《Savant Of The Empty Husk》 CHP 1 : A Scarlet Night Dallas, a modern metropolis that had been experiencing an economic boom for the past decade. Not only was the city charming it was declared the cultural hub of the region, and currently thousands of people were gathered on its streets. The city was full of laughter with people enjoying themselves as they took in the view of the parade that came once every three years. People gazed in wonder at the massive helium filled balloons of characters such as sport legend Bate Ruth, a cowboy, and a Tea-bone steak, while a marching band accompanied them. As they stared at these marvels in awe everyone was swept up in the festive atmosphere. Well almost everyone if you neglected to count a lone teenager sporting a black hoodie even in the blistering heat. The young adult stood at an impressive height of 187 centimeters tall, having a lean but muscular physique with jet black hair. He would have turned many heads if it wasn''t for the continues aloof expression he was emanating and dark brown eyes that seemed hollow. "Tsk, why did I even come here?" Although I asked my self this question, I already knew the answer. I had wanted to relive a memory of the past. A moment when I still felt something akin to joy, but seeing all the smiling faces and happy families, it just seemed so¡­. foreign. Like a soldier who after years of constant combat was returning to civilisation. Feeling uncomfortable and a distant sense of loss threatening to resurface, I became agitated as I quickly left the scene and went into a nearby coffee shop. Ordering a cup of black coffee from the female barista, I sat in a quiet corner so I could clear my mind, although the entire place was currently desolate with everyone attending the parade. Holding the cup of steaming brew, I took in its bitter aroma as I began pondering to waste time. "I have three hours until my flight leaves, I can''t just stay here the entire time. Should I visit the old spots mom and dad used to bring me?". Having thought of the Idea I immediately rejected it, knowing it would only cause me pain if I went. *Sigh* "I truly did not think this through". In truth I really didn''t, only two day''s ago I coincidentally heard about the Dallas parade on the news, even though I was busy preparing for University and still needed to buy a load of supplies I immediately scraped together the last bits of cash I had and managed to book a flight. I wasn''t broke but would have to live frugally this month, I was just thankful that I had scholarships so I didn''t have to pay for Uni at least. Although if I really had to guess Uni was probably the reason why I decided to visit now instead of all those years ago, It was your dream after all Mom and Dad. As I thought of them a small smile emerged on my face. Thinking about it I could still remember how my mom always used to say "Aeron Wharton you genius! You will definitely be the first in our family to go to university". Although my dad was never as direct, when the conversation would come up he would always beam with pride when looking at me, I also overheard him bragging to the other parents one time when he came to pick me up from school. Being an only child and seeing how proud they were of me I continued to study hard and always managed to stay at the top of my class, although university excited me, my main motivation was them. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Which was probably why when I had now accomplished their dream I did not feel the satisfaction I hoped for, instead I felt empty, as I would never be able to see proud look of my dad, or feel the warm hug my mother would have given me. If only that day never happened, they would''ve still... My smile now wiped away and feeling the downwards spiral I was treading on I quickly buried those thought''s and focused on something else. "Oh, my coffee''s cold" Feeling a bit regretful that the coffee I had paid 5 bucks for was now room temperature, I began drinking the smooth bitter liquid. Just as I was beginning to enjoy the taste a bright flash appeared in my vision. "Pfffttt" I Spat out my drink, as an unfamiliar voice appeared in my head along with strange words that began floating in front of me. [Congratulations you awakened the System!] [You can now access your status] Confused I looked to the barista about to ask if she had seen the same bizzare message, but was startled by the expression of fright on her face as she was staring outside. That was when I noticed that the room, previously well lit seemed darker, as if it was covered by a shade of Burgundy, looking outside I found out the reason. The sky had turned dark red. The once rowdy music and chatter from the parade were all but gone bringing a deathly silence, as the crowd looked up with some pointing at the swirling blood red sky. Soft whispers of fear began permeating the area, while a few children started sobbing although quietly as if being noisy would cause something terrifying to happen. "AAAAAHHHHHH" The silence was however quickly broken as a loud scream reverberated across the area, the scream created a chain reaction as the crowd began frantically moving in panic as if running away from something. Not sure what was happening I quickly ran outside of the shop and looked at what was causing such a commotion. Running against the crowd, I suddenly stopped my gaze fixed on the sight in front of me. Through the flashing images of people running past me despite directly staring at the scene, what my eyes saw, my brain refused to believe. A grotesque small humanoid green creature, for a lack of better words, was repeatedly stabbing the corpse of a woman with a crude dagger, as it did this it seemed to be grinning as it had a viscous and cunning glint in its eyes. Around the goblin other scenes of carnage were appearing with bright red cats as big as dogs clawing and ripping flesh out of people, and rabbits with seemingly sharp jagged horn''s piercing bodies. All around me I was hearing gun shots from people who took out their firearms, and although the bodies of the creatures were piling up, compared to the humans it was negligible. In the distance I could see the father of a little girl take out his hand gun and shoot one of the cat monsters that was about to pounce on an elderly woman. Being shot in its side the feline staggered for a moment as it growled in pain, but that was it as it now changed its target to its attacker. The man frantically pushed his child out of harms way and continued firing but with the monsters agile movements even after three more shots pierced its body none were lethal and the cat managed to jump on the man and rip his throat out before succumbing to its injuries. Having made her way back to her father the child no older then 10 was crying as she pulled his blood stained clothes, but the man obviously deceased stayed still. With the blood draining from my face I wanted to scream to the child to be quiet, but what I dreaded had already happened. The loud noise of the child had attracted unwanted attention, as a bunny with a blood stained horn was hopping in her direction, clearly having marked easy prey. The child unknowing of the danger was still crying as she seemed to be trying to wake her father up. Knowing what would happen if no one intervened my body moved on instinct running in a mad dash in her direction. "Why am I doing this?" "It''s dangerous? I could die?" "The rabbits already to close, I can''t make it in time" Although my head was filling up with such useless thoughts probably everyone had before doing something dangerous, my body refused to listen. Looking at the child weeping at the loss of her parent, with a pain I knew all to well.... I knew I had to help her. Realizing this I seemed to gain extra determination, with only three more meters to go I was so close. But the bunny already within attacking range had jumped into air with it''s horn pointing at the girl''s back. Time seemed to slow down around me with only a meter before the rabbit pierced the little girl, I used all the energy I had left and moved faster than ever before. Thirty centimeters before the rabbit''s attack landed my foot intervened, kicking the bunny in midair. Feeling like I had kicked a rock I looked at the rabbit as it soared through the air for a while, before tumbling a couple of meters across the ground crashing into one of the concrete road blocks of the parade. Thinking I had done quite a bit of damage to the bunny, my hopes were quickly crushed as it easily got up again, and shook its body from the accumulated dust like a wet dog. Looking at me with ferocious red eyes beaming with anger, although the monster was uninjured I no longer felt the sense of panic from before as I quickly grabbed the gun of the corpse of the child''s father. With the safety already being off, although I had never shot a gun before I had seen videos, all I had to do was aim and pull the trigger, so how hard could it be¡­. right? *Bang* My first shot missed. luckily I had expected the recoil and was able to quickly fire again, this time it hit the mark as the bullet pierced its head, instantly killing the beast. Feeling a sense of relief, It was dispelled when a strange message appeared again. [You have slain Lvl3 {Horned Rabbit}] CHP 2 : A Scarlet Night (2) [You have slain Lvl3 {Horned Rabbit}] Being interrupted from my short respite, I was perplexed by the message and wondered if it related to the earlier one, although dismissed that train of thought realising the dire situation I was in. "Snap out of it, now is not the time". Looking around me I saw pure devastation with people being eviscerated and slaughtered by creatures that seemed to flood endlessly from an unknown source, accompanied by the sound of explosions and smoke on the horizon, it truly looked like the end of the world. The parade balloons were no longer attached to the ropes that once held them instead calmly gaining altitude soon to be swallowed by the scarlet sky. Seeing the horde of monsters approaching I knew I had to act quick. The little girl seemed to have also somewhat realised the situation she was in, as she was staring in a daze continuously looking at her father and the approaching horde while tears were still streaming out of her eyes. Not wasting any time I picked up the girl, holding her in my left arm as my right held the gun and began running, following the crowd. Picking her up she began to struggle as she screamed, "Nooo PAPA! don''t leave my Papa behind!". Feeling sorry for the girl, and for what I was about to do, as I could not take the risk of her voice attracting any creatures. I looked her dead in the eye''s and with all seriousness said, "Kid, your father is Dead". Hearing those words, her eyes grew wide and her body became still. It appeared the realisation had finally dawned on her as she became quiet. Struck with guilt and a pang of pain in my heart I removed my gaze from the girl and looked forward, it seemed people were trying to run into any building they could find, which would have been a smart idea if not for the influx of people all trying to enter each building. "Shit". Seeing crowds of people trying to enter a skyscraper through one door as they were trampling over each other, it looked more like a death trap then a safe haven, especially when monsters were going to attack the ones stuck in the back pretty soon, creating even more panic and desperation among them. Seeing no option and one of the cat creatures approaching I quickly ran into one of the alley way''s and hid behind a dumpster and began to think. "Where can I go?, if I don''t hide quick I will definitely die, I can hide in the dumpster.... no that''s stupid, they always get found in movies, Think Aeron THINK". There were windows around me, I could have used those to enter inside but unfortunately they were all protected by iron bars. Just as I was beginning to lose hope I noticed something about 5 meters next to me, A Manhole! Thinking I had found my answer I quickly ran towards it, needing two hands I looked at the kid and asked with a much more considerate tone than before "Can you stand?". The girl nodded her head without speaking and I gently put her down. About to Open the Manhole, I was interrupted. *GROWL* Hearing the voice of the cursed cat again, I froze and looked behind me, not twenty meters away the cat was sniffing the ground seemingly following my scent. Having now spotted me it raised its head as it immediately started charging. With time being of the essence I opened the manhole and told the girl to quickly go down, but apparently still traumatised by what happened to her father she was frozen stiff in fear as she looked at the approaching monstrosity. Not getting though to her I hastily thought "I can''t abandon her, she is also clearly to traumatised to listen to anything I say, and if I have to carry her I can''t close the manhole, ahh whatever Fuck it". The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I held the gun in my mouth as I swiftly picked up the girl and used the stairs to descend into the sewage system with one arm. Reaching the bottom of the dark sewer, I could already see the red feline in my vision peering down about to leap after me. Having a free hand I held the gun that was between my teeth and as the cat jumped I quickly fired above, causing the sewer to be illuminated every time I shot. I seemed to have hit the beast a couple of times as the feline made an ugly landing although still alive, but before it could stand up again I walked up close to it, pointed the weapon at its face, seeing it''s ferocious Grey eyes filled with madness and hatred peering at me, I fired. As blood sprayed my and the girls face, the cats eyes grew dull. Feeling apologetic to the girl as I did not expect the blood to splatter as such I gently placed her down. Although from the looks of it the blood did not even register to her as she continued to stare motionlessly at the red feline. Seeing this somber scene, I decided to let her be for a minute as the manhole still needed to be closed. But reaching the first step of the ladder I heard the strange message again. [You have slain Lvl5 {Feral Cat}] [You Leveled Up] After the message I felt a sudden sense of invigoration wash over me, while both the physical and mental fatigue left my body. This sensation lasted only for a second before disappearing, although now I felt slightly different, as if I had been enhanced or something. Confused and a bit afraid by what just happened, I decided to first close the manhole, better to be safe before pondering about whether I am going crazy or not. Luckily their were no more monsters waiting for me above and I quickly closed it. Going down I found the girl still staring at the cat, not knowing what to do, and needing to sort myself out, I sat next to her as I began to think about the sudden invigorating feeling and weird messages I kept hearing. "So first of all I have supposedly awakened a system, and every time I kill a monster it gives me a message saying I killed one, I even gained a level! So either I am going bat shit crazy while the world is falling into an apocalypse, or I am imagining that too and have probably abducted a child, or the world has actually changed into some Fucked up RPG game". "So what should I choose, the crazy option or that all of this is actually real, well the crazy option would make sense especially with my mental state over the past few years... but even I don''t think I have such a creative mind to be able to imagine all this, also the feeling of when I leveled up felt very real so¡­ lets say I''m not going crazy". "And what was it again that the system said I awakened, wasn''t it called the..the.. Status, Yes! that was it". Just as I thought about it a screen magically appeared in front of my vision. _________ Name: Aeron Level: 1 (F) Class. None Skills: None Health: 222 Mana: 29 Strength: 5 , Agility 5 ,Vitality 3 Endurance: 4 ,Intelligence: 11 ,Sense: 2 USP: 4 _________ "Well Fuck me" Although I still did not know if I was going crazy or not, I thought this was probably pretty good prove that I wasn''t¡­. or not, I was still a bit undecided on that front. It seemed all my abilities were quantified into 6 numbers or stats, there was a class and skills, while I was level 1, although unsure of what "F" stood for, most of it made sense if the world had turned into an RPG. Although looking through my status a few things confused me, first of how could could there be such a huge discrepancy between the intelligence and all the rest of my stats, although I knew I was smart I wasn''t abnormally so, and I was not weak either compared to other men, so was this just the basic stats for humans? I didn''t know and would have to confirm with someone else, I could ask the little girl, but seeing the state she was in that should be done¡­later. The other thing that I was confused about was Mana and the Sense stat, although I knew Mana was normally referred to as magic, I did not know for sure and I had also not seen anything magical yet, although the sky did turn red and monsters suddenly popped up, so maybe there was Magic. The sense stat also confused me, what was it referring too? the 5 sense''s? the sixth sense? or maybe the sense of insight? I just did not know. The last thing that I was just not familiar with was what USP meant, it also had a value of 4 so it must do something, focusing on that stat again I suddenly saw the word USP shift to "Unallocated Status Points". Seeing the word change in front of me I somehow felt a bit uncomfortable, although pleased to know what it stood for, how did the system know I wanted an explanation for it? Seeing if I could get a explanation for the other stats as well I began to focus on them but this time nothing happened. Going back to the USP I was pretty sure that those were points I could ad to my stats, testing if my judgment was correct I thought of putting an extra stat into strength and just as I wished Strength changed from 5 to 6. Feeling the state of invigoration again although on a smaller scale I confirmed to myself that it worked, wanting to test a theory I had I tried allocating a point into Health and Mana but it seemed to be impossible. Realising something I allocated the rest of my points placing one in Vitality, Intelligence, and Sense. Having added them I found out that to increase health you had to put a point into vitality, increasing my HP by 122, from 222 to 342. While increasing Mana I thought would either happen through Intelligence or sense, with intelligence doing the trick, having increased it by 19. Sense on the other hand except for going from 2 to 3, I was still clueless about. Just as I was about to dwell longer on the mater, I noticed that the girl was no longer looking at the beast but had turned around and was staring at me. It seemed she had something to say. CHP 3 : Sewer Seeing the girl staring at me with piercing blue eyes, I finally realized I had never had a good look at her, perhaps because the situation had been so hectic. The kid had blond curly hair reaching her shoulders and blue eyes, her skin was pale white showing she was obviously not from Texas, as the ever present boiling sun demanded everyone to have tan skin. Unless they mostly stayed at home like me, but I doubted that was the case. Just as I figured I didn''t even know her name, and had been calling her kid all this time, she spoke. "Mister", she uttered in a strangely deadpan tone. Feeling uncomfortable by the sight of a child acting so unemotional. As if I knew that I wasn''t going to like what was about to be said, I answered apprehensively "Yes?". It seemed her gaze became even heavier as she asked, "If you defeated the big cat and survived, then¡­.. why did my papa die?". Stunned, I was unable to come up with an answer, leading the girl to ask me the same question again, but remaining silent she lost all pretence of stolidity, and started bawling heavily again as she began to repeatedly cry out "WHY DID MY PAPA HAVE TO DIE". Seeing the heartbreaking scene and not being very knowledgeable about these kinds of situations, I did the only thing I knew and went on my knees and embraced her into a tight hug, as I said to her "I am sorry". Although she continued crying, she stopped asking why her father died, and after few minutes seemingly overcome by the day''s fatigue, fell asleep. Lifting up her light and frail bodie, I was reminded at how powerless children were, and how the world always seemed to throw them in situations they had no right being in. *Sigh* "The worst things always happen to the powerless". Standing up while letting the kid sleep on my shoulder, I decided to search for shelter or some sort of safe area for today, my first thought was calling the police, however, checking my phone I realised I had no reception. Not knowing where to go I settled with following the river of manure flowing in the middle of the pathway, I also kicked the corpse of the cat into the river in the hopes no other creature would be attracted by the stench of the the corpse. While roaming the sewer and seeing no creatures I eventually decided to turn on the flashlight of my phone so I had better visibility, all the while trying to breath through my nose as little as possible, and staying vigilant for sudden attacks. .... After two hours of exploring I had made numerous twists and turns, and now stood in front of the most disgusting waterfall I had ever seen. The area ahead was a large circular area where 5 drainage rivers, similar to the one I was following, coalesced and torrented down into a deep pit. As a constant flow of green liquid cascaded down, the reverberating sound the water made could have being pleasant if wasn''t for the pungent smell of piss and shit mixed into it. The reeking odor seemed to be enhanced by the force the torrent was pouring out. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Even the kid in my arms was scrunching up her nose while sleeping, clearly expressing her disgust. Seeing the scene I couldn''t help but smirk as I said, "Well at least those cat''s won''t be able to sniff my scent from here". The reason why I hadn''t turned around and left the minute the sickening aroma assaulted me was because right before the waterfall a flimsy iron stairs stood about two meters in height leading to a little outpost of sorts. If it checked out I would use it as a base for tonight, as after the day''s events I was drained. Walking up the stairs I heard a dull metal echo with every step I took. Reaching the top, I was now face to face with a silver grey door, hoping it was open I turned the door knob only to be out of luck. Luckily the outpost had windows that oversaw the sewer. "No, I shouldn''t break those I still need to sleep here tonight" Coming up with another Idea I decided to just kick down the door, although it looked quite sturdy being made of an metallic alloy, it must have been installed ages ago as it looked old. Using the maximum amount of force I had, I kicked at the door. As my foot and the door collided. "BOOM" The door immediately flung wide open, and seemed to have almost come of its hinges. Stunned by my actions, I didn''t move for a while, until I was reminded of the system and that I had increased my strength. "That was... quite powerful" Realizing my kick had made quite a loud sound even with the cascading waterfall I quickly walked into the room and closed the door, well as far it could be closed as it was now permanently unlocked. Seeing the room I confirmed it was indeed an outpost, with a control center inside containing aperture such as a few levers and a whole lot buttons that likely controlled the sewage system in some sort of way. Their was also a Radio and a landline PHONE! In front of the aperture stood one reclining office chair that seemed pretty comfortable, while two wooden chairs were stacked on top of each other in a corner, probably used as replacements. Reclining the office chair, I gently put the sleeping child on it. After that I grabbed one of wooden ones and put it at a slight angle against the door, making it act as a barricade, or at least an alarm should someone try to enter. Having made sure the area was secure, I walked over the control station and picked up the phone. The phone was a bit special, as only 3 lines were available seeing from the buttons next to it. The number I could call were TX Sewage management, TX Sewage CT, and 911. After pressing each button and waiting for a while I was repeatedly met with static noise from the other line. Seeing that the phone did not work, I sighed as I decided to turn my attention to the radio. The model was rather old, or at least to me as I had actually only seen them on the internet, their were two big buttons you could turn with one being for volume and the other for frequency, their were also multiple buttons you could press, but I had no idea what their function was. Turning on the radio, it seemed I was in luck as I heard the voice of the president statically on the news. Trying to get a better connection I changed the frequency button until the message was at least somewhat audible. "Dear.. itizens¡­.we hav..being¡­.attac¡­unknown threat¡­we u.. you all to stay¡­ inside¡­the military has being mobo¡­. and is figh¡­ threath¡­.the incident seems to¡­ happening globally... Dea.. citizens¡­.we have..ing¡­.attac¡­unknown". Realizing it was just a repeating message I turned off the radio. "Useless, absolutely useless", Having heard it my face was slightly aghast as I realised I was completely fucked, although the military seemed to be fighting, that wasn''t very comforting as they did not even stipulate if they were winning, had save zones, or anything of the like, it was more likely for the army to still be in disarray. And locking yourself in your house wasn''t much of advise other than giving you some false sense of security before a monster would suddenly enter it¡­ then it would be nothing more than a cage. And the last piece of news was especially troublesome that the incident seemed to be happening across America, no on a global scale, this not only meant that no aid would arrive, but most concerning of all would be the death toll, if the USA was already struggling with the monsters than other weaker countries could be entirely wiped out. Although this piece of news was disconcerting I did not dwell on it for to long, although a bit irritated that there was no help for now, that many people would die I couldn''t feel much about it, it was not like there was anyone I cared about, and either way I could do nothing to change the situation. I also had more important things to worry about such as bringing this girl to safety. As I sat on the wooden chair and contemplated what I should do tomorrow, I slowly drifted off to sleep. CHP 4 : Sewer (2) "tic tic tic tic tic tic tic" I was awoken by a strange sound. Opening my eyes what greeted me was a metallic ceiling, along with an aching pain in my back as I slept uncomfortably on the rigid wooden chair. Being reminded of what sort of situation I was in, I quickly turned towards the noise, only to find a disgusting looking gray rat tapping on the window with its tiny paws, seemingly wanting to get in. "Phew, I am lucky I didn''t break the windows yesterday". Giving myself some props, I checked the time on my phone. 7:25 AM "Oh, it''s morning now", with the sun being unable to reach down in the sewers, my only sense of time was my phone, but seeing it only had one third of its battery usage left I knew I couldn''t use it wantonly. Standing up to shoe away the rat, I accidentally moved my chair causing a squeaky noise to be heard. Although not to loud it was enough to wake up the sleeping princess. As she slowly opened her eyes, she had a confused expression. "Uhh, whe, where am I?". Seeing me, she initially looked frightened and on the verge of tears, as it looked like she was abducted and trapped in a strange room with an unknown man. But moments later she remembered what happened yesterday and became eerily quiet. Initially afraid I would have to deal with a crying kid again, I was relieved when I saw that she stayed silent. Seeing how she was still traumatized by her fathers death, I sighed as I sat down on the chair directly in front of her and began asking the questions I couldn''t yesterday. in a calm voice I said, "So kid, well, mind telling me your name?" The girl stayed still, not wanting to talk as she continued to look down at the ground, but after a long few seconds she said quietly, "Lily". Happy that I even got a response I continued asking " Lily, well that is very¡­. pretty name, so where is your mother?". As I asked the question she raised her head and looked at me as she said in a barely audibly whisper, "Mommy is in New York". I was initially hesitant to ask this question as I didn''t know if she had also lost her mother during the previous attack, but hearing her response I was relieved. Although now another dilemma faced me. Okay, New York, that only like what a fucking three HOUR FLIGHT FROM HERE! Even though those were my thoughts, when the girl asked me, "Are you going to bring me back to Mommy?". I immediately responded by saying "Of course". Afterwards she became a bit more talkative and we continued conversing. From the conversation I found out that Lily was 9 years old, and lived in New York. She came to Dallas Texas as her father was from here and wanted her to experience the parade, her mother was also supposed to come but due to a work complication she had to pull out at the last minute. From what I could gather it seemed Lily had thrown quite the tantrum about it. Seeing that she was in a better mood, I told her of the plans I had today. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. "Mister, s-s-so are leaving me behind?", Lily asked, scarred that I would leave her. The reason¡­ well I had just told her that I would go to a nearby man-o-hole to check if the situation above ground was safe yet. Although I doubted the military had been to this area, otherwise I felt like my sleep wouldn''t have been this peaceful. But anyways I told Lily to stay here to make sure that she was safe, and wouldn''t suddenly be attacked when I checked above ground. Although she was against staying, she understand the reason and eventually agreed. "Lily, close the door behind me by putting the chair under the door knob okay" "Okay" Walking out the door, I looked through the window to make sure Lily followed my instructions, seeing how she clumsily completed the task and after looked at me in nervousness, I smiled at her while I said "I''ll be back in ten minutes". Descending down the stairs the smile I had was erased from my face, as I thought ''Even though leaving a kid who just lost her father alone might not be the best way for treating her trauma, I had no choice, she is safer in the outpost''. I had also thought of giving Lily the gun, but seeing that she probably didn''t know how to use it and she was relatively safe in the outpost, it would be better if I held onto it, especially since I would have no weapon otherwise. After five minutes of Walking through the sewage system I reached a ladder ascending to above ground. "It looks like the sewers are pretty safe", I thought as I climbed up. Reaching the top I slightly pushed up the metallic plate, so I could peek at the outside, once I opened it, seeing that I was in the middle of an shopping square I looked around for a second, then immediately closed it. "Nope" The situation outside.. was even worse than yesterday, during the glimpse I spotted hundreds of bunnies moving in a pack as they hopped over and feasted on corpses, while a pair of cats were paroling the streets all the wile the laughter of goblins was faintly heard. Going down I made up my mind as me and Lily had to get out of here. Although the sewers were safe for now it was only a mater of time before it too became invested with monsters. Making a plan I eventually decided to use the sewers to get to the edge of the city and from there make a beeline for a forest, hoping that the monsters stayed to the city. Feeling as if time was running out I hurriedly made my was to the outpost, their I told Lily that we had to leave, and since we had nothing to pack after checking the radio again and hearing the same static message we left immediately. Walking though the sewers with Lily next to me it seemed she could sense the danger or was just frightened because of the dark. "M.Mister I am scarred" Feeling a bit bad for her and thinking I was about to make a mistake I gave her my phone so she could use the flashlight. "Here, now it shouldn''t be so dark anymore". "Um, Mister.. can I hold your hand?". "???" Knowing it would limit my mobility and feeling a bit uncomfortable I first wanted to say no. But relented and reluctantly agreed as I saw how she was shaking a little out of fear, I could hold the gun in my other hand anyways. And like this we explored the sewers looking for a path to exit the city. After twenty minutes we luckily came across a map of the sewer, it was printed against one of the walls, seeing it I realized that the sewer indeed ended close to a forest, but we had taken a few wrong turns as we were now closer to the south side of Dallas instead of the north where the forest began. I couldn''t lament for long, so I asked Lily to take a picture of the map as we continued on our way, this time following the correct path. After thirty minutes of walking through the maze we made it two thirds of the way. *Rumble* It seemed I was hungry as my stomach began making sounds, protesting against the fact that the last meal I had was yesterday in the morning. It was then that I realized Lily must also have been hungry, but understanding the situation we were in she stayed quiet. ''She is a good kid'', I thought. Just as I was about to ask her if she was hungry, I heard a unusual sound. "Pat, pat" "Pat, Pat, Pat" "Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat" I sounded like an object was repeatedly pounding a wet floor, and as time passed it was steadily getting louder. About to ask Lily if she heard the same thing, she let go of my hand and pointed to the cross road ahead. "Mister, look light is coming from that direction". As I was looking at Lily I failed to notice this detail, but turning my head I found out what the sound belonged to, and it sounded like people running. And then my suspicion was confirmed. "RUN RAYA, LEAVE HER BEHIND!" "BUT BROTHER IF WE DO SHE Will DIE" "IF WE HELP WE WILL DIE" The people who were shouting against each other were siblings, I saw how they just passed the T Junction ahead of us. If they had continued running straight ahead they would have just passed us. But unluckily the flashlight of the phone Lily was holding was a dead give away, and the girl had spotted us. "Brother look over there, Hey please HELP US!!". Even though she said that they were not give us much of a choice as they were already heading in our direction. "Tsk" I was annoyed as they were pretty much leading us into their problem, if I was alone I wouldn''t have cared, but now I was protecting a little girl. I was tempted to say "Deal with your own problems", but knowing that wouldn''t change anything I refrained from doing so. Preparing to pick Lily up and dash away, I stopped in my tracks when I heard a desperate yell coming from around the corner, likely coming from the person they had left behind. Gritting my teeth and frowning heavily, I knew I had already made my choice. CHP 5 : Sewer (3) The sibling duo had by now reached us and were standing in front of us heavily panting, seeing the gun in my hand they had relieved expressions. Although it was a bit hard to discern, with both completely covered in filth, likely from falling into the sewage. Hearing the screams of the person they had left behind in the background, I asked In a annoyed tone " What are you running from?". The girl answered, " I..I.I think it is a goblin, you know one of those small green creatures". "How many?" "Wh-What?" "How many FUCKING GOBLINS ARE CHASING YOU?" "Ohh, just one", she said timidly after I lost my patience and spoke my last words harshly. Her brother looked at me a bit strangely but ultimately decided to keep quiet. After my outburst I sighed looked at Lily and said softly " I have to go for a little while okay". It seemed like she wanted to say something but before she could, I turned around looked at the siblings who seemed to be a few years older than me and said, "Protect the girl, if I don''t manage to defeat the goblin take her and run, she knows the route to a safe place". Both widened their eyes as I sprinted past them running in the direction I last heard the screams come from. Turning around the corner I found the girl, she had dropped her phone illuminating the scene of being pushed down by a goblin. It was smiling lecherously with both hands on a dagger raised above his head, about to be thrust into the girls throat. Meanwhile the girl whose arms were pushed down by its legs was screaming "NO, NOO SOMEONE HELP, HELP ME PLEASE!". It seemed her desperate pleas made the goblin smile grow wider and more wicked, as it licked its lips. Meanwhile I quickly lifted the gun and aimed at its head. And just when it noticed me I pulled the trigger. BANG As the distance wasn''t far the bullets aim shot true and hit the goblin. Squelch The goblin recoiled backwards as the bullet penetrated its temple making it loosen its grip on the girl allowing her to escape and run in my direction. Seeing that the girls face and clothes were also covered in grime, it seemed she had also taken a dip into the manure river. So perceiving the sight of her crying while trying to thank me by shaking my hand, made me shudder as I quickly pulled back. "Thank you so Mu.." And just as she was about to thank me I interrupted her. "You should run to your friends behind the corner" "W-Why?" "Because the battle isn''t over". To my response the girl eyes widened as she immediately looked behind her. And there stood the goblin, it gave of a dreadful aura as he stared at me and the girl with bloodshot eyes while the center of its head had a trail of blood trickling down. The girl who was previously assaulted seemed to be out of it as she stood frozen until I again told her to go. "You should run now". Hearing my words the girl turned to my direction thanked me again and then ran off, leaving me alone to face off against the goblin. "GI GI!" Seeing that its prey was leaving the goblin was enraged as it charged towards us at a inhumane speed. Although fast my reaction speed seemed to be just enough to fire another bullet in its direction luckily hitting its knee. "Gi?" The bullet although not having done allot of damage stopped the goblin in its tracks, as it was now observing me with a contemplative gaze as if not understanding how it was getting injured. Then after a few seconds of standoff, it took another step forward prompting me to shoot again, but this time it quickly raised its dagger in front of its head where I was aiming and deflected the bullet. *Ting* As I saw the bullet falling from the dagger the goblin was holding I had a dumbfounded look on my face and thought ''What the actual fuck.'' As I was contemplating how it managed to deflect a bullet, the goblin on the other hand began grinning as it continued running at me quickly closing the distance. Unable to react in time to defend my self, it punched me in the chest, sending me hurtling into the wall, slightly cracking the brick stones from the impact. Feeling like I had broken something, before I could open my eyes I let out a scream as I felt a gut rendering pain coming from my right side, and when I looked I found the goblins dagger fully submerged into my waist. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. "GHi GHi GHi" Seen the goblin laughing at the pain I was experiencing I felt Incensed, however I couldn''t stop myself from forming a thin smirk on my lips as blood leaked out of my mouth. Seeing my expression the goblin had a confused gaze, only making my grin grow wider until I was genuinely smiling for the first time in ages. Now laughing I asked the goblin a question "Have you ever heard the saying, never bring a knife to a GUN FIGHT?" "Gi?" Seemingly even more confused, I did not give the goblin time to think as I spat the gathered blood in my mouth in its face temporarily blinding it, and using that chance to raise the gun I managed to hold onto, and shot it three times at the exact same location in its left chest. BANG! BANG! BANG! As the scent of gunpowder assaulted my nostrils and I began being covered in a warm liquid I new the bullet had managed to pierce the goblins defense. The fact was only enhanced by the goblin stumbling backwards and looking at me with a horrified expression before falling on its back, starting to cough up blood while its breathing became ragged. This was the result I expected after having punctured its lungs with the bullet, making it drown on its own blood. Managing to stand up with great strain I walked over to its body. Standing above the goblin and staring at its eyes that were becoming hollow I couldn''t help but notice how they were beginning to reminisce mine. "Should this be some sort of personal life lesson or something?" Unable to come up with anything and beginning to feel dizzy I aimed the gun at its eye, pretty sure that was still made of soft tissue and pulled the trigger. *Click* But nothing happened as all the bullets were used up. "Huh, guess I used all the bullets". A bit regretful that I couldn''t kill it immediately I stumbled backwards and sat against the wall, resigned to watch the goblin die in front of me. laying down, I was reminded of the people around the corner and somehow found the strength to yell "Hey! You guy''s can come out now". Initially I heard no movement and thought they had ran off without me, which would be pretty understandable, heck if I was in their situation I would have done the same, or wait actually I wouldn''t hence my current state. ''I am quite stupid aren''t I''. And what was worse about this situation was that I didn''t even feel fulfilled about having protected those people at all. Although I did feel a little better knowing the kid was save, which was the actual reason that I attacked the goblin, as the goblin was blocking our path to the north side anyway''s and it was better to attack it while it was distracted by somebody else. I also genuinely smiled again, which was nice, It had been a long time since that happened. So maybe this was for the best, I don''t feel particularly sad at the thought of death either, although a bit regretful that I couldn''t fulfil my parents wish but otherwise¡­..It sounded quite peaceful. As I was accepting my death, I was shaken out of that thought by a little girls scream, "Mister are you Okay!". The group was running towards me, with only Lily immediately approaching me after the others spotted that the goblin was still breathing, but after a short moment of hesitation still decided to approach although keeping a wary eye on the dying creature. Seeing their expressions I said, "Don''t worry, its choking to death on its own blood right now". The news didn''t seem to relieve there concern as their gazes were now focused on me instead of the goblin. Lily and the others seeing me up close were naturally shocked, with my body being covered in blood, having a dagger stuck in my waist and blood still trailing from the corner of mouth, I looked anything but fine. Even I had to admit that I was in a pathetic state, which was quite sad especially since I had only been attacked twice by the goblin. But wanting to seem tough in front of the kid I lifted my thumb up and said "I am okay, ''Cough''". While saying that I was fine I seemed to have coughed up some blood that was blocking my airway. Lily seeing this eye''s widened before she fainted. ''Huh, for the second time, whats up with this kid?''. Finding it strange that she fainted again, the others meanwhile were extremely surprised and Raya, I think was what her brother called her, managed to scoop her up before she fell. Looking at the child with concern I decided to say my peace, "You guy''s should leave me behind". After that everyone looked at me in silence, my reasoning was pretty obvious as currently I was in no state to move, if I did I would die of blood loss or at least significantly slow them down and with enemies roaming the sewers they had to get out of here as fast as possible. The others naturally also understood this but still decided to rebuke my plea by saying "There is now way we are leaving you behind, You risked your life for us!". "Yeah, at the very least we could bring you to safety". Lastly the girl who was assaulted by the goblin also chimed in, "I owe my life to you, let me repay my debt". Hearing those words I was about to make it clear that I would likely die in a couple of minutes, but before I could, I heard the faint sound of sickening laughter and footsteps. "Heh, I guess you guys have no choice now". "What, Why?". "More goblins are coming". After my statement all the people looked at me in shock, and the guy asked "How, do you know?". "I heard them and besides if I move I will die anyways, so you guys need to run away now with Lily. If you guy''s continue heading straight and turn left at the first junction, and then keep on moving straight, you guys will be at the edge of the city from where you can make a run for the forest". Just when Raya wanted to say something they too began hearing the sound of goblins. Knowing they had no option the trio hesitantly looked at me, in response I plastered a fake smile on my face and said "You don''t have to feel guilty this is my own decision". Seeing my resolve and with time running out they had no other choice but to leave me behind, but before leaving they all thanked me for what I had done while having down trodden expressions on their faces. Seeing the group about to leave I recalled something , "Before you guy''s go I have one request, if you guys manage to return to civilization could you inform the authorities of my death and¡­ask them to bury me next to my parents". Hearing this each of them had different expressions on there faces from sad, to sorrowful, while the guy seemed to be angry although not at me. The girl I had saved then quickly responded through stifled breath, "I promise it will be done, so what is your name?" Oh yeah totally forgot I never introduced myself, " My name is Aeron, Aeron Wharton". After saying my name the girl turned around and quietly said thank you again before running off prompting the other to also thank me again before running after her. Seeing them disappearing to my right I sighed as I turned my attention to my left, from where I could make out the faint outline of 4 goblins traveling in my direction. Looking at the goblin I had defeated, its breathing was now dangerously slow, I grinned as I said to it, "Guess were both dying to day buddy". The charging goblins not that far away from me were now able to see me and targeted me. Seeing the sight I used all the strength I had left and managed to stand up, while a solemn smile came over my face as I pulled the dagger out of my waist causing a flood of blood to gush out of the wound. But I did not care as the goblins were now a dozen meters from me and I at least wanted to wound one of them. But it seemed I had underestimated my current state as the blood loss was making me feel woozy, so before I could even react a goblin was already next to me, its knife a blur as its blade neared my temple. With the knife poised to strike, just as its tip was a mere centimeter away from piercing my skull. I disappeared. "Gi?" The goblin left confused as its knife hit nothing but air, called over its friends to look for his vanished opponent, but all they found was their dead comrade killed by a small hole in its chest. While the goblins were looking around, the last thing that I remembered before blacking out was few strange messages. [You have slain Lvl18 {Goblin}] [You have slain an E rank opponent while being F rank] [Extra experience will be granted] [You Leveled UP] [You Leveled UP] [You Leveled UP] [You Leveled UP] [Ding- you reached LVL 5] [You will now be transported to the {Class Trial}] CHP 6 : Trial ''Did¡­did I die?'', waking up that was the first thought that plagued my mind. With the last thing I remembered being the sharp edge of a blade nearing my temple, it was the only logical conclusion. Although I had to say, even though I was encompassed by darkness I didn''t feel particularly... deceased, as far as I could tell I was still breathing, my limbs still functioned and touching the rest of my body, I confirmed that I was in one piece. The only oddity, excluding the darkness, was that all my injuries and fatigue from the previous battle had disappeared. Almost if the battle never happened, if not for the hole in the side of my shirt prove that I had being stabbed, I would have probably believed this all to be a dream. Just as I was beginning to further question the state of my existence, I heard a message from the system. [Congratulations on reaching Lvl 5! You have being transported to the {Class Trial}] [Congratulations on being in the first 0.8% of awakened too reach Lvl 5] [Your time limit in the {Class Trial} is increased by 50%] [Trial panel has being added to the system] Quickly opening the system I was confronted with two tabs, one named Status and the other simply called Trial. Already knowing what Status stood for I focused on the Trial page. ______________ [Trial panel] Duration: 14 days & 23:58:23 Objective: Survival Final Reward: {Skill} or {Class} ______________ As I perused through the panel I felt slightly underwhelmed by the lack of information, although it did confirm a few things with the biggest one being that I was alive, and that I had been teleported before the goblins dagger could reach me. What came as a pleasant surprise though was that I now knew I was not the only one to receive the system, with me being in the top 0.8% and all, and that I had reached Lvl 5, I had an inkling of the reason but to confirm I checked the system messages. [You have slain Lvl18 {Goblin}] [You have slain an E rank Goblin while being F rank] [Extra experience will be granted] [You Leveled UP] [You Leveled UP] [You Leveled UP] [You Leveled UP] [Ding- you reached LVL 5] ''Hah, so that bastard died before me and was apparently a higher rank, actually... how many ranks are there?''. I now knew there was an F and E rank with the latter being a higher rank according to the system. If we would be going by the common game trope then the ranks would likely go from F>D>C>B>A>S, but seeing as there was an E rank after F, I was just guessing at what the next rank could be. Realising that thinking about it wouldn''t give me any answers I decided to leave it, and although I was still unsure how to feel at the thought of not dying when I had already accepted my death, I also did not ponder on it for long finding it redundant. Its not like I was suicidal, but more like the state of my existence didn''t have a great importance to me. In life I just followed the motto,"If I live I live, If I die I die", was it a bit depressing¡­. maybe, but after living the last few years like that you get used to it. So now that I am still breathing and kicking I decided to just focus on the trial ahead of me, hoping it would be as entertaining as the battle with the goblin. Minus the part of getting stabbed, which might go against what I just said about the state of my existence not mattering, but come on, no one enjoys getting stabbed! unless their a masochist. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Deciding to focus on something else, I finally looked at my status too see how it had changed with four extra levels. _______ Name: Aeron Level: 5. (F) Class. None Skills: None Health: 832 Mana: 124 Strength: 10 , Agility 9 ,Vitality 8 Endurance: 8 ,Intelligence: 16 ,Sense: 7 USP: 16 _______ Thinking back, I hadn''t opened the window since I had leveled up, and it sure had grown. with all my stats receiving a huge boost mostly doubling except for intelligence as it was already pretty high. I could confirm that with every level I got all my stats would increase by 1 with my Endurance that was 4 at level one, having gone up to 8. The stat that saw the biggest increase would be the sense stat, as technically it was at 1 before I got the system so it had increased by 700% too 7. Even though it was the stat with the biggest increase I couldn''t tell the difference, probably because there was no real stimulus for the senses around me except the cold somewhat jagged ground, or because it had some other hidden function. Looking at the 16 USP, I decided to allocate them. I could wait and utilize them when I needed it in a battle, however I did not want to be attacked by a monster again without having the reflexes to react, like what happened with the goblin. Then saving up the points would be more than useless, so after a bit of contemplating my status looked like this. _______ Name: Aeron Level: 5. (F) Class. None Skills: None Health: 1076 Mana: 124 Strength: 13 , Agility 16 ,Vitality 10 Endurance: 10 ,Intelligence: 16 ,Sense: 9 USP: 0 _______ After allocating my stats my status had again seen a major development, with me dumping most of them into agility and strength. With this build I would be fast enough to react and strong enough to actually damage monsters. In the other stats I had put 2 each as I didn''t know which one to prioritise. The only stat I neglected was intelligence as so far all I knew was that it increased Mana which was useless to me as I did not know how to use it. Satisfied with my choice, I finally took the time to take in my surroundings, although it was mostly dark, after standing up and looking behind me I could see a faint flicker of light in the distance. Heading towards it I became increasingly aware of my location. ''A dark and dreary place, thick humidity making it difficult to breath, and the faint sound of water dripping to the ground, I am definitely in a cave'', and just as I had thought as I made my way over to the light I found a torch illuminating the wall, displaying the passage of a cave in all its dull gray glory. The cave was about two meters wide and three meters tall with the walls lined with torches, illuminating the stalactites on the ceiling, along with the further ends of the tunnels, as if it were providing directions for me to pursue. knowing I would have to follow the torches to get out of here, I decided to grab one of them, using it as a makeshift weapon would I come upon any creatures. Feeling somewhat prepared, I cautiously followed the trail of fire. ...¡­.. It didn''t take long until the passage led me to encounter my first enemy. The enemy in front of me like with the goblins was a familiar one you would often encounter in MMORPG Games or most fantasy games, although I never really played them they were so popular practically everyone knew about them. And the monster in front of me was definitely what they called a slime. Being about the size of a basketball, and made out of a light blue gelatinous substance making it see through, it seemed to literally be a ball jelly as its oval shape was slowly moving in my direction. And when I say it was slow, I meant SLOW as it was moving at a walking pace. For a while now I had continued to withdraw keeping a good three meters distance between me and the slime, the reason being. "How do I kill it?" Although the slime appeared to be a pathetically weak enemy I had no idea how to attack it, as its body didn''t seem to have any organs or weak spots, I also doubted blunt damage would do the trick. The fire of the torch also didn''t bother it, as after I waved it threateningly a couple of times it still kept approaching me. Getting frustrated I eventually decided to just engage it in battle hoping I would somehow be able to defeat. Closing the distance for the first time I put the torch in front of me in a defensive position in case the slime did anything unexpected. Which turned out to be the right course of action as after I was about a meter away from the slime it suddenly jumped at me. Although the jump was fast and unexpected I had enough time to react and swatted the slime like a baseball against the cavern wall, after that I quickly approached it and began continuously pounding it with the torch. After a minute or so I realised I was getting nowhere, although much of the slime''s body was splattered across the cave, after a while as if sentient all those pieces would crawl back to it main body. I could keep beating it with the stick but I was already getting tired, all the while the torch would probably break with the wood already visibly blackening, as it turned out the slime was acidic. The only positive was that the slime didn''t jump at me again, likely because it was injured in some sort of way. Just as I was thinking of abandoning this battle, I noticed something in the body of the slime, because my torch''s fire was extinguished after the first clash, I failed to notice a glint in the middle of the slime''s body. This detail would have evaded me if not for the slime being significantly smaller than before, but now that I focused on it I could make out that it was a small blue marble, a slightly lighter blue shade than the slime. Seeing this as my chance I used all my power and pierced the body of the slime with the butt of the torch hitting the blue marble and making it exit the slime. As the marble rolled on the floor, the slime transformed into a blue puddle, while I heard the system. [You have slain Lvl 2 {SLIME}] Having defeated my first foe I grabbed the marble it had dropped and a new torch while progressing deeper into the cave. CHP 7 : Slime cave Studying the small marble, I became vexed. A strangely warm aura was radiating from the orb. The sensation was likely the cause of some sort of bizarre energy inside, but unable to access or understand it, I was left blank. Thinking it could be important, I decided to pocket it for now and continued ahead. Moving through the cave system, I soon encountered two more slimes. Knowing their weaknesses already, it didn''t take long to defeat them. [You have slain Lvl 2 {SLIME}] [You have slain Lvl 2 {SLIME}] Unsatisfied by the easy fight, I was about to head deeper until a magical scene appeared before my eyes. One of the slimes that had transformed into a puddle began being surrounded by white specks of light, slightly illuminating the surroundings. The light continued to build in intensity until a blue whip magically appeared in place of the slime. Shocked by what I just witnessed, I cautiously picked up the whip. The handle, like regular ones, was made of black leathery material. The strange part, however, was the loop which seemed to be made out of the same viscous substance as the slime. My first thought was that it was made out of gelatine, but further inspection proved it was a tough material, although it felt slippery and cold to the touch. Trying it out, the whip made a nice crackling sound whenever fully extended, and its reach was about one and a half meters. Having fun swinging it around, I continued my journey through the cave. ...¡­. 5 hours later. Having defeated countless more slimes with ease, especially due to the whip, which, although couldn''t penetrate the slime''s core at the center of its body, was very efficient at severing smaller portions and keeping other slimes at bay, making it quick work for the torch to take out their cores. And yes, I decided to call the blue marbles "cores," thinking it was a better name for them, and technically it made sense as without them they simply ceased to exist. I also stopped collecting them. After I had defeated ten and still saw no use for them, I couldn''t be bothered to pick them up. During my exploits, I had also found the theme of this cave, realizing that the deeper I went, the stronger the slimes became, as previously I had defeated a group of Lvl 4 slimes. Individually, there was not much difference between a level 2 and 4 slime except that they became slightly bigger and moved somewhat faster. Only when they ganged up in groups did a serious increase in risk become apparent, as it became progressively more difficult to avoid them. Don''t get me wrong, with my speed and reflexes, I could still smoothly evade them, but it became troublesome when they started sneak attacking from the ceiling. That''s why I now had a slight burn mark on my forearm. It happened after one of them suddenly fell from the ceiling while I was dealing with another slime. Luckily, I was able to spot it in time before it fell on my face, but I couldn''t avoid it and was forced to block by raising an arm. After that, I was always on the lookout for surprise attacks, not feeling comfortable unless I had checked the cave''s ceiling twice, which may be a bit paranoid, but the same attack never worked again! Through all my battles, I had also come to the realization that I wasn''t leveling up. Although it could be due to all the slimes being a lower level than me, I thought it had more to do with the trial than anything else. But I digress, and going back to the topic of the slimes getting stronger, my suspicion was confirmed by the scene currently playing out in front of me. In the center of a wide cavern, five slimes were bobbing their bodies up and down while circling another slime that was four times as large as them, standing at over a meter tall. The movement of the slimes either indicated they were performing a weird ritual or were worshiping their king. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. I wasn''t spotted yet as I hadn''t stepped into the cavern and was instead hiding, observing them from a small passageway. "I knew it! You ninjas won''t get me today." The reason for my outburst was that I had spotted two more slimes on the cave''s ceiling, just waiting to fall on unsuspecting prey. Having scouted the area ahead and feeling pretty confident, I walked into the open with a whip in my left hand and a torch in my right. The reason for my confidence: until now, only the first battle had me work up a sweat, and that was because I didn''t know where its core was, but after that, it became easy. Even the wound on my forearm was only because I got careless. So now that I was facing a new threat, I was looking forward to it, hoping it could give me some excitement. Having alerted the monsters, they started making their way in my direction, with the fastest one of them being their king. Instead of dragging itself over the floor like the others, it went straight into jumping, achieving over two meters of airtime with every hop. Finding the sight slightly ridiculous looking, when the slime king jumped again about to pounce on me, I sidestepped. After 5 hours of battling slimes, I didn''t want to brag, but I had become an expert at predicting and avoiding their movements, especially since they only moved in a straight line. As I watched the blob fly past me, bringing an air current that rustled my hair, I thrusted out with the torch aiming for the core in its middle, feeling more resistance than usual I had to use a bit of extra power, but other than the initial struggle not much changed. About to sigh at the disappointment of this skirmish, just as I was about to hit its core, the core moved. "Huh?" Before I could process what happened from my peripheral vision, I spotted something falling down. Quickly disengaging, I swatted another slime that was jumping at me from the ground, while I extended my left hand cracking the whip and making it hit the slime that was dropping from above. Unexpectedly because of the force of my attack and the speed the slime was falling at, the whip managed to penetrate the slime''s body and luckily hit its core, making it explode like a pi?ata in midair. Marveling at my own work, I quickly remembered that falling towards me wasn''t candy but a bunch of acid and rolled to the side. Dodging most of the sludge, some splatters still fell on me, slightly sizzling my skin. The pain was negligible and I couldn''t worry about it either as the slime king leaped at me again, although it was significantly faster than normal slimes, its jump was quite predictable so avoiding it wasn''t difficult as long as you focused. Just as I attacked the king again thinking that the last time might have been a fluke, the core moved again, and then before I could move the torch out, as if waiting for this moment it shot out a tentacle in my direction. Surprised by the sudden move, I used the whip and sliced off the tentacle. Piercing a slime''s body was too much for the whip to handle, but something as thin as a tentacle was no problem. After the attack, with the torch still stuck in the king''s body, silence descended on the battlefield. Looking at the slime king with a dumbfounded expression, I asked, "Was that your special move?" "??_??" "Cough, that''s sad." "( ????? )" Even though I didn''t receive an answer, I could somehow tell how it was feeling and decided to continue the battle (for its sake). Yanking the torch out of its body, I quickly ducked as a regular slime soared over my head. When it landed, I sprinted towards it before taking out its core. After that, the battle continued in much the same monotone fashion with me basically ducking and weaving between the slimes, all the while kiting the king away and slicing its tentacles so I could take out its lackeys one by one. In the end, only the king was alive as the pesky thing refused to get its core hit. Having just killed the last regular slime, who was coincidentally also camping on the ceiling, I again saw a magical scene appear as in the place of its corpse, another whip appeared. Casting away the torch whose wood had already been partly dissolved, I looked at the king slime with a deadpan expression as it was hopping towards me. "This is going to take a while," my plan, too whittle away at the slime until almost nothing was left. Engaging the king in battle, I began furiously attacking, lashing at such a pace that only a furious torrent of afterimages and the sound of the whip slicing through air could be heard. ¡­. 15 minutes later. Having chipped away at the slime faster than its body could regenerate, it was now 1/3 the size of a regular slime, making it small enough for the whip to cut straight through, without having enough space to move its core around. But just to be sure, I attacked with both of them, slicing in half the king''s core. As the king imploded into a puddle, I heard the relieving sound of the system, as I fell to the ground in utter exhaustion. [You have slain Lvl 5 {SLIME}] [You have slain Lvl 5 {SLIME}] [You have slain Lvl 5 {SLIME}] [You have slain Lvl 5 {SLIME}] [You have slain Lvl 5 {SLIME}] [You have slain Lvl 5 {SLIME}] [You have slain Lvl 5 {SLIME}] [You have slain Lvl 5 {ELDER SLIME}] Huff, Huff Breathing tiredly, I thought, ''So that thing wasn''t a king but an elder? What even is an elder? Is it just an old slime? No, there must be something else to it; otherwise, it wouldn''t be that large.'' ''Actually, why do I care, and also the trial is definitely preventing me from leveling up.'' Having killed 8 Lvl 5 creatures and a ton of Lvl 4, I should by all reason have leveled up at least once, but still hadn''t, confirming that the trial was somehow interfering with it. Yawn Anyways, I was pretty tired now, having no idea how long I had been awake and just having fought an although easy but exhausting battle, I was feeling sleepy. I was pretty confident that no monster would enter this cavern, seeing some sort of stone door at the other end, I guessed that was the end of the cave with the slime king acting like some sort of boss protecting it. But to be sure I moved to a secluded area with a lit torch, as I laid my body beneath it, feeling the comfortable warmth of the fire and coolness of the underground, I drifted off to sleep¡­ CHP 8 : Eating dirt I was standing in front of a massive French door made of gray stone. Strangely enough, the door fit in seamlessly with the cave, as if it were a natural continuation. Having just awoken and checked the system, I realized I had 13 days and 22 hours left before the end of the trial. Not knowing if I was making good progress or not, I decided to immediately continue. But first, I quenched my thirst by drinking from one of the small puddles that were everywhere around this cave. I grimaced at the thought of it probably being stale. ''Am I going to get diarrhea now?'' As that thought resurfaced into my mind I was scrutinizing the door. The double door was completely devoid of carvings or any other form of art, except for a circular indentation no larger then that of pool ball in its middle. Thinking it was just some strange sort of door knob I started pushing against the door, but after using all my strength and it not so much as budging I was forced to reconsider. "Do I need to put something inside it? Its circular like a slime core, however slime cores aren''t as big". Deciding to give it a try I placed one of the cores I still had in my pocket inside. As the core entered the hole¡­..nothing happened. Instead of getting annoyed I began to think and eventually thought back to the king slime, ''After defeating it I never really checked its core''. Making my way over, I saw it was laying on the ground like junk, it was split in halve, so thinking it was useless wasn''t really wrong. Grabbing the two pieces and putting them together, it was indeed larger than the others. Although unlike regular ones from where I could feel some energy inside this one was cold and dead. Placing both halves inside the hole I removed my hand, as soon as I did the hole closed and blue energy pulsated across the door. Soon a grating sound followed as the door began slowly opening by itself. Dust fell to the ground as I was blinded by the ray''s of light traveling through the thin gap, only getting worse as it widened. Like a true gamer (although I wasn''t one) the sun became my worst enemy and I longed for the comfortable cold solitude of darkness again. With the door now fully opened I squinted my eyes, and using a hand to block the sun I strode forward, placing my feet on a soft vibrant green under cushion. My eyes finally adjusting looked around, and what I saw astounded me as all I saw was¡­ grass. Endless rolling plains of green entered my vision. There were some small mounds here and there adding to the picturesque scene even though it was mostly flat. Far of in the distance I could make out the visage of a lonely mountain. Looking behind me I was shocked again, as the exit I just came out of was gone, and only more infinite stretches of grass greeted me. I heaved a sigh of relieve realizing I hadn''t forgotten anything important, with my only important possessions the two whips, safely tucked into my pants. Having my weapons secured, I scanned the surroundings once again, this time not for its breathtaking scenery but for monsters. As much as I looked around I couldn''t spot any, and except for the wind softly rustling the grass I heard no sound, It was almost like the place was desolate. Realizing I had only one direction to really go in, I began my trek towards the mountain. ..... "Huff, Huff, well fuck me". I had being walking for an entire day, sometimes even sprinting however no matter how far I went I encountered nothing except an endless sea of grass, the mountain in the distance although seemingly closer still looked an incomparably far distance away. Seeing the sun go down, as the last rays of sunlight fell it created a beautiful image of a golden shower across the grass, whilst I didn''t care much I couldn''t help but appreciate it, as I decided to rest for the day and made myself comfortable on top one of the mounds. I had come across plenty of these hills and funnily enough they all looked to be the same height going up about a meter above the ground. As I laid down, I felt my stomach rumble, having not eaten for over 3 day''s it was beginning to take its toll. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. In the cave I had even considered slurping up a slime, however not wanting to burn a pit through my stomach I decided not too, similarly here other than grass there was nothing to eat and unluckily for me I wasn''t a cow. So instead I had suppressed the feeling knowing nothing good would come from complaining, besides humans could survive without food for about 50 day''s, 70 if they were lucky and with my stats being enhanced I was sure I could even surpass that. The only thing I should be worried about was finding a water source, with the body only being able to handle three or so day''s without it. If I hadn''t found water in three day''s my blood volume would slowly start to decrease, meaning my blood circulation would lessen, causing an improper amount of oxygen to be supplied to my organs, eventually leading to organ failure and death. While this maybe a trial I was under no impression that death here wasn''t permanent. I could be mistaken but it would be foolish to assume so. But for now I wasn''t worried thinking I would eventually find water or reach the mountain within two day''s. ..... 2nd day of field trial. After walking an entire day again I was feeling parched, my right leg was also strangely hurting, I might have taken a wrong step while walking today. As I took in the beautiful sunset I slept on a mound once more that looked similar to all the rest. Although I couldn''t help but fall asleep with an uneasy feeling inside my chest. ..... 3rd day of field trial. Looking at the indistinguishable scenery around me I couldn''t help but question if I was actually getting any closer to the mountain, although it felt like I was making progress, I couldn''t quiet remember if the mountain actually looked bigger than it was before. Thinking it was just my mind playing tricks on me, I ignored it. I really had to find a water source though, as I was already starting to feel weak. ..... 4th day of field trial. I was still far away from the mountain and had found no water, but I continued my journey. ..... 5th day of field trial. I ate Grass. I hoped there would be some water residue inside it. Eating them I spat it out, it wasn''t because they were disgusting but because it felt like I was chewing upon nothing so much so that I couldn''t even register that it was inside my mouth. Due to a lack of water I was beginning to feel light headed and weak, with my right leg still in pain I continued. ..... 6th¡­ ..... 7th¡­ ..... 8th¡­ ..... 9th day of field trial. I sat on the ground in silence looking ahead with sunken in eyes. I had blisters on my skin and my lips were cracked. Along with that my throat hurt with every shallow breath I took, and my tongue was basically a brick. I even had the hollow looking eyes that came with dehydration albeit I already had those. Even though I was in terrible pain, and I had no doubt that my next action would cause me even more, I couldn''t help but let out a laugh that didn''t reach my eye''s. "Ha HAHA HAHAHAHAHA" "AGH, AUW Dammit". The reason I was laughing was simple, I had become Insane. Well maybe not, but I wasn''t far off, in truth the real reason was because I had cracked the code to what was happening to me. I was in an illusion! Although that might sound insane after pondering about it for a long time, I was pretty confident about my guess as it explained a lot. For example the mountain that seemed to never get any closer even though I felt like it did. The same scenery that was playing over and over again, and checking the mounds which I first thought just looked similar to each other, after really scrutinizing them I figured out that they didn''t just look identical they fucking were identical! But the real proof had been when I ate grass on fifth day in this fiendish field, it took me a while to realise, but me being unable to register that I ate grass was very strange, even if I was dehydrated it could only mean one thing, it was fake. Or at least I was pretty sure of it, like¡­. 60%, if my guess was wrong I would probably die today or tomorrow, and even if I knew it was an illusion I would probably still die having no idea how to escape it. Resigned to at least find out the truth I had developed a plan to know for sure, it was quite simple really and that was by drinking my own blood. And I know what you are thinking, Why would this prove anything? but hear me out. I was aware that most of my senses were being fooled, except apparently for my sense of taste, and even though I could shove grass and dirt or even lick myself to find out if this reality was actually real, you had to realise that my tongue right now was a literal shrivelled up stick so I doubted that without some sort of hydration to revitalize it, I could taste anything. So my blood was the only option. Taking out one of my whips with the last bit of strength I had, I slashed it across my arm. Maybe because I was so weak right now or because it was a surprisingly strong weapon it immediately created a deep laceration from which my last bit of precious blood flowed out. Ignoring the stinging pain I brought my arm up to my mouth and began sucking. As I sucked the blood a wicked smile slowly appeared on my face as I tasted nothing, in fact like the grass I couldn''t even register that it was in my mouth. It didn''t give my mouth any moisture again or revitilize my tongue. Before I could hysterically laugh out loud again, like a mirror that shattered I saw the environment around me crumble, my body also changed and I soon realised that I wasn''t dehydrated or had a laceration on my arm. As I looked around I still saw rolling plains of grass and the mountain looked to be the same distance away, however the mounds were all different sizes and I could even see a small creek a distance away from me. Just as I was beginning to feel relieved I felt a stinging pain in my right leg, thinking that pain should also have passed as I had somehow broken out of the illusion, I looked down¡­. That''s when I caught sight of a massive green leech like bug sucking on my leg. It was about halve a meter long, having 6 legs like an insect but a body and mouth that resembled a leach. Having never seen such a rancid and disgusting sight I shuddered intensely, grabbing the middle of its body, it felt slimy to the touch. As I janked it of, a wet disgusting sound was produced, the leech now beginning to struggle in my grip was moving around its sickening legs, as it made a little screeching sound. Already regretting what I was about to do I squeezed the bug in my hand with all my power, and like a balloon it exploded, except that instead of air over two liters of my blood and green yellow pus which I could only assume was its blood flew in all directions. Feeling the most disgusted I had ever been I didn''t know how to react when I heard the message from the system. [You have slain Lvl 10 {Mirage Leech}] CHP 9 : Ring Cleaning myself in a small pond I felt refreshed, although a little woozy from the blood loss. Next to the pond stood a small hill of carcasses all dead, I had killed all of the leeches that surrounded the pond and the few that inhabited it. It turned out the leech or mirage leech, going by what the system called it, had brought me into the illusion, it was pretty apparent from the name. How it trapped me in the illusion? I had no clue, my best guess was that after I stepped out of the cave a leech was nearby and ambushed me injecting me with some form of hallucinogenic venom. Luckily the venom also warped my sense of time, as unlike what I thought was 9 days, less than an hour passed in real life, the reason I knew this, I checked the system. ______________ [Trial panel] Duration: 13 days & 20:55:15 Objective: Survive Final Reward: {Skill} or {Class} ______________ If I had checked the system while in the illusion I would have immediately recognized that something was wrong, however, it had never popped into my mind strangely enough, even the thought of the system had evaded me. Thinking it was some kind of machination of the venom I decided to leave it, what did bother me though was that it took me so long to realize that the illusion was fake. Sure I could attribute it to never having experienced such an occurrence, coming from a normal human society the notion itself warranted consideration into one''s mental health. In hindsight however there were a lot of things that didn''t add up, and I should have seen through it much earlier. Especially concerning was how well the illusion was made, although a human could see through it animals had no chance of escaping. Their fate being a blood bag until death. What did confuse me was what would have occurred had I died in the illusion, would that mean I died in real life? or would I have woken up? The second option seemed unlikely to me with the first one making more sense, or the leech just continuing the illusion indefinitely until he had sucked all of my blood. Dying to a leech, well that would have been a truly pathetic death, not that I would have minded much. The positive thing about them was that they were extremely weak, their bodies being easily squashed with my strength even their speed was horrendous. Even to regular people escaping from the leeches wouldn''t have posed a significant risk, although maybe a bit challenging if you were overweight. They must have put all their stats into intelligence¡­. wait, could monsters even distribute their stats? They clearly had levels but seeing that they were all pretty unintelligent I guessed not. While the goblins were pretty smart they still didn''t strike me as the brightest. Feeling clean after stomping and slicing all those bugs, I now exited the pond, walking towards my clothes neatly aligned on the bank so they wouldn''t get wet. If I had to be honest swimming naked felt quite freeing. "Should I visit nudist beaches after the trial? Probably not, too much of a hassle". Drying myself off in the wind I put my clothes back on and continued my way towards the mountain, killing leeches along the way. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Although I was a novice at the whip, wielding it came very natural to me, with me already having an 80% hit rate targeting leeches, it would have been even higher if they were slime''s as their bodies had a larger surface area. It was strange how easy it came to me, and as I practiced more against the endless horde that were blocking my path I began trying different moves. I tried doing an overhead crack which was just hitting the leeches straight with the tip of the rope, although this didn''t kill the leeches it sent them flying backwards for a couple of meters. Because you had to gauge the exact distance it normally didn''t work and I only hit 30% of the time. The other move I tried was a slicing one where you would basically crack the whip downwards, this one was easier as you didn''t have to be exact and would slice the leeches in half whenever you reached a good speed, if you didn''t reach the correct speed it was like gently placing a rope on them. I also tried a horizontal slash move, but with the leeches being small and close to the ground, I only managed to do it once, the others simply missing or hitting the ground first reducing the velocity. Although I liked experimenting with the whip, I would never choose it as my main weapon, while good for keeping distance and certainly being fast, it couldn''t efficiently kill anything except for small weak creatures. Take the goblin for example I could hit it 50 times with a whip yet all it would cause would be some lacerations and bleeding, but if I stabbed it with a sword or punctured it with a spear 50 or even a dozen times it would almost certainly be dead. Slicing through another leech that tried to sneak up on me, I stopped as a light festival happened around its body. After the light show subsided I became surprised seeing a ring on the ground instead of a weapon. The ring was black and smooth as if it was made of gleaming metal. Bending over to pick it up, when I touched it I became surprised, not because of the ring itself but the system notification that followed. [Congratulations you have acquired your first effect Item!] [You can now access item''s descriptions] Confused by the message I looked at the ring again, and after focusing on the ring a screen popped up. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª [Item: Mind enforcer] Rarity: E Type: Ring Description: Ring made from a Mirage leeches bone and leather. Ring contains a portion of the Mirage leeches spirit granting some resistance to mental attacks performed against the wearer. Effect: Passively increases mental resistance by 3%. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Holding the ring I could confirm that it felt much too light to be made of any metal, and the surface didn''t feel smooth but rough, thankfully it didn''t feel slimy like the leeches either. That the ring could increase my resistance against mental attacks was quite bizarre and vague, but if it would help break out of illusions quicker, which I reckoned were also a type of mental attack, I welcomed it. The only thing that bewildered me was that only now could I unlock the items descriptions even though I had already received an item, the slime whip, although the system did say it was because I had unlocked an effect item. Checking the whip''s description I realized why. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª [Item: Flagellators scourge] Rarity: F Type: Whip Description: Whip made out of a condensed slime. Due to being made out of a slime, the whip is more flexible than regular whips. Attack + 4 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª So because the ring had an effect and the whip did not, it didn''t count as an effect item. Even though the whip did increase attack by 4, it likely didn''t count as an effect. It made sense otherwise any mundane weapon could be counted as an effect item even my clothes¡­.actually. Thinking of the idea I quickly checked the description of the clothes I was wearing. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª [Item: Worn T-shirt] Rarity: F- Type: Garment Description: A shirt with numerous holes and tears. Due to being in such a pathetic state provides virtually no protection. Defense + 1 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª [Item: Worn Pants] Rarity: F- Type: Garment Description: Pants with numerous holes and tears. Due to being in such a pathetic state provides virtually no protection. Defense + 1 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª [Item: Old shoe] Rarity: F- Type: Garment Description: A worn down shoe. Due to being in such a pathetic state provides virtually no protection. Defense + 1 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Although I realized I should get new clothes, it was good to know that I could check the description of all the items I had. I also found out that items of the same rarity could be further classified, with my clothes being F- rarity, while the whip was simply F. From that information, I could deduce that there was likely an F+ too, which probably applied to all the other rarities as well. What was interesting was that according to my status, I was also ranked as F, while the goblins were ranked E. Although I doubted that Items and system users followed the exact same classifications. And from what I had seen until now, Items rarity classification was more about the strength and effects the Items had, while for system holders it only measured the person''s progress in terms of Levels. Just as I was about to further ponder I was interrupted by an loud noise. "BAA BAAA" ¡­ A sheep. Charging towards me was an infuriated sheep. CHP 10 : Rabid mountain sheep "What the¡­" Before I could properly respond I was already running in the opposite direction of the rampaging sheep, or ram would actually be more appropriate as two big curving horns accompanied it. The beast eyes were red screaming madness, while white foam was frothing from its mouth. Seeing that the ram stood shoulder height of me I knew I had no chance in combating this foe, especially since my only weapon the whip wouldn''t be able to penetrate its thick wool coat. So all I could do was run. There was just one problem, the beast was fast. Quickly closing the distance, and having no place to hide, I was screwed. Knowing a confrontation was inevitable, I decided to stand my ground and fight, although I couldn''t penetrate its wool armor, I could at least try to aim for its eyes hopefully injuring it enough that it would leave me alone. Clenching the whip in my hand I was prepared for the coming charge and readied my self. Now I wasn''t going to fight it head on as that would be stupid, but was going to employ the same tactic as with the slime''s, dodge and counter attack. So when the ram was in striking distance I jumped to the left, but contrary to what I expected, the ram managed to follow my movements and headbutted. The monster''s movements launched me face first into the dirt. Luckily as I was in the air when it hit me, the transfer of momentum was only lessened. But even the relatively light touch of the ram''s powerful front was enough to ensure the impact knocked me a couple of meters back, crashing me against the side of a hill. Having gone briefly unconscious and feeling the air knocked out of my lungs, I desperately gasped for air. Due to the momentary disorientation I was almost to late to roll to the side for the ram''s next charge. With it''s horns pointed down it crashed into the hill with full force. *BOOM* The crash created a loud deafening sound as if a landmine had being set off, and similarly their was now a small crater in the hill. If I hadn''t rolled out of the way quick enough I would have turned into mush, or at least broken every bone in my body. Although it seemed a leech had fallen out of luck as it was in the crater on its back screeching as the lower part of its body was now pulp. "BAA??" The sheep wasn''t doing so well either as it seemed to have suffered damage from its own reckless charge. Swaying from left to right, it looked like a drunk as it was trying to stabilize itself. Knowing this was my only chance to escape, I was stopped by the image of the screeching leech. Realizing something, instead of running I went to the crater and picked up the dying leech. With time being of the essence seeing the ram already regaining it''s bearings I leaped towards it. The ram although concussed saw me attacking and made another charge, having suspected this I grabbed one of it horns and used it as a platform to do a handstand before falling on its back. Holding the horn for stabilization I attached the leech to the only part that wasn''t covered in wool, the middle of its head. "Please work, Please work" The ram began moving sporadically trying to get me of its back and just as I was beginning to think my plan failed the sheep suddenly stopped and fell to the side. My legs half buried under the mountain of wool I used some strength to push it off of me. Cautiously circling around the sheep I could see that its eyes were still wide open, although looking a bit dull probably because it was placed in an illusion. Seeing the scene it surprised me in more than one way. Not only could such a weak creature as the leech defeat such a tough opponent, but the leech who''s lower half was previously severely injured was rapidly regenerating in front of my eye''s. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "I wish I had that power", although I didn''t think anything was broken, I felt like shit. But knowing the battle wasn''t over, I went to grab the whip I had dropped mid battle. Using the whip as a rope, I rolled over the ram and tied all four of its hoves together and began dragging it away. .... 15 minutes later. I was now stood in front of a lake, the sheep was next to me still alive and probably kicking in its illusion. The ram had 2 more leeches on its face that I encountered on the way here, to I make sure it couldn''t escape. I had also used the other whip to tie up its legs making it extra secure, it had no chance of getting free even if it were to wake up now. Knowing this I began killing the leeches on its face one by one. Having killed the last one, like a timer that went off the sheep immediately woke and began thrashing around once it saw my face. Looking at me with hate filled ruby eyes, I couldn''t help but let a menacing smile creep on my face. Getting bored by its struggle I put my foot on its body and kicked it, making it fall into the pond, with the only thing to await it there being the watery abyss. Knowing that wool didn''t provide buoyancy and with it''s legs tied up the ram sank to the bottom like a rock, unable to get up. Bubbles were the only evidence of its futile struggle. After 5 minutes of waiting, the bubbles stopped and I knew it was done, a few seconds later and it was confirmed by the system. [You have slain Lvl15 {Rabid mountain sheep}] The smile was now long wiped from my face, to be honest I was finding my actions quite strange, first I though it was simply the thrill or battle that made me excited¡­..however that theory was disproven by the battle just now. There was no reason for me to feel excited over killing a practically helpless animal, which led to only two conclusions, maybe I enjoyed killing powerful enemies? or I was simply a psychopath? Both possibilities mused in my mind for a while, with me reaching the eventual conclusion that I couldn''t care enough to find out. Even though one option was objectively worse than the other, in my mind they were the same, and it wasn''t like I was going to actively seek out creatures to kill just for my personal enjoyment, No there would always be a reason for it. And this time it turned out to be self defense. Returning my attention to the sheep at the bottom of the pond which was only 2 meters deep or so, I felt like I had learned valuable information about the trial. With number 1 being that two different species of monsters and probably more can exist in the same area, and number two being that these beasts weren''t necessarily friendly with each other otherwise, the leech would have never trapped the sheep in its illusion. The last piece of information was especially valuable otherwise the trial would be a whole lot harder when there were multiple species in the same area. Feeling satisfied with my findings I dove to the bottom of the pond retrieving the whip''s from the sheep''s ankle. Sadly the ram had dropped no item. Even though the thought of eating the sheep was tantalizing, knowing I had no way to skin or cook it, I left the carcass. Looking in the distance I could now see that the mountain wasn''t barren but had a lushes forest surrounding it, even at its base. It was also flat at the top making it look more like a volcano, although no smoke was rising. Feeling it would only take me two or more day''s to reach, I began making progress again, except this time trying to steer clear of the rabid sheep. When I met a sheep again, this time I was hidden behind a hill and observed it until it passed far away enough that I could go without being spotted, luckily it seemed they didn''t have great eye sight. When the first night came I didn''t sleep fearing an ambush in the night. So instead I continued moving, In the dark my progress was extremely slow because my vision was limited, and being cautious of an attack the entire time was mental draining. So the next night I decided to sleep. Seeing that sheep didn''t go up hills I chose one and cleared the entire area around it, making the wild grass seem like it had being mowed to perfection. I then bundled up all the grass and covered myself with it hoping it would act as camouflage, and luckily it did. The leeches also turned out to not be as much of an issue, as the further I traveled the less of them I encountered. This likely correlated to the increase of sheep in the area, which in my opinion made sense, since if these creatures weren''t friendly with one another and with the sheep able to easily trample them, while their wool coat protects them from falling into an illusion, it was only natural to see less of them. The increase in sheep did become a bit of a predicament, but being patient and moving cautiously seemed to do the trick, as currently I was hiden behind a hill looking at the forest that surrounding the mountain about 200 meters ahead of me. My only problem being the 30 sheep that were resting along this border from grassland to forest. The sheep left about a 50 meter distance between each of them, leaving me no openings to slip through. Having monitored them for about an hour I finally came up with a plan. "UGH, this is gonna hurt". And just as I said that I made a mad dash for the forest in between two resting sheep. As soon as I came into view I immediately attracted their attention, making their eye''s which were previously a regular brown color red while foam started leaking out of there mouths. Standing up the rams charged in my direction, already expecting this I continued heading straight, continuously inching closer towards the forest. A ram was about to strike me, with only having 20 or so meters before I reached the forest I jumped over the ram. And much like the first time instead of letting me pass at the last second it moved its horns hitting me in the back. "AAGH, Ahh FUCK!" Until know this had all being part of my plan, except for the scream and curse words but otherwise the plan went smoothly. Being hit I was propelled towards the forest, while the sheep had to turn around to charge at me again. Landing from the impact I performed a somersault and continued running. With significant distance between us I made it safely into the forest. ______________ [Trial panel] Duration: 10 days & 8:24:12 ______________ CHP 11 : Infighting In dreary confusion and utter bafflement, I stared at the sheep. Having made it into the forest my initial plan was to loose them in the woods using the natural vegetation as obstacles, however after I ran for a while and feeling no presence behind me I looked back finding the rams stuck between the transition from grass land to forest. The rams kept trying to cross into the forest, but were blocked by a strange blue transparent membrane that would pop up to block them at every attempt. Even though the membrane or shield appeared to be specifically designed to keep out the sheep, instead of deterring them it seemed to put them into a greater frenzy as they kept bashing their heads against the seemingly impregnable barrier, with the only result being their heads getting bloodier and bloodier. Tired of watching this scene of self mutilation, I retracted my gaze and focused upon the forest. Seeing how the trees elevated as they continued up the mountain I had a sneaking suspicion that my end goal would be at its peak, and started quietly making my way to it. Moving through the overgrowth, I was met with a dense forest, and for the first time since the trial I felt like I was in a place that could be earth, the cave and grassland were plausible but felt too surreal, while this just seemed like a regular forest. I could hear the soft buzz of insects and happy chirping of birds, while animal noises reverberated across the area, giving of the impression of a lively forest. The sounds were almost soothing except for the fact that everything was likely a monster set out to kill me. Being presented in such an paradoxically unnerving environment, I couldn''t help but be on edge continuously scrutinizing my surroundings. About to pass a small meadow, I heard a familiar noise that drowned the blood from my face. looking at the source I was met with the all to familiar goblins, luckily there gaze was focused elsewhere and hadn''t spotted me. Panicking I dropped to the ground and hid behind a bush, carefully peeking over the shrub to see the situation. Looking at the scene I grew confused as it looked like two groups of goblins were arguing¡­.. over a corpse. In the middle of the clearing a group of goblins surrounded an enormous brown bear that looked twice the size of a regular one, with its stocky frame, powerful looking paws, and thick coat of matted fur I was surprised the goblins dared to take it on, especially considering they were basically midgets. The bear would have seemed like a real menace if it wasn''t currently slumped on the ground in a pool of its own blood with numerous stab wounds adorning its body, although I previously thought it was dead looking at it closely I could see the faintest movement showcasing its shallow breathing. The cause of such action were naturally the 9 goblins surrounding it, it seemed they had gone through a tough battle as numerous injuries adorned there bodies while two laid dead, likely having fallen to the bear. In this group two goblins stood out from the rest, while similar they were a head larger and instead of the usual dagger had short swords in hand, they were also the only ones who didn''t have so much as a scratch on them, from what I could tell they were likely the leaders. Normally the goblins should have being relieved having defeated such a foe, but instead were staring daggers at an approaching party coming from behind the tree lines. In stark contrast to the other goblins this group differed in one striking manner, namely being instead of sickly green they were an earthy red. There were about 6 goblins in this group with 5 of them being the regular type with daggers in hand while one of the goblins had a wooden rod. Although looking closer the rod slightly bulged and rounded at the top so it was more accurate to call it a staff. This particular goblin had a haughty smile on its face, and looked full of confidence as it communicated with the other group, who in response seemed to be angrily shouting back. While they responded with vigor I couldn''t help but notice that they kept throwing weary glances at the staff wielding goblin. Just as the argument intensified my focus was suddenly swept to a different location as I heard a low guttural sound behind me. Absorbed in the goblin fight I forgot the check my surroundings leading to my current predicament. With sudden nervousness gripping my heart, I quickly looked behind. "GRRRR" Behind me stood a growling red fox, seeing it I couldn''t help but become slightly relieved knowing that it at least wasn''t a goblin. The fox was showcasing its sharp canine teeth about 7 centimeters long, while looking dangerously with its beady yellow eyes like it was about to pounce on me, which shortly after it did. Seeing it jump I knew I didn''t have allot of options having no weapons that could effectively damage it and knowing that making to much sound could attract unwanted attention, I made a split second decision and opted to give up my left arm. Putting my left arm forward the fox readily sunk its fangs into my flesh. Feeling a piercing pain and hot liquid stream out of the wound a muffled shout escaped my lips, as I took out my whip with my good arm. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Using it like a noose I put it around the fox''s neck, after that I placed the base of the whip in my mouth noticing my left arm was starting to feel numb while I pulled with my right, strangling the fox. luckily like a dog after the fox had latched onto a part of my body it refused to let go even as it was suffocating, Instead opting to bite with even more force. Like this the fox and I were in equilibrium for a couple of minutes seeing what would happen first, my arm being ripped off or the fox suffocating. While this battle continued virtually no noise was being produced, except for the quite shuffling of bodies that would occur every now and then. Eventually the fox was the first to give up, as its force suddenly slacked and I could see its eyes rolled to the back of its head showing that it was knocked out. Knowing it wasn''t dead yet I continued for thirty more seconds. [You have slain Lvl 7 {Woodland Fox}] Letting out a sigh in exhaustion, I carefully dislodged the creature from my arm wearily looking at the wound it had created. Bad, the wound looked bad, I couldn''t lift my left arm anymore and looking at how deep the wound went I was afraid it even reached bone, maybe it did and I was only prevented from seeing it due the torrent of blood that was covering up the holes. Groggily I took the whip and wrapped it around my arm slightly above the wound using it as a makeshift tourniquet. Lamenting over the pain, my only respite was that I managed to not so much as make a squeal during the altercation fully understanding that doing so would likely spell doom for me. Because off the the scuffle I had no idea what was happening to the goblins, so looked back I was naturally shocked. In total 3 more goblins laid motionless on the floor, they were all from the bigger group led by the two warriors, effectively making both parties equal numerical wise. What was remarkable was that the 3 goblins had not died from any dagger or sword wound but instead looked burnt, with smoke still lingering off their corpses. Surprised I naturally wondered what could have caused such destruction until my gaze rested of the staff wielding goblin, it raised its hands in the air and seemingly said something I couldn''t understand before a small ball of fire materialised before him. The ball of raging fire looked perfectly smooth, although no larger than my fist. After the fire was conjured the ball immediately shot forward at a absurd speed gunning straight for one of the sword wielding goblins. Seeing the attack, the goblin managed to keep his cool and grabbed one of his subordinates throwing him in the trajectory of the ball of flames. As the goblin and the ball met a small explosion occurred with the result being the goblin being flung back while covered in searing flames, I could see the goblin weakly struggle as the flames consumed him however it was short lived as he quickly stopped moving. After the goblin died the two sword wielding goblins knowing that being stationary would only make them target practice, decided to perform an all out attack as their group charged forward. Seeing this the mage''s previously confident smile faltered a bit seemingly not expecting them to perform such a reckless attack and ordered his subordinates to intercept them while he stayed back watching over the battlefield while slowly picking off the enemy. While watching this epic battle I was in a daze, not because of how bloody it was or because this confirmed to me that the monsters in this trial weren''t working together, but because of one thing "Magic". It wasn''t hard to believe magic existed, especially after seeing a real goblin in action and knowing of the existence of mana I had already guessed that it did, but seeing it being used directly in front of me, I couldn''t help but feel¡­..excited. Thinking of all the possibilities my shoulders couldn''t help but slightly quiver, making me almost forget about the pain in my arm. Lost in thought I was brought back to reality by another fireball impacting a goblin of the opposing team. By now both parties had reached each other while the green goblins had less members in battle they quickly proved their mettle as they easily overpowered the opposing party, who seemed to be less versed in physical combat. One of the sword goblin parried a dagger directing the blade to the side before swiping down causing a large laceration to occur on the goblin''s chest, after he swung out again piercing though the goblins body. Having finished of his prey he moved to another red goblin who was currently in conflict with one of his subordinates, thus conveniently showcasing his back. Not one to let go of an opportunity the goblin raised his sword about to slash at the unsuspecting victim before a fire ball hit him directly in the side of his head, partly exploding his skull before he slumped to the ground. Gulping at the power of the mage I knew I would have to avoid them at all costs. With the green goblins having lost a mayor player on their side you would think the battle would have tipped in favour of the red team however with the mage seemingly having a waiting time before he could cast a fire ball the remaining warrior took advantage of this and quickly killed the last of the wizards subordinates. Causing the battle to now be a 2 v 1 with one of the warriors subordinates still remaining. The warrior not wanting to give the mage anytime to recover immediately charged. The mage scowled noticing this as it heavily breathed seemingly exhausted from all the fireball''s it had produced. As the duo approached the wizard managed to shoot one more fireball hitting the dagger wielding goblin as the warrior made a beeline for the mage. In range the warrior swung his sword down about to kill the mage, seeing his death approaching in a last attempt the mage used his staff as a shield luckily deflecting the attack by a hairs breath as he fell to the ground. Due to the force of the hit the staff was broken in half. On the floor instead of the usual look of despair that would normally be present in such a situation the mage''s eyes were instead grinning as it silently chanted. The warrior having a bad premonition was about to attack, but before he could a ring of fire expanded from around the mage''s body causing a small inferno to take place. Having his eyes open at the time, the flames managed to sear the warriors iris''s making him blind, afterwards the flames simply devoured him leaving behind a smoldering black corpse. Seeing the ring of fire expanding 2 meters around the mage, I was again astounded at the prowess magic could display, although the attack had less power, the area of effect was much greater. As the flames died down the Goblin mage laid on the ground for a while. It heavily breathed in and out as it snorted while surveying the scene in front of him. His eyes briefly glancing over the corpses of his subordinates. It frowned upon seeing their dead bodies, the reaction was not one of sadness but more annoyance. After some time it shakily stood up using its broken cane as support, although it had no physical wounds it was extremely exhausted, and with slow steps made its way over towards it price, the bear corpse. Having reached it the goblin stole a dagger of one of the fallen corpses and proceeded to make his way over towards its head. Curious at what the mage was about to do I watched with utter focus, which was when I remembered something. "Isn''t the bear still alive?" Just as this thought crossed my mind the bear suddenly sparked into action opening its behemoth mouth, and biting the torso of the of goblin mage. The mage managed to let out a panicked "Gi!", before the bear stood up and bit with more force cleaving it in half. Afterwards the bear spat out the remains of the mage as if leaving a sour taste in his mouth and weakly trotted into the forest. As I watched the bear leave cold sweat perspired from the back of my neck, a goblin which needed three bullets for me to even pierce its skin, was easily torn in halve by this behemoth. While there was some trepidation in my eyes as I waited a good while for the monstrosity to leave, a hint of greed was also present as I could see a light show happening around the mage''s corpse. CHP 12 : Loot As the light''s subsided, I could make out the vague outline of a square object laying in the grass, although due to the distance I couldn''t tell exactly what it was. Carefully checking the surroundings, seeing no indication of other monsters I discreetly made my way towards the battlefield. Curious about what dropped from the mage I first headed towards where it had fallen, there in the blood soaked grass I found a book. The book''s cover seemed to be made from a brown leathery substance, and unlike the pristine condition you would assume it to be in, it seemed to be tattered and overall pretty thin. Picking it up with my good hand I was somewhat perplexed, "So can just anything drop from monsters, and even though I get pretty bored sometimes I don''t think this is the best time to read". A bit amused at the idea of reading while surrounded by monsters, I focused on the book to see its description. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª [Item: Skill Book] Rank: E Skill: Lesser Fire Ball Recommended affinity: Fire Description: This book allows one person to learn the skill [Lesser Fire Ball].The skill consumes Mana in order to create a lesser fire ball. Attack produces fire and explosion damage. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Shocked by what the skill book represented, I knew I had to learn it, although the recommended affinity did bother me, with me not knowing what mine was or actually what it was, but if I had to make my guess it would be something like in avatar with the other''s being water, earth, and wind I assumed. It had been a long time since I last saw the show. The other part that bothered me was that the skill was named lesser fire ball, meaning there was likely a better version of it, but at the moment I did not care, as I became strangely excited wanting to try magic for the first time. Trying to get the skill, I first thought about learning the skill, but showing no result''s I tried tapping the book against my chest, rubbing it like it was some genie in a lamp and eventually tried to eat it, after all that failed I proceeded with the only other logical step and opened the book. Strangely enough there was some resistance, but after trying for a while it suddenly opened up. Instead of the usual page that would appear I was instead met with a flash of white forcing me to close my eye''s. Opening them the book in my hands had disappeared. Worried for a second that I had somehow lost the skill, I quickly remembered the system and checked my status. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Name: Aeron Level: 5. (F) Class. None Skills: [Lesser Fire Ball] Health: 1076 Mana: 124 Strength: 13 , Agility 16 ,Vitality 10 Endurance: 10 ,Intelligence: 16 ,Sense: 9 USP: 0 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Relieved that I hadn''t lost the skill, I focused on it and surprisingly got a description. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Skill: Lesser Fire ball Rank: E Tier: I Type: Active Effect: Create a small ball of fire. Can be propelled in the direction the user chooses. Cost''s 15 mana. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª I was basically shaking from excitement wanting to test out the skill, however, knowing I was in hostile territory I found it prudent to first find a safe location, and casting a random fireball was bound to attract attention. Knowing it wasn''t safe I began quickly scavenging around the other goblin corpses taking a sword and a few daggers, carrying them in one of the beast-skins the goblins wore using it as a makeshift bag. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª [Item: Crude goblin dagger] Rarity: F+ Type: Dagger Description: A random goblins attempt at making a dagger, the blade is made from the teeth of a ferocious beast. Attack +8 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª [Item: Bear bone sword] Rarity: E Type: Sword Description: A Warrior goblins attempt at making a sword, the blade is made from the bone of a ferocious bear. Attack +15 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Looking at the goblins attempts at weapons I was quite impressed with them, especially the sword which did about 4 times as much damage as the whip. Seeing no other loot had dropped I went back to the fox corpse, as that would be my meal for tonight. With the sun already lower than usual I had but a couple of hours before it became dark. ¡­.. A few hours of dangerous trekking and close calls, I finally managed to find a safe place. To be honest it was quite a fortuitous encounter as at the base of the mountain I managed to find a waterfall. As the water gushed down the cliff it formed into a small pond that connected to a stream. Having seen movies where there exists a little cavern behind the torrent of water, I naturally had to check and managed to find a thin ledge that traveled halfway up the waterfall and eventually went behind it. Following the passage, it led to a small desolate crevice. Trying to pear inside I found the cave to be no larger than 3 meters deep and 1.5 meters wide, while just being large enough so I could stand in the grotto without bumping my head. Due to it being quite dark I almost missed the sleeping fox that inhabited it, seeing it curled up in a corner, I realised this was the perfect opportunity to test out my skill. Not only would the noise of the skill be cancelled out by torrent of water, no creature would be able to ambush me while I was fighting it. Feeling ready I quietly walked into the cave and activated the skill. Unexpectedly activating the skill came very naturally. Thinking of the skill I felt a sudden drain from my body before fire started gathering above my right hand, at first it was but a spark but gradually it grew turning into a ball slightly smaller than my fist. Although it might sound like a long period of time, in reality this happened in about 3 seconds. Afterwards I willed it to target the fox, and in a straight line it zipped for the sleeping beauty. As the ball impacted the beast a loud yelp was heard, before it was blasted against the cave wall, after the blast the fox managed to stand up and looked at me with ferocious eyes, as its body was singed and a red liquid was seeping through its silver fur. Surprised that the fox managed to survive I pulled out a dagger from the makeshift bag, not trusting my ability to wield a sword with only one good hand. Not having enough time to cast another fire ball before the fox reached me, I stood prepared and when the fox jumped I swung the knife up, the blade cleanly piercing through its skin, puncturing deep within the fox. Maybe because it was already close to death or I managed to puncture it''s heart, the fox instantly died. [You have slain Lvl 8 {Fanged fox}] After the battle ended I had some mixed feelings, it wasn''t because the battle was all that interesting but because of the skill, "The goblins was definitely more powerful". Recalling the battle, the mage''s spell dealt allot more damage than mine, not only would the fire encompass the subject whole for a couple of seconds, but the impact could explode a goblins skull, while when I cast the skill the only result was the fox getting pushed back and partly scorched, non of the lethal effect the goblin could produce. Remembering how it stated that a fire affinity was recommended, I could only attributed the lack of fire power to that, with me not knowing what affinity I had, although from what I saw probably not fire. Otherwise the only option would be that the goblin mage had some other skills that enhanced his skill. Lamenting about the fact but being unable to change it, I decided to focus on something else, this issue had been bothering me for a long time and would finally be solved today, what was this issue FOOD! A while later and I was seen eating a piece of juicy Fox thigh in the middle of the cave. An extreme positive that made my previous grievances with the skill disappear was that I could cook food otherwise¡­.. I would have been forced to eat the fox raw. As the sizzling meat that roasted over the fire entered my lips, I felt an explosion of flavour rock my taste buds to their core as I hastily began devouring them all. In truth the meat actually tasted rancid and if it had being a week ago I would have likely spat it out due to it''s bland and tough nature, but it being the first food I had in a long time it naturally tasted amazing right now. While eating my stomach rumbled portraying how it wanted more, and I obliged it. Eventually I had finished all the meat I had collected, with me being new to gutting and skinning, allot of food from the two foxes was wasted and I could only look pitifully at the useless meat before I threw it into the river bellow. Feeling stuffed I had a satisfied expression on my face as I doused the fire and slept for the night. CHP 13 : Waterboarding a Horse *Yawn* Awoken by sun rays filtered through a falling cascade of water, I was presented with a beautiful scene of sparkling lights. Finding it quite picturesque, it was a shame that the stench of dried up blood and stack of meat in the corner ruined the moment for me, although I couldn''t say it bothered me as much anymore, having spent the past five days inhabiting this cave. Scorching away the blood with my fireball skill, I made my way over to the torrent of water, quenching my parched throat and washing my face, getting ready for the day ahead. And on today''s agenda was the same objective as the others, namely, exploring! Even though I attempted to make myself hyped, it didn''t quite work, knowing that goblins and giant bears that could squash me like a bug roamed the woods. Especially since my left arm was still practically useless. Looking at the wound, it was healing well and surprisingly, there was no sign of infection. However, using it in combat was definitely off the table. Taking two daggers with me and leaving the rest of my equipment behind, I checked the time I had left. ______________ [Trial panel] Duration: 5 days & 13:45:35 Objective: Survive Final Reward: {Skill} or {Class} ______________ "Five more day''s huh, wonder what I''ll get?" Exiting the cave and removing the barricade, I walked the thin ledge down the waterfall and began my exploration. .... These past few days had been hectic, with me managing to map out the area quite a bit after many dangerous ventures. First of all, from what I had discovered, there were four more types of beasts roaming the woods. The first of them was a squirrel-type animal. This rodent, from an outside perspective, except for being the size of a beaver, was just like any other type of squirrel, showcasing a slender body, bushy tail, and large eyes. They also weren''t aggressive and would normally run from predators. Their passiveness made me almost make the second biggest mistake of my life when I managed to corner one and fight it, wanting to know what its meat tasted like. Luckily I killed the vermin before it could attack me. But that was also when I heard a terrifying message from the system, sending a shiver down my spine. [You have slain Lvl 3 {Chlamydia Squirrel}] After hearing the message, I wisely decided to leave the squirrels in peace and went to a nearby stream to wash my hands. The next beast I encountered was a snake-type called the Lesser Imperium Snake. I had encountered them twice while climbing a tree. They were completely brown, with their bodies mimicking the rough surface of tree bark. Having an average body length of 5-7 meters, the only positive I found was that they seemed to be nonvenomous, only using strangulation methods on their victims. I even managed to kill one after it hissed at me, and I blasted it in the face with a fireball. The internal damage had killed it after a couple of minutes, although sadly there was no loot drop to be found. Although I did find out its level, which was 12. The snake also tasted much better than fox meat, with the flavor strangely resembling both chicken and fish. The other beast I encountered was a weasel the size of a raccoon. Other than being incredibly elusive and quick, their meat tasted horrid, and like the squirrel, I decided to avoid them. Unlike the other beasts which I could defeat, the last monstrosity I had no way of fighting. Similar to the goblins, I assumed them to be E rank, and this creature was a horse. The tall black stallions were the same size as ordinary horses, except for one discerning feature which made them stand out, which was their muscle. These horses seemed to have a diet of protein, creatine, and steroids, with their muscles bulging to the point of exploding. And how I knew their muscles weren''t just for show, I saw it blow up the skull of a snake with a simple kick. Although their power and speed were impressive, the most surprising or even shocking thing about them was that I saw a goblin ride one. Luckily, this happened when I was already up in a tree avoiding some other goblins I spotted in the distance. The horse rider was one of the warrior goblins and wore a silver band around its neck. It had relayed a message to the goblin group who in turn quickly followed after the rider towards some unknown destination, although it was likely their base up in the mountain. And yes, the goblins had a base, or at least I suspected. I at least knew that the two goblin tribes, the green and red goblins, occupied different territory. While the greens occupied the west side of the mountain, the reds occupied the east. Both groups also mainly stayed up the mountain and would occasionally descend trying to hunt some animals. They were also the reason that I hadn''t reached the peak of the mountain yet as I had no confidence in going undiscovered to the top. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. So for now, I was stuck exploring the surroundings trying to find a way past them without being located or killed in the process. ¡­.. Returning from another day of scouting, with my only achievement having killed a pesky fox, I was on my way back to base. Moving through the woods and hearing the familiar sound of falling water, I was about to walk into the open when I heard strange noises. *Neigh!* "Gi GI" Retreating quietly, I found a good vantage spot and looked at what was happening, and surprise surprise it was the goblins again, except instead of attacking a bear, this time they were¡­ capturing a horse? Across the pond, three goblins were standing in front of a horse bound with rope. All four hooves of the stallion were tied up, with each end of the rope tied to a different tree, making it splayed out on the ground. There was also a rope around its torso and head to make sure it stayed in place. The three goblins were regular green goblins, although one wore a different kind of hide being made from a fancier looking brown leather instead of the dirty silver the others wore. While there was that difference they each had happy expressions plastered on their faces even though they were covered in scrapes and bruises. The trio was celebrating, jumping up and down in joy for having captured their prey. After a little while, they seemed to calm down, and the fancier-looking goblin gave a small satchel tied to his waist to one of the other goblins who then walked and cautiously approached the horse. Curious as to what he was taking out, I saw him fish out a small green oval rock, placing it in front of the steed. With the goblin''s attention fixated upon the horse, I noticed that the brown leather-wearing goblin in the back had taken out his dagger, and before I could react, cut the throat of the goblin next to him. Then, before the goblin tending to the horse could figure out what was going on, a dagger pierced his skull, killing him instantly. Having killed its compatriots, it grinned as it shouted something indiscernible, before dragging their corpses and dumping them into the pond, their bodies gently floating down the stream connected to it. Victorious, the goblin proudly stood in front of the horse and held its knife up threateningly while holding the green rock within its left hand, effectively frightening the steed and causing it to struggle to get free. Seeing the fear in its eyes, the goblin grinned and placed the rock in front of the stallion, before retreating about a meter and then waiting. Seeing the horse slowly nudging closer to the rock, about to touch it, the goblin became excited before. *BOOM* A scorching heat assaulted its back, causing it to involuntarily be flung forward. Although painful, it wasn''t as damaging as it first assumed, probably only leaving a bad bruise. But the true terror it realized was when it opened its eyes. Falling straight towards the horse, it saw a look of fury and malice in the stallion''s gaze. Even though the horse couldn''t move its head horizontally, it could open its mouth, which it did so to an unnatural degree. Then, like a crocodile ambushing prey, when the goblin fell in range, it closed shut, making it explode like a melon. While the horse spat out the goblin''s remains, someone moved out of the woods. "Well, that worked out better than expected," revealing myself from the forest, I entered the pond and swam towards the scene. My original plan was to attack the goblin and see if I could defeat it from across the pond. I fully expected to fail and only hit it maybe two or three times if I was lucky. And when the goblin would enter the water, I would dash away and climb up some tree, safely hiding from it. But after my first attack, which was actually aimed at its head, an outcome happened that I never imagined. Having made it to the opposite side of the bank, I stood in front of the horse while keeping my distance. A bit nervous, I moved the goblin''s corpse aside and used a long branch to roll the green rock to my side, not trusting the horse after its last showing. Grasping it, I curiously looked at the stone, wondering what it did. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª [Item: Bonding stone] Rarity: E+ Type: Contract Description: A one time use summons contract. Effect: Binds the recipient to the will of the owner. Requirement: 1.Contract must be made willingly. 2.Contract can only be bound to E rank and lower creatures. 3.Owner of contract needs to place a drop of there own blood on the stone. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª My eyes opening wide, a slight grin formed on my face as I realized that this item could be a game changer for me. Having been stuck exploring the outskirts, due to the goblins and my arm still healing up, limiting my mobility, if I could tame this horse, then those problems would be solved. With its speed and being a little careful, I could easily evade the goblins and explore the peak of the mountain. Excited, I read the requirements for the contract again and got out my dagger, performing a slight cut on my thumb. Feeling a stinging pain and blood coalescing, I proceeded to smear it against the stone. Slowly, I saw my blood dissolve into the stone and travel to its center, from where it then disappeared. Assuming it worked, I placed the stone using the branch again in front of the horse. While the horse had to accept the contract willingly, having seen how the goblin almost got the horse to accept the contract, I was going for a similar approach. Holding the dagger in front of the steed, I made threatening movements, trying to make it feel terrified. However, its reaction was different from what I expected. Looking into its eyes, I saw no sign of fear or even apprehension; instead, I saw¡­ contempt. It even snorted while looking at me. Slightly peeved by the look of disdain, I began racking my brain about how to make it capitulate. "Is it because it can tell that I am F rank? Well doesn''t matter. I could always actually torture it, although that could cause lasting damage, and since I want to use the pony, that wouldn''t be the brightest idea." Thinking it over in my mind I eventually found the answer, "Water boarding". Water boarding was a form of torture that did not cause lasting damage (at least physically). The technique becoming famous during the Iraq war, gave people the simulation of drowning by putting a rag over someones face and pouring water on it. Although that was the preferred method, you could also use a wet rag, making it so you did not have to pour water, while still achieving a similar effect, or at least thats what my history teacher told me. There was one problem with the plan, as the horse could open its mouth unnaturally wide, and I had no rag big enough to cover its entire surface. But luckily, I knew a fact about horses that would solve this issue, mainly that they couldn''t breathe out of their mouths and only out of their noses. So assuming its anatomy didn''t radically differ, it should work. There was also the issue of covering the rag over the steed''s nostrils, but that could also be solved by approaching from the back, as it couldn''t move its head to the left or right, only up and down. Walking over to the headless goblin, I dragged its corpse to the edge of the pond and then took off the hide it was wearing before kicking it in the water. Afterward, I dipped the hide in the water, letting it totally soak through before I walked behind the horse and covered its nostrils with the rag. Although the horse struggled and began screeching loudly, with it only being able to move its head up and down, it was useless, and the torture continued. ¡­. Two hours latter During this duration, I would waterboard the stallion for five minutes each time before giving it about a minute''s rest, which was mostly to make the rag wet again. The horse had long ago become terrified of me, but wanting to be sure it worked, I continued for a while longer. Now, every time it saw me approaching, it would violently start to shake and neigh loudly. Seeing its tremors, I decided to stop and put the stone in front of the horse again. This time, it immediately nudged its head closer and touched the orb, causing it to slightly glow before turning dull grey and cracking in half. Surprised and thinking something had gone wrong, the message of the system relieved my worries. Ding [You have bound a {Black Forest Horse}] CHP 14 : Goblin Den Making sure the steed was under my control, I began doing small tests to see if it would attack me and when I made sure that it didn''t I unleashed the ropes it was bound to. Standing in front me I could finally tell how the goblins had being able to capture the stallion, as compared to the one I saw in the forest this one was smaller and likely still a foal or teenager, with it barely reaching my height. Whenever I approached the horse would trembled slightly, especially when I waved the rag around, but having mentally given it the command to not move it stood still, satisfied with the results I began thinking, " So how do you ride a horse?". While I was contemplating this question, the headless corpse of the goblin I killed had entered the stream connected to the pond. POV Shift- Goblin Corpse The headless corpse of the goblin was gently following along the currents of the water as it was taken into a small stream, from there on the water suddenly became fierce and the current flung body its body around as it was dragged underwater. After some time the corpse resurfaced and found itself in a river, gently flowing along the waves. Like this the corpse floated peacefully for 30 minutes, until it found itself heading for a waterfall, unlike the small one at Aeron''s base this one was at least a 15 meter drop. Sliding of the edge the headless corpse freefalled with its limbs flying in all directions until it hit the surface of the water creating a big splash, and continued drifting on. The corpse was about to enter another stream when from the bank a green hand reached out and dragged it out onto the shoreside. With 10 goblins surrounding the corpse as well as two other deceased bodies,(the ones the decapitated goblin had previously killed) the warrior goblin of the group frowned as he spoke to another warrior. "Chiefs son?" "Likely, Hide gone, but always together with Mogi and Gige" "Chief mad, who killed?" "Goblin?" The two warrior goblins although fairly sure they had already figured out who the perpetrator was with the stab wounds on the bodies, turned over the corpse to look for more clues. When they did, they noticed the burn mark on it''s back and booth looked shocked as they said. "Red''s". ...¡­.. An hour later and the group of goblins had carried the corpses to their base. The base was located on a flat edge of the mountain and was surrounded by a simple wooden fence about twice the size of an average goblin. Walking towards a gap in the structure they were greeted by two regular goblins who were seemingly standing guard. When they approached the guards recognized them and let them through, not even giving a glance at the three corpses. Inside the village they passed many goblins, small yurts, and thatch buildings storing food or weapons that seemed structurally unstable, but eventually they reached a hut made out of wood that was reasonably well constructed. The building was also the largest building and was where the chief resided. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Standing in front of the house whose door was a long hide, the small entourage of goblins undecided and unwilling to be the one to call the chief out created quite a commotion, causing a warrior goblin wearing a fancy brown leather hide to come out from the building, followed by another more imposing goblin. This goblin had a beer belly, and carried two swords instead of the usual one, standing at two meters tall, he also wore a fancy brown leather hide, and was naturally the chief. Looking menacingly at the crowd causing the goblins to shrink back in fear, the chief asked "Why gather?" Although a bit afraid one of the warrior goblin''s in the group answered, "Found dead tribe mate, we think Logi". The chiefs eye''s narrowed as he said, "Show me body". The warrior nodded and the regular goblin''s carrying the three corpses brought them in front of the chief. Seeing the headless and naked corpse of his son, he looked unsuprised and asked the warrior another question, "Found together". The warrior responded by nodding his head. Sighing the chief knew that it was his weakling of a son, although he would have been sure if the hide wasn''t taken or head was still attached, but knowing that Gige and Mogi followed him around every where it wasn''t difficult to deduce. There was one question on the chiefs mind though, "Who killed?". "Red''s we think, burn mark on back", the warrior responded. Turning over his son''s corpse the chief confirmed the burn mark, the special signature of the red goblin mages fireball attack, and became infuriated, "Red bastards, Gi-le make group and kill three¡­ no five red''s, retribution". The goblin who the chief just spoke to was naturally his other son, the warrior goblin who accompanied him out of the building. Gi-le hearing his fathers words nodded his head and replied, "Yes chief". Like that the group disbanded and the chief walked back into his hut with a frown on his face, although he cared little for his son, he was enraged that the reds would dare to attack his descendant. Logi had always been a disappointment in the chief''s eyes, being born as a regular goblin, he was trash, the chief had even killed his wife after she created something so shameful with his seed. He considered killing Logi but eventually decided not to as it was still his child, but love or attention Logi was never given, he was even regularly beaten and ridiculed by his elder brother Gi-le. Over the years however this also stopped, as Gi-le like his father would come to not even care about Logi anymore, seeing Logi as nothing more than dust, which hurt the young goblin even more than the beatings. Logi''s wish for recognition naturally made him want to prove himself and the only way he could was either by killing red goblins or taming a Muska alone, or horse as humans called it. Knowing he would die if he tried to fight the Red''s he naturally went with the second option, and after years of searching for the perfect one he could tame, he found it. Stealing a taming rock from the village''s treasury, also known as the chiefs hut, he led the stallion into a trap, and using his two subordinates as help, managed to catch it. Although he had to kill his subordinates and only friends if he had to be honest, to cover up that he had help, he found it worth it, if it would lead to glory in the tribe and recognition from his father. Well sadly for Logi his dream never came true as the horse he had spend years on was now bound to Aeron, which might have been a better outcome as Logi would have soon realized that his father even if he returned with a horse, would still see him as his greatest failure and shame. POV shift - Back to Aeron It had taken me a few hours but I finally managed to ride Charcoal without falling off, and yes that was the name I decided to give it, there were a few options I was considering such as Darky, Speedy, or Choco, but eventually Charcoal stuck after I found that its body gave off a very slight black residue. Although a bit annoying, with the cleanliness standards of civilization already being long gone I didn''t mind much. Anyways finding the right balance was difficult especially without a saddle, and Charcoal being able to run twice the speed of a regular horse also didn''t help the learning process. I did have to admit that the Bonding stone was a real life saver as I could communicate all orders telepathically and the horse would follow them, although it couldn''t do anything to complex, but simple commands like: Forwards, left, right, jump, faster were all easily manageable. Training for an hour I saw that the sun was beginning to set, having already brought Charcoal to the other side of the pond I told it to stay close to the waterfall and graze around a bit, unable to reject my orders Charcoal did as instructed. While it might have been wiser to hide the stallion he wasn''t easily hid and was to large to walk up the ledge to the cave. Also having weighed the risks I found that there wasn''t much to be scarred about, with the goblins returning to their base at night or at least I presumed as I hadn''t seen a single one down the mountain after night fall, and Charcoal being an apex predator himself the only thing I had to worry about would be bears. And that threat wouldn''t change no matter where I hid, except for this little cave of course. Returning to my base and cooking myself some snake meat, I fell asleep with a tinge of excitement as tomorrow I would finally be able to explore the peak of the Mountain! or well technically volcano. CHP 15 : Close Encounter As the sun breached the night sky beckoning a new day to begin, I completed my morning routine and ventured down to Charcoal who was still peacefully sleeping on some grass. Waking the beast up by kicking its tush I proceeded to mount the startled steed and made my way up the mountain. Moving along trails and thick overgrowth it wasn''t long until I spotted a goblin. The red goblin hadn''t noticed me yet and was with another partner protecting the entrance of cave gorged into the side of the mountain. A large area outside the cave was cleared of trees and shrubs providing the guards ample vision to detect enemies, staying within the tree line the goblins weren''t able to notice me or Charcoal. About to head further up the mountain I saw two other goblins come from inside the cave and switch places with the current one''s standing guard, seeing the scene I had a troubled look on my face, "Guards standing duty and a rotating schedule so they don''t get exhausted, that''s¡­.. pretty smart". As I wondered what the consequence of goblins being introduced to earth would be, I commanded Charcoal to head further up the mountain, safely passing the goblin base. Finding the task quite easy, I lamented over the fact that I hadn''t tried it myself, although I did have to admit a few factors were currently in my favour with one being Charcoal, and the other it being morning which likely caused the goblins to not be roaming around as they were probably still sleeping. I could have also tried to go in the morining or night but I had little visibility in the night, and if I went at the break of dawn with my own speed, by the time I arrived the goblins would already be awake. Moving up the mountain we soon reached a point where the trees were becoming more sparse and the ground more rocky, after an hour of the vegetation thinning out I eventually reached a zone where all vibrant green life was gone, and me and Charcoal were now traveling through a forest of charred trees, in the distance I could make out rising smoke. "Is this an active volcano?". As I reached closer and closer to the top and the temperature kept rising, I began to sweat, although not ridiculously hot, but if I were to compare the forest down below to a cool slightly cold Mediterranean climate, then currently I was in a Caribbean summer. The heat was especially bad for Charcoal who after running and hiking with minimal rest for over 4 hours, was sweating allot, or at least I think that was what it was as a lot of the black soot substance was permeating from its skin. "Kind of feels like soap, gross". As we finally reached the top like I expected I was introduced to a large circular area almost as if the top of the mountain had been perfectly cut off however what I found inside the circular arena wasn''t the molten lava that I expected but a massive lake. The lake was similarly circular and steam continued to rise from it surface giving it a mystical sense. Smelling the air I confirmed that what I smelt wasn''t sulfur or anything poisonous. Dismounting Charcoal I walked over to the lake that must have a diameter of around 300 meters. Inspecting the water I couldn''t see the bottom and unlike what you might have suspected the surface didn''t boil even though a slight steam was created on top of it. Testing the temperature I placed my hand in the water and found it to be nice and warm like you would encounter in a jacuzzi, seeing that my horse was nearly keeling over from dehydration I tasted a little bit of the water, thinking it tasted fine and waiting a minute with nothing happening I allowed Charcoal to drink as much as he wanted. While Charcoal was gulping down warm liquids, I decided to explore the surroundings trying to find a clue about how to finish this stage of the trial. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Walking along the edges of the lake, the only thing I found were a few peculiar black rocks which I assumed to be obsidian, I wondered how they came to be here as they required extreme heat to form, although if this was previously an active volcano that had gone dormant and heavy rain had turned it into a lake then it would make sense. Scouring around I was tempted to enter the lake however caution stopped me, as I looked at Charcoal in the distance still gulping up water I saw a sudden black shadow in the water, not sure if I was seeing things right due to all the mist, only when I saw ripples in the water did my panic set in. "CHARCOAL COME HERE!" Shouting and ordering the horse mentally I saw him give me a confused look as he began making his way in my direction. As Charcoal was leaving, the shadow in the water expanded pushing the water up and just as Charcoal had exited the area a humongous orange mouth appeared from the water that almost snatched up the unsuspecting stallion. Charcoal now aware of the danger shrieked as he made his way in my direction even faster than before. Quickly mounting the horse, I could see the beast in all its glory, having rows of sharp fangs, a lizard like blunt snout accompanied by a flat fiery sleek orange head and big bulging eyes the beast stood at a whopping 4 meters height, its mouth so large that Charcoal could be swallowed whole. Holding itself up with two stubby legs, most of its slithering body was still hidden in the lakes depths, as water gushed of the creature''s body it resembled a giant salamander. *Gasp* Astounded that the trial would have a creature of these proportions, heck just from what I could see it was already two stories tall, even titanic bears would run in terror if they encountered it, so naturally I was baffled that it ended up in the trial. As my mind was processing this fact I saw the Lizards head move in my direction, feeling a cold sensation around my neck as its lifeless eyes stared at me, it slowly opened its mouth. There within the black crevice I saw a yellow glow starting to form. "CRAP!" Ordering Charcoal to quickly move over the edge of the volcano, just as we made it to an downward slope, a gigantic fireball, two meters large rocketed over our heads, Although it didn''t touch me the sheer heat it produced slightly charred my skin. "Run faster dammit!" Fearing for my life, as Charcoal began speeding up the decent I kept my eye on the ball of flame and after it traveled a hundred meters or so it exploded turning a portion of the sky into a blazing inferno. Having the image seared into my mind I traveled down the volcano for another hour at full speed, continuously looking behind me to see if the salamander was chasing us, but luckily it wasn''t. Needing a rest I found a secluded spot and dismounted the horse who in turn fell over. Panting furiously on the ground, along with being already drained before the attack, the salamander had also terrified the horse, causing it to run faster than it had ever done in its life. "Get some rest", as I patted the breathless horse, I tried to make sense of my situation. "Okay lets calm down, first of all the salamander is likely the boss of this stage, like with the Elder Slime if I defeat it I can probably progress to the next stage, which would likely result in better rewards at the end of the trial. The problem however is, how do I defeat it? No matter what scenario I picture fighting it alone would lead to my death, I can''t ambush it when it dwells in the lake. Even if I could none of my attacks would be able to scratch a scale, I even doubt my fire ball skill would effect it at all". Although I could always stay in the mountain and avoid the boss, peacefully surviving the rest of my time in the trial, that thought never crossed my mind, If I wanted to survive in the real world I would need power. Seeing as how I almost died to a goblin last time I couldn''t let that happen again, If I returned to the sewers after this trial even if I survived now I would be killed by the goblins again, So I needed power, and I felt like the trial was a way to obtain it. And besides I didn''t just want to survive, I had to survive in order to accomplish my parents dream, and I wasn''t going to let any OVERGROWN AMPHIBIAN get in the way of that. Coming up with different plans of attack while I rested against a tree I eventually came to a conclusion, " I can''t defeat it on my own." "If I can''t defeat it by myself I might just have to use some help, ideally the bears could put up a fight however there aren''t enough of them, the goblins might also stand a chance. While I don''t know if a single tribe is enough, if both tribes fought it, then it would surely die, yes that could work!. Although the Goblins would never fight the salamander voluntarily¡­. but if I don''t give them a choice". Coming up with the basics of the plan my face became stone cold while a dark glint ignited in my eyes, although regular people wouldn''t notice, Charcoal who was connected to me couldn''t help but feel something ominous brewing. "I still have four day''s to work with and on the last day if everything goes accordingly¡­. this mountain will be bathed in BLOOD. CHP 16 : Protector of ecosystems For three day''s I had been relentlessly scouting the terrain and finishing my preparations, I even discovered the green goblins base. I had circled the entire mountain, and was currently back to the border between grass land and forest, where the Rabid sheep resided. Slightly panting I wiped away the sweat from my forehead, "One last chop!". As I motivated myself I held the goblin sword tightly in my hands and swung vertically hitting a tree that had for the most part being cut through, and then with the final swing the tree slowly came crashing down. *BAM* "Fuuu finally" Letting out a deep breath I looked proudly at my healed left arm and the area around me, as a bunch of fallen trees littered the forest floor, although allot were also still standing upright, but that was fine. While moving the log a bit so it would touch 3 other trees that were still standing, I heard another crash in the distance and after some time a galloping black steed appeared by my side. "Huh guess your also done Charcoal, then we can finally begin". Throughout the past three day''s I had traveled all over the mountain cutting down trees and placing them strategically so they would come in contact with the most possible plant life, as my plan was¡­. to cause a forest fire. When I came up with the plan I knew I had to use the goblins to fight the salamander as otherwise I stood no chance, however the problem I faced was that it required both tribes to be in the same spot, which would obviously never happen under normal circumstances. So my plan, a forest fire, A HUGE forest fire encompassing the entire mountain, as it would force both tribes to flee up the mountain towards the forest of dead trees that was only about a kilometer long so both tribes would be in close vicinity of each other, and with the tensions between them it would certainly lead to some sort of war, and if it didn''t I would work a little magic. Although I could already envision Environmental activists crying and berating me for my plan, I couldn''t care less. Further more to complete my plan I had to lure the salamander to the goblins and since they would be in the dead forest it would be much closer than if they were still down the mountain, which made it safer for me. With all of these factors working together, along with that I had never seen it rain on the mountain I concluded this to be the best plan. My only concern was that the fire mages would somehow be able to stop the fire from spreading, however I felt that if the fire was big enough if not the flames the smoke and fear of suffocation would make them flee. And to increase my chances of the entire mountain burning I had created chains of trees placed in the most advantageous positions around the mountain so that any area that might be a bit barren would still get burned. Even tough I couldn''t do this in close proximity to the bases of the goblins in fear of discovery, but the green goblins were already surrounded by greenery and their base was made out of wood. While the red goblins lived in a cave and even if their was nothing flammable close by the smoke would force them out. Seating my self on top of Charcoal I looked at the time I had left. ______________ [Trial panel] Duration: 13:53:2 Objective: Survive Final Reward: {Skill} or {Class} ______________ "Well hope this is enough time". Looking at the tree I just cut down I lifted my hand and activated my spell causing a searing ball of flames to hit the crown of the tree immediately making it catch fire, then I saw the fire spread along the other trees connected to the chain I had made. Satisfied, I now needed to ignite 9 more similar chains I had placed around the base of the mountain from where the fire would start and slowly spread upwards, I wanted to make more but my Mana and time was limited. As circling the entire mountain would take me 4 hours and I was only able to shoot 8 fireballs before my Mana depleted, while my Mana only refilling by 10 an hour, after tracking how long it would take to refill using the trial panel, 10 was the maximum number of chains I could ignite. Ordering Charcoal to move with haste I knew I didn''t have much time as it would would also take me 7 hours to ascend to the top, not including the time it would take me to check up on the goblins bases, so I had to be fast¡­.well at least Charcoal would have to be fast as the poor horse would barley get any rest today. ..... "Phew, and that''s ten". Having ignited the last bonfire I felt slightly dizzy and light headed "Ugh, this is like getting a really bad hangover", as I said that I opened my status. ______________ Name: Aeron This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Level: 5. (F) Class. None Skills: [Lesser Fire Ball] Health: 1076 Mana: 12/124 Strength: 13 , Agility 16 ,Vitality 10 Endurance: 10 ,Intelligence: 16 ,Sense: 9 USP: 0 ______________ I already concluded that the reason for the headache was the low mana I had, after firing of the 7th fireball I already started to feel the signs, and afterwards I found that the lower my Mana gets the more pain i started to feel, I wouldn''t be surprised that it went below 5 I would just pass out. "I should definitely be more careful of my mana expenditure in the future, If I was ever in a fight and carelessy used many suddenly passing out, that would just be stupid". Trying to take my mind of the migraine, I looked into the distance, seeing a red glow all across the horizon that was slowly traveling up the mountain, I was pretty satisfied. "Its going to take a while before the flames reach the goblin bases, which tribe should I visit first, If I am correct I''m currently on the west side now so the green goblins should be closest". Having decided to check up on the green goblins I made my way to them. ______________ [Trial panel] Duration: 9:49:50 ______________ ........ POV Shift- Green goblin base As fire ravaged the forest and unsuspecting critters caught alight a scene of madness enfolded as a stamped of desperate animals were seen making their way up the mountain to avoid the inferno, although for many who either didn''t have the stamina or were encircled their lives came to a tragic end. This disturbance was also picked up by two green goblins who were hunting in the forest below, seeing their prey along with bears and horses rushing towards them, they were initially frightened. Scared it was the end for them, after the creatures rushed past them with not even a single glance being given to them they became confused until they noticing the flames on the horizon. Understood the implications they desperately rushed back to their tribe to tell the news. After two hours the two green goblins reached their base and quickly spread the news. With all the goblins panicking it created a commotion that attracted the chiefs attention, leaving his hut he was irritated that this was the second commotion in only a few short days that required him to leave his home. But as soon as he saw that the entire base was in a state of panic, his previous irritated expression became serious, seeing one of his right hand man worriedly arrive he asked "Under attack we?". The advisor quickly shook his head and responded "No, fire! the forest on fire!". Understanding the gist, he hurriedly made his way to the fence around the base currently crowded by his citizens all looking with at something with shocked expressions, pushing them out of the way he saw the forest below filled with fire, like a red flood moving upwards, as the roars of animals reverberated throughout the area. Understanding the severity of the situation, he looked at his right hand man and said "We leave base, tell them to bring meat and weapons we move up Mountain". The right hand man naturally shocked by what the chief just said, as this meant abandoning his home and place he grew up, so he asked " Why, can not just chop down some trees prevent fire from reaching". The Chief looked at him sternly, "Fire to big, cannot work". Accepting the chiefs explanation as normally they only dealt with small scale fire''s the right hand man quickly relayed the news causing the 200 goblins in the tribe to quickly start packing up. The chief still standing at the fence looking at the burning forest below was deep in thought, "Fire to big, unnatural, did red goblins do this? Is it declaration of war?". Although smarter than the average green goblin the chiefs intelligence was still not incredible, and feeling a headache from all the thinking he decided to leave the matter for now although he would surely confront them if he had the chance. After fifteen minutes the Chief decided that it was enough time as he feared the fire would get to close, calling the goblins together they left their base creating the largest exodus in their history. Off the 200 hundred goblins that left, 130 were regular goblins acting as pack mules and were carrying all the supplies, while the 70 Warrior goblins were just carrying their weapons, although 15 of them were on horse back including the chief who was at the front leading their way up the mountain. POV Shift- Aeron Secretly spying on the Green goblins, as I saw them leave their base relief encompassed me knowing that at least part of my plan had been successful. Apprehensively looking at the fire behind me and seeing that it was getting close I thought "Do I have enough time to check on the red goblins, Well if the fire reaches me before I get there I can always just go straight to the salamander, it doesn''t matter that much if I see them leave anyways, it is more for my peace of mind". ______________ [Trial panel] Duration: 6:34:43 ______________ ......... Two hours later "I-I, made it". Looking at the scene in front of me I saw that the red goblins had grouped up outside of their cave and were about to leave their base behind. A few things about their line up did pique my interest though, as unlike the green goblins they seemed to have significantly less members with only about 130 and of these only 50 were mages with the rest being regular. Although unlike with the warrior goblins who all looked the same their were a few differences between the mages as I could make out 10 that had a monster core attached to the top of there staff while the rest didn''t. Also their was one goblin who stood a little taller than a warrior goblin, it was also the only one who wore a shaggy robe, that reminisced an ancient monks, and his staff had a monster core that was significantly bigger than the others. Unlike with the green goblins he was in the middle of the group, and was probably the chief. Spying on the chief through the woods, as I scanned his equipment suddenly he turned to my direction, freezing up I quickly realized I had being spotted and ordered Charcoal to immediately leave. The Red goblin Chief feeling the presence of the spy observing him suddenly leave, had an angry expression, "Those fools did they cause this fire, do they finally want to end this conflict". The Chief having mistaken Aeron for one of the green goblin horse riders was naturally vexed as he didn''t understand what those simpletons were planning, but feeling a bit vulnerable ordered more of his subordinates to surround him, as they traveled up the mountain. "Well that was frightening", Suddenly being stared at by the goblin chief had momentarily stiffened up my body, not expecting him to find me. But Luckily since I was a fair distance away I could safely escape with Charcoal. Deciding to make my way to the lake on top of the mountain now I moved with haste. ......¡­ ______________ [Trial panel] Duration: 42:19 ______________ "Phew 42 minutes left". Having made it to the lake I vigilantly stayed at the edge to make sure I didn''t disturb the Salamander yet. Dismounting the horse that could finally get some rest, I held a fox corpse on my right shoulder. I had picked this fox up along the way using charcoal to kill it with one kick. The reason I killed the fox was so that I could use it as bait to lure the salamander out of the water. While that was my plan I became momentarily distracted by something interesting happening below, as it seemed both goblin tribes had met up, which made sense as their was only one real path to get up here with the others being steep cliffs that were untraversable. I could vaguely make out both groups causing a slight grin to encroach on my face, " It seems my plan worked, now only this dammed beast, and then everything should be ready". Moving my attention back to the lake I initiated the last phase of my plan. CHP 17 : Crimson Carnage Looking at the lake, a sudden sense of nervousness washed over me. Calming myself down, I dismounted Charcoal and threw the fox corpse on the ground. Afterward, I retracted my gaze from the lake and turned my attention to the steed. Seeing that Charcoal was also fearfully looking at the lake while shivering, I couldn''t help but feel a bit sympathetic for the horse, especially when I conveyed my next instructions to him. "Charcoal, grab the fox corpse and put it at the edge of the lake before returning to me." Suddenly turning stiff, the horse''s eyes grew wide as he stared at me, a sense of betrayal, fear, and anguish accompanied its gaze. Charcoal stood still for a little while, as if trying to disobey my order. However, with the contract somehow working its wonders, after a little while, he gave in and bit the fox corpse before slowly making its way over to the lake. Incredibly scared of the monster it had encountered here last time, Charcoal moved at a snail''s pace while inching closer to the lake. Thinking it was taking too long, I mentally ordered the horse, "Faster." Flinching, the horse now began moving at a walking pace. Although its movements were still robotic, as if resisting going forward, I was satisfied. I watched how Charcoal reached the edge of the lake and lowered the fox corpse, making the lower half submerged while the upper part was still on the bank. Having placed the corpse, Charcoal, as if its life depended on it, raced to my side. Feeling tense, I quickly mounted the trembling horse and stared intently at the corpse. 1 second. 2 seconds. 5 seconds. As the ten-second mark passed, and I was about to get Charcoal to splash the water a bit, a colossal shadow appeared, and not long after, a massive splash unveiled the body of the salamander. As ripples spread through the lake, the creature pounced on the fox corpse and without the need to chew swallowed its prey. Like last time, the salamander began scanning its surroundings. "Well, it''s now or never." Knowing I had to act now before the salamander could attack me, I quickly activated my fireball spell and shot it at the salamander''s face. Just as the salamander turned in my direction, my attack reached its head and made impact causing a small explosion to occur. And¡­ nothing happened. After the explosion occurred, the salamander didn''t even flinch. Looking at its snout, there wasn''t any damage either. It was almost as if a gentle breeze had struck it. The only thing that did happen was that the salamander''s undivided attention was now directed at me. Its eyes narrowed, and a prehistoric screech escaped its mouth. As the sonic screech reverberated throughout my body, I thought my eardrums were going to burst as blood started leaking out of my ears. Even though I was suffering from the attack, I kept my gaze fixated on the salamander that was getting out of the lake. While my attack didn''t do any damage, that was never my plan anyway, as it was simply to lure it. Looking at Charcoal, I could see the roar had also affected him. Luckily, though, I could transmit my orders mentally and told him to immediately run down the mountain as I hurled another fireball in the salamander''s direction. This effectively incensed the already enraged monster, which started climbing out of the lake to chase after us. As the wind zipped past me traveling down the slope, I looked behind. The image of the salamander was still hidden, as it would first need to cross the flat land next to the lake, but after a few seconds, its figure was revealed as it was sprinting after us. Looking at it, my eyes grew wide as its entire body was revealed for the first time, and its size was truly monstrous. While I had already seen that it was 4 meters tall, its sleek and smooth orange body was at least 15 meters long. Running after us in a lizard-like manner, bending from side to side as it retracted its legs to run, it gave off a truly prehistoric and domineering aura, especially when it opened its humongous mouth. "Ohh shit, Charcoal, move to the left!" Just as I gave the command, a massive fireball flew past us and exploded against a boulder, partly exploding it as a sea of fire followed. Feeling a cold sweat start to form on my back, at the narrow escape, I looked to the dead forest below as I could see the two opposing goblin tribes were close by and would only take two minutes or so to reach. "That is if I survive the way down." Looking behind me, I quickly led Charcoal to escape another fireball. Although we weren''t getting directly hit, the heat was still blistering my skin, and even Charcoal''s fur was getting singed. The only thing in this constant battle against life and death that was going my way was that Charcoal didn''t lose out in speed against the Salamander, and we were able to keep some distance between us. And with me directing Charcoal away from the searing ball of flames while he sprinted down, we continued to escape the salamander and eventually reached the black forest. From then on, it became easier to evade the salamander''s attacks, and we eventually reached the goblins. .... [Point of View - Goblins] As both goblin tribes ascended to the top to escape the raging fire below, they gradually came closer together, following the path to the top. Accompanying them was a surging tide of beasts who recklessly strode forth, even trampling some unlucky tribe mates. Eventually, both groups were able to spot each other but decided not to engage as they were still escaping from the fire; the stampede of beasts they would need to go through also dissuaded such actions. Traveling along the path, both groups reached the dead forest, and as the tide of monsters sizzled out into the surroundings, both groups approached each other. The green goblin chief, on his horse, went to the front of his camp and angrily roared, "Gilek, why you burnt forest!". Gilek was the name of the red goblin chief who, surrounded by a squad of magicians, went to the front and also angrily responded, "You imbecile! Why would we do this? The entire forest is gone now. Why do you think we were always careful when casting out spells? We even live in a cave!" Gilek then further responded, "It must have been one of you idiots, probably torching some trees for fun or something." The green goblin chief was offended. Although he didn''t exactly understand everything Gilek said, he knew Gilek was calling him stupid. Enraged, the green goblin chief pulled out both his swords, "First you kill son, now you burn forest, then call me stupid!" The chief, overcome with rage, then pointed one of his swords to the opposing camp and yelled, "Attack! Kill all red bastards!" prompting the green goblins to charge at the other tribe. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Gilek, seeing this, clicked his tongue and quickly went to the back of his camp as he ordered the regular goblins to go to the front while the mages would attack from behind. By now, Gilek was convinced that the green goblins had started the fire, although he didn''t know exactly why, but comprehending their idiocy was beneath him. Just as the mages were readying their spells and both tribes were about to collide, a shocking roar reverberated across the area, coming from atop the mountain. Causing both groups to temporarily freeze. The roar, although distant, had awakened an unknown fear in them, as if they heard a higher existence. This peace on the battlefield lasted only for a second, though, as a green goblin warrior, seeing that its opponent had frozen up, swung down his sword, decapitating the enemy and causing both tribes to again focus on the battle as magic casters quickly hurled their already prepared spells, killing a goblin with every fireball. While the red goblins had the magician, the green goblins'' cavalry reached the red goblins and began decimating their ranks. As blood and burnt corpses littered the battlefield, the distant sound of constant explosions was drowned, except to the two chiefs who, after hearing the roar, were both terrified stiff and hadn''t moved from their positions yet. Looking at each other from across the battlefield, both saw the terror in each other''s eyes, and Gilek yelled, "Cease attacking!" while the green goblin chief yelled, "Stop!," causing the battlefield to once again become quiet as both groups looked with confusion at their chief until the sound of falling trees reached their ears, and they all turned to that direction. After being like this for a second, they eventually saw a Black Forest horse escape from the forest accompanied by a strange creature they had never seen before. Although it slightly resembled a goblin, it was neither green nor red; it was also covered in burn marks. This creature ran straight through the middle of the battlefield. The goblins would have attacked it but froze as they saw the beast that was chasing it. Upon entering the battlefield the humongous beast stopped briefly, scanning its surroundings. Every time it looked at a goblin, fear gripped their heart. Eventually, it raised its paw; the green goblin nearest to it had a bad premonition, but before it could run away, it had already descended. *Splat* As the salamander raised its paw againt, the broken body of the goblin was found. It threw the goblin in its mouth like it was popcorn before licking its lips while looking ravenously at the others, and began attacking its new prey. .... [Point of View - Aeron] Running past the stunned goblins, I smirked as the salamander had finally attacked. Maneuvering between them, none of the goblins were focused on me as they all stared at the monstrosity causing carnage behind. Quickly going out of range from the battlefield, I circled around and, on higher ground, spectated the salamander devastating the goblins'' ranks. By now, both goblin leaders had realized that they were in deep shit and that the only way to survive was by fighting; otherwise, on this small stretch of land, they would be picked off one by one. "I guess everything is going according to plan. Now, how much time is left?" ______________ [Trial panel] Duration: 35:29 ______________ "About thirty minutes. It should be enough, I hope." "Oh, it seems they have come up with a strategy." Looking at the battlefield, it seemed both tribes has set away their diferences for now and decided to focus on the salamander having rearranged themselves, with the common goblins now facing the salamander. Although unable to inflict any real damage with their daggers, they proved to be a good distraction for the warrior goblins and cavalry that would swoop in and use their swords to cut into the salamander. While still not doing a lot of damage, whenever the green goblin chief would swing his swords, I could see a clean cut being formed. The goblin mages, on the other hand, were continuously targeting the salamander''s head with their fireballs, stopping it from casting its own. Whenever the red goblin chief would shoot his spell, I could even see some damage being done. With all the attacks being thrown, it looked like the Salamander was in a tough position. But that was only if you didn''t factor in that all the damage that had been done to it until now was just superficial, and every time it powerfully swung its tail or struck out with its body, a few goblins would be crushed or sent hurling into the distance. Like this, the battle continued for 15 minutes until a major development occurred: the red goblin chief had stopped casting for a while and was instead focusing on a new spell that took him about a minute to prepare. This unique spell deviated from the conventional ball form, stretching into a meter-long object resembling a spear. The relentless assault of the other goblin mages on the salamander prevented it from noticing the impending danger. As the goblin chief hurled the elongated spell at the creature, it could only manage to close its eyelids in a futile attempt to shield itself. Despite this defensive reflex, the spell unleashed a powerful explosion, forcing the creature''s head to jerk upward, accompanied by a roar of agony. Examining its countenance, one of its eyelids had vanished, revealing a white and burned eye underneath. Incensed, the salamander activated another one of its skills, causing a 5-meter ring of fire to form around it, burning the 40 or so regular goblins, 10 goblin warriors, and two horse riders in its vicinity to death. From the initial 330 goblins, less than 150 now remained. Although, for the most part, the elite of both groups were still alive, the situation was beginning to look grim. The salamander, turning its full attention to the red goblin chief, quickly dashed in his direction. As the other magicians quickly ran away from the approaching ring of death, the chief drained from the previous spell, couldn''t escape, and the last thing it did was conjure a small fireball as it staggered in fear and felt itself burning before being swallowed by the creature. As his tragic fate came to an end, the ring of fire surrounding the salamander stopped, it probably burnt through allot of mana, and the battle continued. "Wait a second. Fireballs, and that ring of fire. Did the red goblin''s learn their spells from the salamander? Or is it just a skill common to beings who use fire magic? Although the goblin chief did make that fire spear, and the salamander hasn''t used that skill, so maybe the second option." "Anyway, I''m pretty sure the goblins are going to lose." Looking at the fight, the salamander was moving more sluggish than before, probably resulting from all the cuts and bruises that were piling up. Even though the salamander wasn''t in an ideal state, neither were the goblins; many were tired, and some of the mages were no longer casting their spells, having run out of mana. I could also see some red goblins deserting the battlefield. Having lost their chief, there wasn''t much point for them anymore. The green goblin chief had also noticed this and was now ordering the remaining red common goblins to mount a frontal assault (suicide attack) against the salamander. As the red goblins attacked and distracted the beast, a few goblin warriors, having abandoned their swords, sneaked behind the lizard and, using knives, quickly scaled up its body from where they proceeded to continuously harass and stab the beast as it was unable to reach them on its back. This lasted for about two minutes before another ring of fire expanded from the salamander and burnt all the insects from its back and red goblins attacking it. When the ring of fire ended, the creature looked considerably more drained than before. Seeing it as his chance, the goblin chief called for an all-out attack, and with the remaining 70 goblins a gruesome ensured. Ten minutes later, all the goblins except for the chief had either died or fled. The chief looked in dismay as half its body was burned, the burned corpse of his son and his entire tribe was smouldering around him. They had been tricked by the creature. During the battle, the salamander had taken a beating from the goblins. Even I believed they stood a chance after they managed to chop off its tail. However, just as they thought they were going to win this battle, the salamander suddenly activated another ring of death, killing all the remaining goblins except for the chief, who because of his strength managed to survive. The reason they were tricked was that the lizard had acted as if it was unable to use mana anymore, as it even stopped shooting fireballs, but it had all been a feint, and when all the remaining goblins were in range, it activated its ability. As the salamander, now stained red with its own blood, staggered toward the goblin chief, the leader stood motionless, his expression blank as he faced the approaching horror. The creature lowered its gaping maw, chomping down on the chief before tossing his lifeless form into the air and swallowing it whole. Looking at the scene, I couldn''t help but sigh as a determined glint crossed my eyes. "Guess I''ll have to finish this, Charcoal, let''s go!" Now I would never attempt to kill the salamander if it was still in good health, but currently, it walked with a limp, had lost a ton of blood, an eye, and its tail, making it basically at death''s door, so I had to take the chance. As Charcoal unwillingly galloped toward the lizard, its attention began focusing on us. Truly out of mana now, the creature could only approach the enemy with physical force as we raced approached each other. As we neared, I talked to Charcoal, "It seems our adventure has come to an end. Now, jump!" The salamander, perceiving the horse and its rider jumping toward it, eagerly opened its maw as it was seemingly presented with a free snack. However, from the corner of its eye, in mid-flight it caught sight of the rider leaping from the horse. The mysterious newcomer landed on its head, swiftly drawing a sword and aimed for the remaining good eye. As I jumped off Charcoal''s back and soared through the air, I took out my sword and stabbed it halfway into the beast''s remaining good eye before it became stuck. A loud roar followed, but seeing it was still alive and about to swat me with its paw, using all the power I had, I bulged my muscles and pushed, making the sword sink lower and become fully lodged inside, causing the salamander to stiffen up and fall over with a resounding thud. A second later, and a sweet message graced my ears. [You have slain Lvl....] CHP 18 : Trials End [You have slain Lvl 31 {FIERY NEWT}] Hearing the notification I couldn''t help but grin, as a sigh of relief escaped my mouth. Although a bit surprised that the creature turned out to be a newt and not a salamander, not that I knew the difference but I didn''t make that dampen my accomplishment, as I had done it. After having spent days preparing for it, and almost teetering on the brink of death as the I led the lizard to the goblins, I had managed to kill it with my own hands. While it was a bit underwhelming how I defeated the beast, I couldn''t help but feel a sense of exhaustion wash over me now that it was over. Still standing on the salamanders head I decided to check the time. ________________ [Trial panel] Duration: 7:08 ________________ " Seven minutes left, kind of guessed something would happen after defeating the big boss". A bit miffed I closed the trial panel, having nothing better to do I scanned around the battlefield ¡­.. and that''s when it hit me, I was on an actual battlefield. Corpses and blood surrounded the area, some looked beaten to death, others eviscerated, and many burnt to a crisp. Yet, a common thread connected them all none had met a peaceful demise. Even in death, their expressions betrayed their fear or indignation. Most of the area was also scorched by the salamanders flames, and with ash slowly descending from the burning woods below, it looked like a nightmarish wasteland. As the poignant smell of iron and smoke entered my nose, I couldn''t help but be perplexed by myself. I had caused this, although only the salamanders or Newts corpse was caused directly by me, my actions had still led to the over 400 mutilated goblin corpses around me. Was it morally wrong of me to do? ¡­. maybe, but probably not, they were monsters who killed humans without a second thought, just look at what happened in the sewers. Although looking at it now, I was also leading them to their death without a second thought, and in the trial killed many monsters, sometimes in self defense, sometimes for food, and sometimes without good reason, so was I just hypocritical in justifying their deaths because they were simply monsters? I didn''t know¡­.. and truthfully didn''t care, even looking across the battlefield although the sight made me feel a bit disgusted, it was merely the gruesomeness of it, from the inside I felt calm. And even if it was hypocritical than so be it, I had long stopped questioning the way''s of the world, simply living day by day to achieve university. Just as I was about to descend from the salamanders head I heard a soft wheezing sound that for the first time in a while made my hart quiver and face frown. Looking below I saw a jet black horse laying on the ground, blood was leaking out of its mouth, while it was mostly motionless the occasional, slow, ragged breaths hinted at its lingering vitality. But all in all, Charcoal was dying. Jumping and landing next to Charcoal, for some reason I couldn''t help but look at him differently than I did the rest of the monsters. Yes Charcoal was a beast, a beast that would have surely killed me had we met under different circumstances, that is also why I didn''t hesitate to sacrifice him when I attacked the salamander, heck I knew it was practically a guarantee. But looking at him now with a lifeless look in his eyes as he struggled to breath, maybe it was because we had a contracted bond, or because I had made it a slave and virtually ordered it to kill it self, I couldn''t help but feel ... unpleasant. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Looking conflicted, I eventually sighed as I grabbed a nearby sword from a fallen goblin, "Let me at least show you this final act of mercy". Having no idea where the horses heart was located and not knowing how else to give it a painless passing I decided to go for the head, aiming to pierce its eye into its brain, much similar to the Newt. Raising up the sword I couldn''t help but look at the stallion who was now staring at me with an emotionless gaze except for a faint shimmer of what I could only describe as relief, probably because it knew its agony would soon be over. Feeling even more uncomfortable I swung down the sword with all my power, to make sure it died instantly. Performing the motion I whispered a quiet, "I am sorry", making the horses lifeless eye''s tremble, before the blade pierced its skull, ending the life of Charcoal. Ding! [You have slain Lvl 20 {BLACK FOREST HORSE}] Ding! [Your bound {BLACK FOREST HORSE} has died] Feeling truly exhausted, I allowed myself to collapse with arms spread wide. As I neared the soil I began feeling my stoic self come back, and when I hit the group I felt indifferent again albeit a little cold. If someone would look at this scene from a second persons perspective they would see a man surrounded by two corpse that had come to a similar tragic fate, the man laid motionlessly on the ground, while staring straight up at the gray sky, covered in descending cloud''s of ash that began gradually covering his body, although in reality he was just looking at the trial duration waiting for it to be over. In my stillness, I dwelled on nothing, unperturbed by the creatures lingering in the dead forest. The Newt''s corpse, even in death, served as a deterrent, keeping the beasts at bay. Instead I just focused on the timer and the feeling of ash covering me, although feeling a bit coarse much like sand it also felt warm, making me feel a little less frigid. Waiting out the time I saw the counter gradually go down. Duration: 5:00 Duration: 2:30 Duration: 0:20 Duration: 0:03 Duration: 0:02 Duration: 0:01 Duration: 0:00 When the counter hit zero, it seemed as if time stopped with all the ash dancing through the air frozen in place, and then like a ripple in water with me being the center, everything surrounding me started to disappear, until only I was left floating in a black void. Seeing all of this happen I was naturally a bit perplexed and raised an eye brow but before I could think, ''So was this all some fucked up simulation'', I heard the voice of the system. Ding! [End of trial! Achievements will now be list and personalized] [Host {Aeron} has survived 15 day''s] [Host {Aeron} has directly slain {55} F rank, {2} E rank, and {1} D rank beast(s)] [Host {Aeron} has indirectly slain {5480} F rank and {403} E rank beast(s)] [Host {Aeron} formed a slave contract with {1} E rank beast(s)] [Host {Aeron} indirectly caused the destruction of the {RED GOBLIN TRIBE}] [Host {Aeron} indirectly caused the destruction of the {GREEN GOBLIN TRIBE}] [Host {Aeron} slayed the tutorial boss {FIERY NEWT}] After the incessant stream of messages I felt a bit disoriented, but processing everything I wasn''t shocked, although a few things did surprise me such as that the system counted me luring the Newt to the goblins as indirectly causing its destruction, and that it counted creatures I had not directly killed in general, which was apparently around the 6,000 mark, most definitely the result of the forest fire. Also the message proved to me that rank''s worked alphabetically going from weakest F to E to D and would likely continue in that order until A. But that also made me question why they had put a D grade into the tutorial as the creature was literally 6 times my level and two ranks higher than me. And seeing as the creature had more than 6 times my power it meant that levels increased someones power exponentially instead of adding the same base value over and over again. It also showed how vast the gap was in ranks with me having killed 55 F ranks and only two 2 E ranks, which if I was correct about them being Charcoal and the rabid sheep then I couldn''t even defeat them in a straight up fight and instead used magical leeches or ¡­.. rather unsavory means. Somehow the longer I looked at my achievements, the more I felt I was entirely inadequate for this trial, surrounded by monsters I couldn''t defeat and instead using trickery to make my way through it. Just as I was about to continue with my pondering, I felt a heavy pressure encapsulate me, as the system gave a somewhat personal as well as ominous sounding message. [You have a faint wish to live but without desires or goals, you are but a slave to your physical body] [Although you long for others you have realized that no one is like you and reject them as the truth you''ve come to realise is, that you are merely a husk in the image of your former self] Ding![Because of your nature and expertise in carnage, you have no need for comrades to protect you, but as you long for equals, you will command ranks of subordinates who neither long nor wish for anything leaving in their wake only pure empty less destruction, fulfilling the fickle desire of their master] [You have received the class {Savant of the empty husk}] Having heard the message an abrupt surge of heat engulfed my body, making me feel like I was boiling from the inside. The excruciating pain persisted for a mere five seconds before abruptly receding just as quickly as it came, sweating, before I could form any coherent thought, I vanished from the void. CHP 19 : Military The excruciating pain still echoed in my mind as I stumbled back, disoriented and gasping for breath. The abrupt transition from agony to the cold, smelly underground caught me off guard. "Wh-What the fuck was that?" Still a bit dazed, I looked at my surroundings, and remembered where I was, the sewer. Although a bit difficult to make out, I could see the signs of my previous struggle as the wall behind me was slightly dented and covered in my dried up blood, while the most obvious sign was the goblin I had killed, lying in front of me, peacefully rotting away. The only distinction from the last encounter was my improved physical state. No longer plagued by a stabbing wound, I stood in a pristine condition, physically speaking. My clothes were still tattered, and checking myself, I found that none of the hides or daggers I had in the trial had traveled along with me. While I wanted to check out my status, as I guessed the boiling from the inside had something to do with the apparent class I gained, but I knew I first had to find a safe place, and goblin infested sewers were not one of them. Remembering where the exit was located, as it was only a single right and left turn following the long corridor to the end. Truly, if the goblins had shown up a minute later, I would have made it out of here with Lily, which reminded me¡­. I should probably figure out where she was or if she was even still alive. I had promised to reunite her with her mother after all, although thinking back on it now it was a bit stupid and if the situation outside was still the same as last time, then it became practically impossible. But making sure she was alright was at least the decent thing to do. Quickly following the path, luckily not encountering any goblins, it ended at a ladder ascending to above ground. Going through the manhole, I found myself on an abandoned street, and hid behind a car as I scanned my surroundings. Other than the obvious state of chaos that seemed to have engulfed the area with abandoned and wrecked cars littering the road, I was at the edge of the city, and could see a forest emerge in the distance. Luckily, the road I was on seemed to be heading in that general direction as well. Although I couldn''t spot any monsters at the moment, I highly doubted the military had cleared the area, as the eerie quietness and spotting of the occasional human corpse showed that the issue likely hadn''t been resolved. "What is the army even doing?" I would have understood that for the first few days the military might have been busy, considering the catastrophe was widespread. But currently, 15 days had passed or at least I assumed according to the system, and Dallas being a pretty big city, should logically be a priority target for securing. Deciding to follow the road leading towards the forest, my contemplation was abruptly disrupted by the sudden eruption of gunfire. Looking back at the city, I could make out two humanoid figures desperately running while firing behind them as 20 or so horned rabbits chased them. The figures eventually decided to hole up in a car, which the bunnies began viciously attacking. "Pretty sure that was the military." Already hidden behind a vehicle to make sure no situation like in the sewers would happen again, although I thought the soldiers would have more tact than involving a civilian in such a fight, but it was better to be careful. Seeing the struggling soldiers, as rabbit horns managed to penetrate the car''s plating, I pondered on what to do, "Although I don''t really want to involve myself and twenty bunnies are way too many for me to deal with, so I should go my own way ¡­. but those soldiers probably have a base of operations nearby and that would save me the hassle of searching for it, and I wont have to potentially sleep in the wilderness again. Ahh well, it all actually depends on if I still have that skill." Opening my status for the first time since the tutorial, although I wanted to do an in depth analyses on my class, I didn''t have time for that now and looked for the important information. _____________ Name: Aeron Level: 5. (F) Class: [Savant Of The Empty Husk] This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Class skills: [Husk Maker] Skills: [Lesser Fire Ball] Health: 1076 Mana: 124 Strength: 13 , Agility 16 , Vitality 10 Endurance: 10 ,Intelligence: 16 ,Sense: 9 USP: 0 _____________ I briefly glanced at the new class and class skill I had gained but had already decided to look at it later and instead looked for the fire ball skill, which I was relieved to still retained. After losing all my equipment I had in the trial, I feared the skill would also have been lost, but seeing it wasn''t the case, I made up my mind and quickly dashed to help the soldiers. Soldiers'' POV Two men in military outfits, adorning bulletproof vests and helmets, had made it to an abandoned black SUV. Entering hastily, they closed the door shut and sat near the center as rabid bunnies started pounding the vehicle, with some holes forming through the car doors. With the soldiers staying in the middle, the horn''s reach wasn''t enough to get them. But as more bunnies began piercing the vehicle, it was only a matter of time. Both men were on a reconnaissance mission when the incident occurred, their job to stay in the outer area of the city and try to find out the situation inside and potentially find survivors. Although the job was dangerous, it wasn''t a death warrant as long as you were a bit careful, and with the monsters concentrating in the middle of the city, scoping out the perimeter was doable. Which held true for both men until they suddenly turned a corner and encountered a rabbit that noticed them, unable to avoid confrontation both men took out their tactical knives, knowing that a firearm would alert the other creatures in the area. Working together they managed to expertly dispatch the foe, as they had done a few times before. The real issue was that another rabbit had managed to sneak up on them and just when the fight was finished, decided to show itself, jumping and aiming straight for one of the unaware soldiers. Noticing the attack but unable to reach his comrade in time, the soldier had taken out his rifle and shot the creature in the air. After that, chaos ensued as more bunnies showed up and they decided to make a run for it. They had actually done quite well for themselves, managing to more than halve those chasing them, but twenty still remained and they were now severely low on bullets. Having no other option, they rushed to a car, leading to the situation they were in now. Inside, both men were freaking out, fearing for their lives, One shouted to the other,"Dammit Mark! Why did you shoot!?" "What! If I hadn''t shot, you''d be a shish kebab right now Jeff! Anyways, let''s focus on getting out of this situation, how many rounds do you have left?" "Tch," Jeff sneered before replying downcast, "You should have saved yourself Mark. I''m out of ammo, only got the dagger." Mark hearing his response was disheartened, and his face aghast as he himself only had 5 bullets remaining in his handgun, while his assault rifle had long run out. Knowing there was no way either would make it out alive, Mark shouted out hysterically, "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I can''t die Jeff! I still need to find Kelly and the kids, I-I need to know they are ok, that they are safe!" Hearing his comrade and long-time friend''s tirade, Jeff could only look sympathetically at Mark. Ever since the world turned to shit, Mark had been split from his family, being on active duty while his wife and kids went to the Dallas parade. That was also the main reason Mark had decided to accept a reconnaissance mission in enemy territory. And that is why Jeff, who had no wife and kids, was angry at Mark. Honestly, Mark should have just let the rabbit skewer him, although he would have probably died. Mark could have dealt with the bunny alone and escaped, but alas Mark was a good person and naturally, didn''t think twice about saving him. Sighing, Jeff said, "Give me the gun. I''ll try and distract them while.." BOOM! Before Jeff could finish his sentence, a loud explosion erupted near the car, flinging two rabbits in the air who hit the ground dead. A few seconds later, another explosion occurred and then another and another. The two men could see what seemed like a ball of flames hitting the rabbit horde every so often, but due to their vision being blocked by other cars and fire coming from the explosions, they couldn''t see who or what was causing this destruction. The rabbits by now were also freaking out, but not knowing where their opponent was, they were confused and began to group up, making the ball of flames only more lethal. Eventually, after 7 of such explosions, only 5 rabbits lived, but only two were still in good condition while the others were hurt and bleeding. Seeing the hurt rodents, the soldiers regained a bit of hope as they could even deal with the rabbits now. But suddenly, the rabbits all looked towards a particular direction and began to growl before running towards it. After that, the sound of sticks cracking and whimpers of the rabbits were heard before it became quiet. The soldiers, not knowing what to do, as whatever might be out there could be even more dangerous, decided to stay in the car filled with trepidation as they hoped that whatever was out there would pass them. Whispering, with a quake of fear in his voice, Mark asked, "Jeff, what do you think that was?" "How should I kno¡­" Before Jeff could answer, a sudden, knocking sound reverberated through the car. Both men froze, their eyes now glued to the window, where an eerie silhouette appeared. In shredded clothes, and blood sprayed across his body, a teenager stood outside. He knocked on the car window and motioned for them to exit as he uttered, "You''re safe now; you can get out." The soldiers, seeing the kid, didn''t comply and just looked at each other as something felt off about this situation that unnerved them. It wasn''t the fact that the kid had tattered clothes or blood sprayed over himself, or even the fact that he was the likely culprit behind the rabbits demise. No, It was the vacant, uncaring expression etched onto the teenager''s face, and the hollowness in his eyes that sent shivers down their spine. A prolonged silence stretched between Jeff and Mark as they weighed their options, both knowing what the other was thinking. With a reluctant nod, an unspoken agreement formed, and they decided to unravel the mystery outside, doubting that the car could have stopped the figure anyway. The door creaked open, revealing the unknown human that awaited them in this changed world. CHP 20 : Camp POV Aeron Having slain the horned rabbits, I knocked on the window and told the soldiers they were able to get out of the car. Truthfully, the battle was easier than I expected. Shooting fireballs at them from a distance while constantly moving around using the cars as obstacles so they couldn''t discover my location, I managed to kill 15 of them. Wanting to conserve mana and spotting a fortunate find, a metal bat in the trunk of a nearby car, I decided to confront the remaining five rabbits head-on. While a bit risky I knew I was a higher level than them and truthfully wanted to find out how much stronger I had become compared to before. In the trial, I couldn''t really tell the difference as I had no base to compare myself with. But having fought the rabbits before I ever leveled up, I thought it would be a good indicator. And I sure had improved with me bashing in the skull of the first rabbit that came after me, killing it in one hit. The others weren''t as clean, and I almost got stabbed in the leg by one. But after a few hits and most of them already injured, it didn''t take long before they succumbed to internal bleeding. At the end, even the baseball bat was dented. Looking at the two military men cautiously exiting the vehicle, I couldn''t help but frown, causing both men to panic and quickly exit. The reason for my displeasure wasn''t due to their slow movements or the fact that they were looking at me like I was some kind of monster, but because I hadn''t leveled up even after killing twenty horned rabbits. While granted they were only level three, I thought I would get at least one level, but perhaps it wasn''t enough. Both soldiers had by now exited the vehicle, but with me thinking and them unsure if they should speak, an uncomfortable silence descended around us, until one of the men with a rugged face and a mustache decided to break it. "Thanks for saving us, as you saw we were in quite the pickle back there. By the way, I am Mark, and this is my comrade Jeff. We''re part of the military rescue force sent for Dallas. If you don''t mind us asking, what is your name? And why are you wandering around enemy territory?" Hearing the question, my frown disappeared, returning to a blank expression. Thinking about how I should answer and seeing no good reason to lie, I decided to tell the truth, or at least part of it. "Oh, my name is Aeron, and I kind of just appeared in the sewers a few minutes ago. You see, after killing a few monsters, I was transported to this alternate dimension of sorts and had to survive a trial there for a few days before just poof appearing back here and running into you guys." Hearing my, to be honest, nonsensical sounding story, the soldiers weren''t as surprised as I thought they''d be and seemed to understand the situation as they visibly calmed down. Seeing their response, I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you know other people who have gone through similar situations?" Mark appeared somewhat hesitant before responding, "Well, yes, at the base, we have three others who claimed to have experienced a similar situation. There are also rumors about a soldier vanishing during combat, even though his squad was next to him, so it''s not hard to believe. Truthfully, I thought it was bullshit, but it explains how you could defeat the rabbits," Mark explained before Jeff interjected. "But how did you save us? Although I know you guys are apparently more powerful, how did you shoot those projectiles?" Knowing this question was likely to pop up, I answered, "Well, I got this skill from the trial, which lets me blow up things from a distance." Both men looked surprised as Jeff asked, "Wait, so you can just conjure up some projectiles, like a wizard?" "They''re actually fireballs, but I guess so." By now, both men were no longer apprehensive about me, recognizing that I was a regular human being and appeared to become more curious than cautious. Seeing that the atmosphere had improved, I asked the question that had been lingering on my mind, as I gazed back at the ruined city, "So if you guys are with the military force to free Dallas, then why is the city still overrun by monsters?" Both men looked a bit downtrodden when I mentioned it, causing Jeff to somewhat angrily respond though not to me, "Although we can''t explain the exact reason as it is confidential, but let''s say we had a lack of information and rushed in blind. However the problem should be resolved soon as reinforcements should be arriving shortly." Having no idea what happened, but looking at their facial expressions, I could only guess there were a bunch of casualties in the initial assault, leading them to retreat and prepare for the next attempt. Seeing the mood had soured, I decided to change the topic, "So you guys have a base nearby¡­ mind if I join?" "Of course, it''s part of our orders anyway to escort any civilians back to base." With that assurance, the soldiers realized we had been staying out in the open for a while. Jeff remarked, "The journey should be about a 2-hour trek from here, our camp is at a big golf site." As he spoke, we set off on our way. While walking, I asked, "So how many people are there at base?" "Collecting data is a bit of a challenge at the moment, but there should be around a hundred thousand." "¡­" Seeing how I stopped talking a bit bewildered by the humongous number, Mark, with a downcast expression, continued. "It might seem like a lot, but considering 10% are soldiers, and with Dallas having a population of over a million, it''s actually a lot lower than you might think. Although we assume there are still a substantial number of people hiding in buildings and such, but as food runs out, those odds are only getting lower. Even at the base, food is being rationed, although for you, it might not be an issue." "Why?" I asked, confused. "It seems top brass has taken an interest in you guys and is giving you certain privileges." This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Looking skeptically at them, I pressed, "Should I be worried? They are not going to experiment on me, right?" Mark brightened a bit at the question and chuckled, "Don''t think so. We don''t have time for that right now, maybe after Dallas is rescued." Not sure if I should be reassured, Jeff interjected, sighing at Mark''s comment, "No, I have even seen one of those people walking around camp, so it should be fine." As he said this, we just passed a few vehicles coming to the sight of my previous battle with the bunnies, seeing the gruesome scene both soldiers looked dazed again, while they had seen the exploded corpses, seeing some of the rabbits with their heads bashed to the extent you could see brain matter and a bloody bat in the middle, reminded them that the human next to them wasn''t normal. Mark getting passed the uncomfortable feeling, spotting two of the rabbits in good condition, retrieved a capsule from a pocket in his military gear. Unfolding it, the capsule transformed into a sizable sack. He then asked me, "Do you mind if we take these two rabbits with us back to base? While we can''t give you money for them right now, it would help out a lot for research, at least that''s what the higher-ups are saying." Shrugging, I agreed, having no use for them anyway, causing both men to take out a sack which they placed the rabbits in before swinging it over their shoulders. Looking around at the other bunnies, I enquired, "You don''t want those?" Mark responded, "Well, they prefer to get ones in good condition, with the hide unbroken, and we don''t really want to drag corpses all the way back either. They weigh like 30 kilos each. So normally, we don''t take ''em back; it also hinders our ability to respond to threats." "And what has changed now?" Both men looked sheepishly at me as they scratched their necks. Jeff answered, "Well, we''re kind of out of bullets anyway, and you seem strong, so we thought you would protect us." Sighing at the answer I said, "Fine, but at least give me one of your knives," Jeff complied, handing over his dagger, and we proceeded towards the base camp. Coincidentally enough, the camp was located in the direction I would have headed originally. During the trip, I learned a few interesting things. Apparently, the military had already found out the source of the monsters, and it were strange gate''s that looked like swirling blobs of blue energy that connected this plane to another, like a small pocket dimension of sorts. This was the source all the monsters were flooding out of, and many similar gates had appeared across the country, throwing it into turmoil. According to their knowledge, the military had already secured 5 big cities and through their endeavours figured out that to halt the flow of monsters, one needed to travel inside the gate and exterminate a gatekeeper that protected it. Afterward, the dungeon would cease flooding out monsters. They also noticed that monsters coming from these gates tended to stay nearby, which was why Mark and Jeff weren''t concerned about monsters going outside of the city. This was the extent of the information they knew about gates, or at least what they were allowed to tell me. But another piece of news that intrigued me was that although those monsters were alien to Earth, apparently wildlife had also begun transforming, with some animals becoming bigger and mutating. Unlike the monsters pouring out of gates, these creatures didn''t attack humans and weren''t significantly stronger. Still, they advised caution, which was why I hadn''t had the chance to look at my status and review the class I had received, opting instead to remain vigilant. After a two-hour uneventful walk, standing on a hill, I could make out long rows of metal fences securing a wide area, along with soldiers patrolling them. From where I stood, I could see inside the camp, hundreds of tents and people covering and scurrying about green hills, which were previously a golf course. Returning the dagger to Jeff as I no longer needed it, Jeff and Mark brought me to one of the entrance points, telling me to wait a moment as they said something to the soldiers standing guard. Before long, a few more soldiers gathered, to which they handed over the rabbit corpses and returned with a young soldier I didn''t know, as Jeff told me, "Aeron, this soldier here will escort you to your lodging so you can settle in. We would have done it but have to give our reconnaissance report to the higher-ups, and by the way will be sure to tell them of your contributions, which should probably give you some extra benefits. And as a heads up, brass would likely want to meet you pretty soon." "Alright, thanks, I guess?" Hearing my response, Mark answered determinedly, "No, we should be the ones thanking you; you saved us, and nothing we do could repay that." After saying his piece, Mark and Jeff turned around, with Jeff saying, "See you around, kid," before they left. Standing alone with the unknown soldier, before I could speak, he uttered in a formal tone, "Please follow me, sir." Nodding, I followed him as we began walking through the campsite. First, we passed a myriad of small and large tents that seemed to be used exclusively by the military, as I could only see men in gear exiting and resting in the area. After walking for ten minutes, we transitioned into the civilian sector. Here countless small tents that everyone seemed to use dotted the landscape, each being occupied by two or more people. A few distinct tents did stand out, designated for specific purposes like dispensing relief supplies, medicine, water, or food. Behind them were long rows of people, but what was a common theme among the place was the undercurrent of dread and anxiety marking people''s faces or at least the adults, as even in such a place, I could see children playing around, one kid caught up in a game of tag even almost bumped into me. Seeing the scene, it reminded me of Lily, which prompted me to ask the soldier who was still leading me deeper into the camp, "Would it be possible to find someone around the camp? We kind of split up during the second day of Armageddon?" Furrowing his brows, the soldier responded cautiously, "Currently, we haven''t managed to register everyone''s names. But If you provide a name, I can check the database. However, it will only indicate whether the person is at the base, not where in the base. So what''s the person''s name?" "Lily" "Last name?" "¡­." I drew a blank, realizing I had no idea what it was. Seeing that I had no idea, the soldier said, "Well, if you don''t know her last name, it''s going to be a bit difficult, as there are likely multiple Lilys at the base, so it''s not going to tell you much even if I look it up." "Alright, I''ll just look around the camp later then." The soldier, understanding the challenge, offered a sincere, "Good luck", knowing that it would likely be impossible with the sheer amount of people in the camp. Even now we had only traveled a small section. As we walked further, I could eventually spot a luxurious building that was likely the country club of the golf course. The building maintained an air of pristine orderliness, and the surrounding area, was conspicuously free of tents. As I neared, I could sense the gazes of people outside staring at me, although most were simply out of curiosity, some of them hid envy. Entering through the doors, I encountered several officers of probably a higher rank, lounging and discussing. Walking past them, I was brought to the east wing. The air here was eerily silent, the surroundings appearing desolate. Amidst the quietude, I encountered a random old man strolling in our direction, greeting us with a warm smile. Continuing on, I was guided into a room that served a dual purpose, having been transformed from a conference room into a dormitory. Ten militaristic beds were meticulously spaced within. "You can choose one of these beds, sir, although two of them are occupied," informed the guide. Curious, I inquired, "Oh, so I have roommates. Did they also experience the trial?" "I believe so, sir." Nodding, I understood what was happening here as they seemed to be gathering us up together. There were many potential reasons, such as public safety, limiting information, control, surveillance, or maybe to make us feel more comfortable although I highly doubted it but for now, I saw no reason to not comply, the allure of the bed too tantalizing to resist "If that''s everything, then I will take my leave, sir." "One question before you go, do you know if there is a shower nearby? And some new clothes?" It was obvious why I asked the question as I was still wearing my torn and blood stained clothes. "At the end of the hall, there should be a shower. As for clothes, I''ll send someone to bring you a new pair." "Alright." "Then I shall leave now, sir." Having no more questions and surprised at the borderline hotel level hospitality the soldier showed, I nodded, causing the soldier to turn around and leave, as I stood alone in the room. Although I at first didn''t notice, the fact that he was calling me sir was pretty strange, especially since he was older than me. But dismissing it as common military lingo, I didn''t linger on it as I chose an unoccupied bed in the corner of the room. CHP 21 : The Others Shortly after entering the room and selecting my bed, another soldier appeared with a set of new clothes, consisting of army pants, a white tank top, and boots. Thanking the man, I roamed the hallway, eventually locating the bathroom at the end of the corridor. Along the way, I spotted another room converted into a sleeping chamber with numerous beds. Peeking inside, I saw no one, although one bed was obviously occupied, with the sheets a mess. "Is this room for women?" I was pretty certain of my guess, as it would be weird if they didn''t separate the men''s and women''s living spaces, and men weren''t the only ones chosen by the system¡­ I think. Taking a quick and pleasant shower, washing off the blood and grime that had accumulated, I put on my new clothes and walked towards my bed in the left corner. Laying on the soft, comfortable fabric, I felt my exhaustion wash away and finally checked what I had been putting off for a while. "Status" ___ Name: Aeron Level: 5. (F) Class: [Savant Of The Empty Husk] Class skills: [Husk Maker] Skills: [Lesser Fire Ball] Health: 1076 Mana: 124 Strength: 13 , Agility 16 , Vitality 10 Endurance: 10 ,Intelligence: 16 ,Sense: 9 USP: 0 ___ Looking at the Class I had received, I thought it was quite a mouthful. Focusing on the class, the description enlarged. _____ Class: [Savant Of The Empty Husk] Type: [Unique] Element: [???] Attribute per level: [+ 1 Vitality], [+1 Intelligence], [+2 Mana regeneration] _____ "What does this even mean?" Looking at the class, I became confused as half of the terms I had no idea what they meant, and my Element just stating question marks was frankly ridiculous. While I had some guess as to what attribute per level was, as I would likely gain those stats for every level up, but mana regeneration, I had no stat named that, so I was left perplexed about what it would actually add to, probably intelligence if it dealt with Mana but I had no way of knowing until leveling up. The type being Unique also didn''t tell me much, but from the wording I assumed it to be good. Having read over everything, I quickly skipped over the class, finding myself somewhat disappointed by the convoluted information, although the added attributes were welcome if they actually worked how I suspected. Done with the class, I checked the skill. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Skill: Husk Maker Rank: S Tier: I Type: Active Requirements: Provide an incapacitated organism Lvl [17] or lower. Effect: Produce a husk on your body, which you are able to perfectly physically summon for [10 minutes]. Can only imprint [1] husk. Husk can be erased. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª "Huh." This time I was pleasantly surprised, staring a bit wide-eyed, I could finally confirm that the ranks actually went from F to S, and it seemed I had an S ranked skill, probably the highest of all. The skill itself I wasn''t so sure about. While it told me I could summon something, as I had no idea what a husk was, and what it meant that it would be produced on my body, I was still confused. But seeing it was S rank, it had to be something good. It was the same tier as the lesser fireball skill, which again I still did not know what it actually represented. Much more satisfied with the skill than the class I had gained, I wanted to test it out, but remembering I was in a military camp, a question lingered on my mind. ''Will they let me leave the base?'' Although it didn''t seem like I was imprisoned here, they did give me and the other system users a special room to inhabit so they could keep an eye out on us, and while at least according to Jeff I could walk around the base, could I exit it? I would have to find out. Noticing it was getting dark outside, I decided to ask tomorrow and went to find some grub. Scouring the hallways again, eventually resorting to asking a random soldier, he gave me directions to a cafeteria. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Entering a big open space that acted as the bar of the country club, I saw numerous tables occupied with soldiers all chowing down on food. In the corner were cooks giving out plates of food to soldiers standing in a line, deciding to join the queue, it took 10 minutes before it was my turn. Just as the cook was about to hand me my plate, he suddenly stopped and had a strange expression on his face. "Soldier, where is your uniform?" Confused by the question, it took me a second to grasp the misunderstanding, as while I had military pants, unlike the other soldiers dressed in full uniform, I was wearing a tank top. ''Ah, is that why people were looking at me weirdly? Wait, did the soldier giving me direction mistake me for one of his comrades?'' Deciding to dispel the confusion, I answered, "I''m not a soldier, should I not be here?" The chef''s face became angry as he answered, "No" Before he could reprimand me and ask how I got in here, another cook behind him came up to him and whispered something. Normally, I shouldn''t be able to hear it, but having enhanced senses, I managed. "Joe, that''s one of¡­ those people. Remember what the higher-ups said: treat them like you would a foreign diplomat." The cook named Joe gave me a quick glance before returning to his conversation, continuing to whisper, "Are you sure he isn''t just a civilian who managed to sneak in? Haven''t seen him around." "Apparently, someone new came in today." "Ah, shit." Quickly turning around, his angry expression wiped away, he addressed me, "Sorry for not noticing you, sir¡­ If I may ask, why are you here?" he asked carefully. "Well, I wanted some food and a soldier gave me directions to this place, so am I not supposed to be here?" Joe looked at me with a conflicting expression as he answered, "Well, it''s not that you can''t be here, sir, it''s just that you have your own cafeteria with better food." "Oh, where is that?" He then explained that it was across the hall to the right. I still asked for a plate; having waited ten minutes in line, I wasn''t going to waste my time. The cook again tried to explain that I could get better food in the cafeteria, but being fine with it, I accepted the plain rice and peas meal they offered. Seeing that most people were staring at me, having heard the commotion, and not wanting to make people uncomfortable, I headed to the other cafeteria, apparently meant for me. Walking inside, I noticed it was a bit smaller with only three long tables you could sit at; the middle one, however, was occupied by three others, two men and a woman. Hearing my arrival, the party turned to my direction. Looking at them as well, I noticed someone familiar; it was the old man I had passed in the hallway when I first arrived. Seeing me, he waved and said, "You''re the new chap, right? Come join us." The two others, both seemingly in their mid to late twenties, were a man with short brown hair and sharp facial features and a innocent looking woman with long green hair that was obviously unnatural; both looked at me with excitement when they heard the old man''s words. Walking over to the table and putting down my food, I saw they were eating potatoes with a small portion of steak covered in gravy. Looking at my meal, I lamented as I should have listened to the cook when he said I could get better food. Getting over my disappointment, before I could introduce myself, the man blurted, "So, what did you get from the trial?" A bit taken aback at the sudden inquiry, the woman intervened, "Don''t be rude, we haven''t even introduced ourselves yet. I''m Donna, by the way," she said with a warm smile. The old man then told his, "Jeremy" And lastly, the still-excited man said, "I''m Kurt. Now what did you get from the system?" Donna, hearing Kurt''s response, rolled her eyes, while Jeremy just chuckled. "I''m Aeron¡­ and I got a skill from the trial." I decided to only reveal the skill for now, mostly because I did not quite know if what I had was special or not, and I would rather not divulge such information as long as the situation in the camp was unknown. I also technically did not lie, as I did have the fireball skill. Hearing my response, Kurt''s face drained from excitement as he sighed out loud. Not sure what to make of this behavior, Jeremy answered, "Don''t take his actions to heart, the lad got a common class from the trial and hoped to meet someone who also received a class, but unlucky for him, it seemed we all only received skills." So common classes also exist, from the wording alone my class sounds better. Curious, I asked, "So what''s the class''s name?" The old man narrowed his eyes a bit, while Kurt became excited that the conversation was about around him. Clearing his throat, he said boastingly, "My class name is Warrior, and it gave me an E+ rank skill that increases my strength" After that, Donna chipped in as well, "I got a skill that increases my speed, although it''s only F rank." "I also got an F rank skill, gives me a bit of resistance against fire, so the most useless of the bunch," Jeremy said self-deprecatingly. "So what''s your skill?" Donna asked. "Oh, I got an E rank skill, it lets me shoot fireballs." "What!" "Whoa!" "Let me see, shoot one!" "Uhm, you see we''re inside, can''t really shoot it here." "Alright, show us tomorrow then," Kurt exclaimed. "¡­Sure?" Satisfied with the answer, the group looked at me in a new light. It seemed they hadn''t really experienced any magic yet, with all their skills merely enhancing their physical body, they were surprised. I, however, raised an eyebrow at that, as in the trial they should have experienced some monsters who could use magic, like goblins or the fiery Salamander, but maybe they hadn''t reached that far, wondering I asked, "How was your guy''s trial?" Asking the question, it became known to me that the trial was different and similar for everyone. Everyone was first transported into a cave where they had to fight low-level monsters and eventually fight a sort of boss like the elder slime before they could advance. To be honest, only Kurt was giving me useful information as only he made it past the boss monster. But from what they were telling me, one particular detail came as a shock. "Wait, you guys died?" "Well, I actually survived but was too scared to fight the monsters and just hid the entire time," Donna replied. Jeremy also responded, "Yeah, I managed to reach the boss monster but died during the battle, got eaten alive by dog sized rats," he said while trembling as if recalling the experience. To be honest, I found it surprising that Jeremy made it that far at all, seeing as he looked to be in his seventies, having a full white beard and head. ''I guess the system makes even the old young again.'' Kurt, on the other hand, looked a bit embarrassed as he told his story, "After I defeated a ginormous bat and exited the cave, I found myself in a jungle. I moved through it carefully but accidentally stepped on a snake that bit and paralyzed me." "So you got eaten by a snake?" Hearing my response, he looked uncomfortable as he awkwardly laughed, "Ha,ha,ha No, I¡­ fell into a small puddle and drowned". "¡­.." I wasn''t quite how to respond to that, but luckily Jeremy had something to ask me, "So kid, did you also croak in the trial?" Thinking over the question carefully, I answered, "No, I was a bit like Donna, although I did manage to make my way to the boss, but became too scared to fight against the giant slime." Well, what I just said was a lie, but it was necessary for now. It seemed like Jeremy wanted to question me further, but before he could Donna interjected, her curiosity piqued as she had no clue what a slime was, which changed the topic. Having explained it to her we continued to chat for a little while longer before going to bed. During our conversation, I gleaned additional insights, such as that for them, the trial only lasted 10 days instead of 15. Which made sense, as I could vaguely recall my time being extended because I was in the top 1 percent or something to reach Level 5. I also discovered that Jeremy was the first to arrive at the base before Kurt, and then Donna showed up 4 days ago. I was glad I learned these extra tidbits of information because when I woke up from the most comfortable sleep I had in ages, a soldier was waiting for me at the door, ready to take me to an investigator that had a few questions for me. CHP 22: Interview Following the soldier, I was led to the west wing of the club. Stopping in front of a door, I was told to enter as he guarded the entrance. Inside, there was a lone metallic desk with two chairs on opposite sides; one was occupied by a woman. The woman already seated had long black hair neatly tied up in a ponytail. Looking at her, I assumed her to be in her twenties, having pale white skin and cherry lips as any man would agree she was a knockout, even her uniform was unable to hide her curvaceous figure. Seeing me enter, she greeted me with a radiant smile "Please take a seat." Obliging, I thought, ''Did they bring someone attractive in here to make me share more information¡­. actually I think I''ve have heard of this before, isn''t this a Honeytrap?'' Before my thoughts could go further, she spoke again. "I am Kassie and will be asking you a few questions pertaining to the events that transpired over the last few days. Is that alright with you?" Not seeing a reason to refuse and already having thought of the story I would share, I decided to play along. "Sure" As soon as I said it, her smile grew wider as she turned on the camera facing me. "Alright then, what is your name?" "Aeron" "Last name?" "Wharton" The first part of the interview were all questions that had nothing to do with the system or trial, but was about miscellaneous details such as my name, age, and place I resided, which she recorded in a notebook. Getting past those, the important questions I was preparing for finally appeared. "Can you go over what happened in the trial?" "Well, after defeating a goblin, I was transported into a cave where I had to fight slime¡­" Recounting what happened, I gave the same adulterated version of the story I told the others yesterday, along with that I had only been in the trial for 10 instead of 15 days. During the explanation, Kassie would sometimes interrupt me, asking specific details such as why I didn''t defeat the boss, or how I didn''t die of dehydration, but mixing some truths with lies, it seemed she believed my story. "So I know this is a bit personal, but do you mind telling me what you received from the trial?" "It''s fine, I got a skill from the trial named lesser fireball, like the name suggests, it lets me shoot fireballs" Kassie looked a bit bewildered hearing my response, while I just kept a monotone face. I didn''t mind sharing the information as I had already divulged it to the other system users yesterday, so there was no point in keeping it a secret. Taken aback, she quickly regained her wits as she realized she was still conducting the interview, "What Tier and Rank is the skill?" "It''s a Tier 1, E rank skill" Kassie quickly scribbled down the information, but curious about something, I asked,"Do you guys know what tier stands for?" She mulled the question over in her mind before responding, "From the limited information we have, we are not sure, but like with Ranks, we expect there to be multiple tiers, with each tier being more powerful, but we don''t have enough data yet to prove such a theory." "Ah, thanks" A bit let down by the information that anyone could have guessed, I asked about the problem that had been on my mind since arriving at the base. "Also am I allowed to leave the base?" Kassie''s smile that she had been wearing the entire time faltered a bit as she answered, "Currently, no civilian is allowed to leave the base for their own safety. At present, Dallas is designated as a war zone, so if civilians just started walking around the place it could¡­ complicate things" While disappointing, the reasoning did make sense, although it being for my own safety was a bit of a stretch. It made sense if you thought about normal civilians. Just imagine soldiers having to go out to save people who went too close to the city. Not only would the casualties be higher, but they likely didn''t have the manpower for it either. It was also easier to protect people if they were all grouped up. While I was a bit let down, wanting to test out my new class skill, it wasn''t like it was immensely important to me. I was just curious about it. The thought of doing nothing and just idling my time away in the camp also slightly irked me, as normally I was always doing something. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Sighing, I accepted the outcome, and Kassie, seeing my expression like I had given in, smiled, "It''s not that bad staying in the base, especially in your position. The higher-ups also said that we should comply with one request you had as long as it is reasonable, this is as thanks for saving two of our soldiers and the rabbit corpses you gave us. So do you have a request?" Reminded of the soldiers Mark and Jeff I saved, I pondered whether I had any requests until my eyes slightly widened and I found my answer. "Can I join the reconnaissance troop?" This time Kassie was genuinely shocked, not expecting such an answer. At first, it seemed like she wanted to immediately refute the proposition, but before those words came out, something stopped her as she suddenly seemed to be thinking about it and finally said, "I''ll propose it to the higher-ups, but no promises" Relieved that my request hadn''t been shut down, Kassie continued speaking, "Now that the interview is nearly over, I would like you to demonstrate your skill for us at the shooting range. Are you alright with that?" Not minding it, but remembering my promise from yesterday, I answered, "Sure, but can the others join along? I kind of promised it to them yesterday" "That''s fine, the interview is over now, we''ll depart after you''ve had your breakfast" As Kassie agreed to it, she stood up concluding the interview. Standing up, we shook hands as I departed the room, Heading towards the cafeteria. ..... POV Shift Alone in the room, Kassie''s smile slowly lowered, eventually turning into a fatigued expression as she laid her head on the desk. The soldier guarding the door, seeing Aeron leave, entered. Perceiving the sight of Kassie splayed out on the desk, he smiled wryly as he asked, "Couldn''t read him either?" "Not one bit," she replied tiredly. "Well, did you at least get a feel whether he was being truthful?" "Nope, he displayed nothing out of the ordinary or even an ounce of emotion throughout the entire interview. I''ll check the tapes again, but either he is autistic or has had an incredibly hard life, but being only 18, I find it hard to believe the latter" Sighing, the soldier asked, "Should I increase surveillance around him as well?" "Don''t bother. I can''t confirm anything right now. Besides, he made a pretty interesting proposal, and if the general agrees, it won''t be necessary at all." ..... POV Shift- Back to Aeron Having made it to the cafeteria, I was eating scrambled eggs with toast. The other system users were around me chatting with each other, waiting for me to finish, as I had already informed them that I was going to the shooting range to test my skill; they all wanted to come. Finishing my food, a soldier waiting for us outside the cafeteria led us to the shooting range. Finding it strange Kassie wasn''t accompanying us, I inquired, "Is Kassie going to join us?" In response, the soldier shook his head, "No, she was only required for the interview, since this is simply a demonstration, I should be enough" With everyone gathered, we followed the soldier towards the shooting range. Passing an astronomical amount of tents and crowds of people, the once lush green grass that plastered the golf course was turning muddy from the constant trampling. After twenty minutes, we arrived at a river. The area had been clear of civilians for a few minutes now, a fence separated the area while also blocking vision of the shooting range to civilians. Currently, the range was desolate, and walking up towards a white tent, our escort relayed some information to the one overseeing the place. Walking towards our group, he spoke while gesturing to a dummy target, "Everything should be set up, so please use your skill now, sir" Walking up to my target, which seemed to be a commercial mannequin they had taken out of some clothing store or maybe the golf shop, I made sure to keep a five meter distance as I stretched out my hand and activated my skill. Embers began to emerge above my right hand, quickly turning into a ball of flame the size of my fist. Preparing to shoot it, I first glanced around the area, seeing that the soldier had a camera in hand recording everything that was happening while Jeremy, Kurt, and Donna were discussing with each other. And having superhuman hearing, and them actually talking quite loud, I could pick it up. "Eh, I thought it would be bigger," Kurt remarked. Jeremy agreed, "Yeah, it doesn''t look like much" Only Donna didn''t immediately come to conclusions, "Guys, it''s an E-rank skill, so let''s just wait and see" To be honest, I agreed with Kurt and Jeremy that the skill wasn''t actually all that impressive, especially compared to what the goblin mages could do. But wondering about the actual strength of the skill, I released the projectile as it zoomed through the air and made contact with the chest of the mannequin. BOOOM As soon as the projectile hit, a small explosion of flames occurred, and the mannequin shattered into pieces, the plastic shards scattering in the river behind as all that remained was its feet and a portion of the legs. "DAM!" "Wow!" Both Donna and Kurt exclaimed out loud. While the soldier recording had his eyes wide and mouth hung open. The only one who didn''t have much of a reaction, which was strange given his previous comment. Returning my attention to the mannequin, I wasn''t surprised. While the skill didn''t do much damage in the trial, to regular humans it was lethal, although I hoped that it would destroy the entire mannequin, but it seems its power wasn''t quite up there. Looking at the still shocked soldier, I waved at him, "Hey, is this enough?" Quickly regaining his composure, although looking closely at him, there seemed to be a look of apprehension or¡­.. fear that he couldn''t shake off as he responded, "N-No sir, could you please hit the other targets as well from the marked positions?" There were four other targets, all the common paper ones that people used on shooting ranges. Each target had a mark on the ground showing where I should shoot it from, going from 10, 15, 20, and 30 meters. Interested in exactly how far my skill could travel, I shot the projectiles, finding out that from ten meters the damage was still the same, at fifteen it had significantly weakened but could still cause quite some damage, but at 20 meters the ball of flames had almost fizzled out before hitting its mark. Seeing the result from 20 meters, it was no wonder that at 30 meters the ball had disappeared before even hitting the target. After the demonstration, the soldier quickly left, probably to give the footage to the higher-ups while we were free to just roam the camp. Walking with the group, Kurt looked at me. "The skill is pretty strong but I''m sure I can cut it in half if I had a sword!" "Wouldn''t it just explode in your face if you cut it?" Donna inquired. "Nahhh, have you never seen those anime where warriors do it all the time?" "EEWW! You watch anime, how old are you?" Kurt, feeling embarrassed by Donna''s insulting response, tried to get back up from Aeron. "I''m 28¡­ and so what, it just means I''m cultured, back me up, Aeron." "Umm, I have heard of Anime but have never seen it, I thought it was a cartoon for children?" Donna giggled at my response while Kurt became quiet, lamenting over having shared his deep dark secret in front of a woman. The only one confused about the entire conversation was Jeremy, thinking, ''What is Anime?'' CHP 23: Reunion With great haste, the soldier who had recorded the demonstration of the system user Aeron walked towards command central, passing several military installations he ended up in front of the general''s tent. About to go in he heard voices inside and made his presence known. "General Maverick Sir! I bring the recording of special priority target Aeron sir!" The people inside became quiet before a deep and authoritative voice reverberated from within. "Great timing, come in Lieutenant" Entering the tent a wooden desk with a stack of messy papers was found, sitting at the head was a sturdy looking man in his sixties with gray hair. He had a piercing gaze like that of a predator, opposite to him sat Kassie. Both looked at him expectantly. "So Lieutenant, how did the demonstration go?" "Aeron followed the instructions sir, and the demonstration was a success" "And how destructive was this lesser fireball skill?" Worry appeared in the lieutenant''s eyes as he remembered the exhibition, "I would say the damage rivals that of a grenade without the fragmentation,". Maverick''s fingers tapped against the desk as he processed the information. His expression darkened slightly, and with a nod, he gestured for the lieutenant to set the camera down. "Understood, you''re dismissed" With a salute, the lieutenant exited the tent, leaving Maverick and Kassie alone. Silence hung in the air for a few beats before Maverick exhaled through his nose, rubbing his temple. "So," he said finally, "do you still think it''s wise to let an untrained human grenade launcher join the reconnaissance team?". Kassie didn''t even flinch before responding, "Of course, not only will we be able to get a more accurate representation of their power, but it will also be the first user in the force, and since they are stronger and faster than regular humans training shouldn''t take to long, and most importantly from the conversation I had with the kid¡­. he has no living relatives or even any friends I reckon". Maverick clearly knew what Kassie hinted at, and mulling it over he couldn''t help but agree. While monsters were currently the biggest problem for humanity, after they had been subjugated the biggest threat would likely be themselves, although for now these supers were weak but if the information was correct and they could continuously become stronger, then at some point he doubted the army and much less the government could control them, so finding any weakness to exploit when that time might arrive was imperative. "Alright sign Aeron up for the recon squad, I heard he had saved a previous team right, assign him to them, should make cooperation for both parties easier, and also give them a brief to keep an eye on Aeron and give a continuous report about his actions and behavior in the field". Kassie smiled as she stood up and saluted the general, before exiting the tent ready to relay her orders. ......¡­ Trotting along the camp, the others had split up on our way back to the clubhouse with me wanting to explore the camp and the others having their own business to attend to, I was now alone moving along the muddy streets. The people I passed looked bored, dirty, and malnourished, although it wasn''t close to starvation levels, you could tell they were hungry, giving them a lifeless look in their gaze. ''If this continues for long a mutiny is bound to happen'' While the military was obviously in an advantageous position, holding power and the threat of monsters making people want to stay in the camp, but if these conditions lasted much longer the people would leave the camp, and the military would have no choice but to capitulate as it had to be remembered there were 90 thousand civilians, and only 10 thousand soldiers. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. For now, though, things remained manageable. People still found solace in the fact that they were safe. Which was preferable for me. If chaos broke out, the chances of finding Lily would be even lower. That was the reason I was scouring the camp now. I also kept an eye out for the people I met in the sewer, but having forgotten their names I couldn''t exactly call them out. Asking around if there was a place orphans were housed, I was eventually led to the northern part of the camp, close to where the soldiers and the exit to the camp was. A long tent stood before me, makeshift and worn, but sturdy. People had told me this was the orphanage. Taking a deep breath, I entered. Inside I saw a scene that suddenly made me pause. There were two adult supervisors in the room, while the rest of the tent was filled with about 20 children all of them silent. Their expressions were weathered, like the men and women outside. Nothing like the lively children I had seen running around. Reminiscing I stood in a daze. For a moment, I felt like I was somewhere else. Somewhere far away. "Young man?" A voice pulled me from my thoughts. One of the supervisors, an elderly woman, was watching me warily. "Can I help you?" Realizing I was rooted on the spot, I turned to the woman, "Yes, actually I am looking for a girl named Lily" Still suspicious she tried to recall a girl named Lily but came up blank, "Sorry, but no one named Lily has visited or joined the orphanage". Thanking her for the information I left the tent. With a sigh, I gazed up at the sky, my thoughts swirling. ''There''s a chance Lily made it out alive¡­ but it''s slim. She could have been taken in by those others. I remember a brother and sister¡­ and the girl I saved.'' ''Anyways I''ll look around for a while maybe I''ll run into them'' Just as I was about to move, I froze. A woman passed by, carrying an armful of supplies. Auburn hair, green eyes. Even beneath the grime and exhaustion, she was striking. But that wasn''t what made me stop. She looked familiar. It was hard to recall the features of the girl I had saved, after all, it had been dark in the sewers, and she''d been covered in filth, but the more I studied her, the more certain I became. She was the one. Seeing her walk away, I quickly caught up and grabbed her shoulder. She let out a startled yelp, spinning around in alarm. At first, her expression was one of confusion. Then, as recognition dawned, the supplies slipped from her hands. Her eyes widened, and she stammered, "A-Aeron?" I barely acknowledged her reaction. Instead, I met her gaze and asked, "Where''s Lily?" "H-how are you alive? The goblins, you were stabbed¡­ I saw you bleeding out" Seeing she was rambling on I grabbed both her shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes, "How about you lead me to where Lily is and then I''ll explain how I survived, ok?" Her mouth snapped shut. A beat passed before she hurriedly nodded as if just realizing how much she had been panicking. Then, suddenly, she grabbed my hands. "You saved my life." Her voice was resolute. "I-I never got to properly thank you" I pulled my hands away. "There''s no need." Amanda blinked, caught off guard. Then, shaking off her surprise, she quickly gathered the fallen supplies and motioned for me to follow. As we walked, her initial shock faded, replaced by curiosity as she began bombarding me with questions along the way. We passed a few tents before stopping in front of a common green one. She pulled back the flap, and a voice from inside immediately called out, "Amanda, you brought the food?" ''So her name is Amanda, also the other voice sounds familiar was it the sister" "yes, and someone else" Amanda replied as she entered the tent, with me following behind. "Someone else? wh-" Before she could finish I entered in behind and the woman who I recognized as the sister was sitting inside along with a small child with blond hair. The woman was similarly shocked like Amanda, while Lily when she met my gaze became excited before her expression dampened and she looked away turning around curling in on herself. Confused at her attitude, the other woman''s words distracted me "You''re alive! How did you survive?" I looked at her with a blank expression "Yeah I survived, I''ll tell you how in a bit, but first what''s wrong with her?", I pointed at Lily. Her face darkened, "After we thought you had died, Lily began blaming herself thinking she was cursed, she hasn''t spoken much" I frowned and took a step closer. "Lily." She flinched but didn''t turn around, all I could hear was a very soft barely audible ''sorry'', escaping her lips. Thinking I understood the situation, I knelt beside her, keeping my voice firm. "Lily, look at me." Slowly, she turned, her blue eyes were red on the verge of tears. While I wasn''t good with words at least this much I could say," You have nothing to be sorry for I''m still alive aren''t I" Her lips trembled. "B-but you were covered in blood after fighting the goblin, you looked to be in so much pain, you were dying like daddie, just to protect me" ''The last image she saw of me was in the sewer, it must have been traumatizing.'' I gave her a small smile, "Lily me and your dad chose to save you, beside I didn''t only fight to protect you but also the others", what I said was a lie but it seemed to work, the two women behind me also seemed touched, and I continued, " What happened wasn''t your fault Lily, so no thinking your cursed". Tears welled in her eyes. And, without warning, she threw herself into my arms, sobbing into my chest. I awkwardly patted her head. Lily wasn''t cursed. She was just a scared little girl going through a messed up situation. And besides if there was anyone cursed, it would be me.