop to find it closed. Upon inquiring nearby, they found out that he was closed due to personal reasons and the neighbours were not very reluctant to give out the reason. ¡°What now?¡± asked Kyrie. ¡°We can come back in a few days¡±, said Rella slowly, ¡°There is time for the tournament. And it is also possible that you may not fight early in the first round.¡± ¡°Then we visit the marketplace¡±, said Ledia clapping her hands, ¡°For now. It is in the itinerary after all.¡± They decided to do just that. The marketplace in the third mountain of Karzasham was huge. Various vendors, hawkers and shop keepers sold their wares shouting over each other to attract customers. The place was crowded and Kyrie and Rella had to take care as they weaved through all those who were present. Ledia simply floated over them much to the chagrin of Rella. Kyrie did not buy much but she was fascinated with some enchanted toys. At the end of the day, they were all tired and decided to go to a cafe which was outside the mountain, in the outer Karzasham. Kyrie found it surprisingly empty. Rella explained that this cafe serviced exclusively to all types of nymphs and their companions. Kyrie ordered a mocktail while Rella ordered something which Kyrie did not catch. It was not on the menu but the cafe did make it for her. Ledia had made a small cloud out of thin air and was lounging on it. Sighs of contentment could be heard from time to time from above the cloud. Rella said after some time, ¡°You have a flying mount if I remember correctly, Kyrie.¡± ¡°Yes¡±, Kyrie replied. Rella nodded and said, ¡°Tomorrow I will not be joining you guys. Ledia will take you on a tour around the mountains. From the outside. I do not possess a vehicle to help me fly.¡± Ledia came down from her cloud and gave Rella a hug, ¡°Aw. Don¡¯t worry. I can summon a cloud to carry you.¡± Rella closed her eyes and shuddered, ¡°Not after last time.¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°No buts. I still have nightmares sometimes.¡± And the two nymph friends slipped into an argument. Kyrie calmly drank her mocktail, enjoying the fresh air as she found out that Ledia was actually winning the argument and Rella with a grumpy face agreed to ride a stable and a safe cloud for their sightseeing the next day. They then said goodbyes for the night. Kyrie messaged one more time to Marcus before going to sleep. She received no reply again. She was starting to get worried a bit. Sleep still came easily to her as she was tired from the day. The next morning Kyrie woke up early. She was ready for the day long before Ledia and Rella came for her. Rella still looked grumpy. Kyrie was sure Rella did not enjoy hovering in the air with a soft cloud underneath for support. Rella was a land nymph after all. She was as comfortable in the air as an air nymph was on land. That led to the question as to how Ledia had survived spending these last two days with Kyrie and Rella on the ground. When Kyrie thought about it, Ledia had been at their level but her feet had never touched the ground. She hovered. She had only sat in Rella¡¯s MQ but she had been comfortable in it. ¡°Good morning!¡± said Ledia in her usual cheerful and excited tone. Kyrie could not help but smile back and greeted both the nymphs good morning. They took Rella¡¯s MQ to reach outer Karzasham. They exited the city and got out. Kyrie then summoned Nalana, her water wyrm. Both Ledia and Rella were excited to see her. Ledia started talking to her and Nalana responded with a nod or a shake of her head to Ledia¡¯s questions. ¡°Alright¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°Let¡¯s fly Ledia. We have lots of time for questions with wyrm later.¡± Ledia grinned and summoned a floating cloud for Rella. Rella gingerly tested the weight of the cloud and got on it, a bit unsteadily. Kyrie could see the tension in Rella¡¯s entire body. She relaxed a bit only after she had sat cross-legged on the cloud and realized that she had not fallen down. Kyrie wanted to laugh but she knew that she should not do so. It would simply be rude. Kyrie summoned and got up on Nalana and soon the three nymphs shot into the air. Kyrie could see that Rella was clutching onto the cloud, her light brownish skin getting paler and paler by the second. Ledia gave a whoop of joy as she shot into the air and Kyrie gave a laugh as Nalana followed Ledia with a burst of speed. Higher and higher up they rose till the peaks of the mountains that housed the inner city of Karzasham came closer and closer. When Ledia thought they had gone sufficiently high, she shot forwards and Kyrie followed. They went near the mountain. The air here felt clear and crisp to Kyrie and she took a deep breath feeling refreshed immediately. ¡°The air here is rich in magic¡±, said Ledia as she flew close to Kyrie, ¡°Breathe in, it would help refresh you and get you stronger too.¡± Kyrie wondered about the stronger part. She had an inkling as to what Ledia meant. She took another deep breath and checked her status. She chuckled at what she saw. Each breath was giving her 10 points of experience. This was nice. Rella said slowly, ¡°You will get max a thousand points of experience.¡± Kyrie started. She wondered when the floating cloud containing Rella had gotten close to her. Rella continued, ¡°The air nymphs get stronger this way. However, there is a limit. Once you take a thousand points of experience through breathing in the magical air, it takes some time before you can get more experience. Otherwise, we would have air nymphs in this region who would be quite overpowered compared to other regions.¡± Kyrie nodded her head in understanding. Still, she was not going to say no to free thousand points of experience. The mountains looked beautiful as they flew around them. Ledia led them close to the slopes and they turned and twisted their way through a path which only Ledia understood. Kyrie enjoyed the flight. Kyrie did know for how long they flew. Ledia led them to see not only the mountains that housed Karzasham, but also through all the mountains of the mountain range. Kyrie thoroughly enjoyed herself. Late in the afternoon, they landed near a lake which was in a small valley nestled between three mountains. Here, Ledia promised, was a colony of water nymphs and she was right. Ledia and Rella said goodbye to Kyrie as the water nymphs came to greet them. Kyrie spent the rest of the day with her brethren. She needed this. Nalana spent some time with the other nymphs but Kyrie soon banished her. Kyrie spent about two days with her brethren. She wanted to spend all her time here before the tournament but a message from Orin brought her back to inner Karzasham. She was now sitting with Orik, Oril, Orim and Orin in the common room of their part of the palace. Orin said, ¡°I hope you enjoyed visiting our lovely kingdom Kyrie.¡± ¡°It is beautiful¡±, said Kyrie with a soft sigh, ¡°I do not have words to describe Karzasham. I thoroughly enjoyed sightseeing, especially with Ledia and Rella. I thank you for asking them to be my guides.¡± Orin waved his hand, ¡°It is no problem. Now that you are well rested, I called you here for one reason. I believe you went to meet with a blacksmith named Goros Metaltouch.¡± Kyrie nodded, ¡°I did but he was closed.¡± Orin frowned and looked at his brothers. ¡°That is not good¡±, said Orim. The brothers looked at each other as if they were silently communicating with each other. Finally Orin turned towards Kyrie and said, ¡°Kyrie, could you do us a favour?¡± And with that question, Kyrie was sure that her sightseeing of Karzasham was officially over. Hellish Sightseeing Marcus woke up slowly. He found that he was feeling groggy. He tried to get up but groaned and lay down again. He tried to open his eyes but it felt too bright. At least his whole body did not feel on fire this time. ¡°Oh, good! You are finally awake!¡± The statement brought some weird memories to Marcus. Something about being tied and waking up in a cart. Then he realized that those memories were not his and he was watching someone waking up in a cart with their hands tied. Weird. Marcus turned towards the source of the voice to find Tasha standing a few feet away from him and looking at him with concern. Marcus sat up gingerly. He observed his shoulder. He was sure that he had been hit with a firebolt type spell by those imp creatures in whatever place they had gone through but it felt completely okay. Even there were no problems with his trench coat armor. Marcus looked around to find his backpack lying to his right. He sighed with relief when he spotted it. He was not sure whether he had lost it or not when he was running for his life. Marcus checked the backpack. The contents seemed to be fine even if they were slightly squished. Tasha moved towards him and he turned to look at her. She gave him his longsword. ¡°It fell off your back as you went through the portal¡±, explained Tasha. Marcus thanked Tasha and slung the longsword across his shoulder. Then he dusted himself and looked around. As far as he could tell, it seemed that they had landed in a desert type region. He could see for kilometers around him and all he could see was a dry flat region covered in red soil. Marcus bent down and touched it. It felt like normal dirt and sand but it was red in colour. Marcus looked up to see a red sun shining overhead him. The sky was also bathed in a red tinge. It felt as if the entire world here was filtered through a red tint and everything took on the red hue as a result. Marcus said to Tasha, ¡°It¡¯s all red.¡± Tasha gave a short laugh and said, ¡°Welcome to Twarftha, the prison planet of the demons. The red is necessary. It helps keep the demons weak.¡± ¡°Twarftha¡±, mouthed Marcus, ¡°Quite the name. What does it mean?¡± ¡°Prison Planet.¡± ¡°Makes sense. Why was I expecting something else?¡± ¡°Come on then¡±, said Tasha pointing in a direction, ¡°I feel my parents¡¯ energy from that direction. We should start making their way there.¡± ¡°How far do you reckon we are from your parents?¡± asked Marcus as he started to follow Tasha. Tasha shrugged, ¡°I do not know. However, I do know that they are in that direction.¡± ¡°Which direction is that?¡± Marcus asked, looking at the sun. Traditionally the sun rose from the East and set in the West. But, he was not sure that was right on Twarftha. ¡°North¡±, replied Tasha. This confirmed to Marcus that on Twarftha the sun indeed rose from the East and sat in the West. ¡°I have some questions. Care to answer now?¡± asked Marcus. Tasha said, ¡°I will, but are you alright with talking while walking.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good then ask away.¡± ¡°Where are we?¡± ¡°On Twarftha. I think I cleared that.¡± Marcus huffed and said, ¡°Where on Twarftha. These plains look like a rather dried up desert without much sand. I see no demon in sight for kilometers around. I also do not see any places to hide if we are detected by demons.¡± ¡°You are not wrong. There are not many places to hide from demons here. But, there are also no demons here. This area, where we have portalled to, is called the Burning Plains. Demons do not reside here. There is nothing out here that would sustain them.¡± ¡°So, why did you choose this location to be our site of arrival?¡± ¡°Because there are no demons here. Any other portal would lead you near to a demon encampment, or a village, or a town, or for that matter, a city. Here we can easily infiltrate their region and rescue the team that is trapped here.¡± ¡°Good point¡±, said Marcus, ¡°However, did you even consider that this region might be quite far from where the five adventurers are held prisoner? Also, what if they are kept at separate locations? How will that help us?¡± ¡°Pray that what you just said is not true¡±, said Tasha softly. ¡°Because?¡± ¡°Because, if what you said is true, then we are truly screwed.¡± Marcus gave a dry humorless laugh. They walked in silence for some time. Then Marcus asked, ¡°What was that place we went through when we got here? I mean, I have portalled before on Una. I do not go through an orange purple place with floating rocks where there are flying imp type creatures trying to kill me. You know.¡± ¡°They are called durloghs. Those flying imp type creatures¡±, said Tasha, ¡°They are not exactly demons or of demonic origins despite their appearance. They are actually guardians.¡± ¡°And what do they guard?¡± Tasha looked at Marcus with an expression as if she was contemplating giving him an answer. She shook her head and continued to walk. Marcus assumed that she was either thinking of a way to answer his question or debating whether she should answer the question. Marcus did know which and he waited in silence. He was patient. He knew he would get his answers. Eventually. Hopefully. ¡°There are two types of travelling through portals¡±, said Tasha after some time, ¡°Interplanetary portal travel and intraplanetary portal travel. Intraplanetary portal travel is travelling through portals on the same planet. Interplanetary portal travel is travelling between portals on different planets.¡± ¡°I kind of guessed what they were based on their names.¡± Tasha glared at Marcus and he made a gesture of zipping his mouth. Tasha continued, ¡°For an intraplanetary portal, the spell that is cast to activate the portal¡­ hmmm¡­ to put it simply, it tears a hole through space and time and you are able to go to the other side where the portal is opened. By using an array of spells and crystal constructs, we are able to connect two locations with greater accuracy. Those are the portals that you use while moving from one location to another on Una.¡± Tasha paused, collecting herself and then continued, ¡°Interplanetary portal travel is a bit complicated. It is actually a bureaucratic process whose reigns are held by the durloghs you just met.¡± ¡°You mean the durloghs which attacked us.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How? They did not seem dangerous. I mean the spell which hit me did not do much damage.¡± Tasha grinned and Marcus could see a glint in her eyes. She said, ¡°They might be weak physically and magically but they are practically immortal. You cannot kill them while they are in their home dimensional plane. It is the same dimensional plane that we passed through.¡± ¡°How come?¡± Tasha sighed and said, ¡°I will explain to the best of my abilities if you do not interrupt me.¡± Marcus again made the gesture of zipping his mouth. Tasha rolled her eyes and said, ¡°I am not sure you understand what zipping your mouth means.¡± When Marcus did not reply, Tasha proceeded with her explanation, ¡°The dimension plane or the realm which we passed through, the home realm of the durloghs is known as The Realm out of Space and Time. And yes, that is its name. The Realm out of Space and Time. It is a long name, please do not ask me to go into the history of it, and it is where the durloghs live.¡± ¡°The realm was discovered by a Game Master, whose name I shall not reveal as you are neither a Game Master nor one in training. When the GM discovered the realm, he encountered these durloghs. Many things happened, I will not go into details, but in the end negotiations occurred which allowed the Game Masters to travel to different planets through portals. However, only Game Masters and those approved by Game Masters would be allowed to travel through the portals. Every time you wish to travel from one planet to another through portals, you have to have the permission of durloghs to pass through The Realm out of Space and Time.¡± Tasha took another pause in her explanation. She brought out a bottle from her backpack and took a small swig of water. Tasha then said, ¡°If you pass through illegally, like we did, then the durloghs attack you and are allowed to kill you. I mean, I could have negotiated with the durloghs for safe passage but there was always a risk of other Game Masters knowing, and that is dangerous.¡± ¡°Why is it dangerous?¡± asked Marcus. Tasha looked at him with an expression that sent chills down Marcus¡¯ spine. Tasha said, ¡°You do not want to know. Suffice to say, we made it through their realm without any issues and I have a feeling they wont recognize you nor remember you. And I am pretty sure that I hid myself well. They would not even realize I was there.¡± Marcus frowned, ¡°When did you hide yourself?¡± ¡°When the durloghs were attacking us.¡± ¡°Oh! Okay.¡± They walked in silence for a few moments before Marcus spoke up, ¡°Can we not do interplanetary travel like we do intraplanetary travel. Open a portal tearing through space and time and just going through.¡± ¡°Hmm. You see, I gave you a crude explanation of how a portal works. Detailed explanation is a trade secret and as I said before¡­¡± ¡°Yes, yes, I know. I am not a Game Master or associated with them or a Game Master in training.¡± ¡°That you know of.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Well, you do have amnesia, don¡¯t you?¡± Marcus blinked at that statement. Then he frowned. Was he associated with the Game Masters in any way? He remembered what Marbas, the demon lord, had told him ages ago. He was what they called a Game Destroyer. He still did not understand what that meant and Memory was no help either in this case. Should he discuss this with Tasha? No, he decided, this was too risky a topic to discuss with Tasha. ¡°I mean if I had been associated with Game Masters in some way, there would have been signs, wouldn¡¯t there be?¡± asked Marcus hopefully. ¡°There should have been, but you do not have them. However, there is something mysterious about you. Something I can¡¯t put my finger on. And my parents are also not helpful. But, I have hope. I think I can figure out what you are.¡± ¡°I thank you for the sacrifice you are making of your time to reveal my identity¡±, said Marcus drily and Tasha laughed. They walked in silence for some time. Then Marcus said, ¡°You know. You did not explain why the durloghs are immortal in The Realm Beyond Time and Space.¡± ¡°It is The Realm out of Space and Time¡±, corrected Tasha, ¡°And you are right. I did not. Simply put, they have an inherent magic that makes them immortal in their realm. I am sure if you were to take a durlogh out of The Realm out of Space and Time, you might be able to kill it.¡± ¡°Might?¡± Tasha shrugged, ¡°Well, no one has tried it yet. And I doubt anyone is going to. Interplanetary portal is more important than sating one¡¯s curiosity.¡± ¡°And you are a hundred percent sure that no one has tried to take a durlogh out of their realm and tried to harm it?¡± ¡°The deal for travelling through their realm would be cancelled if anyone tried. I doubt any sensible Game Master would risk agitating or angering the durloghs. There is not much to gain and more to lose.¡± ¡°Hmmm.¡± Marcus was lost in his own thoughts about the durloghs and the Game Masters for some time. He looked around. The reddish desert landscape did not change much. Marcus could not even tell if they were making any progress or not. It was all so uniform and dull. The red sun beat upon Marcus and Tasha as they trudged through the Burning Plains. They drank water sparsely but they did take sufficient breaks. Walking in the heat was tiring work; physically as well as mentally. ¡°You know, I have been wondering¡±, said Marcus, ¡°What if your parents are successful in their negotiation and manage to free the adventurers without our help.¡± ¡°Then one of them will take us with them once they are finished¡±, said Tasha. ¡°And what if they have to leave before we reach the adventurers and they do not have a successful negotiation?¡± ¡°Then they will put a discreet spell on each of the adventurers so that we can track them before leaving this planet.¡± ¡°And what if they are not able to?¡± ¡°They will be able to.¡± ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± ¡°Because they are Game Masters. You cannot fathom the power a single Game Master has. And here we have two Game Masters. Trust me, if they want to cast a discreet spell, they will cast a discreet spell, and no one other than another Game Master would be able to stop them. And there is no other Game Master on Twarftha.¡± Marcus did not keep track of time as they walked. It felt like hours to him. As the red sun started to set over the Western horizon, he could see a faint hue of blue over the Eastern horizon. The red sun set and a blue sun arose bathing the world in a blue tint. Marcus looked at Tasha and questioned, ¡°What the fuck?¡± Tasha took a deep breath and said, ¡°Twarftha revolves around two suns placed in such a way that night does not fall on this planet. The red sun is called Rubrum while the blue sun is called Caeruleum. They both have similar effects on the demons, keeping their power in check.¡± ¡°So the demons would be quite weak here.¡± ¡°They would still be stronger than you considering you have no magic.¡± Marcus threw his hands in the air and said, ¡°I still don¡¯t understand what the fuck I am doing here. Seriously. I mean, why did you bring me in the first place?¡± Tasha looked at him with a strange expression and said, ¡°To help the adventurers. For some reason my mother was adamant that you would be vital for their rescue. I don¡¯t know much but I believe in my mother¡¯s instincts. They are never wrong.¡± Marcus wanted to insult Leyda Lightweaver but he was sure that it would not sit well with Tasha. Instead he simply grumbled and continued to walk. Marcus looked at the unchanging terrain as they walked. He was now starting to feel tired. He did not know where they would be sleeping. There seemed to be no shelter in the Burning Plains and he needed to sleep safe from the blue sun in the sky. Marcus said, ¡°Are we going to take a rest? I am tired.¡± Tasha looked at him and frowned, ¡°This is not good. I am sorry. I forgot you needed sleep.¡± Then she snapped her fingers and a tent appeared out of nowhere. ¡°You can sleep in here¡±, said Tasha, ¡°I will keep watch.¡± Marcus opened and closed his mouth like a fish. He did not know what to say. Exhausted, he unslung his longsword and backpack, stepped inside the tent which was large enough with two bedrolls, crashed on one of them and fell asleep. Marcus was not sure for how long he slept. He suddenly felt someone shaking him. ¡°Wazza-¡±, said Marcus groggily as he woke up. ¡°Are you well rested?¡± asked Tasha, ¡°You have been sleeping for eight hours now. I think it is sufficient for you to carry on.¡± Marcus grumbled but did not say anything else. He ate some of the rations and finished his business after requesting Tasha to give him some privacy. She raised a small wall. After he was ready, they started to walk. The blue sun was now nearing the horizon and Marcus was sure that the red sun would rise soon. After a few hours, Marcus¡¯ prediction came true. Marcus and Kyrie walked like this for about two days as per Marcus¡¯ estimation. Marcus asked her about Tasha¡¯s parents'' signatures and she told him that she could still feel them North. At the end of two days, when the blue sun was setting and the red sun was rising, Marcus noticed a change in the scenery. Even though it was far away, Marcus saw a hill. Marcus said, ¡°I presume the burning plains are coming to an end?¡± Tasha looked at where Marcus was pointing and her mouth thinned. Tasha said, ¡°Yes, we must go there. I believe the city is beyond that hill type structure.¡± ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± ¡°My parents¡¯ magical signature feels close. Really close.¡± Marcus grumbled to himself, ¡°This is close! Fuck, my feet are killing me.¡± It still took them a day to reach the hill. It was a dry hill. Nothing grew on its slopes and Marcus could not estimate how high it was. He concluded it was high for a hill. They did not go over the hill, thankfully. But they went around it. As they went around it Marcus saw the scene change as if by magic. On the slope which Marcus had not seen before, there was a large forest which extended quite high up in the hill. Marcus and Tasha stopped at the start of the forest. Marcus looked at the forest and then at the barren land behind them. He looked to his left to find the forest extending for quite some distance. There was barren land behind it. ¡°What the fuck¡±, said Marcus gesturing at the forest. Tasha said, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much. It¡¯s all magic.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all magic¡±, mimicked Marcus, ¡°That cannot be your explanation for everything.¡± ¡°It is not. But for this, it is.¡± Marcus decided not to argue further. He was tired and he was not sure whether his argument would be fruitful. Instead he decided to flop down under a tree. He said, ¡°I am tired. Can we rest here?¡± ¡°Not here¡±, said Tasha shaking her head, ¡°We need to find shelter. This is now demon territory. We cannot risk getting caught.¡± They did not have to walk long. They found a small cave after walking for about a couple of hours and after ensuring that the cave was safe, they decided to camp there. ¡°Today I will sleep too¡±, declared Tasha. ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me that.¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± Tasha again summoned the tent inside the cave. They both slept in the tent for quite some time. It seemed that in spite of her earlier declaration, Tasha did indeed need rest. She slept for about twelve hours while Marcus was up after sleeping for about ten hours. After they had woken up and gotten ready to hike, Tasha handed Marcus a potion. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°In simple terms, an energy potion¡±, came the reply, ¡°We have been walking for quite some time. We are both physically tired. This will help. We need to sneak into demon territory and help the adventurers escape. We need to be fresh and energized for it.¡± Marcus downed the potion and indeed felt better. It was as if all the fatigue of the past few days had simply disappeared. He felt ready to take on anything. ¡°This is amazing!¡± Marcus exclaimed, ¡°How come you did not give this to me earlier.¡± ¡°Because I have a limited stock. I can use this only when it is required.¡± ¡°We are not near or in a city yet.¡± ¡°But we are there, Marcus. The city is not far away. Come.¡± Marcus was confused by Tasha¡¯s statement but followed her. The forest ended after a short trek and he could see large walls bathed in blue in front of him. Marcus and Tasha watched the walls rise in front of them, safely from behind a thick bunch of trees. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°The walls of a demon city¡±, replied Tasha, ¡°At least a hundred feet tall I presume.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see any gates.¡± ¡°We are not near a gate. And I don¡¯t believe we would be using a gate.¡± ¡°Then how the fuck are we going to get in?¡± Tasha grinned at Marcus and he had a sense of foreboding. ¡°What do you know about sewers?¡± Marcus groaned and swore at that. His day was going to get a lot worse. *** Marcus had not been wrong. His day had indeed gotten worse. Tasha had led Marcus to the right, keeping in the forest till they found a sewer grate. It was at least twenty feet high and ten feet in width with an oval shape. Dirty water flowed out of it, making a path into the forest in which Marcus and Tasha were. Tasha melted the sewer grate and they stepped in mucky and dirty water. As Marcus walked, his feet squelched under him and his face made a look of disgust. Tasha seemed to be walking naturally. The smell or the dirty mulch under her feet did not seem to bother her. For Marcus it was pure hell. Marcus gagged at every breath he took and somehow managed to keep his breakfast down. Marcus said, ¡°How much further do you think we need to go?¡± Tasha shushed him and said in a whisper, ¡°Don¡¯t talk too loud. And I don¡¯t know. This is an unknown network of sewer tunnels we are entering. I can feel the magic of my parents from that way. Let¡¯s see which path leads there.¡± ¡°I am going to die of this fucking smell¡±, muttered Marcus as he followed Tasha slowly. Do you want me to help? said a voice inside Marcus¡¯ head. Memory, is that you? Who else you great buffoon. Marcus was feeling too tired to argue with Memory. He wondered how Memory was active when he had gone to a different planet. I am not restricted to Una only, you primitive idiot. I am the product of your spell, not Rauros and Leyda, Memory shouted inside Marcus¡¯ head. No need to get all fucking pissy. Help me if you can. I am in no condition to fucking argue with you. You must be in dire condition considering how much you are swearing. I do not fucking swear that much. Of course you don¡¯t. I am giving you a memory of a spell. You will be able to cast it. Be aware, it might tire you as the spell would be cast of your own magic. Are you ready? Wait. What the fuck was Memory saying? Marcus¡¯ own magic. Did Marcus have innate magic which he suppressed somehow? How do you think you constructed me in your mind if you did not have magic, Marcus? said Memory in response to Marcus¡¯ thoughts. What memory said made sense. Marcus nodded and Memory flooded his mind with a memory of a spell. Marcus immediately knew how to cast [Sensitize Nose]. Interesting spell. He cast it surreptitiously, ensuring Tasha did not realize he had cast it. He immediately noticed the difference. The smell had not gone away but somehow he was able to handle the horrible smell of the sewer. It did not give him the nauseating feeling that he was having earlier. Marcus now moved with much more ease than before, however their pace was still slow. After what felt like hours of going through various sewer ways, several hours of twists and turns, Tasha finally stopped. She looked up. Marcus started to say something but she shushed him again. Marcus could see the frown on her face. After what felt like an eternity to Marcus she said, ¡°My parents seem to have gone away from Twarftha for now. I do not feel their magic anymore. However, I do feel five different mana signatures right above us. It seems that they have marked the adventurers and left. It seems that their negotiation failed.¡± ¡°No shit, duh!¡± ¡°No need to be condescending. As I had said earlier, my mother predicted that this could happen. That is why we are here.¡± ¡°Oh! I thought we were here for the fucking sights. The two fucking suns. The flat plains which fucking heat you up. The thick forest which was fucking hot and humid and this lovely sewer which makes you fucking gag and feel like vomiting every two seconds. Nice tourist place. Fucking fantastic. I feel very glad that you brought me sightseeing.¡± Tasha glared at Marcus and Marcus glared back. Tasha said, ¡°I believe that we may have some issues but we need to park them till we rescue the adventurers and are back on Una.¡± ¡°And how do you propose we fucking do that?¡± asked Marcus, his voice dripping in malice. Tasha opened her mouth to say something but before she could say anything an unknown voice said from behind them, ¡°Well. Well. Well. And what do we have here?¡± And at that time Marcus knew that they were fucked. The Blacksmith Kyrie looked at the house in front of her. Well calling it a house would be underselling it. The house started as a house and melted into the mountain, just like the palace. It was inside the second mountain of Karzasham. A stone fence surrounded the exterior of the house and a gate was present about ten feet from the front door with a sign hung on it which said, ¡®No Trespassing¡¯. Kyrie wondered who would trespass on the property and was there even sufficient property to trespass on? Kyrie looked at Oril who had accompanied her and said, ¡°So, this is the house of Goros Metaltouch. The blacksmith.¡± Oril looked at her and said, ¡°Yes. I told you I was going to bring you to his house and introduce you. Were you gorking doubting my words?¡± ¡°No, but this looks so normal for a famous blacksmith. If he is a famous blacksmith, would he not be rich?¡± ¡°He has a house extending into the mountain. He is rich.¡± Kyrie did not debate that statement. She did not know much about dwarven culture. She wished that Marcus was around. He would know. He was definitely a treasure trove of information. ¡°Should we ring the bell? Knock on the door? What do we do now?¡± asked Kyrie. Oril opened the fence gate, walked up to the door of the house and knocked the door with a knocker which Kyrie had somehow missed completely. She muttered a small ¡®oh¡¯ and waited for Goros to open the door. It took some time but the door opened finally. The dwarf who opened the door seemed to be as tall as Oril but old. He had silver white hair and his beard was not as large as other dwarven beards that Kyrie had seen. Instead it looked trimmed and well groomed. The dwarf had a suspicious look on his face when he opened the door but then he saw Oril and cheered up. ¡°Oril, you gorking beard trimmer. How are ya?¡± asked the dwarf who had opened the door. ¡°It is good to see you Goros gorking Metaltouch¡±, said Oril clasping Goros¡¯ hand, ¡°You look gorking well.¡± ¡°I am well.¡± ¡°Then why the gork is your shop closed!¡± ¡°Ah! Come on in. Come on in. But wait, who might you be?¡± Goros had finally spotted Kyrie. Oril introduced Kyrie and they both stepped inside Goros¡¯ house. The house looked larger to Kyrie as compared to outside. The front door led to the living room which led to a door through which Kyrie presumed was the rest of the house as Kyrie could only see the living room. Goros gestured for them to sit on the sofas and they did, albeit Kyrie had to keep her legs extended a bit so as to be comfortable on dwarven sofas. ¡°What brings you here?¡± said Goros while bringing some refreshments for Kyrie and Oril. ¡°Your shop was closed. I recommended Kyrie to your shop. Hence we are here.¡± Goros looked at Kyrie and then at Oril. Then he looked back at Kyrie and said, ¡°You are a water nymph from the looks of you. You are in need of my services?¡± ¡°I am also an adventurer¡±, said Kyrie. Goros rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, ¡°Well I¡¯ll be gorked. An adventuring water nymph. Never knew I would see such a sight. Not that there is nothing wrong with water nymphs adventuring.¡± Kyrie laughed and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. You are not wrong. Water nymphs do not become adventurers. I am simply different.¡± ¡°That¡¯s one way to put it¡±, muttered Oril. ¡°What was that?¡± asked Kyrie sweetly. ¡°Nothing. Nothing. You adventurer versus adventurer nut.¡± Kyrie and Oril laughed at that but Goros looked confused. Kyrie knew why. Oril said, ¡°She needs armor that she can wear Goros. I know she is a nymph and they do not wear armor. Her current clothes are made specially for her by NAIF and they charged her gorking hell for it. Her defence is shit. She needs your expertise.¡± Goros looked thoughtfully at Kyrie, especially the dress she was wearing. Kyrie waited with a polite smile on her face. Goros finally said, ¡°I think I can help her. I had closed shop because of this gorking tournament of yours. I was pretty sure I would be swamped with orders and I did not want that.¡± Kyrie was confused at that statement. Was this not a great time for blacksmiths to be in business? Oril whispered to her, ¡°Blacksmithing is his hobby. He does not need the money. He is quite well off. He does not need to work anymore.¡± Goros said, ¡°What was that? Gorking forget it. I will help you, Kyrie. But only you. I do not want any other gorking distractions Oril. You will ensure that.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Not you specifically but someone from the palace should help. Keep some guards or something. Because as soon as I fire up the forge, I am going to be swamped with adventurers and non-adventurers. I gorking do not want that. Guarantee that and I will help Kyrie.¡± Kyrie looked at Oril who nodded, ¡°Deal.¡± They shook hands. First Oril and Goros grabbed their hands and then Goros gave Kyrie a polite handshake. ¡°Come tomorrow¡±, said Goros dismissing the two of them, ¡°We shall start working on a comfortable armor for you.¡± ¡°The tournament¡¯s starting in three days, Goros¡±, said Oril. ¡°Kyrie will come back tomorrow¡±, repeated Goros, ¡°And you will make arrangements till that time to ensure that we are not gorking disturbed.¡± Oril and Kyrie left after that. Oril went back to the palace after escorting Kyrie back to her inn. Kyrie had a free day for now. She wondered what tomorrow would bring. *** The next day Kyrie reached Goros¡¯ workshop early in the morning. Goros had messaged her to just come in and she did so. As she opened the door to the workshop, she felt something shift in the air. Was that a spell? The front of the workshop was a shop. There was a counter at the opposite end from the entrance and a door leading to the back. Various weapons, shields and armor were displayed along the walls and behind the counter. A voice said, ¡°Come in the back. I am here.¡± Goros was shouting and Kyrie made her way through the shop and the door behind the counter. At once she was hit with the heat. This was the true workshop of Goros. Kyrie had expected some sort of storage space but she could see blacksmith¡¯s hearth to her right with Goros working something on it. The workshop was open and various blacksmithing equipment and tools lay organized across the workshop. It felt quite neat, clean and organized to Kyrie. Somehow that surprised her. Weren¡¯t the workspaces of geniuses chaotic in nature? Or was she leaning too much into stereotypes? Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Kyrie made her way towards Goros, ignoring the heat and greeted him. Goros stopped what he was doing and welcomed Kyrie. ¡°Welcome to my humble workshop¡±, said Goros, ¡°Please, take a stool.¡± Goros extended a stool and Kyrie sat on it. Goros fetched another stool and sat in front of her. ¡°I know why you are here. We discussed it yesterday when you came to my house with Oril. However, today, I want to hear it in your own words. What is the problem with your current armour and what exactly do you want from me?¡± Kyrie took a deep breath and a moment to collect her thoughts. She said slowly, ¡°My current armor consists of a tank top, shorts and a circlet. The circlet was given to me by a high priest of the water nymphs. It is the only thing which gives me physical and magical armor which is twice my adventurer level. My tank top and shorts are made up of some arachnid silk. That is at least what NAIF told me. They are enchanted to keep my skin moist so that it would not feel that I am wearing something. They have physical and magical armor of one point each. That is it.¡± Goros remained thoughtful for some time and then said, ¡°What about your weapon? What weapon do you use?¡± In response, Kyrie brought out her The Bow of Lament from her inventory. Goros requested the bow from Kyrie and Kyrie handed it to him. It had been quite some time since she had examined the bow herself. As Goros quietly examined the bow, Kyrie herself examined its stats. The Bow of Lament Physical Attack: Base (level/2) + Strength * 1 + Dexterity * 5 Magical Attack: 0 Block: 10% Critical Attack Chance: 5% Critical Attack Damage: 20% Requirements: 5 Strength, 10 Dexterity Description: Inheritance of Kyrie Shiningstar, the longbow scales up with her levelling. Equipped with two spell slots, the bow is indeed a shining legacy for the water nymph. Interesting. The description of physical stat had changed. Initially, it gave a final amount of the physical attack of the weapon. Now it was showing scaling parameters. Kyrie wondered when this change had occurred. And why? Once again her thoughts went to Marcus. She was sure that he would have some theory regarding this considering how much he read everything. ¡°This bow is interesting¡±, said Goros once he finished examining it. Kyrie waited for him to continue and he did, ¡°The outer layer is made of wood. There is no denying it. Although what kind of wood, I do not know.¡± ¡°It is made up of wood from a tree of my home world¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°Do you want to know the name of the tree?¡± Goros waved his hand and said, ¡°The wood is not important. It is what is inside the wood that is important.¡± Kyrie felt a bit confused by that statement. She asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Your bow is made up of a material which can be seen if you take off the outer wooden layer. I doubt you would want to do that. However, I can detect a hint of it. It is no material I am aware of. It is light and strong and magical in nature. Why is it hidden under a layer of wood, that I do not know. Are you more comfortable with wood against your skin? Is that why your bow is wooden from the outside?¡± ¡°We can hold things as water nymphs. And I am half water nymph. I have always been comfortable holding various solid items. However, clothing or armor has always been an issue. I have gotten used to this tank top and shorts. If possible, I would not wear them.¡± ¡°What about the circlet?¡± ¡°It is made up of enchanted water.¡± ¡°Can I see it?¡± Kyrie gave Goros her circlet. Goros examined it. In his hands Kyrie could see the circlet moving as if the enchantment was trying very hard to retain its shape. It was as if the circle wanted to dissolve into a puddle of water. Goros hurriedly gave it back to Kyrie who placed it upon her head. There its shape stabilized and looked normal. ¡°Hmmm¡±, said Goros, ¡°It is indeed enchanted water it seems. And it would not work for anyone else. If anyone else took your circlet, they would find the enchantment vanishing and water in their hand where there should be a circlet. An interesting enchantment. I, however, am not an enchanter and cannot make you an armor like this circlet. Hmmm. Let me think. What to do? What to do?¡± Goros dissolved into muttering to himself by the end of his speech. He got up from the stool and went to one of the corners where there was a table with a bookshelf. Still muttering, Goros picked a book and started parsing through the pages. Then suddenly he gave a start and turned towards Kyrie. ¡°You said you were half water nymph. What is the other half?¡± Kyrie shrugged her shoulders and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°How could you not know?¡± ¡°My mother never knew what kind of nymph my father was. She thought he was a wood nymph but he was not a wood nymph. He disappeared from her life a few days after he met her. Soon after my mother discovered that she was pregnant with me.¡± ¡°I am sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. Even for asking. It was a long time ago and I never felt bad that he was not there. I had a family. My mother, my sisters, my brothers, my friends, my water nymph community. They were all there for me. I did not require anything else. Except maybe a desire for adventure. Which is what led me to Una and to become an adventurer.¡± ¡°And the bow?¡± ¡°A gift from my father when I turned 30. It just turned up with a note. I would have thrown it away had I not fallen in love with it the moment I laid my eyes on it.¡± Goros did not say anything but then continued to go through the book he had gotten from the bookshelf. There were two pages he noted according to Kyrie. After some time he came back to the stool that he had vacated earlier and sat on it. ¡°Now¡±, said Goros in a voice which was quite serious, ¡°I have two options for you. First is Steelwood Bark. It is exactly as it sounds. Steelwood is a tree which grows just beyond the mountain ranges in which Karzasham is present. The wood of the tree is not that strong, but its bark. Oh, the bark! It is a very strong bark and it is not easy to break it off the tree or you know break in general.¡± Goros took a deep breath and continued, ¡°I can make you armor out of the bark. You, however, need to be comfortable with it.¡± Goros shifted in his stool and said, ¡°The second option is Never Melting Ice. It is ice formed off an enchanted lake which is found on the mountain which houses the third part of Karzasham. It is a long and a difficult journey as the lake is found considerably high up and the ice does not have much utility except for keeping things cool. We have a spell for that which is cheaper than the Never Melting Ice and as a result, the ice is not much in demand. However, some quantities can still be found in Karzasham and I can mold it into an armor for you. You need to pick. Which would be better for you, the bark or the ice?¡± ¡°Is the ice as strong as the bark?¡± ¡°The ice is stronger. The waters of the lake have healing properties and ice formed off of it becomes hard and never melting as a result. It would give you decent physical and magical resistance. However, I cannot enchant any of them like what they did at NAIF. And we are not trying to do so.¡± ¡°We are not?¡± ¡°No Kyrie. That would defeat the purpose of good armor. Good armor should protect you even without enchantment. Enchantment is not cheap. Armor is considerably cheaper.¡± Kyrie suddenly had a bit of panic. She asked, ¡°How much would both cost me?¡± Goros looked at her, surprise etched on his face. ¡°Did Oril not tell you?¡±, he said hesitantly, ¡°Your armor would be charged directly to the royal family. Well, Orik to be precise. You don¡¯t have to pay anything.¡± Kyrie did not like that. It would have been better if Oril, Orim, Orik or Orin would have told her about this. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. It was a gift and it would help her fight in the tournament. She should not be ungrateful but she did hope that she was at least informed. ¡°It¡¯s alright¡±, said Kyrie more to herself rather than Goros, ¡°I think Never Melting Ice would be better than the bark. I am not sure whether bark would feel comfortable against my skin for a long time but ice is okay. I do not get comfortable with ice.¡± ¡°Then it''s decided¡±, said Goros clapping his hands together, ¡°I will get the materials and make you this armor set in about¡­ hmmm¡­ It would take me at least five days to make this armor for you, even if I push it. When is the tournament going to start?¡± ¡°It will start in two days.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ not good. I do need five days. One week would be best. Let me talk to Oril. Maybe he can postpone your fight for later.¡± ¡°It is alright. Take your time. I was initially going to enter the tournament with my current armor. If you can make an armor that I can wear, then I need to be able to wear it long term. Not short term. If it takes time. It takes time. I will talk with one of the Ori brothers. You make me the best armor that you can.¡± ¡°You are gorking good Kyrie. Don¡¯t you worry. I shall make you the best armor ever. Now we do need to talk about enchantments.¡± ¡°I thought good armor should protect you without enchantments.¡± ¡°Ha! But some enchantments would be good. I am going to make good armor and I did say we do not need enchantments to make good armor, but we do need enchantments so that we can enhance the armor. So, what would you like?¡± They spent some time discussing what enchantments should go on Kyrie¡¯s new armor. Considering the armor was going to be made up of ice, Never Melting Ice, but still ice, there was a limit to enchantments that could be put on it. Goros was going to make armor, greaves for leg armor and bracers which would help protect Kyrie while not hindering her shooting ability. They had also decided on enchantments which would further enhance her adventuring experience. All in all, the final product did look good on books. Kyrie wondered how it would look practically. After they were done, Kyrie said goodbye to Goros and went to the palace to inform the Ori brothers that the armor would at least take a week with all the enchantments and to give them an earful about paying for her. She was not poor anymore considering her debt to NAIF was finally paid. She had some money. Although, she was pretty sure it would not be sufficient to avail Goros¡¯ services. Maybe she would not berate the Ori brothers much. Kyrie went to bed that night brimming with excitement. She was finally going to get decent armor and was going to take part in an adventurer versus adventurer tournament in two days. It was all going good for her. The Houndmaster Marcus whirled around and unsheathed his longsword. He took an attacking stance and was a bit surprised with himself. How did he know this? Maybe Memory had been right. Of course he was right. He was his memory after all. Beside Marcus Tasha held a spear in her hand. She had also turned around fast, taking out her weapon and pointing it towards the person who had spoken. Well, it was not a person. It was a demon. And it was a demon that Marcus identified. ¡°Harados the houndmaster¡±, whispered Marcus to Tasha. Harados was standing in front of them, two of his hellhounds standing besides him. He had his hood up and Marcus could not see his face. The hellhounds were sniffing and snarling at Marcus and Tasha but with a signal from Harados both calmed down. ¡°Well. Well. Well¡±, said Harados, ¡°What do we have here? A half elf and a¡­ Wait a minute. It is you. What was your name? Yes. Marcus Blank. Weren¡¯t you on Una? What the gork are you doing here?¡± Marcus did not reply but eyed Tasha hoping she would take the lead. However, before Tasha could say anything, Harados simply sat down. In the dirty sewage waste. ¡°This is interesting. First we have five adventurers from Una who accidently fell through the portal, and are kept as prisoners. Then we have another adventurer, quite a strong one accompanied by a half elf I do not know. Is this a rescue mission?¡± Neither Marcus nor Tasha answered. Nor did they lower their weapons. Marcus noticed that the sewage waste was somehow flowing around Harados and he was sitting in a clean spot. In the sewer. That was a miracle according to Marcus. ¡°Hmmm¡±, nodded Harados thoughtfully and lowered his hood, ¡°You two don¡¯t seem to be keen on replying.¡± Marcus saw Harados¡¯ face for the first time. When he had met with him earlier while summoning him for the first time and also while fighting with him, Harados always had a mask on his face. His blood red armor was still on his body but there was no mask this time. Harados¡¯ face looked as if you had flattened a dog¡¯s face to resemble a human¡¯s face. His eyes were red and were glowing. The nose looked purposefully flattened and Marcus could see sharp canines as Harados gave them a smile. Harados said, ¡°You know I am not going to report you if you give me some answers. However, if you do not cooperate, I might just turn you over to the guards.¡± ¡°Or we could just kill you¡±, said Tasha. Harados started to laugh at that. He said, ¡°This is not Una half elf. You do not have the same gorking power as you have on that planet. This is Twarftha. And here, I am way stronger than you.¡± When Tasha did not reply, Harados stood up and took out his twin swords. There was a moment of tension in the air as if they were all waiting for each other to make the first move. Then both Tasha and Harados exploded into motion. Marcus stepped back and went into a flanking position but was charged by the two hellhounds. He wanted to help Tasha but he had to dodge the incoming bites of the hellhounds. He dodged, sidestepped and attacked to kill one of the hellhounds. The second one snarled and advanced slowly. This time Marcus charged and swiped his longsword in a motion that he did not know how he did it. Help from Memory and muscle memory he presumed. His attack hit the hellhound, wounding it. Before it could attack Marcus again, he pushed the attack and killed it. Marcus then turned towards Harados and Tasha to find them in a stalemate. They were both standing in front of each other, both waiting for the other to make a move. Marcus waited too. He did not want to rush in. He had to find an advantage, make his move accordingly. While fighting with the hellhounds Marcus had not paid attention to Tasha and Harados¡¯ fight. It seemed though that none of them had used any spells or powers and were simply fighting with weapons. However, that soon changed. Marcus felt a shift in the air. Harados shot forwards, his weapons glowing with fire. Well, that was new. Marcus had not faced that when he had fought with Harados. Tasha retaliated by twirling her spear at impossible speed. It was akin to Marcus¡¯ [Whirling Weapon] but very very fast. Harados¡¯ attack hit the whirling spear and the fire dissipated. The next moment he was thrown back by a holy light which shot from the whirling spear. Harados crashed into the sewer wall and then into the muck. Marcus expected him to get back up and continue the fight. What he did not expect was laughter. Both Marcus and Tasha were surprised by that. Harados continued to laugh on the ground. When he was finished, he got up and sheathed his swords. Harados said, ¡°Seems that I underestimated you. Welcome to Galmanosh. The lovely demon city. Come on then. Follow. I will lead you to safety for now.¡± Tasha and Marcus looked at each other. Marcus raised an inquiring eyebrow to which Tasha simply shrugged. Does this mean that they trust Harados? Harados had already started to walk towards one of the passageways of the sewer. He stopped and turned towards them when they did not follow. ¡°Why are you not coming?¡± ¡°We do not trust you¡±, said Tasha, ¡°You did attack us.¡± ¡°And you killed my hellhounds¡±, Harados pointed at Marcus, ¡°And you gave me a nice workout. It means you are strong enough to survive the city.¡± ¡°And why do you care?¡± Harados looked towards Marcus and said, ¡°Did you forget what sort of demon I am?¡± ¡°You make deals¡±, Marcus said, remembering the time he had summoned Harados. ¡°All demons make deals¡±, said Harados, ¡°I make deals when I find someone interesting. And I find both of you interesting. I can make a deal with both of you to help you if you want. But for that, you need to trust me a bit and follow me. Will you be willing to do that?¡± Marcus walked up to Tasha and whispered to her, ¡°Your call.¡± ¡°I know¡±, Tasha whispered back. Tasha took some time before making a decision. Everyone was waiting patiently for her. Finally, she sheathed her spear and it disappeared. Marcus wondered how she did that. They should not have any spatial inventory like Una. ¡°Fine¡±, said Tasha, ¡°We will come with you for now. However, do anything suspicious and I will run you through.¡± ¡°Come on then¡±, Harados beckoned them and started to walk. Marcus sheathed his longsword and they both started to follow Harados. Marcus was still now sure whether they should trust Harados or any other demon for that matter. But for now he decided to trust Tasha and followed Harados. Harados led them through the sewers and to a ladder which opened up in an alleyway. Marcus had the first view of Galmanosh then. It looked like a decrepit town with short maximum three storeyed buildings with cobblestone pathways and small alleyways which seemed to be cluttered with demon waste. Marcus could see the road from the alley and demons seemed to be walking. They were not walking fast and from their demeanor, Marcus could tell that they seemed to have given up on life. They walked with no life in their eyes. Harados opened a door on one side of the building and led Marcus and Tasha inside. They climbed up the stairs to the second floor and Harados led them to a house. It was a large open house filled with gym equipment, pet equipment, a bed and what seemed to be a working kitchen. It seemed more like a normal house to Marcus, except that it was large, covering the entire second floor. There were no hellhounds present currently. ¡°Welcome to my humble abode¡±, said Harados walking towards a coat rack and depositing his coat on it, ¡°Please take a seat. Make yourselves at home.¡± Tasha and Marcus decided to remain standing. Marcus was still tense and he could see that Tasha was also not letting her guard down. Marcus said, ¡°Where are your hellhounds? I know you have quite a few.¡± Harados gave a bark-like laugh and said, ¡°It is true, as you say, I have quite a few hellhounds. But they do not fit in my humble abode. They reside in a kennel. Well to call that huge complex a kennel would be an insult, but they reside in a highly customized and a large kennel just a few minutes walk from here. Are you happy?¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you cannot summon them here. I have seen you summon them before.¡± ¡°But I won¡¯t do it. I told you, I would rather make a deal with you than fight with you again.¡± ¡°And if we are not able to come to a deal?¡± asked Tasha. Harados shrugged, ¡°Then you leave and I will pretend I have never met you before.¡± ¡°Why?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°Why should I fight you? What do I gain? You are not my jailors. You are merely trespassers who will soon go away. By making a deal you might just amuse me. A breath of fresh air in my boring life here in Galmanosh. So, what do you say?¡± Marcus wanted to ask regarding what he meant but he held his tongue. He would ask Tasha later. Marcus had thought that Twarftha was an entire prison. But judging from what Harados had said, it seemed that the city was a prison inside the prison planet. It was getting a bit complex for Marcus. Tasha said, ¡°What deal are you planning to make with us?¡± Harados clapped his hands and said, ¡°I believe you are here to release the adventurers from Una who are currently in a prison in the palace. The Game Masters of Una came and tried to negotiate their release. I am quite sure they failed. Lucifer is in a bad mood these days considering that the Game Masters of Una is using his demons as well, sport. So, he would do everything in his power to leverage what he has.¡± ¡°I am pretty sure that the adventurers have almost zero chance of leaving Twarftha unless they are broken out of their jail but it is not an easy task. You know. Breaking into Lucifer¡¯s palace and getting them out. Not without inside help.¡± ¡°Now there are demons who are not happy with Lucifer¡¯s rule and would help you, for a price of course, to break out these prisoners. I am one of them. I would gather a group of like minded demons. Help you. However, I would like one tiny thing in return.¡± ¡°And what would that be?¡± asked Tasha. ¡°Your true identity half elf¡±, grinned Harados at Tasha, ¡°You have not had the courtesy to even tell me your name. And your companion here has not spoken it once. I want to know who you are. Your powers¡±, Harados shuddered in pleasure, ¡°You are quite powerful. How is that? I simply wish to know more about you. What do you say?¡± ¡°No¡±, said Tasha. She did not even hesitate. ¡°Aw! That¡¯s depressing. Will you not even consider?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then I have no business with you two. Leave. Now. Shoo.¡± Harados dismissed them and Marcus and Tasha left his house. They were now back into the alley. What now? Marcus looked at Tasha who pulled a cloak with a hood out of her backpack and put it on. She put her hood up and no feature of hers could be seen. Marcus followed her example and put on his cloak with hood up. Then Tasha changed her body language, looking more hunched than she normally was and started to shuffle slowly towards the street. Marcus followed her the same way. As they walked through the streets, various demons passed them but no one paid them attention. Marcus wanted to know what Tasha¡¯s plan was but she seemed to be focusing on travelling in a particular direction. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Marcus looked in the direction they were travelling and saw a huge castle looming over them. He could only partially see the castle as a huge wall was erected in front of it hiding it from the view. Harados had called it a palace. Marcus wondered why. It was clearly a castle considering its really large walls. They walked for quite some time till they reached the inner wall entrance. It was a large gate with demonic guards surrounding it. They seemed to be alert and livelier than the demons that had been wandering in the city. There was a door to the right side of the gate allowing for a single individual to enter. Marcs presumed that this was for guards going in and out at a time. It did not make sense to open a thirty feet gate each time a single guard needed to go in or out. The gate leading to the castle was closed and they did not see any other point of entry. They could try jumping but the wall was at least fifty feet high with guards posted at regular intervals over the wall. Marcus looked at Tasha who beckoned him inside one of the buildings beside where they were standing. They were at least a hundred metres from the wall. Marcus followed Tasha into what seemed to be a three storeyed abandoned building. The building consisted of stairs and a passageway. There were many doors on either side of the passageway hinting to Marcus that they might be rooms. Tasha climbed to the third floor of the building and entered a room which seemed to provide them with a view of the gate leading to the castle. The room was empty, not even a hint of furniture. Dust seemed to have settled across every corner of the room and it rose a bit when they entered making Marcus cough as he inhaled it. Tasha went up to a window and looked out. Then she stepped back and hugged a wall to ensure that no one could see her from the street. Only then did she put her hood down. ¡°I think this is a safe place¡±, said Tasha, ¡°For now.¡± ¡°If you say so¡±, said Marcus. ¡°I cannot detect the presence of any demon or any living being in this building. I don¡¯t know why it has been abandoned but it has been this way for quite some time considering its state.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°We shall have to find a way inside that castle, over that wall. I will go on a reconnaissance tonight, see if there is a way in. You stay here. Stay safe.¡± Marcus nodded and said, ¡°I am alright with whatever you decide. However, are you positive that we can do this without help?¡± ¡°And did you think that what Harados was providing was help?¡± ¡°We can ask other demons.¡± ¡°How many demons do you know? Or trust?¡± ¡°Fair point. I will simply wait. Do we make ourselves at home?¡± Tasha gave a short laugh at that and they examined the room. Well calling it a room was not correct. It was more of a studio apartment with an attached bathroom which was neither working nor furnished. There was a nook on the left side of the apartment which could have been designed as a kitchen. Marcus walked towards one wall of the apartment, opposite the windows and sat down. He said, ¡°What do you mean tonight? Do you mean during the blue sun?¡± ¡°Yes¡±, nodded Tasha, ¡°I can use the blue sun to hide me.¡± ¡°How?¡± He got no reply. Marcus was getting irritated with Tasha¡¯s behaviour but there was nothing much he could do about it. He was confident that on Twarftha, Tasha was indeed stronger than him and he would have to rely on her if he wanted to get off the planet alive. ¡°You know it would help if we communicate¡±, said Marcus, ¡°It feels you are hanging me out to dry. All this is overwhelming for me and you being all secretive is not helping.¡± Tasha said, ¡°I understand your frustration but trust me when I say there are so many things I can not tell you about. I understand I am asking you to put blind faith in me but if we are to survive this, that is what you need to do. Moreover, have some faith in yourself. I have a feeling you are not so bad yourself. Even when you are not powered by the magic of Una. The magic of my parents. You do remember how you dispatched those two hellhounds, do you not?¡± ¡°Very well. But I do have some questions when you come back. I hope you will answer them.¡± Tasha nodded as she left. She said, ¡°You can explore the building if you want to. But do not leave it. And do not make any noise. I do not want you to get caught. It would cause complications.¡± ¡°I think I will simply stay in this room only.¡± Tasha gave him a sharp look and said, ¡°No. Find another room. Away from the street. Not at the back either. A middle room. It would be good.¡± Marcus understood what she was saying. Tasha left as the blue sun Caeruleum rose in the sky. Marcus had shifted to a similar studio apartment type room which was in the middle of the passageway as Tasha had suggested. Now all he had to do was wait. And Marcus waited. He had nothing to do the entire time the blue sun was in the sky. So, he simply sat in the apartment that he had selected. He paced around. He made conversations with himself of scenarios where Tasha apologized to him and answered all his questions. Tired and bored, he fell asleep. Even though there was light out, his body was exhausted and he needed to sleep. He did not know for how long he slept. When he woke up the red sun was quite high in the sky. He could tell from the window in the apartment. There was another figure sleeping beside him. The figure woke up with Marcus. Marcus immediately went on alert mode and took a couple of steps away from the figure before realizing who it was. Tasha blinked at him with sleepy eyes. ¡°Why were you sleeping beside me?¡± Marcus asked. He was now fully awake. However, the adrenaline rush from the thought that some stranger had been sleeping beside him was fading. It was only Tasha. Nothing dangerous. He hoped. ¡°It looked to be a comfortable spot¡±, said Tasha with a yawn, ¡°And I was tired. I did not think much. I simply slept. You did not seem to mind considering how deeply you were sleeping. Anyone could have crept up on you and killed you if they wanted, you know.¡± ¡°Thank you for the morbid reassurance.¡± ¡°You are welcome.¡± Marcus sat back down. He had calmed down now. He looked at Tasha. She was trying to go back to sleep. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°Well, what?¡± ¡°What did you find when you went traipsing around the city?¡± ¡°I did not go traipsing around the city. I went to find a way for us into the castle.¡± ¡°Yes, and?¡± ¡°And nothing¡±, Tasha got up from her sleeping position and glared at Marcus, ¡°There is no way to get inside the castle without help. There is not even a single crack which can be exploited.¡± ¡°And your powerful magic cannot even help us?¡± ¡°No, it cannot. It seems that this entire city was designed by Game Masters. It has one purpose. Not to let anyone in and not to let anyone out.¡± ¡°We got in.¡± ¡°Yes, we did. We got lucky; I think. However, our luck has run out. I do not think we will be able to rescue the adventurers on our own.¡± Marcus was quiet for some time. He was thinking about their situation. Finally, Marcus said, ¡°So, what do you propose we do?¡± ¡°For now, I need some sleep. Let me rest. I need my head clear for what comes next.¡± ¡°And what comes next?¡± Tasha had already laid down again. She mumbled, ¡°Tell you when I wake up.¡± And after a few beats Marcus could see Tasha was sleeping soundly. Marcus was wide awake now. He got up, stretched and went out of the apartment. He was using another apartment for his toilet needs. This apartment surprisingly had running water. It made Marcus wonder about many things. As Marcus was coming out of the apartment after finishing his business, he suddenly stiffened. He had heard something. A soft patter of footsteps on the floor. He looked towards the staircase and saw a hellhound climbing it. He started moving back into the apartment, trying to close the door, but he heard a growl from his right. Marcus looked to see a hellhound standing there. He was too late and he had left his longsword in the apartment where Tasha was sleeping. ¡°This is fucking fantastic¡±, muttered Marcus to himself. The hellhound did not move though. It simply looked at Marcus and continued to growl. The hellhound climbed up the stairs and joined the other hellhound in growling on the left side of Marcus. A demon walked up the stairs now. Marcus recognized the demon. It was Harados again. Harados looked at Marcus and surprise flitted across his face. ¡°Fancy meeting you here Marcus¡±, said Harados with a falsetto cheery voice, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Resting¡±, said Marcus. He kept his eyes on the hellhounds and one hand on the doorknob. He was going to run if things got aggressive. ¡°Well, you have chosen a nice place for resting, you know¡±, drawled Harados, ¡°The buildings surrounding the castle up to 200 metres from the castle were once occupied. Then Lucifer decided to have them emptied. He did not want anyone occupying them. For security reasons you see. They are mostly abandoned. There are squatters, like you, but there are random checks to ensure that these buildings remain empty.¡± ¡°So, is this one of the checks? By you? And who is Lucifer?¡± Harados laughed and said, ¡°No, this is not a random check. I was looking for you two. I felt bad that we did not come to an understanding earlier. So, I came to convince you again to let me help you.¡± ¡°As for Lucifer. Lucifer Morningstar is the Lord of all the Demons. The title is not to be confused with the title of a Demon Lord. You see, Demon Lords rule over a finite number of demons. While a Lord of all Demons rules overall. You get it?¡± Marcus nodded but he still did not move. Harados for reasons unknown seemed desperate to help them. Marcus wanted to know why. However, he did not know what to do in this situation. Should he lead Harados to Tasha? Well, Harados just needed to search the apartments and he would find her but should Marcus make it easy for the Demon Lord? He still did not trust Harados. He had a gut feeling that there was something completely wrong with this mission. Harados said, ¡°So, what do you say? Where is your half elf friend? Is she in there? Can I talk to her?¡± Marcus stepped out of the apartment and closed the door behind her. He said, ¡°She is not here. She went out to scout. I am the only one here for now. Tell me what exactly you want. Why are you so keen on helping us? Something doesn''t feel right here.¡± Harados started to laugh. When he was finished he stared at Marcus and Marcus froze. Harados was looking at Marcus as if he was prey and Harados was the hunter. Marcus did not like that look. ¡°I have no need for a deal with you Marcus Blank¡±, hissed Harados in a menacing tone, ¡°My business is with the half elf. You are weak and inconsequential.¡± ¡°And yet I defeated you.¡± ¡°On Una. You are no Twarftha boy. Here you have no power?¡± ¡°Care to test it?¡± Marcus wondered where his bravado was coming from. But the way Harados was treating him, triggered something in him. Something akin to a primal rage. Is this you, Memory, Marcus asked Memory. I helped you unlock your longsword mastery when you came to Twarftha, replied Memory, but it seems that I was wrong simply to help you with that. I am going to unlock a memory Blank. It would be temporary.Use it. I will revoke your use of this memory when you are back on Una. Hold on. This is going to get fucking unpleasant. Don¡¯t I get a- The next moment Marcus¡¯ head exploded with pain. It passed away quickly but Marcus found himself sprayed on the ground. ¡°Fuck!¡± he exclaimed as he got up, ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°I should be asking you?¡± said Harados. Oh yes, thought Marcus, he is still here. Marcus stood up and faced Harados. Something had changed. Something in him. He felt it in his soul. Memory had unlocked something potent and Marcus gasped as he realised what it was. ¡°[Summon Longsword]¡±, muttered Marcus. A purple longsword made of magic materialized in his hand. He took a stance, ready to attack Harados. Harados looked surprised to see the sword in Marcus¡¯ hands. The next moment he grinned and took out his swords. The hellhounds growled and got ready to charge. However, before anyone could make a move, there was a flash of energy and the hellhounds disintegrated. A magical claw shot straight towards Harados, grabbing him and pinning him to the wall behind him. Marcus looked in the direction from where the spell had come from and saw Tasha walking towards Harados, her left arm outstretched forming a claw. ¡°I gorking do not like it when people disturb my sleep¡±, said Tasha angrily, ¡°And I really do not like it when they threaten my teammates.¡± ¡°Well¡±, said Harados struggling against the magical claw, ¡°I did come in peace. But I am still a demon. And I do enjoy tormenting in general.¡± ¡°I thought you would enjoy spending more time with your hellhounds¡±, said Marcus. Harados and Tasha both glared at him and Marcus mimed zipping his mouth. ¡°You came to talk. Talk then¡±, said Tasha to Harados. ¡°Could you put me down? Please?¡± Tasha dismissed the claw. Suddenly they heard noises. ¡°Guards¡±, hissed Harados. Marcus looked at Tasha who was looking at the sword in his hand. Marcus dismissed it and Tasha said, ¡°Get our stuff fast. We need to get out of here.¡± They rushed into the room they were staying and hurriedly donned their cloaks and grabbed their backpacks. Marcus also took his longsword and tied it across the back. Harados had followed them and he said, ¡°Follow me.¡± He opened a window and jumped out. Marcus and Tasha ran to the window to see that Harados had jumped to the roof of a nearby building. Tasha looked at Marcus and said, ¡°I will toss you. I will follow you.¡± ¡°No, you go first. I can manage the jump¡±, replied Marcus. ¡°Marcus there is at least ten feet between the apartments and we are jumping up. I thin-¡± She was interrupted when the door behind them burst open and demons poured in. Marcus pushed Tasha out of the window and closed it. He took out his sword and clashed it against the charging demon. He hoped Tasha would escape and do nothing foolish like trying to rescue him. Marcus cut down the charging demon with ease and cast the spell [Burning Hands]. Fire erupted from his open palm engulfing the demons in the doorway. Marcus then charged the other demons but was pushed back. Marcus was pretty sure that a Demon Lord had entered the fray. Marcus recognized him. It was M¨¢ra. ¡°You¡±, said Marcus. M¨¢ra was not at his full height but had shrunk himself to fit into the apartment. Each of his hands carried a club. M¨¢ra said, ¡°Hmm. Another adventurer from Una. And it seems that you can hold your own. Come with us peacefully if you want to live.¡± Marcus hesitated. Should he fight or just give up. He was sure he could take quite a large number of demons with him if he was to die. But was the risk worth it? Finally, Marcus made a decision. He dropped his longsword and raised his hands. ¡°Alright¡±, said Marcus while panting, ¡°I surrender.¡± M¨¢ra asked the demons under him to tie Marcus up. They did so. They even blindfolded him and picked up. They started leading Marcus away. As he was being carried away Marcus hoped that Tasha had escaped and would find a way with Harados to help him along with the other adventurers. As he was being led away, Marcus muttered, ¡°I am now truly fucked.¡± The Tournament Begins Kyrie was walking with Rella and Ledia to one of the stadiums where the opening ceremony was going to take place for the tournament. Kyrie was feeling a bit nervous while Rella and Ledia seemed excited. They were talking about the upcoming matches and also regarding what to expect from the opening ceremony. Their enthusiasm was infectious and it did help Kyrie¡¯s nervousness, but only a bit. There were six stadiums constructed for this tournament. They were all constructed on the outskirts of Karzasham, near the outer boundaries of the cities. They had literally appeared overnight. These stadiums were simply erected by the Game Masters, and by that, it was Rauros who had erected them, specifically for this tournament. Kyrie was surprised by the response this tournament for the selection of the future ruler of Karzasham and hence Golimath had garnered. There were a total of 12,256 participants in the tournament and this included both adventurers and non adventurers. The non adventurers were either from Furorin¡¯s faction or Gorin¡¯s faction and were representing them to win the throne. There were still a lot of participants and Kyrie was excited to fight. There was going to be a lot of adventurer versus adventurer after all. Currently Kyrie, Rella and Ledia were going to the stadium which was near the palace in the first mountain. Each of the outer stadiums had the capacity to sit a hundred thousand people while the one inside the mountain had the capacity to sit a hundred and fifty thousand people. That was a lot of people according to Kyrie but she had a feeling it was going to be still less. The crowd that the tournament had attracted was beyond astonishing. Not only adventurers, but there were visitors from across the landmasses who had come to watch the tournament. There were also key officials and dignitaries of the other landmasses and they were housed in the palace. Most important of all, the Game Masters were also going to be attending. It was one major political and fun event according to Kyrie. Kyrie entered the stadium and they made their way towards their seats. The opening ceremony had limited invitations. The participants were obviously invited. Other than them, there were important dignitaries and guests from other landmasses which filled the stadium seats. Kyrie had her seat with other participants while Ledia and Rella were seated near the royal pavilion. Kyrie understood their sitting arrangement considering they seemed to be close to the Ori brothers. Kyrie¡¯s seat was near the front and she could clearly see the platform on which the fights would take place. It was beautiful. Moreover the excitement of the crowd was also getting to her. The audience was murmuring, some shouting and a lot of cheering at random intervals. There was a small smile on Kyrie¡¯s face as she looked around the stadium. The royal pavilion was opposite to her seat and it was currently empty. Kyrie took her seat between two other nymphs. From a glance she could tell that they were fire nymphs. Now that was interesting. She had not met any fire nymphs on Una till now. Meeting them was new for her. It was new for the fire nymphs too to meet a water nymph who was an adventurer. They chatted for sometime before there was an announcement that the royal family was arriving. A hush fell over the stadium. Kyrie was surprised considering how much noise everyone was making and now, everything was quiet. Eerily so. First to enter the royal pavilion was King Throwrin Gurnhold. Kyrie could tell he was weak as he was being supported by two aides on either side as he made his way to his seat. He was followed by his wife whose name Kyrie had forgotten. Orim had told her, she was sure of it but for some reason she could not remember it. She was also quite far enough to read her name through her status. Following the king and queen were their children with Furorin in the lead. After they had taken their seat, the siblings of King Throwrin came into the pavilion with their families. As the royal pavilion got filled up, Kyrie wondered how large the royal family of Karzasham was. It was filled up with quite a large number and now the size of the pavilion made sense to Kyrie. Kyrie had her first view of Gorin as he stepped into the royal pavilion. Even from her seat, which was at quite a distance, Kyrie could see the scowl on his face. It seemed to her that he was not happy with the seating arrangement or the order of entry and was showing his displeasure openly. As the royal family got seated, murmurs started amongst the audience. Kyrie paid half a mind to what was being discussed around her. It was mostly boring political stuff. Her sights were set on a large throne-like seat in the middle of the royal pavilion which had remained empty. Kyrie had assumed that King Throwrin would be sitting on that seat but it was empty. The King sat to its left while Jarison sat to its right. The two people whose children were vying to be the heir to the throne. Was this the reason why the central seat was empty or was there some other reason? She missed Marcus at such times. He would have an answer for her question. She would have to ask one of the Ori brothers later. Kyrie put the throne-like seat aside in her mind and focused on the fighting platform in the middle of the stadium. The platform was where the fights for this stadium were going to take place. It was four feet high and circular in shape with a diameter of around hundred metres. Moreover, the platform was at least twenty feet away from the crowd. It was made up of white tiles and had stairs on two opposite sides of the curve. A dwarf was climbing up on the platform. He had a long staff in his hand with a glowing orb at the top. He was wearing long flowing blue robes glowing with purple runes. His hair and beard were long and well groomed and Kyrie could see the smile on his face as he climbed the stairs. ¡°Welcome good people of Karzasham¡±, shouted the dwarf at the top of his voice and his voice could be heard clearly across the stadium, ¡°Well good people of Golimath landmass. And welcome good people from other landmasses. And a special welcome to all the adventurers who have come here for the tournament. I welcome you all.¡± Kyrie could see the dwarf¡¯s name. It was Loring Gloomtooth. Kyrie found it weird but then thought, who was she to judge anyone¡¯s name. ¡°I know you are all excited for the tournament. And I know that you all know what this tournament is for. So, without wasting much of your time, I am simply going to announce that this tournament to decide the future of Karzasham is now officially live.¡± There was a loud round of applause and cheers from the stadium. Kyrie joined in clapping too. Finally! She was really looking forward to fighting adventurers from all around Una. Loring continued, ¡°The tournament would be a one on one tournament and we have exactly twenty thousand two hundred and fifty six participants.¡± There was another round of cheering and stomping and clapping before Loring continued, ¡°That is quite a turnout indeed. Each of the participants is fighting either on behalf of Princess Furorin or Prince Gorin. The rules are simple, the stakes are high and today is all about celebration. So, let the celebration begin.¡± Loring set off the stage as dancers came on to the platform. Kyrie was a bit disappointed. She wanted to know about the rules of the tournament and how the fights were going to take place. However, she would have to wait till the inauguration ceremony completes. She was also a bit surprised with the lack of speeches. She wondered why they were not there. However, Kyrie was soon distracted by the many performances taking place on the platform. After the dancing troupe, there was an acrobatics show, a bard performing songs and stories of dwarven culture, mock battles and even a comedy show. Loring came in between performances giving a bit of background about the performer and set the audience expectations. He was a good announcer and managed to engage the crowd effectively. Kyrie found herself enjoying the inauguration ceremony immensely. The performances lasted till mid afternoon. After that Loring got back and asked for silence. Loring said, ¡°I am sure you are all enjoying the performances. However, I must dampen the mood. I am now going to read the rules for the tournament.¡± There were some boos from the crowd and Kyrie wondered why. The performances were good but this is what she was here for. The tournament. The fighting. She was excited to listen to the rules. What was wrong with the others? ¡°Alright, stop your gorking incessant grumbling¡±, grumbled Loring. This elicited a laugh from the audience. Loring continued, ¡°The rules of the tournament are simple. Out of the twelve thousand odd participants, there are two thousand two hundred participants who support Princess Furorin while there are ten thousand fifty six participants who support Prince Gorin. Now we can¡¯t gorking have two thousand on one side and ten thousand on the other fighting each other now, can we? That would be quite unfair. So, we are going to whittle down the numbers on each side. In the end, one hundred and twenty eight participants from each faction would be fighting each other.¡± There was a round of cheering at that statement. Loring continued, ¡°We are then going to whittle down the participants till there are eight participants representing each royal heir. Then we shall have the quarterfinals, semi finals and the finals. The winner of the finals shall determine our next monarch.¡± There was a lot of cheering at that. There were some other fine details that Loring announced after that. The level cap for the participants was level 150. That meant that those who had more than level 150 would have stats similar to that when they were at level 150 and the level of their equipment would be scaled accordingly. For those who were less than level 150 would be given an option to temporarily level up once before entering the tournament so that their stats are those of level 150. Those stats would remain till they remain in the tournament. Outside the arena, all the participants would be at the level they were at now. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Kyrie wondered how the dwarves had managed to pull off such a condition. Then she thought about the arenas popping up overnight. Rauros had to be involved somehow. This condition did get her thinking though. She was at level 103 currently. She would have 47 level ups and 94 points to share. She would have to plan her stats to have an effective fight during the tournament. Loring soon completed announcing the tournament rules and the performances began again. Kyrie was now not interested in the performances and gave half a mind to them. She was now thinking about her stats. She was also thinking about the start of the fights. The fighters supporting Gorin would start their one on one fights tomorrow. The fighters supporting Furorin would start after a couple of weeks. Made sense considering the number of fighters fighting for Gorin were more than those fighting for Furorin. Kyrie was still pleased that she had time before her fight would start. It meant that Goros would have sufficient time to craft her armor set and she would be able to wear it from her first fight itself. Lucky her. Kyrie soon left the stadium. Several other people were also exiting from it. The royal pavilion was still full and Kyrie was sure that they would have to sit till the event was over. She hoped not everyone left. That would be awkward. Kyrie started walking towards the inn. She did not have much to do. She wondered if she should have trained but it was okay. She was sure she would be alright. Kyrie watched as the days passed by. She went to one of the stadiums each day and watched the fights from morning till night. Each of the participant versus participant fights was given a time limit of half an hour. Then there was a short interval of fifteen minutes and the next fight began. In the short interval, the fighting platform was cleaned and any damage done to it was fixed; magically. Kyrie was impressed with the fights. None of the fighters seemed to hold back and it seemed that good adventurers had answered the call, even if they were on the side of Gorin. The non-adventurer fights were taking place in the stadium inside the mountains and no adventurer was privy to those fights, not even the Ori brothers. Kyrie had two fold objectives for looking at the fights taking place. One was to find out how the fights would take place throughout the day. And the second to find out the level of competence of the competition. After all, she was going to be fighting some of the fighters when she reached the shortlist of 128 fighters. She realized she was being overconfident. She visited a separate stadium each day for a week till Goros contacted her. She grinned all the way to his workshop. It was ready. She was excited. Her armor was finally ready. Goros welcomed her and they spent some time talking about the tournament. Kyrie realized that the tournament was all the majority of people in Karzasham were talking about. She was no different from the majority. Finally, Goros took out her armor set from a chest in his workshop and handed it to Kyrie with a bit of reverence. Kyrie took a sharp breath as she looked at the armor set. It was beautiful. The chest piece looked like normal leather armor in appearance but it was completely light blue in colour with diagonal patches of white ice covering it from front and back. Whorls of pattern in the form of snowflakes were etched on the front and back and they seemed to glow with a faint silvery light. The bracers were of a similar nature but their design was such that it would not hamper Kyrie when she used her bow to attack. They extended up to her elbow and had a similar snowflake pattern on them. The bracers extended from her knee to her ankles and ended in the form of some sort of sandals. Kyrie unequipped her tank top and shorts immediately and put on her armor. Goros took her to where a mirror was and Kyrie looked into it. She held her breath. She was looking like a fierce fighter. Well, a fierce fighter in blue but the effect was still beautiful and terrifying at the same time. She grinned. Kyrie said, ¡°This is amazing Goros.¡± ¡°I am glad you like it¡±, said Goros with a smile. Kyrie now examined each piece of her armor. Armor of Never Melting Ice Physical Resistance: 10 Magical Resistance: 10 Health Regeneration: 10 hp / sec Description: Armor made from the waters which freeze to form the never melting ice. This armor can neither be damaged, nor be broken and it would never melt. Blessed with the properties of the water under the moon, it would give additional health regeneration to the wearer of the armor. Bracers of Never Melting Ice Physical Resistance: 10 Magical Resistance: 10 Health Regeneration: 10 hp / sec Description: Bracers made from the waters which freeze to form the never melting ice. This bracer can neither be damaged, nor be broken and it would never melt. Blessed with the properties of the water under the moon, it would give additional health regeneration to the wearer of the armor. Leg Armor of Never Melting Ice Physical Resistance: 10 Magical Resistance: 10 Health Regeneration: 5 hp / sec Description: Armor made from the waters which freeze to form the never melting ice. This armor can neither be damaged, nor be broken and it would never melt. Blessed with the properties of the water under the moon, it would give additional health regeneration to the wearer of the armor. Kyrie took a sharp breath as she read the description. The gain in armor was not much. However, that total of 25 hp / sec regeneration. This was amazing. Kyrie looked at Goros and said, ¡°This health regeneration?¡± Goros shrugged, ¡°The waters which form the never melting ice were rumored to have restorative properties. I guess this proves it.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this too much though?¡± ¡°Considering how you were fighting till date, I believe this is what you deserve. At least.¡± Kyrie smiled at that. She finally had a good armor set. And now she simply needed to practice fighting in it. Before her first fight. She sighed. This was going to be fun. Later that night, she finally decided to allocate her points. She was going to be temporarily level 150 during the tournament. That was 47 levels higher than her current stats. She needed to allocate 94 points for the tournament. She did just that and looked at her stats. Name: Kyrie Shiningstar Race: Water Nymph Designation: Adventurer - Rank 3 Age: 83 Current Location: Karzasham Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 150 (Tournament) Experience: 0 / 0 Strength: 30 Dexterity: 122 Intelligence: 30 Vitality: 60 Agility: 60 Wisdom: 30 Luck: ??? Health: 580 Mana: 280 Active Effects: Health Regeneration: 25 hp / sec Passive Effects: Fast Draw - Level 12 Precision - Level 14 Longbow Proficiency - Level 18 Stealth - Level 12 Water Proficiency - Level max Description: The outcast traveller from Tarados, flowing into Una, taking huge steps now and sweeping demons away is still enjoying herself by bashing other adventurer¡¯s heads. She is the water nymph to watch out for. Spells known: [Power Shot] [Fade] [Enchant Weapon: Poison] [Summon Water Elemental] [Detect Magic] Spells Equipped: [Power Shot] [Fade] [Enchant Weapon: Poison] [Summon Water Elemental] Spell Slots: 4 Physical Attack: 573 Magical Attack: 91 Physical Resistance: 274 Magical Resistance: 259 Critical Attack Chance: 45% Critical Attack Damage: 107% Status: None Levelling up like this also gave Kyrie a roadmap on how she was going to level up from her current level to 150. It was interesting. Kyrie then sent a message to Orim, asking the help of Ori brothers to help her train. They were already using a facility to train for the tournament. Kyrie joined them. They were all impressed by Kyrie¡¯s new armor. Orik whistled, ¡°Goros has gorking outdone himself.¡± Orim nodded, ¡°This armor is amazing. It gorking suits you so well.¡± Oril wiped a fake teardrop as he said, ¡°Look at our little Kyrie. All dressed up.¡± That elicited a smack from Kyrie which he promptly dodged. Orin did not say anything but simply nodded. Kyrie then practiced daily with the Ori brothers. She got used to moving, attacking and dodging with her armor effectively. From the Ori brothers she got to know that the fights for the participants of the Furorin faction were officially going to take place exactly after three weeks. The three weeks passed faster than Kyrie expected. Every morning she woke up, had her breakfast and trained with the Ori brothers. Then she went and watched the matches already taking place. At night, she strategized, planning her fights against a variety of opponents. The days passed fast enough and soon it was time. Today was the day. Today, Kyrie had her first match of the tournament. Kyrie grinned as she woke up. She was ready! The Imprisonment Begins Marcus was blindfolded as he was led into the castle. Marcus wondered regarding the logic of this. Was the castle so simple that he could escape easily? Was that why the demons were blindfolding him? The demons guided Marcus through what he assumed was the castle and he believed that they would lead him to the dungeon. Instead, Marcus was surprised when the blindfold was removed and he found himself in a bedroom. What the fuck was going on? Marcus looked around. The bedroom was lavish. A large bed lay to his left with a window on the opposite side of the bed. Lavish curtains hung over the window, partially closed, letting in the reddish light of the sun. There were bookshelves on either side of the bed and behind Marcus a meeting area formed of chairs and a coffee table. The entrance to the room was just behind Marcus to the left and after the meeting area, there was a door which led; Marcus was not sure where it led. There was also another door on the opposite end and Marcus was also not sure as to where it led considering all the doors in the room were closed. There were large mahogany wardrobes on either side of the large window and there was also another small window overlooking the meeting area. Marcus wondered whose room this was. Marcus also wondered what the fuck he was doing here instead of being sent to a prison cell. Considering the situation he was in, he was not liking this one bit. He walked up to the door leading outside the room and tried to open it. ¡°Fucking locked¡±, muttered Marcus as he could not open the door. ¡°That door will not open, not yet¡±, said a voice and Marcus whirled around ready for an attack. Instead, what Marcus saw surprised him. ¡°You!¡± ¡°Me¡±, grinned Marbas as he stepped into the bedroom from the door on the far end, ¡°Welcome to my prison.¡± Marcus frowned as he looked around and Marbas laughed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like a prison¡±, said Marcus. ¡°Yes, it doesn¡¯t. But I assure you, it is a prison. You see, unlike you, I cannot leave the room.¡± Marcus rattled the door knob and said, ¡°I cannot leave either.¡± ¡°That is temporary. They were going to take you to Lucifer. I interfered.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I was curious. And if you remember, I deal with information. After all, knowledge is power. Come take a seat. We have much to discuss.¡± They both sat down on the chairs. Marcus sat on the chair facing the door while Marbas sat on the chair facing the window. The curtains were not drawn across the window and the red sunlight threw an eerie light on features of Marbas. Marcus shuddered inwardly as he looked at the demon lord. Marbas still looked like a humanoid lion with curved horns protruding out of his forehead. He was still dressed in frivolous robes that looked somehow terrifying on him. ¡°What do you wish to discuss?¡± Marbas tilted his head to the left, ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? I want to discuss you. What are you doing here Marcus Blank?¡± Marcus debated what to tell Marbas. He did not trust this demon lord. Not one bit. But for some reason it felt to Marcus that Marbas had saved him from a worse fate by bringing Marcus to Marbas¡¯ room. Marcus thought for some time and said, ¡°Well, I got captured and the demons brought me here. So, I am here.¡± ¡°Cheeky. I like it. But that is not what I asked. What are you doing on Twarftha, Marcus Blank?¡± Marcus paused again. He knew what Marbas was after. However, he was not going to give him a proper reply. He sort of remembered his earlier conversation with Marbas. He knew that higher level demons could tell if you were lying. In return, they did not lie. That did not mean that they twist the truth or tell the complete truth. ¡°What do I get in return?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°You get to live¡±, came the reply. Marcus froze, ¡°You plan to kill me?¡± ¡°Not me. But Lucifer is not as forgiving as I am. I am pretty sure he will try to convert you to our cause. Failing to do so, he will definitely kill you. Or he may keep you imprisoned forever. But I am betting on the first option. A particular recent meeting has left a bad taste in his mouth, as per my information.¡± Marbas gave Marcus a malicious grin and Marcus gulped. Marcus knew what Marbas was referring to. It could only be Lucifer¡¯s meeting with the Game Masters Rauros and Leyda. And as to what Tasha had said earlier, it had definitely not gone well. And here was Marbas confirming the same. ¡°There is a chance that he may still spare me and keep me prisoner.¡± ¡°And you think you can escape easily from this place?¡± ¡°I aim to try.¡± Marbas started to laugh at that. ¡°Oh! You are truly hilarious¡±, said Marbas in between laughing. Marcus was not amused. He knew that it would be difficult to escape from the palace but that was what he had come to Twarftha to do. Now he had to get himself and the adventurers out of this hell. Marbas finally stopped to laugh and wiped his tears with his paws. Marbas said, ¡°I get the feeling that you are not going to get what you want Marcus Blank. Unless you answer my questions. Now, shall we try again? What are you doing here Marcus Blank?¡± Marcus decided to gamble a bit, ¡°I am here to rescue the adventurers that got sucked in through a demonic portal.¡± Marbas stared at Marcus. He did not say anything. He kept on staring at Marcus for some time. Then he said, ¡°Gorking son of a gorking bloody rennet. This gorking explains so much.¡± Marbas started to mumble to himself. He stood up and started pacing around the room. He was still mumbling to himself and Marcus could not figure out what Marbas was saying. Marcus did catch a few random words but could not figure out their context. It felt like Marbas was mostly swearing; a lot. After pacing around for a bit, the demon lord sat back in front of Marcus. He had a grim expression on his face. Marcus was not liking this one bit. Marbas said, ¡°You have told me a gorking lot with that statement Marcus Blank. More than you would have liked to have told me.¡± Marbas paused and Marcus did not say anything. He did not quite know what to say. ¡°I will talk with Lucifer¡±, said Marbas, ¡°I am giving you a chance Marcus Blank. You have been embroiled in a power struggle which you are not quite aware of. You have become their pawn without realizing and they are manipulating you. Try to escape if you must. I really hope you do. I quite like you. There is something about you which I find¡­ amusing. Go for now Marcus Blank. We shall meet again on Una if you manage to escape this place. And then we shall talk. There is much to discuss with you after all.¡± ¡°What-¡±, Marcus started but Marbas clapped his hands and the door to his room opened. Demons swarmed in. ¡°Take him to the cell with other adventurers from Una¡±, said Marbas to the demons, ¡°Blindfold him and someone please ask Lucifer to come visit me. We have important matters to discuss.¡± And Marcus was again blindfolded and escorted out of the room. Then they walked for quite some time. Marcus wondered how large the castle was. He also wondered about his conversation with Marbas. He wondered what exactly Marbas had deduced in the end and was a bit scared when he thought about Marbas taking an interest in him. Finally, the blindfold was removed from his head and Marcus blinked as he was deposited in a room right opposite from a window through which bright sunlight was hitting his eyes. He squinted and raised his hand. A familiar voice said, ¡°Marcus!¡± Marcus turned to his left and found Selena looking at him in astonishment. ¡°Hey¡±, said Marcus lamely. ¡°What the gork are you doing here?¡± ¡°Rescuing you?¡± There was laughter, not from Selena but from behind Marcus. Marcus turned to see Shania, Thalia and Tim sitting on a sofa and shaking with laughter. At Marcus. He was sure of it. Tamara was nowhere to be seen though. ¡°And what makes you qualified to rescue us?¡± Marcus turned in the direction of the voice and found Tamara leaning against the wall, her hands folded. Her elven face held a frown and Marcus felt as if she was looking down on him. Considering her height, she may very well be.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Marcus said, ¡°Are we kind of safe here? I mean are the demons listening?¡± That elicited another round of laughter from Shania, Thalia and Tim. Marcus gave a sharp look to the elf, celestial and the gnome but they ignored him. They somehow looked comfortable and well settled where they were. This weirded Marcus out. What was happening here? ¡°The demons do not care about us¡±, said Selena. She stepped up to Marcus and gave him a hug, ¡°It is good to see you, Marcus.¡± Marcus gave Selena an awkward hug and then looked around the room. It looked like a furnished apartment with all of them in the living room and a kitchen to the right of where Marcus was standing. There was a passageway opposite from the entrance which Marcus assumed led them to other parts of whatever this place was. They were still inside the castle considering the walls of the room he was in. ¡°What is this place?¡± asked Marcus confused, ¡°I thought I was being sent to prison.¡± ¡°This is a prison¡±, said Tamara, ¡°Of sorts.¡± ¡°This is kind of confusing.¡± ¡°It seems we have much to discuss¡±, said Tamara and gestured to Marcus to follow her. They all sat down on the sofas not occupied by the three adventurers. Marcus looked at the imprisoned adventurers that he had come to rescue. They seemed fine to him. Was this some sort of a political capture? He was thoroughly confused as to what was happening. He really should not have accepted this mission. Marcus groaned and put his head in his hands. Then he realized and looked up. Everyone was looking at him. ¡°I have got a lot to process¡±, offered Marcus. There were nods all around. ¡°We understand¡±, said Selena, ¡°We have had a lot to process when we came here. Now¡±, she shrugged, ¡°We have gotten used to our circumstances.¡± Marcus frowned, ¡°Do you guys have Stockholm Syndrome?¡± ¡°What¡¯s Stockholm Syndrome?¡± asked Selena. Marcus explained what Stockholm Syndrome was. ¡°We do not have this gorking Stockholm Syndrome¡±, hissed Tamara. ¡°And it is called Waylaid Empathy, not Stockholm Syndrome¡±, said Selena. ¡°Ok¡±, said Marcus slowly. He wondered why he was more comfortable with Stockholm Syndrome and not Waylaid Empathy. Marcus ignored that for now and said, ¡°Alright. What exactly is happening? Can you tell me?¡± ¡°You first¡±, said Tamara. Marcus nodded and said, ¡°Okay. I hope you are right about the demons not listening in on us.¡± And he explained about the rescue mission. His conversation with Leyda, his meeting with Tanniv and the other companions of the champions. His trip with Tasha. He let out a few secrets regarding the Realm out of Space and Time. He believed that it was not his secret to share. It was Tasha¡¯s. He continued with his experience on Twarftha; their breaking into the city through the sewers; the meeting with Harados and finally his capture. The other adventurers silently listened to Marcus¡¯ story. No one said anything. Even after he was finished no one asked a question. They seemed to be digesting everything. Tamara finally broke the silence, ¡°This is indeed a lot of information. From what you have told us, it seems that there is a way out of the city. From the sewers it seems. Then why have the demons here not found it till yet?¡± Tamara continued to mumble and Marcus could not follow the rest of her conversation. She walked away from him. Marcus frowned and turned to Selena. ¡°Now, would you explain what is happening here?¡± asked Marcus. Selena turned to Tamara who seemed to be deep in thought and mumbling something from time to time which they could not catch. Then she sighed and turned to Marcus. ¡°I don¡¯t remember how many days have passed but the rune in the forest sucked us into a vortex-like portal. We ended up in the courtyard of this castle¡±, said Selena gesturing around, ¡°Hordes of demons were already waiting for us. Moreover, we were hit with a sort of a fit.¡± Thalia said, ¡°That was the impact of all of us losing the system.¡± ¡°What?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°I am sure that you would have figured by now that you cannot use the system or your powers that you had on Una¡±, said Selena. ¡°Yes¡±, said Marcus slowly, ¡°But I did not have a fit like you stated.¡± Tamara narrowed her eyes and said, ¡°Alright. That is a bit odd. But everything we have experienced since we got here has been a bit odd.¡± Selena said, ¡°Well, moving on, after the fit passed, the demons took us to a dungeon. It is deep beneath the castle and locked us in chains. Then they questioned us. Rather calmly, which was odd. I was under the impression we would be tortured, but other than keeping us down in the dungeons in chains and questioning us, they did not do much else. We were mostly left to our own devices, unchained, when they were done questioning us. Then a couple of days back, we were blindfolded and taken to their King, Lucifer Morningstar, and were asked to keep quiet. It seemed that the Game Masters Rauros and Leyda had come to negotiate for our release. The negotiation did not go well. Lucifer was asking about freedom of demons which seemed to be not in the power of Rauros and Leyda to do so. After the negotiation, they dumped us here. No word. We are allowed to roam the castle and they feed us when we get hungry. This room and even the dungeon have livable and utilizable facilities. And here we are. As confused as you as to what to do now.¡± ¡°What questions did they ask you?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°They mostly asked about Una¡±, said Tamara, ¡°And the Game Masters. Mostly they seemed to be interested in the Game Masters. I think the demons wanted some sort of negotiation tidbit against them.¡± Marcs was thoughtful for some time. He could not understand the demons¡¯ behaviour. He had had the same thought process as Selena. He had been sure that the adventurers would have been tortured but this was not the case. And why were the demons focusing on the Game Masters? And what was this about their freedom? This was their prison planet, Marcus had got that from Tasha. But did this mean that any Game Master had the power to release the demons? They talked some more about their experiences on Twarftha. Tim told Marcus that he had talked with some demons and his interactions had been downright normal. Shania and Thalia had been exploring the castle a couple of hours before Marcus had been deposited to their room. ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan now, Marcus?¡± asked Selena. ¡°We do need to break out of here¡±, said Marcus. ¡°Will we be able to do so?¡± asked Tamara softly. Marcus frowned, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Considering how the demons are not bothering us, it seems that they are confident that we would not be able to escape this walled city¡±, said Shania. ¡°Galmanosh¡±, said Marcus, ¡°This city is called Galmanosh.¡± ¡°Thank you for the trivia, Marcus¡±, said Tamara, ¡°How does it help get us out of here?¡± Marcus started to reply something but stopped at the frustrated look on Tamara¡¯s face. It would be safe not to say anything. Marcus turned towards Shania and Thalia, ¡°Did you find a way to the sewers while you were exploring?¡± ¡°You think the entrance that you came from could be used for our escape¡±, said Thalia slowly. ¡°It¡¯s worth a try¡±, said Marcus. ¡°Marcus, I don¡¯t want to be rude here or anything¡±, said Tamara, ¡°But what exactly was your plan for getting us out of here?¡± Marcus blinked and said, ¡°Um¡­ I was solely dependent on Tasha. I was going to follow her lead. Currently, I am winging it as I go.¡± The silence was deafening. Everyone looked at Marcus for quite some time till he started becoming uncomfortable with all the gazes upon him. Tamara broke the silence with a spring of expletives. Thalia and Shania simply shook their heads. Tim sighed and plopped down on the sofa, sort of disappearing from the view beneath the fluffy pillows that were present on the sofa. Selena lay a hand on Marcus¡¯ shoulder. He could see the pity in her eyes. Tamara said, ¡°I don¡¯t blame you Marcus. I blame the Game Masters. I do not understand what gorking game they are playing. I mean sending an adventurer does not make any gorking sense no matter how skilled they are. We need an army to break out of here.¡± Marcus replied, ¡°Or we could use the demons'' lack of interest in us to our advantage and escape in stealth?¡± ¡°We could try, but I don¡¯t think we will be successful.¡± ¡°I am going to give it a try.¡± ¡°I will not stop you. Take someone with you. It is better to move in pairs.¡± Marcus looked at Selena who simply nodded. She was willing to come with him. It was good for now. Marcus knew that he would not be able to do much to get them free, but he was going to try. ¡°Is there a place to sleep here?¡± Marcus asked, ¡°I was preparing to sleep when I was captured.¡± Tim said, ¡°Follow me.¡± Marcus followed him to a room which had two single beds. There was another door to the right side of the room which Tim said was a bathroom. ¡°Each room has an attached bathroom. And close the curtains on the windows if you want to sleep¡±, said Tim pointing at the windows through which the sunlight was streaming in. Marcus nodded and Tim exited the room. Marcus closed the curtains and lay on one of the beds. He had forgotten to ask which one Tim was using. It did not matter. He closed his eyes and fell asleep immediately. *** ¡°Okay¡±, said Tim looking at Tamara, ¡°What the gork is going on?¡± ¡°What in the gorking world is Marcus doing here?¡± asked Shania. ¡°We all heard his explanation¡±, said Tamara. ¡°But it does not make any gorking sense¡±, said Thalia. ¡°I know it doesn¡¯t Thalia but I get the feeling it is some form of Game Master manipulation that we do not know about¡±, said Tamara. ¡°What gorking manipulation would it be?¡± asked Thalia. Tamara sighed, ¡°I fear the person Marcus came with, this Tasha, she is our true rescuer. Marcus is simply sent here with her as a sort of distraction for the demons.¡± ¡°How do you figure that?¡± asked Selena. ¡°You all did not have much contact with the Game Masters but Tanniv and I did. And in one of our conversations, we came to know that they consider Marcus an anomaly. They did not go into details but it seems that they are both not happy that he is on Una and adventuring with other adventurers.¡± ¡°That is bonkers¡±, said Selena. ¡°I could be wrong but I do not think I was reading the Game Masters wrong. Neither was Tanniv. He had a similar opinion¡±, said Tamara. Selena opened her mouth to say something, stopped, threw her hands in the air, harrumphed and went to sit on the sofa. ¡°So, what do we do now?¡± asked Shania. ¡°I have a feeling there will be further negotiations for our release. Lucifer would also throw Marcus in the negotiations to get what he wants. I feel bad for hiding it from Marcus but we do know what he truly wants¡±, said Tamara, ¡°And I do not want him to achieve it.¡± ¡°But why did we not tell Marcus?¡± asked Tim. ¡°I dunno¡±, said Tamara shaking her head, ¡°Something does not sit right with me regarding this situation. I want to wait. For the time being we wait. We watch and we try to find a way out of here. Selena, stick with Marcus. He is passionate about us escaping but he has not spent time in the castle like we have. The demons don¡¯t do anything to us as long as we do not try to escape. However, it may change if they find out what Marcus is up to. Try to keep the escape attempt as discreet as possible.¡± ¡°I still believe we should tell Marcus everything¡±, said Selena sullenly. ¡°And do you think he has told us the whole truth?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°He said he fought the demons when they caught him. How did he do that? We are all powerless as we are not on Una anymore. How was he able to fight and kill demons as he told us? Also he did not tell us about how he and Tasha travelled to Twarftha from Una. He is lying about a portal. There is something else. He is not a good liar.¡± Selena flumpled deeper into the sofa amongst the pillows and said, ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean he is not here to help. But I will do as you say. I will wait and watch and make sure what he does is discreet.¡± ¡°Thank you¡±, said Tamara, ¡°Now I believe the hour is quite late. And Marcus was right about one thing. I am tired too. Let us take a rest and meet after a rest to decide what to do next.¡± The others nodded and went to their rooms to sleep. Selena got up from her comfortable position and looked at the door of the room where Marcus was sleeping. She gave a long sigh and with a shake of her head started to head towards her room. This was getting more complicated by the second. And she did not like it. Not a bit. The Dwarven Conflict Kyrie looked at her opponent. She could read their name over them. Gorona Goodleaf Level 150 The level did not matter. Everyone was level 150 for the tournament. Gorona Goodleaf was a fire nymph. And it looked as if they were a mage of some sort considering the staff in their hand. Kyrie¡¯s first match was in one of the outer stadiums of Karzasham. The announcer was talking to the public giving them a brief about the two fighters. The introduction that the announcer was giving about Kyrie was based on what Kyrie had provided about herself to the organizers while registering. It was not long and she had not boasted much. However, considering what the announcer was talking about Gorona, they indeed had much to boast about. Was this an intimidation technique? Were they trying to scare or displace Kyrie in some way? Kyrie ignored the announcer and focused on winning the match. After the announcer was finished, the referee beckoned Kyrie and Gorona towards him. The referee was a dwarven warrior, Kyrie was sure of that. The referee explained the rules to the two nymphs. Kyrie got them. They were similar to normal adventurer versus adventurer fights. Only the stakes were higher this time. Kyrie nodded to Gorona when they approached the referee and Gorona gave her a nod back. This was going to be a tough match, Kyrie was sure of it. Once the referee explained the rules, he asked the two fighters to take their position. The referee then stepped out of the fighting arena. Kyrie knew from experience that he would interfere if required. Kyrie and Gorona were both standing at one of the ends of the fighting arena. No spells were being cast. You cannot buff yourselves before the fighting officially starts. Those were the rules and Kyrie was waiting, her bow ready, ready to start the fight. The referee blew her whistle and Kyrie started running towards the right. The next moment a large fireball shot from Gorona¡¯s staff, racing straight towards Kyrie. Kyrie jumped over the fireball and cast the spell [Enchant Weapon: Poison]. Her bow became enchanted with poison attacks for five shots. Kyrie did not have time for [Power Shot] as Gorona cast another fireball, albeit smaller than the first this time. Kyrie notched an arrow and fired at Gorona. Gorona blocked it with a yellowish shield they cast in front of them. Well, that was one shot wasted. Kyrie did not like it but it seemed she would have to close the distance between them and create an opening to attack Gorona. Both the ranged fighters now started to circle around the fighting arena, waiting for the other to make a move. Kyrie slowly started to walk towards Gorona while circling around the arena. When she was about fifteen feet away from Gorona, Gorona cast another spell and a whip made from fire shot out of their staff. Gorona attacked Kyrie with the whip and Kyrie had to weave through the attacks. Kyrie shot an arrow while dodging the fire whip and managed to land one hit. She notched another arrow and shot and again it was blocked by the shield. Kyrie noticed that the fire whip had disappeared. That meant Gorona did not have multi casting or was keeping the ability hidden for now. Gorona shot a bolt of pure magic at Kyrie and Kyrie tried to dodge it. It clipped her on her shoulders and she stumbled a bit. Gorona took advantage of this and cast another fireball at Kyrie. Kyrie grinned. She was expecting this. She jumped over the fireball and shot another arrow at Gorona which hit them straight in the chest. Critical shot. Kyrie was sure of it but Gorona was not down. As Kyrie landed she got hit with a barrage of small fireballs and was pushed back. Kyrie clenched her teeth as another large fireball shot towards her. It seemed that Gorona had taken the hit to push their attack towards Kyrie. This was not good. One hit of this fireball and there was a high chance Kyrie¡¯s health would drastically reduce. Kyrie managed to dodge the large fireball at the last moment but she still got grazed by it, taking a considerable chunk of her health. Her health was now down to 300 even with her 25 hp / sec regeneration. She did not have much time to regenerate her health as Gorona was now really pushing their attack. Kyrie had to dodge a series of small fireballs and crackling fire whips. She dodged and weaved through the attacks, countering with her own attacks, but still she got hit and her health was now down to 120. She thought of using [Fade] but she would not be able to move and Gorona would know where she was. Kyrie wished she had explored other spells for the tournament and now it was too late. At least for this match. Kyrie took a deep breath and started to run. She ran straight towards Gorona. Surprised flashed on Gorona¡¯s face and then it was replaced with determination. Gorona shot a cone of fire from her staff when Kyrie was quite near them. Kyrie jumped up, notched an arrow, took aim and shot Gorona straight into the head. Gorona cried and stepped back, their spell cancelling. Kyrie vaulted over Gorona, crouched, took aim and cast [Power Shot]. She needed the three seconds to charge the spell. She got it when Gorona, affected by the attack on their head, turned around, saw Kyrie aiming and jumped back. They started to cast a spell. Kyrie shot her arrow charged with [Power Shot]. It pierced through Gorona¡¯s shield and hit her again on the face with quite the force. However, Gorona was not down. They did stumble. Kyrie shot again and again, now taking full advantage of this opportunity. Gorona tried to cast a shield but Kyrie shot an arrow into their hand making them drop the staff. Gorona bent to pick it up fast but Kyrie riddled them with arrows, ending the fight. Kyrie had won. She grinned as the announcer was back on stage announcing her the winner. Kyrie focused on the noise of the crowd which she had tuned out during her fight. There was clapping and cheering and some boos from supporters of Gorona. However, the crowd loved their fight and were cheering for her. Kyrie felt happy. This was where she belonged. Adventurer versus adventurer. She could not wait for her next fight. *** Orin looked at Furorin who had no expression on her face. He was waiting for her judgement. ¡°Are you sure she is better than you?¡± asked Furorin. Orin had to control himself from rolling his eyes. This was not the first time Furorin had asked this question. This was not the last time she was going to ask it. Orin wished Furorin saw what he saw in Kyrie but he was sure Furorin could trust Kyrie. She trusted her family members more and that was natural. In the matters of succession, there were very few people that Furorin could trust and it seemed that Kyrie was not one of them; yet. Orin said, ¡°I have fought with her many times before today. I have never been victorious. And you saw her fight with the fire nymph. Don¡¯t tell me that it was not good.¡± ¡°Hmm. It was long. And sloppy.¡± Orin spluttered, ¡°Sloppy! Seriously! Are you gorking alright Furorin?¡± Furorin silenced him with a look. She could always do so. Orin did not like it. Furorin said, ¡°Let us have a look at other matches of hers. Then let us see.¡± Orin simply nodded. He could not do anything else. He hoped his sister could see his point. Because he truly believed that other than the Ori brothers, Kyrie had the highest chance of winning this tournament. *** ¡°I need new spells¡±, moaned Kyrie. ¡°Do you even have the spell slots for new spells?¡± asked Oril. The Ori brothers and Kyrie were sitting in the common room allotted to the Ori brothers. They were celebrating Kyrie¡¯s first win. The Ori brothers also had their fights but they were after some days. ¡°I have only four spell slots¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°But that does not mean that I cannot have a repository of spells. It only means that I can equip only four of them.¡± ¡°We gorking know what spell slots mean¡±, grumbled Orik. ¡°I am sure you do. But I do need more spells. Can someone help me with that?¡± ¡°Can you not do that on your own?¡± asked Orin, ¡°I mean you are the expert on you.¡± ¡°What a polite way to say you do not want to help.¡± ¡°Oi! Don¡¯t gorking say that. We want to help¡±, Orin looked at his brothers who nodded with him, ¡°However, I do not know how we could help.¡± ¡°I just need a shopping companion. Someone to bounce ideas off¡±, said Kyrie. Orin stroked his beard while Orik said, ,¡±Makes sense.¡± ¡°Take Orik¡±, said Orim, ¡°He is the smartest amongst us.¡± Kyrie looked at Orik who said, ¡°Alright. I can help. When do you plan to go spell shopping?¡± ¡°I plan to go tomorrow. As soon as the shops open. Are you free?¡± Orik mumbled something thoughtfully while Orin said, ¡°Are you seriously planning to go to shops? No, that gorking won¡¯t do. I will get Levene to come here. She has the best spells in Karzasham. You come here too Kyrie. We will get the best spells for you.¡± ¡°You mean I will¡±, said Orik. ¡°Same gorking difference.¡± ¡°Is it okay if I visit her shop?¡± asked Kyrie, ¡°I will prefer that more.¡± The Ori brothers looked at each other. Then they looked at Kyrie and shrugged. ¡°Gorking done¡±, said Orin, ¡°I will contact Levene tonight. Tell her you will be there at-¡± ¡°Five in the morning¡± ¡°Five¡­ Gorking five in the morning! Kyrie do you know when the businesses start in Karzasham?¡± ¡°Three?¡± ¡°Gork¡­ No! It¡¯s at least six in the morning. I will tell Levene that you and Orik will come to her shop at eight.¡± After it was decided what to do about Kyrie¡¯s spell shopping, the Ori brothers and Kyrie discussed in general regarding the tournament and then split for the night. The next morning Orik was ready for Kyrie when she exited her inn at around seven thirty. ¡°It will take around thirty to forty minutes to get to Levene¡¯s shop¡±, informed Orik. ¡°You did not need to come here¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°I could have come to the palace.¡± Orik looked straight into Kyrie¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°Kyrie. I know I am a prince here in Karzasham. But you also forget that I am primarily an adventurer. Adventurers gorking don¡¯t mind this. You do remember that right. You are an adventurer too. You walk or drive gorking everywhere.¡± ¡°Well, I walk or fly, you know. I have Nala¡±, said Kyrie. Orik rolled his eyes and summoned his Mechanical Quadruped. They both got in and Orik started to drive towards Levene¡¯s shop of spells and enchantments. The shop was present in the outer area of Karzasham and not in the mountains. It took them about half an hour to reach the shop. It was in the market district of outer Karzasham and was quite a large shop. Kyrie was impressed with the illusory enchantments outside the shop advertising their products and offers. On the top of the entrance, in an elegant design and script was written, ¡®Enhana Enchantments¡¯. Orik and Kyrie entered the shop and were greeted by a member of the staff in a few moments. Kyrie noticed that the store was quite empty, only a few customers present. It made sense. They had come very early after all.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Orik mentioned to the staff member about their appointment with Levene Enhana. The staff member led them to a private meeting room and told them that Miss Enhana would join them shortly. Kyrie looked around the room. It consisted of a table in the middle and sofa-like chairs around it. The table was hexagonal in shape with six chairs surrounding it. Kyrie and Orik sat on chairs facing the door, waiting for Levene to come. It did not take long. Some time later a dwarven woman huffed into the room with a rush that startled Kyrie a bit. Orik rose to greet the woman. Levene Enhana was tall for a dwarf, taller even than Orik by an inch. Her face was round and her blue eyes held all the spark and intelligence. Her blond hair was not tied together and it looked a bit wild as if it had been blown away by wind. ¡°It is good to see you, Orik¡±, said Levene, ¡°I have missed you brothers, you know. And you must be Kyrie. It is good to meet you too.¡± Kyrie stood up and shook her hand. She saw surprise in Levene¡¯s eyes as she saw Kyrie and Kyrie could guess what it was about. ¡°So, you are the famous adventuring water nymph¡±, said Levene. ¡°Famous adventuring water nymph?¡± Levene laughed, ¡°Oh dearie! You don¡¯t even know you are famous, are you? I mean after that performance in the first fight against that fire nymph. It was beautiful!¡± ¡°You watched the fight?¡± ¡°I was in the stands. I was cheering for the fire nymph though, mind you. Never really expected you to win considering the reputation of water nymphs. But you gorking proved me wrong. I loved it.¡± Kyrie smiled. She was starting to like Levene. ¡°So, what brings you here Orik? Orin messaged something about spells but he was not clear. Was he drunk texting?¡± ¡°You know he always gorking texts when he is drunk¡±, said Orik, ¡°Otherwise he would have called.¡± ¡°I need new spells¡±, said Kyrie. Levene¡¯s expression cleared as if she had been struck with an epiphany of sorts. ¡°Ah! That¡¯s wonderful¡±, said Levene, ¡°We have the best spells in all of Golimath you know, not just Karzasham. You won¡¯t be disappointed dearie. Now sit. We need to discuss a lot. A good spell requires a lot of brainstorming.¡± Kyrie looked at Orik who simply shrugged. All three of them sat around the table. Kyrie and Levene sat facing each other while Orik sat on Kyrie¡¯s right. ¡°So, Kyrie, do you have any idea what kind of spells you are looking for?¡± asked Levene. Kyrie replied, ¡°I currently have four spell slots and know five spells. Moreover, my mana pool is not that large. I am looking for spells that have less mana cost and help me fight other adventurers. I am feeling my current spells are more suited for fighting non adventurer enemies. Considering the skill set of adventurers in this competition, I believe I should have spells that aid in the adventurer versus adventurer scenario.¡± Levene thought for some time. Then she said, ¡°If it is okay, could you show me your stats and the spells that you already know. It would help me.¡± ¡°Do you want the tournament stats or my original?¡± ¡°The original one please. If I am going to give you spells, I mean to ensure that they would help you in the long run dearie and not just the tournament.¡± Kyrie shared her original stats with Levene. Name: Kyrie Shiningstar Race: Water Nymph Designation: Adventurer - Rank 3 Age: 83 Current Location: Fontaine Adventurer Statistics: Adventurer Level: 103 Experience: 8,800 / 32,200 Strength: 20 Dexterity: 82 Intelligence: 10 Vitality: 50 Agility: 50 Wisdom: 26 Luck: ??? Health: 500 Mana: 256 Active Effects: None Passive Effects: Fast Draw - Level 12 Precision - Level 14 Longbow Proficiency - Level 18 Stealth - Level 12 Water Proficiency - Level max Description: The outcast traveller from Tarados, flowing into Una, taking huge steps now and sweeping demons away is still enjoying herself by bashing other adventurer¡¯s heads. She is the water nymph to watch out for. Spells known: [Power Shot] [Fade] [Enchant Weapon: Poison] [Summon Water Elemental] [Detect Magic] Spells Equipped: [Power Shot] [Fade] [Enchant Weapon: Poison] [Summon Water Elemental] Spell Slots: 4 Physical Attack: 543 Magical Attack: 51 Physical Resistance: 238 Magical Resistance: 224 Critical Attack Chance: 45% Critical Attack Damage: 107% Status: None Levene looked at Kyrie¡¯s stats. Then she looked at Kyrie. Then she looked at the stats and shook her head. ¡°This won¡¯t do dearie¡±, said Levene, ¡°I mean, magical attack of 51! That¡¯s downright gorking abominable. You have not been focusing on intelligence at all!¡± ¡°Well, I have been focusing on dexterity as my main attribute. My whole build focuses on that. So do my spells. Well, at least [Power Shot] and [Fade] do. I know [Enchant Weapon: Poison] and [Detect Magic] require higher magical attack but I don¡¯t need too high of a magical attack to poison someone or you know detect magic. [Summon Water Elemental] is completely unique and is dependent on my Water Proficiency. So, I believe I am covered in that.¡± Kyrie was looking at Levene closely as she explained all this. She saw Levene¡¯s expression shift from smiling to horrified to now full of pity towards Kyrie. ¡°Has no one explained to you how magic works on Una?¡± asked Levene. Kyrie frowned. She remembered having a discussion with Marcus about magic and intelligence and how magical attack would help with her spells but she half remembered it. ¡°Marcus and I had some discussion. I know the basics¡±, said Kyrie. Levene gave an inquiring look at Orik who said, ¡°Marcus is her adventuring partner. Normally they quest together but they have split up temporarily.¡± Levene nodded and said, ¡°Alright dearie. It is time for a lesson in advanced spellcasting.¡± Levene shifted a bit in her chair and said, ¡°Alright. Please listen to me before you ask any questions. Now, as you said, you know the basics of spellcasting. However, if you had increased your intelligence, you would have found out that as your magical attack increases, your spells get modified too. It also happens on increasing your proficiencies but intelligence and magical attack are the primary modifiers.¡± ¡°Now what does this mean? Let me explain by giving you an example. You said [Power Shot] is dependent on your dexterity. You are right up to an extent. [Power Shot] actually takes a combination of dexterity and intelligence to give a mix of physical and magical attacks. However, this occurs only if you have a magical attack of over 200. Till that point, [Power Shot] will only have physical attacks based on your dexterity. [Fade] does not depend on your dexterity. It depends on intelligence and your Stealth proficiency. A combination of higher intelligence and stealth proficiency ensures that you can move while casting the spell.¡± Seeing the look of surprise on Kyrie¡¯s face Levene nodded, ¡°Yes, I can see that you did not know that. I am sure your current [Fade] spell description would show that you cannot move while the spell is active. That is because you do not have high intelligence. Your stealth proficiency is decent but it is not high enough to warrant the upgradation of the spell.¡± ¡°It is a similar case with [Enchant Weapon: Poison] and [Detect Magic]. Both would be much more effective if you had high intelligence and hence higher magical attack. Now your [Summon Water Elemental] spell is unique. I have not encountered such a spell. I would need to experiment whether intelligence plays a role in upgrading the summoned elemental or not.¡± ¡°I am sorry to interrupt¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°My [Summon Water Elemental] spell is based on my Water proficiency. It also depends upon my level and any water body around me. Marcus and I experimented with it a bit. So, I do know a bit about it.¡± ¡°That is excellent. However, that is only one spell and it is a unique spell. If you are comfortable you must tell me how you chanced upon such a unique spell. However, right now is not the time. Right now you need to understand that intelligence and proficiency related to that spell is important for casting higher level, advanced and upgraded versions of the same spells.¡± ¡°That being said, all hope is not lost dearie. There are certain spells that do not require high magical attack or intelligence to cast. They make use of your primary attribute. Intelligence would make them effective but it is alright if you use your primary attribute to cast them. However, those spells are usually rare to obtain and will cost you. Will you be okay with it?¡± Kyrie nodded. Levene clapped her hands and exclaimed, ¡°Excellent!¡± Levene gestured, ringing a bell and Kyrie actually heard a bell ring. Moments later an attendant arrived into the room. Levene asked them to bring some refreshments as this was going to take some time. And she was not wrong. Levene waved a hand and a list of spells rose from the table in the form of a light blue screen. Levene clicked on one of them and Kyrie could read the description of the spell. ¡°Let¡¯s get started, shall we?¡± asked Levene with a grin. It took them about four hours but they finally decided on spells for Kyrie. Each of these spells would help Kyrie primarily in adventurer versus adventurer and secondarily during normal adventuring. Kyrie was pleased with her selection. Orik helped too. A lot. Kyrie hoped Marcus had been here too. His insights would have been much helpful but she felt that Levene and Orik had done a good job helping her. Kyrie once again read the descriptions of the spells she had bought from Levene. [Curve Shot] - Turn your arrow mid air ensuring the arrow reaches its target. Deals normal damage. Speed and curve of the arrow depends on ranged weapon proficiency. Mana cost of 10. Cooldown of 10 seconds. [Multi Shot] - Fires multiple arrows at the same location simultaneously. Each arrow deals normal damage. Number of arrows shot equals (primary attribute / 8) + (intelligence / 4). Mana cost of 40. Cooldown of 30 seconds. [Water Whip] - Summons a whip of water which can be used to hit the enemy. Deals damage equal to magical attack. 20% chance of staggering the enemy. Mana cost of 50. Cooldown of 30 seconds. [Enchant Weapon: Ice] - Enchant your weapon with ice attacks. Enchantment would last for five strikes. Mana cost of 50. Cooldown of 1 minute. [Field of Ice] - Covers an area around you in a radius of 20 feet with ice. Mana Cost of 75. Cooldown of 1 minute. [Summon Water] - Creates a puddle of water. The size of the pool varies with magical attack and water proficiency. Mana cost of 20. Cooldown of 10 seconds. There were a couple of ice spells. Levene had explained that there was a separate ice proficiency but it was sort of an extension of water proficiency, so Kyrie would not have issues with the spells she had bought. Each of the spells was considerably costly and Kyrie found her funds quite depleted. However, she was accustomed to adventuring with low funds. She was not worried. She changed her current equipped spells to [Curve Shot] [Multi Shot] [Water Whip] [Summon Water Elemental]. Kyrie and Orik said their goodbyes to Levene and exited her shop. Kyrie took a deep breath as she got out of the shop. After walking for some time Kyrie said, ¡°That was exhausting. I am hungry. Do you want to go get something?¡± Orik looked back as if to see whether they were out of earshot and said, ¡°Levene did provide us with snacks.¡± ¡°And they were sufficient for you?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°So, food?¡± ¡°Food!¡± Orik mentioned he was going to take Kyrie to an excellent place and was going to get his MQ out when a huge explosion knocked both of them off their feet. Kyrie¡¯s ears were ringing as she got up gingerly. She looked around to see Orik doing the same, slowly getting up and shaking his head. Kyrie looked forward for the source of the explosion and met with an interesting sight. An adventurer had blasted through a shop about ten feet in front of her. Kyrie could tell he was an adventurer because of his name and level that she could see. The ground around him was scorched as if he had been hit with a powerful fire spell. Kyrie looked at Orik who shrugged. They ran up to the adventurer whose health Kyrie found was low. They helped him get up. He looked disoriented. ¡°What happened?¡± asked Orik. ¡°Gorin supporters are attacking Furorin supporters¡±, said the elf adventurer, ¡°They do not care who they attack. Adventurers and non adventurers are both caught in the crossfire.¡± ¡°These are adventurers who are doing this?¡± asked Orik. The elf shook his head, ¡°No. Non adventurers.¡± Kyrie looked at Orik as if asking him as to what to do next when a shout made all of them look towards the shop through which the elf had blasted through. Three dwarves stood there, cudgels in hand. They were pointing at Kyrie, Orik and the elf and shouting something which Kyrie could not catch. The next moment they advanced to attack. ¡°Please do not kill them¡±, said Orik as he readied his crossbow. Kyrie nodded and notched an arrow. She changed her [Multi Shot] with [Enchant Weapon: Ice] and cast it. The elf decided to scamper out of there not wanting to get anymore involved. Wise decision. However, Kyrie was sure that the three advancing dwarves would give chase if they ran. Kyrie shot arrows fast at the advancing dwarves. Freezing their feet to the ground. As she could only make five attacks with ice, she was able to freeze five legs. Orik shot blunted bolts knocking the advancing dwarves down. Orik said, ¡°Use stealth. We will assess the situation and report back at the palace.¡± Kyrie nodded and took to the shadows while Orik decided to climb up a building. Kyrie slowly made her way towards the damaged shop and passed through it. No other dwarves decided to pass through it. Beyond the shop was an open central area with a small fountain and lots of space. It looked like a warzone. Dwarves were fighting other dwarves with spells being thrown everywhere. Kyrie could tell they were all non adventurers. The adventurers were either hiding or had gotten out of there. Seemed to be a wise decision. Killing non adventurers unnecessarily was never good. Kyrie watched as the guards soon came and subdued the commotion. It took some time but the fighting stopped soon. Kyrie helped a bit from the shadows earning her a level in stealth. Kyrie was soon joined by Orik after the commotion subsided. ¡°We should go¡±, said Orik. ¡°What was that?¡± asked Kyrie. Orik shook his head, ¡°We will get answers at the palace.¡± And Kyrie and Orik left. Kyrie hoped this would not affect the tournament. As she left she saw a glimpse of a shadowy figure which disappeared as she blinked. That was never anything good. *** Furorin was furious. She had expected Gorin to play dirty but attacking civilians in the middle of the market! He had crossed a line. She was sure that he would deny everything and she would require solid proof. She called Parric to her office. ¡°Parric¡±, said Furorin, ¡°Today¡¯s attack. You know what to do.¡± Parric nodded, ¡°It shall be done, your highness.¡± Furorin nodded. Then she frowned and said, ¡°Also get me someone from the adventurers'' side. Someone discreet. I may have a quest for them.¡± ¡°Not your brothers?¡± ¡°No, my brothers are not right for what I have in mind.¡± Parric nodded and left. Furorin sat down and took deep breaths to calm herself. Gorin was starting to show his true colours. He had made his move. Furorin had to make hers now. She did not want to be reactive but she had no chance as of now. Furorin smiled as an idea formed in her mind. Gorin was going down, no matter what. The Demon Conflict Marcus woke up with the sound of something frying. He used the bathroom to freshen up and went to the common room. Selena was frying eggs. Marcus walked up to her and saw that the eggs were quite large in size and had a blue yolk. ¡°What is this?¡± asked Marcus curiously. Selena glanced at Marcus before focusing back on the pan, ¡°Eggs, duh!¡± Marcus laughed a bit, ¡°I get that. Why are they blue?¡± Selena shrugged, ¡°That is how they are. There is also some meat and vegetables in the refrigerator¡±, she pointed and Marcus then noticed the refrigerator. He actually looked around the kitchen. How had he missed it before going to sleep? He must have been really muddled with what had happened to him. Selena continued, ¡°We cannot identify what meat it is and what vegetables but it is all edible. So, we eat.¡± ¡°You seem grumpy.¡± ¡°I am hungry. And if you want to eat, you can help.¡± Marcus scrambled over fast to help Selena. Together they made breakfast for two. They sat on the table and ate the blue eggs with greyish toast over which they spread what Marcus assumed was butter. It looked like butter but somehow felt weird to Marcus. It was all delicious. ¡°Of course, it is fucking delicious¡±, muttered Marcus as he ate. They did not have coffee or its substitute on Twarftha. Instead, they drank a water like liquid infused with crushed leaves which had the same impact as coffee. It felt like tea but tasted neither like tea or coffee. The taste of the liquid was bittersweet and slightly fruity and it was delicious too. Marcus asked Selena, ¡°Have you not asked the demons what you are eating and drinking?¡± ¡°Tamara asked¡±, came the reply between the bites, ¡°However, the reply that came was that it was edible food and drink and we do not need to know the names. Names would only make it less appealing for us.¡± ¡°What sort of logic is that?¡± Selena looked at him sharply, ¡°Demon logic.¡± They finished their breakfast in silence after that. ¡°Where are the others?¡±, asked Marcus when they were finished. ¡°Wandering around¡±, said Selena putting the dishes in the sink where they magically started to wash themselves, ¡°Tamara mostly would be pestering some demon lords to get an audience with Lucifer.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Who knows!¡± ¡°So, what do we do then?¡± ¡°You tell me. You were the one who said would get us out of here. I am simply here to follow your lead.¡± ¡°Hmmm. You do not seem to be in a good mood.¡± ¡°Kind of you to notice.¡± ¡°Mind telling me what it is about?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Okay then.¡± Marcus exited the room and started to explore the castle. Selena followed him. The castle was large, made up of many corridors and rooms. Demons and demon lords walked around looking busy but Marcus did not know what exactly they were doing. Marcus asked Selena to lead him towards the entrance of the castle and Selena obliged. The demon guards at the entrance did not let them out of the castle which according to Marcus was obvious. They were free to roam the castle but they were still prisoners. It took him a few hours but Marcus had walked through the entire castle. There were certain rooms and passageways that were restricted to them but it was alright. Marcus even passed through the training grounds where he found Shania, Tania and Tim training with other demons. They gave him and Selena a nod of acknowledgement when they passed. Marcus even visited the kitchen, the central dining area, the servant quarters, the prison and the barracks. He visited every area he could visit. When he started to feel hungry, Selena led him towards the central dining area. She said that is where everyone ate what was called lunch in the castle. Marcus was thoughtful as he walked. He needed to find sewer access in the castle. He wondered who could help him. He asked Selena the same and she said that it would be dumb to ask the demons about sewer access directly. They need to do that on their own. Marcus was not happy but what Selena said made sense. ¡°You give them a hint that you are trying to escape and they will lock you down¡±, whispered Selena. Marcus nodded. He understood that. It just meant that they had to plan their escape discreetly. He was not sure he was good at that though. When Marcus went to sleep with the rise of the red sun, he wondered about how he was going to escape with the others. He also wondered what Tasha was up to. However, the thing he did the most was try and get in contact with Memory. However, Memory did not respond to Marcus. He did not give up though. It was only a matter of patience and he would have a word with Memory. The days soon passed and Marcus fell into a routine. Marcus would wake up, eat breakfast with Selena and then go explore the castle for sewer access. He would sometimes train with the demons and try to talk with them but the demons did not talk much. At least not with him. For some instinctive reason, they were distrustful of him. Marcus could not blame them. Everyday Tamara had gone before Marcus woke up to try and get an audience with Lucifer. It was the same with the other three adventurers. They were also out of their designated residence before Marcus woke up. It was only Selena who remained. Marcus once asked Selena about this and she told him that he was a heavy sleeper who slept longer than the others. Marcus wondered about that and realized that he had been sleeping longer than normal. He wondered why. Marcus practiced magic in secret when the blue sun was close to setting. He had found a room in his exploration which remained empty and he could lock it behind him. No one disturbed him. He had made an excuse that he was meditating and he did not want to be disturbed. The others respected his privacy and Marcus was grateful for that because he was sure that he would not be able to practice casting his magic otherwise. While practicing Marcus realized that there were very few spells he knew and he got tired very quickly after casting various combinations of them. He concluded that his internal magic energy was low and started conducting tests. His magical energy did replenish fast. Initially it took about half an hour which then had reduced to about ten minutes as the day passed. Based on experimentation he gave levels to the spells he knew in order of their magical energy expenditure. Marcus started to visit the library more and more as the days passed. He had already visited all the areas of the castle where he was allowed and he had not found any access to the sewer. He thought he would be able to find a book in the library which could have the blueprints of the castle but it was highly improbable. Marcus found the demon library well stocked. He did not find the castle blueprints but he did a lot on demon culture and stories related to them. Marcus relaxed as the days passed. He still practiced his magic and sometimes trained with the others, but most of the time he spent in the library. This is where he felt he belonged. So, Marcus spent a majority of his time in the library. Soon, Selena got bored of sticking with him and started to train with Tim, Shania and Thalia. Marcus did not mind. Marcus found the library to be usually empty. Very few demons came to the library and there was only one librarian, a blue female demon who looked like half water nymph half human and who went by the name of Linguis Devourer. Marcus struck a repo with her and soon she recommended many books for Marcus to read. She also conversed with him sometimes. All in all, Marcus did not feel like a prisoner as the time passed on Twarftha. It was still in the back of his mind that he needed to escape but it did not seem urgent. All that comfort shattered one day.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Marcus entered the library one day to find Linguis missing. Moreover, the air in the library seemed heavy, ominous and depressing. Marcus frowned at that. Marcus stepped back to exit the library to find that the door had closed behind him. Marcus tried to open it but could not. Marcus frowned and turned around to look around the library. From where he was standing, he could not see anyone in the library. Marcus started walking towards the desk where Linguis would normally be seated. The oppressive feeling increased as he approached the desk. As he reached the desk, the air at the chair shimmered and a demon appeared in it. The demon was tall, taller than Marcus by a couple of feet at least. It had a humanoid body but the face of a goat. Its eyes were red with black slits looking straight at Marcus. Its horns were large, curved and black and the pressure emanating from it made it difficult for Marcus to breathe. Marcus cleared his throat and said, ¡°Hello?¡± The demon did not speak for some time, simply looked at Marcus. Then the demon said in a low guttural tone, ¡°Marcus Blank.¡± ¡°That is my name.¡± The demon¡¯s eyes narrowed and Marcus shivered as the feeling of oppression intensified. ¡°Could you tell me your name?¡± said Marcus haltingly, ¡°Please?¡± ¡°I am Lucifer Morningstar¡±, the demon leaned back and the oppressive feeling reduced a bit. ¡°Ah! So, you are the leader of demons. The demon king?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And how may I help you, your majesty?¡± ¡°Sir would suffice. No need to call me your majesty.¡± ¡°Okay, sir.¡± There was silence between them for some time. Then Marcus said slowly, ¡°Is it something that you want from me, sir?¡± ¡°You are an enigma, Marcus Blank. I wonder what Rauros and Leyda were thinking, sending you here.¡± ¡°They were confident in my ability to escape from any situation?¡± ¡°Do you even possess such ability?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Do you think before you speak?¡± ¡°Normally. But right now I am having trouble with that. What is it that you are projecting? This feeling of¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ Oppressiveness? It is hard to simply look at you, forget about thinking.¡± Lucifer did not say anything. However, the pressure, the oppressiveness that Marcus was feeling reduced considerably. It was not completely gone though. Marcus said, ¡°Thank you.¡± Lucifer leaned forward, ¡°You have still not told me why Rauros and Leyda send you.¡± ¡°To help free the adventurers trapped here on Twarftha.¡± ¡°And what makes you qualified for this rescue?¡± Marcus raised his hands in exasperation and said, ¡°I have no fucking clue. I mean I have been no help since I got here. I fucking got myself captured for fucking crying out loud. I am thinking I am more of a pawn or those two just want me dead.¡± Marcus felt a bit terrified after the outburst. He had just shouted at the king of demons who was looking at him, betraying not a single emotion. Marcus was not sure what Lucifer was going to do next. Lucifer finally said, ¡°Tell me about the rebels.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Marcus was confused. What rebels? ¡°The rebels that were with you when you were captured.¡± Was Lucifer talking about Harados? ¡°I was with Harados. Are you talking about him? Is he a rebel?¡± ¡°He did not report you to his superior and acted on his own. You tell me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know much about demon chain of command or politics to comment on that.¡± ¡°You have spent quite some time reading here. What exactly have you been reading then, Marcus Blank?¡± ¡°Oh! This and that¡±, said Marcus in a small voice. Lucifer did not say anything. He did not need to. His stare was unsettling. His silence was making Marcus more uncomfortable than what he was saying. Lucifer said, ¡°I do not believe you understand the gravity of your situation. I can kill you if I wanted to with a mere thought. I am not doing so because I believe you would be useful to me. Stop being useful and lose your life.¡± ¡°Okay. How can I help you then, sir?¡± ¡°You can help me by finding out the identity of rebel leaders. The ones who are rising against my authority.¡± ¡°Why me?¡± ¡°Why not? It is not as if you are doing anything productive.¡± ¡°Okay. And how do I help you find the rebels?¡± Lucifer grinned. Marcus shivered. The pressure intensified and the last thing Marcus saw was Lucifer¡¯s grinning face bearing down on him. *** Tasha looked at Harados. She said, ¡°Are the demons ready?¡± ¡°Yes. Yes. Yes¡±, came the reply in a drawling voice, ¡°You do your part and we shall do ours.¡± Tasha hissed, ¡°There is no room for errors.¡± ¡°We have been over this a thousand times, Miss Lightweaver. Now all we need to do is attack.¡± ¡°One mistake¡±, muttered Tasha, ¡°And we are screwed.¡± ¡°We are screwed anyways¡±, said a demon whose name Tasha did not know, ¡°We will just be screwed more.¡± Tasha frowned at the demon but did not say anything. She had made a deal with the rebels. Getting their leader on the throne for the freedom of the adventurers. Tasha had negotiated for an early release. Once the adventurers are safely returned to Una, she will help the demons dethrone Lucifer. It was a win-win for everyone. So, why did she feel so uneasy? The rebel demons had confirmed that Lucifer was bound to his castle. They had told her that getting the adventurers out of the castle would be possible, just difficult. They had planned it out. They had considered every possible scenario and had contingencies for it. Still, Tasha had a feeling that something could go wrong. And she did not like this feeling. She glanced at Harados beside her who was communicating with his hounds. She looked at the castle in front of her. They were hidden in the empty houses surrounding the castle. Their presence had not been noticed. Security was relaxed near the portcullis and the castle walls. They were simply waiting for the signal. An explosion rocked the far end of the castle. ¡°That¡¯s the signal¡±, said Harados. Without needing another word, the demons, demon lords and Tasha moved towards the castle sneakily. Today, the adventurers were going to be free. *** Marcus woke up to the sound of an explosion. ¡°What the fuck!¡± he exclaimed as he fell out of the bed. Marcus frowned as he looked up. He was back in his room. How had he gotten here? He got up and walked out of the room to find the adventurers huddled on the sofa in the common room. They all looked up when Marcus walked into the room. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± asked Selena. At the same time Tamara said, ¡°What happened to you?¡± Marcus told them he was feeling fine. He was indeed feeling fine. He sat beside Selena. He then told them about his encounter with Lucifer. Tamara stood up and grabbed Marcus, ¡°What?¡± ¡°I know you have been trying to get in touch with him but please calm the fuck down¡±, said Marcus. ¡°This is gorking bull shit¡±, shouted Tamara. She took a deep breath to calm down and continued in a normal voice, ¡°Tell me everything again. Every aspect of your meeting with Lucifer. Do not leave any gorking details out.¡± Marcus retold Tamara about his meeting. He told her everything that he could remember. Lucifer¡¯s words, his expressions, his feeling of oppression. Tamara was quiet for some time after that. Another explosion jolted the adventurers out of their reverie. ¡°Okay¡±, said Marcus, ¡°What the fuck is going on?¡± ¡°From what we understand¡±, said Tim, ¡°There are two factions of demons. One faction is loyal to Lucifer while the other faction are apparently rebels and want Lucifer dead. The rebels apparently are attacking the castle and Lucifer ordered us locked in our rooms.¡± ¡°Why though?¡± ¡°Why what?¡± asked Shania. ¡°Why are the rebels attacking? Why are we locked in this room?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know¡±, said Selena, ¡°We were not told anything. Just herded here. And a demon carried you in here unconscious. We thought you had been attacked.¡± ¡°Well¡±, mumbled Marcus, ¡°What Lucifer did to me can be considered as sort of an attack. I wonder what exactly he did to me.¡± We need to talk, said a voice in Marcus¡¯ head. Marcus recognized it. It was Memory. Right now? No. When you go to sleep. Then we will talk. Do not contact me till then. Fucking perfect. This was normal for Memory. Marcus did not even bother asking Memory any more questions. He was sure that he would not get any reply. ¡°So, what do we do now?¡± asked Marcus, ¡°Simply sit here and twiddle our thumbs?¡± ¡°Nothing gorking much we can do¡±, said Tamara, ¡°We wait this out. How is your escape attempt going?¡± ¡°I have found nothing to help me¡±, said Marcus, ¡°I want to explore the sewers underneath this city but I have not found an access point in the castle.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there is an access point inside the castle¡±, said Tamara with a frown, ¡°I will help you from tomorrow.¡± ¡°You will?¡± asked Marcus with surprise and Tamara simply nodded. They waited mostly in silence after that. Marcus could hear explosions and sounds of fighting but none of them knew what was going on out there. The door to their rooms was locked. After what felt like hours, the door to their rooms opened and a bunch of demons deposed an unconscious figure in their rooms. Tamara started to talk to them but the demons exited as fast as they came, locking the door behind them. Tamara fumed and shouted at the demons banging on the door. But Marcus¡¯ focus was on the figure that the demons had placed in their room. As the other adventurers put the figure on the sofa, Marcus identified the half elf and groaned inwardly. Tasha Lightweaver had been captured by the demons. Shiningstar Kyrie was shaken from the attack that she had witnessed but the Ori brothers told her not to worry about it too much. Such conflicts were normal during dwarven succession. However, they had started earlier than Furorin anticipated and now she was scrambling for damage control. Kyrie was sure that is what Gorin wanted. The next few days Kyrie heard of scattered conflicts all over Karzasham. However, it did not affect the tournament as she had feared. The elimination rounds continued and Kyrie fought against four more adventurers, winning against them all. She experimented with various combinations of her new and old spells to find out the optimal combination that she could use. She found that there was no optimal combination and based on the opponent Kyrie needed to modify her equipped spells. She did not mind. This provided another kind of challenge which excited her. Winning five matches now, Kyrie had reached the top 138 participants. Now when Loring had made the announcements of the rules, he had said that officially, the participants will be whittled down from their respective numbers on each side to 128 participants each side. Kyrie wondered how the organizers were going to do that. She got her answer soon enough. To eliminate 10 of the participants, 20 participants would be randomly selected for a one on one elimination match. Kyrie wondered whether she would be selected but when the names of the participants were mentioned, her name was not there. However, she noticed that all four Ori brothers were present in the list of participants. More dwarven politics, she presumed. Kyrie also looked at the names of participants supporting Gorin. They had to whittle down 18,056 participants to get to 128. After eliminations and reaching 142 participants, they had taken a similar route and now they had 14 matches to eliminate the 14 extra participants that they had. All of the matches would take about a week. Kyrie wondered whether she should watch all the matches or not. Her schedule after winning her first match and acquiring new spells had been the same. She would wake up everyday, practice with the Ori brothers, then see one or two matches and then spend time relaxing till nightfall. She was mostly with the Ori brothers but she also spent some time with Ledia and Rella. She enjoyed spending time with the air nymph and the land nymph. When she had a match on a particular day, she did not practice much but focused on her opponent. They were usually given the names of their opponents on match day itself. She would plan her strategy based on her opponents and fight accordingly. After winning, the nights were usually celebratory. Kyrie walked away from the stadium where the announcement for the participants for each of the factions was taking place. She thought of taking Nalana for a ride, to go visit some water nymphs but she hesitated. She did not know why but today she was feeling a bit down. Something was wrong, she felt it in the atmosphere around the stadium but she could not put her finger on it. That was when a hooded cloaked figure decided to bump into her. She felt the figure slip something in her hand. It was a folded piece of paper. She looked around to see where the strange figure had gone but they seemed to have disappeared. Yep, thought Kyrie, definitely not good. She opened the paper and read what was on it. She frowned. The message read: Meet me at the forest outside outer Karzasham at 7 tonight. Come alone. You will know the location as you enter the forest. Kyrie wondered what this was all about. She pondered whether she should go or not. She knew she was an adventurer and if this was a trap and she died, she would simply respawn but did she want to take such a risk. If she had been with Marcus, she was sure he would have said that they needed to go. Marcus was a curious person by nature and he would get lost in his curiosity sometimes. But this was not Kyrie. She decided not to go. Kyrie had been warned by the Ori brothers about assassins. She wondered how it would affect her when Ori brothers told them that the assassins would merely incapacitate Kyrie and keep her from participating by kidnapping her. She remembered the discussion and that was all the motivation for her to not go to the forest as per directions from a peculiar stranger handing her a message. Kyrie decided to go to the palace. She felt safe there. She would spend the night there tonight if the Ori brothers do not mind. Tomorrow, she will deal with whatever tomorrow brings. *** The next few days passed normally. There were surprisingly no conflicts amongst the two factions and Kyrie watched all the Ori brothers¡¯ fights. They won their respective fights. Kyrie did ask them about the message that she had received and Orik reassured her that it was mostly a false alarm. The Ori brothers had sent a high level guard to check out the forest and the guard had not been able to find anyone on the outer edges. He had not gone in deep but had been thorough in his search. Kyrie wondered if only she was the one who could have identified the location that she had to go. However, she had not voiced this opinion out to the Ori brothers. By the end of the week the 128 participants from both the factions had been finalized. The 256 participants along with the representatives from the royal family were now sitting in the stadium present inside the Karzasham mountain. Loring was back as their presenter and he was currently standing in the middle of the ring. Even from the distance Kyrie could see his grin and his gleaming teeth. ¡°Welcome back participants and members of the royal family¡±, Loring bowed to the royal pavilion as he addressed them. Kyrie looked up from Loring to see the participants supporting Gorrin sitting on the opposite side. She frowned as she viewed them. Even though many adventurers had decided to support Gorin, only 52 out of the 128 were adventurers on Gorin¡¯s side. Rest 76 participants were formed of non-adventurers and mostly dwarves. Gorin must have quite the proficient non-adventurers on his side. Compared to that, there were only 16 non-adventurers on Furorin¡¯s side with the rest 112 participants formed of adventurers. That was quite the stark contrast. Kyrie did not mind it. She was glad she was in the top 128 and her target was now to get into the quarterfinals. Loring said, ¡°Now that we have all the participants finalized, let the true entertainment begin. Things will now start to get interesting. Each of you 256 participants will now be divided into sixteen groups of sixteen. The groups will be selected randomly and will be a mix of participants supporting Princess Furorin¡±, cheer from Furorin¡¯s side, ¡°and participants supporting Prince Gorin¡±, louder cheers from Gorin¡¯s side, ¡°and they will fight.¡± ¡°Now I remember I said in the beginning that all fights are going to be one on one. However, there is a slight change in the format. The fights will still be one on one but they will have variety. Now what do I mean by variety?¡± Loring paused, letting the anticipation build, ¡°Now, that is a surprise. However, I can guarantee the participants that each fight would be unique in its own way. And from a particular group of sixteen, there will be only one winner who will go into the quarterfinal.¡± ¡°We shall announce the groups by this evening and the fights shall take place after two days. You have some time to prepare participants. So, go, prepare and may luck be with you.¡± There was no cheer after that. The royal representatives started to leave and so did Loring. The participants looked at each other for some time but the non adventurer participants started to leave as soon as the royal representatives had left. So, the other participants also left. Kyrie however, remained seated in her seat. That was such a short announcement. Why had they gathered participants into such a large stadium to make such a small announcement? There had got to be something else, hadn¡¯t it? Kyrie waited for quite some time but nothing happened. It was Orin who found her sitting alone in the stadium. ¡°What the gork are you doing here, Kyrie?¡± asked Orin Kyrie gestured towards the arena, ¡°This was it? This was the announcement? I mean they could have sent us a simple letter telling us what Loring told us. Why gather all the participants?¡± Orin sighed, ¡°Did you look at the participants? Did you examine them?¡± ¡°OH!¡± Something dawned upon Kyrie. This gathering was not about the announcement. This gathering had been to take the measure of their opponents and Kyrie had not realized it. ¡°I am not going to research my opponents much like Marcus does¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°I am not bothered by this. This was a waste of time for me.¡± ¡°I know lass. Now come on. No need to waste your time sitting here.¡± Kyrie followed Orin out of the stadium and went back to her inn. Soon, it would be time for her to fight and fight, she will. *** Kyrie looked at her opponent and examined him. Thaddeus Rosanburg Human, Level 150 Interesting. Thaddeus was wearing a heavy plate mail and had a mace and a kite shield in his hand. He had taken a defensive pose as soon as he had entered the arena and had been keeping a wary eye on Kyrie. Kyrie had gotten to know about his opponent in advance but she had looked into him this morning only. Thaddeus was in Gorin¡¯s faction and he was a good melee fighter with high health. Kyrie could not see many weaknesses in the plate mail that he was wearing and Kyrie was sure that she would have to create some opportunities. The spells Kyrie had equipped for this fight were [Field of Ice], [Enchant Weapon: Ice] [Summon Water] and [Curve Shot]. She was hopeful that ice would help against this opponent well. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The announcer was explaining the rules of the match to everyone and Kyrie was paying half of her attention to him. Her other half was focused on her match. She knew what was going to happen. The fighting arena had been enchanted for the upcoming fights. Both the fighters would be shrunk and the arena would be filled with obstacles. The nature of the obstacles would vary and so would the format of the match. From what the announcer was saying, Kyrie gathered that her fight with Thaddeus was going to be an elimination match. They would both be shrunk and a whole city would be set as an obstacle. They would have to navigate through the city and try to eliminate their opponent before being overwhelmed by the city¡¯s residents. They were not supposed to kill the city''s residents. Doing so would result in elimination. This was an interesting challenge. Kyrie was sure that her stealth would be effective here. She wondered how Thaddeus would take this challenge. It was good that their spells and abilities would not be nullified. The announcer finished explaining the rules and mentioned the fight was now starting. Instantly Kyrie shrunk and buildings rose all around her. She felt a whoosh of air and the next moment she was standing in a dark alley. The air was stale and suffocating and Kyrie was feeling disoriented and claustrophobic. She took a deep breath which devolved into hacking coughs. She took support of the wall next to her and took some time getting used to the air. After she was feeling well she took in her surroundings. The buildings on either side of the alleyway seemed to be tall, taller than what Kyrie was used to. They seemed to be made up of material which Kyrie could not identify. It was definitely not the sort of building you would find on Una. There were metal staircases which led to the top of each building. The alleyway was littered with waste which explained the smell. Kyrie started climbing the metal staircase of one of the buildings to get to higher ground. The building she was climbing was shorter than the other one but was still ten storeys high. It took her some time but soon she was on top of the building. The roof was empty and it provided a good view of the city she was in. The city was made up of large buildings. Kyrie could see humanoid figures walking besides its streets which were filled with what looked like closed mechanical quadrupeds. Smog filled the air and dark clouds covered the sky blotting the sun. Kyrie was sure there was no sun and the dark clouds were to obscure the arena audience so that the fighters would not get too disoriented during their match. Kyrie wondered how she was going to find Thaddeus in such a huge city. She was sure he would stand out just like her but she had an inkling that the residents of this city were not just going to help her. She needed a plan and she needed it fast. She stood there on the rooftop thinking about her next steps for some time. Then she decided to take a risk and ask someone for help. But first, she needed to cover herself. She would stand out in her armor. She started climbing down the stairs. One of the windows of a house in the building was open. Kyrie entered inside to find furniture quite out of the world. She made her way towards a wardrobe and opened it. She found some clothing which she did not recognize but it covered her body. Luckily she also found a cloak with a hood which would help her hide her face. Kyrie put on the clothes over her armor and then put on her cloak. Her shoes did stand out but she hoped not much. Majority of her was covered and she also found gloves for her hand. She went out back to the metal staircase and back into the alley. She exited the alley and almost bumped into the walking pedestrian. Kyrie looked at the humanoids walking past them and recognized their species. They were humans. Interesting. She had not been to the human kingdom yet but she was pretty sure that this was definitely not a city in the human kingdom. Still it was populated by humans. No one was paying attention to her as they walked past her. She started walking in a random direction, keeping off the streets where the covered MQs were moving. She ignored the humans walking around her and for the mast part they ignored her. Some threw curious glances at her but those were only for a moment before they continued on their way. Kyrie broke out from her aimless wandering reverie from the sound of sirens. Kyrie looked at MQs with flashing lights on top of them racing through the streets with other MQs giving way. A flying MQ raced over her head between the buildings and made Kyrie curious. At a run she started following the flashing MQs. She could not summon Nalana. Kyrie was sure the wyrm would draw attention. So she followed the sounds. Kyrie came to an open area which seemed to be filled with trees on its edges and Kyrie could see a clobbered path with grass beyond those trees. It had to be a park. In front of the entrance of the park stood Thaddeus. Thaddeus was in his full plate but had his helmet down. His weapon was sheathed but he had his shield up. Several MQs surrounded him and out of them had come humans with similar clothing. Uniforms of some sort. Thaddeus was trying to tell them he meant no harm but considering what the humans were shouting she could tell he was not being successful. Kyrie realized that she could not understand what the humans were saying and she was pretty sure they could not understand what Thaddeus was saying. This was an opportunity. Kyrie looked around and saw another alley nearby. She climbed up on top of a shorter building, only five storeys this time and glanced down from the rooftop. She had a clear view of Thaddeus. She had only one shot of this. Kyrie brought out her bow and took aim. She fired. However, Thaddeus somehow seemed aware of her. He brought the shield just up in time to block her attack which was aimed at Thaddeus. Pandemonium erupted. The uniformed humans had something in their hand which they fired at Thaddeus. Pings were heard when projectiles collided with Thaddeus¡¯ armor and bounced off. Some of the humans also pointed at Kyrie who was now exposed. She quickly put her bow away and her hood up and started to run. She jumped from the roof of one building to the metallic staircase of another taller building and climbed it. She jumped to another roof and got down the metallic staircase of that building. She quickly ran through the streets before she was confident no one was chasing her. The flashing MQs passed her but they did not notice her making her confident that she had evaded them. However, she wondered what had happened to Thaddeus. However, the next moment she heard a crash and saw Thaddeus barrelling through a building and running towards her. Kyrie pursed her lips and brought out her bow. Humans were panicking around her and running away from her and Thaddeus. Thaddeus covered the ground between them with astonishing speed and attacked. Kyrie dodged at the last moment and shot an arrow between the links of his plate armor. It went through. Thaddeus stumbled and crashed into a wall. Kyrie cast [Field of Ice] and the area twenty feet around her froze. She could hear the sirens getting closer telling her that she did not have sufficient time. She had to do this fast. She shot an arrow casting [Curve Shot] which hit a clasp of Thaddeus¡¯ armor loosening it. The uniformed humans arrived. They said something which Kyrie did not understand. Both the adventurers ignored them. Kyrie shot another arrow at Thaddeus and he blocked it. He was making his way slowly towards Kyrie because of the ice. The humans started firing their projectiles again and Kyrie dodged behind a bench. Thaddeus faced the full onslaught, but his armor protected him. However, one of the projectiles hit another clasp and his armor came clattering down. Thaddeus gritted his teeth and raised his shield to protect himself from the projectiles of the humans. Kyrie shot another arrow casting [Curved Shot] and it hit Thaddeus in his back. Cursing Thaddeus stumbled and his shield shifted. A projectile hit straight in his neck. Blood spurted out and Thaddeus fell. The city disappeared. Thaddeus disappeared and Kyrie was back to her original size, the cheer of a roaring crowd in her ears. It was over. She had won. The announcer announced her name as the winner and the crowd roared even louder. Kyrie smiled. *** The next two matches for Kyrie were of similar nature. Kyrie faced Lemina Lightweaver, an elf adventurer from Furorin¡¯s faction and Chadresh Dohud, a dwarven adventurer from Gorin¡¯s faction. Against Lemina, Kyrie had a capture the flag match where there was a flag in the centre of the arena and they were shrunk in a rocky and dry environment. Kyrie did not take long and reached the flag. She did not even have to fight Lemina and she won easily by capturing the flag. Against Chadresh they were given an environment filled with water and small islands and they had to destroy each other¡¯s boats. Kyrie had laughed at the match. She was a water nymph. The fight had been very easy. She had given her second in command at the vessel to do whatever he wanted and dived into the water. Then she rode the waves to Chadresh¡¯s ship and destroyed it easily. Chadresh was simply unlucky in his matchup against Kyrie. Kyrie was gaining popularity with each match she won. She thought the cheers after winning against Thaddeus were loud but the cheers were simply getting louder with each match she won. She was gaining supporters. She could hear people shouting her last name before and after the match. They never called her Kyrie. Chants of Shiningstar filled the stadium. Kyrie felt a sense of contentment with each match. Kyrie¡¯s next match was the final match for this round. If she won the match she would be in the quarterfinals. She was excited about this match. She was close to her current goal. Kyrie went to meet the Ori brothers in their quarters to find them in a somber mood. ¡°Alright¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°Who died?¡± ¡°No one died¡±, mumbled Orin, ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°Woah!¡± ¡°Ignore him Kyrie¡±, said Orim, ¡°He is feeling down because he is not Furorin¡¯s favourite anymore.¡± ¡°Shut the gork up Orim¡±, said Orin and the others laughed. ¡°What happened?¡± Kyrie asked Orin. The laughter stopped immediately and all the brothers bore serious looks. Everyone was looking at Orin who took a swig from his mug. He put the mug down, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and gave a long sigh. ¡°I forgot why we became adventurers, Kyrie¡±, said Orin sadly, ¡°It was to get away from all this horseshit dwarven politics. And here we sit, embroiled in it balls deep in this gorking shit.¡± Kyrie did not say anything for some time. The brothers drank their ale while Kyrie simply sat there, waiting for an explanation she was sure was coming. ¡°Furorin asked me to tell you to throw the next match¡±, said Orin, ¡°Gorking horseshit.¡± Kyrie shrugged her shoulders and said, ¡°Oh! Is that it? Why did you get so worked up over such a minor matter?¡± ¡°What?¡± Orin looked confused. ¡°Furorin wants me to throw the next match because?¡± ¡°Your next fight is with Dollace Brewborne. Furorin believes he has a very high chance of winning the tournament, ensuring the throne for her¡±, said Orik. ¡°I understand now¡±, said Kyrie, ¡°So then Orin. Tell me the message from Furorin.¡± ¡°That you need to throw your next match against Dollace. That¡¯s the message. That¡¯s gorking it.¡± ¡°Okay. Message received.¡± They sat in silence for some time. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± said Oril, ¡°Are you giving up, Kyrie?¡± ¡°When did I say that?¡± ¡°But¡­ you¡­ Furorin¡­¡±, stammered Orin. ¡°Furorin asked to deliver a message to me Orin. You did it. I received the message. Is she expecting a reply?¡± ¡°No?¡± ¡°Excellent then.¡± ¡°What are you going to do then?¡± asked Oril. ¡°My dear Ori brothers, you have forgotten something.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°We are adventurers. And this tournament, in the end, for me, is another adventurer versus adventurer tournament. Given it is on a larger scale and has high stakes, it has nothing to do with me. I am here to give it my all and win this. And that is precisely what I am going to do.¡± The Ori brothers stared at Kyrie for some time. Then they all started to laugh. ¡°Of course! We are adventurers¡±, said Orin. ¡°We are going to gorking win this tournament¡±, said Orik. ¡°Yes, gork Furorin¡±, said Orim, ¡°We may come here for her but we are now going to stay for the tournament.¡± ¡°Thank you, Kyrie¡±, said Oril, ¡°We needed this reminder.¡± ¡°You are right, Kyrie¡±, said Orin, ¡°We are going to focus on the tournament. We had been focusing too much to get Furorin on the throne that we forgot what was important. What we had set out to do.¡± ¡°We?¡± asked Orim. Orin threw a cushion at him, ¡°Ha ha. Alright. Me.¡± They celebrated the rest of the night. Kyrie had one match to win to get to the quarterfinals but all the Ori brothers had already won their match and qualified for the quarterfinals. They celebrated that night but the message from Furorin left a sour taste in Kyrie¡¯s mouth. She had simply come here for the tournament and not worry about the political aspects of it. However, recent events had convinced her that she was not going to remain immune to it till the end of the tournament. It was time to take some action. It was time to show the world who she was. As she went back to the room at her inn that night, the cheers of the crowd echoed in her mind. She was going to show everyone who she was. SHININGSTAR! Memory They put Tasha in the room where Selena and Thalia were staying. It seemed that they had extra room. They waited in silence for the fighting to stop or for Tasha to wake up or for both. All were lost in their own thoughts. Marcus had closed his eyes and was thinking about Memory. He wondered if he should go to sleep now or wait for Tasha to wake up first. He needed answers from both of them. Time passed and soon the fighting stopped. Some demons opened the door and informed them that it was all over now but they were still confined in the room till tomorrow. The demons also inquired about Tasha¡¯s status and got the response that she was still unconscious. They seemed to be satisfied with the answer and left. Few hours passed and soon the door to Selena and Thalia¡¯s room opened. Tasha stepped out cautiously. Marcus could see that she had a spell ready which she cancelled when she saw the other adventurers. Tamara greeted her this time which was in stark contrast to how she had acted towards Marcus when he had met him. Tasha sat down on the sofa with Tamara and Tim while the others remained standing. Marcus made his way towards the kitchen and sat on a stool overlooking the sofa. Tamara asked Tasha about what she was doing here and what was the escape plan. She also talked about what the Game Masters were planning. Tasha explained to everyone what she was doing here. She explained that she and Marcus were a contingency in case the Game Masters failed in their negotiations. Tasha told her part, leaving certain key things out which Marcus noticed like how they travelled to Twarftha and who she was. Marcus did not comment. It was not his place to say what Tasha did not want to tell to the rest of the adventurers. Tasha explained till Marcus had gotten captured and paused. Marcus took this opportunity to ask, ¡°What have you been doing since I was captured? I mean it would not have been easy hiding amongst the demons.¡± Tasha looked at Marcus and nodded, ¡°I was with the resistance. There are a bunch of demons that are not happy with Lucifer. They want to be free of this planet and believe that Lucifer is not doing anything to make it happen. The recent demon wars scenario on Una has incited the demons. They are tired of being pawns to Game Masters whims.¡± Marcus raised an eyebrow, ¡°The demons¡¯ words I presume?¡± ¡°Harados¡¯ to be exact.¡± ¡°That is not true thought¡±, said Tamara slowly. Tasha looked sharply at her, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Tamara sighed and said, ¡°Do you know why the negotiation between the Game Masters and Lucifer failed the first time? It was because Lucifer asked for freedom of certain specific demon lords. Five demon lords to be freed for release of five adventurers. Seemed like a fair deal to me but the Game Masters refused. Considering the way that they reacted it seemed as if Lucifer was asking for their first born or something.¡± Tasha shook her head, ¡°To understand the Game Masters reaction, we need to understand why the demons have been imprisoned on Twarftha in the first place.¡± Tasha paused at that time. She got a bottle of water out of thin air and drank from it. The other adventurers were surprised but Marcus was used to it. He had travelled with Tasha after all and seen some of her magic. Tasha continued, ¡°This goes back to the Original Demon Wars as the Game Masters tell them. For you to understand why these wars happened, I need to give you a basic understanding of what the Game Masters do.¡± ¡°There are many planets in the Universe with intelligent life. When I say many, I mean a lot more than you can imagine. No one has a record of the number of planets with intelligent life. I am getting off point. Most of these planets have resources sufficient enough to sustain life on them for a long time.¡± ¡°However, there are certain planets which do not have sufficient resources. These planets are dying. This is where the Game Masters come in. They pick a dying planet and offer the primary species of that planet a deal. They would save their species in return for their planet. In return they would claim that planet as their own. With their power they would rehabilitate the planet. They only want the primary species unwavering and unquestioning loyalty in return.¡± ¡°Now judging from your expressions, you may think that this is a bad deal; that the Game Masters are taking advantage of the inhabitants of the planet. But bear in mind, without the intervention of the Game Masters, the planet would definitely be destroyed. Yes, the planet, not just its inhabitants, the entire planet. The Game Masters intervene only in extreme circumstances with a way out. Also, it is an optional way out. The primary species of the planet does have the liberty to say no.¡± ¡°What if they say no, now you may ask. Then, discreetly the Game Masters would take the DNA sample of all the species of the planet and store them in their archives for record keeping and future use. How they do it, I shall not be explaining, nor shall I explain what exactly the future use is. You are not authorized for that information.¡± ¡°Continuing the original point, if the primary species accept Game Masters'' offer, then the Game Masters ensure the survival of the planet. They make sure that the planet, the solar system and all life in that little universe is stabilized and not wiped out. They do this by converting the planet into a Game World.¡± ¡°Now I will not go into the history or explanation behind why they convert the planet into a Game World. It is a long story and I will tell you if I am ever in the mood for it. It is not relevant to our current conversation. Suffice to say, that the Game Masters are called Game Masters because of this reason; that they convert the dying worlds into Game Worlds.¡± ¡°The Game Masters found a dying world. It was called Daemondi. The primary species of the planet was as you guessed it, demons. Daemondi was dying. The demons had ravaged the planet and its resources to such an extent that the planet had a few years before it was going to implode on itself.¡± ¡°So, the Game Masters visited the planet and negotiated with the demon leaders. There were many Demon Kings during that time. The negotiations were long and tiring. The Game Masters were confident that they would sway the demons to their side. However, something went wrong. The Game Masters don¡¯t even know what went wrong but the demons decided not to take the Game Masters¡¯ offer.¡± ¡°That would have been okay. The Game Masters would have gone away and left Daemondi to its fate. Instead the demons did something that the Game Masters had never anticipated. The demons attacked the Game Masters. They poisoned several of the Game Masters to weaken and kill them.¡± ¡°No Game Masters died but they were highly surprised by the demons¡¯ approach. Highly surprised followed by becoming highly angry. Let me tell you, the wrath of a single Game Master is terrible. It can destroy an entire solar system. Now imagine the wrath of twenty Game Masters. That was the number of Game Masters negotiating with the Demon Kings at that time.¡± ¡°Not one Demon King survived. The Game Masters did not even give demons an option. They wiped out half of their population and enslaved the rest. They imprisoned them on this planet, Twarftha. They empowered the suns of this solar system to keep the demons on Twarftha weak and they started using the demons as villains for scenarios in other Game Worlds.¡± ¡°One may argue that the punishment was too harsh and the Game Masters overreacted. However, you may forget that Game Masters are powerful, the most powerful beings in the Universe and once they make their decision, they do not change their mind, for millions of years. And yes, the Game Masters are immortal.¡± ¡°Lucifer was not the original Demon King but he became one over the years with the rise in his power. He is now from a generation of demons that do not care about the past mistake of their ancestors. He wants freedom for his species, so do other demon lords on Twarftha. That is why they have been kept divided and restricted to certain towns, cities or villages.¡± ¡°The Game Masters are never going to release the demons and so the negotiation was always going to fail from the start. That is why the Game Masters sent me and Marcus. As a contingency plan.¡± Tasha finished her explanation with this. Tim muttered under his breath, ¡°That was a gorking long ass explanation.¡± Everyone heard him but no one reacted. They all had their questions. Their doubts which they asked one after the other. Tasha answered some of them. Marcus was, however, silent. He was digesting what he had learned from Tasha. He was also recalling a conversation that he had with Marbas a long time ago. What Tasha had said in a way matched with what Marbas had told him. However, the perspectives were a bit different even though the gist of the scenario was the same. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Tamara asked, ¡°I am confused. If the Game Masters are strong enough to enslave all the demons including demon lords and a demon king, then why the gork are they negotiating for our release? Why the gork are they not just getting us out of here?¡± Tasha said, ¡°Alright. I will try to explain this in a way that does not disclose any Game Master business. Hmmm. Okay. The best explanation that I can give is that there is not only one Game Master who is keeping the demons imprisoned on Twarftha. There are many. Do not ask me for the number. Suffice to say, it is safer for Game Masters Shadowfang and Lightweaver to negotiate with Lucifer for your release.¡± ¡°That does not make sense¡±, said Tamara. Tasha tsked as she said, ¡°I know. To you it won¡¯t. But I told you before. You guys are neither Game Masters nor Game Masters in training. There is only so much information that I can give you.¡± ¡°Yes, but the information that you are giving me has me asking so many questions¡±, said Tamara in an exasperated voice. ¡°Are they relevant to your escape from this planet¡±, inquired Tasha. ¡°Maybe. I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Then they can wait. My first priority is to get you all back to Una.¡± ¡°Who are you, exactly?¡± asked Selena with wonder. Tasha took a moment before answering, ¡°I am Tasha Lightweaver, daughter of Rauros Shadowfang and Leyda Lightweaver, the Game Masters of Una. I am also a Game Master in training.¡± There was a stunned silence from the others after Tasha¡¯s proclamation. Marcus could see that they were all clearly surprised. He already knew and so he was not surprised with Tasha¡¯s reveal, just a bit surprised that Tasha had chosen to share who she was with others. ¡°Are you sure you can get us out of here? I mean Lucifer captured you quite easily¡±, said Thalia and Tasha glared at her. Thalia wilter under Tasha¡¯s glare and she gestured that she was not going to say anything further. Tasha then said, ¡°Now tell me. What have you all been doing since you got captured?¡± The others started to explain what had happened to them since their capture. Shania took the lead in explanation with Tamara, Tim and Selena filling in gaps when Shania could not explain. They mostly told the story that they had told Marcus. After they had finished Tasha looked at Marcus, her eyes inquiring why he had not said anything. Marcus sighed and said, ¡°I have been looking for a way out. Most recently I have been spending more time in the library. I am learning a lot about demons and their culture.¡± ¡°And has it helped in getting out of here?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°And you continue because?¡± ¡°It is fun?¡± said Marcus weakly. Tasha stared at him sternly. Marcus felt like squirming under her stare but he held his own and stared back. Finally Tasha said, ¡°Do better.¡± ¡°I will¡±, replied Marcus. ¡°Well then¡±, said Tasha looking out the window, ¡°It seems that the blue sun is quite high in the sky. Let us rest for now. I still feel tired. Tomorrow, when the red sun rises, we start thinking of a plan to get out of here. If I am correct in my assumption, then after my capture, Lucifer will have another round of negotiations with my parents. And he will up his demands this time. I plan to escape before that happens. Are you guys with me?¡± Marcus and Tamara rolled their eyes together as the others cheered. Then they had a brief discussion about tomorrow and general things before turning in. Marcus was eager to turn in after all. He had an appointment with Memory. *** Tasha watched as he saw Marcus get up and go into a room to sleep, hopefully. She walked into her room with Selena and Thalia. It seemed that they were still sharing. Selena was asking her about something but Tasha was not paying any attention to it. Shania, somehow, was still not talking with her and avoiding her gaze. Tasha understood that. She had scared her quite enough. She had put power behind her gaze when Shania had asked her the question. She will be quiet for some time now. Tasha was thinking about Marcus. She wanted to have a private discussion with him. She was pretty sure he had not told her everything with others present. Like how he had fought the demons the day he got captured. Tasha had seen him fight while she escaped with Harados. She had felt the magical energy. Marcus had cast spells against the demons and Tasha wondered how he had done so. Tasha remembered her conversation with her mother. Leyda had told her that Marcus would be an important companion on this escape and he would surprise Tasha when she least expected it. Tasha hated when her mother was right, sometimes. Tasha had a new mystery to solve. She really wanted to know more about this anomaly named Marcus Blank. *** Marcus was back in the room he knew well by now. However, it seemed that the room had changed. The white did not seem blinding anymore. Marcus felt as if it had a softer tone. The chairs seemed to have changed their colour. The two chairs in front of the mahogany desk were now coloured yellow and purple while the chair behind the desk, where Memory sat was now black in colour. Memory looked the same which meant he looked exactly like Marcus. His three piece suit was now black and white instead of being all colourful while the long hat had now changed to a blue baseball cap which Memory wore backwards. The flip flops had changed to sandals and the desk was currently completely empty. There also seemed to be more cabinets in the room than Marcus remembered. And one of them seemed to be glowing. Marcus looked around and said, ¡°Redecorating and reinventing yourself, Memory?¡± Memory looked up at Marcus. He had been staring down till now. The maniacal grin was still there on his face. ¡°Marcus fucking Blank¡±, said Memory in a sing song voice, ¡°It¡¯s so fucking good to see you. How have you been? You don¡¯t text. You don¡¯t call. How¡¯s little old me gotta fucking getting in touch with you?¡± Marcus narrowed his eyes as he said, ¡°I hope you are not fucking serious.¡± ¡°Nyah! I am just messing with you. How you been?¡± ¡°Mostly fine, you know. You should know. I am fucking sure you were watching.¡± Memory gave a hearty laugh to that statement. He said, ¡°Not all the time Blank. But I do watch sometimes. Sometimes when it is important.¡± ¡°Okay. Can we get on topic please?¡± ¡°What topic?¡± ¡°Why you fucking called me. I have been trying to connect with you regarding my magic but you have been ignoring me. And as soon as I meet Lucifer, you call me. I am ninety nine percent sure it has something to do with the Demon King.¡± ¡°It is¡±, said Memory, eyeing at the glowing cabinet. ¡°Memory, what is that?¡± asked Marcus cautiously. ¡°It¡¯s a spell¡±, whispered Memory, ¡°A tracking spell.¡± ¡°And what is a trapping spell doing in that cabinet?¡± ¡°Making it fucking glow¡±, and Memory began to cackle with laughter. Marcus rolled his eyes, ¡°Could you be serious for once?¡± ¡°I could. But you won¡¯t fucking like it.¡± ¡°Alright. Then mind telling me what the spell does.¡± ¡°It is a tracking spell Blank. What the fuck do you think it does?¡± ¡°It tracks me.¡± ¡°Bingo.¡± ¡°And it was cast on me by Lucifer.¡± ¡°Bingo.¡± ¡°And you somehow trapped it in a cabinet?¡± ¡°My oh fucking my. Aren¡¯t you clever?¡± Marcus groaned as he said, ¡°Okay Memory. If you can fucking trap the spell in the cabinet, why don¡¯t you, you know, cancel it or dismiss it or get it out of me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that fucking easy. If I do that, then Lucifer will come to know. How will you fucking explain to him how you dispelled his spell?¡± Marcus tried to think of something but could not. Then he finally said, ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t think it is safe to just keep it on me, you know.¡± ¡°I am taking care of it.¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°I said I am fucking taking care of it.¡± Marcus shut up. There was an intensity in Memory¡¯s voice that Marcus had never heard before. Marcus looked at Memory carefully. There was no change in his expression. The same maniacal grin that he had seen before was still on Memory¡¯s face but his eyes showed a different message. Better not push him, thought Marcus, no idea what he would do. Aloud he said, ¡°Alright. I have confidence in you.¡± Memory clapped his hands and a loud bang echoed across the room, ¡°Well now that¡¯s settled. Now we come to the main fucking thing. What I want.¡± ¡°And what do you want?¡± ¡°I want you to go back to Una. Fuck the others if you have to. You have wasted so much fucking time on this planet. I fear your plan would fall apart if you idle your time here.¡± Marcus gaped at Memory. Then he said, ¡°Well, I would know if my plan was falling apart if I actually fucking remember what my plan was.¡± ¡°And I have fucking told you before, it is not your problem. It is mine. You go back to Una and gather information about the system there as I had told you before. No distractions now. I am getting a fucking feeling that we are running out of time. And you won¡¯t like it if you are running out of fucking time.¡± ¡°Well, how do I go back then? I have no idea.¡± ¡°You fucking idiot. Research on the circle that brought the adventurers from Una to Twarftha. Use library resources properly for once you fucking moron.¡± ¡°Alright¡±, nodded Marcus acknowledging Memory¡¯s idea, ¡°I will do that. But I am not going back without the others.¡± Memory gritted his teeth but did not say anything. They sat in silence for some time which surprised Marcus. ¡°Are we done?¡± Marcus asked finally. ¡°We are for now. Off you go Marcus Blank. Oh yes! One more fucking thing before you go. As soon as you reach Una, prioritize two things. Get the missing books from your book quest you received from The Librarians. And then finish your Luck quest.¡± ¡°What-¡± Marcus started to ask but Memory snapped his fingers. The next moment Marcus was whirled out of the office room and deposited not so gently on the bed. Marcus woke up. ¡°Fuck you Memory.¡±